The Reapings

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The District 12 escort, Quindarious Fitch, steps up on stage and smiles with blindingly white teeth. He starts speaking in a robotic-sounding voice, "Welcome everyone to the Reapings! Today one young man and woman will be chosen to participate in the 30th Annual Hunger Games!" He steps up to the big bowls containing the names of every child in the district, from 12 to 18. His hands hover above the bowls for a second, as if deciding something. "Now then, Ladies first!" he says, and reaches into the bowl filled with girls names...

Subject: Re: The Reapings Sun Oct 14, 2012 6:13 am

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---District 12---Female---17---

Lorence had made her way silently to the crowded town square. Her mother and father had followed her up to the point where they could and placed themselves in the back where the families with children eligible for the Reapings normally stood. Lori checked in and moved towards the front of the crowds. Lori was seventeen now and so she was right up in the front waiting for slaughter. She would have looked around to see some of the other people that she knew from the district, but it was better that way. It was better to just look forward and wait for the names to be read, better than to try and give false hope and reassurance to the few people she did know. The familiar face of the mentor that District 12 had had for what seemed like forever and the mayor both sat in their chairs as the escort now stood at the microphone. His voice blared out, "Now then, Ladies first!" as he reached into the bowl to retrieve the first slip of paper that contained the fate of one girl in District 12. Lori's chances of being picked were quite high, just like most people her age in the Seam her name was in there a whopping 36 times. Will I end up like Gunnar? Killed publicly the first night for the whole of Panem to see me? Well if it happens....it happens.

Lori stood there as the slip was pulled out of the dusty bowl and opened. An almost sadistic smile crept across the face of the almost robotic escort as he read the name aloud. "Lorence Sullivan!" Even the way he read it seemed off, wrong in so many ways. As the name was read Lori could hear the scream come from the crowd and it stopped her in her tracks. It was the same scream she heard after that first few minutes of the 25th annual Hunger Games, the same one her mother let out as her brother was cut down right in front of them. Any confidence Lori had at that moment drained away as her mother screamed as if she was dead already. But she couldn't look back, she couldn't show weakness because everything now was up for display. Lori had a role to play and that was the role of someone who was not afraid, and responding with any sort of emotions put a target on her back. She moved to the stage, knowing full well as she put into the center of the stage that no one would be volunteering for her. It just wasn't something that happened often in their dusty little district.

Now it was time to move onto the next name to be drawn, the determine the male that would be representing District 12 in the upcoming Hunger Games and who would ultimately be her district partner. Lori could only stand there, her mind in a daze as the name was drawn and read in the same robotic voice as her name was read. "Nicanor Radke!" The name was read and she looked to the crowd to see as the crowd around him moved and he made his way to the stage. Anyone but him, not the one who looks like Gunnar. But it made no difference now, no one would take his place just like no one would ever take her place. Unfortunately for her this made things a little more difficult but she was determined to win now even more. She held her hand out to shake the boy who looked so much like her brother's hand like she was instructed to and was then swiftly pushed into the worn down building that was to be her holding cell until she would be swept off to the Capitol to face her sentence. A life of fighting, running and surviving; no matter what it took to get that.

Subject: Re: The Reapings Sun Oct 14, 2012 7:02 am

Nicanor made his way slowly to the town square that the Justice Building was located. His dad stayed at home because he could not bear to watch the reaping and possibly see the only family that he had left pushed into the arena to his almost certain death. He went and stood in the line that was being formed for the kids to go and check in. He ran his fingers through his hair, making sure that it was still in the same perfect do that he had done up back at his house. If he was going to get reaped, he was going to look good doing it. After a few minutes of standing in the line he finally got to the front where he got a quick prick in the finger to draw his blood and confirm his identity. It did not really bother him getting the little prick in the finger, he had already gone through it four times before and has accustomed to it.

After he checked in, he took his spot among all of the other 16 year old kids. It seemed like only yesterday that he stood in the back of the crowd as a 12 year old kid and being frightened to death about going into the arena. But many years of thinking about his unusual situation has brought him to the conclusion that if he was reaped that it would probably be for the best. It would be better for kids who have a chance of living till they die of old age than for him, who will never live to be nearly as old as the rest since his heart was not working as good as it should for a kid is age. He was looking around the crowd, examining all of the faces of the children that could possibly be meeting there death in a short couple weeks, not paying attention to the first portion of the reaping since the girls always went first. That is when he heard Lorence Sullivan's name being called for the girls.

He nearly started to choke on some saliva that had accumulated inside of his mouth. He never expected that he would actually know one of the tributes entering the arena and he felt sorry for her. He knew from a previous encounter with her that her brother had been killed in a games not to long ago. It seemed unfair for that poor family that might have to watch another member die in the games at the hands of the capitol. He was starting to emotional just thinking about it. But he did not show it as she made her way up to the stage to take her spot as a tribute in the 30th hunger games. "Now for the boys", Quindarious Fitch said in his usual tone. He pulled out the small piece of paper and read it to the crowd, "Nicanor Radke."

His heart literally skipped a beat as his legs seemed to turn to rubber and he used all of my energy to just try and stand up. The other kids that were surrounding him started to step away from him, leaving an open path for him to walk between the stage and where he was standing. He made my slow walk up to the stage, the only thing Nicanor was thinking about was what my dad would be doing right now and whether he would come to say goodbye or if it would be to painful for him to do so. He would understand if he would not show up, it would be hard for him to lose everything he had to the capitol. He reached the stage and made my way onto it while looking at Lori who seemed to be a rock emotionally. He too was not showing very much emotion, but it was because he was more stunned than anything. He stood next to Lori and stuck out his hand to give her a handshake. Then we were brought into the building that stood behind us where we would be held until we left to go to the train. The last thought he had was, "Not only do i know someone in the 30th Hunger Games, I am in it."