Getting off of work, that's the best part of the day. You get to finally not think about what could go wrong down in the mines and can actually stand up right. Take more than a moment to stretch your aching back and extend your arms to their full length.
And the absolutely best part of getting out of that underground tunnel? Getting to see real light. Well... Not like the sun or anything, but the moon did give off a nice shine, lighting up the dirt path that we followed towards my home.
Following the path and looking at the crudely made homes, I thought of how the area looked at night compared to what it looked like during the day. During the day the area had people going to their destinations, peacekeepers patrolling the streets, maybe a couple of little farm animals running about, and there was the noise. So much noise that sometimes you had to shout to be heard.
But at night, things were different. Sure it was a little eerie and there were more peacekeepers patrolling the area, looking for rebels and rebel activity, but I liked it. It was quiet, it was calm for the most part, and it was peaceful. Except for the times it wasn't, but now was not one of those times.
As my friends and I walked towards my home with our work supplies in tow, a group of peacekeepers halted us and demanded to know what was in our bags and where we were going. We told them that we just got off our shift of working the mines and let them search us and our supplies. Their patrol leader asked us some more questions, and we answered them honestly.
When they were done searching us and reported nothing suspicious about us, they let us go without a fuss. As long as you weren't a rebel or looked suspicious, the peacekeepers left you alone.
We continued to walk the path until we eventually reached my house. It wasn't the greatest house in the Seam, but at least it had a roof that didn't leak when it rained, and for me, that was enough. I didn't mind that I didn't have many possessions and that the only heat that was generated was from the stove or oil lamps.
My friends and I kicked off our coal coated boots and coveralls that were smudged with black dust. Laying down our tools as quietly as we could so that we didn't wake my parents and siblings, I soon lit an oil lantern and produced a soft glow inside the house.
I was welcomed with the sight of cleanness that completely contrasted the way my friends and I looked. While the room was damn near perfect despite being very aged, it was clean and organized. My friends and I were dirty, and we packed our tools in our bags without a care where they went.
I'll clean the mess we made after the reapings, right now, I just wanted to rest and chill with my friends.
"Make yourself comfortable." I quietly told my two friends as I walked to the kitchen. "But not too comfortable. Mom will kill me if you put your nasty feet on the table again, Ash."
"Will do." Ash replied from the other room.
I got to the fridge, the only piece of modern technology that my family owned, and grabbed three bottles of beer from it before returning to my friends and handing them one each. Flopping down on the couch beside Ash, I let out a sigh of utter comfort as my legs felt peace for the first time in hours.
"Reaping's in a few hours," Piper said as she took a sip from her bottle. "I don't know about you guys, but I think this is the first time I'm excited for it." The look Ash and I were ones of utter shock and confusion. How could she be excited for the reapings? Of all things, why was it the reapings?
Piper seemed to realize what she said, because she then started to try and explain herself nervously. "I mean... Not like what you think... It's just that..."
"Pipe," I sighed. "I don't know about you, but I didn't even want to think about the reapings until I wake up in a few hours. Now I'm wondering if you've been damaged by the fumes from down under."
"And how can you be excited for the reapings?" Ash asked curiously. "In case you haven't remembered, people get reaped to die."
"I know I know." Piper groaned. "It's just that it's our last year, so, I'm excited for it to end." And that's when it hit me. It was our last year for the reapings. After this, we'd be free from the fear of being chosen for the Hunger Games. My worry for Piper disappeared and was replaced with joy.
"She's right." I said with a smile. "We're eighteen now. We just have to survive tomorrow, and we'll be free from the reapings bowls."
"Way to turn the mood around." Ash replied before he raised his beer into the air in front of him. "To our last reaping."
"To our last reaping." Piper and I quietly cheered as all three bottles clacked together and the three of us took huge pulls of our drinks. All three of us then let out satisfying ahhhhs.
"What do you think this year's quarter quell is?" I asked, thinking of how the quell announcement was never made. It still haunted my mind, wondering what it was going to be this year. This wasn't normal, even for a quarter quell. They should of announced it six months ago, but never did. What could it possibly be?
"Who cares." Ash told me without a care. "It's our last day tomorrow, let those younger than us worry about that."
"I am worried." I told him. "What if they decide to reap only eighteen year olds?"
"Then prey it ain't any of us then." Ash then took another sip of his drink.
"Dude, the quell could be anything, and we're unprepared for it. What if they decide to reap all eighteen year olds for some type of epic show down?"
"Come on, even the Capitol wouldn't do something like that."
"The Capitol could." Piper cut in. "The quarter quells were created hundreds of years ago, so who knows what they were thinking of back then." Piper then let out a sigh. "I blame the rebels for us not knowing. Maybe they cut off the Capitol's communications and because of that, we'll be unprepared for what to face."
"Well you know the rebels," I said as I rubbed my head. "They don't care about the commoners like us. They say they're doing it for our sake, but all they're doing is causing trouble."
Just thinking about the rebels made me want to join the peacekeepers to try and help them take down people in my own district, that's how bad they were. Because of them, it was harder to get to and from work, there was an increased number of peacekeepers, and there was more danger in the district. The number of arsons, assaults, thefts, murders, and other related crimes were on the rise ever since they showed up once again.
Their war against the peacekeepers has us in the cross fire. I hated it. The Capitol wasn't perfect, but at least they kept us safe. And the peacekeepers themselves weren't the monsters everyone portrayed them to be. We were safer before the rebels showed up.
"Fucking A man." Ash said. "I still have a missing hinge on my door because of them."
"For the people," I snorted. "What a laugh." I finished off my beer and set the empty bottle on the table. "Anyway, I'll get some spare blankets for you guys. I'll be back."
"Thanks." Replied Ash.
"Thanks." Replied Piper.
I once again picked up the oil lantern and navigated the house until I reached the bathroom, which held the towels and spare blankets. Setting the oil lantern down, I picked out two of the good blankets before picking up the lantern again.
As I walked back to my friends, I took a moment to inspect myself in the dusty and cracked mirror. In the low light, I saw myself, Chock Roach, a name that almost sounded like cockroach. Eighteen years old with light skin from being underground where the sun don't tan,untidy black hair that needed a trim, and Seam grey eyes. Though I was dirty, I could still see the sleep bags under my eyes and that I could use more food that I was currently eating. All in all though, I was not in the worst of shape.
Sniffing the air, I knew that looks didn't matter for my kind of work. I was in near pure darkness and out of sight from nearly everyone, so what did it matter what I looked like?
I went back to my friends before I tossed them each a blanket before setting mine on the floor.
"Blow the lantern out when you're all done." I instructed them as I set the lantern on the table and crawled into my blanket and wrapped it around my body. Warmth my friend, let me embrace you tonight.
"Will do." Ash told me as I laid on the cold, hard floor, ready to close my eyes and fall asleep.
"Just think guys," Piper said with excitement. "Tomorrow, we'll be free."
"I look forward to that." I told her before I let darkness overtake me.
Who could be pounding on the door at three in the morning? That's what I was wondering as I approached the front door and slide back the eye slot my parents had inserted into the door.
I could easily guess who was knocking on the door of the clinic because there were only two types of people that normally came this late at night. They were either miners or rebels. And as I looked through the slot, I could see that they were the people that I didn't want.
"Alaula," The man outside panted. "We need your help."
Beside him was a wounded man who was only standing due to the support his buddy was giving him with his arm around his shoulders and back.
I rolled my eyes and sighed before I slammed the slot closed and unlocked the door, letting them in. As soon as I opened it however, the two men burst into the building, nearly knocking me to the floor before swiftly kicking the door shut. The man that wasn't harmed quickly made his way to the nearest table before shoving everything off of it. Items fell to the floor and either rolled around or broke, before the injured man was laid on the now free table.
"Nice to see you too." I grumbled with as much sarcasm as I could muster, reflecting how I felt about them. I locked my door before I took a drag of the cigarette they had interrupted. "What is it now?"
"Don't be like that." The man told me as he ripped his friend's shirt off, exposing dark purple and swollen circles around the chest area. "We need your help. Are you going to give it to us or not?"
I sighed out a cloud of smoke before I went over to my patient and examined his chest. I pressed my fingers gently on and around the dark circles, feeling their tenderness and listening to the injured man hissing in pain.
"Does it hurt any where besides the chest?" I asked, wondering if he was injured anywhere else. He gave out a raspy cough that sent droplets of blood flying from his mouth.
"Face..." He gasped roughly. "Hurts..."
I took a look at his face for the first time, and saw that it was covered with fresh blood. His nose was broken and leaking red, his face was full of lacerations, and some of his teeth were missing from his bloody mouth. I made a guess at what happened to him, and guessed that it had something to do with the peacekeepers.
What were they doing now? Trying to drive the peacekeepers away from one of their hide outs? Or were they just fighting them again because of whatever reason they came up with?
I guess it doesn't matter what they did, he needed treatment, and I was going to give it to them.
I cleaned his wounds, wrapped them in bandages, and gave him something to numb the pain. It was a weak painkiller made from natural herbs, but that was all I felt like giving him.
I never liked them, the rebels. They fought the peacekeepers and tried to rally people to their cause. But all they did was create more work for me. The number of people that got injured increased, and not only that, but the fighting rebels came to my door and expected to be patched up when they got hurt fighting. My parents were getting sick of them as well, and I couldn't blame them.
It was just two groups of people fighting, and it didn't seem to make a lick of difference really. The only difference it seemed to make was that more people were getting hurt, making my parents and I busy. And desperate for supplies.
"There," I told them as I placed down what little supplies I had. "I've done what I can for you. Your ribs are fractured, but not broken, so try to move as little as possible and don't strain them too much. As for your teeth, I can't do anything for them. The bandages should be changed at least once a day."
"Thanks Alaula," The rebel that wasn't injured told me. "Thanks again. We need people like you helping us."
I snorted at that comment as I finished off my cigarette.
"I don't help you because I support your cause." I told them as I dropped the cigarette and snuffed it out with my shoe. "I do it to help people."
"You could be doing a lot more good if you joined us." He said with a smile. "Just think about it. You could be our medic. We could get healed without the fear of walking over here and getting caught by the peacekeepers. And with your looks, you could help us with recruitment. Why, you'd be doing more good with us than you are right here."
With my looks? I doubted it. With my light coloured skin, plain brown hair, and Seam grey eyes, the only thing that made me special was that I looked like I was a mixture of Seam and Merchant. I wasn't, but the light skin I somehow got from my olive skinned parents made it seem that way.
And I wouldn't even think about joining the rebels. After everything they did to the district and the way they used me and my parents, I wasn't going to become their medic. I was here to help the district, not just a single group. Hell, I would help the peacekeepers if they came to my doorstep, but they had their own medical bay, so they didn't need my services.
"I'll take my chances here." I answered with no hesitation. The man looked disappointed before he grabbed his comrade and left the clinic.
I sighed in frustration. Yet another thing that I hated about the rebels, they never paid. When we helped someone, they'd pay us however they could. If they could only pay us with some rice, we took that rice. If they could only pay us with a few coins, we accepted those few coins. Hell, if someone could only spare me a cigarette, I'd take that cigarette and call it even. If they couldn't pay, we'd have them help us run the clinic for a bit.
But the rebels never paid us anything. They always wanted free service, saying that they were fighting us for us. That we should heal them because they were trying to free us from the Capitol. Well just because I'm only fifteen years old doesn't mean that I don't understand what's going on.
We were running low on supplies because the rebels wouldn't pay us anything for the service we gave them, and their fight with the peacekeepers were making us get more customers. And not in a good way.
I hope that the fighting stops soon. Peacekeepers, the rebels, I don't care who wins, there's too much death and destruction in District Twelve without the pointless fighting.
A/N: My two examples of tributes. Anyway, we're going to get chapters like this for each of the districts, and then the games straight after.
