It's beautiful the sunrise. The way the colors paint across the sky creating indescribable colors. The sky in the opposite direction still dark, but in the east, a mixture of yellow and orange on the horizon beneath a dark neon blue ocean of night.
I sit alone on a secluded beach staring off into the horizon through my ice blue eyes. My sister Isadora always told me that my eyes matched my personality cold, icy, distant. I never argued with her about that. They say the eyes are the window to the soul. I say they are the window to the real insanity within.
In District 4 I am well known. I have many names; monster, murderer, brute the list goes on. Everyone knows my story but nobody really understands. I trace my fingers along the scar on my face that runs from my eyebrow and runs horizontally to midway down my cheek as I recall the memories that gave birth to my titles. But it doesn't matter all that will be left behind me. Today I am volunteering for the 72nd annual Hunger Games.
Once the sun stretches high into the sky do I finally get up from the sandy beach. I brush myself off and head back towards my small cottage that I share with my sister. I push open the door and nearly smack Isadora with it.
"Zane Swansea there you are. I was just about to go out looking for you," She smiles sweetly at me.
Isadora is nineteen and is no longer at risk at being reaped. She has devoted her life to taking care of me ever since I was thirteen and the incident as she calls it happened. But now I'm seventeen and she still worries about me. It gets annoying but I give her good reasons to worry. I periodically have episodes of either violence, or I withdraw from the world and become a shell of a person. It frightens her when this happens, but I can't control it.
"I was just at the beach," I say flatly.
"Yeah that's what I figured, but you need to hurry up and go get ready we have to leave for the reaping soon," She instructs me.
I nod and head upstairs shower and get changed into a pair of jeans and a dark blue shirt. I look in the mirror that stands in the corner of my room and fix my hair. I am quite attractive, but nobody bothers to come near me and personally I'm quite okay with that. I scan my room and look at the walls. Over the years as part of my therapy I have taken up writing poetry. The walls of my room are plastered in different sheets each with a different poem written on them. I walk up to one of the walls and place my hand on a poem I put up yesterday I read it over:
The sound of silence grows; Every minute feels like a hour, Every hour feels like a day, As I sit in the cold light of morning;
Little by little, strangers became friends, friends became lovers, and suddenly, lovers became strangers;
I am lying here, lying next to where you left me in pieces, can't move, can't scream, with only silence for company;
The tick-tock of the clock and, the beat of my heart grows louder and louder, shrouded by a mystery, I feel so alone;
As the melody of love fades into the distance, the screams of silence is all that remains, lost in the shadows of life, I am here, Alone.
"Zane hurry up its time to go!" I hear Isadora yell from the bottom of the stairs.
I look over my room one last time. It won't be long till I'm back. I head downstairs and we walk towards the town square.
"Are you nervous?" Isadora asks me.
I shrug, "Why would I be?"
"I don't know I mean just usually reapings are stressful and you don't need the extra stress," She rambles a bit about my mental state and I mostly block out what she's saying.
"Yeah well I'm fine so will you stop worrying your driving me mad," I scowl slightly and that shuts her up.
We reach the town square and I head over to the seventeen year old section without a word. Everyone stares at me as I approach but this has become normal for me. Kids get out of my way and stand a good distance away from me. Some may be driven mad by the solitude, but since I was mad to begin with I embrace it.
I watch as Amber Teal our Districts escort takes the stage. "Well hello Distinct 4 it's a pleasure to see all your lovely faces again," She beams at the crowd. I zone out for a few moments and let my eyes take in everything and anything. My eyes are my curse I never miss a thing they take in every little detail of the world. I see both the beauty and the cruelty and it never phases me at how much the cruelty in Panem squashes the beauty.
The sounds of cheers snap me back to reality and I watch as the female tribute is selected. "The female tribute for District 4 is Scarlett Lancaster," Amber announces.
A girl my age with long light brown hair takes the stage and I can tell it is taking all her will power not to cry. She may be pretty, but I can tell she's weak.
"Any volunteers?" Amber asks the crowd, but no one steps up to take her place. "Okay moving on to the boy tribute."
Amber reaches for the slip of paper containing the name of the tribute, but before she can I yell above the crowd in a loud yet calm voice, "I volunteer!"
Everyone turns to look at me with a look of relief on their face. I'm sure they are thinking thank God that crazy boy is finally going to get what he rightfully deserves. I avoid everyone's gaze and take the stage and peer out over the crowd. "What is your name?" Amber asks me.
"Zane Swansea," I answer her.
"Well it was very brave of you to volunteer," She beams at me. "Let's hear a round of applause for the tributes of District 4 for the 72nd annual Hunger Games Scarlett Lancaster and Zane Swansea!" Amber says in an excited voice. The crowd roars and cheers and I turn to face Scarlett and shake her hand and she gives me a slight smile. "Allies?" She asks.
I shake my head, "I doubt it I don't need the rest of you slowing me down," I smirk and all she does is glare at me. We are then led to the Justice building for our goodbyes, but I already know besides Isadora nobody will be coming to say goodbye to me.
Hey guys so thanks for reading please review and let me know what you think so far! :)