The Twenty-ninth Annual Hunger Games: A Fanfiction

District 3 Reaping

District 3 Reaping
Coil Stoneberg
I find myself in water. It's black. Like the night. Like the darkness. Like the fear I feel inside. And that's because it's reaping day. The water never seems to stop. There's no end, no land, nothing. There seems to be nothing around me. Nothing but this awful swirling black sea.
"Coil, are you okay?" I look up to see my seventeen-year-old sister Electra standing near my bed. The fears are still inside of me.
"I am afraid of the reaping," I say finally. "I don't want to get picked."
"I know. But it's midnight. You should go back to sleep."
"I can't," I tell her. It's true. I'm afraid that if I do, I will be trapped again in that awful dream.
"Do you want me to sing you the song?" she asks. I nod. That song always helps me fall asleep. She begins to sing.
"Deep in the meadow, under the willow;
A bed of grass, a soft green pillow;
Lay down your head, and close your eyes;
And when they open, the sun will rise.
Here it's safe, here it's warm;
Here the daisies guard you from any harm;
Here your dreams are sweet, and tomorrow brings them true;
Here is the place where I love you." Her voice is beautiful and clear, and I am soon asleep again. All those fears that I had are gone now.
"Coil." The sound of Electra's voice awakens me again.
"It's time to put on your new dress for reaping day."
"But I don't have any dresses," I remind her. She seems unconcerned.
"You do now," she says, and leads me to my closet. When she opens the door, I gasp at what I see inside. There, hanging on a hanger right in front of me, is an electric blue dress. It reminds me of wire, almost. I gasp again.
"Do you like it?" she asks.
"Of course I do!" I exclaim, and quickly put it on. It's very comfortable, with short sleeves and a fancy skirt that reminds me of a coil of wire around an electromagnet.
"You look beautiful," says my mother when I come into the living room.
"Thank you," I manage. The fears are coming back again. It's time for the reaping.
"Come on, Coil. We have to go," says Electra. I slowly follow my mother and sister out the door. We are the last ones to check in. Electra gives me a hug before going to her seat. I find a place to sit among the other thirteen-year-olds.
"Hello everyone, and welcome to the twenty-ninth annual reaping for the Hunger Games!" says our escort, Fuschia Sunglitter. "Before we get started, we have a very special film from the Capitol."
Note: The film is not mine. I don't own the film in this story, I am merely using it for a fanfiction.
I listen intently as the film begins.
"War, terrible war. Widows, orphans, a motherless child. This was the uprising that rocked our land. Thirteen districts rebelled against the country that fed them, loved them, and protected them. Then came the peace: Hard fought, sorely won. But freedom has a cost. When the traitors were defeated, we swore as a nation that we would never know this treason again. And so, each year, each of the twelve remaining districts must offer up in tribute one young man and woman as a reminder of the Dark Days." Tears fill my eyes. The film is sad, very sad. But I know we will have to watch it every year.
"Now it's time to choose our female tribute!" exclaims Fuschia. She crosses to the girls' ball and pulls out a slip of paper from the top.
"Electra Stoneberg!" My sister starts to stand up, but I run to the stage because she can't go anywhere.
"I volunteer as tribute!" I shout. Electra stares at me in surprise.
"What's your name?" asks our escort.
"Coil Stoneberg," I say, trying not to cry.
"That's wonderful!" she exclaims. Then she asks, "Was that your sister?" I nod. I am too scared to speak.
"Now for our male tribute!" Fuschia Sunglitter goes over to the boys' ball and takes out a second slip of paper. She slowly reads it.
"Prong Brightshire!" A twelve-year-old boy nervously stands and steps onstage to stand beside me. Nobody volunteers for him.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this year's tributes!" exclaims Fuschia. But nobody claps. Nobody moves. There is complete silence. Then the fears come back to me, reminding me of the dream I had about the swirling black water. And then I realize something, something that makes me want to cry. I may never see my sister Electra, or hear her sing, again.