11 was the most high-detail Reaping yet. Tensions were highest there, as they were the last to give up the fight against the Capitol before District 13 fell. The Peacekeepers patrolling the Reaping's venue were on high alert for any threat.
Instead of an escort, High Officer Maxim Hull oversaw the Reaping. He paced the stage silently as the crowd looked at him, the children with fear and the adults with scorn. He didn't care to entertain; he only sought an efficiently-run Reaping. He would not hesitate to exercise force in response to even the merest hiccup.
He pulled a name from the selection of girls.
"Minnie Daniels."
A meek 13-year-old girl ambled her way to the stage. Her mother's stomach churned seeing her only daughter take the stage, moments away from being shipped off to her death.
Next, the boys.
"Owayne Driscoll."
Gasps and murmurs in the crowd. The boy was also only 13. What were the odds that two of the youngest among them would be Reaped?
"You can't do this!" someone shouted.
"They're too young! Someone, anyone, please volunteer!"
"Silence!" Maxim roared over the microphone.
The last thread holding the peace in the venue snapped. It started with one assault, and then an all-out war erupted in the crowd. Minnie's mother kicked a downed Peacekeeper in the stomach alongside a few other enraged parents. The Peacekeepers swatted them down with batons, but they were quickly being overwhelmed, despite their numbers. They began to rain bullets in the crowd. They, however, were relentless; a hive mind determined to protect the lives of their children, even if it meant sacrificing their own. Twenty people laid dead.
One deafening shot ceased the chaos instantly. Officer Hull stood over Owayne's corpse and grimaced. His view snapped to Minnie, whose eyes lit up in fear.
"No," she pleaded. "No no nonono-"
Hull fired his pistol once more, and chunks of Minnie's brain splattered against the front row of District 11 girls. Her lifeless body crumpled to the floor, and her mother fell with her, wailing in agony.
"Let's try this again," Hull snidely remarked. "We're in a bit of a time crunch here. Places to be." He pulled another name from the girls' bowl.
"Cassidy Adkins."
A girl from the front row, who had just been painted with the blood and brain matter of the former female tribute, ran to the stage, as if she, too, would share the same fate if she took too long.
And once again, the boys.
"Allyx Anderson."
An intrepid boy sped to the stage in similar haste.
I don't want to kill anyone, Allyx thought to himself. He quickly quieted those thoughts, fearing Hull might be able to hear his inner dialogue. He would be executed, too, if he showed any indication that he would refuse to participate in the Games. Then again, he imagined dying might be better than being forced to slaughter other children. Cassidy, however, hoped she would make it off the stage in one piece. Seeing Owayne and Minnie killed right in front of her was indeed jarring, but her philosophy on death had not changed. As long as she was still alive, it ultimately didn't matter who was killed in her place. Cruel, maybe, but what good could she possibly accomplish in her life without ending up just like the people she just saw murdered before her?
