Embers- (A Hunger Games Prequel)

Chapter 2

"Ember! Em!" Juniper called from behind me, "Wait for me!"

I stop jogging and span on my heel, my face lit up, "Juni! How are you?" She jogged awkwardly towards me, her spindly elbows jutting out and her short, dark hair in her face.

"I'm alright I guess," she didn't look alright, "I mean, there's been a lot of tension in the house recently, the reaping's coming up and Fauna's twelve now..."

"Oh," was all I could say.

"Oh," she echoed sadly. We both stood there in deep thought for a few seconds before I broke the silence.

"We'd better get to work then."

I don't need to work, as my Dad has more than enough money to look after us. However, every family has to either pay a certain amount of money, or give a certain amount of wood to the Capitol depending on the size of the family. We could give money to Juniper's family, we do a bit, but I like to help out. It gets me out and away from my father, and keeps me in shape for the inevitable Games. Plus I get to spend time with Juni. She is the kindest, most honest soul I have ever met.

Juni has big brown eyes, amazingly common here in District 7, and the equally common tanned skin, but, unlike most people in the lumber district, she has no muscles.

It's not like we have loads of food to go around in the district, but I keep her well fed and most people have to have enough in order to produce enough wood, so we get by. But physical labour from the days that you learn to walk means that people grow up to be quite athletic.

So I give her a hand. The Capitol don't bother to structure how we work, except that we cannot, I repeat, cannot take tools out of the space current working area, there are peacekeepers around the barriers to The Knot, where most people live who check everyone all of the time.

I'm pretty sure that the only reason Dad and I get away with my training equipment is because the Capitol want me to put up a good fight for the Games. They keep a close eye on us though. They think I don't know about the recording bugs and camera flies that happen to watch us as we train.

"Snap snap Ember!" Juniper chuckled, "these saplings won't plant themselves!"

We worked until the sun went down, rarely breaking the silence, both of our thought buzzing with worries, it was only a week until the reaping.

"You'll still help my family if I go won't you?"  Whispered Juniper as we strolled home, the new forest plot that we had been planting was miles away from any houses and the journey took at least an hour when we walked quickly.

"You know I will." I took her tiny hand, "Even if...even when I'm reaped, Dad promised to support you, from a distance though, don't get too pally with him, you know why... you might have to remind him though, sometimes he's too caught up in the past. Anyway, I'm seventeen now, Juni, the Capitol have probably waited long enough, I'll be reaped, this year, if not next, you and Fauna are safe."

"How can you say that?" Juniper whined softly.

"Juniper, I've accepted my fate, I've had no choice but too since the day I was born. You need to too."

"Ember..."

"In the words of my father, I'm 'a walking corpse'." I sighed, I was going to force a chuckle but Juniper threw her arms around me.

"It's not fair!" She screamed.

"If you could hear yourself now, you'd never believe you were sixteen. Hey, hey, Juni, don't cry!"

Out of nowhere, a wild dog leapt onto my friend, teeth snapping, suddenly, my shovel head knocked it to the ground, I continued to smash it until it lay still. I'd killed it.

"You killed it." Juniper stated.

"Like I'm going to kill tributes." I whispered to myself.

"You're going to have to." Juniper must have heard me. "Ouch!"

I wanted t off again then, like I do when situations get too difficult, but skin was hanging off Juniper's shoulder and her top had been sliced down the back, there was another deep claw-cut down her back.

"We'll have to get you to Ma'am Oarka, your shoulder could easily infect. Do you think you can walk back?"

"Ye-shh," Juniper cringed from the pain and blinked away some tears. Before sobbing, "I thought the Beats patrolled the whole area!"

"It shouldn't have been here, I know, it must've slipped through."

Although the Capitol intended for us to work just in our families, that didn't really work, so we set up a system, a dozen men are paid a log or two by every family and a few more form those who can afford it to ensure that there are no wild animals to disturb our work or harm, even kill anyone. There are other jobs as well, that you just pay for when you need: Ma'am Oarka, she's getting quite old and is knowledgeable in healing, so, if anyone comes to harm or falls ill, we slip her some money or logs. Obviously we need food and clothes, quite a community of other jobs have evolved in our District in the 68 years that it's been like this.

Ma'am Oarka sometimes tells stories of how her parents grew up through the rebellion.