Divide and Conquer

The prequel to 23 Ways to Be Dead By Arti.
== Prologue ==
"Are you watching this Rebels? Are you watching?" screeched the announcer on the television. All around the Panem prisons and in every house, eyes were glued to the TVs. In some households, families were crying softly, or begging for mercy from the Peacemakers who had marched in.
"Are you watching? Good! Because we have taken over every one of your Districts...except for one that is..." a picture of District 13 was shown, people running around screaming, children crying, Peacemakers laughing, hovercrafts circling above, gunning down people, and worst of all, a large ship holding some kind of big bomb on its belly.
"District 13 will be an example to all the rest of you scum out there who dream of overthrowing our shinging Capitol!" while the announcer talked, the fottage changed slowly...the people became more panicked as the bomb on the big ship slowly was lowered.
In the houses aorund the other Districts there was murmering. What was happening? What was the bomb thing? Why were the people of District 13 so scared, did they know something? But there was a hushed silence as the announcer quieted and the footage from 13 became more frightening.
The bomb was lowered by two, long mettalic robot arms. When the arms were, after a while, all the way extended, the bomb hung over the city, only a few feet above the City Hall. People were rushing out of the town, slipping into the woods, back into their homes.
Then the bomb dropped.
It was silent at first....then the screaming began. And the fires. And the footage got blurry. Then there wasa huge noise, coming from the TV it still made everyone jump, even Peacemakers. A huge cloud, you could almost feel the immense heat through the screen, boiled up..in the shape of a mushroom...the Capitol hovercrafts swooped in to wave it away. Several burned up but in the end there were too many hovercrafts and the smoke died out.
District 13 was gone, ruins. Smoke and fires raged and bodies littered the roads.
"And that is why you don't mess with the Capitol. Welcome to the new Panem." the cheery announcer told the shocked auidience.
Somewhere a mockingjay screamed.
== Chapter 1 ==
A large fist pounded the table. All the Head Peacekeepers shivered in fear and shrunk back as the hulking man that was President Hartford. "There will be NO mercy to these ungrateful scum of Districts." he demanded. "The desrtuction of District 13 will put them in their place but we need something to KEEP them there. Something harsh. Something horrifying. Something," his horrible mouth curled into a horrible smiles. "Deadly." he finished.
The Head Peacekeepers all nodded but inside evereyone of them was trying not to flinch. One brave soul, the female Head Peacekeeper of District 1 stood up.
"B-But what S-Sir?" she stuttered. President Hartford smiled at her and she sat.
"I don't know. That's what you have to decide." he walked out of the room, slamming the door, leaving the 24 Peacekeepers in a dissarray.
There was silence and a few ideas were shared but none were any good. Finally, the male Peacekeeper from District 7 stood.
"What about some kind of Games?" he asked. "Something where the participents must kill to win in an arena built to make them fight for survival!"
There were murmerings and agreement.
And behind closed doors the Hunger Games was born.
== Chapter 2 ==
"The Reaping?"
"Ah, it is the first stage of these new 'Hunger Games' sir." a nervous attendent told the President.
"Oh. Very well then. Proceed."
All around Panem, children and their hysterical parents gathered. Shiney new glassy balls with thousands of slips in them where placed on stages where cheery people told the people of all the rules adn described the Reaping. Then it began.
In a control office in the Capitol, President Snow stood, watching 12 computer screens. As the president said the District name, a scene flashed on one of the screens and an officer would tell him the children choosen.
"District 12."
"The boy is Steven Harkens, the girl is Penny Loide."
"District 11."
"Bret George and Felicity Free."
"District 10!"
"Adam Aldar and Abeni Larson."
"District 9!"
"Hunter Forrest. And Isabella Summers."
"District 8!"
"Nick Dent and Matilda Harper."
"District 7!"
"Luner Wood and Stella Wood."
"Siblings?"
"I presume."
"Ah, quite good entertainment. District 6?"
"David Gellerd and Olivia Hart."
"5."
"Alex Wilder and Zoe Minuru."
"District 4?"
"Kyle Rayner and Emma Evergreen."
"3."
"Male is Eric Franzel and female is Vanessa Las Angels."
"Weird name....anyways, what about District 2?"
"Carson Felidid. And Angelina Long."
"Finally, District 1?"
"Tristan Crawly and Josie Thorn."
The president nodded and walked out of the room.
== Chapter 3 ==
(A/N: I really wanted to start writing the actual series, so I'll be going kinda quickly. xD Sorry. But it'll still be good. Just....fast. lol, k, enjoy!)
The training began. The tributes met and fought and figured out who they wanted on their team. And it passed so quickly. Before anyone knew it, it was interveiw night.
Scores from the pirivate sessions had been passed out the previous night. Vanessa Las Angels, Josie Thorn, and Angela Long had the top scores out of the girls. The boys were all roughly the same score.
The chariot ride had also been done, with the first outfits. Everything was spectacular.'
Now it was interveiw night.
Firsy Triute to speak was Josie Thorn. Her stylist was clearly going for the deadly but seducing angle. It was easy to pull with her long golden hair and her sparkling, yet menacing hazel eyes. Her interveiw lasted 3 minutes and she was gone. It lasted the whole night, one after the other. Some were clearly better or more interesting then others, but they all kept the crowd mesmerized.
And then it was over. All of it. And the Capitol slept, eagerly awaiting the next day, when the entertainment began.
== Chapter 4 ==
The tributes had the choice to stay up really late and stuff themselves full of food, stay up late and train, or sleep. Most tributes were in the lunch room, tlaking quietly to eachother. Instead of sitting apart in their own little gangs, they had pushed all the tables together and sat as one. But there were still divisions. Like Steven sat next to a small girl called Felicity and a taller girl called Penny. The tributes from 1, 2, 3, and 4 all sat together. But still, they were all one.
Some tributes were afraid and more cautious, not speaking much but others were boastful and some were trying to help the weaker ones get some last minute training done. 
They laughed and ate and there was some food fighting, but in the end everyone just looked at eachother, some sad, some happy, some seemed to be looking at another with eryes that said 'When we get in the arena, I'm coming after you'. But in the end, almost simotaniously, the tributes rose and left for their rooms.
Today they might have been friends. But tommorrow morning, they would be enemies. 
The Hunger Games had begun.
== Chapter 5 ==
Each and every tribute was roused the following morning at about 6:00. They got ready and stuffed themselves at breakfast before heading to the first arena. 
They were each hearded into a room, the Capitol attendents called it a 'launch room' where their stylists helped them into the cloths they would wear for the games. Each stylist had designed the clothes specifically for their own tribute. No one seemed to recognize any theme, but then again, no one could see any other tribute.
They hurried good byes to their stylist. Some sadly, some hurriedly, some cautiously as though they were in the arena already. Then, they stepped onto their metal plates.
Up, up, up they went, the air rushed past each and every one of them and they all shared the same thought.
What if I never come back? Am I going to die here? Who will kill me? Will I win? Who will I kill?
But thinking too much is something none of them could afford to do as they popped into the arena.
24 tributes, all equi-distence from the shiney golden horn called the Cornicopia. There was no time for thinking anymore or looking at their surrondings. All they could do was stare at the Cornicopia and try to remember what their mentors had told them to do.
Suddenly, a man's voice filled the arena, a deep, cheerful, excited booming voice making many of the tributes flinch in fear.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" called the announcer, "Let the first ever Hunger Games begin!"
Are you brave enough to read on? We'll see. But for now, you can go here to see the first dead tribute. Who will it be? If you're sure you want to know...First Down.
Category:23 Ways to Be Dead
Category:Artimas Hunter