Chapter 8- Silver Bellcreek
The train rattles along underneath me, making us all sway back and forth. I'm keeping an eye on the girl in the corner, Oak. It didn't even cross my mind that I might be sharing this compartment with rebels. I told Shine and Flaire that only rebels got reaped, but in the aftermath of me volunteering, that went completely out of my head.
It's very clear to me that rebels aren't in the majority so far.
There are six of us in here now; I don't think the others are rebels, besides Oak. She has a nasty way about her, just the picture of what I've been imagining rebels to be. The only other girl, Cass, is quiet, but I think she's nice. Rigg, the District 4 boy, is a little bossy, but he's alright too. And Aldar is as easy going as the day is long.
My stomach rumbles; the only thing I've had to eat since I left District 1 is half of a roll Cass gave me, and I had some swallows out of that horrible water bucket. They'll start treating us properly soon; the tributes who supported the Capitol, anyway. Or even if we're in here for the rest of the journey, I'll bet the Peacekeepers in charge will get in trouble for it. We're the first tributes! They shouldn't be shipping us like cattle. It'll all work out in the end, you'll see.
"It's getting dark out there," Cass says, looking back at us from where she's been keeping her face pressed to the space between the boards. She's right; the little light we have in here is fading fast.
"Guess we should all find a place to sleep tonight then," Rigg says, looking around. There's no place but the floor. I should know; this is my second night in here. I wish they'd stop and take these handcuffs off too; there's no point in us having them.
Well, maybe keep them on Oak. I don't trust her at all.
Cass stays by the wall where she is, shifting around to find a comfortable position, like the rest of us. Aldar, who hasn't said much since he got on the train, shoots a look at Oak, then lies down by the door. Rigg goes and grabs some mildewed sacks from the corner and flops them down by Glow and me; meanwhile, Glow lies down on the bare floor and falls asleep almost immediately. I wish I could do that.
I watch Oak, though, in the last light that's left in here. She's somehow brought a quilt along, and she's curled up in it, like she's in a proper bed. It's cold in here, and what I'm wearing is meant for July. I won't ask to share her quilt, though; I won't have the shame of sleeping next to a rebel! I have standards, and I'd rather be cold than lower them.
Once the light has completely gone from the compartment, I find myself thinking about home. I miss Mum, I really do. I miss coming downstairs in the mornings and finding breakfast on the table, I miss how she would really think about everything I told her, like every single thing I said was important, even when it really wasn't. I miss getting hugs from her before bed.
And the rest of my family too! What are they doing? Are they worried about me? Do they even know that I'm on a train bound for the Capitol? After almost three days in this train, I think I'd even be happy to see Glint again, no matter how annoying he is. I think of our sunlit attic, and the bed I share with Shine, and I get a lump in my throat. I'm homesick, and nothing is turning out the way I thought it would.
I'm the first tribute for District 1, though! I'm proud of that; and everything will get sorted once we reach the Capitol. The Games will start, the rebels will be eliminated, and I'll come out the victor. Then I can go home again, knowing I succeeded in what I came here to do. And it's not going to be so bad, is it? A few rebel kids die, and I get fame out of it. Maybe it's a little selfish, but they had to find some way to punish the rebels, didn't they? I'm just supporting the loyalists, and when I win, I'll just be showing all of Panem that loyalists come out on top every time.
My fingers find the necklace my mother gave me before I left; the smooth, sparkling diamond. Nobody else has such a pretty necklace, although I noticed Oak was wearing a necklace when she came aboard. Not as nice as mine, but pretty all the same. Even though she's a rebel, I can't help but wonder what she's done in her life. She's not very nice, that's for sure. But why did she become a rebel in the first place?
I shouldn't even question that. She's probably crazy, and I know she's dangerous. And I don't trust her at all because of that, and because it's her fault that I'm in here in the first place. It's her fault that she and the rest of the others, some I haven't even met yet, have to die. I hope she's happy!
Eventually, everyone's breathing slows into the rhythm of sleep; I know it well from sharing a bed with Shine my whole life. Someone, I think it's Rigg, whistles a little while he sleeps; it's funny at first, but gets annoying after a few minutes. I could poke him, but he's bound to get little sleep tonight as it is. I'll let him be.
I try to pretend that the boxcar is just the attic at home, and the floor is my bed that I share with Shine. If I concentrate hard enough, I can almost believe that I'm home. Almost.
Slam.
I sit straight up, fully awake; I must have drifted off, because the train is stopped and the doors are wide open, letting in the cold night air. How long was I asleep? A few hours at most, since it's pitch black out there. Why are we stopped?
Aldar voices my very question, "Why is the train stopped?"
"We're picking someone up, obviously," Glow says, his voice thick with sleep.
"Where are we?" Cass whispers; she sounds scared. She's sounded scared since she got on the train, so it's not a new thing for her. I feel sorry for the girl, I really do. She's only a year or two younger than me, but she seems a lot younger than that sometimes.
"Don't know," I say, rearranging my cuffs so they don't bite into my wrists as badly. I really wish they'd take them off me. It's a good question, however; where are we? The train could have stopped anywhere in Panem, but I doubt it's the Capitol. After the past two stops, I'm convinced that they're going to pick up everyone and then go to the Capitol.
"Why are we getting on the middle of the night; what don't you want everyone to see?" a girl says, and light from flashlights comes into view, illuminating the night outside.
"It's just the schedule the train's on. I'd rather not be up at four in the morning either, but here we are," a man says. I don't recognize the voice, so it can't be the engineer Peacekeeper.
"Where are we going, anyway?" the girl continues.
"The Capitol, with a few stops along the way," the man says again. I think he's a Peacekeeper, which would make sense. And the girl is a tribute, of course. What district is this?
"What's the next stop after this?" the girl asks.
"No idea. I have my orders, and they were to get you to the train at half past four in the morning, and that's all I know."
"Hurry it up! We're on a schedule you know!" the voice I know as the engineer shouts from a distance away.
"Right, good luck with you," the Peacekeeper says, shining his flashlight into the boxcar, the light hitting Cass in the eyes and making her cover them with her hands. The new girl climbs in, hampered by her wrist cuffs; in the dim light I can make out long curly hair, and that she's thin. As for age or any other feature about her, I have no idea.
"Hi?" she says, looking around at all of us. We must be a motely bunch to her, all of us curled up on the hard floor in various places of the train compartment. After the girl, a boy, a tall boy, comes into view, climbing up next to her and sitting down by the door with knees bent.
"Hi," I say, speaking up to break the silence.
"How are you all in there?" the Peacekeeper asks, shining the light around to look at every one of us. Rigg winces when the light hits his face.
"Hungry and tired," Glow says. "Got anything to eat?"
The Peacekeeper pats his uniform down, then pulls out a packet of something. "Dried fruit, if it makes a difference."
"Really?" Rigg says, with the tone of a boy who didn't believe that a Peacekeeper could do something nice for us tributes. See, I was right! Peacekeepers are nice, you just get the odd mean one here and there. For the most part, they're there to help keep the peace, hence the name.
"Here, enjoy," the Peacekeeper says, throwing the packet to Rigg.
"Thank you!" I say.
"No problem, good luck," he says, then shuts the door, leaving us all in darkness again. I can hear Rigg rustling with the packaging.
"Spread it around, won't you?" Glow says, now fully awake from the sound of his voice.
"I'm not eating them all, don't worry," Rigg says crossly. "I'm trying to give them out evenly."
The padlock goes on the outside of the door, and a minute after that, the train starts up again, making us all sway with the movement.
"Who are you guys, anyway?" the girl who just got on says. "Where're you from?"
"I'm Silver, from District 1," I say.
"Glow from 1," Glow puts in.
"Rigg from District 4. Here," Rigg says, pressing two fruit pieces into my hands. "There's enough for everyone to have two."
"Thank you. I'm Cass from District 4 as well," Cass says quietly.
"I'm Aldar from 7, and my partner in the corner is Oak," Aldar says. "You?" I pop the fruit piece into my mouth; it's a little sour, but I think it's an apricot. Thank you, I say in my head to that Peacekeeper.
"Flick," the new boy says.
"I'm Beade. Beade Mildrock," the new girl says. "We're from District 9."
"Welcome aboard," Glow says wryly. "It's been a fun trip so far."
"How long have you been in here?" Flick asks.
"Going on three days for me and Glow," I say, settling so that my back is against the wall. "We picked the others up yesterday."
"Wonderful, we've got a ways to go," Beade says, making her way over to sit by me. "I'm fifteen, how old are you?"
"Sixteen," I answer. For a few minutes we all just sit in uncomfortable silence, with only the racket of the train to fill the air. Finally I lean forward and ask, "Are you two loyalists or rebels?" I need to say something to break the tension, and I want to know if I can trust Beade and Flick or not.
"Funny question to ask," Flick says.
"I'm just wondering," I say.
"I'm loyalist," Beade says. "I supported the Capitol, and I still do."
Somehow a weight has been lifted off my chest when she says that; I'm not the only one anymore. "Oh, me too!" I say. "Volunteer or reaped?"
"Reaped."
"I volunteered to be here," I say proudly.
"You volunteered?" Oak says from the corner.
"Yeah. Have a problem with that?" I ask.
"You're an idiot."
"Excuse me?"
"You volunteered to come to the Capitol and kill the rest of us?" Oak says, her voice rising a little.
"I volunteered to take the place of my best friend, if you're really wondering, and because I did that, I'm going to go down in history as District 1's first tribute," I tell her.
"Again, you're an idiot."
"Why? If anyone's an idiot in here, it's you and your lot," I say, then whisper to Beade, "She's a rebel." Beade nods next to me; she understands.
"My lot?"
"Yeah, your lot. If you hadn't rebelled against the Capitol, we wouldn't be sitting in a train car discussing it," I say. It's true! Without the rebels, there would be no rebellion, and my school would still be standing.
"Do you know what the Capitol did in the war?" Oak says, quieter now, but still very audible over the rattling of the train. "Do you know what your precious Capitol did to us all? Or do you not want to know?"
"Shut up, Oak," Glow says.
"Screw you."
"Oak," Aldar says, but she just ignores him.
"No, don't you tell me to shut up!" she says, her voice rising again. "Your precious Capitol reaped me, but my name wasn't on the slip. If you want to believe that the Capitol has been good to you, go ahead. It hasn't been good to me." With that, I hear her slump down in her quilt again.
"Go to sleep; it's too early for this crap," Glow says, lying back down himself.
"We'll talk in the morning, okay?" I whisper to Beade.
"Okay." I hear the fear in her voice, but she lies down anyway. I lie down too, my whole body uncomfortable against the hard floor. I miss home, I miss home so much right now. But I have to prove that I'm brave, that I was right to volunteer. And in a strange way, I want to prove to Oak that the Capitol is good.
I can't believe any different.