I'm in the writng zone right now and wrote the next chapter faster than I thought I would. Take that writer's block! Anyway, the next chapter is going to be the Reaping, so it's your first chance to create a minor character. I need a male tribute for 12. If you have any ideas for one, please leave a name, age, appearance, personality and anything else you can think of in the reviews or PM me. Please!
I woke to a small hand, gently shaking my shoulder.
"Lynnie." it whispered. Instantly recognizing who it was, I opened my eyes to find my little brother, Willie, sitting beside me on my bed. He gave a light smile when he saw me awaken. "Good morning Lynnie!"
Sitting up, I moved my hand in two positions, one for good and one for morning. Then, knowing Willie, he'd probably been missing breakfast again to wake me up himself. He always did this when our parents let me sleep in, which was usually a really good sign like a birthday or a really bad sign like when my mother had to quit her job.
This time the reason was because it was Reaping day, the worst day of the year. I shivered. Every year, Willie drew closer and closer to having to put his name into the cup. Thank god he was only seven. Still young, still unable to participate in the horrid slaughter that was the games. Anyway, I signed for him to go back down and finish his breakfast. His eyes widened as usual when I did this.
"Sometimes I think you can read my mind!" he giggled and trotted back over to the kitchen. Although he was getting older, Willie never seemed to lose his adorable childlike innocence. Being on the smaller and thinner side didn't help it either. He was often thought of as a five year old by some of the visitors. Let's just say that I learned to correct them very fast with my sign language to avoid his smile vanishing.
Besides, Willie was a lot wiser for a seven year old anyway. He could understand things much beyond what our parents believed of him.
I got out of bed and checked one of the few clocks in our house. 8:30. I never slept in really late. How could I when the woods came alive so much earlier? When Ash would be waiting for me, our bows in his hands? Of course, his mother had probably let him sleep in too and there wouldn't be any hunting or gathering we could do today. There wasn't enough time on Reaping Day without being noticed.
Actually, Ash hadn't taken me to hunt in a while. I was getting a little worried. Still, I practiced with my bow like he wanted me to, but I didn't have enough courage to go back to the Hob to check on him by myself. The Hob was a major black market in the Seam and was the only place you could get good prices on game that didn't include being whipped to death by peacekeepers.
The last time I went there alone I nearly had my own hand traded off! A lot of the people there took adantage of my inability to speak and simply belived that I didn't want to say no. Still, Ash had straightened them out enough for them to leave me be when he was around.
I took a deep breath. I shot two squirrels today when they got too close to the electric fence, my family currently had Ash's delicious rabbit for breakfast and it was a few hours before the Reaping started. So, I made my way to the Hob. Our families needed as much money as we could get to make it through and this would, no doubt, trade for something useful.
As I entered the place, the usual antics were up. Some people were snoring, others yelling at each other over prices and a few staring with evil grins when I opened the door with no Ash. Immediately, a filthy lady with the grip of a cobra pulled me to her section.
"What do you have to trade dear?" Her voice practically hissed. Her eyes fixated on my hair. "You know, locks of hair from a lovely youth as yourself could be worth plenty!" I shook my head, trying to pull away. It was no use. Her thin, reedy fingers were holding my shoulder to hard that her nails were becoming a little bloody. I winced and tried to sign to her, but it was like trying to tell a snake not to squeeze the life out of its prey.
"Let go of her." an unfamiliar voice called out. It wasn't Ash's. The snake lady eyed him with annoyance, but released her death grip on me all the same. As soon as she left, I turned to my rescuer. He almost looked like an older version of Ash to be honest, but so didn't a lot of Seam boys. His gray eyes stared at me slight confusion.
"What are you doing here?" he asked me. I could understand why he was purplexed. I was a fourteen year old in the Hob alone. This probably wasn't one of my best ideas. I held up my game bag to answer him. Surprisingly, this seemed to catch his interest. I widened my eyes when he took out his own game bag, a bit large than mine. I thought he might have smiled at my expression, but he didn't. Still, his eyes looked a little kinder.
"So you're a hunter?" He guessed. I nodded.
'I shot two squirrels.' I signed, receiving a typical what-are-you-doing look. I frowned and took the squirrels out and showed them to him. He nodded and motioned for me to sit with him. I was handed a small piece of paper and a pen.
"Why can't you speak?" he asked me, directly.
'I'm a mute. I can't speak. I use sign language.' I wrote and handed the paper to him. His eyes scanned the paper and he nodded. Strange, most people had a pity look or somethig. He didn't, like Ash hadn't when he found out. I liked it.
"Why are you here alone? Isn't it Reaping Day too?" The question caught me off guard.
'I'm looking for my friend. He normally trades here.' I jotted down on the paper. The hunter thought for a moment, pondering something.
"He's around your age, right?" I nodded. There weren't many teenagers in the Hob. In fact, Ash and I had been the only ones for a while now. "He was here earlier, but left. To get ready for the Reaping, I guess." That sparked my attention. Ash had been here. It was strange though. He'd been keeping to himself lately, saying he was working on something that I couldn't see. I wrote a quick thank you on the paper and was getting ready to leave when he stopped me.
"What's your name?" he asked. I hesitated, but wrote it down anyway. He didnt seem like the type to cause trouble.
"Lyn Evers." He repeated, testing out the words. "I'm make a trade for those squirrels" This confused me. The hunter had plenty of game in his bag, likely to be far more valuable then two squirrels. Why would he want to trade?
Still, I handed them over. There was no way I was going to make a trade with anyone in the Hob today, not after that creepy snake lady. I examined my right shoulder. Her razor like nails had left five thin, half moon circles that now had a splash of crimson over them. Lovely.
Then again, things never go well for me on Reaping Day. Although, nothing compares to the Reaping Day that my sister Rose was taken away. Anyway, the hunter boy pulled out a brown scrap piece of cloth and tore a small chunk off, placing it onto my shoulder. I looked up at him, hoping he would see the graditude I felt in my eyes. He then took out a loaf of bread and broke it into halves.
One of the halves went onto the scrap cloth, along with two handfuls of berries and six crackers. Finally, he tied the ends of the cloth off into a little bag and handed it to me. I must have looked stunned. I could remember the last time I'd had fresh bread or juicy berries. A smile found its way to my lips, something that had never happened before in front of strangers, and I mouthed a thank you.
"No problem." He muttered. "Happy Hunger Games." My smile lessened at this, but I was still incredibly thankful for his kindness to me. I pointed at my name scribbled down on the note and back to me. Then, I pointed to him, hoping he would understand. He did.
"Gale." He replied. "Gale Hawthorne." I nodded and left. But as I did, I could've sworn I saw a smile on Gale's face. Then again, maybe it was my imagination.