Edited- 27/9
Gale P.O.V
As I sit on the ground of one of Amity's grassy fields,I finally feel the effects of the peace serum wearing off. I sigh, my shoulders sagging in relief. I blankly gaze at my surroundings. There's nothing much to see here, though members of Amity in their usual cheerful fashion call this field the meadow, but it doesn't resemble one in any way.
Once upon a time, I suppose something used to grow here, but now there is only a sparse cover of grass and some dandelions. There are some fields of wheat adjacent to the meadow, and sometimes some farmers from my faction come here to eat lunch.
I play back the events of the last few hours in my mind- that numb feeling as the Amity peacekeeping force hauled me to the sterile room . The bald yet kindly faced man looming over me as I struggled,strapped to my chair, telling me that it was for me that it was for my own good. To help me keep the peace.
To say that I cannot keep peace is an understatement.
My friend Katniss used to tell me that a day that went by without the two of us being poked by the needles was a day that went wasted. Neither of us was what anyone could exactly call friendly, and we would get into fights all the time,sometimes even with each other,and when scoldings didn't work,even children were injected with serum. Anything to keep the peace. Children were expected to follow faction behaviour once they start attending school. After all we have a reputation to uphold.
When the serum used to reduce both of us to a giggling mess, Katniss and I wold come to the meadow till it wore off.
She's the only person who truly understands me,because both of us do not belong here.
We used to end up here in the meadow so often that it kind of became our meeting place. Far away from prying ears,we could be ourselves for once.
We would talk for hours at the end,dreaming together about another place,where everyone was free to do what they wanted,instead of being subjected to days filled with endless rules and forced kindness.
Many think that Amity is one of the better factions. But a lot goes on underneath the veil of kindness and brotherhood. For people who cannot adhere to the factions values,there was no kindness.
Katniss and I, we could deal with it though. When we were together in the meadow,nothing else mattered.
But for the past two years I have been coming here alone.
You see,my father and hers used to be the best of friends. They were both excellent men and respected members of the community. My father was a skilled farmer. Even the most withered crops would flourish under his care, even when the fancy fertilizers Erudite made wouldn't help. My brother Rory shows the same talent.
Katniss's own father had the most beautiful voice you could ever hear. It would make you laugh and cry at the same time and it almost seemed that the birds would stop and listen when he sang. During our faction sing alongs, he would be always in great demand.
Even Katniss has the same talent as him - or had, I wouldn't know. Since she left, I have no clue whether she's alive or not. I giggle at this thought, probably due to the lingering effects of the serum
They all say, it was an accident. Of course my peace loving faction would say so.
A Dauntless soldier who mans the fence accidentally shot our fathers to death.
But I don't believe it. Not one bit.
And nor did Katniss's mother ,Donna,who went crazy after her husband's death.
Katniss tells me she would lay in bed, all day long, just staring into emptiness and muttering to herself.
And then one fine day, Katniss had finally had enough. Her mother's behavior was not only affecting her but also Prim, her sister, who would cry all day seeing her mother so upset. Sick and tired of her mother doing nothing, and Prims crying, she yelled at her mother , and told her to do something, anything.
Something about her reaction must have scared Katniss, because she came running to me in the meadow . "You should have seen her face, Gale," she told me,her stormy grey eyes intense. "She looked like a madwoman. I didn't know what to do ".
On our way back , we noticed a commotion near the loading station.A tingle of the premonitory kind ran through me as I noticed the person at the centre of the crowd.
A familiar looking woman with blonde hair and blue eyes.
The woman was Katniss's mother.
She had murdered the man who had killed her husband.
Deciding what to do with her took the longest time, with the members seemingly taking an eternity to decide what to do, as they sat around the Tree and debated, while Katniss sat at the back with her little sister , who was bawling her eyes out. Prim's blue eyes, the same color as her mother were streaming with tears and she was clinging to Katniss's arm as if her life depended upon it.
Katniss in turn was squeezing my hand so hard that I couldn't feel it. Katniss's face was devoid of any emotion, but I was sure that inwardly she was as much of a mess as me. I had no clue what would happen,I didn't understand how Katniss's mother could have done such a thing.
She was a nurse in the hospital, she saved lives, she didn't take them!
The rest of it was a blur. I only remember Katniss's mother weeping hysterically when our faction representative , Johanna,stood up to announce the verdict. My heart was hammering and I tightly clutched Katniss's hand.
She was my only friend and we had been through a lot together. I didn't want her to go. Johanna announced that Amity was no place for a murderer. Belladonna Everdeen had to leave Amity,and her children would remain with the faction.
I didn't know whether to feel relieved or not that Katniss would remain with me. But then she would loose both of her parents.
I remember hearing a loud,childish cry of protest.
"You can't make mommy go," sniffled Prim with all her childish innocence "and I won't stay without mommy. If she goes, then I go with her. "
My heart sank,because there was no way that Katniss would stay without her sister.
In the end it was decided.A murderers children were probably tainted It was probably better to get rid of them.
They would go , immediately, with their mother.
For supposedly being the kindest faction, Amity did not live up to its reputation.
I only got enough time to hug Katniss before she was taken from me and her family was escorted outside the gates of our faction. I watched as the gates were closed on them, and they were left behind with nothing but the clothes on their back.
That was the last time I ever saw her.
The harsh bell that signals curfew sounds, breaking me out of my thoughts. The sky is dark now, and it is no longer safe to be in the open. I have to head back to the main Amity compound.
My throat feels choked up,like there's lump of something in there that won't dissolve , as it always is when I think about Her. But at least this means that the effect of the serum has worn off.
I get up, brushing the grass off the seat of my ridiculous red trousers.
Our faction clothing is too bright for my taste.
I wish Katniss was here, I could give anything to talk to her,especially right now,because tomorrow is the day of the aptitude test.
It is the day I will find out which faction I truly belong to.
On my way back,I pass by a truck filled to the brim with Dauntless soldiers , some of them even hanging off the sides of the truck.
They are dressed entirely in black, many of them heavily tattooed, with piercings and hair dyed in every colour imaginable.
They seem utterly carefree, laughing constantly and and making jokes.
But you can also see their guns. I can never overlook the guns, because one of them killed my father.
But still, this faction has a certain appeal to me. The Dauntless are fearless They don't listen to anyone or care what anyone says. Most people see the Dauntless as hellions, uncouth people who seem brash and insolent. But to me, they are free. And in Amity, where I am forced to wear a mask of kindness, I am not.
When I reach home, I find that my mother is already home, along with my sister, Posy. Rory is nowhere in sight, and I assume he is out playing with one of his friends.
My mother is very pretty, with olive skin and dark brown hair like me, though hers are streaked with grey. Her face is prematurely aged too, with lines at the corner of her mouth. A permanent aura of grief surrounds since the death of my father, but her face breaks into a smile upon seeing me and she ensconces me in a giant hug.
You cannot deny that we are not an affectionate people.
Before she can say anything, Rory bursts into room , looks straight and me, and exclaims, "You punched Jack! You said you weren't going to hit people anymore!" He pouts at me, his expression chastising. My brother was truly born for Amity.
"It's wrong to hit people! Why did you hit him?"
"I'm sorry. It won't happen again. "I say, trying to look duly sorry.
"Promise?" he asks, his face almost mournful.
"Promise. It was my fault, I got angry. "I reply. "It won't happen again."
He seems happy with my answer, and after giving my mother and I super fast hugs, he runs off to do whatever he does.
The boy I punched, Jack was being extremely annoying. I think that he deserved that black eye. In fact, I find all members of my faction annoying. They all seem to think that I'm depressed because of what happened to my father and Katniss's family and that's the reason I won't join in for any of their games. At regular intervals of time, people keep coming up to me and give me pep talks, telling me to socialize more and inviting me over for some game or sing along or whatever.
I'm not depressed, I like being on my own, but when I tell them just that they'll give me a disbelieving look and go on harping about the latest gossip or scandal,ignoring what I said. "Debbie just broke up with her boyfriend! And guess who she's going out with now!... "And so on and so forth. I usually try to control my temper as they keep drivelling ,but most of the time I end up losing my temper and hitting them ,which invariably gets me sent to a pristine white room where a kindly looking man will unceremoniously shove a needle into me, making me act like a compete lunatic.
I give an involuntary shudder and shake myself out of it, only to see my mother looking at me. I wince mentally, bracing myself, thinking that she is going to give me a lecture on "Do not hit or yell at your fellow faction members Gale, they are only being nice"
I get ready to apologize profusely, but when she opens her mouth the words that come out of her mouth the words that come out are not what I expect.
"You have a big day tomorrow," she says, smiling knowingly, deliberately not mentioning my 'incident' today "are you nervous?" she enquires.
I inwardly sigh with relief. I love my mother, and I hate what I put her through. It's been difficult for us after the death of my father, and I haven't been making things easier by going around and punching people.
"A little bit," I reply, trying to joke a little "but I'm going to join Dauntless anyway because I hear their cake rocks. I don't particularly care for JellO" I expect her to agree or even maybe smile a little bit, but her face suddenly contorts into an emotion I cannot comprehend- sad.. and filled with longing? I cannot be sure. Suddenly she emits a little noise which might be a sob, and I suddenly realise what I have done - joked about the joining the faction which killed my father.
Way to put you foot into your mouth Gale, I tell myself wryly.
And she didn't even say anything about punching that poor sod.
I feel awful, and I open my mouth to say something, when Posy chooses that exact moment to trip over our faded yellow carpet and starts wailing loudly. My mother immediately rushes over to sooth her, stroking her hair and telling her it's okay while simultaneously checking for any injuries. There aren't any, and when my mother gives Posy her tattered old doll she immediately stops crying and it's like nothing ever happened I the first place.
When my mother is done I try to apologize but she sort of just brushes me away and tells me that it was nothing.
Dinner is an uneventful affair- in Amity, everyone always eats together in the large dining hall, and so everyone is chattering and laughing. I eat next to my family, quietly. I apologised to Jack on my way to the dining hall, who was sporting a purplish bruise on his right eye. I felt a little sorry for a moment, but he brushed it off and wished me luck for the aptitude test.
The food itself is plain, but we do have JellO for dessert, I guess as a sort of special treat before the aptitude test.
My siblings are ecstatic, but I quickly eat my food and head back to our apartment, not bothering to stick around for the nightly sing along. I stopped this practice after Katniss left, because the sing alongs don't have the same appeal without her.
I retire for the night to the room I share with Rory, but I don't feel that I'll sleep any time soon.
I can't stop thinking about what my result will be. A part of me wishes that I don't get Amity, so that I can escape all this pretence and be free. But another part of me hates myself for thinking so, for thinking about leaving my family. They are all I have now that Katniss is gone.
But they would probably be better of without me.
I try to sleep, but my thoughts keep on buzzing around in my head.
After a while, Rory comes in and is out like a candle in a moment, but sleep keeps on evading me.
I am wondering what my father would tell me if he were here now, when the door cracks open and my mother tiptoes into the room.
This is highly unusual for her and I look at her questioningly.
She sits at the edge of my bed and combs her fingers through my hair, like she used to when I was a child and had nightmares. The gesture is extremely comforting, and at that moment I feel awful for wanting to leave the only people who love me so much.
" I love you Gale," she tells me, breaking the silence. "You know that, right,?" I blink confusedly, wondering what she wants to talk about. "I love you too mom.", I reply
"I know you don't feel like you belong here," she tells me. "And I want you to know, that no matter what result you get, you'll still be my son and I'll always love you. I don't want you to stay here because you feel like you should. I want you to follow your heart. "
I feel myself tearing up, but before I can reply, she plants a soft kiss on my forehead and walks out of the room with the same strange expression she had on her face in the evening.
Eventually, I sleep claims me sometime while pondering about what my mother said.
In the morning, I get up late and run to the showers. Fortunately, one of the stalls is empty, and I shower quickly. It's not like anyone dawdles over their shower anyway, with the showers lasting for only 5 minutes and the water freezing cold.
I change into a clean red shirt and brown pants and grab some breakfast.
My mother hugs me and wishes me luck and Posy gives me a drool filled kiss on the cheek.
I catch the bus with Rory, who is in middle school and we part ways on the scampers away when he sees a friend of his, but halfway through he runs back, flings his arms around my neck and wishes me luck.
My throat chokes up a little.
I go to my first class, which is Calculus, which I hate and usually seems to last for years, but today it rushes along and before I know it, I'm sitting on a table surrounded by other Amity waiting for my name to be called. Most other Amity doesn't seem very bothered, and why should they be, because it's obvious they're going to get Amity anyway.
Most of the other kids from other factions don't seem bothered either, but a few, like a kid from Abnegation, who is tall and scrawny with trimmed short brown hair who looks absolutely terrified. He's fidgeting with the buttons of his gigantic grey shirt and I wonder whether he's terrified that he'll get Abnegation or terrified that he won't.
I here my name being called and I slowly get up and walk into the testing room, where a Stiff with lank mouse coloured hair smiles at me , sits me in a chair, attaches some electrodes to my temples and hands me a tiny glass of blue serum which she tells will induce the simulation.
"Drink up," she says.
I shakily lift the glass to my mouth and gulp it down in one go.
My ears are hammering and my heart is pounding as I wait for the serum to take effect.
It's time for me to find where I belong.
Authors Note: Thank you for reading! Hope you liked the first chapter! The first two or three chapters might be a little slow,but after that things will pick right up.
Please drop in a review and keep reading :)
