the Reaping- it was all I could think about, my head was spinning. Karen, she would volunteer this year. She would choose to enter the games just so she could try and avenge Daddy. Mama says died during the big war, eleven years ago. She also told me that the Hunger Games were invented to stop another war, but that doesn't make sense, how is killing children going to stop a war?
Mama says that President Garnil created it at the end of the war so that it would create entertainment and reflection to the capital and the districts and to remind everyone that the capitol cannot be over powered.
I lost my train of thought as Mama burst into the room, she told me in her sharp brusque manner "Margret why are you not out of bed?"
"sorry mother" I said and quickly got washed and dressed. It was reaping day- no need to go out and fish today. that was District 4's job- fishing.
There are twelve districts in total, each have a different job and send there produce or constructions to the capital the almighty power, ruled under President Garnil and his young and devilishly handsome right-hand man, Coriolanus Snow. I can faintly remember, one when me and my sister were two years younger, watching one of the presidential announcements on our TV and me and my sister giggling and pretending to be Mrs Snow.
But that is far behind us, when my sister heard of an underground training camp to help more District 4 tributes become victors, training in hand-to-hand combat, weaponry and survival skills.
She became distant and spent her days either training or out on the waters and soon me and my mother began to stop waiting up for her as she came back past midnight and would collapse in bed only to have already left when I rose, early the next morning.
The few hours left before the reaping fly by, and soon me and Karen are walking towards the town square for the reaping. being 16 has its problems as those of us who have not yet hit our growth spurts are forced to see only the back of the person in front's head.
As we file into lines I begin to shake, this is the last time me and my sister may be together, and I won't even be next to her. I turn to look at her but she is facing forward, with her head held high, trying to look confident, but in her eyes I can see the soft glimmer that appears when she is afraid and when she saw me looking at her she smiled a tight smile, more to comfort me, I think.
Then Mayor Batterlee, an elderly man who suffered severe arthritis the meant he needed. cane to help him walk. He approached the speaker on the roughly constructed stage and began the proceedings that happened every Reaping.
After the usual speech on how the Hunger Games were founded, Mayor Batterlee invited Melanie Angel, our escort 'sent specially from the capital' to escort the chosen tributes to their prison cells- or "apartments" as the the Capitol says. Walking slowly behind her was Stacey Detrot, so far our only Victor still alive, we use to have a male victor who managed to win the fourth Hunger Games, but he killed himself a few years ago on a Heroin overdose. Which caused the capital to ban certain addictive drugs and put limits on the amount of other drugs that could be purchased.
People say he killed himself because of the visions, the awful memories that still linger even after his Hunger games were far into the past. As the brutality shown on our Tv can be nothing compared to what goes on inside the Arena and the true horrors that can only be felt when one is inside of it.
Melanie step-up to the speaker and says," Now, it time to determine the chosen tributes from district 4 to enter the Hunger Games." she smiled broadly, too broadly and I could have sworn I heard her voice catch on 'Games' there was definitely more to Miss Melanie Angel then met the eye.
"Let's begin with the ladies" she strutted over to the large glass bowl and rummaged around before extracting a name. Walking back to the microphone she unfurled the piece of paper before reading it out loud;
"Karen Flanagan"
"No" I muttered under my breath, she can't be the name they picked out, that is impossible. how could this have happened. I begin to feel lightheaded as my sister begins to walk towards the stage, up the steps to stand on the little cross marked on the floor less than ten paces away from her 9, 8, 7, 6,
" I volunteer as tribute!"
YOU ARE READING
Flower in darkness
FantasyIt is 1 years after the war and Margret, a 16 year old from district 4 knows that this is the year her sister will volunteer. But she does not want her sister to die.
