The Hunger Games

By: Tracy Cook

Disclaimer: I own nothing. These characters belong to the creators of Vampire Diaries.

Couple: Bonnie/Damon

Rating: M

Chapter One

The Grim Reaping

'I Walked The Dark Path Of Cursed And Lonely Memories.

Clinging To The Branches Of Hope, I Fell Into An Eternity Of Emptiness.'

The annual hunger games were coming back around, and the memories they brought with them were nauseating.

She could recall the day like it had just happened. The day that she watched her little sister die onscreen before the entirety of Panem. The Capitol undoubtedly cheered as the District 11 tribute met her unfortunate end. They all expected it. No one from their district lasted very long in the games. They were malnourished and they didn't have time to train.

They spent every hour of every day working.

Rue had survived longer than most, which was an amazing feat for someone that was only twelve years old. As Bonnie watched the games she had so much hope that her little sister was going to be one of the few from their district that came out on top. She was so strong and clever.

But, like so many before her, she had fallen.

She watched the woman who held her dying sister in her arms with envy and anger. She wanted to be there for her. She wanted to be the one comforting her as she took her final breath. She had convinced herself that if she would have gone in her place, or if she would have been there, she could have changed the outcome.

"Get back to work." One of the peacekeepers shouted at her, pointing a gun in her direction.

Bonnie chewed on her cheeks and she refocused on picking the vegetables out of the garden. She knew the penalty all too well for slacking off on the job. The Capitol had been harsher with their district ever since her sister's death. The people in District 11 were devastated by the loss of Rue. They thought that it was wrong to send an innocent twelve year old girl off to her inevitable death. They had rebelled against the peacekeepers. They had rebelled against the Capitol.

In turn, they became even more violent.

Her green eyes landed on one of the tomatoes as she pulled it from the branch. She gripped it firmly in her hand. She could remember the time that she was so desperate to feed her family that she attempted to steal from the gardens.

'Bonnie Bennett was only ten years old. But, she didn't get to live the life of a child. She didn't get to play. Her mind was filled with worries about her family and keeping them alive. Her mother had given up on them a long time ago. She had stopped caring to provide food and clothes for them. She had stopped educating them. All she did was lay in bed.

She relied on Bonnie to do the work.

She relied on her to bring home the money in order to feed the family.

Her mother had just had another child. She didn't bother to take care of them, but she continued to give birth to them. This was Bonnie's third little sibling and that meant there were more mouths to feed and she was more desperate than ever to get enough money to feed them.

That day, working in the garden, there were plenty of tomatoes to go around.

There were hundreds.

She didn't understand how the Capitol would miss one or two.

Bonnie waited for the peacekeepers to turn away from her, and then she started to walk out of the garden like she normally would at the end of her shift. She held her chin up confidently and she tried her hardest not to draw any attention to her. But, one of them spotted her. He moved toward her quickly, wielding the gun and preparing to shoot if she did not stop.

"Halt!"

She stopped in her tracks and closed her eyes. Preparing for the worst.

"What do you think that you are doing with those?" The peacekeeper asked as he neared her.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't think it would be a big deal if I took a few of them. My family hasn't eaten anything all week." She tried her hardest to explain the situation, but the peacekeepers had no sympathy. They didn't care that she was starving. They didn't care that her little sisters and brother would die if she didn't feed them.

"Your family is none of our concern." He said. "All of the food from District 11 is to be delivered to the Capitol. Anyone caught stealing the food is to be punished for their crimes."

Bonnie had tears streaming down her cheeks as she held out the tomatoes to him. "You can have them back! Just please, don't hurt me!"

Two of the peacekeepers reached out and grabbed onto her arms, dragging her out of the garden toward the center of the district. People noticed that someone was being punished, and they gathered around to watch in horror as the ten year old girl was tied to the pillar. They didn't hold back as they whipped her. Her skin was torn from her shoulders and she was screaming out in agony.'

Bonnie could recall going home that night.

Rue was only six at the time and yet she had still taken the time to help clean and wrap her wounds. Her mother told her it was her own fault for trying to steal from the Capitol.

As she got older, she realized that there were other ways to get food and money. She used her body to get the wealthier men to help take care of her and her family. It wasn't something she was proud of. In fact, she was very ashamed. But, it was the only way she could feed all four of her brothers and sisters and take care of her dying mother. She had no other choice. If she didn't do it, they would all starve to death.

It wasn't something she enjoyed.

It was something she had to do.

She filled a few more bags with tomatoes and then the peacekeepers called the end of her shift. They paid her with a few coins on the way out of the garden. It wasn't enough to feed her family for a day, let alone a week.

Bonnie could understand how her mother became so defeated. Living in District 11 for all of her life had worn her down. She had been fighting for so long and she had lost so much. Sometimes she thought that it might be easier if she just gave up as well. But, then she thought of Rue. She thought about all of the times they talked about getting out of the district. She thought about how strong her sister was. How she kept fighting til the end.

She planned to fight til the end.

Her eyes landed on the one-bedroom house that she called home and she hurried to the door, tugging it open and heading inside. She was surprised to see her mother out of her room and sitting at the small kitchen table. She had a feeling it had to do with the reaping coming up. She was getting anxious. They all were.

Bonnie was the only one of age to compete in the games this year.

If her family lost her, they would have nothing left. They would perish.

"Hey mom." She said with a small smile.

Abby didn't say anything in response. Her anxiety was so high that she hadn't even realized her daughter getting home from work. All that she could think about all day was that she was going to lose another one of her daughters. That Bonnie was going to die. She knew that the odds were highly unlikely, but it wasn't impossible.

With a furrow of her brow, Bonnie walked toward the table and she took a seat across from her.

Her mother was sipping on the alcohol they had saved for a special occasion, she noticed.

"Mom?" She asked. "Are you okay?"

"The reaping is coming up." Abby said, ignoring her daughter's question. But, in a way she answered it. She was far from okay.

"Yeah. I know." Bonnie rested her hands against the table and she stared down at them. She didn't want to think about the reaping. She didn't want to think about the hunger games. Yet, somehow it was all that she could think about. 'I just miss Rue so much... She should still be here. I should have volunteered...'

"I have a really bad feeling, Bonnie." Her mother said, taking a large gulp of the alcohol. "I just know it's going to be you this year. I just know I'm going to lose another daughter."

"Mom, don't say that." She said, her voice soft and sympathetic and her eyes shimmering with sorrow. "It isn't going to be me. The odds of them drawing my name is one in a million."

"It's the same odds as them pulling Rue's name." She wiped the fresh tears from her eyes and she looked away from her daughter. "I'm going to lose you too. I just know it."

'Your Beautiful Eyes Will Not Sleep Again,

In The Ghostly Light, I See Your Pain.'

"This is my year, baby brother." Damon said with a twist of his lips as his sword clanked loudly against Stefan's. The two of them had been training consistently for years in hopes that they would be called to join in the hunger games.

"It better be." He said, with a counter attack. "This is your last year to qualify, old man."

He rolled his blue eyes and easily threw the sword from Stefan's hand, tossing it across the yard. He hated when his brother teased him about becoming too old for the games, but the thought had been weighing on his mind a lot now that the reaping was getting closer. What if he didn't get picked? What if he had spent all of his life training for nothing?

He couldn't just volunteer.

Not in District 1.

If anyone else got that spot in the games, they wouldn't give it up to him. They were raised with the expectation of going to the games. They were supposed to win and then move on to join the Capitol.

"I'm getting that spot." Damon said, sticking the blade of the sword into the grass and wiping the sweat from his brow.

"What do you want to try next?" Stefan asked, approaching the weapon rack they had in the back yard. Inside, they had an entire armory and a swimming pool. Both brothers were hair stylists and they were paid well for their work. Fashion and appearance was the most important thing in the Capitol and often times they would even get residents from the Capitol to come in to the salon. They were paid well.

"Get me an ax." He said with a playful wag of his brow. It was one of the weapons that he wasn't quite as skilled with, but he loved wielding it.

Plus, this was supposed to be practice.

He needed to be prepared to use any weapon, because he didn't know what he would get his hands on in the arena. He could end up with a bow, an ax, or his bare hands. No matter what, he had to be able to kill someone. And he believed that he was. He knew that if they called his name to compete in the hunger games, he was going to come out of it victorious.

There was no doubt in his mind.

Stefan handed his brother the ax and the two of them continued to spar.

This time, his little brother had the advantage. He was far more experienced with the ax. He managed to disarm Damon and push him to the ground, holding the ax to his throat. If they were in the games at that moment, he would have lost.

"I think you need a little more practice, old man." He teased.

"I think you need to get off of me." Damon groaned out in annoyance, pushing his brother off of him. 'I really hope I don't get an ax... I will be totally screwed! Why didn't I practice more? Gah!'

"Supper is ready boys!" Their mother called from the beautiful two story house. Her white hair was twisted up into the shape of a swan and she had bright pink eye shadow on. Her dress was made of the finest materials and it too was brightly colored. District 1 was as close to the Capitol as it got. They were practically pampered by them. "You need to make sure you eat well tonight because the reaping is coming up!"

The brothers returned their weapons to the rack and then they hurried inside to eat.

"What's for dinner?" Damon asked with a smirk as he walked into the kitchen. "I'm starved."

He didn't know the definition of starving.

If he skipped one meal he felt like he was dying of hunger. Stefan always reminded him that there were starving people in other districts, but he didn't quite understand the gravity of the statement. He had never been in that sort of situation before.

"Steak and potatoes." She said with a smile. She knew it was their favorite meal and it would help give them some extra protein for the games.

She knew that if they didn't make it this year, her husband was going to disown them.

'With A Whisper Of Leaves, Sadness, And Pain,

She Said : You Stay Here.'

"Welcome! Welcome!" The woman at the microphone said with a wide smile. She had her wild blue hair twisted up and her face was painted white and speckled with jewels. She seemed excited to announce the tributes for the upcoming hunger games. She was the only one in the entire district that had a smile on her face. Everyone else was dreading the games. "Happy hunger games everyone! May the odds be in your favor!"

'Please let the odds be in my favor... What are the odds that I get sent the year after my sister?' Bonnie thought nervously to herself as she watched the woman announce the video. Every year they played the exact same video to remind them why they had to do the hunger games. It was their attempt to brainwash them into believing it was for the greater good.

She knew the truth though.

If it was for the greater good then the people from the Capitol would be competing as well.

Her heart was pounding painfully in her chest as she watched the short film come to a conclusion. The District 11 escort was about to announce who was going to be joining the games this year.

"Don't you all just love that film?" The woman asked. "Alright. Now the time has come, for us to select one young man and woman for the honor of representing District 11, in the 75th annual hunger games!"

'The honor...' Bonnie couldn't understand anyone thinking it was an honor to represent their district in the games. If they lost, they died. If they won, they were granted all of the treasures they could ever dream of, but they could never see their family again. To her, that was a lose-lose situation. Either way she was losing the most important people to her. 'Just like I lost Rue...'

"As usual, ladies first!" The escort announced.

She moved toward the glass ball that held all of the possible female candidates' names.

Bonnie swallowed hard and watched her closely as she reached into the ball and her fingers danced playfully along the pieces of paper. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't even blink. Not until she knew that it wasn't her name. Her heart felt like it was going to break through her chest when the escort finally picked up one of the pieces of paper between her fingers, waving it around for all of them to see it.

'Please don't be my name. Please. I have to stay here with my family.'

The woman unfolded the piece of paper and she coughed to clear her throat. With a satisfied smile playing on her lips she said the name loud and clear, "Bonnie Bennett!"

'Did she just say my name...? Was that my name? How is this happening? This can't be happening!' She suddenly felt woozy and like she was going to pass out. She was having a panic attack. How was it possible that the year prior her little sister had been called to the hunger games and now she was being called? She couldn't wrap her mind around it. She couldn't believe it. She didn't want to believe it.

"Where are you?" The escort asked in an excited tone. "Come on up here!"

Everyone turned to look at her.

They all knew who she was. They all knew that Rue was her sister and that she had died in the previous hunger games. Everyone watching knew that it was wrong. They knew that it shouldn't have been her, but they were too scared to offer themselves. They were too scared to stand up to the Capitol. So instead, they watched with somber eyes as she made her way toward the stage.

Truthfully, she didn't even know how she was managing to walk. Her head was so fuzzy and she felt so lightheaded. She was almost positive she was having a terrible nightmare and she was going to wake up in her bed with her little sisters and brothers.

But, it wasn't a nightmare.

"Let's all have a round of applause for Bonnie Bennett." The woman sang as Bonnie climbed the stairs to the stage. She couldn't see her mother in the crowd, but she knew wherever she was, her heart was shattering into a million pieces. She was losing another one of her daughters, just as she had predicted. Tears glimmered in her green eyes as she stood beside the colorful woman and she stared out at all of the familiar faces.

They all looked so sad for her.

"And now, for the boys!" She exclaimed.

With that, she walked over to the glass ball with the boys' names and she reached inside, pulling out a piece of paper. She eagerly opened it and read the name loudly into the microphone, "Marcel Gerard!"

Bonnie felt like she was dying in that moment. Not only was she being forced into the games, she was being forced into them with someone she cared about. Marcel was one of her closest friends in the district. He worked the same shift at the garden with her and she talked to him about everything going on at home. He was always there to comfort her. He was like a brother to her.

"Come on up here, Marcel!" She shouted.

Marcel moved through the crowd.

He was actually sort of relieved that he got his name called. He wanted to go with Bonnie in order to help keep her safe. No one deserved to go to the hunger games less than Bonnie Bennett, and he fully intended on making sure she survived them.

'We Are A Warlike Species, Barbaric And Brutal,

And We Ever Shall Be.'

Author's Note :

Here I am starting another new fic! Haha! I got a lot of people asking that I write this, so I decided to give it a shot! :)) I'm curious how many people are interested in me continuing this idea!? The next chapter will have more Damon involved and it will probably have Bamon meeting for the first time! Thank you so much for reading this chapter and giving this fic a shot! How did you like this chapter? Did you enjoy Bonnie's back story? How do you feel about Damon? What about Marcel? Excited to see Bamon meet for the first time? What all ideas do y'all have! I promise to add them in!

Again, thank you so much for reading this! I love you guys!

-Tracy Cook-