The Hunger Games - Through the Fire and Flames - Book 1

Chapter 2

For my family the week passed on ever so slowly. My mother and father were on edge more than ever and it drove me insane. They pulled both me and my brother out of school for the last three days to throw in some extra hours of practice which I didn't mind but my brother sure did. His mind was on his girlfriend who had been sick for the past three weeks and had been bedridden. He wanted to be with her during her time of sickness but because our parents said the practice was mandatory he had no choice.

My parent's told my brother that he needed the extra time regardless because he still hadn't been able to master his archery. After an hour of frustration and outbursts my father pushed him into spearing which he turned out to be a natural at. I honestly didn't understand why they didn't start him out on that. He was strong, agile and could turn a stone into a lethal weapon by throwing it at speeds up to 85 mph, he had a throwers arm. I know this only because I was once accidentally on the recieving end of one of those small rocks. It hit my arm and went straight through and out the other end. Surprisingly it missed all my bones and major arteries so only a few stitches were needed.

At the end of the day I my mind kept wandering and I ended up thinking about the Games. My mother says that they always want a good game and that always gets me thinking more deeply in the meaning. I could only think of one way to insure a good game and I didn't like it. Luckily because of my mother and fathers duo victory they would be the mentors for the next tributes of District 12. If my brother and I were picked then my mother and father would be our mentors. If they were our mentors that would ensure hefty amounts of sponsors because of the Capitol citizens loved the star-crossed lovers and they adored their children. If we had sponsors we would most likely make it to the end meaning a battle against the son and daughter of the District 12 champions.

The day of my and my brothers birthday came quicker than imagined and was the same as every year. We had a massive dinner with many dishes. Like my mother I loved the lamb stew with dried plums, it had an amazing taste with a bit of a kick in it, especially when my my mother added her secret ingrediant which was a special brand of spirits that she had been introduced to during her time at the Capitol.

My brother like the groosling and my dads goat cheese bread. After dinner we finished with a small cake that my father made himself it was in the shape of my mothers Mockingjay pin and tasted really sweet, but thats how we like them. We ate until our stomachs threatened to burst and then finished with a bit of survival trivia. Like always I tied with my mother but won with the tie breaker question. 

That night I settled into bed between my mother and father. I slept for the first three hours but woke up from a night terror, screaming my head off. I had dreamt that my brother and I were reaped into the Games. My father and mother did their best to comfort me from my sobs and then we laid there talking about how after the reaping the four of us were going to have a huge dinner of all our favorite dishes. Halfway through the next hour my mother fell asleep and then soon after my father rejoined his dreams as well.

 I was too nervous for the days events that I didn't sleep one bit. Instead I got up and went into my mothers private library and started to read a new book my mother had brought home. This too was also about survival but on a whole new set of terms. It talked about the different ways of killing and creating weapons. The most interesting part of the book was its bonus book that came with it. It was about how to create the perfect spot to ensure survival amongst the wildest creatures. One of the chapters told about digging a hole and practically living in it which I thought was time consuming and energy inefficiant.

As I turned to the last page and read it I realized the sun was rising and knew it was time to be getting up. In just 5 short hours everyone between the ages of 12 and 18 would be lining up in the square where they would call up the two tributes for District 12.