Gerard was standing in his father's lab, wondering where everyone was, where the world had disappeared to. Then he heard a faint voice, calling to him from the darkness.

"Gerard! RUN!"

Gerard turned, and saw his father, sprinting away from him, as fast as he could.

"Wha-?"

Suddenly the world was engulfed in flame, his arm slowly being torn away, slowly melting into the fire…

The world shifted and stretched, until Gerard saw his little brother, standing where he stood. Gerard's world tilted, as he saw his brother's dusty brown hair catch alight in the explosion, his glassy hazel eyes gazing out at Gerard, before being consumed by the blaze.

"MIKEY!"

The hazel eyes of Gerard Blackbass shot open, his lungs gasping for air. His pale skin was covered in a thin sheen of sweat. He groaned, and looked around, finding himself not in his father's laboratory, but inside his room, spread out over his bed. He sighed, and pulled himself out of his comfortable position and up onto his feet. It was just a dream, he reminded himself firmly. It wasn't real. But, a few years ago, it had been all too real, when one day one of his father's explosives accidentally detonated, with Gerard being the main casualty. His arm was blown off, and his father crafted a new one for him out of metal, and out of guilt. Ever since, he had been having the exact same nightmare, over and over again, each time leaving him wondering what might have happened if it had been Mikey, and not himself inside the laboratory…

He shook his head, and made his way to the bathroom and got into the shower, the cold water refreshing him. He changed into his reaping outfit, a light blue-button up shirt, with black slacks and his dress shoes. He walked down the hall and stopped at his brother's door, pounding his metal fist on the polished wood.

"Mikey, get up! It's reaping day today!" The door squeaked open to reveal the tired hazel eyes of his brother.

"Aw, come on Gee, let me sleep for a little while longer!" Mikey whined in reply. Gerard laughed and ruffled his brother's messy brown hair with his human hand. "No time for that, buddy. Go and get ready, okay?"

"Okay," Mikey mumbled in response, and trudged towards the bathroom, rubbing his sleepy eyes. Gerard smiled, and tried not to think about his nightmare, of those little eyes being vanquished by the fire.

Or the fact that his name was in the reaping bowl approximately 33 times this year.

**district 3 reapings**

Marilyn Masquerade gazed at her reflection in the mirror, sighing at the sight that was reflected back to her. It showed an innocent girl, with flowing blonde hair that rested softly at her shoulders, bright blue eyes with a slight twinkle, and with freckles spotted across her pale skin. She smoothed her dirty blue dress and turned away from the mirror. She scribbled a quick note and made her way out of the house and into the morning air. Her parents would freak when they discovered the note, even though it told them exactly where she was going and when she'd be back. Her parents were just like that. Way too over protective. It was reaping day today. Marilyn found the games interesting in a peculiar kind of way, but they were very violent. Probably the type of thing my parents want to protect me from, she thought. Marilyn wondered what she'd do in the games, if she were reaped. I couldn't kill anyone, that's fairly obvious, she thought.

Are you sure? A hollow voice echoed inside her mind. Marilyn bit her lip, and shook her head.

No, I couldn't. I just…wouldn't be able to.

Are you completely positive? I could help you with that... the voice answered.

No! She replied firmly.

Many people would think Marilyn insane if she revealed the fact that she has another person inside her. That's why she hadn't. The fact was, Marilyn was scared. Scared of the fact there was another person living inside her, and she was scared of the terrible things she would do if she lost control.

Don't worry, the voice rumbled ominously. Just set me free!

No! No! No! Marilyn repeated this over and over to herself as she made her way back towards her house. She had to get back before the reaping, otherwise her parents would get really angry with her. Besides, they'd want to take her to the reaping…

May the odds be ever in your favour, my dear, the voice chuckled.

**district 3 reapings**

Gerard shuffled into the roped off section for the 15 year old males, running a hand through his messy red ponytail. He rolled his shoulder, jostling his artificial arm, slotting it into a more comfortable position. There was a slight murmur hovering above the crowd, everyone on edge, wondering who the next tributes would be. The mild chatter died down as the escort clattered his way onstage, tripping over the last step and windmilling his arms, trying to regain his balance before planting his face into the stage. A laugh erupted from the crowd, and Gerard had to suppress a chuckle. The escort stumbled over to the microphone.

"Um…Welcome everyone," he started, straightening his bowtie. "…To the District 3 reaping for the 100th annual Hunger Games!" He flashed us a massive grin, showing off his perfectly white teeth. "Now, ladies first!" He walked over to one of the glass bowls, clearly trying not to trip over his own feet. He put his hand inside the container and pulled out a slip of paper, almost upturning the entire bowl. He made his way back up to the microphone, cleared his throat, and announced in a high cheery voice:

"Marilyn Masquerade!"

**district 3 reapings**

Wait, Marilyn thought. I can't do this. I just can't…Her legs became shaky, and her entire body became stiff and immobile.

Come on girl, the voice yelled, bouncing around inside her head painfully. MOVE IT!

Marilyn felt her legs moving, one in front of the other, until she found herself strutting up to the stage. There you go! the voice hissed. You're doing it!

No…But I can't…I can't kill anyone! Stop! But, to her dismay, she found herself standing next to the escort, shaking his hand. It had been decided. Marilyn was going into the games.

**district 3 reapings**

As the girl, Marilyn, shook hands with the escort, Gerard sighed and started tapping his foot impatiently. Just let it be over any done with, he thought. Take another two kids away from their families and lets go home for another year!

"And now, for the boys!" The escort made his way over to the bowl of boys. Lets see if he can do it without falling over, Gerard smiled. But he wasn't smiling after the escort announced the name on the slip of paper.

"Gerard Blackbass!"

Gerard was shocked, but not surprised. Not with the amount of times his name was in that globe of glass. He started to walk up to the stage, when a scream stopped him.

"Gee! No! PLEASE DON'T GO!" he turned and saw his little brother, little Mikey, running towards him, tears streaming down his face.

"Please! Don't go!" And Gerard's stony resolve split. He turned towards his brother and swept him up into a tight hug, his brothers tears staining his shirt. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw a peacekeeper. Warning him to get a move on. So he turned to his brother.

"Mikey, I have to go." He said sternly, but gently.

"But-"

"No buts. I gotta go, okay? You need to stay here. Wait for me to come back."

"Okay," he sniffled. Gerard turned, and slowly made his way up to the stage, keeping a straight face. He didn't want to seem weak. He came face to face with the escort, who, after casting a weary glance at his metal arm, said "Er…shake…hands?"

Gerard held his metal arm out to his district partner. She hesitated, then raised her hand up into his cold, artificial one. The escort cringed, and picked up Gerard's metal hand in his, and raised both of the tributes hands.

"I give you your tributes for district 3, Marilyn Masquerade and Gerard Blackbass!"

A/N: So…here is the D3 reapings :-) I hope you like it! Sorry for the wait…School was all 'here, drown in all of these assignments' And I feel sad that I wasn't able to write very much :-( But here we are now. And the HOLIDAYS are soon…so MORE WRITING!

Please review if you liked it :-p

~Bubbles975~