Live Together, Die Alone
The Seventy-first annual Hunger Games
Author's Note: Hi everyone! Sorry for the delay... schools been hectic to say the least :S But here it is: the District Three reapings at last! Hallelujah :D
Reapings: District Three
Kieri Aran's POV
I dashed lithely along the rooftops, my long brown hair spilling out behind me as the wind rang loudly in my ears. My feet subconsciously dodged the loose roof tiles, jumping from left to right with as much ease as a mountain goat on a rocky cliff-face. Approaching a wide gap between the houses, I put on a large burst of speed and sprung off of the edge – my arms stretched forward as I flew in the air. Landing with a quiet thud, legs bent beneath me, I steadied myself on a chimney.
I glanced down and spotted Kore racing along a narrow alleyway, her thin form concealed in the shadows. Sensing my gaze, she looked up and smiled, all the while making a quick signal with her hands and gesturing towards the left. I nodded and pushed myself up, snapping back into action.
In the distance, I could hear the noise from the Town Square and knew I was getting closer to my destination.
Running against the warm breeze with the hot sun shining above me, I almost smiled. It was a shame that such a horrible event should fall on a day as beautiful as this.
I eventually landed on the roof of a popular electronic store that overlooked the square. I crouched down and shuffled forward, practically crawling on my stomach so as not to gain any attention from the crowd below. If the peacekeepers spotted me up here, I wouldn't have put it past them to shoot me down, no questions asked.
I rested my chin on the edge of the roof and peered over the edge, surveying the area.
The square was decorated with pitiful hangings, the triangular pieces of fabric drooping limply from building to building. The faded scraps of material were tattered and frayed - reflecting today's grim mood. People huddled in large groups, circling the children that were eligible for the Games as if their presence could protect them from harm. Peacekeepers meandered back and forth, occasionally stopping to dictate orders and herd people along.
I spotted Jennen in the crowd, his pale crop of hair zigzagging quickly across the pavilion. Every so often he would casually brush pass someone or fake a stumble, gaining close access to open pockets and loose valuables. Marni was also working the public, but in the opposite direction, her small hands deftly plucking in and out as she weaved through the sea of people.
"What did you get?" Kore appeared silently beside me, making me jump. She quickly mimicked my position and swept a thick curl of hair behind her ear, out of her eyes. She studied my face; checking for any signs of injury or misfortune.
I met her gaze and grinned, trying to eradicate her concerns for my safety. Kore was only a few years older than myself, but she was the closest thing to a mother figure in my life. She constantly worried about me even though I was quite capable of looking after myself. It was nice that she cared, though, albeit slightly annoying.
Digging into my deep pocket, I distracted her with my stolen goods, pulling out a large handful of bronzed coins, a pearl necklace and two golden rings.
"Good haul," she murmured, eyes running over the loot. "Did you have any trouble?"
"None. The house had incredibly lax security. Arrogance at it's best, I suppose." I replied, tossing one of the coins in the air, beams of light reflecting off of its shiny surface.
"This'll fetch a hefty price at the market," Kore chuckled as she picked up the string of pearls, the milky surface glinting colours of pink and blue. "You did well, Kid."
I scowled at the term 'kid'. Torin, an old friend of mine, had given me the nickname when we first met, and unfortunately it had stuck. I was the smallest in our little gang of thieves – both in height and in years - which meant I was always the one to crawl through the tiniest spaces. The cracks about my height were irksome, yes, but I reassured myself with the fact that half of our heists wouldn't have gone to plan without my needed assistance.
Kore glanced at me out of the corner of her eyes, "Oh, wipe that scowl off of your face! You know I'm only teasing…"
"Yeah, I do," I half-smiled, "…doesn't stop it from being as annoying as hell, though."
Kore laughed in response, pushing herself up off of the tiles and offering me her hand. She nodded towards the town square, "Reapings are about to start. We should store this stuff to grab later – if the peacekeepers catch us we wont be getting it back."
I let he pull me up, her smooth palm warm against my own. As she bent down to pick up my stolen goods, I fished my small dagger out of its sheath and walked towards the large chimney that towered skyward from the centre of the roof. I trailed my hand along the rough bricks, small pieces of red and brown clay crumbling beneath my fingertips. I stopped when I felt the small tremor, a miniscule shake that alerted me to the loose brickwork. With a quick flick of my wrist, I thrust the dagger into the small gap and wriggled the blade around. Slowly, the brick inched its way out of the structure and fell into my hands, dust and clay flying everywhere. I coughed, waving my free hand to clear the air.
Kore appeared beside me, carrying a beaten leather pouch that she had used to store the coins and jewellery. When she handed it over, I placed the pouch into the empty crevice inside of the brick. The sunlight illuminated a small symbol engraved into the clay, undetectable to those that wouldn't know what to look for. It was our group's emblem – an outline of a stalking cat.
Slotting the brick back into place, I brushed the dirt off of my green dress and sheathed my dagger back.
"When we get down there, you stay clear of the peacekeepers." Kore's mouth tightened, eyes squinting into the distance. "They're beginning to know our game."
I nodded knowingly; I had been chased by the peacekeepers on numerous occasions, now more so than ever. Just last week I had been caught stealing a wallet from a man's rucksack and they'd chased me halfway round the district. I only managed to escape by hiding in a broken air vent. I didn't tell Kore about my little adventure - it would only panic her.
We walked towards the building's edge that overlooked a small alleyway that lead onto the square. A thick, black drainpipe clung to the wall of a neighboring building, so I took the jump at a run and flung myself forward, nimbly grasping hold of the pipe and shimmying down. Kore waited until my feet had touched the ground before she too slid down the pipe, her actions as graceful as a jungle cats.
"We'll all meet beneath the clock tower when the reapings are over," Kore directed, guiding me forward to the beam of light at the end of the narrow path. "Stay safe, okay?"
"Stay safe," I promised, repeating her words. She reached over and smoothed down a lock of my long brown hair before dashing out into the sea of people, quickly disappearing in the crowd.
I took a calming breath – and before I could hesitate - threw myself into the fray. People were everywhere; jammed tightly together in the over packed square. The pavilion was by no means small; it just wasn't built to accommodate such a large assembly of people. However, it did make it easy to hide from the peacekeepers.
Today was the gang's busiest day of the year; half of us would target the crowd, pick pocketing and such, while the others would break into their empty houses. I did feel a small pang of guilt for our victims, but we did what we did to survive. I'm sure if there was another way to sustain us, someone would have thought of it by now.
Torin sped pass me, his golden mop of hair bouncing up and down. He spared me a quick wink and a knowing smile – telling me he had acquired something good – before disappearing as quickly as he'd arrived. I continued on, ducking low and shielding myself behind a somber group of adults as a peacekeeper stomped by. When he walked by, I made a risky move and dived behind him, following quietly in his wake as people quickly moved out of his way. I soon reached my pen, the words 'Girls: Thirteen' painted onto a scruffy cardboard sign that hung from the fence. I braced my hands on the wooden railing and hoisted myself inside to join the large group of sniveling girls. I could smell their terror in the air.
Personally, I wasn't so scared. Well, not as much as those around me. I was more anxious for my friends – out of everyone, only Jennen and Kore were old enough to be exempt from the Games. When my parents had died, Jennen had taken me under his wing; provided me with shelter, given me food, introduced me to his gang. He had given me a new family. For that, I owed him everything.
A collection of peacekeepers began to march across the square, commanding a heavy silence. They sternly escorted the last remaining people to their appointed pens. The group came dangerously close to my own enclosure so I immediately ducked my head down, my dark hair shielding my face like a curtain. Most of them would recognize me from the streets and I couldn't risk getting caught – not today, with no plausible escape route.
I attempted to sink back into the group of girls, trying to get as far away from the peacekeepers as possible, but it was useless. We were so tightly crammed together that I could barely breath.
The presenter had begun to speak on stage, but I was far too distracted to listen. My eyes flickered up to see if the peacekeepers had moved on, but they hadn't. One of them was staring at me. My breath caught in my throat when I realized that I recognized him – he had been one of the ones to chase me last week. I could see his expression change as he recognized me too, a slow snarl forming on his thin lips.
My heart jumped out of my chest as turned to confer with his colleagues. One by one, their heads swiveled around to look in my direction, all of their faces as cold as ice. Desperately, I twisted around and attempted to squeeze through the impenetrable wall of girls surrounding me. But no, I was trapped.
Vivid images began to flash in my mind. Getting hauled away by the peacekeepers. Being whipped and tortured as they attempted to find out information about our gang and its members. We had caused a lot of trouble for them in the past few years and I'm sure they would repay the favor none too kindly.
I frantically looked around the square one last time, searching for something - anything - to get me out of this mess!
If this turned ugly, everyone would rush to my defense. Jennen. Kore. Torin. Everybody. I couldn't risk their safety.
I needed a distraction…and I got one.
"Kieri Aran!"
My name echoed across the square. I froze in shock as my mind struggled to process what had just occurred. With deliberate slowness, my body on emotional lockdown, I turned to look at the scene on stage. The presenter was standing at the podium, an expectant smile plastered on his face. There was a small piece of paper clenched in his hand. A piece of paper containing my name.
I had promised Kore to stay safe. I guess that promise was about to be broken.
Keid Sylvester's POV
The peacekeeper pushed me viciously into the pen, shoving the butt of his gun into the centre of my back.
"Jeez!" I cried, turning to face him. "Are you really that impatient?"
"Next time don't dawdle," the man snarled, enunciating each word with a shake of his raised gun, pointed squarely at my chest.
I took a quick step back and raised my hands defensively. The peacekeeper rolled his eyes and stormed off with a disgruntled huff, no doubt in search of other latecomers. I sighed with relief at his departure. In hindsight, I shouldn't really have yelled at a guy with a gun, especially one in a position of power. But it was fun to push peoples' buttons – to get them all riled up and angry. A sure fire way to eradicate boredom.
I stared around, stuck at the back of the enclosure, as far away from the stage as I could possibly get. Ugh. I sighed in frustration. The reapings were so dull; standing around for hours, listening to the mayor go on about how sorry District Three was for participating in the risings, blah, blah, blah… The only good bit was the actual name reapings themselves, but I was so far away to the front that I wouldn't even be able to see the tributes' horrified reactions. Now that was entertainment!
Suddenly, I was slammed forward from behind as the peacekeeper shoved forth a fresh load of stragglers.
"Whoa!" I stumbled forward, slamming into the guy in front of me. As I gained my footing, he turned around and shot me an angry glare, his grey eyes glinting. He seemed about as pleasant as Mr. Trigger-happy with the gun.
"Sorry, mate. They pushed me," I gestured over my shoulder and attempted an apologetic smile.
He nodded once, a disgruntled look painted on his features. As I studied his face, I realized that I recognized him.
"Hey, you're Torin, right?" I asked before he could turn away, shoveling forward with my arms to stand beside him. "I've seen you around town."
He stared at me stoically, his lips pursed, "Is that so?"
"Yeah. You belong to that gang, don't you? The one that steals stuff?" I inquired eagerly.
Torin's faze hardened, "I have no idea what you're talking about." I could tell from his tone that he was lying – he sounded too composed, too emotionless.
"Oh, come on, man. You can trust me – I wont sell you out to the peacekeepers." I paused, waiting for him to answer. When he didn't, I powered on, "Is it true that you and your friends once broke into the mayor's house and stole his-"
"Do people ever tell you that you're really annoying?" Torin cut me off, shooting me an annoyed glare.
"Yes, quite frequently actually, but I don't see what that has to do with anything." I replied pleasantly, knowing full well what he was getting at.
"Look, Keid – it is Keid, isn't it?" At my nod, he continued, "I don't know if you've realized, but this is the reapings," he heavily enunciated the last two words. "You know; a time for fear, emotional pain, punishment…" He shook his head in disgust. "This isn't a social hour."
"Noted." I paused for a second, deliberating whether to take his statement into account. I decided against it; "So. Are you?"
He scowled, "Am I what?"
"Part of that gang? Because if you are, that would be so totally cool."
Torin's lip twitched, anger clouding his features. "Are you incapable of being silent for just one second!" His voice sunk into a hiss. He practically spat the last few words at me.
Unaffected by his fury, I replied, "Of course I'm not. I just choose not to be."
"Shut up… just, shut up!" He gestured wildly with his hands, almost hitting me in the process with his clenched fists.
I raised my eyebrows, leaning back on my heels. "I'm sorry I asked," I answered, meaning the total opposite.
"Look…" He took a deep breath, struggling to reign in his emotions. "Could we just stand in silence until the reapings are over?"
Torin had evidently been pushed to his limit for the time being so I decided to give in to his request, "Sure, whatever you want." I moved slightly off to the side, sticking my elbows out to gain a few centimeters of valuable space.
I zoned out, twiddling my thumbs as the mayor droned on in the background, his voice drowning in the heavy silence cast by the peacekeepers. My attention was soon drawn back to attention when I realized that they had congregated in a mass beside one of the girl's enclosures, Mr. Trigger-happy among them.
It looked as though the girl's reapings were about to begin – the presenter stood patiently at the front of the stage – but the crowd seemed more engaged by the scene in front of them. Torin had risen on his toes, peering over the heads of the boys around us to gain a better look. His expression flickered back and forth between confusion and concern.
"What is it? What's gong on?" I whispered to him, but received no answer.
The presenter's high-pitched voice cut through the air, obviously incapable of trying to command the crowd's attention but deciding to proceed anyway, "And first, to the girl's reapings!"
"Hey, Torin! What's happening up front?" I elbowed him in the side but he just brushed me off, didn't even spare a glance.
Ugh. I gave up, deciding to focus on the presenter. I'd find out what happened later.
The presenter dug his hand into the bowel and drew out a slip of paper. "Kieri Aran!" Her called the girl's name out to the crowd, his blindingly white teeth glinting in the sunlight.
Several gasps echoed around the square as the name hit home; one coming straight from the mouth of Torin himself.
Intrigued, I stared inquiringly at him, noting his horrified expression. He must know her. Bummer.
"Hey?" I leant to the side, waving a hand in front of Torin's face. "You must know her, right? She's in that gang of yours, isn't she?"
Slowly, he nodded his head, face grim.
"What's wrong? Are you, like, in love with her or something?" I asked, my curiosity peaked.
It took a long while for him to reply, never peeling his eyes off of the small girl as she made her way to the front of the crowd. "She's like a sister to me."
"Oh." I paused, unsure how to react in this situation. In the end, I just said, "Well, that's tough, Man. But life's life. Luck of the draw and all that…"
Torin swung around so fast that I felt a gush of wind fly past my face. He snarled, fists clenched angrily at his sides.
I immediately backed up, barely managing a small step before colliding with the person behind me. I held up my hand in a peaceful gesture, "Calm down, Man. It was merely an observation – a passing comment if you will…"
When his expression didn't waver, I tensed, expecting a blow to the head. Instead, Torin turned away and stormed in the direction of the stage - the effect slightly ruined by the fact that he had to pause every second to squeeze through the groups of people.
I scoffed at his reaction and twisted around to see if his little display had attracted any attention. It hadn't. From what I could see, everyone was staring back and forth between the group of peacekeepers and the female tribute on stage. Maybe she was the one that caused the disturbance…
Interesting – the Games had barely begun and yet the drama was already sky high.
I bet it would make good television for the Capitol folk. Heck, it'd be good television everywhere. The people from the Capitol are a strange bunch, though, with all that weird plastic surgery and skin pigmentations. They'd just eat this stuff up. Betting on the tributes and what not – making money off of the Games as if it were a sport. Well, I guess it kind of is, in their eyes. But I swear, if I were chosen, I wouldn't put up with any of that cra-
"Keid Sylvester!"
My head whipped up. I stared around, feeling the gaze of a hundred pairs of eyes on me. Well, I sure hadn't seen that coming. Sure, a tiny part of you always worries that you'll be chosen - but just look at the chances. One name in thousands! I mean those are some tiny odds. But no. It just had to be me.
I kicked the ground in frustration, "You've gotta be kidding me…" Surprisingly, I was more annoyed than anything else.
The boys in the pen scrunched together, clearing a tiny path to the gate at the front of the enclosure. I walked forward, cursing my misfortune, and met the eyes of Torin, leaning against the wooden barrier directly in my path.
I gave him a dry look, and stood patiently while he pushed open the gate and waved me forward with a flourish of his hands. His condescending mutter of "Sorry, Man. But life's life. Luck of the draw and all that," traveling with me to the stage.
"Come on up, Keid, and say hello to Panem!" The presenter trilled over the crowd, beckoning me forwards.
I climbed up the small set of stairs and joined the presenter and Kieri on stage, a feeble amount of applause traveling in my wake. I waved and smiled into the large camera lenses, swallowing my frustrations, and answered several pointless questions asked by the presenter.
When that was over, I was instructed to shake hands with Kieri, finding myself surprised at the firmness of her grip in comparison to its small size. Both of us were then ushered to the back of the stage, leaving the stage open for the Mayor to recite the treaty of treason.
I saw this as a perfect opportunity to interact with Kieri – check out the competition as it were, try and gain her trust. Sure, she was pretty tiny, but if she was part of that thieving gang of hers, I bet she had a couple of talents hidden up her sleeve.
"Well, this sure sucks…" I commented, angling my body towards hers, planting an open smile on my lips. "What are your thoughts?"
She stared blankly at me, her slanted green eyes piercing my own. Her mouth was set in a thin line, content on leaving me unanswered.
"Fine, don't answer," I held my hands up in mock defense. "I was just trying to make small talk."
"This is neither the time nor place for pleasantries." She gave me a patronizing look, her eyebrows deftly arched, before turning back to face the front.
I sighed internally; that seemed to be a popular opinion these days. You try to be nice to someone, start up a conversation, but no.
She seemed content on ignoring me, her shoulders tense with the strain of composure. Fine. If she didn't want to play nice, so be it.
I tuned my attention towards the mayor, but he was barely halfway through the treaty. Bored out of my mind, I played with the black bracelet on my wrist, twanging the thin elastic to the tune of Panem's national anthem.
"Stop!" Kieri hissed, nudging me sharply with her elbow.
"Stop!" I mimicked her, pulling a face. I rolled my eyes and continued playing with the bracelet.
Kieri didn't react quite as I had hoped. She just gave an exasperated sigh and kept her head trained to the front
What a killjoy – no fun at all. For a thief she sure was dull.
This was gonna be a long couple of weeks…
So, how was it? Good? Bad? Amazingly awful? Tell me in a review...
:D
