Blades of chaos

Chapter one

It is a cold, snowy morning in District 26, I found myself with 4 sleeping children in my bed, this was no surprise today is the day the Olympia chooses tributes for the annual Games of Hell, they must have crawled here during the cold night, I rub the sleep out of my eyes and walk out my small house in the dirty slums and run off towards the woods, I run past the square full of whipping posts and towards the broken, once electrified fence, it was supposed to be electrified twenty-four hours a day to keep us within District 26, but now we lay so far from District 12, our main electrical supplier, we were only given power during the Games of Hell. A single praetorian guard stood in my way before I could enter the woods. I knew him well and handed over a leg of ham to let me pass without having to be whipped for trespassing and poaching. Every time I enter, he could expose my actions to the praetorian cohorts and have me executed on the spot. But he always takes the bribe and lets me illegally obtain food. I casually stroll to my careful hiding place for my well-crafted hunting spear left behind by my late father, I peel back the trunk of the old oak and retrieve my throwing spears. I casually snipe at wild hares and squirrels as if they were no more than mere targets. Just as I was about to kill a wild wolf, my hunting partner, Joshua intervened and offered me a tiny loaf of bread "Hey Ana, want a loaf?" I groaned "You expect me to fall for your tricks again, Taylor? I'm not so easily fooled by you." Joshua waved the loaf in my face "Come on, Anastasia. Today is the Reaping for the Games of Hell, you should take one of my lucky plastic loaves!"I slung my worn-out game bag across my shoulder and grumbled "Joshua, I don't want one of your 'lucky' loaves, it's my first time in the Reaping. What if it guarantees a spot in the Games? Joshua, I've taken enough annoas to essentially quintuple my chances already, I don't want to..." "Die this young?" Joshua offered, "The Reaping is starting soon, let's just make it to the square in time, cupcake." I found myself staring at Joshua's muscular, olive-skinned figure, square jaw, crooked nose, and deep-set grey eyes" I half shouted "One thing, Taylor. I don't want you calling me 'cupcake'' Joshua grinned "I don't blame you for liking me, Ana. Everyone, including President Hyde, loves me. Now, why don't we make a quick stop at the Willow Market and sell all this game, sugar cakes?" I snapped back "Joshua! Don't. Call. Me. One. Of. Your. Pet. Names. Again. Is that understood!?" Joshua kept his mouth shut until we reached the Market. A few thoughts crossed my mind, could Joshua already resent me just because I snapped at his favorite, flirty behavior? He had severed the ties of their friendship with people who criticized it in the past. Could he be doing the same with me? I tried shaking the thought off but it kept creeping into my other thoughts. We entered the Market, now full of anxious parents buying rations for the coming weeks during the Games of Hell, where we would be forced to stop working and watch the Games. Joshua shouted to be heard over the bustling crowds to sell our game, he seemed to have no resentment when we talked about our sales, which put my thoughts at ease. Soon, our game, including wild wolf, sold out to vendors and other customers for products such as bread from the baker, coal from miners, and a new batch of leather for my mother, who became a tanner as soon as my father was executed after being caught poaching. A few praetorians came round to buy cuts of wild deer. In the distance, the bells atop the square tolled and signified the beginning of the Reaping.