Chapter 77 - Feed the Machine

When the bus came to a sudden halt Kaiser was woken up abruptly after his head hit the seat in front of him. Sadly the back of the seats were wooden so the impact hurt quite a bit, especially in the area of his neck. Rubbing it with a painful expression he looked around. The old man was still getting up from his seat, apparently his hat had fallen underneath a few other seats so he had been busy searching for him.

About two seconds afterwards the old man came towards him and leaned on a seat not far away. "So you woke up, huh? I was wondering for how long you would continue to sleep in this heat." It was then that the old man noticed Kaiser's expression and asked in a softer voice: "You alright boy? Something broken? If not let's get going. You know how much of a stuck up ass the overseer of this farm is. Rules are rules. Bullshit!"

Moving his neck a bit more Kaiser eventually stood up and motioned towards the exit. "Let's get out of here. We shouldn't stay in this brutally hot vehicle any longer. Don't forget your hat, old man!" Immediately he began to walk straight towards it before exiting the bus. He hadn't gotten far when he heard Adonis's reply: "I'm not that old! I don't have dementia! And most importantly I can take care of myself!"

Laughing Kaiser got to work. Until around 16 o'clock they continued to work on the fields, harvesting wheat, gather it in large bundles and finally loading said bundles onto wagons which transported it to a mill. Adonis told him in a long break how they had used large machines in the past which had made it easier to harvest but due to difficult maintenance, a lack of fuel over the years and the fact that the capitol most likely wanted to make work for the districts even more difficult, they had been taken away. Now they had to once again work with their hands. Perhaps the high fertility of the district, which grew every year in numbers forced the government to use this way to keep everyone busy.

When they were told to stop around 16 o'clock Kaiser was quite surprised. Normally they would continue to work until nightfall which now, in summer, was in a few hours. That was until Adonis who had rested his hands on top of the large scythe in his hands to enjoy the break noticed his absent and vacant look in Kaiser's eyes and commented: "Hey there boy! Has your mind left your body yet or are you the one who has dementia and can't remember what's today? It's reaping time! It's your third time already! Everyone has been talking about it for the past few weeks!"

Blinking Kaiser turned around to the old man who had seemingly rested enough to begin sharpening his scythe with a whetstone from his pocket. "It seems I've forgotten all about it. After Mr. Chip had told me about one week ago that I should focus on the harvest for now to become stronger I've been so busy working and sleeping that I haven't had much time for anything else."

The old man carefully put his whetstone back into the pocket to avoid losing one. Punishments for loosing something like that were harsh. "I've always known you to get a bit deaf whenever you focus on work but to miss literally every conversation held in the last few weeks is a bit ridiculous." He said before shaking his head and walking towards the storeroom at the farm where they had to give their equipment back. After Kaiser had sharpened his scythe as well and handed it back to the on in charge and climbing into the buses leaving for Zone B2 where they had to gather for the reaping. Once they arrived they had to get ready and arrive around 8 o'clock in the evening in Zone B1 in front of the city hall.

This applied only to those eligible for being reaped with a maximum of one additional family member due to the many people that inhabited the district. Most had to stay in Zone B2 and watch it from there over their own personal TV or the large screens which were being erected everywhere along the streets. Not only because of lacking space but also because of possible riots this had been a good plan and had worked for many years although a few unhappy people had tried to start one they had been contained in Zone B2 and were quickly arrested and publicly executed on the next day.

A few other district didn't have to work, go to school or other things on the day of the reaping but as the reaping took place during harvest time they had to work. Because the inhabitants of the capitol wanted to watch all reapings over the course of the day live on television and the harvesting problem they had come up with this solution.

When he said his goodbyes to Adonis and a few other coworkers that took the same bus they wished him good luck as they were all quite fond of him. Coming home he went to take a shower, cleaning himself properly before sitting down at the kitchen table with the family to eat a nice dinner. As usual on the reaping day the atmosphere wasn't the greatest and besides a few unfunny jokes by his father in an attempt to lighten up the mood everyone was rather quiet. Feeling uncomfortable Kaiser excused himself soon and left to change into something nice to look presentable in front of the capitol.

As it was quite warm he simple chose a dark blue shirt with a subtle pattern as well as jeans with a fitting black belt and comfortable brown shoes. Tying his smooth long black hair in a simple pony tail as a final touch was enough in his eyes. Luckily he didn't get a lot of pimples when he hit puberty. Sometimes simplicity was the best way to go. Over the years he had seen quite a number of weird outfit and make up choices but it had almost always looked extremely fake and ridiculous.

Fifty minutes before eight he took a bus, together with his younger brother and older sister, towards Zone B1 where they had to arrive. Because all of them had to go they could take all of their family with them (Father, Mother, Uncle). They arrived with about ten minutes to spare and while the a.d.u.l.ts had to stay at the back, some distance away from where the tributes where gathered, Kaiser, his brother and his sister were split up and accompanied to others of their respective age groups. A countdown was being projected on a large screen above the entrance to the city hall where they had constructed a large stage. About six minutes were left before Lady Luck would choose the capitol's sacrifices.

As he looked around he saw eyes wide in fear, some lethargic, already having given up but in most the fire of hope was still burning brightly when they saw how many others were present. He saw his Theodore somewhere in the front together with the other newcomers (In the book it's the other way around in District 12 but this is District 11). When he had turned around he had also spotted his sister who had seemingly been watching him for a while now, perhaps she had been nervous and wanted to find a safe anchor, regardless he gave her a small encouraging smile before turning around once more. There were a few others he knew, mostly from school, although it took him a while to recognize them since he hadn't seen them after he had left school a few years ago.

Once the timer had run out the mayor, a few previous victors as well as well dressed person that was obviously from the capitol. Curious since he had never seen him before he looked forwards to the introduction of this new person. Almost immediately the mayor began with his speech. As soon as the mayor began to read out the history of Panem and the origin of the hunger games which took a long while Kaiser stopped to focus on the speech. He had heard it countless times by now so it wasn't really interesting anymore. Instead he decided to observe the new Capitol representative. He wore a crimson jacket as well as tight green trousers and a purple fedora with a large pink feather attached to it. Due to the distance between them he couldn't make out many more details.

He was interrupted in his observation when the Capitol representative came to the front to begin with the main event. With a deep voice and his hilarious accent it was quite entertaining to listen to him. "Greetings citizens of District 11 and of course also a wonderful evening to everyone watching. My name is Asmodeus Scaleria and I will from now on be responsible for the drawing of the tributes. Usually I would say Ladies first but I plan to switch every year to make it interesting. So I will begin with the boys."

Kaiser smiled. His family was a bit better off compared to the rest so only he and his sister had to add their names only a few extra times in exchange for tesserae and as soon as Kaiser was able to earn a good wage by working they could stop it entirely. But since entrees into the glass balls were c.u.mulative they couldn't get rid of the extra times that were inside.

Asmodeus smiled widely, showcasing his white shining teeth which were quite well maintained. Drawing a slip elegantly he looked at it for a while before reading out "Kaiser Langschwert. Please come to the front!" Looking around if there was anyone else that was named Kaiser he looked at his parents who nodded with a frown on their faces.

[Typical], he thought. How was it that no one had ever called him by his last name? Perhaps his name had been so extraordinary that no one had needed to?

It was annoying that he had been chosen now when he hadn't reached his peak performance yet but it didn't matter to much to him. He just had to play it a bit more carefully. Regardless he plowed through the mass of boys that were the same age as him, squished together in their tiny area, before jumping over the rope that separated the designated areas from the small path between them. Strolling casually with his hands behind his back towards the stage, not minding the two peacekeepers that accompanied him, one on each side, he observed the surrounding crowd. Some seemed to be sad that he had been chosen but most, from the side of the boys at least seemed to be busy feeling glad that they weren't the ones to be chosen.

Climbing the stage he stands to the right, right behind the glass ball that held the names of the boys. "Wonderful. Let us give a round of applause for our new tribute here." After a short applause he continues. "Are there any volunteers that want to replace him?" Before anyone can answer Kaiser calmly says: "I don't want nor will I accept other volunteers. I have been chosen so I'm the one that will go to the arena. Carry on with the girl tributes."

Surprised with this sudden turn of events Asmodeus Scaleria glaces towards the mayor who seems to think for a short moment before subtly nodding. Relieved he continues. "Very well, if that is the case then I will continue. Our girl tribute for this year...is Martha Langschwert."

His big sister...as an enemy tribute? Kaiser was surprised and shocked.