A Dangerous Game (A Hunger Games Fan Fiction)

1. My Second Family

1. My Second Family

       There was no poorer district in the country of Panem than District 12. It’s no lie, because if you looked at the other districts, even the ones on the poorer end of the scale, they’re somehow better off than we were.

Within District 12 resides the Seam, the poorest place to live in the district—this was where I lived. The Capitol bombed us, dealing yet another blow to our already poverty-ridden district.

 Ever since the rebellion against the Capitol six months ago, we’d been rebuilding. Progress wasn’t quick since we’re trying to cope with all the losses of life, homes, and resources. The only thing that didn’t get damaged was the land on the other side of the fence boundary in 12.

            Out of my family, I was the only one that survived the bombing. Not exactly something that I wanted to be remembered for. My mom, dad, and younger brother and sister (who were twins) all perished. That day had been the darkest in my life. From then on, I wasn’t myself. It was also then that I hoped the Capitol paid for what they did, and that President Snow went to hell.

Fortunately, he ended up dead.

            Speaking of a president for Panem, a new one was elected. Shockingly, they’re slightly better than Snow. The only difference between him and Snow was that he vowed there would be no more Hunger Games. That was the only difference, and I cannot stress that enough. He increased Peacekeeper security and severity of punishments to the level of rule-breaking. You would think that he would be much more different than Snow and nicer being that he ended the Hunger Games.

            Still, we can’t always get what we hope for.

            I lived in a somewhat maintainable house now, only because it wasn’t mine. I ended up taking refuge with a family who I felt was practically my second. I felt kind of bad since it was one more mouth to feed, but none of them cared. Even though time after time I thought I was intruding, none of them thought I was a bother. They considered me family, and they had no idea how much that meant to me.

            Well, maybe Gale knew how much it meant to me.

He was the one who brought me to his family. Aside from me and him, it was his mother (Hazelle), Rory, Vick, and Posy. There would have been seven of us in the house, but Gale’s dad had died in a mining accident a few years ago. Ever since his dad died, Gale did everything to provide for the family. I tried helping him out, but he said he could handle it himself. I never lost faith in him, so I never tried to push the issue.

            It was another horrible day in 12. Those who had a job went to it, and those who didn’t stayed home to rebuild their old life. Since Gale’s mother didn’t really have a job, she stayed at home with the children. I really hated that she had to watch over them all by herself while Gale went out to get food. From the moment I stepped into the household, I ended up staying home with her. Every day was an adventure, I’ll admit.

            I was helping Hazelle cook what we had while all the kids ran about the house and around it. Well, the boys, Rory and Vick, did. Little Posy didn’t want to get involved with her brothers. She was half their ages; being only five. She was the odd one out in the family. She had red hair and light green eyes compared to her brothers.

I knew how it felt to be the odd one out in the family. I was the only one who got the dirty blonde hair and blue eyes, my family had light brown hair and grey eyes.

            “Katrina!” Posy’s voice rang out. I could hear her feet running to me as she tackled my legs. I grinned down at her as I picked her up. I was only with this family for six months and already I felt like I had been a part of it since the day I was born. “What are we going to do today?”