Chapter 4: Mentors
A group of four or five peace keepers led me out of the room and out of the building. I looked over my shoulder to see a crowd of people cheering for me. I tried to make out some familiar faces but none stood out. They were cheering on my death..
Only when we got to the privacy of the train, I spoke to Maya. "What were you thinking? We both know someone else would have volunteered. You didn't have to." I whispered harshly. She looked at me; she had been crying. I pulled her into my shoulder.
"I'm not going home am I?" She whispered into my ear and I felt a single tear run down my cheek. I pushed my head down onto her shoulder and kissed it lightly.
"You are, I promise, you will see your family again." She hugged me tighter and I didn't want to let go.
"But, then you won't." I didn't care, I had nothing without her. I couldn't picture life without her.
I hugged her tight. I could only get a few of these, pretty soon I would be dead and she'll be giving these out to another boy. My heart dropped as my mind played images of her with someone else. I could just picture myself watching as she kissed Saul. I felt tear follow the last. It had been awhile since I cried. He was her second choice, I knew it. He loved her before I even knew her. I remember when we were in the seventh ranking and he walked over and kissed her. Being the kid I was I was grossed out but by the tenth ranking, I envied it.
"You two done, we have work to do." I looked over at our mentors. They sat down at the table on the other side of the room. I walked with Maya towards it and sat across from them. I stared at their faces and took in a few basic details. I knew who they were, everyone in Panem knew who they were. They were victors.
Enobaria had razor sharp teeth. She had them professionally sharpened after she won the games. She ripped the throat of her opponent out with her teeth. I would say she was thirty at the most. She was still rather young. She had a very tan skin tone, a rather odd thing in District 2. It was pretty cold, so tan people were a rare occurrence, but the fair skin that Maya had was even more sparse. Her dark eyes shone fiercely and told me not to mess with her.
The man who sat next to her was Jay Walls. He was average height and muscular. I remember watching him win his game. He was only twenty, and I couldn't help but notice his normally well hidden missing foot. He had a robotic replacement, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't as good as the original. He had managed to cut the last tribute's head off with a very broken blade and it made a gory mess, but only after a large rabbit tore his leg off. He had light brown hair and brown eyes.
I watched as the two laid down folders with each of our names on them. They were both yellow and full of papers. I didn't know what they were but Maya beat me to the asking.
"What're those?" She was staring at hers which was slightly less filled then mine.
"It's everything the District knows about you. Your names, your families, your skills. Everyone has one, whether you know about it or not." I stared at mine, it contained everything about me. My life, my family, my preferences. There was nothing the government didn't know about me and that was scary. I couldn't have a single secret.
I stared at the two experienced victors. If they wanted to, they could kill me before I could yell for help. I knew I would have to learn from these people; Maya's life depended on how much knowledge I gained. I knew I would have to trust them, I needed to learn so Maya would be here to take their place next year. I pictured Maya tutoring kids in how to live- she would be like a mother to them. She always wanted kids. Then, I realized how much it would break her heart to watch them die.