The Sacrifice
Author's Note: This is my first "Hunger Games" story. I'm sorry if there are any errors concerning the lore or facts. I've only read the first book so far. I just had to get this story out of my head. Thank you for reading! Please review if you would like quick updates!
Chapter 1: Volunteer
They say twins are lucky, but that never seemed to be true for my sister and I. Our mother died during the war. Our father fell overboard during a storm and drowned a few years later. We had been on our own ever since. Although District 4 was relatively wealthy by district standards, Maya and I barely got by on my meager earnings as a dockworker. I used to work as a fisherman, but the ships I worked on had the tendency to sink. As if I didn't have enough to worry about, Maya was strangely obsessed over the Capitol's Hunger Games. Since the games began, she dreamed of participating in it as a tribute. Just to shut her up, and to prepare her in case she ever was chosen, I let her receive training at the academy, where many District 4 kids trained for the games. To them, it was a huge honor, but to me it was just a public execution. I never had the intention of letting Maya actually volunteer, but as she got older, keeping her from doing just that got more challenging. I usually had to bribe her with something. Each year, I would hold my breath through the whole ceremony, hoping and praying that my twin would just keep her mouth shut. Thankfully, at eighteen, neither of us would be eligible after that year. It would be the last time I would have to stand there, dreading that I or my sister's name might be called or that she would stupidly and blindly offer herself up as a sacrificial lamb. I couldn't wait for it to be over so I would never have to worry about it again.
The night before the reaping was just like every year, with Maya and I fighting like cats and dogs.
"I can do it, Marlin! I can win! You just have to give me a chance!" Maya yelled from across the small dinner table. Her black hair fell messily in her sun tanned face.
"Twenty four go in, Maya, and only one comes out. The odds aren't exactly in your favor." I mocked the Capitol's favorite Hunger Games catch phrase. "You have a greater chance of getting blown up or having your head chopped off than winning. Is that what you want to go there and die for those people's entertainment!" I hissed with disgust. I didn't understand the reasoning behind the games. There was something wrong with the people who enjoyed watching children kill each other.
"Of course not!" She yelled back, her fiery, rebellious attitude not letting up for a second.
"Then why?" I demanded. "Don't tell me it's for the extra food or whatever it is they give you! I provide well enough for us! We're not starving! An extra loaf of bread isn't worth throwing your life away!"
"It's not about that!" Maya pounded her fist against the table, making her bowl of fish stew tremble with a loud clatter. Her blue eyes narrowed to nearly slits, but I could see the tears welling up in them. "It's about pride! I want to show the Capitol what I'm made of, that I'm not weak, that my district is strong! I want them to fear us, to respect us, even if it's only for a moment! They stole everything from us, but I don't want to let them think that they've beaten us into submission. I can show them that there in the games! Please, let me volunteer! This is my last year of eligibility! I won't have another chance!"
"And what about me, Maya? If you go off and die just to hold onto your pride, where does that leave me? I'll be totally by myself. You're the only family I've got left." I sighed heavily. I dipped my spoon in and out of my stew without ever bringing it to my mouth. Though my stomach was still growling insistently, I could no longer stomach the taste.
"You don't get it." She growled as she jumped up from her chair and stalked from the room. "My name's going to be entered in seven times this year alone. I'll probably be chosen anyway."
"If you're name is called, so be it, but you're not going to volunteer! Let those other idiots die for our pride!" I yelled after her.
I heard her door slam from down the hall. I shoved my bowl away from me and slouched down in my chair. Damn. I hated reaping day.
I irritably ran my fingers through my curly black hair, hating the stench of fish that still saturated them from work. When you work all day, unloading fish from the fishermen's boats, the smell tends to linger. Getting up from the table, I walked over to the fire place mantel to look at the picture of our parents that still sat there. Did they realize, I wondered, what their decision to rebel would cause? All the needless deaths, the destruction and all the angry orphans left behind. Was it worth it? No. None of it was worth it. The Capitol still controlled us only now it was worse than ever. People now watched the districts' children kill each on live television. They applauded when a child died. They rooted for those that were the most ruthless killers and hoped for the deaths of the weak. Personally, I think life was better before the rebellion. They should have just left things alone.
A mixed atmosphere of excitement and dread hung over District 4 as we made our way towards the town square. All of the eligible kids were dressed in our Sunday best. The boys wore clean trousers and shirts that didn't smell too much of fish and the girls wore their frilliest dresses. Maya was wearing a dark green dress I'd given her two years ago for her birthday. The skirt fell to mid-calf. The sleeves were too short now and barely even touched her wrist. The neckline was ringed with intricate lace. Her long hair was pulled up in a ponytail that made her look like a little girl.
"Good luck." Maya and I exchanged well wishes and a hug before being separated. I could tell she was still angry with me, but I knew she'd forgive me. She always did. She and I parted ways. I went to stand with the boys while she went over to the girls' group directly in front of the platform.
The crowd fell silent as the District 4's escort made her way up to the platform. She was new. I didn't recognize her from past years. The last escort was nearly ninety, so I guessed he had died or something. I was surprised by how young the new escort appeared. She didn't look much older than myself. She was petite with a very narrow frame. Her platinum blond hair was cut asymmetrically so that one side was shorter than the other. It was topped off by a huge hat with a plumed feather that she had to keep blowing out of her face. She wore a bizarre frock of various purple hues that was puffy and short in the front and long in the back. It reminded me a lot of her hair, actually. Her face was pretty, though, from what I could see of it. She had very large eyes with diamonds encrusted at their corners. They seemed to dominate her small, heart shaped face. "Welcome, everyone to District 4's reaping ceremony for the 10th annual Hunger Games!" She announced in a cheerful Capital accent. "For those that don't know me, I am Lunette Brigit and I will be serving you as this district's escort from now on! Without further delay, let us hear a little about the history of the Hunger Games." She stepped aside and with furious clapping, she introduced Mayor Barnaby as the next speaker. The mayor, who was relatively young for his position, dutifully recounted the history of the games. He sounded just as bored and irritated as the rest of us felt. Most of us were alive during the Dark Days. We could remember the war just fine. Hearing it recounted with the Capitol's usual whitewashing was never the district's favorite part of the ceremony. The actual drawing of the names was. All around me, the other boys were moving restlessly, their broad smiles showing how eager they were to become tributes. Idiots.
Finally, the mayor rapped up his speech and retook his seat beside Easter Finley, the victor of the eighth Hunger Games who would be this year's tributes' mentor. Though she was still young, the woman was frightening. She was covered in scars and had lost her left eye in the games. She didn't wear a patch over it. It was simply sewn shut. She didn't even try to hide it with her dark brown hair. She kept it cut short, as if she wanted the whole world to see how damaged she was. She sat in her chair beside the mayor with her arms crossed angrily over her chest, glaring out at us with her one remaining eye.
Lunette Brigit retook her place at the podium. "Now it is time to name our tributes!" She announced happily, grinning ear to ear with purple lips that shone with diamonds around their edges. "Happy Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in your favor!" She called out the catch phrase as if it were a line in a script. She bowed towards us with a flourishing wave of her hand. The crowd went wild. They yelled, clapped and jumped around, anticipation boiling up in them. Lunette looked ecstatic. She giggled girlishly and skipped towards the Reaping balls where pieces of paper baring each of our names were held, ready to be drawn. "Who shall we start with? Boys or girls?" She asked the crowd. "Girls?" She cupped her ear with her hand and leant towards the crowd as the girls screamed in eagerness. "Boys?" She called and leaned more towards the boys' side. The boys yelled at the top of their lungs as well, throwing their fists into the air, encouraging her to pick the boy first. I kept quiet and stuffed my hands in my pockets to hide their trembling. "I believe the girls won that one." Lunette laughed in a sickeningly sweet little girl's voice. She skipped merrily to the girl's ball, her odd skirt bouncing right along with her. I wasn't sure how she was doing that without breaking her ankles in her sky high heels.
She shoved her manicured hand into the ball and fished around for a single piece of paper. She picked one and held it out for the cheering crowd and the cameras that were solely trained on her. She blew the feather from her hat out of her face once again as she teasingly opened the piece of paper as slowly as humanly possible. Finally, the name of the chosen sacrifice was announced. "Maya Green."
The breath I'd been holding since the ceremony began burst out in a painful gasp. My heart began to beat out my chest and my trembling worsened. No. That can't be right. They couldn't have called her name. This is a mistake. My thoughts were frantic.
I watched mutely as my twin marched towards the stage. She was smiling proudly, happy to have been chosen. I kept waiting for some other girl to volunteer, but they were all cheering for Maya. They were happy for her. They knew how much she wanted this. No one would dare take it from her.
"I am honored to be District 4's tribute." Said Maya once she reached the stage. She bowed towards the cameras as she took her place beside Lunette. The pride I saw on my sister's face made me sick. The fact that the boys around me were congratulating me for the huge honor my twin just received made me even sicker. Were they blind? Did they not see what the games were really about? There was no honor in being led to the slaughter.
"Now it's the boy's turn." Skipping over to the boy's bowl, she stuck her hand in to pick the boy tribute. Before she even picked a name, I was making my way towards the stage. I walked quickly, purposefully. I couldn't let this happen. I couldn't let them rip my twin away from me. I couldn't just sit at home and watch her die on a television screen.
"I volunteer!" I shouted above the cheering crowd. The crowd went silent with shock and moved out of my way as I approached the stage. They all stared at me like I'd lost my mind. I had never received any sort of training for the games. I didn't even know how to shoot a gun, let alone fight in hand to hand combat. I had never wanted to be a tribute, yet here I was volunteering as if it had always been my dream.
Lunette gawked towards me, her hand still stuck in the ball. "I haven't even picked someone yet." She turned towards a man who was standing with the camera crew. "Is that allowed?"
"Please, let me volunteer. She's my twin." I pleaded. I grasped the edge of the stage in a white knuckled grip.
Maya looked horror stricken. Her face had gone pale. She shook her head over and over again, wordlessly motioning the word, "No" with her mouth.
"Ooh, twins?" Lunette forced a giggle. She was obviously caught off guard and wasn't sure what to do in this situation. "Well, I'm not sure if it is against the rules or not, but that would be interesting. Come on up, sir." To my surprise, she offered me her hand and helped me hoist myself up onto the stage. She made me stand on the opposite side as her and held the microphone up to my gasping mouth. "What's your name, dear?" She asked.
"Marlin Green." I replied. My voice was so soft, the microphone barely picked it up.
"What's that? Don't be shy, speak up." Lunette encouraged cheerfully in her sing-song accented voice.
"Marlin Green." I repeated, forcing myself to speak clearly and loudly, to sound somewhat confident and not so terrified. I still couldn't get the tremor out of my voice.
"There you have it, boys and girls!" Lunette announced, after confirming that brother and sister tributes were allowed. She made an over the top gesture with her hands as she motioned to each of us. "The twin tributes from District 4!" Taking each of our hands in hers' she held them over our heads. The crowd went crazy. They applauded and cheered for us, wishing us luck. Maya and I looked at each other. Our faces' reflected the other's horror. Twenty-four go in. Only one comes out. We may be heading to the games together, but we wouldn't be leaving that way. We really do have the worst luck.