bloodsport - cato hadley.

[2] death sentence

Mags was the victor of the eleventh annual hunger games and with that being so long ago, you would think she was would be dead like so many other of the older victors were. Many victors often resorted to alcohol or self medication as a way to cope with the trauma they experienced in the arena.

And more then often then not, these victors died young from overdoses. Silver couldn't say she blamed them, it almost made her afraid to try and win if there was a possibility of her ending up like that.

Mags however, wasn't one of those victors, she devoted her entire life to mentoring the young tributes with her endless wisdom and knowledge. She was also the sweetest, most gentle person Silver had ever met.

Glancing over her shoulder, Silver locked eyes with Mags for a split second, her expression softened for a mere second and Mags only gave her a sweet smile in return.

Silver could already tell having someone like Mags as a mentor was bound to make her feel better before she took on the horrors of the games. She swiftly turned her head back to face the audience just in time to see Effie holding a little slip of paper and reading it.

"Reese D'Alessio!"

Any relief that Silver felt for just a few minutes was now gone. The same uneasy feeling as before overcame her and made her heart sink. Her eyes frantically darted around the crowd, looking for a head of dirty blond hair. Reese was placed towards the back with the rest of the twelve year olds, he was farthest away from the stage yet Silver could see perfectly the way his eyes widened and his fingers twitched.

The crowd went so silent that Silver could her own ragged breathing and her heart beating so rapidly that it felt like it could burst out of her chest at any minute. Little Reese was so petrified, nothing besides his fingers moved, something Silver could understand.

Just as before, people slowly began to turn their attention to him and gave him that same look of pity, except it was genuine. Reese was a small and slender boy, he had zero muscle on his arms whereas Silver had an athletic build and calluses on her hands that proved she had a talent for throwing knives.

Reese wasn't capable of carrying the same confidence and bravery that Silver had and somehow everyone was able to figure that out. Silver watched as Reese's puffy face drained itself of any color and turned so pale that she was worried he might even throw up.

It took seconds for Reese to register what had just happened and what was going to happen, his sea green eyes became glossy with tears as he glanced over at his family. His shoulders slumped when he finally made the effort to walk, as he made his way up to the steps to the stage his eyes caught Silver's gaze.

Hot tears threatened to spill down Silver's face and it took every bit of effort she had left in her body to not cry, but even that wasn't enough to stop a single tear to slide down her cheek.

Silver hastily wiped it away, hoping that no one saw it before she then remembered that reapings were flimed. It was a bad realization considering that half of the country was probably going to start thinking she was weak and too sensitive, but it couldn't possibly be worse then what she was actually feeling.

Her eyes followed Reese around the stage while Effie made him stand beside her. "Now shake hands" She said to them and Silver and Reese reluctantly did just that.

Reese's face flashed with worry while Silver had managed to keep a blank expression, her lips were pressed into a thin line and she had been biting on the inside of her cheek so hard that a metallic taste flooded her mouth meaning she had drawn blood.