The Hunger Games Begin

The Reaping

Grief has my heart occupied. I can't watch the Peacekeepers constructing their pathetic Justice Building anymore. I just want to have a little time on my own to process yesterday and today. Oblivious to the comments which crowd my ears as I push my way obnoxiously through the crowds back to my home, I simply feel hatred for the Capitol and it's Peacekeepers.

I slam the front door behind me and cry into my pillow heartily. By now, my mother and Tommy are wandering the house. I don't see Tommy enter the room but I feel his bony hand slip into mine. Guilt sinks into me- Ailee was always fond of Tommy and vice versa. He would be heartbroken to hear about her. Slowly, I open my mouth to tell him but before I can utter a single word, the sound of a megaphone as loud as a foghorn booming its way through the wall.
"ALL CHILDREN BETWEEN THE AGES OF TWELVE AND SEVENTEEN ARE TO EXIT THEIR HOMES AND MAKE THEIR WAY TO THE TOWN SQUARE IMMEDIATELY." the words are echoed a couple of times before I realise that I am fourteen, the instruction applied to me too. Mother has a line of worry engraved into her forehead as she enters my room. Tommy does not have to go, he is only seven. Hurriedly, I kiss the top of Tommy's hair and give my mother a squeeze around her stick-like waist.
"Take care, darling." Mother whispers in my ear as I stride to the door.

In the square, hundreds of children are squashed together, some frantically searching for siblings or their friends. Peacekeepers are posted at various points to keep them under control. To my left their is a queue where one Peacekeeper is directing all new arrivers. I follow suit. About half an hour passes before I am at the front of the queue. Staring at me with a stony gaze is a frowning woman, grey hair twisted into a tight bun.
"Name." She demands, expression never varying for even one second.
"Skye Marley." I reply.
"Move along. I said move along." Still no emotion registers in her voice. I hurry over to the other kids and look for Ailee's brother Emmet. He is slightly older than me and taller as well. He doesn't often notice me too much, but I don't think he dislikes me. His eyes are the same rich shade of green as the trees just outside the district boundary.
"What do you think this is all about then?" I ask, trying to make conversation.
"Your guess is as good as mine." He replies. He isn't looking at me as he speaks but at an extravagantly dressed woman talking with a tall stocky man in a suit. My conversation has fallen flat on its face, so I walk away. By now, all of the District 3 youths have assembled before six Peacekeepers, the woman in the silly dress and the stocky man.
"Hello children," begins the woman, her voice is perky and irritating, "you all know that yesterday, a war was won by the Capitol. You in the districts lost the war. But only twelve of them lost. District 13 as some of you may know, was completely destroyed. As punishment for your defiance, the Capitol have come up with a new system to remind you each year of the terrible war that plagued our peace for so long. "From each district, a boy and a girl will be sent to the Capitol as tributes. Tributes for what? You may be asking, tributes, for the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games will be held annually, games in which twenty-four tributes will fight each other to the death. But, to show you the Capitol's mercy, a lone Victor will survive and return to their district." Commotion erupted. Murmuring began. Panic was let loose.
"Calm please," the woman continues, "to decide who these tributes will be, a reaping day will be held each year, in this case today. You have all submitted your names. The result will be completely random.". Four Peacekeepers drag two enormous glass bowls in front of the woman, each of them filled with folded slips of paper. Our names! It struck me, whoever had their name pulled out was a tribute. I think of the little slip of paper swirling around in that bowl and of my mother and Tommy.
"Let's start with the ladies." the Capitol woman announces. A gloved hand is thrust into the bowl and gropes around for a second or two. "The female tribute of District 3 in the first annual Hunger Games.... Skye Marley!". I look around for the girl she called and see that everyone is looking at me. That was my name she picked... Someone gives me a small push and I find myself stumbling up to the front of the crowd. Now that I look closer, I can see little paper hearts adhered to her purple eyelashes.
"And now for the boys," the woman continues. Once again, in the other bowl this time, her lilac hand rummages around for a couple of seconds and pulls out another name, "Emmet Browning!". I see Emmet foraging his way to the front, his green eyes dismal.
"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Skye Marley and Emmet Browning representing District 3 in the first ever annual Hunger Games!" Exclaims the woman, bursting with excitement. Beyond the youths, I see the other residents of District 3, including my mother and Tommy and Mr and Mrs Browning. There are tears smattered across their faces and Tommy is wailing, pressing himself into mother as if it will hide him from the truth of reality. Quickly, we are ushered away, Peacekeepers at our shoulders.