The Hunger Games, Dove's revenge
- CHAPTER ONE -
It's a frosty morning when I wake up and realise my mother and older brother are asleep, so I quickly shove on my coat and my brother's boots and walk outside. It was still dark as I made my way over a tall, rocky fence and into the sparse woods. My feet tread silently through the dead leaves and scattered snow, as though I'm levitating. It's a natural gift. I pause by a large tree that, if you looked closely, was hollow. It was where I kept all my… weapons. I had an assortment of knives, bows-and-arrows, slingshots, traps and even a gun, but I never use them except for practise in between Primary School and Junior Academy; until now. I grabbed my utility belt, strapped in my assorted collection of knives, paused, and fitted the quiver onto my back and armed my precious bow. Since there was an actual training area, no-one ever came out to the woods. So I spent several hours throwing knives and shooting arrows at trees or game; I never missed once. If I was going to be chosen today, I was ready.
When I heard the School bell ring, I almost sprinted back to the weapon tree, unclipped the belt, removed the bow and arrows and stuffed them back in the tree before I sprinted back to my house, grabbed my school bag and arrived at school 10 minutes late. Breathing an exhausted sorry to Ms Kilton, a grumpy old lady, I took my seat and stared blankly at the blackboard, hands neatly on my desk or busy scribbling down work. It was boring. Learning about creating pearls only fascinated the rich girls sitting in a corner and giggling to each other.
By the time I'm out of school, its midday and I haven't eaten a thing. So I took a risky move, and instead of going to train, I go back home for lunch, breakfast, whatever. After I had gobbled up some stale bread and an apple, I went back to the forest, re-equipped my weapons and strolled over to the Junior Academy. I arrive, this time 10 minutes early.
"Hey." I was greeted with a hug. Need I turn around?
"Hey Gallin." I turned around, and I would've sworn he almost smiled. "I thought you weren't in the Academy." He gave a small shrug.
"I'm not. But, considering this is the last Academy for the rest of the year, I thought I'd come and watch." Gallin said brightly. But we both knew.
"It's my last year here. I'm seventeen, and next year I'll be out of the reaping for good." He gave the slightest nod, acknowledging the fact that he knew. "I wish you didn't still have 3 years left of it, though. I don't think I could stand it, being alone in the woods, watching you… well, you know." The amusement drained from his face as he imagined a month in the arena, the possibility of never coming back. The fact that his name was to be put in the boy's ball many more times than the average boy his age worried both of us deeply.
"5 minutes, geared group 7!" my instructor called.
"I have to go." I had joined my group before Gallin could say good luck.
"Hello class." Mr Tulloch called, and we replied in unison. "OK sevens! I'm sure the majority of you have been waiting impatiently for this day," he almost glared at me. "And as you all know, there will be an assessment, your final grade placing you in ranks for the rest of your life." He literally meant that. Once we were placed in a rank, you would never be promoted and the only demote was being kicked out for breaking laws, or… dying.
"Everyone suit up and practise your knife throwing on the dummies. Not each other." So it went for the next three hours, practising non-stop and being tired and sweaty at the end. But I loved it. Just as I was packing up and suiting down to leave, Mr Tulloch patted me on the shoulder.
"Here you go, Dove. Your results are sealed tight in the envelope." He gave me a knowing smile and left, leaving me alone in the Academy. I snatched up my jacket, closed the door, and walked home excitedly.
I just entered through the front door, when Jay swooped in, grabbed the envelope from my hand and whizzed over to mum. I cried out in annoyance, and he turned around, hands on hips, a smug look on his face. Brothers! Mum opened up the report and read it through, her eyes lighting up. Annoyed that I didn't get to read it first, I took the report from her hands, and read it myself.
NAME:Dove Wintergreen
DISTRICT: 7
GROUP:7
ASSESSMENT
Knives: excellent skill. Always hitting the bullseye on the target dummies. 10/10
Bow and Arrows: excellent skill. Is used to many varieties, can shoot and reload below 3 seconds. 10/10
Trap Making: excellent skill, can improve. Can make traps quickly and efficiently; only knows the basic traps and a couple advanced. 9.5/10
Defence: best and favoured defence is tree climbing and camouflage. 10/10
Fist Fighting: Strong punches and kicks, very knowledgeable on nerves. 10/10
Effort: amazing loyalty and exceeded confidence, knowledge and concentration. Has quick wits and is very intelligent. 10/10
FUTURE RANK: COMMANDER
I gasped as realisation hit. I got a pat on the back, and a shake of the hand. Commander! That was the highest possible rank anyone could receive out of every single district, every single person! As a celebration, mum bought some expensive beef and made the best broth I had had in ages. She then took me in her arms and told me,
"Darling Dove, I don't care what happens from now. You are an amazing young woman, and you should celebrate. This is a great future for you, kiddo. Now, go tell your friends before the reaping starts." She was almost in tears, so I gave her a hug and ran off to find Gallin.
Gallin turned to me, smiling from ear to ear. "Wow. Hey, I hope that in 3 years time I'll be co-commander and we'll serve side by side for the rest of our lives." I rolled my eyes, but to be honest, I agreed with him. I leaned forward and was just about to kiss him, when a rather loud bell made us both jump, startled. We looked at each other glumly. This was not going to be good.
We made our way over to the Town Square, where the current Commander stood between two hanging glass balls, filled to the top with small pieces of paper, each having a single name written down. By the looks of it, the entire District had already arrived, and the Commander was babbling away on how the Hunger Games came to be. But eventually he reached the end of his speech, and, everyone not even daring to breathe, he pulled out a piece of paper from the boy's glass ball. And although my ears would not allow me to hear it, my heart told me so, as Gallin gently pulled his hand from my clenching grasp and made his way to the stage. In other districts, people may have clapped, even cheered, but this was dead silence, and the occasional sob could be heard.
The Commander reached into the girl's glass ball, agonizingly slowly. When his hand lifted out with the single piece of paper, I just knew it in my heart. It was going to be-
"Dove Evergreen." I almost laughed at the irony. Picked to be commander, and then suddenly sent as a tribute to the Games, to be watched by millions of eyes as I died horribly at the cornucopia. I went up to the stage, and clutched onto Gallin' hand as though I was going to die if I didn't. Which I might as well.
I was going to the Hunger Games. My best friend and I were going to die.