Wow, this story is getting alot more attention than I thought it would! Not that that's a bad thing. And to answer KopyCat101's question, the rules are different. The names are not seperated by gender, and are called out at random. The mockingjay pin was made by Kiku, and it was painted with a gold color. Hope that cleared things up. :) Thanks to all who reviewed!
This chapter is brought to you by the letter S, for Statistics which is the homework I should be doing now.
"Peoples will be as before, the sheep sent to the slaughterhouse or to the meadow as it pleases the shepard."
-Henri La Fontaine
We're loaded into a huge train. It's beautiful on the inside, like a mansion. Feliks smiles and Arthur teeters beside him.
On the inside, I know Feliks is still furious at Arthur for embarrassing him at the Reaping. Arthur is the only tribute who's won the Hunger Games that was from District 12. He's an embarrassment to Phoenix, and to his mother district. He either goes to get drunk or to sleep. Whichever it is, I'm glad he's gone.
Feliks leads us to a large room, there's chandlers hanging from the roofs, cream-colored lush chairs, and food.
Lot's and lot's of food, on a table, about as long as Phoenix itself.
My stomach growls with excitement as we sit down.
"We're allowed to eat this stuff?" Antonio asks, he's practically drooling.
"Yes my boy, of course you can!" Feliks says, then stares at us as we gorge ourselves on meat, fruit, and bread.
He's uncomfortable with the two wild animals tearing meat apart in front of him. He's used to pose and silverware. But when you've hunted and forged only to just scrape by, you don't remember manners. I lick the grease from my mussel.
He shutters, "Oh, god.." He mutters something about how unfair it was that he got stuck with us. Whatever, I'm starving and it's been years since I ate something I hadn't shot at. Once we're finished, Feliks shows us to our rooms. It's complete with my own bed, haven't had that luxury since I was born, A bathroom, and a mini fridge. This will be the perfect prep time; maybe if I eat a lot now, I won't need to stop as much the first day in the Games. Of course, I can't get spoiled on Corp. food.
I take a shower. It's not like back at home, where you have to heat the water yourself. Oh no, it has a whole panel of buttons that you can press to adjust the temperature, wash your hair or body, and even conditions.
I don't even know what that means, but it makes my hair smell good, and makes it soft and smooth. So, I guess it's good. I slid into bed, to be honest, I wish I had Feli elbowing me in the ribs and stealing the covers as he tries to get comfortable. But, I love how soft the bed is and I fall asleep instantly.
The next morning Feliks wakes us up to tell us about our,'BIG BIG BIG Day ahead!' We've arrived in the Corporation. I stare out my window, oh God. The Corp. is about as colorful as people make it out to be.
Maybe worse.
It's buildings are eye-straining yellows, neon pinks, and highlighter oranges. Even the sky has an artificial blue to it. The people are colored too, their hair unnaturally straight with multicolored strands.
'These people are deciding whether you live or die,' I think to myself, 'Oh GREAT!'
I walk into the train's passenger unit and sit, looking at Antonio smile at the passer-bys already working the crowd. We settle into the Corp.'s main train station, and are unloaded.
Antonio and I see a few other tributes getting off separate trains.
A freakishly tall boy with white hair, a busty girl with short hair, both from District 2.
A blonde boy with glasses and blue eyes, a boy with a blue cape, both from District 1.
A boy with violet colored eyes, a girl with long brown hair, from District 6.
Soon, these people will be my prey, I will have to kill them to survive. I feel my stomach lurch as everything I ate wants to come up. Until the Games, I'll make sure not to attach myself to anyone.
I take a deep breath as the boy from District 6 walks past me. He reminds me so much of Feli that it almost hurts. He walks nervously, shyly, trying to blend in with the background. Maybe this is an act, and he's really talented with a knife or sword.
Good God, I hope so.
Antonio nudges me forward. I push the boy out of my mind and we head to the The Slaughter House. It has another name, but everyone sees it as a place for tributes to be fattened up before the kill. The name stuck.
The Slaughter House is one of the biggest buildings in the Corporation. Since it used to be the Empire State building, the middle part isn't used for anything just to keep its history. But, they built several extensions, to hold the tributes. Each district has its own floor. Each floor is like a makeshift house. Feliks and Arthur will be staying with us for protection.
Or to make sure we don't escape. Whichever is needed at the time.
We, (being me, Antonio, and our 'Chaperones'), sit in the living quarters to watch a re-run of the Reaping.
I take inventory. District 2 goes on-screen. The tall boy looked pretty scary, but the girl could be taken out easy. District 3 would be difficult, be not impossible to destroy at once. The 2 were dunderheads. District 4, 5, and 6 I'd run from. Namely because of the violet-eyed boy.
I could take out 7, 8, 9 and 10. They were wimps. But, 11 wouldn't be as easy. They had a expert knife specialist.
Then, District 12 came on. I felt my guts tighten up.
I looked like an angry lion ready to pounce to protect my pup, my teeth are bared and my chest is puffed out. Che'n takes Feli away, she looks so elegant. I feel a pang of nostalgia in my heart. Had we been hunting just a day before? It feels like forever...
Then, my fellow tribute is picked. His hair glistens as the sun catches it. He has the eyes of a frightened doe and you can't help but feel sorry for him. He's so...perfect. He's the poster child of fear, and the Corp. eats that stuff up.
Then, the Careers are shown. Alfred F. Jones, and Francis Bonnefoy from District 1. They weren't reaped, they were raised to fight in the Games since they were small. Alfred is smirking and Francis winks at the audience.
They're sickening.
Feliks stands up, "Well, kids," He smiles, so I know it would be good, "In a few hours, you'll be showing yourselves off to the entire country of Phoenix!" He jumps up and down, "Which means you'll be getting MAKE-OVERS!"
Oh God..
This can't be good. In years past, to signify that we were would-be Italians, Tributes were stark naked and covered in spaghetti. We were the laughing-stock of all the districts. But, hey. At least we eat better.
Feliks keeps taking about how fun it'll be as he herds us toward the Remake Center.
I swear, if they touch my junk or my curl, they'll be my first victims.
