My stomach is rumbling.

Well, it’s almost always rumbling, but right now it’s rumbling a little more than usual.

I somehow let my younger brother, Jace, convince me not to take the tesserae this time, if for nothing but to make him smile a little bit. Not that it matters, anyways. My name is in 27 times today. I would put it in one hundred more times if it meant I could keep Jace out of this horror.

Unfortunately, Jace turned twelve and is now put in for the Hunger Games. Although food is tasteless and bland here in district 9, it could be a lot worse, and I won’t have him putting in more names just for the sake of eating something for dinner other than bread.

Me and Jace shuffle to the front of the line and into the crowds littered with guards with guns. Mayor Wrightly steps up as he always does to the see-through bowl that holds one girl and one boys doom.

“Ladies first!” He says with a chirpier voice than you would expect from a face like his. He reaches his hand into the bowl and I shut my eyes in frightened anticipation.

“Lana Reymond!” I refuse to let the terror show on my face as the spotlight scans the crowd and eventually settles on me. I take a steadying breath before striding up to the stage confidently. It’s all I can do to ignore the panicked shout coming from a little boy. Jace.

I breathe in a shaky breath when I reach the top, standing on one side of the bowl and giving my best ‘I’m not about to have a panic attack’ smile. Mayor Wrightly puts a steadying hand into my back, but I take a step away from him, refusing to show any weakness.

“Now, it’s time for the boys.” He nods to the bowl and then reaches in. His fingers trail along a few slips, until eventually settling on one and picking it up. I think I catch the look of a ‘J’ in-between the slips folds, but I quickly rid the thought. It’s not him. His name’s only in once. “Jace Reymond”

I think my heart stops. My head is racing with thoughts that are neither helpful, nor wanted. He’s too scrawny. He’ll never make it. How can I protect him?

I watch as he takes shaky steps up the stairs, and I frantically try to calm my beating heart. The crowd is growing restless. Two siblings? And one a twelve-year-old? Even the mayor seems to have a slight tremor in his voice when he clears it to close the gathering. I silently reach down and wipe one of the tears streaming from my brothers face, bending down to his height. He needs me to be strong for him.

“Jace. Look at me.” I order. He obeys after a little while, doing his best to take deep breaths. “We are going to be fine.” He opens his mouth to say something, but I bring a finger to his lips. I know what he needs. I begin to quietly sing the words my mother once sang to my father, as they laid dying in each others arms.

At the end of the road

When the lights have all been turned out

There will come a rainbow

That will bring to your eyes a drought.

Don’t you cry, not today

Wipe those sorrowful tears away

Goodbye is not truly goodbye

Because I’ll see you soon, high in the sky.

The world slowly fades back in at the end of my last note to reveal a stunned silent crowd and both eyes and cameras alike trained on me and my brother. I turn my frustrated sigh into a smile for my brother as we are ushered out by the guards.

(Four hours later)

Me and my brother are alone in the meeting room. They mercifully allowed us to have a few moments together, seeing as we have nobody to come see us anyways. I spend my time wiping his tears with a spare piece of fabric and quizzing him on things the interviewers might ask him.

“Alright then, Jace.” I proclaim, doing my best to assume an announcers tone. It ALMOST brings a smile to his lips. “You know you are allowed one non-lethal item into the arena, yes?” He nods, and I continue, booming my voice like Mayor Wrightly. “What will you be taking to the arena, little man?” He takes a swallow and begins his reply.

“Well…” he begins timidly, clearing his throat before continuing. “I was h-hoping that me and m-my sister would wear our matching lockets. B-because our father g-gave them to us.” Fresh tears spring into my eyes as he looks up at me, smiling. I wipe them away, not wanting to look puffy for the cameras awaiting outside.

“Oh, of course, Jace.” I wrap my arms around him, finding myself not wanting to let go. “We are going to be fine.” I whisper. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the matching necklace. A shocked bubble of laughter escapes from me. “You’ve had them this whole time?”

“I never leave home without them.” He smiles widely and hands me mine. I slowly peer at the locket, making sure nothing on it could be considered lethal enough to be prohibited. The curving swans neck isn’t long enough to do damage. I pull on the chain of the necklace, finding it surprisingly sturdy. I bring my face down to Jace’s ear, whispering as quietly as I can manage, “If you can manage to get close enough to anyone, wrap this necklace tightly around their neck and pull. It is sturdy enough to block their air.” He sucks in a deep breath, slightly disturbed, but nods grimly.

Now all I can do is pray to the universe that they are not confiscated, and my little brother might have just earned a small chance.

(Two weeks later, during the Hunger Games)

I wince against the sharp bark of the tree I have been sleeping in and gaze up at the fake sky nervously. There were seven cannon shots today, almost rivaling the fatality of the initial bloodbath. I suck in a sharp breath as names and faces flash across the sky in a hologram. Please not him, please not him. I haven’t managed to see him since the first showdown at the pillars, but I did see him get a canteen and a small pocket knife, which should be enough for him to be able to find a suitable tree to sleep in like me, and outlast the others. Finally, the faces finish and the sky darkens, and I release a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.

Jace is okay.

I tally up in my head the remaining contestants, recounting when I’m sure I counted wrong. Only five? I need to find Jace. I sleep restlessly, if I truly slept at all, and when the sun rises, I’m already leaping from the branch, running on pure adrenaline. I know I told Jace to find a water source first, so that must be where he is. I quickly jot down the direction of the nearest lake in my brain before sprinting full speed in that direction, anxiety fueling my pumping heart. I reach the cool waters and take a sip, releasing a sigh of relief when I hear a twig snap behind me. I whip around, hopeful to find Jace. No such luck.

It’s Randy, the male from district two. Looking particularly menacing with that sword he’s gripping. I take a cautious step back as a crooked grin flood his features. This can’t be good.

“Lana Reymond…you were the one with the pathetic little brother, right?” I fight back my snarl, barely holding in my anger. “Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to reunite you two as soon as I find him. Although I do admit, I’m not as kind as I could be.” He takes a predatory step towards me, and I soon realize my back is against a tree trunk. He barks out a laugh, grinning from ear to ear. He takes another step towards me, his eyes glazed over and his hair wild like a rabid animal. He tips his wrist so that the sword touches my cheek, and I flinch as the stinging steps up with a vengeance. He’s now close enough to whisper in his ear. “I’ll make sure his death is as slow and painful as yours…” With that he moves the sword to my other cheek, digging into the flesh and causing a scream to tear from my lips. It only manages to make his grin wider. Hot liquid runs down my face along with the sword, and my knees start to buckle, but I refuse to let them fall.

Suddenly Randy drops the sword and his smirk turns into sputtering. I struggle to register what is happening, before I notice the faint outline of gray in his neck. The locket chain! I rush to pick up his sword and find Jace behind him, looking to the world like a man on a mission, using all his strength to keep the locket wrapped around Randy’s trashing neck. Randy struggles to breathe, gasping for air as his windpipe is closed off by the locket. A canon off in the distance makes me fall back a step, but I take another look at Randy, being reminded of the things he said he’d do to Jace, as I plunge his own sword into his heart. All at once, his gasping ceases and he collapses dead on the grass.

I can’t stop the tears of relief that flood my face at the sight of Jace, calming down from his anger to give me a big hug. Thousands of questions flood my mind, and I settle of the most important ones to reach my lips. “How are you here? How are you alive? Just…How?!”

His look of shock grows into a smile of pride. “I did what you told me. I would hide, but if people started to fight, I’d bug them until they got too close and WHA-CHA” He flings his hand forward in a karate-chop motion, making a laugh escape from my lips. “Jace…” I whisper, realizing something. “There’s only one person left.”

His eyes widen as he takes in the news. “Let’s get back to the cornucopia!” He yells in anticipation over the sound of a canon.

(Back at the cornucopia)

Bella, the female from district one stands on top of the cornucopia, smirking when we arrive, telling the world she doesn’t care that she’s outnumbered.

“Well, well…” she begins, her gaze roaming over the two of us lazily. “If it isn’t the two siblings from District Nine.” Her eyes narrow into slits, as the corner of her mouth tilts up once again. “I’m going to enjoy th-“ She doesn’t get to finish the sentence, as there is suddenly a pocket knife sticking out from her jugular.

I open my mouth in shock and my gaze flicks into my brothers, looking shocked at his own outstretched hand, glancing from Bella to his hand. “Where do you learn to throw like that?!” I start, my gaze roaming back to Bella, who has begun to collapse. “We…we did it.” I announce to the sound of a canon. I look from Jace to the berries on the outside of the open field where the trees start. Suddenly I’m sprinting to the poison berries before Jace can stop me, flinging a few into my mouth. Jace’s eyes widen in horror.

“Lana…”

“You win for me Jace, it was always meant to be you.” Many emotions flit across his face, but the last one I’m able to recognize is acceptance. Then love. I smile at him one last time before the darkness overtakes me.

The End