Powers ~ A Hunger Games Fanfiction [On Hold]

District Eight - Reaping

It's raining in district eight. Not a lot, just a drizzle, but the people love it. It's so dry there, it's a wonder it rains at all. They're glad that they can stand in it, at least for a little, while the reaping takes place.

The children of reaping age are ushered straight from work, most of them exhausted, just like every moment. When they step outside into the rain, you can see the small smiles light up their faces, the instantly happier atmosphere. District eight doesn't have much to look forward to, so when something like this happens, they enjoy it, no matter what else is going on.

The square is nearly filled up with children before everyone else even arrives. The rest of the population stands where they can- a small amount in the square, and a few stay in the factories, watching on the screens there, but most are outside, close to the square. You can hear the kids too young to be reaped, too young to understand, laughing in the light rain.

The children in the square stare up at the mayor as she reads the speech, then shift their gaze to the escort as he takes the microphone. This man's been here for years, and never has he seen the district so relaxed on a reaping day. Usually, the impassive faces staring up at him are masking anger and resentment. That's not to say those emotions aren't there, they're just...toned down a bit.

Coughing a few times because of the air quality here, he says, "Let's start the reaping." There's no energy in the words. It's hard to bring the Capitol atmosphere to District eight. He strides over to the girl's bowl, digs around for a minute, then pulls out a name.

Returning to the podium, he uncrinkles the paper that, just like every other, has just been scrunched into a ball and thrown into the bowl. He coughs again before yelling, "Rayla Heiress!"

The reaction is immediate. Heads turn, whispers start, angry looks can no longer be hidden, and one woman bursts into tears. For a moment, the escort thinks she's Rayla's mother, but she then yells out, "Murderer! You killed my husband!"

The mutters travel faster, and the Peacekeepers make no move to stop them. They're not doing anything else but that, aside from the woman in the back.

A girl, her face still impassive, steps out of the seventeens pen. Her gaze is cold as she mounts the stage, and she says nothing when the microphone is offered.

A girl in the fourteen pen begins to cry, her face angry when she looks at Rayla. She's trying to say something, but she can't get a word out through the angry sobs. A boy from the twelve pen speaks up.

"I hate you!" he screams, his face full of sorrow and loss. He's suffered much than he should at the hand's of Rayla Heiress.

Rayla can stand it no longer. She grabs the microphone out of her escort's hands, saying, "I was only doing my job! It wasn't my fault! Go blame him if you need to, he's the person who hired me that time!" She points to a man in the back, and he gives the crowd a startled look.

The boy in the front doesn't even turn around. "But you did it, you had the knife, you-"

That's it. Rayla is the first to remember what the other districts hadn't- you can use your powers the moment you are reaped. She focuses her gaze on the boy's collar, which suddebly begins to tighten. "Shut. Up." she growls. The boy atempts a few words, but he can't say a thing, it's too tight, and the collar is getting tighter.

He glares at her, and then nods, gasping when the threads loosen. Rayla turns to the escort and hands him back the microphone, stepping back. He clears his throat nervously. The peacekeepers didn't move once during that exchange, though he supposes they would have if anything had been said against the Capitol, so he's safe.

"Right... The boy tribute this year will be..." there's a pause as he grabs a slip, then reads out, "Lochie Pelters!" there's a moments pause, then Lochie comes out of the eighteen's pen. As he mounts the stage, the escorst wonders how he hadn't spotted Lochie before. The boy is over six feet, and there's not a ton of people that tall here.

The answer is clear in a moment, as Lochie refuses to speak. He is mostly forgettable, especially next to Rayla. There are only a few gazes on Lochie, the rest still glaring at Rayla.

Lochie's glad for it. If he can slip under the radar like this, stand in the shadow of his district partner, he can survive. They shake hands, and he avoids Rayla's eyes.

After they both head into the Justice Building, followed by their escort, only a few people are left on the stage.

"I'll go this year." says one of the previous victors. Bobbie Carnine stands up, already knowing no one else will volunteer for these two. Or more specifically, Rayla. The people in the crowd are not the only one's who've been affected by Rayla's 'job'. So Bobbie heads off to the Justice Building herself.

Outside, the rain begins to stop.