'Destroying Things Is Much Easier Than Making Them.' Chapter-1
Wow, I wrote a fanfic! Who knew I had it in me? This Chapter is brought to you by the number 7. As in 7UP. Which is fueling me to type this up.
"Mama we all go to Hell, It's really quite pleasant, except for the smell, Mama we all go to Hell."-Mama, My Chemical Romance.
I'm dreaming, yet it all seems so real. I reach out to Papa. Trying my hardest to touch him, to pull him away from the onslaught of danger. But, like always, I'm too late.
He's running away from the officers, as they shout curses and shoot anyone in their wake. The smell of death and blood is thick in the air.
Autum leaves are crushed under heavy workboots as Roma Vargas runs faster and faster.
I'm shouting, "Run! Run! Don't slow down!"
A single shot rang out and he falls as a macabre, red river drips out of his left ankle. He smiles weakly at me,"Take care of your step mama and your fratello, alright?"
I can feel the tears pouring out of my eyes, I can taste the salt and snot as I yell, "Papa! No! Don't leave me!"
He's then is taken away, never to be seen again.
I wake up, tears blurred my vision as depression fills my body. I breathe deeply, trying to calm myself. My eyes wander to my little brother, Feliciano. I feel a smile make it's way to my lips.
My only reason for living was knowing that without me, he'd starve or be beaten to death. He must've had a nightmare because he's curled up against our stepmother, Bella.
People have told me that Bella was 'quite the looker' when she was my age, though it's hard to see her without her fading blonde hair and the worry lines around her mouth. Papa had married her after our real mother died from an infection shortly after our birth.
But that wasn't the only slap in my face that life wanted to give me. 6 years after, Dad was found hunting in the woods with me. It's against the Corporation's laws to hunt. But, I know the real reason he was arrested, He'd gotten into an argument with one of the head officials. They'd wanted my stepmother as a slave of sorts. He'd refused, and was given to the corporation to deal with.
I wish he was dead, if not then he's being tortured.
I shake my mind out of the thought and slid into my hunting boots.
Back to daily grind.
I run my fingers through my brown hair, careful not to touch the curl that stuck out, and wash the remains of sleep from my face. I slip on my jacket and head toward the forest.
'It should be raining,' I say to myself, 'Why would the sun be shining on such a hateful day?'
The village we live in is fairly empty now, except for a few loan shopkeepers, a handful of families, and a crowd that's no doubt gathered at the Hob.
A sense of glum is in the air as families prepare for the Reaping. A mother is holding tight to her 12-year-old son. There are tears in her eyes.
That's what I expected, the few families out today are holding tight to their children. As if they can save them from being called upon for the Corporation's entertainment. I don't make eye contact. I'm way too scared to, it would be like seeing Bella embracing Feli at our father's funeral and I'm still trying to wash the memory away.
The look of painful remorse on Bella's face, Feli full of guilt and pain...
My walking quickly turns to sprinting, which turns to running. The village soon melts to the lush meadow, and my running slows. The smell of blossoming flowers hit me full force and melts my stress. I sit and play with the colorful , soft petals. It's a shame the Corporation bans us from coming here. I left myself up and make my way to the thin, iron gate.
It separates us from the outside world. Most of us had never left the confines of District 12. Not that there's much else out there, just miles and miles of ocean.
We live on a peninsula that was once the country of Italy. Spain, Asia, Japan, Taiwan, and Italy denigrated from economical failure, storms, and earthquakes. America, England, and Russia still stand, but we've all come together to form a new world called 'Phoenix.' After the mythological bird.
There are other land masses out there, but they've refused to become part of Phoenix. They've kept their language and culture in tact, though it does mean suffering.
I listen for the hum that means the fence is alive with electricity.
I only hear silence. I look for a weak spot in the fence, which isn't hard to find, and slid under.
The forest is huge and everyday, it seems to grow more and more. I retrieve my bow and arrow quickly from a hole in an oak tree. It's old and worn, one of my father's practice bows. I don't venture too far, when I hear a faimliar voice, "Lovey!"
I turn my head to Che'n. She could be my twin sister. We have the same hair color, same height, same bothersome curl, the only difference being the color of our skin. She is a porcelain white and I'm 'caramel' or at least that's what an idiot at school said.
She's wearing her brother's old short pants and two large, pink flower-shaped hairpins on either side of her head. Though she is my age, she looks like a grown woman.
She runs toward me,"Lovey!"
'Lovey' is her play on my name, Lovino. When we first met, I whispered my name out of fear, and she thought I'd said 'Lovey.' Since then, it's been her official nickname for me.
She holds up fresh bread with a knife sticking through it, "Guess what I stabbed this morning?" Che'n waves it teasingly in front of my face, making my mouth water with it's intoxicating smell.
"You gonna share, or am I gonna have to shoot you?" I reach for my bow.
She swoons mockingly, "Sir, I do believe I can share but not without the proper currency!" She stumbles over a southern accent, though it mixes with her Chinese one making it more hilarious than she meant to.
We both burst into uncontrollable laughter. Che'n says I never laugh or smile outside the woods. I tell her it's because I never had a reason to.
I don't know why she's spending all her time with me in the woods when she has many suitors that would gladly be here in her place. But, she loves the hunt.
I find a patch of berries and she slices up the bread. I throw a blackberry at her,"Welcome to the Hunger Games!" I say in the thick District 1 accent.
"And may the odds," She catches the berry in her mouth.
"Be ever in your favor!" We finish together. Making fun of it is the best thing we can do to keep from crying. It's quiet for a while, then Che'n speaks,
"You know, we could make it," She looks up at me, "We could live in the woods, and run away together."
Wow, wow, what brought this on?! We've never spoke about anything romantic between us, she'd never dropped any hints, and I sure didn't love her. I mean if she needed a man to marry, she could choose any guy at our school. Che'n is popular talk among guys. She's curvy and her hunting skills aren't bad either. I'm not saying she isn't beautiful, she is. She has the air of her Taiwanese ancestors about her, the accent, her features...but that doesn't mean that just because she's a girl and we're friends, I have to fall in love with her.
Right?
She must've noticed my inner dialogue, because she quickly adds, "If we didn't have so many kids, that is."
'Nice save there,' I think to myself as I chew the inside of my cheek. It's a nasty habit. I've been meaning to stop.
We do have alot of kids, I have Feli which is a handful enough. But, Che'n has been feeding a family of 5 for the past 7 years. Everytime I think about it, I feel guilty. Each year, we both take out teasera, a years with of grain and water, in exchange for our names being entered in 10 times for each family member and our age. I take teasera out on Feli, that's 10, Bella, that's 10, and myself, 10, adding my age, 15, I'll have my name entered 45 times.
She has Kiku, 10, herself, 10, her sick mother, 10, grandfather, 10, and her grandmother, 10. Then add her age, 15, her name will be entered 65 times. She doesn't show it but, I know she's afraid.
We hunt, fish, and gather, and end up with 3 salmon each, around 7 pounds of deer meat each, and a quart of blackberries. I thank her and run home.
Mustn't be late for the Reaping.
I enter the house, Bella is brushing off Feli's coat. He's dressed in slacks, a white long-sleeved shirt, and a dress jacket. His skin is glowing, so he must've just been washed. Thank God, I almost thought he was dirt colored. He's about 3 shades lighter than me, in everyway. He smiles at me, his auburn eyes glistening with joy, "Fratello, Mama Bella has a surprise for you."
Bella's smiling at me.
'What? Did they cancel the Hunger Games? Has The Corporation been overthrown? Is Papa alive?' I ask myself these questions as Bella disappears into the backroom. She comes out with an outfit I know well.
Papa's reaping outfit.
"I thought, you should have it Lovino," Her voice is cracking, "I always said, You'd end up just like him." She hands it to me.
It's a white shirt, with a red tie, and grey jacket with matching grey pants. It's not much to look at, but it belonged to the most hard-headed, happy man in District 12. My father, and it means more to me than anything. "T...thank you.." I stamper out. I feel so stupid, I'm the man of the house now, and I'm turning into a sniffling baby.
"Well go change!" She rushes me out of the room, with a smile on her face.
I change into it, it fits like a glove. Bella claps as I walk out into the den, "My, My, you look so handsome!" I can't hide the blush that's forming on my face. Feli laughs, which makes the blush much worse.
We never have owned a car, it would be nice but we really just don't have the money. Instead, we walk to the square. There's a large wooden stage in the front, with the mayor of District 12, and Feliks Lukasiewicz done up in a suit pink and dyed orange streaks in his blonde hair sitting on either side of an empty chair. Two large glass balls stand on either side of the stage with the names of all the District 12 children.
45 had Lovino Vargas written on them.
65 had Che'n Wang.
Arthur Kirkland, winner of the last Hunger Games, waltzes drunkenly on stage, "Sorry I'm late lovelies..had things to do." He falls face first into Felik's lap. He shrieks and jumps about 17 feet in the air.
Arthur is flung off him. He straightens his suit and coughs into his gloved hand, "Well, welcome to the announcements of the District 12." He reaches into the vat of names, "Let's get this show on the road shall we?"
Before I can pray for Che'n's safety, I hear the first name.
"Feliciano Vargas!"