Chapter 3
I'm pushed into a drab looking room and the door is closed behind me. I don't bother looking around. I still have this room etched in my mind from the last time I'd been here. I sit on the couch. Two years ago, I was in the exact same place, but my best friend was sitting next to me. We spent a minute in silence. I had never seen Travier like he was that day, weak and hopeless. When I asked him if he would come back, all Travier did was shake his head. But a second after, he turned back into the Travier I knew, the one who was happy go lucky with a hundred dollar smile. He quickly told me about all the best vendors to go to, what price I should sell them at. He was talking so quickly that I barely caught a word of what he was saying. But then, two minutes later we both heard the heavy stomps of the peacekeeper's boots. Travier grabbed me and hugged me. Told me to survive, not to let his death keep me down. He tried to say something else, but I was thrown out of the room and the door was closed in my face. The last thing I remember is seeing Travier through a crack in the door as it closed. His dark eyes were flashing with desperation and sorrow.
A sharp knock takes me out of my thoughts. My Mother and Prim come through the door. Prim is full out crying, but Mom is trying to act brave. Prim hugs me, "You'll win, right?" Prim asks, her face in my dress.
"The odds are twenty four to one, Prim. I might not," I warn her. That causes Prim to cry harder.
"I don't care, Katniss! You have to win! You go hunting a lot, you know how to fight," She tells me.
I think of Travier, how he didn't bother to lie to me. He told me straight out that he was going to die. I open my mouth to do the same, but somehow Prim makes me stutter, "I'll try," I tell her. Prim starts crying again.
"We'll be watching you, supporting you alright Sweetie," Mom says me, before joining Prim in the hug.
"Thank you," I respond.
Suddenly, I hear the clunk of heavy boots outside. It's like I'm thirteen again, desperate for this moment to never end. The boots make me freeze.
"Time's up!" A peacekeeper yells, barging into the small room. Mom lets go of me reluctantly, but the peacekeeper has to drag Prim away from me, kicking and screaming.
"Katniss! Katniss!" Her screams echo down the hall. The door closes, but I see Prim's bright blue eyes staring at me until it shuts. I feel tears running down my face. What would happen to my family if I died? Would Mom shut down again and force Prim to leave school to bring home the extra profit?
Someone knocks at the door, "Hello?" Cecily asks, entering the small room.
"Hi," I wipe the tears off my face. I know I look like a mess, but I can't care less right now. I have bigger things to worry about.
"I'm so sorry, Katniss," She tells me, truthfully.
"You couldn't of changed anything," I tell her, still wondering why she's even visiting me. We're friends, but not what anyone would call close.
"Still," She says, "That was amazing what you did for your sister."
"Your siblings would of done it too," I say.
Cecily shakes her head, "No. It was nice to pretend that even if my name was pulled, nothing would happen to me, but my family's a bunch of self serving cowards. None of them even came to the ceremony."
I hear the sound of boots coming near again. The sound sends my heart racing. Cecily looks nervously towards the door as they get closer.
"This isn't goodbye, right?" She asks.
I don't answer.
I can see the hope crash down in her eyes, "Well, bye then, I guess," She says, giving me a little hug as she nears the door. The peacekeeper opens it and Cecily ducks underneath his arm and into the hallway.
I just stare at her back as it disappears from the doorway.
I gaze at the scenery for the next forty five minutes as the clock ticks down. The forest outside my windows calms me down. I want nothing more than to just open the window, hop through it and escape into the woods. I wonder if anyone will find my bow and arrow, still hidden in the hollow log outside of the fence. No one except for my family and a few less than legitimate venders know about my hunting skills. My Dad was an avid hunter, who taught me too. I tried to teach Prim once, but she started bawling as soon as she realized the rabbit I just shot was dinner.
Finally, a peacekeeper shows up to escort me to the train, where I'd head to the Capitol.
Everyone's waiting for me to get on board. Rilien's sitting in a chair, unmoving with a blank expression. Johanna and Blight are having a hushed conversation, while Aiola paints her nails a bright blue colour that clashed with her dress, while eating a bowl of soup.
A awful clang sounds and the next thing I knew, Johanna's hands are around my neck and Blight's on his feet, alert and ready to kill someone. Both victors are breathing heavily, each of them ready to move and run away.
"Hey!" Rilien shouts, tackling Johanna off me. Johanna grabs a spare knife off the table and just before she can stab him, Blight crashes into her and pins her to the wall.
"Johanna. Calm down. Your out. This isn't the Games anymore. Calm down," Blight instructs, like it's an everyday thing. Johanna's still jumpy and as soon as he lets go of her, she runs out of the carriage.
I rub my neck, which I can tell will be bruised tomorrow. Rilien eyes the knife beside him carefully, while Aiola instructs an avox clean up her broken soup bowl.
"Sorry, about that," Blight says, not sounding sorry in the least, "She's not usually like that."
"I'm fine," Rilien says, immediately.
"Me too," I tell him, wincing as I talk. I can see why Johanna won her games.
"The repeats of the Reaping should be airing in five minutes or so," Blight tells us, "If ether of you want a chance of winning, I'd go."
"We'll be there," Rilien promises.
Blight nods and goes down the hallways leading to a room with a huge screen.
"So, Katniss, right?" He asks. I ignore him, I'm not in the mood to talk.
"I've saved your life already. How about we do an alliance for the games," He proposes.
I shake my head, I'm already going to be killing twenty three other teenagers, I don't need to kill one who I'm friends with.
"Alright then, no for now, tell me if you change your mind," Rilien declares, as he stands up and ventures towards the room Blight entered.
I don't move for the next few minutes, until I hear Blight yelling for me.
I arrive just in time to see the tributes from District One. Their girl, Glimmer, was the typical career girl. Beautiful, but she could kill you without a second thought. She had volunteered and is now smiling away at the cameras, flashing her blindingly white smile and waving.
Marvel, gah the names from District One are almost as bad as the Capitol ones, is the same, good looking and every once in a while he'd smile. I bet he gives that same smile to someone when he kills them.
District Two has the same types of tributes, beautiful and deadly. The girl was called Clove and the guy was Cato. Cato struck my eye. He has a dangerous glint in his eye that sends shivers down my spine. Cato smiles deviously at the cameras, staring through them right at me.
Three is next, both weedy sixteen year olds who seem equally terrified. Following them is District Four, who are practically carbon copies of 1 and 2. I don't catch their names though.
"You guys should try to join the career pack. Show them how good you are with an axe and they'll let you. Just remember to get out of there before it's only the careers left," Blight instructs. He sounds like he was reading from a instruction booklet. I wonder how many tributes he gave the exact same speech to.
Sometimes, a District Seven tribute joins the careers, but it's was mainly a matter of pride. Seven knows how to wild an axe, so our skill and knowledge of trees and climbing are useful to the careers, or at least useful enough that they would let us join.
Five has a impish girl around my age with a fox like face and a short thirteen year as well. I stop paying attention, until I hear a loud sigh from Rilien. I look at the screen, where a twelve year old is walking up. She's from District Eleven. It's not a good combination. I think back to Prim, how the little twelve year old girl could of just as easily been her if I hadn't volunteered. I sends shivers down my spine.
After her is the male District Eleven tribute, a guy who looks like he could crush me with one hand. He's eighteen and Blight warns us to stay away from him. The girl tribute is a good two and a half feet shorter than the guy. She looks at him with big, nervous eyes. He looks back at her and gives her the slightest of smiles.
District Twelve comes on and I feel sorry for them. They have half the population of our's which means twice the chance of being reaped. Twelve is also the poorest district and the Capitol does their best to make sure their lives stay miserable.
The female tribute, Jhoda Reeds gets called up. She's fourteen or so, with a nervous look about her. The way she moves makes her seem jumpy and uncertain. She starts to cry mid way to the stage.
Once the male tribute was announced, Peeta Mellark, the crowd isolates a blond haired man, who looks about my age. He has dirty blond hair which manages to fall into his blue eyes. He walks to the stage nervously, but makes a better entrance than Jhoda had. He looks into the camera for just a millisecond, before the screen goes dark.
I just look at the dark screen. In less than a weeks time, half of these people will be dead. And there's a good chance I'll be one of them.
So that's chapter 3 done. Hope you liked.
And special thanks to Crystals of Ice for pointing out that I was spelling Johanna wrong for the first two chapters.