Chapter Text
Josie was woken up by her sister kicking her in the back. She rolled over and was about to yell at her when she saw that Lizzie’s eyes were closed. She was dreaming, and from the looks of her, it definitely wasn’t a good one. Josie pulled herself up and gently shook her,
“Lizzie. Hey Lizzie. Lizzie!” she hissed, trying to keep her voice quiet. If she woke her Mother, she’d never hear the end of it. Though maybe she wouldn’t mind. Today of all days. She gave her sister one last push, and Lizzie’s eyes sprung open.
“It’s okay,” Josie told her twin, wrapping her in her arms, “You’re okay.”
“It was awful,” Lizzie murmured, “They picked me. And then I was in the arena. There was this big...person on top of me and they-”
“Shh,” Josie soothed, “Don’t think like that. Your name is only in there four times, you’ll be fine.” It was the same with Lizzie every year. Josie had reacted similarly for their first reaping three years ago, but now she’d grown almost numb to the fear. If she was picked, she was picked. Nothing she could do about it. Rafael said that was a good mentality, especially since her name was in the bowl a whopping sixteen times. But, it put food on the table, so it was worth it. But speaking of food, she needed to get out there. She couldn’t have her Mom and Lizzie going hungry, and the sun would be up soon.
“I’ll be back in a bit. Get some more sleep, alright? I won’t be gone long,” Josie assured her. She helped Lizzie back under the covers before getting out of bed. She walked towards the bathroom, braiding her hair as she did so. She brushed her teeth and washed her face, then went to her dresser to get her hunting outfit. She pulled on her pants and shirt, then went to the kitchen for her jacket. On the way, she poked her head into the living room, where her Mother was still asleep in the rocking chair. Josie shook her head. Her Mom barely moved from that chair nowadays.
“I’m going out, Mom,” she said in an attempt to be normal. She didn’t hear her, but that was to be expected. Josie shook her head and went to the kitchen for her jacket. She slid it on before heading outside. She walked to the tree at the side of the house and knocked the fake bark out. She pulled her bow and arrows out of their hiding spot, and started her trek. She slid under the fence, making sure to mind the barb wire, and went towards the woods. Once she was enveloped by the trees, she kept her senses alert. She’d need to catch something good to trade in the Hob. The food from the tesserae was a lot less than she’d hoped, and she wanted to get something nice for her sister, who was probably still incredibly nervous. Josie would have felt bad for leaving if what she was doing wasn’t so important. She was ripped from her thoughts when she heard a twig crack. Josie turned to the direction of the sound, and saw a deer nibbling at a patch of grass. Perfect . Josie readied her bow, and got the deer in sight. She was about to make her shot when a loud crash came from behind her. The deer, startled by the noise, quickly ran away.
“Dammit Raf!” Josie exclaimed, turning to her friend.
“Hey I’m saving your ass,” he said, “How did you plan on explaining that to the people in the Seam? You’d get reported, and I’d be down a friend.”
“Yeah well thanks to you, I lost any chance of food for the rest of the day.” Rafael picked up a stone from the ground, gave Josie a knowing nod, and tossed it forward. It startled two pigeons, who immediately began to flow away. Josie quickly used her bow, and shot one of them to the ground.
“Not bad, huh?” Rafael asked.
“Not bad at all,” Josie said. She was going to get the bird when the wind picked up. A Capitol hovercraft was coming. Rafael grabbed her and hid the two of them behind a tree as it passed. When it was gone, they came out of hiding and he said,
“That’s never going to get old.”
“You’ve got that right,” Josie said. She grabbed the bird and said, “Come on, we should get out of here. In case it comes back.” She walked with Rafael towards the hills, and they sat down. While Josie cleaned up the bird to get it ready to sell, Rafael pulled something out of his pocket.
“Here,” he said. “For luck.” Josie turned to see what he had, and her mouth almost started watering at the plump bread roll in his hands.
“Holy shit,” she said, “Is that real?”
“As real as you and me,” he said. Josie took the bread and ripped it into halves, giving one to Rafael. She took a bite and said,
“Now this is heaven.”
“Oh yeah?” She nodded,
“If I could live every day like this, it’d be a good life.”
“Then why not try?” Rafael asked. Josie laughed, thinking he was joking, but when she saw the look on his face, she realized he wasn’t.
“Raf, we can’t just leave. Who will take care of my sister, or your brother?”
“Landon gets by,” Rafael said, “And he’s made it clear the past few years that he doesn’t need me as much as I thought.”
“C’mon, you know that’s not true.” Though Josie wasn’t so sure. Landon and Rafael were only half brothers, who’d grown up with their father, a sad drunk. But Landon had left Rafael to live with his Mother, who owned the local bakery, and Rafael was left to deal with their Father. While Josie was close with Rafael, she didn’t mind Landon. He always smiled at her, and Josie used to watch him frost the cakes through the bakery window when she walked home from school. But she knew Landon was a sore spot for Rafael, so she decided to take the conversation away from him.
“And besides,” she continued, “Even if we left, where would we go? The Peacekeepers would find us, and we’d probably be executed.”
“But what if they didn’t,” Rafael said, “Wouldn’t it be worth it if they didn’t?” Maybe, Josie thought, but she couldn’t say that out loud.
“We can’t,” she said, “We just can’t.” They finished their bread, and that was when Josie realized she had to get going. If she didn’t go to the Hob now, she wouldn’t get the money before she needed to get ready for the Reaping. Josie and Rafael were silent as they crossed the fence, until Josie asked,
“How many times is your name in there?”
“Forty two,” he answered simply, “You?”
“Sixteen,” Josie said, “Do you ever think-”
“I try not to,” he said. Josie just nodded slowly. They made it to the Hob, which is where Rafael said he needed to get home.
“I need to check on Dad,” he said, “But I’ll see you there.” Josie nodded, then watched him leave. He was a lot more down than he usually was on this day. It made her wonder. Does he think he’s going to be picked this year?
“Move it lady!” a cranky old man standing behind her snapped.
“Sorry,” she said. She walked inside, and went to the usual table. She was handing the bird over to Ms. Gilbert when she noticed the gold pin on her table.
“Do you like it?” she asked, catching Josie off guard.
“Oh! I mean, it’s pretty, but uh, I’ll just take my three pieces, please.” Ms. Gilbert handed her the three pieces of coin, then said,
“Take it. For luck.”
“Really?” Josie asked. The woman nodded, and Josie pocketed the coin before picking the pin up, “The bird looks familiar. What is it?”
“Mockingjay,” she said, “Do they teach you about those in school?” Yeah, but barely , Josie thought. Mockingjays were a symbol of the rebellion. The rebellion that had caused all of this trouble to begin with. Josie gave her a small nod and said,
“Yes, they taught us.”
“Good luck today, Josette,” she said, “I’ll be praying for you.”
“Thanks,” Josie said, a little taken aback by the use of her given name, “I guess I’ll see you la-”
“Elena!” one of the workers yelled, cutting Josie off, “We need you over here.” Elena gave Josie a small wave before heading over to the other woman. Josie sighed before slipping the pin in her inside pocket. She left the Hob and went home. She only had a bit of time to get ready. They all had to be there by 10, and it was nearing 9:30. She quickened her pace and got to her house. She put her bow and arrows in their usual spot before heading inside, where her Mother was pacing.
“Where the hell have you been?” she asked crossly.
“Out,” Josie said simply, “I told you, by the way.”
“Don’t be smart with me,” she said, “I have your outfit laid out. Hop into the bath first, you have dirt all over you.” She didn’t say much more than that. Josie shrugged her jacket off, placing it on the usual hook in the kitchen. She placed the coin in the usual dish, and put the pin next to it. She’d come back to it after the Reaping. She walked into her room and saw Lizzie sitting on the bed, brushing her long blonde hair over her shoulders.
“You look beautiful,” Josie commented. Her sister didn’t respond. Josie could see her hands shaking as she moved the brush. She was terrified. Josie let her be and went into the bathroom. She stripped her clothes off and sat in the tub, which was now filled with lukewarm water. She scrubbed her body as fast as she could before hopping out and drying off. She left the bathroom and put on the blue dress her Mom had laid out for her, then allowed the older woman to put her hair in two french braids.
“All done,” Caroline said, “We’d better get going, we don’t want to be late.” She ushered the two girls outside, and Josie held Lizzie’s hand the entire way there. They got to the check in line, and Josie saw Rafael with the other eighteen year olds. He gave her a small nod upon seeing her, before going for his finger prick.
“Next in line!” the peacekeeper called, and Josie realized he was talking to her. She moved forward and presented her finger. He pricked it, and she pushed it onto the paper so he could scan it.
“Next,” he said, gesturing for her to go. Lizzie checked in, and Josie waited for her before going to stand with the other fifteen year olds. Everyone was on edge. The younger kids were holding hands and praying, while the older ones looked bored. Once everyone had filed in, the small conversations that had been going on ceased, and everyone watched as Katherine Pierce walked onto the stage. She always reminded Josie of what Ms. Gilbert would look like if she lived in the Capitol.
“Welcome welcome,” she said into the mic, “Happy Hunger Games!” she clapped after the statement, but no one joined in.
“Before we start, I have a special video presentation from the Capitol.” Josie refrained from rolling her eyes. They’d been playing this same video for the past seventy four years. Josie busied herself by playing with the end of her braid while the video went over the rebellion, how the districts lost, and how the Hunger Games had been established as a punishment. Just get to the part everyone is waiting for! The video ended, and Katherine said,
“What a wonderful video that was.” No one shared her thoughts, “Now, to the moment you have all been waiting for, it is time to choose one brave man and one brave woman to represent District 12 in this year's Hunger Games!” Man? Woman? Some of the kids here had just started middle school!
“And as always,” she said as she walked over to the bowl, “Ladies first.” Josie tensed, thinking of those sixteen slips with her name on them. She felt her breath hitch in her throat as Katherine pulled out the white slip, and opened it up. She walked to the mic, and said the name,
“Elizabeth Saltzman.” The world went cold. Josie could feel nothing except her sister stiffen from next to her. No. This couldn’t be happening. Except that it was.
“Elizabeth,” Katherine repeated, “Come on up, darling.” Lizzie slowly moved from her spot and went to follow the Peacekeepers to the stage. Josie could hear the whispers of the other girls. Thank God it wasn’t me. That poor girl. Lizzie Saltzman? She won’t even make it past the bloodbath . Josie could see it now. Her sister’s cold, dead eyes staring at her from the screen. She couldn’t let this happen. She wouldn’t. She ran towards her sister and said,
“Wait!” A Peacekeeper went to hold her back, and they kept fighting her until she said the words, “I volunteer!” Everything stopped, and Josie was soon the center of attention. The Peacekeeper let her go, and Josie walked forward, “I volunteer as tribute.” Josie watched her sister freeze, a pained expression crossing her face. She looked like she wanted to fight it, so Rafael moved from his spot and gently pulled her away as the Peacekeepers walked Josie forward.
“No! Josie!” Lizzie screamed for her. Josie tried to tune it out, but she couldn’t. Nor could she stop the tears falling from her face. She got to the stairs, and looked up at Katherine’s smiling face. It had to be fake. No one could smile that big during this.
“Let's welcome our first ever volunteer from District 12!” Katherine announced with glee as Josie stepped on the stage, “What’s your name, darling?”
“Josette Saltzman,” she said into the mic. Her scared voice echoed throughout the plaza.
“Well Josette, I bet my stars that was your sister, wasn’t it?”
“It was,” she said. Katherine gave her a rub on her shoulder and said,
“Congratulations to this year’s female tribute, Josette Saltzman!” Katherine announced happily, clapping her hands. But no one clapped. Instead, they kissed their three fingers and lifted them up. Josie knew that salute all too well. Katherine cleared her throat and said,
“Now to the boys.” Josie had been in so much shock that she’d nearly forgotten another tribute had to come up with her. She looked out into the crowd, and her eyes caught Rafael’s, who was still holding her distraught sister. Would it be his name that was picked? She hoped not. Katherine placed her hand in the bowl, and picked out the paper. She opened it, smiled, went to the mic and said,
“Landon Kirby.” Josie’s mouth almost dropped. There was no way! She could see Rafael’s half brother in the crowd. A look of fear had just crossed his face. Josie watched as he slowly left his place and walked forward with the Peacekeepers. He made quick eye contact with Josie before switching his attention back to the crowd. Josie looked at Rafael, who looked like he’d been stabbed. Maybe he had been. In a way.
“Well don’t just stand there you two,” Katherine said, “Shake hands.” Josie and Landon turned to face each other, and she shook his cold, clammy hand. She could feel it shake before she even moved hers. They shook hands, and then pulled away.
“Congratulations to the tributes of the 74th annual Hunger Games, Josette Saltzman and Landon Kirby!” Katherine said with a clap. Nothing else followed. She turned to Josie and Landon and said,
“Happy Hunger Games. And may the odds be ever in your favor.”