Unforgivable Odds

Chapter One

I could not stop thinking about the Reaping. I'd been awake for hours and only now could see a little light over the horizon. I'd been like this every year since I'd become eligible. When I was six, my older sister Aria had been selected for the 62nd Hunger Games. I'd been distraught and begged her not to go. She was one of the last five tributes. She died in an ambush. I watched her get a sword through her chest on live television. I could not help but be nervous about how this year would go.

Finally, I couldn't just sit in my bed anymore. I crept out of my room, carefully inching down the hallway of my home. I slipped out the door and walked down to my family's barn. I walked over to my horse's stall. My horse was named Ghost and as her name inferred, she was a bright white and had two black circles around her eyes. Ghost was already awake and seemed excited I was there. I smiled weakly, grabbing an apple. I pet her muzzle as she ate the apple out of my hand. By then, she seemed energetic. I led her out of her stall and put a saddle on her. I took her out of the barn and climbed onto the saddle. Ghost started trotting down the property.

Whenever I wanted to be alone or be peaceful, I'd ride down to the creek on the edge of my family's property. There were a few trees and there was a small pool deep enough to swim in. It only took around fifteen minutes to get down to. When I arrived, I tied Ghost to a tree. I took off my clothes and slowly waded into the water. It was cold, but it was like that all year round. Soon, the water was up to my neck. Before I knew it, my feet couldn't touch the bottom. I was tall, standing at 6'2. I relaxed and started floating on my back. I looked up at the sky.

The sunrise had started and they sky had mixed in shades of yellow, orange and pink. Sunrises were always pretty to watch. I swam a little bit more before getting up onto the bank of the creek. No one was ever down there, so I could sit without my clothes and not be seen. I picked up a stone from the sand and chucked it onto the water, it skipping a few feet before sinking. I got distracted with skipping stones that I didn't hear footsteps approaching me.

"Luca, we thought you'd be here!" A familiar voice exclaimed.

I jumped in surprise and tumbled into the water. I popped my head out of the water to see my two best friends Russel and Helena. The two were fraternal twins, obviously. You could easily tell the two were related, as they both had the same chestnut brown hair and bright green eyes. A difference was that Helena had freckles, but Russel didn't. They were all had a pretty big difference in size. Helena was only 5'7 and Russel was two inches taller than me at 6'4. We always playfully teased her about how short she was, compared to us.

Russel and Helena laughed as I stood in the water. I rolled my eyes. "Why're you guys here?" I asked. They stopped laughing and looked at me with an 'are you actually serious?'. I pieced it together in my mind just before Helena explained. "Today's the Reaping, Luca. We're here to pick you up, numb skull." She stated. I nodded and realized I still had to get dressed for the Reaping. I shooed off the twins and put my pajamas back on before riding back up to the house.

When I arrived, the rest of my family was eating breakfast. I had a decent sized family with four brothers and two sister, not including Aria. My two brothers Aaron and Daniel, along with my sister Amelia, were eligible for the Reaping. Aaron and Daniel were thirteen and fourteen, Amelia was twelve and this was her first year. My mom saw me walk inside and rushed over. She slapped the back of my head. "Luca, you're going to be late if you don't get yourself together." She exclaimed. I nodded and rushed into my room to put on my nice shirt and pants. My mom loved me, she just made sure that there was no reason for my siblings or I to get hurt.

I dressed quickly and rushed to the kitchen were the rest of my family was sitting. My mom handed me a bowl of porridge and I ate it quickly. I'd gotten lots of tesserae this year, meaning my name was in the bowl a lot. I was just glad I could feed my family. My family finished breakfast and joined my friends outside, starting our walk into town. The town was only about a mile from my family's property, so it wasn't a terrible walk.

I caught up with Russel and Helena, where we started talking.

"Are you nervous?" Helena asked, knowing the answer.

"Am I ever not?" I replied. "After what happened to Aria, I don't think I can be calm."

"That's understandable. I don't know what I'd do if I lost Russel, or my little sister, or you."

"Well, I'm glad you care."

"When have I not cared? We've been friends since we started school."

We talked and teased each other the rest of the walk. Helena was right, I don't know what I'd do if one of them or my siblings got drawn for the games. I don't think I could handle it. Helena and Russel were like family. I would never want to loose them. I couldn't not even imagine if Amelia got drawn. She had just turned twelve the week before, she was far too young to be put in that sort of horrible situation.

Before we knew it, we were in town. People were flooding the streets walking to the Reaping. Eventually, my family separated from Aaron, Daniel, Amelia, Russel, Helena and I. Amelia held my hand tightly as we walked into the square. We walked up and got our blood drawn, Amelia was hesitant and almost cried. I assured her she was okay. Eventually, we had to separate into age groups. Russel and I joined the other sixteen year old boys and waited for the drawing.

Within a few minutes, the tribute's escort stepped onto the stage. She gave a large fake smile before grabbing the microphone. She gave her usual introduction and played President Snow's video on how the Hunger Games came to be. I spotted the mentors on one side of the stage. Their names were Dakota Heltlan and Fauna Till. Dakota had won the 67th Hunger Games, so was pretty young. Fauna was older and won decades before I was born. I trusted that both were good.

Finally the video ended, the escort fawning about the video. Finally, she turned to the audience. "Happy Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in your favor." She recited. With that, she walked over to girls' glass ball. She reached her hand in and rustled her hands through the papers. She grabbed one and brought it back to her microphone.

"Your female tribute from district 10 is... Diana Ivory!" She exclaimed.

The crowd was silent before a fourteen year old girl walked from her section and towards the stage. She looked terrified. The escort smiled and walked over to the boys' glass ball. She repeated the same process, deliberating on which little paper to choose. She then snatched a paper and went to the microphone. She unfolded the paper, giving a look of interest after seeing the name.

"Your male tribute from district 10 is... Luca Benerha!"