Chapter Nine - Posted on ( 3/18/16)
Rowan Mattock
District Seven Male. 16 years old.
"Wanted something I can't take,
I'll be stronger once again,
Don't worry about me, trust me,
Please trust me now."
Rowan was used to his life being flawless. Excellent family and friends - check. Generally a great life - check.
But then something happened five days prior that turned his world upside down. That something changed everything. Everything.
He could still remember detail of the time it happened.
It started off like any regular day. He went down to the woods late in the evening to go to his shift. Rowan worked as a lumberjack and was quite experienced with an axe - he had a muscular physique to prove it. The Mattock teen did not sense something bad was going to happen.
He met up with his friends along the way - their names were Oliver and Kiefer Page. They were brothers and looked alike, having the same dark hair.
The trio walked together deep into the forest, unaware that a certain darkness was hanging around them like fog. They just kept walking farther, looking for the perfect tree to chop for paper.
Rowan finally spotted one. They started to swing their axes back and forth, back and forth…
Kiefer was standing next to Rowan. His axe miscalculated and swung wildly by accident.
Rowan saw it coming out of the very corner of his eye and tried to dodge.
But the axe hit his forearm.
All he remembered before he blacked out were the Page brothers screaming and blood everywhere.
Rowan shivered, remembering the thought. He gingerly touched his right forearm with his left hand. There definitely was going to be a scar there.
His life was slowly getting back on track. He still had school to attend to, but he was dismissed from work until his arm completely healed. Rowan's mother, Ashley, and his father, Garrick, worried too much about him, but he didn't mind. Rowan did not want to grow up too fast.
"Hey, Rowan." A soft voice called from his doorway. Rowan looked up from the square window in his bedroom - he had been staring outside again. It was Ashley, coming to check on him once more.
"Hi, Mom." He replied. Before she could open her mouth and ask the question, he beat her to it. "I'm fine."
Ashley visibly relaxed. "That's good." She then glanced at his closet and started to sort through the clothes. "Almost ready for the Reapings? They're in a few hours." She pointed to the clock hanging on his wall.
"Almost." Rowan responded. With his mother's help selecting the clothes, he threw on a button-down short-sleeved, blue shirt and jeans. He also wore dress shoes, via his father, and combed his hair.
When Rowan was done with prepping for the Reapings, his mother looked at him with tear-filled eyes. "My baby's growing up." She said in a sad voice. After all, Rowan was her only child.
Rowan turned away as well. If he saw his mother cry, he would probably cry, too.
He was emotional when it came to those things.
Celine Woodman
District Seven Female. 14 years old.
"Does that make me crazy?
Does that make me crazy?
Does that make me crazy?
Possibly."
Some people would call Celine crazy. Others would call her normal.
She was both.
Celine Woodman wasn't an ordinary girl, that was for sure. She was as far as you could possibly get from ordinary.
Did she have imaginary friends? Yes, she did. Did she have something wrong with her? An ultra rapid cycling bipolar disorder. Was she the type of person who daydreamed when she wasn't supposed to? Yes.
At school, she was teased by peers. They tried to make her feel inferior or like a lone wolf. Celine was never truly alone, though. At least not physically.
There was Annette.
Annette was 15 years old and was bordering on being a sociopath. She was snarky, sarcastic, and bold. She was an adrenaline junkie and liked to throw herself into adventures. She was very determined.
She was also imaginary.
Annette seemed real to Celine, but in reality she was just a figure of imagination. Born out of loneliness, Annette would always give Celine advice on things. Celine's esteem was boosted whenever Annette was around - Celine hated to be by herself.
They faced the world together. Celine depended more and more on Annette everyday. Annette was supposedly very intelligent, but she liked the feeling of getting into battle more than anything else.
"Knock, knock." A voice called from Celine's bedroom. Startled, she gazed at the door before saying, "Come in!"
Her parents walked in. "Here's your breakfast." Her mother handed her a plate of hard boiled eggs.
"Thank you!" Celine replied, with a bubbly tone.
Her father sagged with relief - at least she wasn't in one of those stages when she'd start crying and screaming. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm doing good."
"We only want the best for you, Celine." Her mother patted her shoulder. She said those words every morning.
Celine nodded. Her parents left shortly after.
Hey. A sound from inside her head made Celine almost leaped out of her chair with happiness.
"Annette?" She asked.
That's me.
"Can you give me some advice on what to wear for the Reapings?" Celine inquired. She patiently waited for her imaginary friend to respond.
Annette coached on what to wear. Celine's clothes from her wardrobe were scattered around the room, for when she disapproved of an outfit, she threw it behind her.
Finally, she was finished, and admired Annette's work in her vanity mirror.
See, I told you I have a good taste in fashion.
Rowan Mattock
District Seven Male. 16 years old.
"Wanted something I can't take,
I'll be stronger once again,
Don't worry about me, trust me,
Please trust me now."
Rowan's parents had a bad habit of looking on the bad side of things.
Garrick's worrying words to him were: "If you were Reaped, you can't use your right hand! But I don't think you'll be Reaped. You'll be fine, son." But Garrick sounded completely uncertain. Rowan's name was in there six times.
His mother told him: "You'll be okay. Just promise me you won't be Reaped." The 16 year old did not comment, but they both knew that he couldn't guarantee that.
Rowan thought back to those words when he stood in line to get his finger pricked. He wanted so badly to believe them. But he just simply couldn't.
When it was his turn for blood to be drawn, Rowan winced a little when his finger was stabbed. Afterward, he walked on to the 16 year old section.
I won't get Reaped, I won't get Reaped, I won't get Reaped…
Sometime when he was younger, Rowan's mother told him that if you say things over in over in your head they would come true.
He repeated mentally, I won't get Reaped, I won't get Reaped, I won't get Reaped…
Rowan did this all up until the long speech and the Treaty of Treason was over. Then he paid attention to the escort.
Their escort, Toria, had a wild streak in her. She was in her mid-twenties but her hair was dyed with all different kinds of colors. Silver, purple, pink, blue, and gold. She dressed with stripes on her shirt and polka dots on her shots. But she was overall very respectful and charitable, if not very peppy.
Toria skipped (yes, skipped) over to the female Reaping bowl. "Females first this time, does everyone agree?" When she was met by silence, she frowned but picked out a name, nevertheless. "The name is Celine Woodman. Is there a Celine Woodman here?"
A tall girl with dark brown hair in the 14 year old section's mouth dropped open. She quickly closed it but her eyes shown shock. The said girl rushed to the stage hurriedly, looking down at her brown brogue shoes.
Rowan studied her. Her build was slim and she had no muscles. But didn't everyone in District 7 have muscles, because they worked with axes? Celine's hair was done in two braids, which hung over her pale pink blouse. She wore denim dungarees. And she also wasn't crying.
Hmm, Rowan thought. She didn't look familiar. Not from work, at least, and he didn't see her around his school before. Well, that might've been because she was two years younger than him.
It wasn't time to worry about that. Toria walked, with a spring in her step, to the male bowl.
His throat became tight, and he had a hard time breathing.
"Rowan Mattock!"
A cold fist closed over Rowan's heart. A sense of dread washed over him. Curse it! Of all the possible years I'm reaped now, when I am not fighting fit! Fate is indeed ironic. He thought.
He was very nervous but tried not to show it too much. Rowan pretended to be interested with the floor as he walked to the stage slowly.
Once arriving at the stage after what seemed like hours, Toria smiled an encouraging smile at him. "Celine Woodman and Rowan Mattock!"
Some things were uncertain. Whether or not his outfit would be a tree. Whether or not his stylist would be nice.
But one thing was certain.
Rowan was going to die.
Celine Woodman
District Seven Female. 14 years old.
"Does that make me crazy?
Does that make me crazy?
Does that make me crazy?
Possibly."
Everything was going wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong.
Celine didn't know what to think. She was on the verge of tears. Her parents were in rage at the Capitol. Annette was excited to see death.
"And the Capitol thinks they have a right to Reap a 14 year old? Who do they think they are!" Her mother screamed at no one in particular. "How dare they Reap Celine! Especially in her condition!"
Celine was slightly offended by that, but didn't say anything.
"Mary, please calm down." Her father tried to help his wife become calmer but it didn't work.
"I can't calm down, Timone!" She snapped. "This is our only daughter we're talking about here! How are you being so relaxed? Do you even care!"
"Of course I care, but crying won't get us anywhere." He prodded gently.
Her mother just kept ranting. "They have the nerve to kill Celine! They're monsters! They're imbeciles! They're -"
A Peacekeeper came inside and dragged a screaming Mary from the room.
Celine stumbled back in shock. She hadn't even gotten to say goodbye to her mother.
Her father to turned to his daughter. "I better go. Promise me you'll be safe. I love you so much."
"I love you too, Dad."
They shared a last, fleeting hug before he walked out the door with a sad smile to Celine.
It was the saddest smile she had ever witnessed in her life.
Song(s) Used -
Rowan Mattock: "Bury" (sang by Pay Money To My Pain)
Celine Woodman: "Crazy" (sang by Gnarls Barkley)
I'm back with District 7! I hope you enjoyed it. We are less than halfway done the Reapings - seven down, five to go. Judging from the blog, who are you excited to see next?
Please, please, please check out RageHer0's stories. She is a super great author, and she is just amazing. She also submitted our District 12 Male, Lignite Parker.
Anyway, read and review! Thanks everyone, and may the odds be ever in your favor!
