The First Hunger Games

Chapter 1: The Reeping

My name is Chloe Marksborough. I'm from District 7. I am only 13 years old, and the Capitol invented The Hunger Games. I have long, brown curly hair and dark brown eyes.You probably have read the stories, about the 74th hunger games and the 3rd Quarter Quell. But the story that I am about to tell you happened way before that. I was putting on a grey raggedy dress for the Reeping- everyone has to wear something beautiful for it- but I don't have that kind of clothing. District 7 is probably the poorest District in the whole heart of Panem, which used to be called North America. I'm not supposed to talk about what happened before Panem, but I'm not actually telling you. I'm speaking to you. There's a difference. Anyway, my brother Kaleb was wearing a tucksido, with black shoes. (Sorry, I don't really know how to spell it.) My mother came into my room and put my hair up in a messy bun, tied with a blue holder. Then I went into my brothers room. "Kaleb?" I asked. "breakfast is ready." Kaleb was sitting on his bed while fittling around with a small ball of clay. "I wish Dad was here." He told me. " yeah, me too." I said. We went into the kitchen where mom greeted us. "Hello, sweetie," Mom said to Kaleb when he walked in behind me, rubbing his eyes. Mom kissed Kaleb's forehead. "We're having porage for breakfast today." Then mom went back to the pot and stirred the porrage and scooped some into the bowls. We don't have that much to eat, since we are poor. The Capitol doesn't give us much. Only for once a month, Kaleb signs up for tesserae. It's where we get bread and grain once a month. I signed up for tesserae last year, to be prepared. Kaleb says that he wants to take care of the family since he's the oldest, but really, I take care of the family. I always get the eggs from the chickens, chop wood(the weapon that I'm good at is the sword), and set and clear the table, and help mom with the meals. Kaleb just sits around and does nothing. In District 7, we are focused mostly on lumber. So if I get chosen for The Hunger Games, then when I do the tribute parade, my stylist will choose an outfit based on lumber. Which is weird, because I'm more of a fashion kind of girl, and I see lots of cool fashions on TV in the Capitol. I've never been to the Capitol before, but it sounds really nice- the people aren't though- expecially President Snow. Let's get on with the story. I like going to the woods to chop down old trees for a fire, or for our house. I'm really good at stabbing people in the back and chopping down trees. Since we can't afford to have a real chainsaw, I made a wooden sword out of some wood and old scraps of metal. It actually works, matter of factly. That's what I'm doing after breakfast. I eat quickly, and then I go outside. I sneak under this wooden fence in our backyard. It's a boundary, the Capitol says that you are only allowed inside the boundaries. Not outside. But I go in anyway. I sneaked under a tiny hole in the fence and searched for the tree that I hid my sword in. I grabbed it where I usually put it under a log by an old oak tree. The Capitol says that having a weapon is illegal, and if they find out that you have a weapon, they'll shoot you, or worse, have a public whipping. I've had that before, they caught me once chopping down a tree and it took months for the cut to heal. I grabbed my sword and chopped down the old oak tree. It fell down slowly. After about two hours of chopping down trees, I went back to the log and put my sword in there. I might not be back for it, so I hide it somewhere safe and head to the house to gather my mom and brother. Then we head to the entrance of the square for the reaping.

The Peacekeepers pulled and pushed us toward the Justice Building for the reaping. I did NOT want to be in the very first hunger games, neither did my brother. I forgot to mention- he is 16 years old. I'm surprised that they never thought of the hunger games when my brother was younger. "Nervous, Chloe?" Kaleb asked as we waited in line to sign in. "Yeah," I said, lowering my voice. "How much blood do they take from your finger?" "Only a pinch," Kaleb responded, looking around to make sure that the Peacekeepers weren't listening. When it was Kaleb's turn, I closed my eyes because I don't like the sight of blood. I faint at the sight of it. That's why I wouldn't be a good survivor out there, because basically someone kills another person every second of the time. And I will honestly cry if I see someone dying, because it's so sad to kill innocent people! Only two more people till it's my turn to sign in. One, two! I walk nervously up to the table and the Peacekeeper takes the blood from my finger. "Next!" He says, pushing me forward. I met my mother near the stage. "Mom, I'm scared," I say, lowering my voice again. "What if they pick me?" "They won't," my mother assured me. "I promise."

"Ladies first!" The announcer says into the microphone. "And the female tribute from District 7 is..." She reached into the bowl with the names. "Chloe Marksborough." My eyes widened. I felt like I had just saw blood. I glanced at my mother, who was in shock. Kaleb put his hand over his mouth. "Come on, Chloe, come on up." The other people in the crowd stared at me and then made a pathway towards the podium. The Peacekeepers pulled and tugged at my shoulders, and then finally got me up there. A tear stroked down my face, as I waited for them to call on the male tribute. As if the announcer had just read my mind, she looked back at me and smiled at me and then said, "And the male tribute is..." I closed my eyes. " Kaleb Marksborough." No! I said to my self. Not both of us! I waited for someone to voulenteer. Anyone! Someone! Please! But no such luck. Soon enough the Peacekeepers escorted me and my brother to a room and closed the door. "Wait-" I started to say, but it was to late. I slumped down into the couch. A few minutes later, my mother came in. She shut the door quietly and stared at me and Kaleb. "I have something for both of you," she said, reaching into her bag and pulled out two small brown boxes. "This is your token. Every tribute from each District is supposed to have one. It will be your lucky charm." She handed me and Kaleb the boxes. I opened mine and gasped. It was a beautiful necklace with a red heart charm and a letter 'C' in silver letters. My brother had the same, except a letter 'K'. I didn't know what to say. "It's beautiful, Mother!" I said. Kaleb said thank you. I put the necklace on. It shine around my neck. I still had lots of things I didn't look forward too, though. My worst nightmare finally came true!

AUTHOR'S NOTE
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*For the contest, since I didn't finish Two Magical Mermaids Book Two yet, I will post the winner and the runners-up on the next chapter! Sorry for the long wait!