тнє нυηgєя gαмєѕ - ѕανєяα ηαуѕмιтн

[ωιитєяfℓу]

it's a fight to the d e a t h

It's the five-hundredth anniversary of the Dark Days, and, naturally, the five hundredth Hunger Games. For centuries now children have been sent as Tributes to the Capitol. We all know the story of the Hunger Games, twenty-four children are sent as tributes to Capitol and have to fight to the death.

But this is a Quarter Quell, things are different this year. This time, families have been randomly chosen, and as usually families have more than one kid, more than one male and one female will be chosen to represent the Districts. Two of each, to be exact. And when there aren't enough kids in each family, others, only children, will be chosen too. Volunteering means the whole family gets thrown in, so who has the guts to do that?

With only one victor, how will the families cope? And who will win?

Savera Naysmith is an ordinary girl from the district of transportation. She's the oldest of two, aged seventeen, and someone who prefers to stay out of the limelight. Savera's only fear is to go into the Hunger Games, she's already lost the rest of her family (excluding her younger brother, Leporis). Even so, she has been training lightly - she has to, she supports her younger brother by herself - on top of working to survive.

But how will she survive when she finds out that she's in the Hunger Games?

And who's this Pamet girl?

Oh, and let the odds be ever in your favour.

[ωιитєяfℓу]

District 1:
Girl: Persei Baxwoll//Seventeen
Girl: Chelmet Baxwoll//Fourteen
Boy: Griffin Keene//Eighteen
Boy: Magnus Keene//Seventeen

District 2:
Girl: Auricula Allardyce//Fifteen
Girl: Volumnia Allardyce//Twelve
Boy: Floodplain Selkirk//Sixteen
Boy: Raymet Selkirk//Thirteen

District 3:
Girl: Essmet Barksage//Sixteen
Girl: Mespretra Barksage//Thirteen
Boy: Petralor Barksage//Eighteen
Boy: Jeramee Flyorchid//Fifteen

District 4:
Girl: Pamet Lockhearst//Sixteen
Girl: Cecelia Ivory//Twelve
Boy: Sextus Ivory//Seventeen
Boy: Basil Ivory//Sixteen

District 5:
Girl: Geranium Cresta//Sixteen
Girl: Prine Singrose//Seventeen
Boy: Twill Cresta//Fifteen
Boy: Phox Singrose//Eighteen

District 6:
Girl: Savera Naysmith//Seventeen
Girl: Katri Wellwood//Seventeen
Boy: Leporis Naysmith//Fourteen
Boy: Huck Whishart//Eighteen

District 7:
Girl: Hephaestia Goldenwood//Eighteen
Girl: Portia Goldenwood//Thirteen
Boy: Titus Goldenwood//Sixteen
Boy: Atlas Goldenwood//Sixteen

District 8:
Girl: Purnia Roxen//Fourteen
Girl: Gliese Roxen//Thirteen
Boy: Runyon Roxen//Eighteen
Boy: Thyme Roxen//Fifteen

District 9:
Girl: Bonnie Crabapple//Sixteen
Girl: Lizmet Tripsaturn//Fifteen
Boy: Jame Abalone//Seventeen
Boy: Choux Abalone//Sixteen

District 10:
Girl: Dorothea Fenugreek//Eighteen
Girl: Pliny Duncain//Eighteen
Boy: Cordo Fenugreek//Sixteen
Boy: Daveed Elphinstone//Seventeen

District 11:
Girl: Teena Yule//Twelve
Girl: Sofee Yule//Thirteen
Boy: Scooby Yule//Fourteen
Boy: Keeth Yule//Twelve

District 12:
Girl: Eta Odinshoot//Sixteen
Girl: Ashby Odinshoot//Fourteen
Boy: Perry Odinshoot//Seventeen
Boy: Wade Fairbain//Eighteen

The Tributes

These are all of the tributes, and as and when they die, they will be crossed out with how they died. Simple, no? Makes it easier on you readers.

[ωιитєяfℓу]

ѕανєяα

I've been up for hours before the sun rises, sitting on my favourite hill in the small area that we barely call a park. My brother's head lay in my lap, my fingers running through his dirty blonde hair, only a shade darker than my own. He stirs, cold, and my fingers grope for the blanket around my shoulders, taking it off and covering my brother with it. He has his own, though it is thin and worn, just like mine. It doesn't particularly matter whether I am cold, I have to look out for my baby brother, his well-being means more to me than my own. I look around the small park, merely a tiny field with small flowers dotted here and there, and allow myself to think of the day ahead.

Reaping day. A day full of fear and desperation, a day where the Capitol flex their cruel grip on the Districts. And this year the Hunger Games is worse, because it's a Quarter Quell. The twentieth, to be exact. My fingers still in my brother's hair, and I hear him groan and moan in his sleep, knowing exactly what he was dreaming because I have the same dream every night. It's not exactly a dream, it's a nightmare, a memory that will plague us for as long as we will live.
It is, of course, the memory of our parents dying. They had been sneaking out of the District, hunting, when they had been found, and dragged back to the Square in the middle of the District. The Peacekeepers, the ones in charge of looking out for trouble, gathered most of the District to see what was going to happen. It included myself and Leporis as young children, seven and four respectively. There was no warning of what was about to happen, and I remember myself seeing my parents on a small, hastily built, platform, arms tied behind their back, fear in their eyes. There was no hesitation in the steps of the Head Peacekeeper, sharpened sword to his side, white uniform gleaming. I feel like I don't need to explain what happened next, but the splash of blood reached my brother at the front of the crowd. I barely remember the words used by the Peacekeepers, but what I do is that they said my parents were traitors, that they were going against the law in every single way.

Things hadn't got much better after that. I had to do something to support my baby brother, and I managed to find a partner-in-crime with a guy my age, Huck. Literally, crime. I am shamed to admit that we stole from the rich of the District, but am glad to say that we were never caught. We, too, moved on to hunting, selling meat at the Black Market, using knives and whatever we found to hunt.

Now, almost ten years later, I am still single-handedly raising my brother, well, not quite single-handedly. Huck is my best friend, still, and with his aid I have not been picked up by the Peacekeepers. It's luck more than anything. But fear settles in my stomach, this Quarter Quell is not like any of the other fear-filled Hunger Games. This one has a twist worse than any of the other Quarter Quells. Usually in the Hunger Games, there are only twenty-four tributes who have to fight to the death. This time, they've doubled the amount of tributes to forty-eight, and twisted it so that families are chosen. This is my fear, that my little brother and I will be chucked into this world of death and despair, knowing that only one person will survive.

These thoughts plague me for another couple of hours, with me stroking my brother's hair the whole way through it. Feeling the air get warmer, I notice my brother's stopped snoring. "Savera, you must have been up for hours." His soft voice cuts through the miserable day, and I shrug, letting him move my hand and sit up. Even though he's the younger one, he's already taller than me and still growing. Calling him my baby brother is more of a joke nowadays compared to anything else. "I couldn't sleep." A lie, and he knows it. I am always terrified of falling asleep, terrified of the nightmares that visit me every night. It's always worse on Reaping day. Always. "We should go see Huck." I mutter, letting my long locks of blonde-brown hair cover my face, hiding my expression of sadness from him. He didn't answer me, helping me up from the grass with a grave look on his face, tucking the blankets that had covered him into the rucksack that held all of our possessions.

The walk to Huck's didn't take long, though we walked in silence through the dingy streets that was the down-town area of District 6. Slipping my hand into my brother's, I can only glance at him with my brown eyes into his matching pair before I look away, guilt racking my body. If I had worked harder at the factories, then we'd have our own place, and wouldn't have to live on the streets. "Don't, Savs, not today. Don't blame yourself." His voice is always a comfort, and today it was even more so. Pausing hesitatingly at the door to the Whishart family home, I rapped on the door, only for it to open immediately with the figure of Huck's tight lipped mother looking at me. She was even smaller than I was, with pitch black hair and a gaze that could kill. She doesn't bother to say good morning to us, just moves to the side slightly to let us in. She doesn't speak to us. It's simple. But because Huck likes me, she has to take care of us, she thinks of it as a duty. Motioning sharply to a tub of cold water, she moves away to the family table where a box lays. Ms.Whishart pauses much like I paused outside the door when she reaches the table before picking the box up and coming over to us. "Your mother would have wanted you to have these." Shocked that she was speaking to us, I didn't get a chance to say thank you before she had moved into Huck's bedroom to wake him up.

Inside the box is a delicate dress for me, and a pair of trousers and a nice shirt for Leporis. They look old, like a lot of our stuff, but nicer and fresher. We exchange a glance before we wash our faces, having washed properly the day before. Without a word my brother picks up the clothes meant for him and vanishes, leaving me to marvel at the white thing in front of me. I've never worn a dress. Never. It's a new thing for me, but it's at that moment that Ms.Whishart makes an appearance. I feel her expression soften at my bare back, and then she's beside me, aiding me into the dress. She vanishes into the other room again, returning with a pair of white sandals. I take them from her, touched that she would do this for me. Luckily we have the same shoe size, and I manage to surprise her with a hug. "Now, now dear. Let me do your hair." So much generosity moves me to tears, having someone act like a mum to me is something I hadn't felt for years. I expect her fingers to be hard, to pull my hair, though they are the opposite. They're incredibly soft, gently tugging my hair into an elaborate bun, patting my head softly when she finishes. I feel as if I was the daughter that she had lost, Huck's sister had died three years previously from pneumonia. It's then that both Huck and Leporis appear, both in similar outfits - trousers and shirts. The taller Huck's clothes fit him well whereas Leporis' are much too big, but both look smart.

Our two families, Ms.Whishart and Huck and myself and Leporis, sit down together for a small meal. It's almost two, time for the Reaping, but always after a meal. I pick at my bread and soup, not particularly hungry. I'm never hungry though, so no one takes any notice. It's too soon before we're being ushered out of the door, into the streets, now filled with silent people dressed in their best. I feel both of the boys moving each side of me, rather protectively, and I feel so much comfort from them. The crowd sweeps us along to the Square, the Square that my parents had died in. Tears threatening to choke me, I slip my left arm around my brother before we're ushered into the different pens. My gaze stays on him the whole time, throughout the Mayor's speech, and it is only before the girl's name is to be drawn that I tear my gaze from him to the front. I find myself with the few people that I actually know and like, hand clutching one of their hands.

The stupid Capitol woman is tottering around on three-inch heels, wearing a horrible green dress that does nothing for her. A matching hat sits on the woman's tightly curled black hair, wobbling every time she moves. I'm hoping with my whole heart that it isn't me, that it isn't me, that fate couldn't be so cruel to do it to me but it's too late to be hoping that it's not any of my close friends when the woman is announcing the name--

"Savera Naysmith!"

[Peppah<3]

WRITE MOAR THIS IS EPIC<33 You are an awesome writer, fair play' <3

[kitten;]

AS PEPS SAID, YOU ARE AM AMAZING WRITER! :D WRITE MOAR PWEASE 8D <33

[ωιитєяfℓу]

ραмєт

It wasn't me. That's all I can think of when I hear the first name. "Cecelia Ivory!" It's a relief, but I know that the girl's young, about twelve, with two older brothers that wouldn't let any harm come to her. I hear the group sigh as they do when someone like Cecelia's chosen. The odds were not in Cecelia's favour, or the Ivory's. There's no time to brace myself for the second picking of the name, all I have a chance to do is hold my breath.

Again, it's not me. It's another twelve year old, the Mayor's only child under the age of eighteen. I know the girl, Laurel Rankine, she has these deep blue eyes that shine innocence, and one of the only people who really thought about getting past my tough outer-exterior. Of course, our relationship's strange, but I know her just as well as I know me. The petite girl stumbles up to the stage, crying, as I watch on, knowing that if she goes into the Hunger Games that she doesn't have a chance, not like Cecelia, not like...

"I volunteer!" She isn't quite at the stage yet, and even I am shocked at my own daring. Yes, I am a Career, but I never thought to volunteer - in fact, I'm the only person in District 4 that doesn't want to make the District proud. But this little girl's already touched me in ways, and to watch her die in the arena just isn't the right way to repay her friendship.

The crowd, of course, is silent. I think I'm the only person who's been training for this that is female and has no siblings. But, strangely, I'm not scared. Just a numbness has taken over my body as I stride through the parting crowd. Hands pat me on the back for my daring, whispered goodbyes barely penetrate my cold exterior. I'm popular, I know that, but this is stupidity! How can they think that I'm brave?!

Barely conscious of where I'm going, I think of my grandmother, the last member of my family that cares for me. I don't cry, I grew out of that years ago, but I'm sure that I will later because my grandma saved me from my parents. I have no idea how this is going to help me repay her, and all I know is that if I survive this I will spoil her rotten.

I'm not even sure whether I will survive the Bloodbath! The numbness just...goes suddenly when I feel arms around my back - I'm at the steps - and the crying's louder from here and I know that it's Laurel that's hanging onto me. Faintly, I think that it's pretty funny that the Mayor's daughter is making a scene whilst everyone else is silent. "Laurel, you have to let go." I'm faintly surprised that I sound so calm when I speak to the girl, maybe it's the craziness of what's happening that's caused me to be like this. Then there's more noise, noise coming from so many different people it's unreal. There are people pushing towards me, people I barely know, tears streaming down their faces. "Savvy! Savvy!" Throughout it, there are only two voices I can hear - Laurel's, and the voice belonging to my crush. Before I can get overwhelmed with emotion, I detach Laurel from my back and make my way onto the stage, standing tall and proud.

Beside me on the stage I can see Mayor Rankine staring in disbelief at me, but I barely spare him a thought because I'm staring into space, numbness slipping over me once more. The bright orange haired escort smiles manically at me, and I think she might just have an attack of happiness. No one thought that this would be a bad year, but here we are. "We should probably do the right ceremony and..." The woman starts - though I'm barely sure she's a woman giving the baggy cargo trousers that she wears and the extravagant jacket - but she's interrupted by the grateful Mayor. "Who cares? Just get on with it." His voice sounds gruff, and I could have hugged him - he is actually trying to hide his emotions.

"Well, bravo! That's the spirit of the Games!" Definitely female. "What's your name? I bet that's your sister." My mouth refuses to speak for a moment, it's gone all dry, and my tongue feels fuzzy, and then suddenly I can speak and I know that I will sound cold as soon as I open my mouth. "Pamet Lockhearst. And no, she's not my sister, she's a close friend." The look on her face as I speak is priceless, and I'm sure to lock it away into some part of my brain, for when I'm able to function properly. It takes her a few moments to recover from my tone, and then she trills away, "Let's give a big round of applause to our newest tribute!" The words had previously been used for Cecelia, but I had barely taken notice. She must have had a calm, slow, clap, but I have people shouting abuse at the escort, I still don't know her name, and getting tasered. A hysterical laugh slipped from my throat, but I clamp down on it, wanting to be seen as a strong competitor that is a force to be reckoned with.

After a while, when things get calmed down, the two Ivory brothers make their way onto the stage. Their names hadn't been drawn out since Cecelia's had, but had been found in the register of who was there. They had checked earlier before they'd drawn Laurel Rankine, but now they had to double check. In no time at all I am shaking hands with the other tributes, two hard faced boys with messy brown hair and slightly tanned skin that match my own, the usual appearance of someone from District 6 (there are no differences between the rich and the poor, because the Ivory's are definitely the rich), and their curly red haired sister with the look of an angel. Us older ones nod to each other, knowing that we'll probably be allies, then turn to the audience for the anthem of Panem, before we are whisked inside the Justice Building.

As soon as we are inside, we're all separated - even the siblings. I can see Cecelia reaching out for her brothers when the Peacekeepers take her away from them, and them looking over their shoulders. It's as if the older boys will break away from their guards to be with their sister, but they don't, because I keep watching them. I can hear sobs throughout the building as I'm pushed into the room I'm going to see my family in, and they stay in my head, sure to plague me later. Once in the room, I'm unaccustomed to such splendor, and I'm conscious of the dirt underneath my long nails, and the mud that coats my legs underneath my skintight black trousers. I don't sit down, instead I take to pacing, and leaning against the wall beside the door that I had been brought in through. I don't take in the room, apart from the plush carpet, instead I let some tears through my tough exterior, but I brush them away as soon as the first one falls.

And then the door opens, and my dreaded mother and father come into the room. I barely acknowledge them, and when my mother pulls me in for a hug I fight free. She's done too much damage to me to even expect me to say hello. My dad tries next, but I'm ready, and I'm not there when he goes to hug me - I'm at the other side of the room, furniture in the way. "Honey." My mother's voice is crooning, the tone I had always fallen for when I was young. "Get out. Just get out." I stride past them from where I stand, banging on the door that had been our entrances as soon as I get there. The Peacekeepers open it, I'm not spending an hour with that poor excuse for parents. "Get them out." My voice is shaky as I speak to the Peacekeepers, a weakness I hate. They nod, and my parents are taken from the room.

I have literally no time to recover before a group of my school friends are in the room - a group of the toughest kids in the District, and who would, no doubt, have volunteered this year but hadn't due to the fact they loved their younger siblings. Most of them, to be honest, are male, but the few girls that are there are some of the most ruthless in Panem - and I love them all the same. Most of the them were there - Leonis, Hammil, Lartius, Beaufort, and Canwarn, and then the girls, Wren, Saffra and Tule. They were all bursting with advice, and knowing me better than anyone else, they knew what I could do to survive.
"You're handy with a trident-" One of them, Hammil I think, began speaking, but was interrupted by Saffra, "You've got to get a bow. You're the only one people count on to keep an eye out for beasts when we go fishing-" Again, she was interrupted by Beaufort, "Join the Careers-" The amount of information they were giving me was overloading, and I was struggling to take things in.
"Guys, one at a time!" Trying not to laugh, I motioned to Hammil to continue with what he was saying. "Get a trident. Not many people go for them, and if you can't get one get something similar." They knew that time was precious, and that we musn't have much time left. "A bow, you know that the District trusts you to keep the beasts away when we fish." That was Saffra, the best with a bow in the school we go to. Tears were pricking at her eyes, something I had never expected. Beaufort wasted no time in telling me what he thought - "Join the Careers, they usually have the best chance of survival. When there are eight of you left, leave during the night because they'll turn on each other quickly." Time was running out, and under half of my friends had spoken. Lartius told me in few words that he wanted me to get to the Cornucopia fast, and Canwarn was telling me to go to the basic skills stations. Things were getting hectic, Leonis was keeping an eye out for Peacekeepers, and gave us a signal to speed things up. "Survive. Please." That was all Tule managed to mention before the door was opened and the Peacekeepers came in. My friends barely managed to give me a hug each, the girls crying, and I just looked at Leonis over everyone's shoulder. He had been the only one who hadn't told me anything, and he was the only one I wanted to hear speak to me. I didn't even get a hug before they were all marched out, and the numbness that had protected me earlier from my feelings was gone, only my determination not to cry was what kept me going.

My next visitors were the biggest surprise I've ever got - the Mayor's family. Sure enough, Laurel was there crying, and then in my arms without me realising. I pressed my nose into the shorter girl's brown hair, struggling to keep my feelings under control. Compared to my last hectic meeting, this was a calm distraction. "Thank you for saving my daughter." It's a feminine voice, and I know that it's Mrs.Rankine. "She would have had no chance in there." I mutter, and I finally take a seat, Laurel curled up beside me with her parents standing awkwardly besides the door. For an hour I whisper reassurances to her, promising her that I would try to win, that I would think of her every day and bring back a little trinket. Inside I doubted whether I would survive the first day, I doubted my archery abilities, my trident wielding, and myself most of all. Of course, I didn't let any of this show in any way, I would never want any worry to enter the girl who was like a sister to me.

Eventually though, our time is up, and the Rankine family leave me watching after them, longing in my eyes for the safety and security the family has. Again, I am given little time to recover before my old grandma is in the room with me, and I feel incredibly guilty for doing this to her. Not after what happened to--I don't let the painful memories overcome me, instead I let my love for my grandmother overcome me. "Nana." A small sob escapes me as I fling myself into her aged arms, feeling vulnerable for the first time. "Mi nieta preciosa." My nana whispers to me in a language long forgotten by everyone but her, a language that is said to have come from over the seas. "Nana, I'm scared." I finally admit, after a long pause. "You would be loco not to be, my Pammy." Another sob escapes me, but I want to be strong, for her. "You have been training for this for years, my dear, you can do it. And I will be here waiting every moment of the way." She restores the numbness that had taken over before, things have only just started to sink in and it's the only way my body knows how to fight it. Suddenly I feel my grandma go weak in my arms, and worry pounds through me as she collapses to the floor. "Somebody help, please, somebody help my Nana!" I'm shouting for all I'm worth, silent tears starting to stream down my face as the door opens. One person looks in before disappearing, the door left open, and I'm left with the dearest member of my family.

I find myself on the floor some time later, watching medics looking after my grandma in the room of the Justice Building. Things happen, and I watch as one of the medics shakes their head and the people assembled just drift away. A few Peacekeepers take my Nana away, but not before I rush over, taking the necklace that she never takes -I mean took- off, and giving her a final kiss on her weathered cheek. "Adiós Nana, Te amo." I manage to whisper, knowing that I won't be allowed to go to her--I can't think it. I can't think about how she's gone. I have one last thing to say to her before they take her away from me, "Que descanse en los brazos del Señor amado."

Now I have nothing to come back for, and the numbness finally succeeds in pulling me into definite coldness.

Mi nieta preciosa = My precious granddaughter
Loco = crazy
Adiós Nana, Te amo = Bye Nana, I love you
Que descanse en los brazos del Señor amado = May you rest in the arms of the Lord you loved

Wow, this was so not the way I thought this chapter would go. Either way, I'm pleased with it. I hope you guys like it, it's taken me longer than I thought to get this up. Oh, and sorry for the translations, they're Spanish and from Google Translate.

[Peppah<3]

I love it! (:

[exorcism]

Write. More. Now. <3

[kitten;]

Holy frap, this amazing. This is just so beautiful; I was almost in tears D:
Such an interesting chain of events... I hope at least one of them comes out alive, eh?
And the Spanish looks good to me, even if it's from a translator xD
NOW UC. WRITE MORE WORDS.
:D <3

[ωιитєяfℓу]

Thanks guys, really means a lot to me for you guys to comment. <3 I'm working on it.

Oh, and it almost made me cry writing it. XD