AN: Hey guys, I just wanted to let you know that P1 stands for Part 1, and Ch. Stands for chapter, there will be 3 parts to this story, so be on the lookout. In this chapter I am going to mention something I call, "the doorway to the air" in case you don't understand what that means, it means, that place right when you're about to burst out of the water and into the air. Thank you for all the support on this story, I hope you like this chapter! Please R &R.
My eyes shot open. I screamed as loud as I could, letting my lungs burst. "PETER!" I gasped, as the strange foreign name came to my lips instantly. I breathed heavily, it's a dream. It was only a dream.
Wailt ran into my room and wrapped his arms around me. "It's alright Su." He said he pulled me close to him. "It was only a dream." I smiled lightly, forgetting my dream for a moment to contemplate, Peter.
I didn't know a Peter, or at least I didn't remember knowing one. I shuttered remembering when Wailt found me. Six months ago, Wailt found me in the ocean; he had been down by the docks collecting fish, when he saw something among the rocks. He climbed over and found me, unconscious, my body and blood swirling in the water around the rocks. He had jumped into the ocean, set me on his back, and carefully dragged me up to the shore of District 4. I would've drowned if he hadn't found me there.
Once I had awakened from unconsciousness, he asked me where I had come from and how I had gotten there, but I couldn't answer. I couldn't remember. All I could remember was that my name was Susan, and that I was 17 years old.
Ever since the day he had found me, he took me in to live with him and his mother. Almost every night I would wake up screaming because of another haunting dream, although tonight's was the worst of them all. I had the reaping to thank for that.
In my chilling nightmare, I had dreamt that I was in another land, and had two brothers and one sister, and that we had been separated, then there was a giant mass of light, when it dimmed, it revealed a woman, holding a wand in one hand, she began to cough, and something began to come out of her mouth, it was a serpent. The serpent was green as the sea, hissing and snarling, the woman seemed delighted, instead of frightened as expected. The serpent fully out of her mouth now, waited for instructions from the strange woman, she held up her wand and it began to glow. My brothers and sister began to run toward me, "SUSAN! RUN!" they cried but I couldn't move.
"KILL HER!" screamed the woman, and the serpent wrapped itself around my ankles all the way to my chest, I gasped for breath, believing that I was done for.
All the sudden I heard a loud earsplitting roar, of a lion, the woman and the serpent turned to dust. I turned around with one glimpse of the lion's face and ran in the opposite direction off a cliff into a body of water and couldn't breathe. It felt so real, maybe it was because it was reaping day but I couldn't get the face of the lion out of my mind, he looked so fierce and angry, but yet he had a kind face as well.
I pulled away from Wailt and swung my legs off the bed and stood up.
"Are you going to be okay," Wailt asked sweetly, standing up beside me.
"Yah, I'm alright." I lied. I quietly headed to the bathroom. I picked up a hair brush and carefully brushed through my long black hair. I put on my slightly damp suit and left the bathroom.
Wailt looked at me surprised," swimming again?" he asked with a chuckle.
"Of course!" I cried. Surprisingly, even though I had almost drowned, I was a natural swimmer, and it was the only way I could ever relieve any stress.
He smiled lightly at me for a moment, "make sure your back for the reaping," he said, "It is you first after all." I scowled.
We both knew very well it couldn't have been my first reaping, since I was in fact 17, and I had to have gone through it at least once, but I couldn't remember so it was a passing joke, one I wasn't fond of, for he made me sound so young and immature.
I walked out of the house until I reached the spot. Slowly, I kicked off my shoes. I stood looking at the water from the pier, it looked glassy blue, and the waves were small cracks. The sidewalk felt rough and hard, even sort of prickly, in comparison to the sand, which to me feels like I am walking on sugar. Amazed, I looked at the sapphire blue thing before me. I was roasting like a chicken as the sun beat down on me, cooking me like an oven. I readied myself for the events to follow, then, I bolted. Faster than a car, faster than a train, faster than a rocket, I ran.
My toes were the first things touched by the silky blue. A sharp coldness rippled through my veins, chilling me to the bone. After my toes, the rest of me followed, and as soon as I'm in, the coldness wrapped around me, like a giant hand pulling me down deeper. Bubbles floated up around me and tickled my skin. I blew out of my mouth and shot down deeper; I shut my eyes as well, taking in the moment. All the sudden they shot open as I hit the ground, and I kicked off pushing my arms in front of me, moving my body like a mermaid.
Then there it was the doorway to the air. Even with blurred vision I can see everything beyond the door; the houses, the people, everything. A bluish tint is placed on the world. These few seconds make up my favorite place, a place that makes me forget my dreams and takes away my fears of what is to come, the only place I can be me.
So I took one more look and burst through the door drinking the sweet air by the bucketful, to sooth my burning lungs. My hair sleeked down my back like wet silk, and is now blacker than coal. I smile coolly and duck under again, cutting through the water like a knife, swimming farther and farther away from my worries.
I swam for hours on end, the fish danced around me, as the sun beat down on me leaving me tanned and my cheeks slightly burned.
All the sudden after I had ducked my head under the water yet again, I saw something glimmering in the sand. I came up and gasped in air then dove for the strange thing; I reached my hand toward it and grabbed the strange object. I swam back to the surface and examined it. It was a bracelet, silver chained and jeweled with pearls. A smiled crept on my face, what a beauty it was. It seemed familiar, like I had seen it before, I felt as though it was something of importance, I felt like I was just about onto where I had seen it before, when…
Dong! Dong! Dong!
The town square clock brought me out of my thoughts. It was noon. I thought, about to dive again when it hit me. It was noon! The thought of the time now fluttered in my mind, and the reaping was at 12:30!
I thrust the bracelet on my wrist and quickly swam back to the shore; I dried off, slipped into my shoes, and ran to the house to get changed. Wailt stood in the living room wearing a fancy suit and tie. "Susan, where have you been? The reaping is going to start in fifteen minutes!"
"I am sorry, I didn't see the time." I said apologetically, reaching for the dress that Mum had left on the table. I looked in the mirror. "My hair!" I gasped; it was soaking wet and winging out in all directions.
Mum walked in and gasped as well, she ran into the bathroom and came back with some emerald clips. "Here," Mum said as she pulled the sides back and clipped them into place. When I looked in the mirror there was no trace of the wings. "Thanks Mum." I said with a smile. Then I quickly gave her a kiss on the cheek.
Wailt took my hand in his and quickly led me down to the town square. We stood in line until we had our fingers pricked and we were identified. We were shuffled through the crowd till we were separated into lines of boys and girls; I was shuffled into a crowd of seventeen year olds. I looked around finding Wailt in the crowd. I kept my eyes trained on him for some time. He was a year older than me and a handsome boy, although not my type, with his light blonde hair and blue eyes. He was strong and popular and all the girls wanted him, except me. I would've wanted him too I'm sure, if it weren't for, I stopped the thought, I was surprised at how silly I was being, I was about to say I didn't like him cause of a dream. It couldn't have been that I thought. Even though I knew in my heart I was lying to myself, I would never admit it.
The only good dreams I ever had were about a boy, his name was Caspian. He had dark hair and olive skin; he was charming and sweet, with light blue eyes, and an ever-lasting smile.
A strange voice came over the loud speaker "Hello, hello, happy hunger games." I shook myself out of my thoughts and looked up to see Myrim, she was from the Capitol, and her job was to escort the tributes till the hunger games began. She also had to read off the names of the boy and girl, who would participate each year. My stomach fluttered, even though my name was only in the reaping six times, and there were at least a hundred girls my age in the square, not counting the ones who were younger and older, making the odds in my favor, I was still worried because somewhere deep inside myself I knew it had to be me.
She began the long dull history of Panem and ended with "let the odds be ever in your favor" I looked at Wailt who smiled and mouthed "you'll be fine" I smiled back, relief filled my face, he was right, it wouldn't be me.
Myrim reached her pale dainty hand into the girl's ball, and placed the other on her teal wig, which she had worn just for the occasion of coming to the fishing district, and pulled out a name.
"Daphile S..." all the sudden she dropped the paper back into the ball, "whoopsy." she laughed and reached in to pull it back out."Okay Daphile, "she said unrolling the paper. She carefully unraveled it and said "oh excuse me, I mean Susan," she said looking into the crowd. "Quinn." I looked at Wailt, for the first time ever since I had met him, I wished he hadn't found me, wishing it wasn't true, but it was, I wished I hadn't adopted, and had a different last name, but I didn't, I was Susan Quinn, and now I knew, I was done for.
