Chapter 1
"Rue…" I'm so shocked by the words that I don't even hear my last name. Everyone else is surprised, too. No one is saying anything. They are all staring at me.
"NO!" My mother's shrieks break the silence like a pebble hitting the smooth surface of a lake. Her scream provokes my 5 other sisters, who also begin screaming.
"Ru-ue..." The reaper says my name tauntingly.
I'm too frozen to move. Every word she says seem to numb me more.
"Please make your way to the stage." She snaps her fingers at the Peacekeepers, who start moving towards me. That gets me out of the trance I was in. I take a slow step forward.
Before I know it, I'm on the stage, standing before Citrus Limen, the reaper.
"Does anyone volunteer as tribute?" Nothing. Absolute silence. Never before has quiet hurt so bad. Doesn't anyone care?
Citrus calls the boy tribute. It's Thresh. We know each other. Our families are good friends. We basically grew up together, except for the fact that he's much older than me.
We shake hands, then go into the Justice Building. I can't sit still. I pace back and forth, back and forth.
Suddenly, the door opens. It's my parents, along with my sisters. My mom just cries, that's no use.
But my dad, he holds me by the shoulders, and gives me some real support. "You can win, Rue. You know what you can eat, you can climb trees like a real monkey, and you are smart. You are so smart, Rue. You can do this. You can win! Win for me. Win for the girls—Ruth, Paisley, Casey, Winter, Maisey, Kell—win for them. Win for mom. You can do it. Use what you know. Just be you, Rue. Try your best. We are proud of you, no matter what happens."
Then the Peacekeepers pull them away. They put their guns to the head of little Kell, who won't let go of my leg.