Hey guys, thanks for sticking with us.
Rolocot's POV
"Smitty!" I call, concerned of his whereabouts. I haven't seen him in over 20 minutes and being in the woods, you could easily get lost, especially if you were ten.
"Over here!" I hear him call back. I glance at him, one foot in the river and the other on the slippery bank. He brings down the spear on the fish and quickly pulls it back out.
"Let's get back," I say, taking his hand.
The bow wrapped tightly around Amary's hair bounces up and down as she walks down the stairs. Giving me a hug, she quickly plops down on the floor by my feet, looking worriedly up at me. I stroke her hair, calming her down a bit.
"Myles!" Kimber exclaims as Myles accidentally knocks down the cup she was pouring water in to.
"Sorry," He mumbles, used to this.
"Don't yell at him, he's blind!" Amary exclaims loudly. I pull her into my lap and motion for the others to come sit on the stools by my feet. Smitty passes around the bowls of fish and Kimber passes the cups filled with water. We eat in silence.
"I'm scared." Kimber states boldly, letting her light blonde hair fall from it's ponytail. I look at her. I have always been told that she is the sibling that resembles me the most. Her green eyes light up as I pull out a bag of strawberries, laying it on the stool in the middle. Amary reaches her little hand towards a juicy strawberry.
"Time to get ready. Kimber, you help Amary get dressed and then let her eat some more strawberries. Make sure she hasn't got any juice on her. Smitty, wash the dishes and then get dressed. Myles, I will help you." I say clapping my hands together.
An hour later I have Myles and Kimber by the arm, walking them to the roped off area. Amary reaches her arms up to me as I turn to leave. I pick her up and pull her in a warm embrace. Smitty and Kimber join in too. I kiss them each goodbye and pull Myles by his arm. I station him in the 13 year old section and hand him over to his best sighted friend.
"Thanks," I say as I clap him on the back.
"No problem," He replies. I walk to the 17 year old section and take my place. I catch sight of Adventi in the 16 year old section. My heart flutters at the sight of her. I raise my hand to my spiky blonde hair, trying to flatten it. Adventi makes eye contact with me but she quickly looks away.
"Ladies first!" My thoughts are interrupted by our escort, Meredith's, loud, irritating voice. "The female tribute for district 3 is.. drumroll please..." Everyone ignores her. "Tough crowd," she mutters. "Adventurous Sirtsele." My jaw drops open as I watch my sweet Adventi walk up to the stage, shaking in her fluttering lavender dress, her auburn hair not in its usual ponytail, but instead it is let down on her shoulders. The first time I met her was in the woods, when she was about to eat a poisonous berry but I immediately stopped her. We had talked for hours, I told her how my parents died when I was fourteen, and how I was left with one year old Amary, four year old Kimberly, six year old Smitty and last but not least ten year old blind Myles.
"Myles Humphrey," I hear Meredith call. I look at Myles, shaking with fear.
"He's blind!" Smitty yells. I glare at him.
My arm shoots up and the horrible words that will end my life come out.
"I volunteer." Everyone looks at me again so I repeat it. I walk up stage shrunken and shake Adventi's hand. Her palms are smooth and cold. She quickly looks away from me as she is led away. Of all people why her, why her? I can never kill her, How do I get home to my siblings, how will they take care of themselves without an adult, orphanage is the answer, I am not coming home, but… I look at Adventi. She will
Adventurous's POV
"This looks good, don't you think?" my brother Niall asks me, holding up a pudgy gray squirrel with an arrow lodged clumsily in its neck. I try not to shudder at the blood running thickly down its body, but instead imagine what good, tasty breakfast it will make for my brothers. We're not exactly starving on my dad's wages from making TVs and stuff for the Capitol, but he has four hungry kids, three of whom are teenage boys. In other words, there's NEVER enough food. Niall and Carter, my two younger brothers, help me hunt in the sparse woods near the district boundary. I don't even know why the Peacekeepers try to enforce any sort of poaching law. I mean, everyone's hungry here, and those rabbits reproduce way faster than we can eat them.
"Hey, Adventi!" Carter calls, jogging out from behind some bushes. He holds up a cluster of shiny green berries. "Are these poisonous?"
"Uhhhhh..." I mutter, staring intently at the handful of fruit. The leaves are spiked and stripey, arranged in clumps of five. Leaves of five, let it... what? I give up.
"Better not," I advise. "I'm pretty bad with berries." Suddenly, my entire body is wracked with spasms. My "jitters".
"You okay?" Carter asks, concerned.
"I'm fine," I reply. "Such is the price of my inventing. I come up with cool stuff, it shocks me. Life happens."
We walk back home, several dead squirrels in hand. My oldest brother Worthy fries them up, and we eat them in a stew with some genetically engineered chicken eggs from the market. Techy people eat techy food.
Later, we leisurely walk to the square where the reapings are held. I'm not too worried, because even though I've taken out some tesserae, there are kids who have their names in far more times than I do. One is always concerned, though.
I push my way through the sixteen-year-old section until I find a spot where I can clearly see my brothers. Good, they're all in where they're supposed to be. Rolocut Humphrey tries pathetically to flatten his hair, and looks straight at me. I try to manage a smile in his direction, but quickly look away as I am distracted by District 3's escort. She shrilly reads treaty of treason, then bounces over to the name bowls.
"Ladies first!" she trills maniacally. "Adventurous Surtsele!"
Oh my God. It's me, but it can't be me. The odds were in my favor... Shaking like an electrically charged leaf, I tuck my long auburn hair behind one ear, my fingers unsteady. My light purple dress billows in the wind, and I try frantically not to cry like my brothers are, like my parents are. "I've got no chance" is all I can think. Then, next thing that I know, Rolocut is striding up to the side. He looks terrified, whether or not he knows it. Oh, no, not him too! I think. I can't kill him! Please, don't make me kill him...
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