12 DISTRICTS

When i heard the name my breath cought in my throught Elizabeth sun oour district 6 tribute. I slowly diseded the steps wondering how i would servive the games.

I watched from my own district. District 3.And saw the tribute from district 6 go up. I began walking backwards into the middle of the group of 17 year olds. Hoping my name wouldn't be called.

I had to help her she was in no conditon to wallk. She hid the pain from her face rather well, but i could tell she was nerves, worryed and in extream pain sebastion colis. I breathed a shigh of relif quickly runing up the stares to jion her.

The District 11 children all gathered in groups depending on age, holding their breath nervously as the escort, a tall man with shaggy black hair and vivid blue eyes, walked onto the stage. "Hello District Eleven, and welcome to the Seventy-Fourth. Hunger. Games!" The crowd gave an unenthustiastic cheer, as the man cleared his throat. "Now.."

Somewhere in the crowd of 12 year olds, stood a small Rue Decker, a grass necklace around her neck, with a wooden star charm attachted. She glanced around nervously at the other 12 year olds, exchanging worried glances. Even if she was twelve, her name was entered ten times. Being the oldest of her siblings, it was her job to look after them. She didn't even hear the escort as he read out the speech. It was her first year. She was too nervous.

"Ladies first!" he yelled in his high pitched Capitol accent. He pulled a slip from the orb and trotted back to the microphone.
"Rue Decker."

Stunned, Rue made her way to the stage, too shocked to cry. She heard the disapproval of a 12 year old being picked ruffle through the crowd, and the wails of her siblings in protest. Yet when the escort asked for volunteers, the crowd was silent.

Rye didn't even notice the man call out the male, but a boy made his way to the stage, and the two were escorted away from District 11, to their inevitable doom.

Hearing a female voice call her name she jumped back. All the other 17 years olds pushed her forward and mustered a sigh of relief.

I slowly walked up the stairs to the stage. "what's your name Miss? "I looked at the lady fro the Capitol. "Ridley Duff"i answered softly. "that's great. Now we have our female tribute for district 3.Ridley Duff! ". Everybody stood still and quiet like it wasn't happening.

"Time for the male tribute. Let me see.... Marshall law! "she called the boy tribute.

After all the craziness we were being taken to the capitol

( Ok guys really,i expect more than a sentence lol )

Lucas Foust

It was that time of year that all of the kids in district one, twelve through eighteen had been training for basically all their lives. The boys and the girls all divided into groups based on their gender and age. Unlike most districts this wasn't a sad ceremony like you hear about in the other districts district one was one of the few districts that lived for the hunger games and couldn't wait for it to come every year. The announcer came to the stage and gave his speech and then walked over to the bowl with the female tribute names in it and stuck his hand in and pulled out a small piece of paper with the name Hadrian Fairbain on it.

And our female tribute for this years hunger games is Hadrian Fairbain.

The announcer said as he awaited for the girl to maker her way to the stage. He then made his way over to the bowl with the male tribute names in it and did the same as he did with the females and pulled out another small piece of paper with the name Lucas Foust on it.

And our male tribute for this years hunger games is Lucas Foust, and there you have it district one your male and female tributes for this years hunger games congratulations.

As Lucas heard his name called he was a little shocked that his name had finally been picked and with a slight bounce he stepped out of line and made his way to the stage. There was no fear or doubt in his mind he wasn't upset his name was picked he finally got to do what he had been training for his whole life, if he wasn't picked he would of volunteered as tribute because he would rather fight and win or fight and die rather then never be picked and wasted his life training for something he never got to do and just always think what if. As Lucas made his way on the stage he saw his partner or female component rather make her way to the stage. He didn't know her name until just now when it was called but he had seen in coming and going from school and training a few times.

Sebastion stood besid me " Our distric 6 tributes". corana said with enthuseasm. " oh great" i thought as we entered the justic bilding " I~m going to have to kill the only man that ever card for me". I sat on the chouch knowing that no one would come to vist or wish me luck. My own parents abandoned me, sebastion is the only one who cares and i'll have to kill him" i thought. A peacekeeper somoned me. Whale traveling I herd sebastion say " Pritty ironic that wer`r geting picked at 18"

( Im letting everyone post in first because i know you guys want some time to really put out your character before they you know )

Laughing in spite of myself, I slowly shook my head and boarded the train. I took the seat next to the window, avoiding my fellow tribute and the women from the capitol. I slowly let my hair down and smoothed by skirt. Remembering the male tribute, i noticed that he goes to my school but, we don't even talk to eachother. I pondered in my head if we would be enimes of friends. Maybe even bolth. I clenched my stomach at that though. Then I wondered how I was going to die. When. And where. I put my head against the window and fell asleep.

I awoke with the capitol women shaking me. "Yes ma'm? "I asked. "Just thought I would wake you up dear. Oh! And I have a question. What wepon are you good at using? "she said in her capitol accent. "A sharp edged boomerang. ""oh dear! That's going to get you killed! "I shook my head. "If you say so"i gave a faint smile, knowing that I was skilled at using a sharped edged boomerang. The woman scoffed and went to go into the dinning cart where the other tribute was "You coming dear? ". I nodded nd walked into the dinning cart.

As I ate the woman was talking to Marshall. I stole a couple of glances and smiled. He was the type you typically found in district 3.i began stuffing my face, trying to gain weight, knowing I would lose it in the arena. After I ate I noticed we still wer'nt in the capitol. So I sat back in my seat next to the window and looked out it, Hoping I wouldn't die.

Mireya felt claustrophobic as she stood in the anxious crowd, thick tension evident in the air, despite the enthusiastic speaker and their attempt to get the crowd riled up. She listened closely to the speech, nodding along silently, though she wasn't sure why. Did she agree with what the speaker said, all the nonsense about how the games were valuable? Of course she didn't, not one bit, but after going through this for the past three years, she was already familiar with this process and all the words that were being said, it just reminded her that this really was happening again and would continue to happen until she was eighteen.
After what seemed like thousands of eternities, the time came for the names to be drawn. Mireya shifted her position and watched closely as the speaker made her way to the girls bowl, certainly taking her time, as it added to the drama, and drama was what the capitol was all about.
Time seemed to move in slow motion as the slip was selected from the bowl, and it wasn't just because the speaker was clearly in no rush to get this over with, but also because moments of dread just seem to last so much longer. Casually strolling back over to the microphone, Mireya bit the inside of her cheek so hard she could taste blood as the lady slowly unfolded the name.
She took a quick look at the slip before boldly staring out at the crowd, opening her mouth to speak. Mireya's heart pounded violently, but when she heard the name being called, her own name... her heart just fell right out of her chest and her blood ran cold. The others around her let out a small sigh of relief, but looked at her sympathetically at the same time. Her face turned a thousand shades paler and she could barely feel her feet hitting the ground as she slowly began to step through the crowd, all eyes on her. As she ascended the stairs, her knees trembled violently and she had to try her best to not fall over.
The speaker approached her, smiling ear to ear, and held out her hand. Mireya hesitantly accepted it, and was lead to the center of the stage for everyone to get a better look at her. She felt terrified standing in front of all these people, all this pressure, a crushing amount, all focused on her. The speaker looked at her closely and put a hand under her chin, tilting her head upwards, "My, well aren't you just a darling... We seem to have so many pretty young ladies for our games this year." Then the speaker laughed a sickening sort of laugh that made Mireya cringe. She just stared out at the crowd, looking dazed, and feeling like she was about to topple over because of the lightness in her head. The speaker dropped Mireya's hand and left her standing there, alone and exposed as she went to draw the male tribute.

(Whew, might as well get mine outta the way c:)

~Revy Cadaver~

Today was the day. Revy grinned. Her younger bratty sister, Tanya, stood beside her, looking smug as ever. Peon. She'd get what she deserved. But only if her name was called. If not, Tanya wouldn't be able to compete anyhow, unless she volunteered. Which Revy would make sure she would not. Either way, Revy would have her revenge. That would show Tanya. That would show her.

The speaker suspensefully waved her hand around the girl's bowl, brimming with names. Within those names were her own, of course, but Revy wasn't really worried. The rainbow-gloved hand swirled around, mixing up the names until at last, one was seized. The crowd fell silent. Not a breath was taken. Boots clacked on the wooden slats of the stage as the speaker meticulously made her way to the microphone. Then: the moment of truth.

"Ahem... Tanya Cadaver."

YES! Revy's eyes lit up as the crowd parted for her sister. She flipped her hair, as if she were superior. Revy waited for the right moment. Just as Tanya was about to step up onto the stage, Revy's hand shot up.

"I VOLUNTEER!" she exclaimed, a malicious grin upon her face. The citizens of District 2 turned to face her. Her sister's face paled and her eyes blazed as Revy ran past her and she was pulled back into the crowd. The speaker cleared her throat. "Ah, lovely. A volunteer!" She waved her hand to Revy, whose grin widened as she caught sight of her sister's fuming expression.

Revenge was sweet.

~Dale Harper~

The female was Mireya. Strange. Dale hadn't expected Mireya to be chosen. But then again, he had to learn to expect the unexpected. This was, after all, the Hunger Games. One's assumptions were not always correct. The speaker reached her hand into the male's bowl, swirling her hand around dramitically, when she in fact looked quite foolish. Dale rolled his eyes. He didn't have time for the damn Reaping. Maybe he'd go fishing with his little brother, Evan, after this whole boring ordeal was over-

"Dale Harper."

No way. No goddam way! He looked stunned for a second as he walked zombie-like up to the stage. The speaker shook his hand and said a few words, but he didn't hear them. He heard nothing. The edges of his vision blurred as he thought about his brother. There was no way he had been chosen. This was a dream. Soon, he'd be awake and laughing about the whole thing. But something deep within Dale knew that this was not a dream. This was real. He was going to kill people. Kill... his expression went dark, his eyes hardened and he grinned maliciously. He was going to kill, alright. He'd do whatever it took to get back home. No matter what.

He shook hands with Mireya and the crowd cheered like they did every year in career districts. Despite his fierce resolution, he couldn't help but feel a sense of hopelessness. There was nothing he could do. His fate was being decided for him. But, he reminded himself, nothing would keep him from coming back to his brother, who needed him. Nothing.

"...our female tribute for this years hunger games is Hadrian Fairbain."

Hadrian's head snapped up as she stepped from the crowd, her pale blue eyes hiding her shock as she confidently walked up to the stage. Her long blonde curls bounced against her back as she turned her head to search for the male tribute, wondering why the name sounded familiar. Perhaps she'd gone to school with him, she thought as she strode up the stairs and turned to face the crowd. Her lips pulled up into a smile, showing her apparent confidence, as she gave a small wave to the people who cheered for herself and the male tribute.

She wondered how he felt about this Reaping, if he would have been the type to volunteer had his name not been drawn. Nevertheless, Hadrian turned back to look at the hundreds of people and gave another smile. Hadrian wouldn't lose to this boy.

"Get up!" Tara teased as she shook her two younger brothers. She was slightly surprised the twins were able to sleep, they were twelve which meant this was their first year of being in the reaping. It didn't take long until they were both in their best clothes, which wasn't much..it was District 10 after all. Her mom and dad both looked at her and the twins and nodded their approval of their outfits. Her mother was holding the youngest child, a small baby boy, and behind her dad was her two older brothers who were pass the age of eighteen so they wouldn't be in the reaping. Tara herself wasn't too worried about her the twins, they only had their names in once, that was all. Her on the other hand..had her name in the drawing fifty-five times. From the age of twelve she signed for tesserae for her large family of ten people, so when she was in line where you get your finger pricked for blood she caught a few conversations.

She began to get a little nervous feeling in her stomach, but kept strong for her two brothers. After they had their blood taken, she took the twins to their spot at the twelve year old boys stood. "Alright, after all this is over I promise we'll go and play with the cows." She mumbled the encouraging words to the two boys who now looked a little scared. They both brightened up a bit, "Promise?" they both asked, she just nodded and then waved as she headed toward her spot with the sixteen year old girls. She took a deep breath as she looked around.

Finally the man from the capitol walked up to call out the names of the two tributes. Tara wasn't really paying attention as she looked over to her two brothers who seemed to be getting more and more nervous by the second. She caught their eyes and was about to mouth some more encouraging words to them, but thats when the thick capitol accented words registered in her head. "Ladies first! Our female tribute for District 10 is...Tara Cheyenne!"

Her name was called. She looked up, hearing a few sad remarks...you'd think that most of the people would be glad it wasn't them or it wasn't their friend or family, right? Wrong. Tara was known throughout the district. Everyone knew the girl, everyone liked her. She looked back to see her three younger brothers, the twins and a six year old, running up and holding onto her for dear lives. She bent down and looked at them, "Y-You promised! You promised to go play with the cows with us.." One of the twins mumbled between his small sobs. "We'll go play with the cows after the Games, alright? Do what Cory and Will say." She mumbled, Cory and Will being her older brothers. They came over to get the three younger boys. Marcus, Tyler, Simon, and Winston was being held in the arms of her mother. She took her place on stage, looking to her family. Secretly promising she would do her best to come back. She had to come back, to keep her brothers from signing up for tesserae, to help her grandma with her knitting, to help her mom with her cooking, to listen to her grandpaw's story, to help with her brothers. Some of the people began to smile, they knew one thing about the small blonde sixteen year old. Nothing came between her and her family, and if it did it wasn't alive for too long. District 10 may actually have a winner this year, but her district won't be seeing the normal Tara. No, this Echo will be far different...

Her features became ridged and her blue eyes went stone cold. "Happy Hunger Games." She thought sarcastically to herself. She didn't even look at the boy who was called. The goodbyes went fast, until her oldest brother came in. Will. He looked at her with a smile, "You've got this Echo. You have skills the others won't expect. People love you..get them to eat out of your hands. Watch your back and get your ass back home to your family, ya hear?" His words made her smile. "I hear."

It was time to go to the train.

I joke about us being18 hopeing shed lagh but her expreson stayed stony " How`s your leg i asked with concern fine she said . When we got on the train i coulden belive my eyes It was like heven, christel glasses, velvet chairs, and plenty of food. we had food in 6 but never this amount. Elizabeth was eyeing the chocalote cake, i smiled she was a real chocaholic. " sit down i`ll get you a peice".

E pov
I huffed But i was secretly relive my leg was on fire " perfic just fucking perfict '' i thought, i don't usally swar but i was nervese. I quitely took a seat .The cake looked divine dark chocolite cake with milk choclet iceing and a small white rose made with iceing on top. It tasted devine to velvitly smooth and rich cake and iceing and the rose practecly melts in your mouth ,is there any thing the capotol can`t do" i thought.

I lift my head and see we have reached the capitol. I exhale so my anxiety doesn't work up. I gasped when I walked off the train. It was beautiful. The women (who's name I learned was Rosie) put her hand on my shoulder. "Isn't it just exquisite! ". I nodded my head. Marshall walked up and nodded his head at me, I immediately nodded back and smiled. Our status for the games was somewhat friends.

As we reached the building I got taken in for makeup and dressing for the parade. They plucked my eyebrows and fixed my hair into a knot. The head stylist Jamey put silver lipstick and silver mascara on me, representing the electronics in district 3.She dressed me in a shimmering silver gown with blue flashing lights on it. As I was getting a makeover I was wondering if my fellow tribute would wear the same things. Probably not. I snickered to myself trying to picture Marshall Law in a gown.

When the team finished I sat in the hallway waiting for my turn in the interviews.

Ashley made her way to the other girls her age, all of them anxiously awaiting their fate. Her attire was far more glamorous compared to them since her family was a lot richer than most of the people in District 12 combined. She smiles at her peers, they wont catch her nervousness. Truth is, she's extremely scared of what's to come. Being in the Hunger Games has always been her worst fear, next to being poor. She watches as Effie Trinket, unusually elegant, begins her usual speech on the Games. Then she begins to pull names, "Ladies first!" Ashley watches, unaware of everything else but the bowl with her name in there 6 times. Effie stirs it around, and picks up a strip of paper. She walks back to the microphone, and slowly announces who was drawn.

"Ashley Adams!" says Effie cheerfully. Tiny gasps escape the mouths of people. Ashley was the local sweetheart, everyone knew who she was and pitied her. She took a deep breath and walked slowly to the stage. It seemed like ages, as her mind spun. She couldn't be the tribute, she couldn't. There were girl's with names about 40 times, yet her name was picked. Why was this happening? She quickly recovered as she stepped onto the stage, and turned to face the crowd. They all longingly looked at her, felt sorry for her. She flashed a smile, to let them know it was all right. She watched as Gale, one of the boys from the Seam was called. She shook his hand, and looked at him with her deep blue eyes, hopefully stirring something in him. They were then escorted to the justice building. Ashley had to do something to be remembered. She quickly blew a kiss to the camera, hoping to stir some sponsors and win over the crowd. The game started now, and she had to do whatever she had to do to win.

Gale sat on his stool as he thought of his daily catch as Katnis,his friend who helped him on any equation or situation sat next to him as he thought of something."We could run away,go far away from this place".Katnis disagreed from him as the sound of a horn was blown and the next problem was the hunger games.Gale looked up into the sky as he and katnis ran through the woods as they hopefully got back into town and nothing was ok after that when the ship landed and he saw people try to scavage their foods,but none of that worked,all those days of being a nobody would never happen again as Gale sat down in his room and picked out his clothes to wear as he tucked in his shirt and he said his goodbye's to his family as he was walking towards a huddle of kids and he saw a woman by the name of Effie cheering on and on.She was the only one that reminded him of the world he was in now,and the fact he would never get the chance to see his family again as Effie put her hand into the bowl and pulled out a small note as the next words were breathtaking.

"Gale Hawthorne".Gale was standing in his own area as the others in front of him stood out of the way and there was complete silence as gale walked up and looked at Effie as he glared at everyone who could've taken his spot and he would be fine,or not."Ashley Adams"was he last name called as Gale shaked her hand and he lef t the stage as he was taken onto the ship and they headed to the final frontier.Gale sat at a nearby corner as he thought of what he could've done to escape.Gale sat back as he looked out of the windows and he heard the passenger say that they were almost their as he saw people waving at him and now he was their,at the capitol to show off what he could do.

(( Alright,at the capitol you can make up a styler and everything as they go threw interviews and then the games begin,Is that all ? ))

((I'm just talking as if I'm the tribute if thts ok)) As Jamey fixed my hair another stylist did my nails a beautiful blue color. "Go look at yourself. "my stylist smiled. I got up slowly and walked to the mirror. "Oh my gosh! "Jamey looked at me hopefully "You like it?! ". "Of course I do! ". She walks over to me and hugs me gently, trying not to make another flaw on me. She looks at another person in the hallway, he is waving for me to go up on stage. Rosie kisses bolth of my cheeks and escorts me halfway.

I walk gracefully to a stage and sit down where a young man is also sitting. He stretched out his orange hand. "I'm Dakota, it's nice to meet you Ridley Duff. "I shake his hand and smie"It's nice to meet you to Dakota. "he smooths out his pants and looks out toward the crowd. "Look at this one, making friends before the games! "the crowd roars with laughter. I managed to let a smile slip across my face. "Yep that's me. "i reply "Always trying to make friends. ". Dakota looks at me and nods. "So Ridley how was districts 3 life? ". I think for a moment trying to think about a good answer. "Honestly, it's nice living in district 3 but, the district mainly focuses on the electronics and hungergames. ". He looks out at the crowd once again, straightening his bow tie. "We're you trained? " I looked at him "Sometimes. "i answered proudly. "How's the capitol? ". I choose my words carefully, and choosing some of Rosie's vocabulary. "It's just exquisite! ". I wink at the camera, trying to keep a straight face. "That's good to hear! We have a minute left. So I want to know how you felt when you were called at the reaping? "his voice became seriouse and his face was as hard as a rock. "I was proud. "I obviously lied. "But then I was still kinda scared. ". Dakota put his hand on mine. "You will be fine dear. "he smiled a half hearted smile. BUZZ! Time was ut I walked of the stage and into my room where I got undressed and ate my dinner In my room.

Mireya watched just as anxiously as the speaker went to draw the name of the male tribute, once again making it go by as slow and dreadful as possible. She watched closely as the woman swirled her hand over the collection of slips, and though this was a serious moment, she nearly laughed, this was all so ridiculous and outrageous. But of course, she kept it to herself and looked out at the crowd to see who her district partner would be, and how he would react to being chosen.
"Dale Harper." she speakers voice rang out through the silence.
Mireya knew who Dale was, well, not exactly, but she almost immediately connected the name to the face as her eyes landed on him, among the many others in the crowd. He looked stunned, even as he made his way up to the stage, he couldn't get the look of shock off of his face. As he came up next to her on the stage, she glanced sideways at him, but his mind seemed to be completely elsewhere, he didn't even appear to be focusing on what the speaker was telling him.
Her eyes got a glassy look to them as she returned her gaze to her feet, trying not to think about the fact that one, if not both of them would be dead by the time all this was over. The thought made her feel sick, and she swayed slightly, nearly falling to her feet once again, but just then, Dale went to shake her hand and she firmly grasped his, giving it a small shake, and then letting go once she had regained her balance.
All of a sudden, the speaker pushed her way between the two and took a hand from each, holding them up in the air, "District four, these are your tributes!"
As the audience let out a hearty cheer, Mireya nodded silently to herself, once again, not her way of agreeing with what was happening, but instead acknowledging it and accepting there was nothing she could do about it. However, her stomach lurched violently as the speaker turned the two of them away from the crowd and began to lead them to the justice building. Mireya desperately glanced over her shoulder one last time, realizing with a jolt of horror that this was probably her last time she'd ever see district four.
Suddenly, she just had this urge to resist, to not go along with this, but rather do everything in her power to get herself out of this situation. She firmly pulled her hand away from the speaker, who hadn't been holding onto her very well because she must not have expected that anyone would try to get away. Stopping in her tracks, the speaker looked at Mireya in a way that said 'Go ahead, try.' Mireya felt a bit scared now but she continued to back away, her steps getting bigger and quicker. She was just about to turn away, make a run for it perhaps, when she was forced forwards by some peacekeepers who had quickly taken their places. With each arm grasped firmly, she had no choice but to be dragged into the justice building. She bit down hard on her lip in frustration as she knew that she was helpless. The peacekeepers shoved her into a room where she waited a few minutes before being visited by her brothers. They shared a final moment, her brothers doing their best to try and assure her. When the peacekeepers came to take them away, it felt like her skin was being ripped off as she watched them until they were out of sight. She fell back against the wall, and lying defeated on the floor, broke into sobs. Only moments later, the peacekeepers approached her and just as they were about to help her to her feet, she quickly got up herself, glaring icily at them as they then proceeded to pull her along to the train.Once on the train, she found a spot by the window and sat with her head leaned against the glass, a few tears making their way down her cheeks. She looked out the window at her surroundings as they just flew by, and she was amazed at how things could go falling topsy turvy in such a short amount of time.

Kalivala walked solemnly into the calling area, her blonde hair blowing softly in the wind that came through the courtyard, the ragged-looking locks not even bothered to be put up in some nice looking appearance. In fact, she hardly looked like she belonged at a formal gathering. True, she wore the dress that meshed with every other girl.... but she still wore her normal clothing beneath it. She hardly found dresses appealing. She even still wore the obscenely bright rainbow-striped socks, and dirty, worn hiking boots. Her father had insisted she changed out of them, but she said she would do no such thing. Her dull green eyes circled the others from District Five, some wearing nicer dresses than others, while some looked as if they were dressed up for some pageant. It made the indian-girl quite amused. Perhaps they thought having some difference in cosmetics would lower their chances of being picked. She felt sorry for them. They lacked a heart of bravery, most of them. And she could understand. She didn't want to admit it... but Kali too, was afraid....

As the assembly began, and the girls got into rows... she felt her heart pick up pace, listening to the speaker's words as if she had already been sentenced to death, and simply waiting for the firing squad. She outwardly kept her stone face, eyes resting on the woman as she blathered on about tradition, or something. She was only half paying attention. She was more listening to the murmurs of prayer around her. She wanted to block those out too... but the near-silent roar was almost too much to bare. There were already a few girls crying - scared for their lives.

But as the speaker for district five approached the bowls, every mouth sealed. Every eye was on the hands as they rummaged around the container. And the slip came forth. It seemed like minutes as the woman pulled open the piece of paper, and smiled, crying out into the microphone.

"Hailey Deland!" The woman cried out, beginning to clap enthusiastically. Only a few people otherwise made any sound. Other than Hailey herself. She now was wailing, screaming at the top of her lungs, crying in denial. She frantically shouted at the peacekeepers that tried to drag her out of her line. A smaller girl clung to her desperately. Kali was too far away to catch all of what they were shouting through tears. Something about having family to take care of, a sickly mother, or something. Hailey threw off the arm of the Peacekeeper, beginning to turn and flee towards the gates, the smaller girl being led by hand. Kali leant around the end of her line to watch the fleeting girl dash through the courtyard's open gates, and out into the streets. A few seconds passed of silence... before a crack of thunder filled the air, and the soft clatter of brass hitting the ground. It made Kali cringe, sending a chill through her spine.

The speaker cleared her throat, trying to laugh the situation off... because the death of a person humiliated her, obviously. These people had such callous care for life.

She thrust her hand back into the container, swishing her hands around, and pulling out another name. She hastily opened this one, as if to take the spotlight off of how a girl had just been murdered. She cleared her throat, and called out the name.

" Kalivala Sha'Tarl!" She cried, bursting into another round of applause. This time, she truly clapped by herself. Peacekeepers swarmed in to make sure the same mistake was not repeated... but Kali needed no guiding hand. She needed no escort. While her heart was about to explode in her chest, sweat dripping gently from her face, she shook her head and took the first step on her own. And then the next. With each step she felt less afraid. The worst part was over. The not knowing was over.... She reformed her stone gaze, looking upon the caller as she mounted the stage, and turned to face her district. Those green eyes looked over all of those of her peers. Out of all the nice looking formal girls here, there was a dirty tomboy in rainbow socks and hiking boots in front of them all. Yet she held no flush on her cheeks. She knew her fate now. And all the fear was gone.

She looked to the announcer, as she made her way to the boy's bowl...

Naomi

My eyes fluttered open and I groaned, still on my dream shaking after a horrid dream. I kissed my pillow as I got dressed, I looked at a bed opposite to mine. My mother laid down softly snoring, she was extremely pale and it seemed as the sickness had gotten worse, she often spent numerous times in bed drifting to almost death in fact sleeping 23 hours a day and only waking up to eat and pee. I ran my fingers through my brown thin hair and forced out a smile and leaned over on my mothers bed slightly above his forehead and pasted a damp kiss upon her head.


I walked through the busy streets of district 7 overwhelmed by the people carrying logs of wood and axes. I stepepd into the ring of the crowd of children awaiting a name to be called not expecting at all mine to be chanted through the timid streets. "Naomi Glifferd.." read the woman in a black suit and bright cherry blonde hair, she held sturdy large arms, probably from hard labor. I paused.. I must of heard wrong. Me? As tribute..there must be some misunderstanding. "Naomi Glifferd? Please come up..now!" she commanded her tone a little irritating. I gulped and pushed through the crowd and walked up the wooden stage, that in which ever step the wood creaked. I gulped once more as I met the lady's eyes the crowd was silent and I pranced nervously looking for an escape route. I wasn't strong ,nor fast, nor sneaky nor anything for that matter. I was only good with an axe.


The audience was quiet and somebody chuckled out "She's the tribute?! There is no way in hell we are winning!". I observed it was from a strong and heavy build boy from my school and labor hours. He was rude and pathetic I was about to say something smart but my nervousness was making it hard from me to say anything. "Then why don't you volunteer" the blonde woman snapped. And a smiled as the boy shook his head 'no thank you'.