Chapter Six
President Coin of the 13th district had a problem. For many years, district 13 had been in hiding. Now it was time for them to seize control. It was, of course, the right thing to do. Under the rule of 13, the districts would live in peace and harmony. At least, a lot more peaceful and harmonious then they were now.
But Coin couldn't take over the Capitol single-handedly. They needed a rebellion. If just one district could have a successful rebellion, the rest would follow suit. But who? Who could lead the districts to rebellion after they had so long been living in fear? Who would inspire light the spark of defiance that would become a bonfire across the 12 districts?
They could start with the Hunger Games. It was broadcast over live TV on all televisions in Panem. If 13 could somehow intercept the signals, or maybe break into the actual arena… and do what? Save all the tributes? Now, there's an idea.
Madge stood in the center of the room naked. It was like a bad dream, only it was the kind you never wake up from. Pretty much described the whole Hunger Games experience. Madge started humming the Sandman. She had never heard the song before, and was not quite sure where the lyrics came from.
After a while, a man waked in the room and introduced himself as Cinna.
"I've got an idea," said Madge. "It's really stylish. How about you paint my nails with poisonous lead?"
Cinna smiled. "And let you wear them into the arena?"
"Oh yes," said Madge. "It could be the next big thing in the Capitol. Never again will the world see another nailbiter."
"And what," asked Cinna," has that got to do with coal?"
"Coal," said Madge. "Is deadly. You can, um, throw it at people. Very effective."
"You can also throw dictionaries at people."
"Yeah, but the shape of the book makes it difficult to achieve the right angle. It flaps all over the place."
"I was thinking we could do kind of a fire thing," said Cinna.
"Fire's not really my element."
"Really? You seemed like a fire girl to me."
"Nah. More of an earth spirit."
"Well, there's really not much you can do with coal."
"Then why is it our districts main export?"
"I mean in fashion design."
"Coal," said Madge, "can do many things. You can draw with it, for example."
"We're going with the fire thing, Madge."
Madge thought about fire. She thought about her Mockingjay pin, in district 12. She had considered taking it with her, but decided against it. She wondered how the two things were connected.
The one who called himself Gabriel woke up before everybody else. He decided to become a fisheran, for the time being. So he went to buy some fishing stuff.
As he walked down the street, he thought he saw a face in one of the windows. When he rubbed his eyes, it was gone.
When he got to the shop, he realized he knew absolutely nothing about fishing. He had been to District 4 before, about 50 years ago, but all his knowledge was either forgotten or outdated.
Maybe I can sell worms, he thought.
So he headed back to the house. He really needed to find a place to stay, because the house he had lodged the night before was clearly a one-time deal. He realized he was heading there and turned around to go somewhere else.
He saw the face in the window again. He could tell it was real. It wasn't a ghost. It was an old lady.
He went to the door of the house and knocked. The same old lady answered.
"I made tea," she said. She walked into the kitchen. She looked back to see if he would enter. He did.
"You are not a vampire," she said.
This caught him by surprise.
"Um… no."
"We used to know each other."
This also caught him by surprise.
"Do you recognize me?" she asked.
He did recognize her.
"Katie."
"Ahha! It is you!"
"It's been a long time."
"No der."
""I bet you're wondering how I didn't age, then."
"No, I'm wondering what time it is. Have you got a watch?" she said sarcastically.
"You've got a clock in the back of the room, um."
"Uh huh."
"So, anyway. Here's my story. I was born around the time the world ended."
"It didn't end," said Katie.
"Well, almost ended. So, the world ended, I was born, and now I'm immortal."
"That's a really short story."
"You aren't surprised?"
"I'm just glad you're not a vampire. I've always been a believer in vampires."
"How is your daughter doing?"
"Rebecca? You two had a little romance, did you?"
"Um."
"She's doing well."
"She's probably, like, sixty by now."
"Sixty isn't that old. I'm ninety-seven!"
"And you live here by yourself?"
"Yup."
"I thought you would have died by now."
"Well, you thought you would have died by now too."
"It was nice talking to you, but I need to leave district four. I didn't realize there was anybody here who would still know me."
"Wait! You can't just come in here, tell me that you're 300, and then leave! You have to stay."
"Actually, I'm 274."
"Just wait until I die. Then I'll let you leave."
"After your death, I don't really think you could stop me."
"Then you don't know me as well as you think you do, young man," she said.
Yeah, this chapter was kind of lame. I might delete it later. What do you think?