Chapter 9
Reapings
Wake Me Up
Lilium Walker, 17 years old. District 9.
I'm running through the woods, trying desperately to escape. Somebody is chasing me I'm sure of it, I'm sure that something bad will happen if I get caught, but I also know this is a dream. I know it isn't real, and I want to look back and see who is persistently trying to get me. But, I can't. Instead I keep running, until I suddenly come to a stop. I don't feel as if I am being chased anymore, I feel safe. Then I see his body. I am far but I know it is my dad, even when I don't really remember him well. I also know he is dead. I scream, and as I do, I wake up.
I am brushing my hair, waiting for my mother and sister to be ready. Reapings are today. I think of my dream, I want to know what happened. How did he died? Who killed him? Why? But, I don't know, nobody does, and we won't ever do. I should worry, I should be worrying about myself and not dwelling on the past. I hate the games, but I will accept my fate. Lately everything has been good, so I won't be surprised if something awful happens. It is all part of that endless circle I call life. I know I'm thinking like this because I'm scared, I want to convince myself that I'm ready for the worst, and it makes me angry to know that I am not. I could win though... But, I would have to kill people to make my way to the top. However, sometimes... I can't help but feel that doing so would be worth it.
Tarson Keers, 15 years old. District 9.
The kid reaches out for my hand as I help him stand up. I had found him laying on the ground on my way to the reapings. Maybe he fell, but I wouldn't know. I was looking down, lost in my thoughts. I feel kind of bad for not paying attention, I could have warned him that there was a rock in his way or something like that. The boy gives me a smile and I smile back at him. Then I scream, and fall to my knees. I feel like throwing up. He kicked me on the groin! I can feel how he reaches out to my pockets and takes away the little money I had. I can't do anything though, the pain is too strong. I feel like I'm burning and there are dots on my sight. Damn, this sucks!
After about ten minutes I'm able to get up and walk normally, not without still feeling pain, it was bearable though. I look around and see people passing, they didn't even bother to help me, or ask if I was okay. Actually, they don't even bother looking at me. They are too busy walking towards the town square. I convince myself that it's all thanks to the nerves, they are scared and it can't be helped. After all, I am scared too. The reapings are today, two of us are going to the Arena, and it's highly likely that they won't come back. I think as they, because I can't think of it as me. I can't bring myself to do so. I use this to excuse the kid's behavior too, that and the fact that he was probably hungry. I would have preferred he had just asked me for the money though.
I keep walking, and as I do, I smile. I just remembered that my brother is finally safe! He is out of the reaping age, so I don't have to fear that he'll get reaped anymore. He wouldn't have had a chance, not when he can't see the world. It wouldn't have been fair, but then again, the Games never are.
Brent Boule, District 9. Victor of the 32nd Hunger Games.
The mayor is known to be a man of few words, and due to this he keeps his speech short and simple. Mayor Ameren is one of the few men I acknowledge as intelligent, and considerate. Some people are foolish enough to think that his brief speech is due to a lack of inventive in what to say, but I know better.
The tension in front of us rises as the escort stands up, the children tremble in panic and their parents do the same on the sidelines, I do it too. Duke, my youngest son, is there. I can see him from here, fear filling his eyes, he avoids my eyes, he is a proud boy who won't accept something as fear and less in front of me. I wish I could reach out to him and tell him its alright to be afraid, that it is nothing to be ashamed of. It is actually the most reasonable and human thing to feel in a moment like this.
The escort picks a name from the female's bowl. She grabs the microphone and reads it out loud.
"Lilium Walker!" shouts the escort. A tall girl walks out of the seventeen years old section. At first with a shocked expression but with every step she took, her face became a little more determined, or at least she made it look that way.
I don't get the time to actually acknowledge whether the girl will have any chance at the Games, since my nerves are taking over. I clench my fists on my lap, trying not to tap my foot against the stage. I can feel how my heart beats faster, how my head gets dizzy and the horrible thoughts that pass through my mind. What if my boy gets reaped?
The escort moves towards the male's bowl. In what probably were seconds, but for me hours, she picks a name.
"Tarson Keers!" I let out the air I was containing. I can feel my muscles relaxing, my body getting its calm once more. It wasn't him, my son is safe… At least, for now he is. I can't help but feel bad about the boy who got reaped, but I can't avoid feeling relieved that it wasn't Duke.
I see the boy's face, he looks devoid of emotion, with a blank expression. He stands in the fifteen years old's section. I can easily see myself in this kid… The face I had when I stood there in the middle of my peers, as my world crumbled down, as I took that step forward that would change life as I knew it… The beginning of the end.
AN: Thanks for reviewing guys! It means a lot. Any favorites yet?
The title is due to Avicii's song, I was hearing it before writing this chapter. Sorry for the shortness of the chapter... I guess I am feeling like Mayor Ameren
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