Okay, I suck I know, publishing a new story while I have so many others going on, but this has been one of my pet projects over the summer and I couldn't let senior year start without me publishing it. I promise my other stories will be finished! Graceland is currently undergoing some revisions before the next chapter update, but I thought I could go ahead and publish this, so hopefully you all won't want to make my cannon go off? Please? Maybe?

Day Zero: November 1st

Finnick Odair,

We (the Project Colonization Application Committee) have reviewed your application for a position in Project Colonization. After careful consideration and looking over every factor we have decided to accept your application for the position.

On November 1st please be ready to leave your current residence at 9:00 am. A bus consisting of other accepted members of Project Colonization (though not necessarily members of your colony) will take you to the airport where you will be flown to Project Colonization Headquarters. Do not bring anything with you as this will effect the results of the experiment.

Your family will receive compensation for your absence, a $250,000 annual allowance that your family will be able to spend as they choose. Your needs will be taken care of as Project Colonization sees fit.

If you choose to withdraw from the project, do so by October 15th so Project Colonization has time to find a replacement to fill your role in your colony.

The information on the following page contains information specific to your colony. Remember: the size of colonies range from six to twenty-four people, depending on the predicted success and other factors that make up the colony. You will know no one from your colony ahead of time and receive no contact information. Last names of Colony members will not be provided for to prevent contact before scheduled arrival date.

-Coriolanus Snow, President of Project Colonization

I take a deep breath. This is really happening. Tomorrow I leave this city for good and go to who knows where with a bunch of strangers where I am expected to live out the rest of my life, simply to see if life at this location is even possible. Why am I doing this? The money. The money would keep my family well off as long as I stay where I am supposed to. I plan on doing so. Mom, Dad, Eloise and Daisy need the money to get out of this poverty slum. I told them I would be gone a year, not the rest of my life. They'll figure it out, I suppose. I flip over to the second page of the paper where the information is.

ID Number: 04-01-258133-01

Colony: Yellow Haven Reef Colony

Colony Members (In Alphabetical Order by First Name. ID numbers will be put beside the names for identification purposes upon arrival date):

Annie 04-02-258133-02

Finnick 04-01-258133-01

Gale 12-04-258133-01

Johanna 07-05-258133-02

Katniss 12-06-258133-02

Peeta12-03-258133-01

Colony Size: Small

Colony ID: 258133

Colony Climate: Tropical

Additional Information: No additional information is available for the Yellow Island Reef Colony

No additional information. For most, that would be terrifying. I found it to be an adventure. Knowing the names of the other members of the colony helped as well. After asking what the ID numbers meant and how they were processed (the first two digits being randomized on a scale of 1-15, the second two digits being the order the members joined Project Colonization, the third section being the Colony ID and the last section being gender, 01 for male and 02 for female) I determined we had an even split of males and females. I know that was probably purposeful, to make sure everyone would be paired up, but it made me happy to know I could still potentially have a happy future, even if I was limited to Annie, Johanna or Katniss. All of us would have to be 18 years old by the time we left. Only eighteen year olds could apply for this, as to make sure everyone was in the same age group. A bunch of eighteen year olds being sent out into the most remote and possibly dangerous parts of the world simply to see if other humans could survive there... sounds about right.

There was a third page stapled onto the letter I had received. This was the part that made the the most excited: my application. The application asked all sorts of questions as to make sure I would get along with the people I would be paired with, but was also filled with different questions concerning my skills as to make sure I was put in the proper environment. Leave the world I know behind and go into the unknown? I was excited. I was always challenging myself to climb higher, swim farther and simply do better than others that I knew. I was the best swimmer I knew and I excelled at fishing. A reef sounds like the perfect place to try out all my skills. The best part about this is still the money. I would never have signed up if my family didn't receive as much money as they will.

I lay in my bed staring up at my ceiling for the very last time and find myself drifting off into a light sleep, only to be awoken, what seemed like moments later, by my younger sisters, Eloise and Daisy. It was 8:30am and they were tackling me with hugs and my parents were standing at the doorframe. Mom looked like she was crying. She thinks I'm only going to be away a year. I can't bear to tell her I will never return. "Hey, don't cry, mom. I'll be fine."

She nods her head. "I know. I just love you, Finnick. Don't forget that."

I smile and kiss her forehead. "I could never, mom."

I say the rest of the goodbyes to my family, telling everyone I love them, when I hear the bus honk outside the house. "That's my ride."

I get on the bus and look longingly out the window. The only thing I have with me is my letter. I had been given several letters and phone calls instructing me to leave everything behind and bring the letter with all the information on it.

The bus is small, containing four rows with an aisle, pushing two chairs onto either side of the aisle. Despite the bus being small, nearly every seat was filled. Eighteen year olds across the country signed up for this, many of whom fantasizing a better life for them or their family. I saw an open chair at the front though, next to a well built guy with brown hair and gray eyes. "This seat taken?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Nope. Feel free to take it, dude. I think we only have a couple more stops after this."

I nodded before holding out my hand. "Finnick Odair," I introduced. The guy nodded, but looked down at his paper, sitting slightly crumpled in his lap.

"Gale Hawthorne. You aren't the same Finnick who is going to Yellow Haven Reef Colony, are you?" he asked.

I nodded. "That's me. I take it you are the same Gale, huh?"

He smiled. "Looks like it. Well it's nice to meet one of the guys I'm going to be hanging out with for probably the rest of my life."

"Back at ya," I said. I liked Gale, so far. He seemed lie he could have a good time but there was an undeniable seriousness in his eyes. He seemed pretty chill now, but I could also tell he wanted to get things done. "So what made you sign up to join Project Colony?"

He shrugged. "My dad died when I was fourteen. I've been helping provide for my mom, two younger brothers and younger sister ever since. Posy, my sister, just turned four. I want them to have a good life, even if that means mine will be harder."

I nod. "My mom has cancer. The payment can cost quite a bit, and I want her to be okay, so I joined this. The extra money will help out my dad and younger sisters, I'm sure."

The bus made two more stops, picking up a thin redheaded girl and an intimidating looking blonde guy, before making our way to the plane. Fortunately, the plane ride was short, only an hour or so. We had arrived at Project Colonization Head Quarters before we knew it. A worker said colonies were in alphabetical order, and we were to find them and stand beneath the sign assigned to that colony, keeping our papers close so they could be inspected at a moment's notice.

Because they were in alphabetical order, Gale and I made our way to the end of the line. Sure enough, the last colony was the 'Yellow Haven Reef Colony.' The sign was, appropriately, a bright yellow color. Underneath the sign was a girl with brown hair and Taylor Swift bangs going across her forehead. In her hand, she nervously grasped her papers. She was five foot four or so with legs she covered with a pair of strategically ripped skinny jeans, cuffed so they show her ankles. She wore a blue and white striped shirt and a pair of white converse with a red rubber stripe. When she saw Gale and I approaching, her nervous look immediately softened into a more friendly one. "Yellow Haven, right?" I nodded, as did Gale. "Thank goodness! I was the only one here and it was starting to worry me. I mean, what if no one else showed up?" She took a deep breath, as if to reassure herself before holding her right hand out between us. "I'm Annie."

I looked at her hand, and took it in first thing I noticed was how little her hands themselves were, but her fingers were long, like a piano players. Her wrists were very easily bird wrists. The ball like bone on her wrist was very prominent and behind the bone was a circular scar that looked like a burn. "I'm Finnick. It's nice to meet you."

Annie relinquished my hand and held her hand out for Gale to shake. "So I guess we are going to be living together, huh?"

"Guess so," Gale said. The thought was still foreign to me and though I knew this was really happening, it felt like a dream.

We waited under that sign for another two hours before the last four planes flew in. The first plane that landed, and off came Peeta. He had wavy blonde hair and blue eyes and a muscular build, like he would easily be able to carry large weights on his back.

The second plane had no one from our colony, as did the third. That meant the final plane would have to hold both Johanna and Katniss. Sure enough, the fourth plane landed and two girls made their way over to us, separately. They probably didn't meet on the plane. The two girls, though, had the exact same fiery look in their eyes. They were here to get shit done, not play around. "Yellow Haven?" one of them asked. We all nodded. "Good! I was getting sick of that plane. I was on there for eight hours! All they gave me to eat was a fucking ham and cheese sandwich and a side of peanuts with a plane sized cup of water. I'm starving!" We were all taken aback by this. She plopped herself down on the floor next to where Annie was currently sitting, back against the wall, and let out a sigh. "I'm Johanna by the way."

Katniss' entrance was much less dramatic. She looked all of us over and kept quiet, only muttering the words, "My name is Katniss," as quiet as she could audibly be.

Gale gave her a weird look, though. "Catnip? Well that is an interesting name." I laughed, as did Annie and Peeta. Katniss gave Gale a death glare, though.

"Katniss. Not Catnip. You should know that. It's on your paper." That did not relinquish the nickname. Instead, it just made the name stick.

Groups started to get called back into this conference room. Another two hours battling boredom passed before our group, the last group was called back. Inside the conference room was a large table that could fit thirty or more people, if need be, six manilla folders that were set out at empty seats, and a group of six people sitting at one end of the table, large binders opened to a yellow tab at the back. We shuffled in and found ourselves sitting in front of the folders, each one was marked with our name on the tab.

"Yellow Haven Reef Colony, identification number 258133, meeting is called to order." There was a man a few seats down from where I was with a recorder and a legal pad opened a few seats away from where I was. I guessed he was the secretary.

"Good, good." At the end of the table sat an older man with white hair and beard. He wore a suit with a white rose in it and he looked at us each with snake-like blue eyes. "I'm Mr. Snow, President of Project Colonization. I would like to thank you up front for joining our little experiment. If you will open your folders, you will find a file with different positions you have been assigned for. There are six basic positions in our Colonies that we have made sure are filled: leader, healer, teacher, hunter, gatherer, engineer. We have looked at all the profiles and have determined which of you will best fill these roles. Most of our colonies are bigger than six people, meaning there is usually multiple people in each role. Here, you guys are on your own."

I opened my folder and looked at the first page.

Name: Finnick Odair

Position: Leader

Colony: Yellow Haven Reef Colony

Success Rate Prediction: 87% Success Rate

I look up from the paper. "Sir, there must be a mistake," I found myself saying. "My position-"

He cut me off. "Leader. Not a mistake, Finnick. We have carefully looked at every one of you. You will be the assigned leader, Peeta be the assigned healer, Annie the assigned teacher, Katniss the assigned hunter, Johanna the assigned gatherer and Gale the assigned engineer."

Johanna was the one who spoke up next. "What do you mean assigned?"

Mr. Snow looked at Johanna. "We have assigned you to these roles. What goes on at the actual colony is your business, but as of right now, these are your current positions."

Annie was the next one to protest. "Sir, why am I a teacher? Who would need to be schooled, first of all, since there are no kids, and secondly, I failed, like, three classes last six weeks and I failed the final of the class I did pass. I mean, I passed all my classes for the semester, but I'm not cut out for teaching."

"Your application included a likes and dislikes section. Your likes included reading and writing, so naturally we picked you for that position. Also, because you are starting a colony, a new civilization, you will be expected to procreate. Children will arrive for you to teach, Ms. Annie." he said. Annie paled at this. I cannot blame her. The thought of our entire future being said as if it was a simple business meeting was terrifying. The fact that a colony, a civilization rested on us, a bunch of eighteen year olds, even scarier. He looked around at the others. "Any other questions?"

Peeta raised his hand. "Yes, I have two. The first is we are expected to find our own food here? I assumed we would receive imports. My second question is I have never in my life trained as a doctor. How am I expected to be a healer?"

This time, a silver haired woman with a strictly business look. "Alma Coin, Vice President, and in charge of organizing healers. In answer to your first question, Peeta, you are expected to export items to receive import. It is between the six of you what will be imported and exported. We have provided enough to last you your first six months. In response to your second question, Peeta, you will receive training in basic First Aid and CPR as well as a book on things you can do when a situation presents itself, but if any major accident occurs and anything you cannot handle happens, call us and we will provide assistance. We could also give online training, if that is required."

No one said anything else. Gale was looking intently at his file, flipping through the pages, seeing what information we currently had. He looked to be more adequate at a leader position than myself. To be honest, I probably received the leader position by default. The only other position I could ever do would be the hunter position. I looked at Katniss, who was giving President Snow a death glare, trying to see how she could be an incredible hunter. I flipped through a couple of pages in my folder, seeing the applications of everyone in our colony. Katniss was the fifth application in my folder. The applications we filled out had information that would be pertinent to placing us, but there were also incredibly random questions like our favorite music and television shows. Probably to get a feel on our personalities.

Name: Katniss Everdeen

Birthday: May 8th

Age: 18

Likes: Hunting, woods, archery, hanging out with people I am close to

Dislikes: Bad injuries, nakedness, bad burns, oppression

Skills: Archery

Favorite Music: Green Day, Muse, Linkin Park

Favorite Television Shows: Survivor, Man vs. Wild, Fear Factor, most hunting shows and similar shows.

Suddenly the hunting did not seem like a bad option for this girl. Actually, she seemed the most qualified. "If you will turn to the second page in your folder, you will find a map of the colony," this time a balding man with glasses spoke. "Yellow Haven Reef is predicted to be one of our most successful colonies. You will be inhabiting a tropical island. That is very fortunate. We have some colonies being sent out into tundra and desert. Your island is large, ten miles and fourteen miles at its largest dimensions. The island is very circular and in the middle of the island there is a small sized fresh water lake. The start up location for the colony is here, so there will be easy access to food and water. We have provided a two story, six bedroom, three bathroom house which includes a living room, sunroom, entry way and kitchen. There are currently nine beds in the house, so we will not expect you to have housing issues for some time. There will be a dock that goes into the lake, as well as a boat and two SeaDoo's. We have provided all this in order to help you be successful. Because there is only one house, we expect you all to live together." The man stopped speaking and we just sat there and stared. This was all happening really fast. "Johanna, you will be provided with a book of tropical plants and their uses. We expect you to be able to find some of these plants in the area where you are going to be living. Katniss, you will be given a similar book about game in the area. Because we haven't explored the area among basics, we have very little idea of what actually resides there, but we do not expect it to be too much of a problem."

The rest of the meeting concluded with Snow telling us some final information, like how we got to decide how the government in our colony was run, but the ultimate government was run by Project Colonization. We would be required to answer to them. I didn't see an issue there.

Project Colonization had started my parents generation and had been known for sending out expeditions like this. These colonies had improved the nations economy by allowing imports come through these small private countries all started by Project Colonization. Project Colonization would exchange goods from the colonies with goods from the rest of the country. The goods imported from the colonies were sold to the government at a fraction of the cost from importing from other countries. It was a great plan. There was one simple change this time. The people sent to colonies were required to stay. It used to be someone would only have to commit for a year at a time. Now it was a lifetime, or not at all. Still, the money my family would be getting would be amazing. It makes this worth it.

We walked out of the meeting room with instructions to wait for our plane. We would be shipped out with three other groups and we would be the second stop. After another hours of waiting, our plane arrived. We were loaded on and blocked off into three sections. We were the smallest colony on the plane, having only two rows, six seats, blocked off. I found myself sitting in the middle seat, Annie on my right side, sitting by the window, Gale on my left, sitting on the aisle. Behind me sat a scowling Katniss, with Peeta sitting window and Johanna sitting aisle. At last, we were off.

Thus concludes the first chapter! I hope y'all liked it! Please leave a review! That will make me want to not only update this story faster, but my other ones as well! Goodnight lovelies!

-Juliet