2.
I lumbered down the wooden stairs. My third reaping. I didn't even know why we had them anymore. District 11 was so underfunded and had so little food that killing our tributes on the spot would be faster and probably less painful. Other than Tilly, our District hadn't had a winner in over 30 years. Since Tilly was almost always on a different planet, our tributes didn't have a reliable mentor to help them through these prepare for the Games. I grabbed my sister's frail, shaking hand. She clasped onto me for life. She was scared. She wouldn't admit it, but the idea of either of us entering the arena terrified her. Her name was entered over 30 times whereas mine was in there less than ten. I felt a sick feeling in my heart that her name, Amera Crellam, would be pulled. I clasped her hand tighter. We strode out of our house to another dark, foggy day. I thought it was very fitting. Near the main square of the District, I looked into Amera's dark green eyes. They were filled with fear and despair.
"Don't worry, you're not going to be picked!" I confidently announced.
"How do you know? My name's in there countless times. There's a better chance for me than almost anyone else."
"I know, I just know... you're fine." I never was good at making people feel better.
Turning away from her before I started to cry, I marched to my area, 14 year old boys. It was pretty bleak. There couldn't be more than ten of us. Looking around, I realized that most of the boys' arenas were nearly empty. The girls' areas were filled as any other year.
"What's happening? Where is everyone?" I asked the boy beside me.
"Well, apparently, " he said in an authoritative tone, "Some people tried to escape from here. A huge group of them, must be hundreds. They headed through the forest behind the orchard last night. An act of rebellion. All the districts have departing groups."
I was shocked. Rebellion? Was action finally going to be taken? Were we going to be free? Hope fluttered into my heart. There was a chance that we could get out of here! Then I saw the other side. If there were less boys, that meant there was a higher chance that I was going into the arena. I couldn't win.