Hey, I'm Skye Locksmith. And I live in District 6. Well I used to. Anyways, so here I am working at the railroad tracks department, trying to earn a little bit of extra cash. Legally, I can't work in a department until I'm 18. But since I'm 16 I look like I'm older and no one questions me. But just as I get paid, my little brother Jesse, runs to me from seemingly nowhere! "Skye, Dad...Dad got arrested!" Jesse practically screamed. "What?!" I was mad. Tomorrow was Reaping Day and things were bad enough and now Dad had to go get himself arrested.
My father, Jamison Locksmith, has a small tendency to...well I call it ranting. But he calls it "preaching." But the point is, my dad likes to go around yelling about the Capitol throughout District 6. Some people believe him. So do I. The Capitol can find no other way to keep us in balance except for making kids fight to the death in an arena every year. The Hunger Games. What a stupid idea.
Obviously District 6 has only won a few times. I try not to even watch. But alas, I always get put back in line by the Peacekeepers. What an ironic name "Peacekeeper" is. The people who bear the name are as far from peaceful as you can possibly get. Okay so that's enough information. Back to my dad.
So Jesse and I run home as fast as possible. By the time we make it to the concrete house of ours, my legs are burning something awful. My mother is inside weeping. I hurry to her side. "Mom, what happened?!" I demand. She shakes her head and breaks back down into tears. Then I noticed the Peacekeepers. Two of them, standing in the back of the room. My father was at their feet, bound in cords. "Dad!" I attempted to run to him while Jesse comforted Mom. One of the Peacekeepers pointed his gun at me and stepped in front of my father. "Jamison Locksmith is under the custody of the Capitol due to acts of treason. Come no further," the Peacekeeper hefted his weapon. I boiled with rage. I wanted to scream and yell. But that is definitely not what happened. Instead, I punched the Peacekeeper right in the face.
He stumbled backwards as the other guard aimed his gun at me. I dove at his feet, and brought him to the ground. Now on top of the second Peacekeeper, I repeatedly punched him in the face. The gun fell from his grip. Then the original Peacekeeper shoved me off his partner and I looked up in horror. His gun was aimed at my chest. "You'll do yourself a favor, and forget this ever happened," he spat. Then he whacked me over the head with his weapon. And I was out.
"Okay, okay, explain it again. I'm confused," I told Jesse. He rolled his eyes. "After they knocked you out, they took Dad and said he would be jailed. And that was the end of it." I was amazed. "So...I'm not getting arrested?" I spluttered. Jesse shrugged. "Those were some nice hits though," Jesse chuckled. I nodded, grinning. So I'm guessing the Peacekeepers decided not to tell about my little confrontation, likely because it would wound their reputations. Imagine a Peacekeeper walking up to another saying, "Yeah, yesterday some kid beat the snot out of me"! Haha!
Next thing I know I'm slipping into my bed. Thinking over the day's events. Why, Dad, why? Was all I could think. Then I thought about poor 11 year old Jesse. He would grow up without a father to guide him through life. Then I realized how fortunate I was to have Dad. Well, for the first 16 years of my life. But now...now he was gone. Everyone knows when someone is brought to the Capitl for arrest, they never come back.
Just as sleep was grabbing a hold of me, I remembered something awful. Tomorrow was the Reaping! Crud...