A Call For Heroes (Pjo x Hunger Games

3

Katniss

Her sister was one out of the thousands of names in the reaping bowl, and she still had to be picked. What kind of rotten luck was that? Katniss couldn't allow her sister to enter the Hunger Games. She had tried to protect Prim from everything, she had to volunteer herself to take Prim's place.

But after that, she realised that her district partner was Peeta Mellark, the boy who had saved her family once after her father's death. The boy who had given her bread, and took a beating from his mother to save them from starvation. And she had to repay his act of kindness by killing him in the arena.

But there wasn't much of a choice, was there? Only one out of the twenty four tributes would make it out alive. That was the rule of the game after all. Katniss had to win. She had to win for her family. For her sister and for her mother. She was half in another world after her father had passed away in a mining accident. Now, Katniss was the sole breadwinner for her family. She needed to be there for her sister.

Gale had promised Katniss that he would look after them until she came back. Katniss would come back. She had to. Even if that meant killing people. That was what the game makers wanted anyway. She would only make them happier.

In the capitol train, Katniss and Peeta sat together on the crouch, watching the recap of the reaping. Haymitch had told them that studying the actions of the other tributes would be useful in deciding of they posed a danger to her.

She took note of those tributes that stood out from the rest.

The female tribute of District One, Glimmer, was well sleek and pretty, like she wanted some fame. She volunteered herself, walking up to the stage boldly, replacing another girl. At first the girl didn't want to step down, but under the rules of the reaping, the volunteer overrides the chosen tribute, and she was forced to step down. Glimmer waved proudly at the crowd, with a determined expression.

The District two tributes looked like a dangerous pair. Cato and Clove. Cato was well built and muscular, like he could crush anything in his way. Clove was small, but she had a look of confidence and skill. Both of them had volunteered themselves. They looked like they had been waiting for this moment for all their lives. Katniss made a mental note to look out for them.

District five was interesting. Usually, only the Career tributes of District One, Two and Four would volunteer themselves for the Games. But this time, a teen of her age, called Percy Jackson, volunteered to replace a young boy. But they didn't look related. The only reason she could think of, as to why he would volunteer, was that he probably wanted some glory, or fame. Other than her case, no one ever volunteered for their siblings, yet alone for someone they didn't even know.

The camera zoomed in on Percy. Percy had windswept black hair and sea green eyes. That was rather an unusual colour for someone in that district. He was a tall and muscular, like he too had prepared for these games. But as he stepped up on stage, his expression was unreadable, like there were many things going through his mind. And maybe, a tinge of sadness?

Katniss didn't read into his expression that much. She watch the girl tribute of District Five as she shook hands with Percy. She had a cunning look on her face. She looked clever, like she was plotting the death of her partner as they clasped each other's hands. Katniss had not managed to catch her name. But from her cunning look, she decided to nickname her Foxface. She was going to have to keep an eye on them.

The reaping for the Districts ticked by. None of the others stood out. Only the District eleven reaping caught her attention. The girl tribute was a little girl no older than twelve. She looked frightened as she trotted up the stage. Katniss was outraged. How could it be so unfair? That girl was too young. She would die in the arena! No one volunteered to take her place. They just watched her sadly as she made her way onstage.

Katniss saw herself in the replay of the reaping. She saw herself volunteering to take her sister's place. She saw as everyone in her district raised their hand and gave her a three fingered salute. Then, the anthem blared out, and the screen turned off.

"Well, we got to look out for Districts One, Two, Four, and the girl from five." Peeta concluded.

"And the boy from five." Katniss added.

"But he was just probably volunteering for the young kid." Peeta said.

"I don't care! He looks dangerous. I am going to keep an eye on him." Katniss snapped.

"Okay. But I doubt he is that dangerous." Peeta said slowly.

"He is! He looked like he'd trained for it." She argued.

"Okay! Okay! Whatever." Peeta said, raising his arms in surrender.

Katniss fumed. Maybe she could ask Haymitch for some help on what she should do next. After all, Haymitch was their mentor, he had to help them. Other than the fact that he was always drunk.

As if on cue, Haymitch stumbled into the carriage, alcohol in one hand.

"Hey! Nice to see you." He said, swaying from the movement of the train.

Katniss just watched in disgust. He should be helping them! Not drinking.

"Why don't you tell us how to get out of this alive, instead of drinking?" She shouted.

"Why don't you think about how to get help from someone other than shouting?" He said, imitating Katniss's voice.

Katniss's anger got the better of her. "Maybe if you helped, District twelve might not lose all the time!" She yelled.

"So I actually got a fighter this time." Haymitch chuckled to himself, plopping down on the armchair across them.

"Tell us the best way to win." Katniss said.

"I suggest making allies." Haymitch said simply.

"With who?" Peeta asked, "How do we know who to trust?"

"You will have three days for training with the other tributes. There, you will get to know them. Talk to them, get to know them, and then, ask for an alliance. Simple." Haymitch shrugged.

"Any more advice?" Peeta asked.

"Don't hurry. One step at a time." Haymitch said. "Now if you will excuse me, I am going to have a nice drink."

And with that, he left.

Peeta looked at Katniss, their eyes met, and they had a silent understanding. They were going to be allies. At least at the start of the games. They eventually had to break up. She knew that she did not want to end up having to kill Peeta.

The train pulled into the underground station in the Capitol. Katniss caught glimpse of the people there. All of them were overdressed. The same way how Effie Trinket wore her clothes. They all had huge wigs on their heads, and a thick layer of makeup, as though this kind of thing was the fashion statement in the Capitol. Then, we were hurried out to the remake centre to get ready for the opening ceremony.

And that's it for this chap! Please Please Please review? You can ask me questions too, I will reply them. I won't bite, promise :)