The Rapid Sparks of the Cord; A Hunger Games Novel

CHAPTER 1

Lith watched as the stars glistened in the moonlight. The stars always seemed to call to him every night before the Reaping. Every time he would watch the Hunger Games on television, he'd always notice the tributes appreciating the little things, even in such dire situations. Lith was not like this. He always found little intricacies in anything he saw.

From behind him, he could hear Bean approaching with a wicker basket. Since they could remember, it had been a tradition to host a picnic in the groves of the orange trees the night before the Reaping with each other. It was no easy feat finding the food for it, so Bean would usually set aside enough dollars in the span of 3 months to put together a small feast. District 11 didn't hold the finest food for the citizens to eat, and the security was too tight around there for them to pick from the groves.

"Ooooh, I see we're upgrading the blanket this year?" Bean teased, placing the basket on the wrinkled tan blanket. "I figured we needed a change of scenery," Lith chuckled. Bean opened the basket, but to her horror, found that some of the food that she had paid for was long spoiled. "What the hell? It didn't look like this when I bought it!" Bean yelled, tossing a lime down the hill. "That's okay, you weren't really planning on biting into a lime anyway, were you?" Lith consoled. Bean looked down for a second, but couldn't hold in any laughter. "I bought a tea bag. I don't know much about tea, but I thought that a lime might taste good in it?" Bean said, starting to sound unsure of herself by the end of her sentence. Lith laughed.

The night passed on, as they lay on the blanket and talk about nothing in particular. They hated to think about what would happen in the morning. Bean's name was in the jar 23 times, and Lith's 37. The odds were not in their favor. Bean came from one of the poorest families in the District, and she often found herself signing up for tesserae more often than she'd like to admit.

The tesserae granted food rationing to any citizen in the Districts, with the drawback being that those who signed up were entered into the Reaping draw for every time it was claimed. Bean was luckier than some, only having to sign up for the tesserae every 5 months. Still, food was scarce, and luxury items in markets like apples and oranges were tough to come across, nonetheless afford.

Lith was not as lucky. He had to sign up for tesserae every 2-3 months, depending on what his father was able to bring back from work. His father worked as a farmer, as most did in District 11. It wasn't the agriculture district for nothing. Sometimes, his father would be granted the permission to take home a couple of lemons, but that wouldn't suffice them for too long. If Lith and his family hadn't lived in such a poor part of the district, he might have been able to supply himself with food and other resources for a much longer time. But Lith had long since stopped wishing he had born in a richer part of Panem. There wasn't much he could do besides dream.

Panem was the country that Lith and Bean lived in. As stories go, it used to be named The United States of America, and some parts of Panem consisted of another called Mexico. That time had long passed, and after nuclear interference and global ecological damage, the country was nothing but a slice of what used to be the North American pie. Panem was divided into 12, previously 13, districts, and the Capitol. The Capitol sat somewhat in the middle of the country, if not a bit west. The Capitol's children were exempt from the Hunger Games, due to their part in the War. Lith didn't know about many wars; only those of which he had been taught in school, meaning the only big one he knew was the First Rebellion. 66 years ago, a massive rebellion broke out between the Capitol and the Districts. As punishment for the District's defiance, the Capitol created the Hunger Games, set to bring 2 children between the ages of 12-18 to the Capitol, where they would fight to the death in an Arena. It would be broadcasted live across the entire country, and would often times be mandatory watching in schools. Lith had grandparents who were around during the early days of the Hunger Games. Apparently, the first 10 games were all in the same arena, and didn't offer training or uniforms. Lith couldn't imagine entering the arena without some form of help given from the Capitol.

Clouds rolled in, and covered the stars completely, the moon only faintly shining through. "Sorry we didn't have much, I'll have to give that merchant a piece of my mind tomorrow." Bean chuckled. "It's all good. We'll get the chance to do this next year," Lith said, putting his shoes back on. "Hopefully, anyway." He laughed. It was sort of a morbid subject to joke about, but Lith was an avid believer that laughter was the best medicine.

"Yeah." Bean smiled, and picked up the basket. They nodded at each other and left their separate ways. It's okay, thought Lith. He'll see Bean tomorrow.