GLORY AND GORE ━━ F. ODAIR

01.

CHAPTER ONE the reaping
"we are led on by our eagerness for praise."

   I used to think that people still had humanity, that there were good people in this world. But as time went on, the idea of humanity being perfect slowly slipped away from my mind and was replaced by what it truly was - cruel. Each year, two tributes from each of the districts were chosen to compete in a gruesome fight to the death for the entertainment of the Capital and as a punishment. A punishment for rebelling against their rules, and each year they told us the exact same line - may the odds be ever in your favour. But they never really were, not for anyone.

   The capital took innocent, young teenagers and morphed them into empty shells of who they used to be, killers, staining their hands with the blood of their own race. And no amount of riches or luxuries provided by President Snow himself could fill the holes in each unfortunate victor's hearts that the games had created.

   Today was that day, the day all of district 9 would gather in the courtyard among the grain fields, waiting in a agony as two unfortunate names were announced. Our family were no strangers to the horrors of having your own relative sent to the capital to compete in the bloodsport they called the games. And no matter how hard I tried to forget the memory of Jacob, my own brother being impaled by a trident, I never could. The way his body slowly slumped to the floor, the puddle of blood surrounding his motionless body - it was imprinted in my mind. Every bit of it.

   And ever since that day, my older brother Adon had trained me as best as he could, in every area he knew - just in case, he told me. Him and my Mother were the only family I had left alive, although my Mother had gone off the rails a little while back, I still loved her. She'd leave for days on end with no explanation, leaving Adon and I all alone - but we had grown accustomed to it. Mom would leave, we would train, Mom came back, we'd stop. She couldn't bear to even look any sort of weapon.

   I clipped the necklace together behind my neck, adjusting it in the mirror to make sure it was even. The reaping would begin soon, leaving Adon and I to drown in our own thoughts as we waited for tributes to be chosen.

    "You look beautiful," A voice surprised me from the doorway, Adon stood there in his usual reaping attire - an off white shirt and a pair of slacks, a warm smile on his face.

   I gave him an uneasy smile back, it baffled me how calm he could be when in a matter of hours he could be riding off to the capital in a fancy train ready to meet his demise. He must've noticed my smile, because he had walked over and stood behind me, placing his hands on my shoulders. Something that always calmed me down, the feeling of security.

   We stared into each other's eyes through the dirty mirror, silently telling each other that things would be alright, that'd we'd would be ok.

   "Chances are neither of us will be chosen, we'll be completely okay, alright? He sent a reassuring smile my way as he lightly squeezed my shoulders.

    "You don't know that." I said, "What on earth would I do if your name was called out?" Adon's hands dropped down from my shoulders.

   "You just need to have hope."  He reasoned.

   "Hope is a dangerous thing to have in this world." I said softly, a small chuckle escaping my lips. Adon didn't respond, he knew that I was right - in this world hope can get you killed, and it wasn't pretty.