The 33rd Hunger Games

Chapter One

"Shailene Lerrain" the voice calls. I stop. I scream.

      Nothing matters now that I've been reaped. I'm going to be in

      the hunger games. Panicked, I run in the aisle of the big

      building. A dark hole errupts beneath me and I fall into

      nothingness. A crazed voice calls out "May the odds be ever

      in your favor" Over and Over until I can't take it anymore.

   

       I sit up from my bed, breathing heavily trying to shake

      off the nightmare. I won't be reaped. No. No. I won't. I

      can't be. This is my third year and I'm still having

      nightmares. Shaking off the rest of my dream, I head down the

      wooden stairs of our house. All houses in district seven were

      built like log cabins. Our district had a strange economy. We

      weren't poor like the outline districts, but we definitely

      didn't have cell phones like districts one and two. I quickly

      eat breakfast, put on a tank top and shorts, and head towards

      the lake. I walk slowly, letting the fresh Pine scent fill my

      nose, and letting the needles crunch beneath my feet.

   

        When I get to the glistening lake, I quickly check for

      intruders and prepare to jump in the lake when a strong pair

      of arms pushes me into the lake. I was completely unprepared,

      and water fills my mouth and nose. I surface quickly,

      coughing out water and snorting my nose.

   

        "Ryle!" I yell. Even though I hadent opened my eyes

      yet, I knew it was my best friend, Ryle. We found the lake a

      while back and kept the lake to ourselfs. He jumps into the

      water with me and picks me up, bridal style.

   

        "I'm sorry," he starts in a mock sincerity

   

        "I didn't know you couldent swim!"

   

        "Shut up, Ryle." I say and look at him. He stares at

      me, and throws

      me into the water again. When I fall in the water, I swim

      under water agitated at him and grab his legs and pull him

      under the water.

   

      When I surface, he sputters out water and looks at me with a

      menacing glare.

   

      "I'm going to get..." He starts swimming towards me when a

      flurry of leaves picks up around us and a strong wind bores

      down on us. We quickly get out of the water and lean agenist

      a tree as a hovercraft goes by.

   

        "Already?" He whispers to me looking up at the metal

      machine.

   

        "We need to go back, let's go get some coffee." He

      says and we start walking out if the forest. Our district is

      the one of the only few districts that has a supply of coffee, due to our

      large amount of coffee bean trees. I find the coffee really

      good, but we can't afford it very often, because of the

      amount of power to make it. On the way back we find a pod of

      coffee beans and take it with us to the shop.

   

        "I'll have two medium coffees please" I say when I get

      there. The worker raises her eyebrow to see if I have a fair

      trade, and I give her the coffee beans and a small carved

      wooden figure from my mothers shop. She takes it, and hands

      me the coffee. I hand one to Ryle, and we sit on a branch of

      a tall tree sipping our coffee and talking for hours. I only

      then know how late it is when I notice the sun going down.

      When we head back home, I begin to panic. The reapings

      tommorow.The reapings tommorow. The reapings tommorow.

      Ryle takes me in his arms, and we stay there for a long time.

      After a while, he pulls back and says 

   

      "You'll be okay." Before walking back to his house. I sigh,

      go back to my room, strip my clothes off and don't bother to

      put a nightgown on. I just get under my silk sheets, and try

      to get to sleep.