My heart stops beating right then and there, the atmosphere surrounding me suddenly closing in around me as if trying to crush me with an anvil. I legit think I might faint.
No. No no no no no no no no no! It can't be him! Anybody but him! It was one! One in a million!
My vision has gone into a sort of tunnel, hazy and blurred at the edges. But through the funnel of discontortion, I spot a black and white figure walking towards the stage looking absolutely petrified. It's Marty.
No no no no no no no! He can't do it! He wouldn't last one day there!
After all these years of tesserae, starving, hunting, surviving and sacrificing, everything I have worked up to is thrown into the trash and now best-my only friend in the world must pay for my insolence.
Over my goddamn body!
"No, Marty! Marty!" A strangled cry escapes my throat. I run through the crowd, elbowing my way through animals and people. Pushing them aside, even knocking them off their feet. I don't bother to apologize as my arms swipe bodies out of my way. "Marty! No!" I make it to the dirt walkway where I am immediately barreled by a pair of Peacekeepers. They haul me back, blocking me from getting to him. And before I even know it, I say the unthinkable.
"I volunteer! I volunteer! I volunteer as tribute!" The guards loosen their grip at these words, shocked. Everyone, from the people of the district to the guards lining the streets, gawks at me with utter awestruck. Marty, whose eyes are so wide they look like they'll fall out of his head, stands half turned to me just yards away.
"Well, well, I believe we have a volunteer!" Tooth Fairy exclaims delightfully although her facial expression truly shows just how surprised she is, and not in a good way. Everyone else is at a complete loss for words. Except for Marty, who is screaming at the top of his lungs as he strides to me.
"Alex, what the heck do you think you're doing?!" He grips my shoulders and shakes them, as if to wake me from this so-called nightmare like I had done to him this morning. I wish it was that easy to escape.
Suddenly, I feel dizzy. The world is somehow titling beneath me. My knees threaten to buckle under my weight. I try to focus on the subject at hand.
"Marty, you need to leave. Go with the others." I whisper to him, shoving him away as best as I can, but he isn't listening to me.
"No! You can't go! I won't let you!" He grabs me hard around the waist, not willing to let me leave.
"Marty, let go!" I command. I can't shake him off and making a drastic scene in front of a crowd like this is last thing I need.
Then I watch as someone approaches us from the thick throng of beings. A broad-shouldered tiger with a high arched nose and venomous green eyes stares down at me through furrowed brows. It's Vitaly. Wait, Vitaly?!
Of all things that have happened in the last thirty seconds, I'm more confused by the large tiger's appearance.
He trudges over and peers down at me, cloaking me in his large shadow. Even without saying a word, his actions speak for themselves and thankfully I'm aware enough to see that he means to get Marty out of here. I nod my head in approval. In a flash, he scoops the zebra up and throws him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
"No, Alex! No!" Marty cries hysterically, pounding his hooves against Vitaly's back to no avail, but the superior feline just keeps walking.
It's too painful to watch, so I turn away.
Everything is swaying to and fro like a spinning top, and if anything, it's gotten worse. Everyone is upside down, hanging off the floor like bats. I'm not sure if it's just me or if this is for real. Either way, I can't let it distract. Even though I'm 100% sure that I'm going to black out any second.
I tread towards the stage in a sort of daze, trying my best not to stumble or trip at my own expense. I can feel the audience's eyes trained on the back of my head and an intense heat grows behind my eyes. For a second, I think they've found a way to set me on fire, but no. I'm about to cry. I quickly blink oncoming tears away and clench my jaw. This is going to be viewed all over Panem. If I was to cry, I'd be seen as a weakling. An easy target. I will not give the other tributes that satisfaction.
I finish climbing up the stairs and face the crowd.
"Well, hello there!" Tooth Fairy greets, tiptoeing to my side. "I'll bet my feathers that that was your friend. Your best friend in fact!" She asks me in a rather chipper, but fraud voice.
"Yes." I answer flatly. The question doesn't fully process because my brain isn't functioning right, but at least I'm able to answer. I don't look at the life size hummingbird humanoid buzzing at my side. Instead, my gaze slowly grazes last the hordes of animals and humans watching me.
"And what is your name?" Tooth asks into my ear.
"Alex Lyon."
A full minute of silence drifts over the crowd like a summer mist. Although they're practically twirling in my line of sight, I'm still able to witness their faces contort in recognition. Most of them have probably seen my face and heard my name. Alex, the lion with the bow, the guy who hangs around the Hob, and most of all, the guy whose father died in Africa. Yes, most people know about him, mainly because he was the alpha lion in the Pride. Stories are often told to the younger generation to take their minds off of any sorrow or starvation they might be facing. Practically every animal in Africa had respected him and my mom. And now they're all witnessing their long lost and only son knock on Death's door.
"Now, let's move onto the girls." Tooth continues. Out of the corner of my eye, she quickly scuttles to the other large glass bowl and quickly pulls out a name. "Gia Zaragoza!"
Oh no, no no no no no no no no no! Not her. Why her? Of all the girls in District 12, why her?
The unbalanced ground beneath me suddenly halts to a stop, nearly making me take a jarring step back.
That's the name of the girl who had helped me. The girl I am in debt to. The memory plays in my head like a movie.