Chapter 1

No one had ever expected it. But then again, nothing is ever expected. Especially not here, not anymore. Not one person had thought that the he of all people would be chosen. But they had no real idea of the possibilities, of the only choice that could be made. They had no idea. But he did. No, he had more than an idea; he had a plan. The kid from the forest had a plan to save them all. But he only needed a kickstart, and he had no idea where to get it.

That was how it started, I suppose. They. Had. No. Idea. And when you have no idea, you want one. Everyone wants what they cannot have. But no one wanted this, not even the boy. But when his name rang out above the somber silence , he had no choice but to follow the gasps toward the podium. His shining blue eyes met the dark brown of his competitor's. Kara, his distant memory reminded him, she was friends with his sister, Gwen, way back when. He shook his head, making jet black locks fall over his eyes to float over them like puppets. That doesn't matter, he berated himself as his perfectly normal hand shook her clammy one, Gwen is as dead now as she was ten years ago.

The walk from the Reaping Podium to the small room he now found himself in went by too fast for him to even care. All he could think about was the memories from Back Then. He saw his mother send Gwen and himself to school, as they walked by the abandoned place. His father was running his long fingers over the arrow shafts he had just bought, a smile floated over Merlin's face as he remembered; Father always used to do that. It doesn't matter anymore than it did ten years ago, the obnoxious voice shouted from the back of his mind. It was right of course, but that didn't mean Merlin had to agree. Again, he shook his head, black locks dancing over silvery blue eyes like bird feathers floating in mid-air on their descent to Earth.

Now, his lanky figure was cowed into a ripped seat as he waited for goodbyes to be over with. A pang of guilt and sadness flew over him as he realized, he had no one left to say goodbye to. Ten years, a sing-song voice murmured in his brain, depriving him of thoughts of the family he once had. Silently, he brain agreed that he couldn't help now, so he just waited in his seat with the two Peacekeepers standing awkwardly off to the side.

For what seemed like hours, Merlin sat in that ugly lilac seat until the woman from the Reaping entered. Merlin didn't hate her as he would have thought, but he rather enjoyed how she made a painting of herself. At least it was humorous. Her stark white glove came to rest on his shoulder as he waited in silence for the goodbyes to end. The boy heard Alice, at least that's what he thought her names was, take a deep, slow breath before trying to spark a conversation.

"I always hate the goodbyes. Too many tears, you know?" Her young, fresh voice rang out through the still air clearer and louder than Merlin believed necessary. However a smile grin appeared for a moment on his face when he turned his head to Alice. "Is that why you are blessing me with your presence?" A small laugh burst from both of them before a comfortable silence settled between them. "We will be boarding the train in a few moments." She paused for a moment, and a sigh almost escaped Merlin's lips; people always paused before they asked. "Are you sure no one wants to say goodbye to you?" His only set of teeth smacked together with such force, when she asked, that a dull clang could be heard from around the room. Merlin could only imagine how his eyes glazed over as memories of Gwen, Hunith (his mother), Freya (his twin), and Balinor (his father) assaulted his mind's eye. A stern nod answered her question, but left the unheard why hanging in the air.

With a quick flourish of her hands, Alice left the awkward situation and room in record time. Had Merlin been in the mood, he would have clapped for her. But no, he was going to his death. Plain and simple. Everyone knew that he wouldn't stand a chance. Little to no one in District 5 ever survived for long after the Games, if they even finished those.

Before Merlin could finish his train of thought; the two Peacekeepers, which were standing over in two corners, started to bustle him toward the train. More than happy to oblige, the fifteen year old boy practically ran toward the train, likely too eager to escape the people who had kept him prisoner in that awful district. With one last glance back, all he could see were the pointed tops of the power plant roofs. Turning back to the train, the only thing he could think of was how it would lead him to his death. With one last morbid thought in District 5, he thought of the train as his funeral procession.