The Siblings in the Games (a Hunger Games fanfic)

Chapter Four: The Reaping of District Three

The Siblings in the Games

Chapter Four:
The Reaping of District Three

"Hurry up, and get dressed, please," Phoenix's mother cooed gently. "It's a long day for you both."

"Yes, ma'am," replied Blue and Phoenix in unison.

It was early in the morning. The sun was just rising, but everyone in the Heron household was wide awake. Nearly everyone in all of the districts was wide awake.

Today was the fateful day. It was the day of the reaping for the Hunger Games. All children aged 12-18 would stand nervously, waiting to hear if their name was the one chosen out of thousands. Most were safe every year, but some found themselves trapped in the Games. In certain districts, someone, a career who made their life's work training to win the Hunger Games, would volunteer, but this was not always the case. In District Three in particular, the careers were dwindling were they were once prominent.

If you did the calculations then 63 completed years of games would leave 1,512 children reaped to become tributes in the Games. Out of that number, only 63 children lived (one victor each year). That left 1,449 children dead after 63 years. Was this really the sort of punishment the districts needed? The death of their children?

Phoenix pushed away the thought quickly. It's highly unlikely that she'll be picked. Some of the other children have their names entered a dozen times each by her age. There was a way to apply for tessera which granted the child a meager token of food supplies in exchange for an extra entry in the Hunger Games. She had hers entered only three times. Charlotte even had a higher chance of being reaped than Phoenix with five entries.

"What if you're picked?" whispered Blue in the silence.

It was the question hanging over everyone.

"Then, I'll be in the Hunger Games," shrugged Phoenix, "But don't worry. I probably won't get reaped."

Blue nodded with a sad look in her eyes. Then, the little girl left the room quickly, running towards the kitchen. Phoenix stared after her, but couldn't understand what would bring this reaction from her.

As Blue ran away, Phoenix turned her attention to the mirror sitting on the shelf in her bedroom. With a forced smile, Phoenix set to work quickly putting her hair in a simple braid on the side. From that, she secured it in a bun by just wrapping the braid around itself. It was simple, quick, and looked nice enough for the reaping today.

The girl almost shuddered at the thought of the reaping. What if she was picked? The thought reverberated throughout her mind with no end. It was terrifying.

That particular thought was still plaguing her as she gazed at the dress her mother had set aside for her. It was a dark, pleasant-looking red. The dress itself was rather plain. It ended just below her knee with short sleeves and no excessive glamour. Phoenix normally would've adored the dress knowing it meant a fantastic occasion, but now felt fearful of it.

As she gazed at her reflection in the mirror once more, Phoenix felt tears almost coming to her eyes. She was terrified. She knew Charlotte must be as well in her own bedroom. Ben was likely more so relieved as it was his last year in the reaping. Her face clearly depicted her fear and a sense of exhaustion. Quickly, Phoenix set to work wiping away tears with her sleeves so no would could see them.

"Nix," a voice called.

Phoenix turned around to see Charlotte standing in the doorway. She was in a gorgeous teal dress in a similar style to Phoenix's with her hair down. Automatically, she smiled at her older sister.