The Real Threat- The Story of Foxface

The Volunteer

Chapter 1
My name is Finch Lowings. I live in District 5. I try to sleep. But it's the Eve of the Reaping. Who can possibly sleep? My slightly wavy, red hair is tangled from tossing and turning so much. I try to go to sleep. I lay still for a while. I think to myself that I won't get reaped. But then a thought forms in the back of my head. It tells me, "What if you do? Then think of the life you'll leave behind, Finch! Think of it!" I have a nice enough life. Well... Not much of a life. I live alone. Totally alone. I live in the old, broken down house of my parents. My mom and dad were out in a field one day. Then, out of nowhere, tracker jackers came buzzing at them quickly. They stung their face, hands, legs, and everywhere else. It didn't take long for them to collapse. Because of that I live alone. But I do have a life. I have my best friend, May. May is a bright person. Her curly, short blonde hair bounces behind everywhere she goes. And wherever she goes, I follow. She's sly and sneaky, which she adapted from me. She had to learn to be sly and sneaky because I was always trying to sneak around. And we were inseparable. Sometimes we see a cart full of fruit. She screams, then runs quickly off into the distance, far from sight. Then I steal some food and sprint toward her. While the peacekeeper has no idea what's going on, we're already eating a strawberry and finished off an apple.

I slowly drift off to sleep. Then I have a dream. They call May at the reaping. "May!" I yell. She reaches to me, I reach to her. But the peacekeepers drag her onto stage. "May." I whisper. It's too late.

Then I wake up. I go into the kitchen, grab an orange, and peel it. Then I grab a small roll of bread I've stolen and eat it. I take a small sip from my bucket of water. I dress as presentable as I can.

I pass hundreds of electricity companies as I walk to the reaping. That's what district 5 is. Power. I get in a line. They take my blood, mark my name down on a scrap of paper, and tell me to move on. I find May in the crowd. I step beside her and a Capitol woman, who introduces herself as Galia, with bright orange skin and big, curly blue hair. Her outfit is a glittery striped dress. "Welcome!" She says in her ridiculous Capitol accent. "Play the video." She says. The video about the Treaty of Treason and the Dark Days and why we have the Hunger Games and whatever else we already have learned in school plays. After it's done, she skips over to the tribute bowl, her high heels clicking behind her. "Ladies first!" She says cheerfully. She slips her hand into the bowl, pulls out a tiny, folded, slip of paper and skips back to the microphone. She unfolds the little slip. "Maysilee Black." She calls.

May.

"May! May!" I yell. My dream, my nightmare. It's happening. I try to grab her hand, but it slips away from me. May makes her way unto stage. "Any volunteers?" Galia asks. I feel a lump in my throat. "I volunteer. I volunteer for Maysilee Black."