Put it in a project so that forums doesn’t end up censoring it Mika stared off into the distance, her hands were stuffed in her pant pockets, her hair blew in the wind. “Mika, you ready?” Her identical twin sister, Alesia asked. Mika looked up, and asked, “Ready for what?” Alesia groaned and said, “Ready for the reaping?” “O-oh. Of course.” Mika tied up her hair and followed her twin to the town square. District 10 was a big District. Most people were shepherds but it had quite a bit of breeders in the mix and the Longstone family was known for their pet store in town. In all, District 10 was big on livestock. “Welcome, everyone, to the 63rd Annual Hunger Games!” A woman who definitely had gone through plastic surgery announced, “We will first reap the girls. Then the boys.” The woman picked up a slip of paper from the bowl and cleared her throat. Please not me. Please not me. Mika chanted over and over in her head. The woman’s lips formed a name that wasn’t Mika’s but a name that might as well have been hers. “Alesia Undertone!” Mika gasped and their mother let out a stifled sob. Alesia started forward but Mika pushed her back and made her way to the stage. She prayed, for the first time in a while, that no one would notice the difference between her and her twin. “My dear, are you Alesia?” The woman asked and Mika nodded. “My twin sister, Mika, is down there. She tried to take my place but I wouldn’t let her.” Mika could still hear Alesia’s protests from up on the stage. “I’m Alesia! That’s Mika up there!” “Your sister is making quite the racket down there.” The woman commented. Mika nodded. “You see, we’re identical so she’s trying to say that she’s Alesia so that I don’t end up in the Hunger Games. I love her for it but I’d never, ever, let her take my place. The woman smiled and said to the crowd, “This girl is eager to show us what she’s made of! Give it up for Alesia Undertone!” A boy’s name is reaped and Mika slightly remembered him from school. His name was Argent Stonefield. “All right, come on! Get into the train!” A bearded man started to push them into the train. Mika stepped into one of the train cars and Argent did the same. “Hi.” She said to him, “I’m Alesia.” Argent rolled his eyes. “No, you’re not.” That’s when it hit her . “Shoot.” She muttered, “You’re Argie, aren’t you?” Argent nodded and said, “And you’re Mika, Lesi’s twin sister. Clever stunt you pulled up there.” Argent was Alesia’s lover. Of course he saw right through her. “What gave it away?” Mika asked. “Honestly?” Argent replied, “You talk too much.” Mika couldn’t tell if it was meant to be an insult. *** When they took blood samples to make sure no one carried a disease, Mika realized that the Gamemakers would realize that she wasn’t truly Alesia. After saying her fears to Argent, he sighed. “This was a terrible idea, Mika. Why didn’t you just volunteer instead?” Why hadn’t she? That was a good question. Perhaps she just hadn’t been thinking straight and just took their identicalness as an advantage. “Well there’s nothing they can do about it.” Argent pointed out, “You’re here and Lesi’s at home. Honestly, I’m glad. I didn’t want to ever have to think about her dying anyways.” Mika scoffed. “What and it’s better if I die?!” “Sure.” *** When one of the Gamemakers pulled Mika aside, she knew that it was inevitable. “I assume that you saw my DNA and realized that it wasn’t Alesia’s?” She asked and he nodded. “Look, Alesia, I mean Mika. That was a very dangerous stunt. I don’t know why you did it but I need you to co to he to play the part of Alesia. We can’t send you back now and we sure as the sun rises can’t tell the audience that you’re not Alesia. So just pretend that you are her. And, Mika, the blood samples aren’t the only reason we know. The train cars are bugged. Just saying.” *** The parade outfits were hideous. Cow-skin dress with a snakeskin belt. Mika thought that the costume was an insult to District 10. Tiffany, her mentor, gave them a lesson on how to look presentable and in the end, told them that they did quite well. ***
In the interviews, Mika tried to play the part of Alesia. Argent had said that one of the reasons he knew that she wasn’t Alesia was because she talked to much, so she tried to be more introverted, like Alesia. She answered only as her sister would, even referring to Argent as an old-friend from home and implied that they’d known each other for a long time. Additionally, Argent did a good job treating her as if she truly was Alesia, at least in the public eye. He explained that he was actually Alesia’s old boyfriend and that they ended it right after the reaping. “We’re still good friends.” He claimed, “I just didn’t want our relationship to come between one of us winning. And Alesia agreed.” He played his part perfectly and the crowd seemed to sympathize with him. Mika grinned because she knew that meant he— and hopefully her as well— would get extra sponsors. *** “You ready?” Argent asked Mika while they walked to the tubes that would send them up to the Hunger Games. “Not really.” She admitted and Argent nodded at that. “You can’t really be ready for murder.” He added. “Yeah.” *** As she sprinted off of her platform and towards the cornucopia she heard screams, cries, and the inevitable sound of death. She ran as if her life depended on her speed— it did. She grabbed a pack and a spear and darted off. Finding a tree to settle down near, Mika opened her pack to see what was inside. She knew from previous Games, that sometimes the supplies included in the pack contained clues to the nature of the arena. Inside her pack was… a lot of food. Fruits and vegetables, meat of every variety, and two juga of water. Why had they given her so much food? Then, Mika realized that while she was escaping she didn’t see a single animal, edible plant or river. So unless she managed to kill a mutt and eat it or ate tree bark, this was all the food she had. That was, until she went to the cornucopia. Doing that now, however, would grant her certain death. She scrummaged throughout the pack some more and found a very long string of rope. She turned it three tree she was leaning on to find that the bark was covered in slimy substance, something to probably prevent the tributes from eating it. The rope must’ve been so that people could climb the trees. She threw the rope up onto the tree and climbed up, resting her head on the tree trunk and balancing her legs on the branch. She tied her pack and her chest to the tree so that she wouldn’t fall and fell… fast… asleep. *** The mutts came at her from all angles, sharp teeth baring and claws scratching. She speared each one into the gut and they were dying but… not fast enough. Suddenly, an arrow cut through the air and impaled the final one just as it was about to behead her. Mika turned to find Argent, arms still in a firing position. She flashed him a grateful smile. “Ae you going to kill me now?” She asked after a few seconds. Argent shook his head and lowered his bow. “Allies for now?” Mika suggested, hopeful. Argent grunted and Mika took that as a ‘yes’. *** There were only five tributes left. Argent, the District 1 boy, both from District 2 and Mika. While they were packing up from where they had slept last night, they heard shouts. “I’m going to go check that out.” Argent had said and ran into the woods. A few minutes later, the shouting escalated until she heard multiple screams and ran over. Both tributes from District 2 were dead. But so was Argent. Mika mourned Argent in her own little way, surrounding his corpse with some of the possibly-moldy tree bark and praying a silent prayer. The hovercraft came soon enough and then, Mika was on her own. *** “So, little cowgirl. Your boyfriend is dead and there’s no way you’re beating me. Why not just die silently and easily?” Mika looked into the cold, cold eyes of the boy in front of her and replied, “I think I’ll handle it myself, thanks.” She ran towards him, spear in hand and plunged it into his stomach. The boy doubled back and fell in his back. Mika stomped on his face, then his abdomen, the right on the spear wound. The cannon boomer. The hovercraft came. Mika Undertone had won the Hunger Games.
