Chapter 2

The room I'm given in the Justice Building is plush, so fancy that I wipe my shoes before entering. The entire place is adorned in silver and teal furniture with black accents. Even the fire blazes teal, obviously some technology from the capitol. It is by far the fanciest room I have ever been in.

I sit on the velvet couch and warm my hands by the fire. It is unnaturally warm – I am on the far side of the room, and even there it is almost uncomfortably hot. Clearly, the technology that turns it teal contributes to its unnatural temperature.

The thoughts blaze through my head at a million miles per hour. 'Stupid… So stupid… You've just condemned yourself to death… Alora knew what she was getting into… Why did you have to say anything?' I'm so stunned that I don't even notice when my first visitors step into the room.

It is my mother and brother. My mom is in tears, and she immediately runs and hugs me, waking me from my reverie. My brother, too, is crying, but he doesn't rush to embrace me; instead, he hangs back by the door, as if I might bite him. "Get over here, Milt," I tell him. When he doesn't respond, I turn my attention back to my mother. "I'm sorry," I whisper. "I shouldn't have done it, but I just couldn't let Alora throw away the entire future of her family. I know you two will do fine without me."

"But that's just it," she says. "we can't function without you, Mags. You are the best daughter ever, and I can't stand to lose you like this."

"I know, but I've chosen my path. I love you, and don't you ever forget!" I say, stressing the last two syllables. At this point, she is so overcome with tears that more speech between us is impossible.

My brother steps forward, and he joins our silent embrace. We sit there for another couple of minutes before the Peacekeepers come back in to retrieve them. As they are being shoveled out the door, my brother shouts back at me, "Try to win, Mags, come home."

Come home? That's impossible, and he knows it. I've never been trained, plus I'm going in next to Onyx. Surely, there will be other's like me, so I have a chance of lasting a few days. But beyond that, it is truly an impossibility.

The door opens, and my next visitor arrives: Alora. Just the expression on her face makes me cringe. The look of pure fury would curdle milk. "What was that!" she screams at me.

"I told you," I say. "You can't abandon your family, not now. It isn't right."

"I'll decide what is and isn't right for my family!" she says. "You think this was selfish of me, to want this. I was going to do this for my family! We'd get a big house in Victor's Village, and we'd have enough money to buy whatever we want!"

"But you would die! You're no use to your family when you get shipped back in a box!" I say. "I did this for you!"

"For me?" she exclaims. "How is this for me? You jump in and steal my place in the games, steal my glory! I have trained for this for two whole years, and you mean to tell me that by ripping out the rug from under my feet, you were helping me?"

Trying to bring down the volume of the conversation, I say, "You will thank me when you are old and gray. When you have grandchildren who love you, and the possibility of them entering the Hunger Games keeps you up at night. Then you will understand. You will see that your family loves and needs you, and I couldn't let you let them down like this."

She sits in another chair on the other side of the room. Her face is pouty, like a spoiled child who was just told no for the first time. We sit in silence until the peacekeeper signals that it is time to leave. As she is leaving, she halts, and asks a final question. "Why did you even bother?"

Recalling our conversation of a few hours ago, I quote, "You just have to understand that by volunteering, I am saving someone else. And that someone is you…" I add to the end.

The door quietly clicks closed.

I don't receive any more visitors. The hour slowly crawls by, and my mind is so full that I can't even form a complete thought. I sit in silence until the peacekeepers collect me for my ride to the train station.

The car that I sit in with Onyx is nice. The seats are leather and there is a steady, cool current of air that blows out of the ceiling at me. Mostly, I try to collect last images of home to carry with me through the sure-to-be agonizing week ahead of me.

Onyx and I don't talk, but we make awkward eye contact every few minutes. It is annoying, and even after I stop looking in his direction at all, I feel like he is still staring at me while I'm not looking. I feel uncomfortable, and I'm about to ask him to stop when we arrive at the train station.

Shell shocked by the number of cameras there to greet us, I quickly decide on what demeanor I should wear. I don't want to be portrayed as a weakling, but I don't want to come off too cocky either. I decide to do my best to wipe all emotion from my face, but I can't help the shock slip into my face as hundreds of click click clicks go off from the flashes the moment I'm out of the car.

We push our way to the door of the train and hop on board. Happily, I close the door behind us, and quietly murmur a hasty goodbye to the district that has treated me so well for the last seventeen years of my life.

"Goodbye, District 4" I whisper. "And thank you."

Hey Guys

Yes, I know this chapter was really short! So I'll let you off the hook: if you reviewed the first chapter, you don't have to review this one, but I'd still like you to if you can. I decided that it would flow better if I made the entire train ride one single chapter for fluidity.

Secondly, I would like to clarify something. Yes, Mags is supposed to be about eighty in Catching Fire, but for a certain reason, I have decided to enter her in the 24th Hunger Games. I know my math is a little off, but I chose this one for the same reason Suzanne Collins chose Katniss and Peeta for the 74thHunger Games… Hint Hint…

Thirdly, I would like to clarify something that came up in one of the reviews that bothered me:

I AM A BOY

LOL not sure if you all knew that about me, but I am a guy. So if you did not know that, now you do! Anyways, next chapter should be up by… maybe… Wednesday? If not, don't worry, I just got a little distracted. All in good time, my children.

Keep reading,

Emmdog1994