Galaria stood over my bed, shaking my shoulders. "Today's the day!" she exclaimed, still shaking me. I swatted at her and sat up. She had laid out a pair of tan shorts and a brown shirt on a chair. A brown pair of boots sat by the clothes. I got out of bed and proceeded to put on the clothes. They were more comfortable than the clothes I have been wearing for the past week. The shorts fell around my knees and the boots barely made it past my ankles. Wherever the arena was, it was obviously going to be warmer.
I marched myself down to the dining room. I sat down at my usual seat, not realizing that Jeremy wasn't there. Galaria sat down next to me.
"Where's Jeremy?" I asked.
"Tributes leave at different times. Jeremy left earlier," She answered. I looked at my plate that was filled with eggs and biscuits. She obviously saw my expression to respond. "Don't worry, you'll see him soon."
I ate my meal, knowing that it could possibly be my last. Once I was finished, Galaria led me to the elevator. The elevator shot us up to the roof. When the doors opened, I saw a hovercraft waiting for me to come aboard. Peacekeepers led me to a ladder. When I grabbed it, an electrical current went through my arms. The ladder started going up into the hovercraft. Soon, I was inside the craft. I tried pulling my arms away, but the ladder stuck to me. A peacekeeper with a needle came towards me. I winced as he stuck the needle in my arm.
The ladder let me go and I stood to me feet.
"What was that for?" I questioned the peacekeeper. He turned and smiled at me. It wasn't really a smile, though. It was more of a grimace.
"We need to keep track of you. I injected you with a tracking device," he told me. I rubbed my arm and nodded. I sat down on a bench and crossed my arms. A peacekeeper handed me a glass of water. Through the whole ride, I sipped on it. There were no windows to look out of, so the ride was relatively boring.
When we landed, the peacekeepers led me out of the hovercraft. They took me down a long dark hallway to a room that said "District 9" on it. The door opened and I walked inside. The room was shiny. The walls and floors painted to look like chrome. I stood in the shiny prison for a few minutes before another door opened. Ariya walked into the room. She held a dark brown jacket and a belt.
"Not exactly what I would have picked for you, but it will help you for where you're going," she said. Ariya smiled slightly. She held up the jacket for me to put on. I slipped my arms in and pushed the jacket up around my shoulders. It was light, yet was warm. The fabric was slick, obviously made for protecting from rain. I turned to face Ariya. She snapped the belt around my waste and pulled my hair up into two buns.
"So, this is it," I said. "It was good to meet you."
"What makes you think we won't see each other again?"
"It's obvious the odds are stacked against me. I'm not going to make it out alive."
"Valiant, I want you to listen," Ariya told me, gripping my shoulders. "The odds will always be stacked against you. That doesn't mean you should give up. Giving up let's the others win. Don't let them win." I nodded. I knew she was right. A man came over the speaker, saying that I had a minute before I had to be traveling up a tube to the arena above. I started to head for the tube. Ariya grabbed my hand, stopping me.
"Yes?" I questioned. She held out her hand. In it was my mother's necklace. I had almost forgotten completely about it. I took it from her hand and placed it around my neck.
"Be valiant, Valiant," she said. I hugged her and walked to the tubes. I saw a tear run down her cheek. She knew as well as I did my chances of making it. For a second, I was actually sad to leave her. The only person from the Capital that I liked I had to leave, knowing I would never see her again. I would never see my family again. I shook my head, erasing the thoughts from my mind. I couldn't think like that, not with my life on the line.
The platform in the tube started to move upwards. My heart started pounding. Once my head poked through the opening, my eyes started looking everywhere they could. The platform locked into place. A huge metal cave like thing stood right in front of me, about twenty yards away. It held many backpacks and weapons, obviously there for us to use to survive. There were trees everywhere, creating a jungle like environment. The air felt very close, making feel hotter than what it really was. Tributes were lined up just like me in a horseshoe shape. I looked around for Jeremy. I spotted a girl who I guessed was from District 5. She stepped off her platform was instantly blown up. Twenty-three tributes left. I finally found Jeremy. He was all the way on the end to my left. I could see he was nervous.
My attention turned to the weapons and supplies. I knew that I needed a backpack. The farther in the middle you go, the better the weapons choices there were. I focused my attention on a sword sticking out of the dirt with a black backpack. That was it. That was what I was going to grab before I leave the potential bloodbath. A man started counting down from ten. My muscles started to tense. I leaned forward, ready to launch when the man was done counting.
"Three...Two...One," the voice said. A gong went off. That was my cue. I shot off the platform like a rocket. By the time I had made it to the first of the backpacks, the rest of the tributes were half way there. I quickly reached the sword and backpack. I scooped the backpack up and pulled the sword out the ground. I didn't have time to observe my weapon as a boy came at me with an ax he had found. I quickly blocked him and knocked him onto his butt so I could get away.
My legs carried me to the trees. I rushed as fast as I could away from that place. Dodging trees and jumping over roots, I ran farther and farther in. By the time a root made me fall to my knees, I figured I was far enough away to be able to stop. Cannons fired. I wasn't quite sure what for but I counted the fires, in case it came as some significance later. When they stopped, I had counted twelve shots. I pushed myself up onto my feet and gathered my sword and backpack. My instincts screamed at me to find water.
The bushes rustled behind me, yet there was no breeze. I turned to find the little girl from District 12. She stared at me with her big gray eyes, frightened. I looked at her hands. Her hands held a knife, but they were trembling so bad I doubt she could have used it if I was attacking her. I put down my sword to try to calm her down.
"It's okay," I told her. "I'm not going to hurt you." She nodded. The girl was very small. Nothing really but skin and bones. Her straight dark hair framed her small face. Her gray eyes darted back and forth. My heart sank for her. The poor girl didn't stand a chance. Not unless she trained with Darius. He might have helped her. He knew as well as I did that we were as good as dead. The Capital had nothing against this girl.
Suddenly, a spear came into the back of her. She collapsed, dead. I heard laughter. The same laughter that the District 2 boy, Ren, had in the Training Center. He came out of the bushes and went over to the girl. He pulled out his spear from her back. A cannon fired. That told me that the cannons were for who's dead. He looked at me. I quickly picked up my sword. I heard more people coming towards me. His comrades, no doubt. He turned to look at them. I found my moment. I ran from there as fast as I could. My first account with the group that others have called the Careers. I rushed to both find water and get away from them.
I stopped, trying to figure out which way to go. I saw moss on a tree pointing to my left. I started running in that direction. I looked back behind me for a few seconds to see if they were following me. My body smacked into something hard. I flew back onto my back. I shook my head to clear the shock and looked at what I ran into. I saw a boy who was bigger than me. Tan skin, blue eyes, reddish blonde hair.
"You okay, Green Eyes?"
"Alder!"
I marched myself down to the dining room. I sat down at my usual seat, not realizing that Jeremy wasn't there. Galaria sat down next to me.
"Where's Jeremy?" I asked.
"Tributes leave at different times. Jeremy left earlier," She answered. I looked at my plate that was filled with eggs and biscuits. She obviously saw my expression to respond. "Don't worry, you'll see him soon."
I ate my meal, knowing that it could possibly be my last. Once I was finished, Galaria led me to the elevator. The elevator shot us up to the roof. When the doors opened, I saw a hovercraft waiting for me to come aboard. Peacekeepers led me to a ladder. When I grabbed it, an electrical current went through my arms. The ladder started going up into the hovercraft. Soon, I was inside the craft. I tried pulling my arms away, but the ladder stuck to me. A peacekeeper with a needle came towards me. I winced as he stuck the needle in my arm.
The ladder let me go and I stood to me feet.
"What was that for?" I questioned the peacekeeper. He turned and smiled at me. It wasn't really a smile, though. It was more of a grimace.
"We need to keep track of you. I injected you with a tracking device," he told me. I rubbed my arm and nodded. I sat down on a bench and crossed my arms. A peacekeeper handed me a glass of water. Through the whole ride, I sipped on it. There were no windows to look out of, so the ride was relatively boring.
When we landed, the peacekeepers led me out of the hovercraft. They took me down a long dark hallway to a room that said "District 9" on it. The door opened and I walked inside. The room was shiny. The walls and floors painted to look like chrome. I stood in the shiny prison for a few minutes before another door opened. Ariya walked into the room. She held a dark brown jacket and a belt.
"Not exactly what I would have picked for you, but it will help you for where you're going," she said. Ariya smiled slightly. She held up the jacket for me to put on. I slipped my arms in and pushed the jacket up around my shoulders. It was light, yet was warm. The fabric was slick, obviously made for protecting from rain. I turned to face Ariya. She snapped the belt around my waste and pulled my hair up into two buns.
"So, this is it," I said. "It was good to meet you."
"What makes you think we won't see each other again?"
"It's obvious the odds are stacked against me. I'm not going to make it out alive."
"Valiant, I want you to listen," Ariya told me, gripping my shoulders. "The odds will always be stacked against you. That doesn't mean you should give up. Giving up let's the others win. Don't let them win." I nodded. I knew she was right. A man came over the speaker, saying that I had a minute before I had to be traveling up a tube to the arena above. I started to head for the tube. Ariya grabbed my hand, stopping me.
"Yes?" I questioned. She held out her hand. In it was my mother's necklace. I had almost forgotten completely about it. I took it from her hand and placed it around my neck.
"Be valiant, Valiant," she said. I hugged her and walked to the tubes. I saw a tear run down her cheek. She knew as well as I did my chances of making it. For a second, I was actually sad to leave her. The only person from the Capital that I liked I had to leave, knowing I would never see her again. I would never see my family again. I shook my head, erasing the thoughts from my mind. I couldn't think like that, not with my life on the line.
The platform in the tube started to move upwards. My heart started pounding. Once my head poked through the opening, my eyes started looking everywhere they could. The platform locked into place. A huge metal cave like thing stood right in front of me, about twenty yards away. It held many backpacks and weapons, obviously there for us to use to survive. There were trees everywhere, creating a jungle like environment. The air felt very close, making feel hotter than what it really was. Tributes were lined up just like me in a horseshoe shape. I looked around for Jeremy. I spotted a girl who I guessed was from District 5. She stepped off her platform was instantly blown up. Twenty-three tributes left. I finally found Jeremy. He was all the way on the end to my left. I could see he was nervous.
My attention turned to the weapons and supplies. I knew that I needed a backpack. The farther in the middle you go, the better the weapons choices there were. I focused my attention on a sword sticking out of the dirt with a black backpack. That was it. That was what I was going to grab before I leave the potential bloodbath. A man started counting down from ten. My muscles started to tense. I leaned forward, ready to launch when the man was done counting.
"Three...Two...One," the voice said. A gong went off. That was my cue. I shot off the platform like a rocket. By the time I had made it to the first of the backpacks, the rest of the tributes were half way there. I quickly reached the sword and backpack. I scooped the backpack up and pulled the sword out the ground. I didn't have time to observe my weapon as a boy came at me with an ax he had found. I quickly blocked him and knocked him onto his butt so I could get away.
My legs carried me to the trees. I rushed as fast as I could away from that place. Dodging trees and jumping over roots, I ran farther and farther in. By the time a root made me fall to my knees, I figured I was far enough away to be able to stop. Cannons fired. I wasn't quite sure what for but I counted the fires, in case it came as some significance later. When they stopped, I had counted twelve shots. I pushed myself up onto my feet and gathered my sword and backpack. My instincts screamed at me to find water.
The bushes rustled behind me, yet there was no breeze. I turned to find the little girl from District 12. She stared at me with her big gray eyes, frightened. I looked at her hands. Her hands held a knife, but they were trembling so bad I doubt she could have used it if I was attacking her. I put down my sword to try to calm her down.
"It's okay," I told her. "I'm not going to hurt you." She nodded. The girl was very small. Nothing really but skin and bones. Her straight dark hair framed her small face. Her gray eyes darted back and forth. My heart sank for her. The poor girl didn't stand a chance. Not unless she trained with Darius. He might have helped her. He knew as well as I did that we were as good as dead. The Capital had nothing against this girl.
Suddenly, a spear came into the back of her. She collapsed, dead. I heard laughter. The same laughter that the District 2 boy, Ren, had in the Training Center. He came out of the bushes and went over to the girl. He pulled out his spear from her back. A cannon fired. That told me that the cannons were for who's dead. He looked at me. I quickly picked up my sword. I heard more people coming towards me. His comrades, no doubt. He turned to look at them. I found my moment. I ran from there as fast as I could. My first account with the group that others have called the Careers. I rushed to both find water and get away from them.
I stopped, trying to figure out which way to go. I saw moss on a tree pointing to my left. I started running in that direction. I looked back behind me for a few seconds to see if they were following me. My body smacked into something hard. I flew back onto my back. I shook my head to clear the shock and looked at what I ran into. I saw a boy who was bigger than me. Tan skin, blue eyes, reddish blonde hair.
"You okay, Green Eyes?"
"Alder!"