Sunset on the Reaping

The Reaping: Haymitch's POV

The idea of a Capitol Hunger Games was sickening, even President Paylor thought so, but it wasn't in her hands now that the Districts wanted it. Katniss, Peeta, and I all sat around the table watching the Capitol reaping. It was nice to see Effie again, even if it was on screen. "Sawyer Reeds, Callum Baker, George Hart..." She read off each boy's name as she picked them out. All of them were decked out in colored hair, fancy clothes, and makeup. Some were even crying, no more wailing like a child. It wasn't long before Effie moved on to the girls. "Nya Raine, Patrice Freyer, Rylee Hayes..." They all cried, every single one of them, but it was more like silent tears. Effie was about to reach her hand in for the last name, but the bowl was pulled away and a new one was set on the table in its place. She looked over at someone with a confused look before shaking her head and putting her hand in to grab the last name.

"What are they doing?" Peeta asked, his voice full of worry.                                                                               

"I'm not sure, but I already don't like it." There was a twinge of worry in my stomach. I knew this version of the games wouldn't be normal, but something felt off about it. Effie picked out the card and walked back to the stage.

"The last female tribute is..." She paused for a moment and looked up into the cameras, her eyes searching for something. Her mouth fell open as she looked back down at the card to read it again.

"What's going on? Effie has never paused in the middle of live television," Katniss pointed out and she was right. Effie always kept her smile and continued no matter how much she hated the games.

"E...Eleanor Abernathy."  I dropped my glass of whiskey; it was like my entire body just stopped. It was just me and the television screen, no one else was there. I saw a girl who looked 17 or 18 step out from the crowd. She stood apart from everyone else, she had dirty blonde hair that was pulled back into a ponytail, all-natural makeup if she was wearing any, and her clothes were much simpler. There was a silence among the crowd before a few yells were heard in the distance. The tributes were escorted towards the building behind them. She looked back at the screen, no sign of fear in her eyes.

"Haymitch. Haymitch!"                                                                                                                                                                          

"What?" I was brought back down to Earth after letting what had just happened to sink in for a minute, I got up to leave. Katniss and Peeta didn't even have time to say anything, I was up the stairs grabbing my passport, visa, and anything else I'd need in the Capitol. I ran downstairs and left my house, leaving Katniss and Peeta to watch the rest without me.

The new 12 station wasn't too far away. The amount of construction in 12 is what made it harder to navigate there, but I'd finally made it. The reconstruction of 12 started last year after the rebels took over the Capitol, and a lot of progress had been made and now there is only a tiny section left to rebuild.

"I need to get to the Capitol as soon as possible." I put my visa and passport on the desk.

"The next train leaves in 30 minutes. It will take 2 days to get there."                                                                                                                                                                                               

"That's fine." She stamped my passport and I paid for the train ride. When I reached my station, the train was already there, so I was able to get right on. I took my seat in the first-class section, a plus victors get in 12.

        
Flashback:

I waited for Sarah to get home from the store, but she never came. It wasn't until I heard a knock on the door and opened it to see President Snow standing there. "We need to talk." Sarah and I had managed to stay under the radar from him by Sarah "dying" in the games. I let him in seeing as he is my future father-in-law, but I kept my guard up just in case.

"Is something wrong?" I asked through gritted teeth. He placed a small disk on the table which illuminated a hologram showing a large fire.

"So, after further investigation, we found out that you managed to use the forcefield to your advantage. Now you see, this is seen as an act of rebellion, and for that..." He gestured to the screen. "Your family dies."
My first emotion was shock, which soon led into sadness, which melted into fear. I didn't show any sign of weakness towards Snow, I wouldn't let him see me like that. "This is just a Capitol protocol, but here's where things get more personal." He switched screens to show a picture of Sarah and me talking by a shop. My heart stopped and I sucked in a deep breath. "You see, I don't like being lied to and this...well this, this is unacceptable. I will not kill you Haymitch Abernathy, but for your acts of treason you will not pay the price because Sarah already did."

Something came over me and rage filled every bone in my body. "WHAT DID YOU DO!?"                                                                                        

"If you are so desperate to know, you'll find her about 2 miles North...6 feet underground." And with that he left, leaving me standing in my dining room with rage and sadness fueling every cell in my body. He left his hologram disk on reminding me of all that I'd lost. I grabbed my coat and headed straight for the cemetery.

Here Lies
Sarah rose Snow
Jan 28, 2272- Dec 3, 2293
Daughter, Friend, Mother

I dropped to my knees at her grave. That night was the first of many drinks to help numb the pain.