For a moment nothing happens.
Fulia Maylord continues to call the name of Eila Nettles but nobody moves. Suddenly, two Peacekeepers show up out of nowhere and grab a girl in the park of girls of sixteen. But they are struggling to lift her. I can not see well. I stand on my tiptoe to be able to see above the sea of heads. The girl is pale and two other teenagers held her firmly by the arm. They scream when Eila is carried by both Peacekeepers who throw her squarely on the scene. She finally seems to realize what is happening to her and her knees begin to tremble. Her eyes are looking for someone. They eventually settled on a boy a few rows ahead of me. I know him, it's Perry Sunbay. From where I am I see his face twisted into an expression that makes me shudder.
"A Voluntary?" Fulia asks while adjusting her tailor.
There is movement in the ranks of families.
"Somebody! Anybody! I beg you!" Yells a young man, "it's my sister!"
But no one volunteered. Eila watches her brother and sends him a desperate smile behind her tears. In the crowd, I hear a girl crying. Four Peacekeepers take along the struggling boy while he shouts insults.
"No one so. Now the boy."
Fulia stirs in the jar as if she moved a soup. But I do not watch her. My eyes are on this poor girl who tries to keep herself in countenance. I do not really know Eila. Just from view. I have never spoked to her, not once. I do not even appreciate her. I hate her big hazel eyes that always seem to smile. She seems so sweet and accommodating that it gets on my nerves. I do not like weak girls. Yet I can not help thinking that it's unfair that it's her, standing here. She can not fight. She will die in three minutes. And I am optimistic.
"Faun Deeprain."
I am struck by lightning. It's me. I feel stupid, turning my feverishly head as to see if anyone was going to take my place. But when I see four Peacekeepers heading toward me, I blow and get close to the platform. I climb the stairs with heavy steps. The sun beats down on my back. I can't breath well. I am not feeling good. My head is spinning. I think I'm going to faint.
A warm hand slippes into mine. I do not even try to remove it because I know it's just this contact that keeps me from collapsing.
The hostess asks if there are any volunteers. At this point I still hope. But I know no one will replace me.
"How old are you?" Fulia Maylord asks us, trying to sound concerned but no one is fooled.
"I'm sixteen," Eila answers in a hoarse and trembling voice
"Eighteen."
This is unfair. It was my last year. Tears of rage brun my eyes but I hold them back.
The mayor begins to read the treatise of Treason. I do not listen. Besides, who would, in my place? I focus only on Eila's hand wich hold mine tightly. I look at the horizon and the grain fields. They have never appeared to me as beautiful. I glance at Eila. She looks at Perry, her family and a girl I've seen a few times with them. Her eyebrows are frowned and her cheeks are streaked with tears. She sniffs and wipes her eyes discreetly with her other hand. She forces herself to smile but the result is a little scary. She notices it on the giant screen and stops immediately.
"Are you afraid?" I asks quietly.
"No", She whispers.
Her answer surprises me. I raise my eyebrows. She hisses without looking at me.
"Why should I be scared? I am going to die anyway."
It makes me angry. So, she will not even try? I would like to withdraw my hand but I know I would not have the courage to stand.
"I hate people like you," I spit.
"Realistic people?" she asks with a smile.
It leaves me speechless. I do not know what to say because I know that deep down, she's right. But I can not help but blame her.
We are asked to shake our hands, what I find stupid because it's what we do for more than twenty minutes. We put ourselves face to face. Her sad eyes still smile. I want to slap her.
I look at the crowd as the anthem of Panem sounds. I do not know what I'd give to be drawn into them. For someone else to take my place on this stage. Hold the hand of this girl in my place. Died in my place. Anything, I think. Anything that can save my life.
I look at my family. The music stops. Peacekeepers arrive beside us. They grab us firmly and pull us to the Hotel of Justice. I am separated from Eila. I am relieved not to have to watch her.
I am locked alone in a room. I have never entered the Hotel of Justice. Rays of sunlight are filtered through fine unbleached draps. There is a beige sofa in the center of the room. I slumped on it. My legs no longer hold my body. I do not know how I managed to stay upright. Oh yes, Eila's hand.
My parents enter, followed by my elder brother and sister. We stare at each others in the eyes. My mother throws herself into my arms, sobbing.
"My boy. My little boy in the Arena," she chokes.
My sister and my brother hug me. Kailica starts crying and Herbond clenches his jaws. My father looks at me with a stern look.
"Don't forget," he says, "do not forget why you're going to fight. You fight to get home. You do not fight to save the world. You do not fight to save anyone. Do not trust anyone. In the Arena, there's you and only you. No friends, no allies. No one to trust. They will all try to kill you. There is only one possible option. You come home alive."
And with that, he takes me in his arms. I remain straight as an i, not daring to make the slightest gesture. I love my family and I know they love me too but my father had never hugged me. I do not really know how to react.
"Faun, listen to me. I've teach you everything I know. You know how to fight. You know what to eat. Do not let them underestimate you."
I nod, gravely.
"We love you. Don't ever forget that. We will wait for your return. We will hope."
My mother huddles her head against my shoulder and continues to cry. I try my best not to imitate her but I evetually shed a few tears. I am immediately ashamed. But nobody cares. Kailica has just enough time to give me a kiss on the cheek before the Peacekeepers throw them out, slamming the door behind them. I want to scream. I felt like smashing everything. Windows, furniture and most of all this beige sofa. I do not know what he did to me but an animal instinct tells me to disembowel it. I only restrain myself from doing it because someone comes.
It is Clael Nettles.
He walks right over me and grabs me by the shoulders.
"If you kill my sister and survives, believe me, I am going to make you suffer. You will beg me to send you back to the Arena. On your knees, you will ask me to kill you. And I would. After torturing you until I get tired."
He throws me back. I stagger but keep my balance. Clael collapses on the couch and buries his head between his palms. His hands are streaked with scars because of his work in the fields. The same as mine.
"She is my little sister," he begins, "She is so kind. She would not even hurt a fly."
He has a bitter laugh.
"She wouldn't survive. Do you understand?" He asks me as he looks at me with piercing eyes.
I nod.
"Do not kill her. I beg you."
I do not know what to say. I can not promise him. I also have to think about my survival. How can he ask me that? I feel a dull anger boiling in me.
"I will not kill her," I snape acidly, "someone else will. We will be twenty-four, a career will eventually do it."
I look at him defiantly. Clael clenches his jaws. He gets up and without warning, sent me his right fist right in the face.
"Don't ever talk about my sister like that. I could kill you, right now. But I'd rather see you die in the Arena. And who knows? Maybe it's Eila who will take your life."
He does not even wait for the Peacekeepers to come back. He leaves the room after spitting at my feet. I touch my cheek. It is painful. I'll have a bruise and it will swell. It hurts but I don't let see the pain on my face.
A timid knock-knock makes me look up. I recognize Eila's friend, the one that has grabbed her arm to stop the Peacekeepers. I do not know her name. She has black hair and tanned skin because of the sun. She advances, embarrassed.
"I am Tama. Eila's friend. You do not know me but I wanted to give you that. To bring you luck."
She hands me a bracelet done with braided and dried ears of corn. I accept it and attach the bracelet on my wrist.
"I gave the same to Eila," she explaines me, "You have the right to have a token, something to remind you of your District when we will be in the Arena."
"Unless this item could be used as a weapon."
"If you ever manage to strangle someone with that bracelet, I'll take my hat off."
I can not help smiling. Tama goes away without saying another word. But I think she leaves to cry.
Peacekeepers turn up, grab me and in less time than it takes to say, I'm in a car. I arrive at the station. It's hot, the smell of sweat saturates the place and the hall is packed. Eila joins me. I expected to see her weep buckets or be depressed but I am surprised to see that her face has color again and she smiles like a fool. I look at the giant screen. She is innocent and resplendent compared to me who looks like a hick with my matted hair and my dull and bloated face because of Clael's fist. If you pay attention to it, you can even see that my eyes are slightly swollen. I hate Eila even more. Her strategy has began.
They make us wait a moment, to offer our faces to the cameras that seem to really enjoy filming two confused and frightened teenagers though they try not to show it. Eventually, someone shove us in the train. It starts fast and picks up speed. Eila has her eyes wide open and looks at the passing scenery through the window with an astonished air. Besides being weak, she is also stupid. Great. It was true that we don't see trains everyday, so get into it ... But still. It was not a reason to offer her gladdened fool face when she was going to be sliced in the coming weeks.
I notice Fulia who shows me my compartment without a word. It is so beautiful that I want to destroy everything. There is hot water, funny and weird jets in the shower and overflowing dressers with clothes. I guess I can use it. I take a cold shower. No way I would take a hot one. At home, it's cold and that's all there is to it. I throw my reeking clothes of sweat in a corner and put on clean ones. A pair of jeans and a linen shirt. They smell clean and seem to be new. I have always used the old clothes of my brother. It's weird to wear something new.
I go into the dining room and put more than ten minutes to find it. These stupid compartments are bigger than my house. I think it's stupid and useless. Eila is installed at the table where the meal is not ready yet. She also has showered her long brown hair which start curling.
"Fulia and Seeder are not there yet?
She blenches when she hears my voice. She did not even hear me coming. What a pain, it was not even careful. Unless this is her strategy to fool everybody by impersonate for a perfect and happy idiot. I am becoming paranoid. She was not smart enough for that.
"I have not seen Fulia. Seeder arrives, I think."
I sit in front of her. Her bright eyes settle on me.
"I already miss the fields. And say that I probably never see them again...
I glare at her.
"You say that to make me feel sorry for you. So I'll spare you in the Arena," I said, dryly.
She tilts her head to one side, puzzled.
"No. I know you will kill me if the opportunity arises. And you will not hesitate. Not even a second."
A gentle smile splits her peaceful face.
I can not repress a shudder. What she just said, how she said it, it's scary.
I realize that Eila Nettles is perhaps not as stupid as she seems.
Thank you for reading my story. I tried to make it a little more easy to read. If you see grammar, conjugation mistakes, tell me.