I just love the Hunger games. Do I need to say more? Maybe, leave a review or two and help a guy out. Also I might be a little slow on the uploads, tests and all but please patient. I'll promise the payback will be awesome.
Also, I have absolutely no problem with the casting choice of the Hunger Game movie. Especially with Josh being Peeta. I never imagined Peeta to be really handsome, just friendly looking.
(I have to admit that I almost thought that Hunter would get the part but still….
Can't wait for the movie!)
Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games though I wish I did
Chapter 2: The Survivor
"Haymitch Abernathy." She repeats, confirming that none of us had heard wrong.
As I stand there in disbelief, my brother holds the same expression of astonishment as it slowly dawns on my mother what just happened.
The people around us look at us uneasily, giving silent salute as they pass. They slowly make a circle around me, as if they would be forced to volunteer if too close.
My first instinct is to run. Run far away from here, from District 12, from the shadow of the Capitol. But I know that will never happen. Everyone knows that there is no escape from this nightmare. I look at the stage to see the crowd in the front parting, making room for the Peacekeepers that are coming to get me.
"NO!" I hear my mother scream from behind me. I turn and see that my brother is trying to restrain her, as she tries to break his grip to run towards me.
I try to find any sign of the Peacekeepers around me but see that the Peacekeepers are having a hard time locating me, because I am so deep into the crowd.
Wanting to do anything that would be some sort of comfort to my mother, I smile.
"I guess it's my lucky day." I say, and I run into the crowd, trying to find Faye.
One of the Peacekeepers spots me and alerts the others. I hear the Peacekeepers yelling for me to stop but I keep running. I run towards the stage, where I last saw her and immediately see her long beautiful blonde hair turning frantically, no doubt looking for me.
I quickly run to the very front where she is with her family
She hears me coming and turns around to kiss me. Knowing that this would probably be my last kiss with her I try to make it last as long as possible.
I hope to myself that she will live a long and better life after I'm gone, worrying how broken she will be when she sees me die. As I'm about to say how much I love her and that I wish she will be happy even without me, I feel a strong grip on both of my wrists.
I look up to see two very annoyed and out-of-breath faces staring down at me with loathing.
I can't help but smile.
"Caught up have you?" I say. I'm pulled off of my feet and dragged to the top of the stage.
"Haymitch…." I hear Faye scream, but I can't hear what she says over the sound of the crowd and the gravel crumbling beneath me. I'm more distracted with not getting the skin on my back scrapped off by the jagged ends of the rocks on the ground.
I am roughly dragged up the stairs and thrown upon the stage, landing on my back. I wince in pain, sure that there will be scratches and bruises later.
The two Peacekeepers glare at me one last time as they walk back to the places where they were stationed and I rise to see the thousands of people of District 12 staring at me.
The Mayor tries to continue the closing ceremony, but the ruckus has obviously made him nervous, wiping the sweat off of his bald head with the same laced handkerchief as always.
As I walk to join the other tributes, I can see the people in the crowd staring at me with pity, or even relief and I feel angry and disgusted that I too was once happy that I never had to face indefinite death. But my rage is not directed towards the people staring at me right now, but to the people who are watching me on the cameras, the people who will be steering me and the others to their demise.
I am the one who is picked to represent District 12, who bears the role of a tribute in these hellish Games, and I am forced to remain silent as the people of Panem watch me die on live television.
I continue to squirm around in my seat, trying to find a way to satisfy my desire to send a message to those anxiously waiting for us to fight to the death, to show that I refuse to give up.
But then I get the perfect idea.
"Now that we have our four tributes, let us hope that these poor children die with honor keeping hope that their future generation may learn upon the mistakes of the last." Fillis says, starting the closing speech she must have prepared on the ride here. I slowly walk up toward her, ignoring the erupting whispers of the crowd and the concentrated attentions of the cameras.
As she continues her very long, very boring speech, I reach out and tap her on the shoulder.
She jumps and her lighting blue wig almost falls of her head, abruptly ending her speech. She turns and looks at me with amazement, and I see out of the corners of my eyes that Mr. Prinwood's large beard is quavering with disbelief, his hands no doubt looking for his handkerchief.
I politely point at the microphone and ask
"May I?"
This makes eyeryone freeze with shock. No other tribute, in the history of tributes has interrupted the closing ceremony nor has any tried.
But I am 99.9 percent sure that there is no rule against this. I see that apparently Fillis doesn't know either as she continues to look at me, seriously considering on whether or not to hand me the mike. I can almost see the confusion in her eyes grow and I wait for her to reach a decision. When she finally moves aside and hands me the mike, she rushes off to her seat and crosses her legs, keeping her sharp eyes on me.
I clear my throat and start weighing the mike in my hand, as it is the first time I have ever used a mike before. I try to think of the exact words I want to say, as I toy around with it. Fillis starts tapping her feet impatiently, and the mayor has his handkerchief at the ready.
When I finally put the mike towards my mouth, everyone in the crowd is whispering to each other, sounding very much alike a hundred buzzing bees, waiting hungrily for me to say something.
"I salute you District 12, for providing me with the strength I will bring into the arena. I am honored to represent District 12, and I hope to repay that debt by returning here." I say
The crowd starts whispering louder, while I turn and head towards the Tribute seats. I see the other tributes stare at me, but I take no interest. I continue to hear the words of the crowd grow louder and louder as the full impact of my speech starts to sink in.
"Return? Has that boy gone mad?"
"Bless him, he thinks he can win. Foolish boy."
"A victor in District 12, now that's a miracle"
I embrace the curses and cries of pity the crowd throws at me, and stare into the cameras, hoping the Capitol will see this.
The mayor and Fillis try to regain control on the crowd with no avail. During the confusion Rahilla stumbles her way to me and puts her arm around my shoulder, stinking of alcohol.
"That's the spirit boy, never give up. I think I like you because…" She starts, but stops mid-speech to throw up all over the floor. The girl tributes scream in disgust and try to get as far away as possible, as the vomit splatters everywhere.
Complete chaos ensues as the crowd continues to grow restless and Rahilla continues to vomit, her arms flailing trying to find something for support, as we maintain a safe distance from her.
Knowing that there would be no chance of regaining control soon, Fillis signals the Peacekeepers to guide us to the Justice Building. They rush over and quickly grab our elbows, almost pulling us off the stage.
Fillis glares at me as I pass, balancing her wig on her head again, I maintain eye contact and smile knowingly, making her angrier.
We're guided towards the Justice Building in awkward silence, as the crowd behind us grows even louder. I keep trying to think of what to say to my family and Faye before I'm shoved into the train and dragged to the Capital, like cattle being prepped for slaughter. But I can't think of anything to say.
For some means of entertainment, I look to my right to see the same Peacekeeper that shoved me onto the stage, and I make an attempt at starting a conversation.
"Hi, remember me?" I ask casually. But he ignores me and continues to walk in a steady pace. The other tributes start exchanging looks and stare at us. I feel annoyed that the Peacekeeper ignored me; he could have just punched me and I would have felt better.
I decide to push it, letting the pressure of knowing that I might die in a few days get the better of me.
"Pretty short for a Peacekeeper, didn't get enough to eat as a kid huh?" I am barely able to finish the sentence when the Peacekeeper grabs the front of my sweater and slams me onto the building next to him.
He is stronger than he looks, as my feet are suspended a few inches in the air. His face is slowly turning red and I can see the vein in his temple pulsating angrily. He opens his mouth and he starts to growl at me, spraying my face with spittle each time he opens his mouth.
"Look you filthy animal, I don't care if you're a tribute or not. I'll whip the bare flesh off of you if you talk to me like that one more time." He spits out, his face turning a deep shade of purple.
While the other Peacekeepers stand to watch, probably expecting a show, I am surprisingly not intimidated by this scathing threat; instead I feel the need to further worsen the situation.
"What's stopping you then?" I reply happily and laugh in his face.
He raises his fist to hit me and I close my eyes anticipating impact, but I hear someone shouting
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" The voice shrieks out
Everybody turns to see that Fillis has caught up with us, and to my gratification, Fillis looks like she would skin the Peacekeepers alive.
"I SAID WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" She shouts again.
The Peacekeeper holding me is surprised and starts to stammer. He lowers his fist, but his grip on me is still as firm as stone.
"I...I...This boy here disrespected me, which is severely punished in District 12." He says, trying to regain his confidence.
"YOU IDIOTS!" She shrieks, "I DON'T CARE IF HE CALLED YOU A BAFFOON OR SPAT IN YOUR FACE! FROM THE MOMENT HE IS CHOSEN AS A TRIBUTE, HE IS THE PROPERTY OF THE CAPITOL, NOT YOUR PERSONAL PUNCHING BAG YOU BRAINLESS APE!" Her wig falls off again, showing her surprisingly normal brown hair, but she doesn't seem to notice.
The other Peacekeepers look absolutely dumbfounded. The sight is just beautiful.
"WHO IS YOUR COMMANDING OFFICER?" She demands. Behind her we see, the mayor and Rahilla catch up, Rahilla somehow getting her hands on another bottle of liquor, stumbles along the road singing an incomprehensible song, while the mayor struggles to support her.
"Commander Simms Ma'am." He mutters again, slowly letting the grip on me loosen.
As I slide to the ground, Fillis rushes towards me and grabs my chin, inspecting my face for any visual injuries. I can't help but want to kiss her for coming at the perfect timing, but I manage to restrain myself when she looks at the Peacekeepers and shouts
"If he has a scratch on him, when we get to the Capitol, I will make sure that you are dismissed from your positions, and hung by the ankles at the town's square!"
I manage to stifle a laugh and see that Maysilee is barely keeping a straight face as well. Fillis narrows her eyes, shifting her gaze from one to the other. She looks like a large hawk carefully watching her prey, daring them to move.
After a while, she takes out watch and starts yelling again, making the Peacekeepers wince.
"Leave us! I will lead them to the Justice Building myself!" She says, dismissing the Peacekeepers. The Peacekeepers make an awkward solute, and walk away, probably muttering unspeakable words at me.
Behind us I hear Rahilla say "That was fun."
All of us turn to see that she has put Fillis's blue wig over her grey hair. Mr. Prinwood looks down in embarrassment as Fillis grabs her wig and adjusts it over her head. She mutters words and curses to no one in particular as she puts her watch back into her pocket.
"Thanks." I manage to say to her before we start walking again. She curtly nods and leads the way to the Justice Building.
I start thinking that I may have probably misjudged Fillis, but remember who she represents and quickly dismiss that thought. No matter how decent she seems, she is a servant of the Capital, no decency can cover that.
As we continue to walk in silence I see that Maysilee is catching glimpses of me. I turn to look at her, and she jumps. She starts talking with the other girl tribute as if they were friends from the beginning. When I continue to stare at her I see that her cheeks have turned slightly pink.
I observe her and immediately notice that there are great resemblances between her and Faye. They both share blonde hair, and have bright green eyes. I think that maybe, in the merchant area people share traits between each other, like the people of Seam share black hair, and grey eyes.
I shrug at this thought and turn to look at the other tributes to see whether or not they would be a threat to me. I can easily tell that neither of them is physically fit or healthy in general. In fact, among the four tributes I am probably the most formidable looking.
The boy is scrawny and looks as if he had never had a decent meal in his life. His hollow face and short black hair makes him look like a rat. For some reason he nervously looks from side to side, eyes wide with fear.
The other girl has the same hunger riddled face, but the desperation in her is more visible. Her black hair hangs down unattended, her eyes still red from crying, giving her a deranged look. Her arms are so thin that I can see where the bones connect. She looks like she'd have trouble picking up a spoon, no less a weapon.
As we continue to walk, the Justice Building continues to grow larger and larger. The grey exteriors and the windowless walls makes the building seem more like a prison and the statues at the top stare down at us, with grotesque faces. The Justice Building is tall enough to be seen anywhere within District 12 but only up close is the disturbing details unhinging. I see that I am not the only one to notice this. Maysilee's eyes grow wide with fear and the boy is trembling, unable to look up to the staring statues.
Fillis doesn't seem to be effected and signals the guards at the front door. The guards immediately pull the door open, showing nothing but darkness beyond the doors.
"Hurry up then." Fillis says impatiently
Before I am shoved in, I look up to embrace the horrible imagery that stands before me, dreading the fact that I might never see this monstrosity again.
Remember two weeks. ARGHHHHHHHHHH MIDTERMS ARE KILLING ME!