kill for your love - the hunger games

(035) the sixty-eighth hunger games

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KILL FOR YOUR LOVE.

act three.

(chapter thirty-five, the sixty-eight hunger games)

the justice building, 68 ADD.

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SUNLIGHT WAS CREEPING IN through the boarded windows, dancing upon any surface its rays could find. They swirled around the makeshift room, waltzing to a mute ballad. They leaped and twirled until finally, they landed on the small face of Juniper Hale. 

The girl groaned slightly as she forced herself to sit up, running her fingers through her hair. She could hear people bustling at the front of the house and as she looked over at the two other beds, Juniper realised they were both empty. 

Swinging her legs over onto the floor, the Hale girl stood up and crossed the room, exiting through the door. Her joints ached, muscles tense and tightening as knots began to tangle through every fibre of her being. Juniper hissed slightly at this as she tried to stretch her back and arms whilst walking, but eventually gave up once she saw the two males standing near the door of the house. 

Justice and Orion Hale, two completely identical beings, were wearing their best clothes. Their dark hair were slicked back neatly, having simple white shirts on with black slacks. It was the same thing they wore every year. Every Reaping. 

The Reaping. 

The Hale girl felt her mouth become dry as she became acutely aware of every sensory in her body. She could feel the blood rushing through her ears, head pounding as her heart began to move from her chest to her throat. The Reaping. The Reaping was today. How could she have forgotten? She and Justice spoke about it just yesterday, but she had forgotten all about it. 

"June..." Orion Hale turned around to stare at his thirteen-year-old daughter. Fear was set in his eyes, something every parent in District Ten experienced. It may only be his children's second Reaping, but there was still a chance. There was always a chance. "You're awake."

"Oh, finally." Justice rolled his eyes with a smirk. "Thought you were dead."

"Justice," their father snapped warningly. 

Death was always a sensitive topic within the families of District Ten. Every citizen had encountered the wrath of the Hunger Games and everyone had lost someone in the arena. Whether it was friends, family, or even neighbours, every year, two people that they knew would die. And that was because District Ten tributes always died together. That was the saying. 

For the Sixty-Seventh Games, last Reaping, it was a twelve-year-old and a thirteen-year-old, two children that Juniper and Justice knew rather well. They died together on the first day, slaughtered by the Careers'. And for the Sixty-Sixth, it was the same. And then the Sixty-Fifth. All the way until the Sixty-First. 

Until Lucy Stevens. 

Lucy Stevens was a strange figure. A soft soul. She was naturally beautiful with her flowing red hair, with how freckles gently littered her face. And Juniper admired the woman somewhat. She had won seven-years-ago and yet, she still hadn't turned to alcohol or morphling to help her pain. She was distant as if she was in another world, but yet sane. But it wasn't like anyone ever saw Lucy Stevens. After she won the Sixty-First, she resorted to hiding in Victors' Village after her mentor died and she was forced to train tributes by herself. The people of Ten only ever saw her when it was that time of the year.