IRON
the hunger games.

▬▬▬▬▬▬

❝the sound of iron shots is stuck in my head,
the thunder of the drums dictates
the rhythm of the falls, the number of dead
the rising of the horns, ahead.❞
— woodkid

Vesper knows that if she were ever to be Reaped into the Hunger Games, she wouldn't leave much behind in District Six. Both her parents are dead, and she's been working through a tense relationship with her stepsister, Blythe, for the past months that they've been living alone together. The only people she can't imagine leaving behind are her friends at work — all alike in that they're railroad mechanics, maintaining the tracks that connect all of Panem in order to feed their families.

Despite all of this, hearing her name called in the Reaping still feels like a sucker-punch to the gut. It would seem the universe really is against her. Her suspected fate of being crushed in the Bloodbath, having had no previous experience with weapons or survival, becomes easier to accept in the heat of the moment...

That is, until Icarus Brunel's name is called; the younger brother of Axel Brunel, her best friend. The little boy of only thirteen years who wouldn't hurt a single soul. She could never let him die. Taking on a sisterly role, Vesper makes it her mission to do what she can to protect Icarus for as long as she can in the arena, and return him home safely.

     But in the arena, when faced with survival, trained killers and the prospect of death, Vesper's objective is easier said than done.

╒═══════════════╕
the cast
may the odds be
ever in your favour...
╘═══════════════╛

Victoria Moroles as...
VESPER ALFARO

Alycia Debnam-Carey as...
BLYTHE HADZHIEV

Caleb McLaughlin as...
ICARUS BRUNEL

Mia Wasikowska as...
IRMA BENTLEY

Daniel Kaluuya as...
AXEL BRUNEL

[ + additional cast... ]
eva green as hermia winkle
luke kirby as dale tadros
matt smith as benedict whitlock
& tarjei sandvik moe as levin

DISCLAIMERS.

     I do not own the Hunger Games universe, I only own the characters mentioned in the cast list and their personal arcs, the details of the Sixty-Eighth Hunger Games (that aren't canon) and details of District Six (that aren't canon.) But Peeta Mellark owns my heart. So... that's not fair.

     Iron will contain coarse language, graphic injury detail, heavy violence, gore and horror elements, child death, depictions of mental illnesses such as post traumatic stress disorder, and the usage of alcohol and drugs.

     DEDICATION!  To BundlesOfHope Iydiamartin -tozier stilestastic kiIIzones TheDarkFlame -hiddleston xopeaches- omamxri isaacnewts IunchabIes blackbeaks  and any other Hunger Games fans out there...

AUTHOR'S NOTE.

It's almost been a year, and I'm BACK! If you're new here, this probably doesn't mean anything to you, but I did take down this book in the summer of 2019 (not long after publishing it) to tweak the storyline a bit, and also fill in the gaps because I'd launched into it without any real idea of what I would write about. Now I feel like I'm ready, though, and since we're in a global pandemic — which reminds me, I hope you are all safe at home or wherever you are! — then I've got to do something during this free time I've suddenly been given.

If you're an old reader though, hi! And welcome back to Iron. There are a few little things I'd just like to mention before we start, mainly some basics about District Six.

First off, the political climate of District Six. It's hardly discussed in the original Hunger Games trilogy, so I took that opportunity to do some world building of my own. One thing that is canon, however, is that District Six is very unstable: their peacekeepers are very rough with them, and Morphling addiction is hinted to be a district-wide problem, so I'll expand on what I've been given to work with. This book revolves mainly around the Games themselves, so I'm not going into as much depth about Six in this book... however, I'm hoping for this to be a series, the second instalment being set during Catching Fire! One step at a time, though.

Secondly, its geographical location... now, there are a multitude of Panem maps on the Internet, all slightly different in where each District is located. I have stuck with one map to make my life easier, so I've managed to figure out where it is located from there. I made a map to show you, but just in case Wattpad decides to make images go blank again, (*insert passive-aggressive emoticon*) District Six basically covers all of Michigan, Illinois and Indiana, with a section of eastern Wisconsin and a smidge of north-western Ohio — and Lake Michigan runs right through the middle of that, but in the Hunger Games universe I've named it Lake Mercury (named after the Roman God of transport.) So, if you live in any of those states... I dub thee a citizen of District Six?

Alright, I think that's enough from me. I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I'm going to enjoy writing it, and may the odds be ever in your favour!

— Imogen

started,  june 26th, 2019
published,  april 25th, 2020
ended, december 8th, 2022

© starryeyedturtle 2020