Losing Battles

Chapter 1

(Ok, so this story is under editing after I lost it and had to recover it. All edited chapters have the ANs removed and instead say 'edited chapter'. Meanwhile, enjoy what there is!)

The bed creaks and wakes me up once again, disrupting my light, uncomfortable sleep. I'm lucky I have a bed. For most of us here, the only place is the floor. District 12's community children's home is not the top of the funding list, and it shows. Well, I guess that Ms Elliot, our 'carer', taking all the money for her own food and alcohol has a part to play.

I hear Amy's stomach rumbling from the other side if the room. She gets more food than the rest of us, but it's still not enough to fill even her small belly, let alone the rest of ours. The amount of food would be even smaller if I didn't hunt and trade at the hob. As a twelve year old, I'm probably one of the youngest to brave that place by myself. If people are scared of the hob, I dread to think how they would bear in the woods. I sneak out by myself; it's much easier to stay hidden without someone trailing along behind me. Once a week, I take Amy with me, so she can take over when I'm gone. I tried taking my best friend, Elyssia, but she got scared of the fence. Wimp.

I roll over the solid mattress and look at the time. Great. It's 5 o'clock. It's time to get up now anyway, especially if we want something fresh this morning. Ms. Elliot likes to keep our share for her, so she's not getting any of my haul. I slowly creep out of bed and change into my day clothes. They're a bit snagged, but they'll live another week, at least. I tie my hair back in my usual bun with an old elastic band I traded a rabbit for at the hob, and creep around various sleeping bodies on the floor, being sure I don't step on anyone. I climb out the window and slide down the drainpipe. The advantage of fixing the leaks yourself is you can make it easier for you to climb up and down.

I stride quickly through the sleepy town centre. All the shops have their shutters tightly shut, and silence blankets the feeling of reality. The smell of early morning settles around me, setting me at ease. The thought of my first reaping still sets me on edge. I'm the only one that can claim tesserae for everyone, so my name will be in 48 times. No pressure, then. No wonder the kids from the home drop like flies once they reach 12. Especially when they're the only one. If I could survive this year without being reaped, there are two more that turn 12 next year, so we can split it. But there's still a reason I'm one of the most respected in my dorm room.

I quickly reach the woods and get onto my snare trail, not really thinking about what I'm doing. I've done this so many times, I could do it in my sleep. Good job too, because at 5:30 in the morning, I'm normally half asleep anyway. Today is no exception, until I find a snare that wasn't there yesterday. I look around. There's a few more dotted around. I look at it closely, being careful not to touch it. I'm sure this wasn't here yesterday. Or I've never noticed, probably the latter.

The snare has caught a rabbit; it's killed it and hung it out of reach of natural predators. But who's made this? Suddenly, I hear talking from my left, which is new. I've never encountered others in the woods before. I quickly turn and check a bush for tracker jackers, then leap into it. A boy and a girl, maybe 2-3 years older than me walk by, laughing and talking. The girl looks younger than the boy. She has black hair in a neat braid down her back, but the boy has more brown hair. They both have grey Seam eyes, unlike me.

They stop and check the snare. It's lucky I didn't touch it, because I doubt I would be in a good situation if I did. But I'm not in a good situation anyway I suppose. I'm crouched in a bush in the woods, hunting illegally and virtually being held hostage by two people who don't even know I'm here.

They talk as they take the rabbit from the snare, then the boy sets the snare, and they move on. That was close. I still wait in the bush until I can't hear them anymore. I slowly creep out the bush, making as little noise as possible. I'm shaken, but I decide to resume my trail. I only have a small way to go, anyway. I feel more weary and aware of myself than I did before.

Essential description, originally an AN.
The main character is called Athena, and she's quite abrupt, well collected and has a business- like tone without being arrogant, despite never going to school.

Athena is the oldest child in the home, as well as her dorm room. They have their own heirarchy system, and Athena is at the top, with Elyssia second below her and Amy is like an 'apprentice' kinda. And so on. Just thought I'd use the characters there already were.
As Athena is the only one eligible to claim tesserae, she has to claim it all. She also hunts for extra food in return for her chores being done for her by the others and being covered for when she sneaks out. The children don't go to school as they are supposed to be schooled by Ms. Elliot, who doesn't look after them properly. She keeps the food and the ever-decreasing funding for herself, leaving all the children to work. It all kinda works. But it's long and complicated to describe from Athena's point of view.
I aim to release one chapter a week, with a word count of 500, not including the AN. Anything in bold is AN.
There will be some strong language, not so much in the earlier chapters, but more so in the later chapters and books as Athena matures. I'm planning 3 books to make a trilogy.
Edited chapter.
~DivergentMockingjay