Shine
Chapter 9
District 8 Reapings
A/N: Nine chapters and six Reapings in now, we're halfway through the Reapings! I have 15/24 Tributes, so please, keep submitting them!
Rhylee Kaski –16- -D8- POV
I zip up the blue dress that matches my eyes and stare at myself in the mirror. I wonder what to do with my hair today. What will Lake like? Maybe this…
Five minutes later, I have my hair assembled in two braids, one on each side of my head. I smile. I think Lake will like it. I hope so. I look over at Landon's bed. Oh my goodness. He's still asleep. I move over to his bed and shake his shoulder.
"Whaaat?" He asks, pulling his pillow over his head. I shake him again.
"Landon! It's time to get up! It's Reaping day," I say.
"What? Oh, crap!" He says, bolting out of bed. "I have to get ready!"
"Duh," I say.
"Why didn't you wake me up earlier?" He asks.
"Have we not gone over how you sleep like a bull?" I ask.
"Fine," he says. "Now leave me alone, I need to change."
"We were in the womb together," I say.
"Go!" He says.
"Fine," I hold up my hands, and walk out of the room. "It's not like I haven't seen-"
"Shut up!" He shouts, as he slams the door in my face. I turn to face my father and four older siblings, who all smile at me ruefully.
Five minutes later Landon walks out, amazingly looking… okay in a suit and tie. I can tell that he hasn't bothered to brush his hair.
"Let's go," my dad says. "We're already going to be late."
Silk Daisly –16- -D8- POV
I pull on my suit coat and look in the mirror at my brown eyes and blond hair. I smile softly and walk out into the living room.
"Ready to go?" My mom asks, from her position next to my dad. My grandmother stands to the right of them, from my perspective. She just moved here after my grandfather died. I didn't really know him that well, but I feel sorry for her.
"Yup," I say. "Let's head out."
Rhylee Kaski –16- -D8- POV
I reach the Reaping, leaving my father and older siblings at the edge of the Reaping. Landon leaves me to head for his section, knowing who I'm looking for. He likes her, he also doesn't like the mushiness. And, as he said, seeing me kiss her makes him want to do the same. Suddenly, my vision goes dark.
"Guess who?" A voice says from behind me. I don't have to guess, I would know her voice anywhere.
"Oh, I don't know," I say. "Maybe you're… Katie?" I use the name of an attractive popular girl.
"Guess again," she says.
"Hmm… not her? A bit of a letdown, then, I guess. I'd have to say… Lake?" I say. I like to tease her.
"You're right!" She says and uncovers my eyes. I turn around and kiss her, picking her up slightly. I kiss her for a few seconds before putting her down. She smiles.
"Hi, Rhylee," Jenni says from beside Lake. Jenni has shoulder-length curly black hair and black eyes, that are almost the same color as her hair.
"Hi, Jenni," I say. I feel myself blush slightly. I didn't realize she was there, or I might not have kissed Lake like that. "Uh… how's it going?"
"I'm just fine," she says, with a smile on her face. "You seem to be doing pretty good as well."
"I guess I am," I say. "Worried about the Reaping?"
"Not really," she says. "After all, what are the odds one of us will get Reaped?"
"Fair point," I say. "Still, I'm… worried, you know. I don't know why, I'm just always scared, I guess."
"I get it," Jenni says. "Look, I'm going to go try to find David," David is Jenni's boyfriend, "so I'll leave you two alone for a few minutes before the Reaping starts, okay?"
"Okay," I say. "Bye, Jenni!"
"Bye, Rhylee!" She shouts, waving over her shoulder at me. I don't know why, but I can't shake the feeling that I might not see her again. Lake moves over to my side. I look at her emerald green eyes, the perfect contrast to her bright red hair, and smile at her.
"I love you," I say.
"I love you too," she says, and we kiss softly. We slowly walk to our section together, arm-in-arm.
When we get there, I say, "Lake… in case this is the last time I… you know, the last time I get to see you-"
She cuts me off, "Rhylee, don't worry. You won't get Reaped, neither well I. And if one of us does, we can say goodbye in the Justice Building. Okay? Don't let today get you down. And don't worry about that feeling, it's just Reaping jitters. Soon it will all be over. Okay?"
"Okay," I say. "You're right. It'll be okay. I'm just being silly. Did I ever tell you that you're really smart? And really cute?"
"No, no one ever told me that," she says, shaking her head in a big motion. "You think so?" She teases.
"I do, surprisingly," I say. We both laugh, and then Tiffany Teller, District Eight escort, starts the Reaping.
"Time to start the Reapings!" Tiffany says. I wonder who will die this year. Four victors from District Eight, four in seventy-one years. I was rooting for that boy Kaine last year after that Lily girl killed Twyler, but he lost. Oh well, I didn't really care, but it would have been nice if someone from D8 had won. "Ladies first! The Female Tribute from District Eight is…" Time seems to slow as Tiffany unfolds the piece of paper. Not me. Not Lake. Not Lake. If you must take one of us, take me, I think at… at who? At what? At Tiffany? No, at the Capitol. At the Capitol, for making us do this, for making us play this horrible Game. "… Rhylee Kaski!"
I don't move. I'm not going to move. They can't take me if I don't go. Right? Right? Right? Some people in the crowd point to me. They're afraid. Some of them move away from me. Some of them move closer to me, protecting me. Most of them do. Only a few point. People start moving roughly out of the way. No, they're not moving, they're being moved. A few people are shoved away in front of me, and I see the Peacekeepers making their way through the crowd towards me now. Lake pushes herself in front of me, holding me behind her. I hold onto her, but soon the Peacekeepers are onto us. One of them pushes her out of the way, onto the ground. She screams and rolls over. The Peacekeeper levels his rifle at her. She holds her hands up, terrified. Her nose is bleeding, and there's blood on the ground under her hair, staining the black concrete red. One of the Peacekeepers tries to grab me. I kick him in the crotch, and he stumbles backward. Two more Peacekeepers come from in front of me, and I feel two pairs of hands grab me from behind. One Peacekeeper still has his rifle trained on Lake, still laying on the ground, now with her hand to her broken nose. Three Peacekeepers grab me from the front, two from the back. I lash out in all directions, and I hear one of them shouting for something. More come, pushing people away with their rifles in a circle around me. I keep thrashing, screaming, shouting, kicking, punching, even biting one who got his hand to close. The shouts from one of them subside, and I hear more footsteps behind me. Then a needle enters my back, and I feel my muscles relaxing and my head drooping forward before I pass out.
Silk Daisly –16- -D8- POV
I leave my family at the edge of the Reaping. I have no friends, so I just walk quietly to my section, and wait. I stand there as the Reaping starts, and I see the spectacle that the girl who gets Reaped puts on. If the Capitol doesn't kill her first, she could be quite a threat for whoever gets picked. Then it's the boys' turn.
"After that brief… interruption," Tiffany begins, "we will be continuing the Reaping! The Male Tribute from District Eight is… Silk Daisly!" Well, this will be a problem. I'm going to die, just great. Hey, maybe I should try to ally with that girl. Or, you know, maybe not. I don't want to be a target for the mutts. I start walking to the stage, trying to appear calm, will I start sweating profusely. I feel my cheek begin to twitch and try to stop it, but it doesn't work. I reach the stage and shake hands with Tiffany without incident.
"The Tributes from District Eight are Rhylee Kaski and Silk Daisly!"
Johnathon Horn –45- -D8 Head Peacekeeper- POV
There was a riot. A riot. In District Eight. I can't believe it. It should have been simple. That silly little girl didn't want to go on stage, no problem. My men knew who she was, they aren't fond of her and her little girlfriend. But she resisted. But even she wasn't the problem. It was her girlfriend that was. Ugh- I have to go. There's an alert put out. I thought we were done for today. Shoot.
After the Reaping finished…
Lake Turner –16- -D8R- POV
I stare up at the Peacekeeper who still has his rifle trained on me.
"Is that really necessary?" I ask. "I'm just a little girl, trying to protect her friend. What threat do I pose to you?" I ask. I start to stand up, but he points the rifle at me.
"Stay down," he says. Okay, now I'm angry. Why should I do this? What reason is there for this? And what do I have to lose? Rhylee is gone already, so what do I have to lose? I reach up quickly before he can react, and grab the barrel of his rifle. I use the momentum to propel myself up and rest the rifle from his grasp. I quickly spin it around. He falls to the ground, but I see his hand already reaching for the sidearm he carries. Too slow. I pull the trigger, and he falls back, blood staining his uniform. Everyone around me stares at me in shock. Then one of them claps her hands. Then the rest of them start. I grab the sidearm from the Peacekeepers' dead body and throw it to the girl who started clapping. What am I doing? The Peacekeepers push people out of the way, converging on me. I shoot them as I see them coming. I get one, then another one. Then I hear another gunshot. The girl with the sidearm shot one behind me. Then I hear one shouting over a loudspeaker at the crowd to disperse. They don't. They don't help, but they all just stand there. I see another one coming and level my rifle for another shot. Then I see one coming from my right. They're in a circle around me now, all with rifles. I guess I'll go out shooting. I start to squeeze the trigger but am distracted by the girl who I gave the gun too falling backward, a bullet in her chest. I hear her scream. I freeze for a second. Did I kill her? No, the Peacekeeper who fired the bullet did. I swivel around and fire one shot. Then I feel a pain in my back. Then another, then several in my chest. Then I release my grip on the rifle and fall to the ground. For you, Rhylee, I think before I slip off into the light.
Emma O'Neill –16- -D8R- POV
I watch the red-headed girl as she is rocked by the impact of multiple bullets. She falls forward. It was overkill, one bullet would have killed her. But then again, she did manage to kill four of them, and that other girl got one of them, so I guess that if I was in their position, I would do the same thing. Or if I was fighting a Peacekeeper. I stand there as she falls to the ground. I wish I had done more to help. I clapped when everyone else did, but I didn't do anything. Not that I could have done anything, with my fists. But I feel like I should have tried to help. I just stood there. Next time, maybe I'll do more. The girl who took the gun, the girl who they shot first, she looked just like me. The same color, same length blonde hair. She could have been me. Except that when I rebel, I won't die. I start the long walk home.
As Emma walks home, she talks with a few friends about what happened at the Reaping. These are all very interesting people, with their own personal stories. Unfortunately, their stories are of no importance to the story of this Hunger Games, or indeed, of any Hunger Games. Their only importance is that after these conversations, when Emma reached her home and waved goodbye to her friends, she made a decision. She didn't know it at the time, but that decision would affect the future of all Panem, if not majorly for a few more years. As her last friend walked away, Emma gave her the same cautious, deliberate clap that everyone had given at the Reaping. Just once. Emma's friend returned the gesture before walking away.
The Head Peacekeeper quickly returned to his office after the alert. It had been a false alarm, a couple of kids vandalizing stuff. Still, his people were on high alert. After all, five of their colleagues had died that day. The Head Peacekeeper locked his door, ordering his assistant not to bother him unless it was confirmed to be urgent. Then he flopped back in his chair and pulled a bottle of whiskey from his desk drawer. It was a highly prized commodity in District Eight, one normally reserved for celebratory occasions. But he downed a glass without thought as he thought of the report he would have to write to the Capitol, and the letters he would have to write to the families of the men he lost. They were good men, in his opinion. How would he explain that he had lost five men to two sixteen-year-old girls?
A/N: Well, well, well. District Eight was quite fun, wasn't it? What did everyone think? How is your day going? Who do you like most? Also, are you excited for the Games?
Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter, and please keep submitting your Tributes! Counting reservations, we currently have 16/24 Tributes! Please send in some more, I'm looking forward to them!
Tribute List:
D1M: Lustero Aldor, 17, by Yugi-Smallymcsmall
D1F: Diamond Knowles, 18, by Tyquavis (Previous character connection)
D2M: Ares Moretti, 18, by Andii99
D2F: Giselle Serpentine, 16, by Red Roses1000
D3M: Open
D3F: Open
D4M: Falcon Lockdust, 17, by Nautics
D4F: Thia Zollis, 15, by JustAPersonReading
D5M: Emery Colt, 17, by Hawkmaid
D5F: Serena Holden, 16, by Andii99
D6M: Andrew Spayler, 15, by AspiringSteampunk0909
D6F: Harper Satin, 16, by Primione394
D7M: Aster Ochs, 17, by Red Roses1000
D7F: Vallory Stensland, 16, by Hawkmaid
D8M: Silk Daisly, 16, by IIJamesII
D8F: Rhylee Kaski, 16, by Primione394
D9M: Open
D9F: Open
D10M: Reserved for IIJamesII
D10F: Kayra Dawnbreeze, 13. by Yugi-Smallymcsmall
D11M: Open
D11F: Open
D12M: Open
D12F: Open
