Thanks to EpsilonChix, amadeussss9, ladyqueerfoot, n3b, Dani H. Danvers, dyloccupy, Cori Anna, & FrostyShadow for the reviews! Let's see if we can hit 100 before Chapter 10! You guys are awesome!
WE ARE FINALLY HERE! LAST REAPING CHAPTER! I am so excited because after this we can actually move the plot along (Ok, we still have the goodbyes but those are short and move pretty fast.)
Enjoy!
Chapter VI The Reapings Part 6
District 11
Farming required that the citizens of District 11 awaken early, but even in a District of early risers Tilly Swan felt she never got any sleep.
She had been up most of the night. Her younger sibling, Greenie, had a nightmare and needed to spend the night in Tilly's bed. And then Barren, ten years old and a year young than Greenie, felt that she was getting more attention than him and also wanted to sleep in Tilly's bed. The two children had tossed and turned all night and fifteen year old Tilly, faced with a Reaping and in need to calming sleep, got none.
Tilly was the first up in the Swan household as usual. She laid out everyone's clothes, taking the last bits off the clothes lines that swung outside, and then prepared breakfast for the family. It was a disgusting broth of potato skins that barely qualified as something other than watery refuse, but potatoes had nutrients and that was better than eating air as their late mother had told them.
Unfortunately, her siblings didn't have her sense and pushed back.
"Can we please have some of the jerky?" Philip, thirteen, moaned.
"No." Tilly said bitterly, hating her own potato broth.
"Just a sliver!" Barren asked, using his best whiny voice.
"No. And don't talk like that. You're ten, not four."
"Jerky. Jerky. Jerky!" Greenie chanted, trying to start an uprising, but Tilly killed it in it's cradle.
"NO!" Tilly roared, startling her younger siblings. She slammed down her spoon, rubbing her face, annoyed by her outburst and how her siblings looked at her. She hated being a parent. "Please… just finish your food."
"It's not food." Greenie muttered angrily. Barren's form of protest caused him to slurp the remainder of the broth obnoxiously loud. Only Philip didn't react, though he might have nerves about the Reaping just like Tilly did.
With their broth done, the children went about putting on their Reaping clothes. Tilly cleaned up, throwing the used plates into a rusty sink. She tried the water, but the faucet sputtered and shot out some brown goo. She shut it off and leaned over the rusty sink, sighing angrily. Another problem for her to fix. She left the plates where they were and grabbed the last full bowl of broth, making her way deeper into the home.
She didn't even knock on her dad's door. He was in bed, which was better than most mornings. She left the broth next to his passed out form before going to change herself and led the other children to the tram into town. Their dad would find his own way in.
The tram in was nothing more than open carts on a railway, used normally to transport crops from District 11's endless, stalked fields most of the year. In each cart, parents corralled their children, promising sweets or comforting words for most, or a hiding for less capable parents. When they arrived in town, the families jumped out of the carts and made their way to the Reaping. On their way, Tilly and the others had to pass by the field where the Reaping Festival was to be held and where merchant families were setting up.
That caused another fight.
"We can't go to the Festival this year." Tilly told Greenie and Barren.
"But we went last year!" Barren tried.
"Because it was Philip's first year being Reaped. We can't afford going again."
"So I won't get to go after my first Reaping?!" Greenie protested, feeling a great injustice already upon her.
"Did I say that? Can you please listen when I talk?" Tilly asked, patience thin. They needed the money for winter. She had heard some of the older field hands talk about a crueler winter than last coming, and the family would need all it's money for it.
Phillip, who had not been engaged in the argument, perked up next to Tilly and took off sprinting. "Teo!" He cried. Soon the other two Swan children were screaming 'Teo' and chasing after Phillip, leaving Tilly behind as their missing older brother approached.
Teo, eighteen years old, ran up and scooped up his younger siblings in a massive bear hug, spinning them in the air. Tilly tensed at the sight and otherwise kept her distance. Currently her younger siblings were regaling Teo with all the developments since they last saw him four months ago, including one Tilly hated.
"Did you hear that Tilly has a boyfriend!?" Barren tattled.
Teo brightened at that. "I didn't but that sounds nice. Who is he?" He asked, looking happily at Tilly. She wanted to slap him and refused to answer.
Greenie, however, had no such compunction or appreciation for Tilly's feelings. "His name is Charon! He works Field 232 just like Tilly!"
They weren't boyfriend and girlfriend. Tilly didn't have time for such things when she had a whole family to support. And she just had to look at her own parents to see how "love" worked out for an improvised girl from 11. It was easier just to separate herself from Charon and care for her siblings. And after what her dad and Teo did, they couldn't have someone else step out of their lives.
"I'm happy for you, Tilly." Teo told her, his smile maddeningly sincere and caring. "Hey, if you need help during the Reaping, my girlfriend can watching Greenie and Barren!"
"Dad's coming. He'll watch them." Tilly replied icily.
Just the mention of their dad made Teo shriveled. Tilly hated herself for how that gave her a sense of enjoyment.
With great protest, Tilly lead the other kids away from Teo and his better life. She as angry at him and how he had abandoned them. She understood his reasons, but a better older brother would have stayed!
Of course, dad was different these days. Their dad wasn't a violent drunk anymore and when he had been, he was only with Teo. The other children, even Phillip, were too young to remember how bad it was for dad. Life dealt him blow after blow and then when mom died, he just decided to stop caring. Drink followed, and then violence. But only for Teo as the eldest and a boy. Teo had been in Tilly's position, trying to help the family, run it by himself at the mere age of eleven.
He made it until he was thirteen. Tilly would always remember the night he broke. She had been ten years old in Teo's bedroom, tears in her eyes as she tried to get a bawling, broken Teo to let her care for him. Dad had battered Teo's butt and legs too hard and there was blood. Teo had been so embarrassed, ashamed when Tilly had to take Teo's pants off to dress and tend the wounds. He cried into his pillow, body shivering from pain and embarrassment.
'I can't do it!' he had cried, voice high pitched and fully of fear. 'I can't do this!'
He left the next day. He never looked back. Tilly, only ten, was suddenly in charge of everything.
She'd never forgive him.
But, she'd never stop missing him.
She just wanted her family back.
Was Calen a bad person for hating his parents?
Well, hate was too strong a word. Hate was reserved for the Capitol and Peacekeepers. But "annoyance" seemed too soft too. Whatever the right word was, Calen felt a maddening ambivalence at least towards his mom and dad, especially as they fussed over him in the train cart to the Reapings before declaring, again, that the bruise was "fine."
Everything was "fine" for them despite all the evidence to the contrary.
His siblings were more caring.
"It shouldn't bruise too bad." His sister, Heather, said.
"It still hurts like a bitch." Calen muttered, only to receive a hit in the arm from Heather.
"Don't use that word!" She demanded.
"Oops." Calen offered, making Heather roll her eyes. It was an old fight between them.
His older brother, Oren, sat across from them in the cart, his makeshift cane between his legs to assist with his club foot. "What happened?" He asked.
"Same as always. The Peacekeeper was bored. Decided to have fun. You know all about that, right, Oren?" Calen asked him, as if Oren would have any idea of how bad things got in the fields. He didn't mean to be cruel, he really didn't, but the pain was fresh and Oren and him had a habit of butting heads. Oren's birth defect meant that he couldn't work the fields, so much of the heavy lifting for the family fell on Calen and Heather. That morning the Peacekeepers had called out the field hands to harvest peaches. It was a random, idiotic order since most weren't even ripe. But Peacekeepers didn't have any sense.
And, while Calen was coming down a net, a Peacekeeper struck him in the face with his baton. No idea why. The Peacekeeper wandered off, laughing with a few others, after the unwarranted attack.
Calen's parents didn't care. They just accepted the brutality as something they and everyone in the District deserved. That their lives meant nothing. Calen couldn't accept that, and if it wasn't for the fact that any reprisal would hurt Heather, Oren, and even bratty Lennox and his younger siblings, Caeln would have grabbed a Peacekeeper and taken then down.
It was nice fantasy at least. His fists, ol' reliable, had gotten him and Heather out of scraps with other kids before. And Calen suspects that, if pressed, Peacekeepers weren't that tough.
He'd never get a chance to do anything though. When he was little, Calen would fantasize that he had super powers and would those to destroy the peacekeepers, free District 11, and everyone would love him. That sad fantasy wilted quickly in the harshness of District 11's fields and from the apathy of his peers.
No one person could change Panem. In fact, Calen didn't think anyone could.
And there was no better example of that other than the Hunger Games. The Dianthus clan checked in and Calen took his spot in the seventeen year old section, bitter about the whole affair. The whole District was sullen as the Reapings began, the mayor droll as he read the Treaty of Treason. The Escort popped up afterwards for the drawings, far to excited for a place like 11. He went to the girls' bowl first and pulled a name.
"Tillage Swan!"
Unless the person was on the edges of their group, it always took a minute for Reaped child to appear. The District had so many children, it took the poor young girl two minutes to emerge from mass of teens that made up the fifteen year old section. She was a tiny girl with slim dark hair, eyes, and skin. She looked utterly exhausted and had fresh tears streaming down her face. She took the stage and informed the curious Escort that she went by "Tilly" before the boy's name was called.
"Calen Dianthus!"
A spike a fear took him over for just the briefest of moments until it molded into rage. Of course he would get Reaped. Of freaking course! It was like that Peacekeeper's baton was an omen of how shitty his day would be. He remained planted where he was, requiring Peacekeepers to come find him and drag him from the seventeen year old section. It was a tiny defiance but it certainly helped as his mood as he stood on the stage, looking out over the District.
"Hey! You're welcome everyone! We're taking one for the team!" Calen told them all, gesturing to Tilly. The whole District was quiet but next to him, Calen heard Tilly snort out a laugh.
He chuckled too before looking over his District partner. They sized each other up and silently seemed to deem the other worthy.
Maybe there was some hope?
District 12
In the summers, sometimes dust clouds swooped through the streets of District 12, mixing with the ash from the coal mines, creating a perfect storm of debris and dirt. In the winters, the snow would quickly turn black, leaving gross pools and piles of black soot and film on the streets.
If there was a child who seemed to live in that dirt, I twas fourteen year old Ophelia Hurst.
Often called that "feral child" behind her back – and too her face – Ophelia didn't mind the reputation. In fact, she reveled a bit in the freedom it brought her. She did look a mess always though. Lanky with matted hair that was supposed to be blond but always looked brown due to dirt, she was a dirty mess.
She wouldn't have it any other way.
Not that it mattered to much. Everyone in 12 was dirty and seemed to never be clean. Especially in the Seam. Her parents didn't care either. They were always working so Ophelia was on her own. She raised herself, having quit school at twelve when she found it utterly pointless. She lived by the streets, causing bits of chaos everywhere she went but happy to have her freedom.
Unfortunately, her wilderness didn't save her from the Reaping. She had tried at thirteen, only to be hunted by the Peacekeepers, dragged to the Reaping, and then punished afterwards. So, this year, she was deciding to go, a decision that she was making, not the Capitol.
Still, she was nervous. So, she spent the morning before in the forest outside of District 12. She didn't know why people never came out here. The electric fence around District 12's main town was rarely on. Ophelia had found that she could just slip out and relax in the forest.
Surrounded by nature, the sounds of the wildlife relaxing to her senses. She felt at peace in the freeness of nature, wishing the whole world could be like this.
She looked through the trees at the sun. Seeing it's placement in the sky, she realized it was time to go. Ophelia stood up, not bothering to shake off the dirt and few leaves that stuck to her dress. She began making her way back to the District, already planning her day after the Reapings.
It was overcast for the Reaping, thanks to the ash and smoke from the mines. It had been a hard winter and another predicted for this year. The mines were running all day and night, pulling coal form the bowels of the earth to feed the Capitol. Even on Reaping day, men and women toiled underground for tiny pay.
Ash Ghastly, at age fourteen, was far off from those days but knew they were coming. He worked odd jobs now, receiving scraps of money to help the family, but nothing consistent. When his dad could, the man would work. Nobody ever lost their jobs in the mines unless they died – typically in the mines are from black lung because of the mines.
It was a misery with no end.
Still, Ash was determined to think of the positives that day, especially on a day as bleak as the Reaping. Mayor Undersee was reading off the Treaty while other officials sat behind him. Everyone noticed that the Mayor's wife was sited behind him, a small baby girl in her arms. There were plenty of well wishes for the Undersees – the Mayor was popular after all – but also an undertone of displeasure, knowing that baby girl would lead an easier life than most of the District her father oversaw.
Briefly, Ash wished he had that life. Or, even just a life in a Merchant class family. Such dreams were pointless of course, what use were they when reality was so annoyingly fixated on keeping him down? But it was still nice to hope.
At least his younger siblings could, all pre-Reaping age. He let his mind wonder to them and what they'd do afterwards. Ash had promised to take them to the Reaping festival to buy some candy from one of the stalls, a little treat for them after a hard year. They certainly needed it and, if he was honest with himself, Ash needed it to make it feel like he was actually doing a good job caring for his younger siblings.
Levi was eleven, Maverick seven, and Kade five, yet they all felt like babies to him. Being the eldest had a habit of molding that kind of worldview. The idea of Levi in the Reapings next year was horrific, and, it was fantasy too, it was nice to imagine them as younger than they were and living in happier times. Ash had to go through so much in short amount of time, he didn't want his siblings to experience that either.
Anything Ash could do to shield them from how bad things were, he'd take.
The Escort was up now, calling names. The girl's were called first, as always and the name that was Reaped got some surprised murmurs.
"Ophelia Hurst!"
Ash didn't have many friends, he was too busy with his siblings and – it was pathetic, he knew – was a bit too shy to make them. But everyone knew Ophelia. The little demon child who ran around like a animated pile of dirt. Sure enough, Peacekeepers had to pull her from the fourteen year old section across from Ash and there was was, covered in dirt and… leafs? She was absolutely feral, practically clawing at the Peacekeepers as they dragged her to the stage, shouting all sorts of nonsense in between animalistic cries. It was all really undignified. The Escort requested that a Peacekeeper remain on stage as she pulled a name from the boy's bowl.
"Ash Ghastly!"
His life was over. Next to him, Robert – Ash's only real friend – gasped and was saying something, but Ash couldn't' hear him. He was only thinking about his siblings. Who would take care of them? Dad could… maybe. Hopefully? His poor brothers!
Peacekeepers had him now, pulling him to the stage. Ash could swear he could hear his siblings crying for him from the sidelines. As he walked up, he passed by the twelve year old section where he heard Annie, Robert's younger sister, crying.
He was on stage now, a skinny fourteen year old next to a crazy looking Capitolite dressed in all orange and a girl going absolutely feral.
"Ladies and gentlemen, your Tributes for the 59th Annual Hunger Games!" The Escort declared proudly.
Him and Ophelia were dragged into the Justice Building. The Games awaited.
And neither were ready.
*crawling over the finish line* We did it! Yay!
So excited to have the Reaping chapters done! If you read the 58th SYOT, what comes next will be the exact same. For people who didn't, here's an outline of what comes next:
2 Chapters for the Goodbyes (6 Districts per chapter)
1 Chapter for Train Rides/District Partner First Meetings
1 Chapter for Tribute Parade
1 Chapter for Training Day 1
1 Chapter for Training Day 2
1 Chapter for Training Day 3 + Scores
2 Chapters for Tribute Interviews (6 Districts per chapter)
1 Chapter for Eve of the Games
Bloodbath & Start of the 59th Hunger Games
And in even better news it looks like FFN emails are finally working again! I'm so excited for what comes next and I hope everyone is too! So don't forget to review and follow for more!
Up next: The Goodbyes Part 1 - Districts 1 to 6