The 544th Annual Hunger Games

[5] DISTRICT 5 REAPINGS

River May's POV

I hurriedly ran a brush through my rainbow hair, not that it particularly mattered to me how I looked. All that mattered that I was going to volunteer today, and no one could stop me. I slipped into a silky black shirt and pulled on some formal black pants. I'd stolen them from a stand in the market and they were the only clothes I owned that didn't have holes or rips in them. I slipped on some worn brown boots and left the rickety shed that I lived in.

A few minutes later, I had arrived at the town square. The pure beauty of the smoke-spewing factories made tears slip out of my eyes, and soon I was balling. A few people gave me odd stares, but most ignored me. Suddenly, I was angry. Angry that they had the gall to ignore me. I was a warrior, and they didn't deserve to stand in my presence, let alone ignore me.

I got my finger pricked and went to stand with the other 14 year olds. They had learned that I was volatile, and gave me a wide berth. I was standing in the middle of a cleared circle before too long. Our District escort, Snake, was already on stage. His appearance was mildly horrifying, but it was enough to make a few of the younger kids cry. The desperate sounds of older kids hushing the children filled the square, before Snake's raspy-but-surprisingly-loud voice drowned it out.

"Hello Dissstrict 5, and welcome to the 544th Annual Hunger Gamesss," He said with a cruel smirk, his lizard-like eyes crinkling in sick amusement. His skin was covered in reptilian green scales, and he had a thick, muscular tail sticking out of his backside. It didn't look like he was wearing any clothes, but he could've been wearing a morph suit that matched his skin. His dead yellow eyes scanned the faces in the crowd, lingering on a few people in particular. I was one of them; probably because of my hair. He smirked at me, showing off razor sharp fangs, before continuing his analysis of District 5. My bottom lip wobbled when his eyes didn't return to me; was I that boring? "I have a meeting with president Sssilver in lesss than an hour, ssso I'll pick the female tribute firssst. The young woman represssenting Dissstrict 5 isss... Isssabella Hanover."

A short, brunette girl that made me think of a ferret trotted nervously towards the stage, her eyes darting from side to side anxiously. Suddenly, a rebellious mood swing overtook my body, and I knew that this girl was going to follow the rules that the Capitol had set out ages ago. I wanted to be in the Games; I wanted to teach the monsters that ruled Panem a lesson.

"I volunteer!" I called out, my voice ragged. I cleared my throat before repeating my yell. Isabelle turned to look at me, a dangerous light in her grey eyes. It seemed as if she'd wanted to be picked... How interesting. Oh well, she could always volunteer next year. I shoved through the crowd and jogged towards the stage. Just as I walked up the steps, I doubled over in laughter. The silence around me was rather intriguing; I was sure that I could hear voices whispering to me, trying to convince me to kill everyone.

Not yet, I murmured under my breath, before continuing my ascent. My hand was enveloped in the mayor's large one, and Snake smiled at me. His smile lacked the warmth, or empathy, that one might have expected. Instead, it contained only an animalistic hunger that showed he wanted to watch my death. I flipped him off before going to sit in one of the seats at the back of the stage.

"And now for the male tribute. Pleassse give a warm round of applaussse for... Ssshane Jackssson!" Snake hissed loudly. A tall, gangly kid with stormy grey eyes, greasy blonde hair and bad acne headed awkwardly towards the stage. His glasses slipped down a bit on his way, so he pushed them back with one pale hand. He shook hands with Snake and came to sit beside me. After a nervous look in my direction, Shane stared over the crowd, tears misting his eyes. They gave me the impression that a rainstorm was coming, which of course made me start balling. I wanted to dance in the rain.

"Are you okay?" Shane whispered. I looked up and realised the whole of District 5 had gone silent due to my wailing cries. I sniffed and wiped my eyes, before giggling at the concerned faces surrounding me. The very same people that were now being considerate of my feelings were the ones that had, less than half an hour ago, not wanted to be within a metre of me. The way that their personalities could change so quickly was beyond me.