Into the Woods- A Tale of the Hunger Games Story

Chapter 2-The reaping....

The reaping...

"Colton!!!!! Move over," I groan.

"You move over, you're bigger," he says back and tries to push me over.

I sit up, annoyed, and see Ethan's laughing, "it's my bed! Pine, get out!" I snap in a harsh whisper.

Our mother isn't the nicest woman in the world, and less so when you wake her up early. The door opens, and We hold our breath, but it's just Samantha, our sister. She's the third oldest of the family and looks more like our mother with piercing blue eyes.

I'm the oldest of 6 kids, which is a big family for our District, and it's clear when you see how we all sleep, Ethan and I share a room, Peter who's 15 is supposed to share with Colton, but he usually ends up with Ethan or I because we are "nicer". Sam shares with Molly, who's 8 and is the last in a long line of surprise children starting with Ethan and I being twins. Ethan, Peter, and I look alike; we look like our father, Oakland, who went off to the woods one day and just never returned. Sam, Colton, and Molly look like our mother. Personality-wise, I am told I'm like our father; he use to laugh and smile all the time and was easy to talk to. I think that's probably why she hates me so much. Sam sits down on Ethan's bed, and he sits up to give her room.

"Mom probably knows you two snuck out last night; just be prepared," she says, and we don't make eye contact.

"Wonderful, as if today wasn't annoying enough, did she say anything?" I ask.

She shakes her head, "no, but I know Davis checked on you cause he looked in my room first and then yours," and she trails off.

Davis is our Mom's current asshole boyfriend, another in a long series of men that have lived with us since our Dad disappeared.

I look at Ethan and smile, "don't worry, everything is my fault anyway, and this time it's actually true."

He looks at Sam and then to Colton, he has seen Davis get violent, but thankfully it's usually me who gets it. Sometimes Ethan and Peter, he rarely hits Samantha, but Colton is getting older; we know it's coming. Our mother is too afraid to do anything to protect us, so I take the hits to save them all.

We sit in silence and just think about life until Molly walks in, followed by Peter. The one plus of being in a big poor family is when the 6 of us get to just be together as siblings. It's early, and I'm slightly hungover, but not too bad; we talk to them about the party and tell jokes quietly, we make fun of Ethan's crush on Mary. Colton is quiet for most of it until he finds a lull in the conversation.

"what's going to happen today?" He asks us, and they all look at me, the joys of being the oldest.

"We will get cleaned up and walk into town, then the five of us will go and check-in. They prick your finger, and scan your blood and make sure you're not a monkey-like Spruce," and I reach over and poke Peter in the stomach. Colton laughs, and I kept going, "then we line up by age, Ethan and I go with the 18-year-old boys, Sam with the 17-year-old girls, Peter with the 15 years and you'll be in the back with the other 12-year-olds." He nods, and I continue, "you've been there before it's, all the same, we listen to speeches they call the girl. Then the boy. And THEN Mom and Davis will buy us each a piece of candy, and we walk home, and we are all going to be ok."

He still doesn't look convinced, but Ethan is the one that speaks up, "you're only in there 7 times, Colton, nothing to worry about, Oliver and I are in 49 times. Believe me, you're safe."