Prolog
Maria glanced at the horizon; a small breeze was brushing her long blonde hair away from her shoulders. So many years she had stood there and so many years she wondered what was outside the fence that was keeping her prisoner. She couldn´t remember a time when she wasn´t curios about life outside her district; the Roswell District.
Since the aliens landed sixty years ago and took over the planet, humans were kept under strict surveillance; jammed into different districts and ordered to keep among themselves and not put one foot outside the fence. People had tried it, but the second they had been outside the district they had been shot from the alien peacekeeper walking the streets.
Maria wished everyday that someone would find the courage to do something and start to strike back at them; but no one was brave enough to go against the mighty aliens with their extraterrestrial powers and their little tricks to keep the humans in line.
Not that their life was so bad; the Roswell District was in far better shape than the other districts around them. People didn´t die on the streets anymore or fell over from starvation, but that didn´t mean it was good either.
Her family was even lucky enough to have food on the table every day; their clothes were always clean and undamaged and their small little house was lit by light, had warm water available to them and was fully furnished. People looked up at them in some way, because despite the high number of family members living under the same roof, there was never any trouble.
And that was an accomplishment in itself when she thought about her three brothers. Sean was the oldest from the bunch, a real womanizer with the charm of a Casanova. With his 22 years, he was some sort of freak, because he wasn´t married and was producing kids left and right. But he said that he was waiting for the right woman; whatever that meant.
Then there was Kyle, he was the opposite from Sean. He fell in love with a girl named Tess at the age of sixteen and four years later they were married and expecting their first child. He had always been the responsible kind of guy and everybody loved him.
The last of her brothers was Theo, the baby of the family. He was only 8 years old, but the spitting image of their father. The last few days he lost two teeth and every time he was smiling everyone around him was smiling with him, because of his missing teeth. He was the sunshine of the family and Maria loved him to pieces.
" You know, you´re not supposed to be here".
Maria glanced over her shoulder at the person sneaking up on her and grinned at her childhood friend Alex. He was the only guy her father felt comfortable with, because there was never something between them. They were like brother and sister. " Yeah well, I´m never where I´m supposed to be".
Alex shook his head at her. She would one day get in trouble for her rebellious nature or they would write books about her for saving humankind. " True, but it´s time. The selection is in half an hour and your parents are already panicking".
" Great; I can´t wait".
The Selection was another kind of punishment from the aliens to show the humans who was in control. Every year six people from the age of 8 to 18 were picked from every district and sent to some boot camp where they got trained to survive. In the end only 2 had the privilege to fight against eighteen other chosen in the annual Fighting Games; a pleasure for all aliens.
Alex took her hand and dragged her with him. He knew that she wanted to escape this place and everyday he wondered when it would finally happen. She was smart and not like any other girl their age; she would probably even make it to the outside; but he was always worried about her as well. Even though her father taught her a lot about hunting, he was scared for her. She was impulsive and most of time she said what was on her mind, which could break her neck on day.
Maria was dreading this day every year. She had never gotten picked, but she had seen all those young girls and boys walking to their deaths; with the aliens just cheering at the loss of their lives. So many men and women had lost their children; just to entertain those aliens. It was barbaric and disgusting.
" There you are".
Maria made a face at the small, dark haired woman hurrying towards her. Her mother was always the same; worried that her daughter had escaped or got in trouble or was messing around with a young man. " Yeah, on time for watching two lives getting destroyed again".
Amy Valenti put her hand on her daughter´s mouth and glanced around. Hopefully no one had heard that or else there would be bad consequences. She had seen people getting shot for fewer reasons. " Would you stop saying things like that! I don´t want you getting killed"
" Mom, nobody cares about what we say or do as long as we keep in line and do our jobs", Maria wondered what would happen if she screamed that aliens were scum in front of the whole crowd standing on the square in front of the city hall.
Amy gave her a look that said she should keep her mouth shut. Then she went to her husband's side and linked her arm with his. Her other hand was lying on her youngest son's shoulder to keep him in her sight.
Maria pressed air forcefully out of her lungs and then stepped towards her family. The moment Theo saw her, he left his mother´s side and ran in her direction. Jumping in her arms, he grinned at his sister. " Oh man, you´re getting heavy. One of these days I´m not able to hold you anymore".
" You´re so funny", Theo said with his tooth gap; slightly lisping.
Maria put a loud smacking kiss on his cheek and watched him making a face at her. He hated to get kissed in public, because he was a big boy and those didn't get kissed from family. He was instantly wiping his skin where her lips had made contact. " Not as funny as you, squirt".
Theo looked at his sister like she was coolest person around. Sometimes he got snippets of conversations between his parents and it was usually about Maria and her smart mouth. He didn´t know why they were so worried about her; she was just talking and not doing anything. At least when he got lectured he had done something wrong. " Why is Mom so scared today?".
" Hey, it´s time to get in your line", one of the alien peacekeeper was interrupting the little time between the siblings.
Maria sat her brother down and took his hand. They wouldn´t be at the same place, but she would at least get him to the spot where everyone his age was standing. She was farther in the back with the other seventeen year old teenager. " So you stay here and don´t move. Just watch what the others are doing and mimic them. As soon as the show is over I will get you again, okay?".
Theo glanced up at her and some fear was shining in his eyes. It was his first time that he was here and he didn´t feel comfortable with other people he didn´t know. He wished his sister would be with him. But he knew that if he wanted to be a big boy, he had to act like it. " Okay".
" It will be over soon and then we´ll do something together", Maria kissed his forehead quickly before he could protest and then went to her line, where Alex was already waiting for her. He had saved a spot for her and despite the dire situation he was grinning and gave her two thumbs up. " How can you be so optimistic?".
Alex shrugged; he didn´t know why he didn´t fear this day so much; at least he didn´t fear it since he was thirteen. Maybe it was the fact that even if he got picked, he would never be in the Fighting Games, because only the strongest made it there. " Genes? Character flaw? Why are you always so pessimistic?".
Maria punched his shoulder lightly. He was always teasing her about her dark view of the world, but how could she be happy and smiling when they got robbed of their identity? People were dying in other districts and nobody was doing anything against it. " You know why".
" Relax will you".
Before Maria could reply something, a woman with blonde hair and pink highlights was stepping up in front of the microphone on the little stage that was only put there for this day. Her make up was a little too much and her clothes were screaming eye cancer. " Hello, Hello. It´s a wonderful day for this occasion and I´m honored to have the privilege to be here this year again".
Maria bent closer to Alex and whispered. " Yeah, she isn´t the one getting forced to fight for her life".
" I hope Kathleen spares us the entire speech she did last year", every year it was always the same words; the same blablabla. It was getting old and no one was actually listening to her anymore. It was like a punishment before the real punishment.
Maria snorted; yeah fat chance of that happening. They had to endure the whole thirty minutes of mindless chatter from the woman and then they waited for the Selection and then they were finally free to go. Tuning the voice out, Maria tried to scan the crowd for her little brother, but he was so small and there were too many people between them that she couldn´t see him.
Then suddenly the tone of the whole event was changing and everyone paid attention again. Maria instantly grasped Alex hand and squeezed it. Even though she had endured a few of those Selections already, she was always nervous and scared. Watching the huge monitor in front of them, they waited for the first unlucky person to get picked.
" First chosen. Mason James", the name was followed by a picture of a young boy, who couldn´t be older than ten years old. Instantly a woman was breaking out in tears and was screaming while the boy was getting lead to the stage from two peacekeepers.
" Next one. Josh Hale", the picture they flashed was of a young buff man, probably around eighteen. He went with the peacekeepers without any drama and no one was crying or screaming.
" Followed by. Zoey Lawrence", a pretty girl with dark hair, dark eyes and dark skin, maybe eleven or twelve. For a moment she was looking like a deer caught in the headlights, but then she calmly stepped out of her line and went to the stage. A woman and a few girls were quietly crying.
" Okay, this one is. Elizabeth Parker", before the picture was shown a sound escaped the mentioned girl. She was shaking her head and saying no over and over again. Her long brown hair was swinging with the motion of her denial and her brown eyes were filled with tears. The peacekeepers were instantly at her side to pick her up and half pushed and half dragged her away.
" There is always one that has to make a scene. Well the show must go on. So our next candidate is. Maxwell Evans".
Maria turned around and glanced at the guy behind her. She knew him from school. He was very quiet and kept mostly to himself, but she thought he was cute in the puppy dog kinda way. He was sighing loudly before he walked towards the stage. Maria felt Alex release her hand, now that the worst was over and she was beginning to relax again. Just one more person and they could go home. The cup had passed her this year again. Smiling at her friend for a moment she breathed out in relief before turning to the monitor again and there she saw the last picture she wanted to see there.
" The last one is. Theo Valenti".
Maria heard her mother first, then her father trying to comfort her, closely followed from her brothers, who were in disbelief. As soon as she noticed the peacekeepers nearing the line her brother was standing in, she pushed past Alex and everyone in her wake. The only thing that stopped her was one of the peacekeeper blocking her path with his gun. She knew that she could either go calmly back to her place or attack him and risk getting killed. But before she could decide what way to go, she glanced to the side and her heart clenched when she saw the scared look from her little brother.
" I volunteer!".
Everyone stopped and stared at her in astonishment. There had never been a volunteer in all the years of the Fighting Games and it was clearly visible in the way that all seemed not to now how to proceed from that point on. Kathleen Topolsky excused herself and went behind the stage while Maria was standing in the valley between all the children and teenagers, just held back by a peacekeeper. Theo and his escorts had stopped as well and were just waiting for an order. The tension was so thick that it could have been cut with a knife.
Amy Valenti had feared this day for so long; all the praying and begging had been very much useless. Hiding her face in her husbands shoulder, she let the tears fall. She barely heard Jim telling that everything would be alright while Sean was trying to find the right words and failing miserably. He wished he would not be too old to get picked, so he would have been able to volunteer. Theo was just a baby and not able to defend himself and Maria was a girl; granted she was a little bit tougher than most, but still a girl.
Kyle had to use every ounce of strength in his body to keep at his spot, even though his urge to go to his siblings was very overwhelming. Glancing back at his Tess, he saw the shock and the surprise on her face. No one could believe what happened.
Alex should have known that today of all days, the trouble he had always feared would one day happen to his best friend would be coming. He had felt something would be going down and that it somehow involved her. Damn him and his right gut feeling.
" Okay, I just spoke to my superior and they agreed to let the young woman take the place of the boy", Kathleen had made it back on stage and was now beckoning Maria to come to her.
Slowly she made her way in the direction of the stage, not glancing at the people lining on either sides of her and not listening to the murmurs around her. She felt like she was outside her body and watched herself marching down the path to her sure death. When she passed the first row, she saw out of the corner of her eyes her little brother trying to get to her and getting held back from a peacekeeper. Smiling slightly at him, she tried to get him to calm down before he would get hurt. Then she climbed the few steps on the stage and took her place in line with the other chosen.
Kathleen Topolsky glanced at them all and then she turned her attention back to the crowd. " Well, can I get a little applause for our six chosen?".
Everyone was staring silently to the front, but no one clapped their hands together. Instead they used an old hand gesture that stood for respect and bravery. All people lifted their right fist in the air simultaneously; like they had arranged it. The six chosen on the stage were so moved from the support that they also were lifting their fists in the air.
Kathleen was thrown from the display and she tried to find words to get the show going again. But then she saw one cameraman shaking his head at her and she knew that it was over. As soon as the cameras were out, the peacekeepers were pushing the people away from the square and others were herding the six chosen inside the town hall.
A few minutes later
Maria was pacing the room she had been put in. She was still not really realizing what she had done and part of her feared what would happen as soon as it would be sinking in. But how could she not change the place with her brother? He wouldn´t have any chance in the arena, whereas she could still make it, even if the odds weren´t exactly in her favor.
Rubbing her face with both hands, she tried to keep the panic that was threatening her to keep at bay. It was too late to change anything and she had to make the most of it. Looking out of the window, she watched the people on the street and she wondered if she would ever see this place again. What about her family? Her friends?
Suddenly the door to her room was opened and she whirled around. For a moment she stared at the people piling inside before she threw her arms around her mother and her father. " I´m so glad to see you".
" What were you thinking?", Amy scolded her daughter through the tears falling from her eyes.
Maria wasn´t so surprised about the words, she knew the woman long enough to foresee her reactions in advance. " I couldn´t let Theo go through this".
Jim wasn´t a very emotional man and most of the time, he was keeping his feelings to himself. But this time he made an exception. Even though he wasn´t crying so openly like his wife, his eyes were glassy and a lump had formed in his throat. " What you did was brave. Very stupid, but brave".
" Thank you", Maria fought her tears. She knew if she started now, she would probably never stop again. This was hard enough, she didn´t need the others to think she was weak. It wouldn´t look good for her if their first impression of her was a girl with red rimmed eyes.
Sean shook his head and he blinked his eyes rapidly to repress the tears there. He had always complained about his sister and what a pain in his ass she was, but he had never wished her this fate. She was more than just a sibling; she was more like him than his brothers. " I hope you know what you´re getting yourself into. There will be no big brother to save your butt this time".
Maria turned to him and she stifled a sob trying to escape her. Flinging her arms around him, she squeezed him almost to death. Despite their constant bickering, she loved him very much. " I know, but you and Dad taught me well".
" I can´t believe what you did; I´ll miss you", Tess hiccupped and wrapped her arms around her friend. She just hoped that the girl would still be able to be there when she gave birth. It wouldn´t feel right without her and she knew that her husband would want her to be there.
Maria patted the other girls back in comfort. The pregnancy had made her so mushy and emotional. Over her shoulder she glanced at Kyle, who was furiously wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. He was like their father in regard to showing feelings. She released her weeping friend and went to him. " You´ll take care of your wife and the others. Keep an eye on Alex for me".
Kyle lost his fight with his tears and he embraced her while he buried his face in her shoulder. They hadn´t gotten along for a while, because he thought of her as a burden instead of a addition, but now he couldn´t even imagine a life without her in it. " Be careful. Don´t forget what we taught you. You´re not like anyone else".
" I´m Teflon. I won´t go down without a fight", Maria´s eyes started to water and she knew that it wouldn´t take too long before she started bawling like a baby. Pushing herself back from her brother, she felt someone was pulling at the hem of her skirt. Looking down, she saw Theo staring back at her with his clear blue eyes. Crouching down on his level, she broke her resolve to not cry. " You be good, you hear me. Listen to Mom and Dad and do not get in trouble".
Theo sobbed uncontrollable and threw his arms around her. " I´m sorry. It´s my fault".
Maria shook her head, even though she knew that he couldn´t see it. Standing up with him in her arms, she made him look at her. How could she show him that what she had done was not his fault; it was her duty, her responsibility to take care of him? She would have done the same for anyone of her family. " No it´s not. It was my choice to volunteer and I don´t regret it. I would do the same again and again. That´s what siblings do for each other".
" I´m still sorry".
Maria smiled at him and kissed him; this time without him making a face at her. She would try everything to either come back or win this fucking Fighting Games. For this little man, she would do everything in her powers to stay alive. " Don´t be. I love you so much", looking around her family she smiled at them. " I love you all. And I will see you again".
Everyone moved at the same time and within seconds there was just a bundle of arms as the family joined each other in a group hug. More tears were shed and words of encouragement were spoken. Jim reminded his daughter that she was special and she was able to serious kick some ass. Amy told her that she should be careful and always wear fresh underwear. Kyle and Tess made her promise not to let herself get pushed around from anyone. Sean communicated with his eyes with her and said to her that she should be cautious with her secret, which she acknowledged with a small nod of her head.
Then a peacekeeper was opening the door. " It´s time to go".
Maria kissed everyone from her family before she watched them leave. Her heart was breaking at the sight and she quenched her urge to run after them. She had never been apart from them for more than a night or even a day. This would be the first time for her on her own and it was terrifying; even more than the thought of being in the Fighting Games.
Just before the peacekeeper managed to close the door again, he was almost run over from another visitor, who was pleading for a few seconds of her time. To the surprise of her, the peacekeeper told him that he had a minute and then he would come and get him before walking away.
" Alex!", Maria threw her arms around him and held him close. She had already thought they wouldn´t see each other before she would have to go.
Alex didn´t cry like the rest of her family; he just pressed her tight to his body and enjoyed the last few moments with her before her departure into the unknown. There wasn´t a doubt in his mind that he would see her again, but a small part of him wanted to get as much from her as he could. Her scent, the way her body was yielding to his when they embraced; the dimples that were appearing on her face when she smiled and her sparkling green eyes. " I knew that you would do something like that one day".
Maria laughed at his words. She had known that as well and she was like always amazed how well the guy knew her. He was not only her best friend, it was like he was her other half; in a purely platonic way; like twins separated at birth. " Yeah; it was just a matter of time".
" You´ll do fine; you´re not like anyone else. Just promise me to be careful and not try to be too reckless", Alex wished he could be there with her to keep an eye on her. She was sometimes too brave for her own good and it was making her sometimes overestimating herself.
Maria knew what he was referring to, but unfortunately she knew herself too good to promise him something like that. " I´ll try".
Alex released her and then he took something out of his pockets. It was a coin; his lucky penny that he had found when he tripped over his own feet once again. It had brought him a lot of luck since then and he thought she would need it more than him. " Here take this with you".
" Alex? I can´t take it".
Alex pressed the coin into her hand and closed her fingers around it. Even though he couldn´t be with her in this uncertain times, it was like a small part of him was at her side. " Please, do this favor for me and keep it".
Maria was moved about his gift and she kissed him in gratitude. He was always so thoughtful and she would miss him dearly. Embracing him for the last time, she told him that she loved him before there was a knock on the door; telling them their time was finally up.
