We were spilt up and I stayed behind Finch in the line as they pricked her finger and checked her off. As usual a bit of trouble happened when it was my turn.
"Miss we already have you checked off," the mean looking man looked up at me with his grey eyes.
"This happens every year. I have the same DNA as my twin so she gets marked as me because I'm alphabetically higher than her. Look her up its Finch Markison," there were a few muttered complainants from behind me as people began to get restless, so he gave me a hard stare before giving me a nod of approval.
I left and took my place by Finch's side. Being twins we were in the same age group which was a plus for us, having all of our other friends unfortunately in a level above or below us.
Suddenly a movement on the balcony of the decorated Justice Building in front of us drew our attention as a colourful figure walked out one of the grand dark wooden doors accompanied by the mayor on one side and District 5's list of living victors on the other.
They took their seats and waited one minute for the area to fall into silence before the mayor, who was the complete opposite to the monstrosity beside him, rose up to his full astonishing 6.5 feet of height and walked to where a microphone stood adjusted for him specially to make his speech.
I basically tune out for the whole boring speech actually mouthing all the words just to make Finch relax a little. She covered her mouth to keep from laughing and purposely made sure to avoid my face afterwards incase she would interrupt the Mayor with her giggles.
Vaguely I can hear him reading out names from the piece of paper listing all the victors he holds in his hands, the crowd clapping quietly as each one is called. Appreciation and something else unknown to my brain sparks in me as Felexis Rellkun is called.
Felexis and I spent almost all our time together as kids and even though no one else could he told me apart easily from Finch. My sister used to tease me about it and say that one day I'd get married to him. I'd always say it was her that he wanted, and every time she just laughed and called me ignorant. That was of course until he was reaped a few years ago and fought in the hunger games. On the day he was chosen I had gone to visit him in the justice building and had cried on his shoulder making him promise to never stop trying and come back home. Two months later I found myself throwing myself into his arms as I opened my door and found him standing there. I'd still to this day never been able to forget how much he meant to be.
He did not get time to visit much but when he did we'd talk for hours.
I found my eyes settling on him now and our gazes met. I smiled at him and blushed as he winked.
Finch had just pinched me when a short overweight woman, well known as Patricia Petite, clops up to take the mayors place.
Her name itself gets me every time. Petite. Ha. There are many words that could be used to describe Patricia but petite sure was not one of them. Maybe the context pudgy and slightly horrifying would do a better job.
I frown at her bizarre purple and yellow spotted tight dress, a bright blue hat sitting carefully on her light pink fuzzy hair. 'Wig,' I correct myself in my mind, raising an eyebrow at her thin green ones.
Patricia is so short that the mayor steps back up to move the microphone down almost a meter for her so it reaches her bright red lips.
Her high pitched accent has me tempted to go up and pull the cord out from the microphone so I try to concentrate on something else as she goes on and on about her happiness at being in this district and blah blah blah.
I feel sick at her excitement. Thousands of people, the whole of District 5, were lined up either side of me (excluding the ones too sick to make it), and I could not help but be aware of the emotions of everyone in the crowd.
Fear was the strongest. I heard it, saw it, smelt it, tasted it and felt it myself. It made the air hard to breathe and left a lingering taste on my tongue of the way our old rusted spoons did. Metallic. Like blood and the decaying smell of bodies dying in the streets of the poorer people of our district. Wrong. The pure terror on the faces of everyone around me and the loud sobs of young children surrounded me. Fear was like everything in the world was out to get you. No one in District 5 could escape it. Except for Patricia of course, who was quite happily beaming down at everyone.
I get the feeling someone is watching me and turn my head to the side, meeting Finch's amber gaze. Desperation is lingering in her eyes and I take her hand, frightened myself and feeling nervous from the claustrophobic feeling of all the negative emotions around me. Slowly I felt myself become more and more worried, gripping Finch's hand so tightly that I was almost crushing the bones in her hand.
"Rufus Furow," Patricia called and I gripped Finch's hand a little tighter, biting my lip.
"Come on up you lucky young man!" she chirps and I watch as a boy I didn't know with dark hair and skin a few tones down from mine, walks shaking up the stairs and beside Patricia.
Somewhere in the crowd I hear a mother sobbing for her child.
"Now the ladies turn!" she claps with delight and reaches into a bowl with 13 slips of paper my name and 4 having Finch's.
I had not needed the tessarae... But their were others who did and were too old or young to sign up for it. I would never let Finch do it after the one time I found out she did and panicked. Never again had I let her.
A slip of paper was drawn and things slowed down as Patricia opened it up, her lips shaping the words I had never wanted to hear from her. The only thing worse then my own name even.
As Finch's hand slipped out of mine and I stood frozen for a few seconds, the name read over and over in my mind as she walked the stairs.
Finch Markison... Finch... Fin...
"No..." I whispered shaking from my head to toe as panic took over my body.
Tears were beginning to fall down my face and I saw Felexis staring in horror as Finch arrived at the balcony, just a few feet in front of him.
He met my eyes and I could see he was just in as much shock as I was, he was whispering something under his breath to himself. I could hear my father some distance away from me calling her name in desperation.
Yet there was nothing I could do, and as they shook hands and as one last final 'Happy Hunger Games' was chirped from Patricia, peacekeepers herded them off through the doors in the justice building away from my sight. I could not rid the imprint of the look Finch cast over her shoulder at me as her eyes desperately sought mine, a single tear rolling down her cheek before she put her head down.
The rest of the crowd began to drain out of the area but I stood there, slowly falling down to my knees. At some point I was aware of my fathers arms wrapping around me and holding me to his chest as I shook.