No Time to Die (A DSMP Hunger Games AU)

Tears

Once the food has been carried away and Karina made a show of wiping her hands on the table cloth, the two tributes were led into yet another room; this one however seemed not to have the lavish decorations of all the others, and instead seemed quite plain in comparison.

"What do we do here?" George asked, looking around before spotting the screen in front of them.

"This is where you watch the other Reapings, get a first look at ya competition." Minx stated, taking one of the seats that were placed in front of the screen, the two tributes begrudgingly following her

It was something that was televised each year. You can watch them staggered through the day live as they happen, but only the Capitol really has the stamina to do that. That's why at the end they do the mandatory compilation of them, each video cut and spliced to show the horror on family members faces and streaking tears of new tributes.

Most of people in District just turn on their projectors and pretend to watch, or at least that's what George's family does.

The male took a sigh as the video began, knowing what would come next. It would start with District 12, and work it's way one by one up to District 1, tribute by tribute, cry by cry, applaud by applaud.

They were all silent as it started. Minx had the sensibility not to open her mouth as George's eyes fixated on little Leah in the crowd, knowing what would happen next.

They showed him falling, George, god knows he barely even remembered it happening himself, practically collapsing into Sapnap's arms as his sister was dragged away.

The commentators seemed to love it.

They loved George volunteering even more. Looking back at it he realised how desperate he sounded, like he felt like no one was going to hear him, that no matter how hard he screamed they would still take his sister away from him.

They tried to cut out the silence entirely, District Twelves lack of applause was talked over, music in the background as they focused on Minx walking back to the bowl.

It amused George really, because you never really notice it till it's right in front of you. If the Capitol doesn't want you to know something, you won't. You won't know that District Twelve refused to clap, and you'll never know why either. Not when you sit behind a screen, watching what they want you to see and not seeing what they don't.

The rest of the District Twelve Reaping was confusing for George to watch, mainly because he seemed to remember none of it. He didn't remember Karina fighting back against the Peace Keepers or how she was practically kicking and screaming as they pulled her onto the stage.

He remembered silence.

All he had remembered was the silence, the muttering behind him and the tears that fell from her cheeks, the numbness that had encased his body as he stood ridged and unmoving.

He'd somehow missed the screams.

He'd missed it all.

"Well see, you too are absolute naturals on the screen." Minx declared, smiling slightly between the two and the screen as it moved onto the next district. He couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or not.

There were a few people from the rest of the Districts that caught George's attention as the program played on: District 11 had two Thirteen year old boys, a blond and a brunette, they were tall for their age but even that can't hide how young they are, how flawed the system is. No siblings stepped up for them. There was a mute from District 9, an odd boy with split coloured hair and another with a flower crown from District 5 along with what seemed to be two lovers from District 4, Wilbur and Sally their names were. It was poetic really that they would die together, or at least that was how the commentators decided to put it. And the rest of the District's tributes just seemed like normal people, faces of shock as a first name was called and cries of pain at the second.