Chapter 1: Defiance
The mocking jays echo the two-note signal as they fly over the numerous rows of orange groves, calling out that it is the end of another day of harvest. I look up into the heavens and watch as their blue bodies circle and loop around each other, soaring off into the horizon. I sigh, envying the little jays for their freedom and everlasting joy, wishing that I could sprout wings like theirs and join them. It is the nudging of my younger brother that pulls me out of my train of thought.
"Come on Rosie!" he says exasperatedly when I stay rooted to the spot. "I want to get to the feeding post before the line gets too long!"
I laugh and give him a good-natured shove.
"Oh relax Ren: I was just day-dreaming! Not everything has to be so rushed." Rennie rolls his eyes and runs ahead while I walk leisurely behind him.
When we reach the feeding post, many adults and children are already in line, waiting with a bowl, pot, or even their bare hands for the food that is to be given that month. We join the multiple bodies and wait as the line inches forward, the smells of carrots and oranges teasing our noses. Two older men step out of line with their bowls grasped in weathered hands and a scowl on each of their faces.
"This is even less than last month!" one of the men whispers to the other, not daring to let the peacekeepers manning the post catch a word that he says. And I see that he's right: when it is our turn to step to the front of the small booth, a badly bruised apple and a measly clove of grapes plops into our awaiting hands. I instinctively look up to give the peacekeeper a disapproving scowl, but soon catch myself when I see the intimidating whip sitting at the ready in the guard's belt loop.
Walking towards home though, there is no stopping Rennie's newest rant on the unfair ways of the Capitol and their cold treatment towards us and the other 11 districts. I let him continue on until finally I must stop him when he begins to talk about rebellion.
"Ren, that enough! You know what happened when the districts rebelled against the Capitol all those years ago!" In fact, when the 12 (then 13) districts had caused a large uprising, the Capitol crushed us like flies, even destroying an entire district to prove their point of superiority.
"I know what happened, Rosie! But that was ages ago: we have become stronger since then. Besides: Mom and Dad want an uprising as much as I do!"
I sigh, knowing that Ren is right: Mom and Dad have been quietly organizing a rebellion in district 11 for almost a year now, bringing in new sponsors and making plans to spread the word to other districts. Yes everyone knew the risk of being the planner of such a horrible crime, but it seems that with each new Hunger Games, the Capitol becomes crueler to each district in turn: and the districts become more pressed with frustration and anger.
Finally, we spot our tiny shack in the distance and I almost feel relieved to be rid of all this talk of rebellion. But the relief is soon washed away when I see that the door is ajar. And that shots are being fired within our hut.
My breath catches when I hear the shots ring out and I stand unable to move. However, Rennie rushes towards the hut and doesn't slow when I try to call out to him. Feeling an urgency to protect my little brother, I run after him, soon catching up to him just as he reaches the open door. What I find inside my small ramshackle house is a memory that I know will always stay with me no matter how hard I try to erase it: my mother and father, beaten and bloody, lying awkwardly on the dirt floor. And several peacekeepers, backs towards us, searching our house and just lighting a match.