Tribute from The Seam

Chapter 1 - The Meadow

Hi Everyone. This is my first fan-fiction. I decided to go with a Haymitch Abernathy (The Hunger Games) fan-fiction because it is one of those characters that you don't really know much about. And Haymitch is also one of those characters that you want to know their backstory. Please comment what you liked and what you didn't like and some feedback. Cheers!  

P.S. This is dedicated to missgirly; she made the cover and has made heaps of really good ones. If you need a cover, she is your girl :D

   The back of my neck prickled as I lay out under the stars, watching the stars pass over District 12. My dark and curly hair brushed against the grass as I changed position, my curls springing back into place when I once again lay still.

   I sat up, looking around the meadow. To my side I saw the slowly rusting, almost never electrified fence that marked the border of District 12. I gazed up at the stars. An ever-changing mass of bright lights, suspended in the sky for all to see, how could something so wonderful and pretty exist in such a place?

   A place ravaged by poverty and despair, induced by the power hungry Capitol. District 12 was the most horrible place in all of Panem. Rich with poverty and an ever growing number of starving adults, and children, District 12 was a large place, with a few thousand people, but barely enough food to go around for many people; this was insanely common in The Seam, my home. The Seam was the poorest place in all of District 12, possibly even Panem. Many families from The Seam would starve to death.

   I stood up, looked around, being extremely careful, and then I ran into the shadows, heading for home. I passed gnarled old trees that stood taller than anything else in District 12. I scurried around bushes, passing rickety old houses with no lights on; this did not mean that the people were asleep though; the whole district sometimes would be without power, sometimes for hours, sometimes for days.

   I reached the middle of The Seam. My house stood near and despite the darkness I knew exactly where to go, I had travelled this way many times at even higher times of darkness. I ran lightly up the steps and opened the door that’s hinges were nearly falling off.

   I tiptoed through the house, taking care not to wake my mother and younger brother, Jack. I walked past my mother’s bedroom and into the room that we called a kitchen but barely served its purpose. Across from the kitchen was the room that me and my brother Jake shared. I tiptoed to the room and opened the creaky door.

   Jake lay in our bed. I slipped into the bed fully dressed and accidentally woke my brother.

   “What time is it?” Jake said innocently with his nearly adolescent voice.

   “Time to sleep, Jake. You will need your rest for tomorrow. It’s your first time.” I said.

   “But what if I get picked?” Jake asked.

   “You won’t. My name is in their thirty seven times, yours is only in there once. Trust me, you won’t get picked in The Reaping.” I comforted him.

   “If you say so” Jake replied mockingly.

   “Go to sleep” I told him.

   I did not wait for a reply; I was asleep before I could think about the large risk of my name coming out of the evil glass ball full of names.

   I awoke to sunlight streaming through the threadbare curtains. Jake wasn’t in the bed and. I went into the kitchen to find Jake boiling a pot of water on a fire in the corner of the kitchen; we did not have a stove so this was the only practical way of heating things up.

   “Morning” I said, stretching my arms and yawning.

   “Morning” Jake replied “Want some groosling?”