Sweetest Downfall

It was the day of the fifty-sixth reaping, the day that the lives of twelve boys and twelve girls would forever change. Twenty-three of them would never return home, and one would return in eternal glory. The escorts of each of the twelve Districts were loaded onto a bullet train, and waited to arrive at their assigned District.

The families inside of the gates of Districts one through twelve anxiously readied themselves for the day, mentally and emotionally putting up walls as they walked with their children to the designated gathering spot. They each prayed for their loved ones safety, but just as it was every year, two of those families would be left standing in shock as their son or daughter walked up to the stage. The Career families also felt the sting of pain as their children volunteered to die in the arena, but they smiled, proud to have their child be chosen in the hopes that they would leave victorious and alive.

Two tributes from each District, twelve girls, twelve boys, twenty-four families and thousands forced to watch the bloodbath unfold; these were the lives of the people of Panem.

These were the Hunger Games.