This chapter is very Hunger Games-esque, but it leads into the next chapter.
Every year since I was born and possibly some years before that, the city I lived in hosted an annual gala to celebrate the wealth of the economy. Obviously this was only for the rich while the poor readied themselves for what would be called "the sacrifice." See, the city was pretty large in size, with tall pine trees, and sandy beaches, skyscrapers with fancy writing on them. Those things were for the rich.
The poor, like my family, lived in small wooden shacks passed down generation to generation and fit to specify the certain individuals. Each family had their own shack, but it was very hard to keep. Every month, the rich would pass through the city, collecting taxes from the poor and using that money for their extravagant parties used for taxes was less money for the people to pay to keep their homes.
Although the rich basically ruled the city, I heard rumors of another force larger and more ruthless than any of the Minecraftians. They were called the squids. I'm talking about literal squids. "The sacrifice" was meant to please the squids, so they wouldn't destroy the city. Years before I was born, a large civil war erupted in the city, killing thousands. The squids came in and helped the people, only for a price. Each year, one person they had to pay for freedom.
Before the squids entered the city, they were the enemies of a army called the Sky Army. Its leader, who nicknamed himself Sky, was a gentle and passionate man, but had a burning hatred for the squids. Supposedly, the squids killed Sky's entire family and forced him into slavery. The warriors were all dedicated to the cause. It was not only to destroy the existence of squids, but also of friendship and love. Reading and hearing stories about the Sky Army made me want to create one of my own, if a new Sky hadn't been created. I wished to have something more in my life just for being a poor beggar in the street of the city.
The time had come for yet another sacrifice to be chosen. The mayor, John Saint, would choose a random name of the poor people to send to the docks, where a fair trade would be made. Another year of flourishing for a soul.
Now, I suppose I should explain my past. My birth name is Rachel, but most of my friends and my sister call me Ray. I was born inside of the city, inside of my parents' shack, to be exact. My earlier years were simple. Each morning I would run to the nearby well, collect water, and run back home in time for breakfast. My father, a hunter, would sneak outside of the city boundaries and collect different types of animals to eat. In my opinion, I enjoyed my father's food choices and my mother's cooking. After breakfast, I would find one of my friends to play with and spend the rest of the day with him or her. My parents told me to be back at the shack before sunset, as I always did.
Then came my sister. I adored her with all my heart. I believed she was the most beautiful thing in the world and nothing could replace my satiety love for her. My parents named her Marley. After Marley was born, the economy dropped and my parents had to join the work force. My father could no longer hunt, my mother could no longer be by her children's sides all the time. From five in the morning to seven to ten in the evening, my parents took their positions in a factory not too far from the shack. Marley and I stayed home, attending to all of the needs that we needed to do. I learned my father's every move and hunted in the out-of-boundary woods, catching small animals at first. As time passed, I begun to catch the larger animals, enough to feed both Marley and I.
Five years after the economic devastation, a terrible earthquake erupted, crushing the factory and all its employees, including my parents. Marley and I were forced either to live with a foster family or to an orphanage. Not wanting to leave my sister, I told Marley to pretend that our family was still alive and live normally. The pain was hard, but for the next few years, we were able to deal with it.
I once had a friend by the name of Lara. She was talented and could sew a sweater in only a few hours from limited supplies. Lara could also play the harp, creating beautiful sounds from her instrument. Two years after the death of my parents, Lara was chosen as sacrifice. I thought how a lovely girl like Lara could be chosen to die or become a slave for such a dastardly thing. I vowed to myself that if Marley ever got picked as a sacrifice, I would volunteer myself, which has never happened in the city before.
The day came. All of the poor people were gathered and led to a salon where Mayor John Saint would choose the sacrifice. I wore a knee-length blue dress with puffed short sleeves and little tan colored shoes. My long brown hair strung down, clinging to my head despite the high winds. My brown eyes cried small tears, mainly from reminders of the previous sacrifice days. I held onto Marley's hand and smiled across at her. Since we were both the same height, and I was 18, as opposed to Marley being 16, she wore my nicest dress. It was purple and had tiny sparkles draped over the skirt. The top half was tight around her waist and fitted her perfectly. I had thought of giving her the dress, but I don't think she would've taken it from me.
"Ray?" Marley whispered.
"Yes?" I answered, holding on tighter to her hand.
"What if I get chosen?"
"Don't worry about it, Marl. It won't happen."
"Promise?"
I couldn't reply. Instead, I bit my bottom lip. Marley glanced down at the floor as we continued walking.
Eventually, the group we were with came upon a large courtyard. Everyone from the city, besides for the rich, stood in the groups. The adults were off to one side, the children to the other. These two groups were divided into sub-sections, females in the front and male in the back.
I stood behind Marley, still holding her hand, and closing my eyes, praying that neither of us would be chosen.
John Saint slowly walked up to the stage with a hat. It was the large black top hat of fate. Inside, there were thousands of little folded up papers reading the names of each citizen in the city. He sighed.
"Welcome everyone! We are here today for a reason… one of us must help the city by offering themselves as a tribute to our rulers."
"Rulers?" I went through the city's past in my mind, slightly opening my eyes and seeing the anxiety on Mayor Saint's face, "I thought the squids were just a shadow, or something that wasn't to be bothered with."
"As I was saying, in this hat we have the names of every person standing here beside you. If you know who is called, please let one of the guards or I know immediately. Thank you."
Mayor Saint reached his hand into the hat and pulled out a paper. He handed the hat off to a guard and opened the paper, peeking at the name. Saint gulped.
He continued, sadness appearing in his tone. "Marley Anderson."
Marley, standing in front of my, begun streaming tears down her face and spun to face me, her head buried in my shoulder.
"Ray," she silently cried, "Help me…"
No way I would be letting my sister a slave to the squids. No freaking way.
"Wait!" I called out before a guard pulled my sister away.
"Ms. Anderson…" Saint interrupted.
"My name is Ms. Anderson too," I replied, "I volunteer to take her place as sacrifice!"
"Ray!" Marley screamed, holding onto the sleeve of my dress "No!"
"It's better than wasting your life with those navy blue demons," I told her in a small whisper, "I can also escape easier. I know how to use a bow and arrow." Marley attempted to hold in her tears and sniffed. She nodded. I kissed her on the forehead, "I love you, sis. Whatever you do…" I gulped, leaning closer to her so no one else could hear, "Please don't come after me."
"Alright…" Marley responded, faking a faint smile.
A guard came up behind me and grabbed me by the shoulder. I growled at his hard grip. He tugged me away from Marley as she yelled from afar, "I love you!"
I watched as all of the people tried to figure out what had happened. Marley softly waved to me.