Chapter 1

It was that time again. War. I didn't want one, but I can't control when it happens. It just does. It's always about the same thing too: Resources. Democratic America and Republic America are always fighting over resources. We mostly fight over oil. Since we have such little left of it. But in the 4th War, we fought over land. That was the first time Democratic America won a War. I felt bad for the other countries. They're all left without any resources while the Americas have all that's left. But at least the other countries don't have War.
I always worried when the time for War comes because I got afraid that my parents might be Chosen. This year I became old enough to be Chosen to be in War too. I hoped that my application wouldn't come to my house in the mailbox, but it did. I had to fill it in and turn it in at The Ceremony of War. I saw my Mom's and my Dad's application before, so I knew what I had to fill out. The application just asked me to answer basic questions, like what my age is, what my gender is, what country I live in, what my weight is, and what my height is.
I filled out my application, and set it down on the desk in my room. I looked on my Tablet and checked the news for today. It was all about the upcoming War. I read that the Ceremony of War would take place in The Democratic Capital, and War would take place inside the Dome. The news reporters didn't say what the Dome would look like.
"Dad!" I called. Dad came over to me.
"Yes?" Dad asked.
"What does the Dome look like?"
"Nobody really knows what it will look like until The Ceremony of War, where it's announced. The way it looks is based on the theme of War.
"Theme?"
"By theme, I mean what War was about. In the last War we had we fought over land, so the Dome was filled with the land we were fighting over. The land we were fighting over had palm trees and beaches on it. The Dome had the exact same things in it."
"Oh."
Dad went back into his bedroom with Mom while I kept reading and watching the news. The Ceremony of War was in one day, so I wanted to be prepare to go to it. I spent the rest of the day getting my survival supplies, just incase I got Chosen. I was only allowed to bring certain things, which were listed on the back of the application I got. It wouldn't be smart for someone not to bring everything that person might need. But if someone brought too much supplies, that person would get killed. So I brought everything on the list: One small backpack, one 32 oz water bottle, and my weapon. When a person is born, that person gets randomly assigned a weapon for War (if that person is chosen.) Most people didn't pay attention to their weapon, because not a lot of people were Chosen. I checked my birth certificate so I could see what my weapon was. I read the weapon name on the bottom. My weapon was a Ballista.