Hi guys! So, first chapter is finally up! I got so annoyed when I noticed you had to wait two days before you could upload something. So I've got like 5 chapters ready, but I won't give you all at once ;) Maybe I'll upload every Friday, maybe Sunday if I don't have time to write during the week.
Personally, I didn't like this chapter that much. I wanted it more dramatic and exciting, 'cause I think the first chapter is very important. You want it to be very exciting so that the readers stay. But hang on there; the next chapters will be better, I promise, so be sure to come back!
The whole story is written from Phoenix's aspect, maybe I'll throw in some other character once and a while.
UPDATE: Okay, so, I've written a few chapters by now, and I actually have some readers, I see that on my stats. But I barely get any reviews, and it's the reviews that make me happy, not the number of readers I've got. You don't have to write a long review, just tell me what you think and you will make my day! ;)
UPDATE 2: I realized that I don't like this chapter that much, so I will re-write it sometime. The later chapters are much better, so if you think this chapter sucks, I don't blame you, but please give it a chance and continue reading anyway :)
I slowly raised my arm and grabbed an arrow in the quiver on my back. I put the arrow in place and aimed at the deer in front of me. Swoosh! The arrow buried itself in a tree and the deer ran off. I cursed for myself. I wouldn't even be able to hit the world's largest deer if it depended on my life.
I walked to the tree and pulled the arrow out and put it back in my quiver.
"Phee-Phee!" shouted a girl from behind me. I turned around and saw Mia walking against me. "Did you get anything?"
"Yeah, a squirrel that was already lying on the ground half-eaten. How about you?"
Mia lifted her hand where she held 5 squirrels.
"And you're gonna have to help me carry the deer I shot. It's over here."
I sighed and followed Mia further into the woods where a deer was lying hidden by some branches and leaves.
"So, were going to the Market now?" Mia said when we were beginning to see some houses between the trees.
"We can't really walk right into the neighborhood with a deer and some squirrels. We'll be dead in a minute."
"The Market it is then"
We turned left into an area where the trees stood closer. Hiding a hole in the ground, the trees stood like a wall all around it. The only way to get inside was to climb. Which was kind of hard to do while carrying animals. That was why it was a good thing to be more than one.
I climbed up the trees to the point where you easily could get to the other side. Mia reached me the animals and I threw them down and then climbed down myself. Mia came shortly after. We jumped down the hole in the ground with the animals and walked through a small passage until we got to a large area. There were sale-stands along the edges and people everywhere. The area was badly lit with a few light bulbs here and there.
My grip hardened against the deer and Mia and I walked through the crowd. I felt someone trying to snatch the deer but I pulled it back. Stealing was not unusual at the Market, even though almost everyone had great prices.
We got to a stand where my brother Jonathan sat.
"How's it going?" I said and sat down at the edge of the stand.
"Good, I guess. I traded three shrews for a piece of lamb." Jonathan said and threw a piece of meet next to me.
"That's too good. Probably a sick lamb, otherwise the person who gave it to you is really stupid" I picked up the piece of lamp and examined it.
"Yeah I know. I think it was a stolen lamb, it was Harley who gave it to me." Jonathan said and put the meat back in the bag under his chair. Harley was a homeless guy living in District 10. He spent his day walking around begging for food, or rip off people at the Market by trading them fake stuff. But, he was homeless and really poor, so we used to pretend we believed him and give him some shrews or a bird.
"Are we leaving, or what?" I said impatiently, since we had to get back before mom got home from work. Jonathan and I didn't live in District 10. It was much easier to sell animals at the Market in District 10, than in District 8. The security in District 8 was much tougher. So every day after school we sneaked over the fence to District 10. Jonathan went straight to the Market and I met Mia in the woods for hunting. Not that I usually got anything, it was Mia who was the hunter. On my best day so far I had gotten three shrews and two birds. That same day, Mia got two baby deers, a fox and seven squirrels. And that wasn't even her best day.
Anyway, we couldn't hunt all day. Mom got crazy if we weren't home when she got home, so we had to get past the fence before the factories closed for the day. 'Cause the road that went from the factories to the part of the district where everyone lived, went right next to the fence that separated District 8 from 10.
"Sure, let's go" Jonathan answered.
He took the bag under his chair and we started to walk back to the entrance. I stopped at various stands and bought meaningless stuff for some money I stole last week. That was my hobby. To steal money from the rich idiots from the Capitol that was visiting and spend them on stuff at the Market, just to be able to give away some money.
We got to the fence separating the districts. You could easily hear the buzzing from the electricity running through it. There was a piece of the fence that was broken at the bottom. It looked like some kind of animal had run right through it. The wires were pointing all over place, and there was a hollow in the ground underneath the broken fence. It looked hard, but it wasn't that hard to get through.
I had never gotten a shock from it, but Jonathan had. It was a couple of years ago, the first time I was going to District 10. I was about 10 years old. I had just gone through the fence when I saw a butterfly. I started following it, and I ran away so Jonathan couldn't see me anymore. When he realized I was gone, he got stressed and got a shock from the wires. I remember I heard him scream so I went back. Luckily, there were some people nearby that heard him, and helped him back inside District 8 and to a hospital. I don't know what happened in the hospital. I don't know if he got a scar, or whatever happens when you get an electric shock. He didn't want to tell me, not even now, 5 years later.
Since then I never ran away from him again. He screamed so painfully when it happened, and I didn't want him to go through that again. Everytime I watched Jonathan go through the hole, and he was close to getting a shock, I shuddered and heard his scream inside my head.
Not the longest chapter, but I wanted to start easy, please review :)
