May the Odds be Ever in Your Favour • changlix

Chapter 1

When Felix woke up this morning, a sensation of dread sat deep in his stomach. Hearing the rain beat down on the tin roof above him, he quietly slips out of the bed he shares with his mother and older cousin, Chan, noting that the elder wasn't here.

Today was the day of the Reaping.

Pulling on his thin plastic raincoat and a cap, Felix quietly opens the front door and steps out into the downpour. Trekking through the streets that were quickly becoming mud, Felix hurries through the streets of District 14, knowing exactly where Chan had gone.

The sound of boats and the ocean draw nearer as Felix hurriedly approaches the outlying crop of rocky cragg next to the fence around their district. Old, worn ships sway at the rotting dock, with loose fishing nets scattered about. Few fishermen would brave this weather, knowing the waters were strong.

Being the district of fishing, you'd think the area would be wealthier.  However, almost all products were forcefully exported to the closer districts and the Capital, leaving the worst of the fish and barely anything of substance. Due to the salty earth and poor planning, hardly any plants grew, making the District 14 population grow up thin, but lean. Felix himself was quite strong from his long days of collecting and shucking mussels with Chan.

The fast approaching fence, buzzing and alive with electricity, still makes Felix nervous to this day as he approaches it. Grasping the rubber stick they used to sneak under it, Felix finds the spot of bare fence that Chan had accidentally stumbled across from searching for mussels in this area.

A section of the rock outcrop had come loose, and was able to be rolled back to leave a small sized hole under the fence. It was big enough for Chan and Felix to crawl under when they were younger, but now they needed the assistance of a small rubber pole to hold it up for them.

Carefully tucking it under so that the fence sat higher, Felix squeezed in between the rocks to shimmy this thin body under the fence. Getting down in the wet earth made his jeans and thin socks soggy, and he groans, wishing his raincoat was longer.

Once safely on the other side of the fence, Felix quickly stashes the rubber pole behind the rocks on this side, heading into his special place with Chan.

Illuminated by a flickering candle lantern, Chan sits on a crate on the floor of the natural cave they called their second home. The entrance was quite well hidden, and inside Chan and Felix kept their treasures.

The bleached blonde teenager glances up at Felix as he shuffles inside, fiddling with an old rubiks cube. "You came?"

"I knew you'd be here." Felix shoots him a lopsided smile, sitting across from him around the small lantern. He shivers, placing his hands on the dirty glass for warmth.

"...Here, 'Lix." Chan unzips his parka, before slipping it over his smaller cousins thin frame. The younger blonde smiles, drawing it closer around his body. "It's a shame the weather is bad."

The two sit in silence for a while, listening as the rain slightly lets up.

"Hopefully it will clear up before the Reaping," Chan suddenly says, staring at a spot on the ceiling. Felix sadly smiles at his words.

"How many times are you in today, Channie?" Felix's deel voice comes out hoarse with emotion, and he coughs to clear his throat.

Chan's dark eyes remain fixed on the ceiling, his voice monotone as he speaks.

"56."

Silence falls over the pair again, Felix stuttering his words as he speaks.

"Chan, y-you should have let me enter the ballot more than--"