Luria Herod, 15

District 5 Female

The sun was slowly lowering over the hills that I sit at daily, and I watch in awe as the forest behind our District slowly starts to disappear. One day, I hope to travel and see the world for what it is. I want to feel the sun as it shines on my face as I run through the forest. I want to feel the river splash on my feet as I run through the water.

I know that we live in a time and place where none of that is going to be possible. Especially in a situation like District 5, but one day, maybe I'll be able to see all of that. I want more than anything just to experience something like that, the freedom that comes with allowing those moments.

But for now, I'll just have to settle for a "maybe someday," which is better than never at all.

"District 5, curfew is being enacted in the next 15 minutes. I repeat curfew is in the next 15 minutes. Please find your way home,"

The voice clicks off, and I get up hurrying towards the little shack that dad and I share. It's a relatively new arrangement. Mom has been off traveling the District playing some gigs. I've had no other choice than to stay with my estranged father.

I get to the shack with 7 minutes to spare. I sigh a relaxing breath as I push open the door and see my dad in his usual spot on the couch. Alcohol fills the room, and I recoil my nose at the stench as I walk through the living room and into the tiny room that I inherited moving in.

This room is nothing like my old room. When my mom was around, we weren't the most well off, but I still had a space of my own. Her music didn't bring in the big bucks, but there's only a limited number of things you can do in a factory District when you're paralyzed from the waist down.

This room was a makeshift storage closet when I got ahold of it. Dad wasn't interested in helping me move in. Instead, he merely pointed at the room and said "Yours," and walked back to his spot on the couch. I've slowly been adding color to the room slowly, and moving some of my old things from my old room here has helped make it feel homey.

It's not much, but it's home.

I flop down on my bed and smile as I see the painting that I painted at the top of the ceiling. I drew the sun on the ceiling to always remind me that there is a brighter side to life. It's served as a great reminder that I always have something to smile about. It's something that gives me a life vest to hold onto when this life feels overwhelming.

"Clyde, I need to speak to Luria,"

My uncle Marc is talking to my dad from the living room. "She doesn't want to see you, Marc," My dad says with his slurred speech, "She has me! Why would she need you?"

"God, Clyde," says Marc, "You're further gone than I thought you were. LURIA!" he screams.

I get up from my bed and creep over to the door. I crack it slightly and see Marc trying to squeeze by my dad who is holding up a beer bottle as a weapon against my uncle. "Luria!" says my Uncle upon seeing me. "Luria I need you to come to talk to me. It's about something important.

I creep out, and my dad is still trying to keep him from walking back towards my room. I step up to my dad and guide him back to the couch as Uncle Marc sits there and waits for me to finish up. I motion for him to follow me outside, and we walk out to the front porch to sit on the dingey wooden steps.

"What's up, Uncle Marc?" I ask him. "You know curfew happened a few minutes ago?"

"It helps to be a peacekeeper," he says with a small smile. "God, Luria, you're going to come to stay with your aunt and me. This is not something that you need to be around at your age. You need someone to look after you-"

"Uncle Marc," I say with a smile, "It is okay! Mom is going to be back soon, and I know that I'll have my room and home again soon. Mom was great with me." His face changes upon the mention of my mother, and I squint in confusion. "Marc, is everything okay?"

"Why don't you go pack a bag?" asks Marc as he looks at me. "I'll explain on the way,"

I walk back into the shack, and dad is once again snoring on the couch. I walk to my room and grab a small bag and put some clothes in there. I don't expect to be with my uncle long, so I packed light. I walk back to the porch, and he smiles slightly at me as he motions for me to come along. I walk hesitantly next to him as he takes a deep breath.

"Look, I'm a little nervous, Uncle Marc," I say slowly. "Can you just tell me what's happening, please?" I ask him.

"Luria, your mother, isn't traveling," he says quickly.

"What do you mean?" I ask confused. "She's traveling and doing gigs-"

"Luria, your mother was in some pretty serious debt from a loan collecter here in the district. She took to long to pay it back, and she was killed because of it. That's why you're moving in with your aunt and me, we don't-"

I can't breathe.

Tears start to fall down my face, and for the first time in a long time, I can't look at the brighter side of things everything seems dark and cloudy, and I can't get myself to push through. He helps me get home, and we walk over to the small house in the middle of the busy District. When we get to his house, I walk directly to my Uncle's secret cabinet as he goes and talks to my Aunt in their bedroom.

I take the glass bottle out of the cabinet and unscrew the top. I take a deep swig of the dark liquid, and I cough. It burns, but it's a good burn.

Make me forget, please…

Heinrich Cratos, 13

District 5 Male

"Uh, oh,"I say as I flip the page and see the description. "According to this book, when Mercury is in retrograde people act differently!"

Emilia smiles from her spot at the table and ushers me to sit with her. "Come on, bro!" she says. "It's time for dinner!"

I walk over to the table and take a seat. Emilia hands me the turkey sandwich, and I graciously take a bite out of it. She makes it the same way mom used to. Eating this is almost like mom is still here.

"Emilia?" I ask in between bites.

"Hm?" she asks me as she takes a bite of her sandwich.

"Have you heard from mom and dad?"

Her expression sours and she places her sandwich back onto the plate. She looks at me with stern eyes and shakes her head. "I told you, Heinrich, we don't talk about our parents in this home. They don't care about us anyway, Henrich, we've talked about this."

"Yeah, but I mean, they can't completely cut us off, right?" I ask as she stares at the wall directly in front of her. Her hands are folded, and she is not blinking after what feels like a long time she takes two more bites of her sandwich and then walks over to the door.

"Wait, Emilia, please!" I say as she walks out and closes it behind her. The door locks and I'm once again alone in this tiny wooden cabin. I upset her this time. She probably won't come back for a few days. I need to start figuring out how to ration that food we have left to last me that long.

Mercury is in retrograde, Heinrich, you should have known better.

Sometimes I feel trapped. Like, the world is kind of against me, and the only way to succeed and overcome it is by escaping it. That's why space is so cool. Space can go anywhere, literally. How cool is it to think about that one of those little dots on the charts in my book can hold a whole galaxy? And if a little dot can hold all of that, surely some sort of adventure can live inside of me, right?

Emilia leaves me here often. She said we were only going to be here for a few days, but that was years ago. Smoke used to often come from the District, and you could see it from our little cabin. It was always paired with explosions, and we would always hear shouts from people trying to escape blasts.

I wasn't allowed to go outside. I understood it when I was younger with everything going on, but I am older now, and the rebellion is far from over going strong with everything that has been going smoothly for the last year and a half.

She still won't let me outside.

I hate it in this cabin. I feel so trapped, and all I ever do is wake up, sleep, and eat. I had to start jogging around the house to not feel restless at night. I'm a young kid in relatively good shape. I shouldn't be cooped up like this forever, but I'm fearful that that is exactly what Emelia is planning.

The door clicks open, and my sister walks into the room without her sandwich. She locks the door again using her special key and then puts it around her neck. She walks into her bedroom and locks that door, and I'm left sitting at the kitchen table with a half-eaten turkey sandwich. Once again, alone.

Reaping day is tomorrow!

She can't hold me inside on reaping day. I get to go out and see people my age. Maybe I can even run into mom and dad!

I quickly smile and start to get excited, because tomorrow is a change in pace. There is an adventure that is happening tomorrow, and I am so excited that I get the chance to experience it. What lies beyond these four walls?

Tomorrow is the second time in two years that I get to find out.

"What are you smiling about?" asks Emilia as she comes out of her room and sits on the couch.

"Nothing," I say. "This is just a really good turkey sandwich.

Well here is D5! I'm pretty proud of myself for the speed I've been pumping these out.

Thank your Cornellfann for Luria and for Heinrich! Hope you liked them!

What do you guys think of these two?

Keep it classy,

Caleb