AN: I'm having to change some details slightly, so it will go along with the story better. The story will begin very closely based on the book. Most things will be word for word, but as I get along the story will eventually and hopefully take a new route..

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters, places, or quotes. These belong to Eric Kripke and Suzanne Collins.

When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold. My fingers stretch out, seeking Sam's warmth but finding only the rough canvas cover of the mattress. He must have had bad dreams and went to go read. Of course he did. This is the day of the reaping.

I prop myself up on one elbow. There's enough light in the bedroom to see him. Not enough to read though. I see Sam. He's tan with hair a little longer than all the other boys. He's growing too.

I swing myself out of bed and get dressed. Sam notices that I'm awake but doesn't say anything. I put on a pair of tattered jeans, old worn out shoes, and a shirt. I slide on a jacket, and grab my hunting bag.

The amulet Sam gave me for Christmas one year got tangled on itself, and I fumble to fix it.

"I'll be back. Just going to go hunting, Sammy. I'll be back before the reaping." I tell him.

"Okay. Don't call me Sammy." He responds.

"Get some better light for reading, will you?"

I leave too soon to hear a response.

Our part of District 12, nicknamed the Seam, is usually crawling with coal miners heading out to the morning shift at this hour. Men and women with hunched shoulders, swollen knuckles, many who have long since stopped trying to scrub the coal dust out of their broken nails, and the lines of their sunken faces. But today the black cinder streets are empty. Shutters on the squat gray houses have been closed. The reaping isn't until two. May as well sleep in. If you can.

Our house is almost at the edge of the Seam. I only have to pass a few grates to reach the scruffy field called the Meadow. Separating the Meadow from the woods, in fact enclosing all of District 12, is a high chain-link fence topped with barbed-wire loops. In theory, it's supposed to be electrified twenty-four hours a day as a deterrent to the predators that live in the woods – packs of wild dogs, lone cougars, bears, some say to have claimed to see strange creatures – these all used to threaten our streets. But since we're lucky to get two or three hours of electricity in the evenings, it's usually safe to touch. Even so, I always take a moment to listen carefully for the hum that means the fence is live. Better safe than sorry. Right now, it's silent as a stone. Concealed by a clump of bushes, I flatten out on my belly and slide under a two-foot stretch that's been lose for as far as I can remember.

As soon as I'm in the trees, I retrieve a shotgun and a knife from my dad's stash of weapons. Electrified or not, the fence has been successful at keeping the flesh-eaters out of District 12. Inside the woods they roam freely, and there are other concerns such as venomous snakes, rabid animals, and you can get lost easily. There is always food though, but you have to know where to find it.

My dad – John Winchester - taught me to shoot. He's been crazy ever since our mother died in a freak accident. He wants to find what killed her. He started taking Sam and I with him, on his trips. Sam absolutely hated it. We saw a few unusual things, things I never forget. He taught us about these things, these demons. How to exorcise them, and get this, from people. Other things, things no sixteen-year-old, much less a twelve-year-old should see. I still have nightmares about them. The details are vague, but I remember the horrifying, gruesome parts. His search for mom's alleged killer has left him missing for the last couple of days.

Even though trespassing in the woods is illegal, and poaching carries the severest of penalties, more people would risk it if they had weapons. Most aren't even brave enough to venture out with a knife. My dad's guns are a rarity. Only peacekeepers have real guns, but my dad was able to attain a variety of weapons.

"For hunting things." He told me.

If I was caught with any of these weapons I would probably be "publicly executed" by the Peacekeepers. Guns are dangerous things. Most of the Peacekeepers turn a blind eye to the very few of us who hunt. They're as hungry for fresh meat as anybody is. In fact they are our best costumers.

"District Twelve. Where you can starve to death in safety," I mutter.

I glance around quickly, hoping nobody heard me. Even though I was in the middle of nowhere, I worried someone would overhear me.

I used to scare my dad with the things I would blurt about District 12, the government. We live in the country Panem, and the government are in some far-off city called the Capitol. My dad told me this would get me, possibly the entire family into lots of trouble. So I do my best to hold my tongue. Acts of rebellion are often conceived into my mind, but I do my best to shake them off.

In the woods waits the one of the only people I can trust. It took a while to trust him, despite him saving my life. Benny. He has short brown hair, and a beard. He has some sort of accent, I just can't figure it out. All the girls at school rave on about it though. I met him while trapped somewhere. I don't remember much just that he got me out. There's something a little odd about him, but I'm not sure what. I climb up to greet Benny.

"Hello Dean," Benny says, "look what I got."

He holds out his hand. Placed on his palm is a loaf of bread. It's real bakery bread, not the flat, dense loaves we try to make from our grain rations.

"No way!" I exclaim.

"It only cost me a squirrel. I think the old man was feeling a little sentimental this morning. Even wished me luck," says Benny, as we lay our weapons down and sit down by some bushes.

I pulled out a small wedge of cheese Sam had given to me earlier.

His facial expression brightened at the treat.

"Thank you Sam! We'll even have a real feast."

Suddenly he fell into a capital accent as he mimics Charlie Bradbury, the women who comes from the Capitol once a year to read out the names at the reaping.

"I almost forgot! Happy Hunger Games!" He plucks a berry from one of the bushes around us.

"And may the odds-" He tosses a berry in a high arc toward me.

I catch it in my mouth and break the skin open with my teeth. The sweet tartness explodes across my tongue.

"-be ever in your favor!" I finish with equal verve. It is either joke about it or be scared about it.

I take the bread and begin slicing it with my knife. I then spread the bread with soft cheese. Benny begins stripping the bushes of their berries. We settle back in and watch the valley, which is teeming with summer life, greens to gather, roots to dig, fish iridescent in the sunlight. This day is beautiful.

"We could do it, ya know," Benny mutters quietly.

"What?" I ask.

"Leave the district. Run off. Live in the woods. You and I, we could make it."

I don't know how to respond. This is what I've dreamed of doing all this time. But I can't.

"If we didn't have so many siblings." I respond.

Benny has two little brothers and a sister. I have Sam, who I would kill and die for. Benny's parents are both dead and he's looking out for them. My dad is constantly gone, so I must look out for Sam.

"I'm never going to have kids." I say.

Benny just nods his head in agreement.

The conversation is wrong. Leave? How could I leave Sam, who is the only person in the world I'm certain I love? Benny is devoted to his siblings.

Trying to change the subject I ask, "What do you want to do?" We have the options of hunting, fishing, and gathering herbs.

"Let's fish." He says. "I think we can… leave our poles and gather in the woods. Get something nice. For tonight."

We got a lot. The predators ignore us. By late morning we have a dozen fish, and a bag of greens.

On the way home, we swing by the Hob, the black market that operates in an old abandoned warehouse. Most businesses are closed on reaping day, but not the Hob. We easily trade six of the fish for good bread, and the other two for salt that we would use to cook. We have a lot of salt at home, but our dad told us not to touch it. He said it was for hunting.

After we are done trading, Benny and I split our spoils, leaving me with two fish, a couple of loaves of good bread, greens, a quart of strawberries, salt, and even a bit of money.

"See you in the square," I say

"Wear something pretty," he teases.

"Jackass," I reply.

He just smirks and walks off.

At home I see Sam has already gotten ready. He wears his nicest shirt and pants. The pants are too short, and the shirt is huge on him.

"I got the tub full of warm water, if you want to take a bath." Sam told me.

"Oh," I say surprised. "Thanks, man."

I do my best to scrub the dirt and sweat off and wash my short hair. I dry with a towel and get dressed with my nicest clothes.

The reaping terrifies me. I protect Sam in every way I can, even from our dad. But I'm powerless against the reaping.

"Let's eat," I say trying to distract myself. Sam cooks the fish and greens into a stew. I get some water for us to drink. "We can save the bread for dinner, okay?"

"Sure. It'll be our special treat."

We eat in silence. Although we can both cook, Sam cooks because he is better. We eat every bite of the stew before leaving.

At one o'clock, we head for the square.

"Will dad be imprisoned?" Sam asks me.

Attendance is mandatory for everyone, unless you are deathly ill. The Peacekeepers go around making sure everyone is at the square.

"Shouldn't be," I replied. "He's on a hunting trip. The mayor lets him slide. He solved one of the mayor's problems before."

"He has?" Sam asks.

"Sure thing." I reply.

The rest of the walk to the square is silent. Although the buildings are decorated by bright banners, there's an air of grimness. I see camera crews, perched on the rooftops like buzzards. They only add to the effect.

People file in and silently sign in. The reaping is a good opportunity for the Capitol to keep tabs on the population as well, I think to myself. Twelve through eighteen year olds are herded into roped areas marked off by ages, the oldest in the front, and the young ones, like Sam, toward the back. Family members line up around the perimeter.

The space gradually gets tighter as more people come. I find myself in a clump of sixteen's from the Seam. I look ahead at the temporary stage set up before the Justice Building. It holds a podium and three chairs, and a large glass ball with all the names. Two names would be drawn from it. Two of the three chairs fill with the Mayor and Charlie Bradbury. Her face is completely white, and her blond hair is tinted with pink. All of it rests above her head. I have no idea how she does that or why it is necessary to wear a spring green suit.

When the clock eventually strikes two, the mayor goes up to the podium and reads this boring story told every year. It tells of the history of Panem. I don't really pay attention, so I don't catch much. I wait in anticipation for the drawings. When he says "Hunger Games," my head snaps up.

"In punishment for the uprising, each of the twelve districts must offer two children, called tributes, to take part. They will fight in an arena with the other tributes to the death. The last tribute left standing wins. It is both a time for repentance and a time for thanks."

He reads the list of victors from district twelve. Which is two in seventy-four years. Only one is still alive. His name is Bobby Singer, and he is paralyzed. He is confined to a wheel chair. When they mention his name, he rolls up. He is given a small polite applause. The mayor introduces Charlie Bradbury.

"Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor!"

She talks about how happy she is to be here. I groan loudly, for all she's trying to do is get promoted to a better district. A few people look at me. I hear snickering in front, and it's obviously from Benny.

"It's time for the drawings!" Charlie says excitedly.

She reaches in, and digs her hand deep down. The crowd is absolutely silent. I feel so nervous as she opens the piece of paper and reads the name aloud. It's not me.

It's Sammy.

AN: I spent a lot of time deciding who would be Gale and Effie. I'm sorry if I disappointed any of you based on my "casting". I went through lots of different Effie's. For those of you who don't know or remember who Benny is he is the vampire who rescued Dean from the purgatory. Sorry for leaving out some stuff such as Madge. Thank you so much for reading!