Everything around me seemed to come to a complete standstill as a my ears were ringing like crazy. The limbs on my body was shaking as I could feel the colour of my skin leave. I didn't know how I did it, but I remained standing while watching the crowed of people turn their attention onto the young, brown-haired boy with the glasses walk out of the line. I could see he too had lost colour on his skin as kept struggled to keep tears from flowing down his cheeks. His fists were clutched tightly to his sides.
This all had to be a mistake, or a trick? Out of the thousands of kid's names, Raf's name was picked. The whole thing just wasn't fair.
Feeling the mechanics start to turn in my brain once again, I knew I had to do something. I couldn't allow this. I wasn't going to fail Raf.
I felt my legs began to walk as she shuffled past a few of the line of kids, who didn't seem to bother trying to stop me, but rather looked afraid of my actions.
Once I pushed myself out of the crowed, I immediately ran towards Raf as I cried out his name, "Raf!"
Thankfully I just managed to reach Raf as I stand in front of him protectively before a few of the Con guards could reach us, "I Volunteer", I yelled out causing the rest of the kids to gasp in shock.
"I wish to volunteer in his place", I yelled once again as Raf latched himself onto me, starting to cry in my stomach.
The entire square went silent for a moment as even the host; Starscream didn't seem to know how to react. The truth was, I didn't know myself if volunteering was allowed or not. Volunteering never happened as far as I knew, which made sense since which kid actually wants to go and risk their lives in an arena filled with traps, monsters and kid killers?
Well…I knew one.
Starscream then spoke up as he glanced towards us with one of his dangerous claws stroking his chin, while using the other hand to signal for the Con guards to halt. He then glanced towards us, no…towards me with the devious smirk on his face, "How very noble of you….but are you certain you wish to make this decision? There is no going back you know?"
"No Jack, it's my name. I was chosen. Please don't sacrifice yourself for me", I could hear Raf sobbed as he kept his arms around me. I didn't want to see Raf cry like this, so I kept my eyes onto the Decepticon, only this time I looked directly into his burning red eyes.
"Yes", I forced myself to say loud and clear, wanting to get this done and over with as soon as possible.
Whispering could be heard throughout the square, followed by a familiar sob in the distance.
"Very well, come on up then and present yourself for everyone to see…as District twelve's first volunteer", the slender Con said as he pointed towards the stairs on the side of the stage.
Raf was still latching onto me and wouldn't let go no matter how hard I tried to push him off, "No Jack, please. Don't do it", he kept pleading too me.
"Raf, you need to let go", I tried to tell him as I struggled to get him off my shirt.
Thankfully a helpful pair of Human hands got into between us and arms wrapped around Raf before gently pulling him back towards the crowed. I look up to see it was Sierra, much to my biggest surprise as she tried to calm Raf down by letting him cry into her lovely dress. She then looked directly at me.
"Go on…it'll be okay", she whispered with a sad looking on her face before taking Raf back towards the crowed of people.
Out of all the moments to actually say a word too me, it had to be today? And…did she actually feel something for me? Or maybe it was just pity. I was nothing but a fool after all.
Now that I was free of Raf, I made my way up the stairs, trying my hardest to keep my composure. I didn't dare look towards the crowed of people, but kept looking straight ahead until I reached the mid stage right next to Starscream as he spoke aloud right above me, "What is your name boy?"
"Jack Darby", I replied into the microphone in front of me, as my body couldn't stop shaking while facing the audience. I could see them all. Sierra was back in the line with the girls, Raf was sobbing away with his mother's arms, Miko was looking at me worried and mum….she couldn't stop crying tears. That really killed me inside.
How could this be happening? Why was I on the stage? Why wasn't I back in the crowed of people, feeling relieved not to be picked this year? Why did it have to be Raf's name have to be chosen? This whole thing was like one of my nightmares, I wanted to wake up but no matter how hard I tried, I was still on the stage.
"Well ladies and gentlemen, give a round of applause to Jack as District twelfth's tribute", Starscream said as he and I expected the audience to clap their hands.
Instead there was silence.
A warm hand was suddenly placed on my shoulder as I turned around to see it was William Fowler, who looked very concerned for my wellbeing.
"It's okay son, everything's okay", he said reassuringly, but we both knew it wasn't. Still, it felt good to have someone tell me. That kind of took me back to one of the moments where my father was teaching me to use a bow and arrow.
I was very determined not to fail him, so I would keep trying again and again, but always missed. My father on the other hand was very patient, and would constantly tell me not to push myself too much, or else I or someone else could get hurt. Eventually I took my first target, a bird that had wondered too close and didn't have time to fly away. Once I hit the target, he placed his warm hand in my shoulder and told me that I was now a huntsmen….then a month later, he was buried under one of the mines. No one really knew what caused the accident, other then a miscalculation of how stable the cave was. My father wasn't the only man to get killed, but dozens of others were also killed. A few survived, barely.
Either way, I refuse to become a miner when I reach 18. I will have to find some other job available, but there isn't much around. But now that I am to be the next tribute of this Hunger Games, it doesn't matter now. I was going to die and leave Raf, mum and Miko behind. Wait! Miko….what is she planning? Is she still going to do it?
"Oh for pete sake, let's get a move on with this", Starscream grumbled as Fowler then went back to his seat at the side of the stage, leaving me on my own again.
I instantly looked towards the girl's section to find Miko, but she was nowhere to be seen. Oh no! This wasn't good!
Starscream was already preparing to press the button for the next tribute to be revealed.
"Eh hum, now that we have that out of the way, let us see which Girl will be chosen as…", but before he could finish, a loud voice coming from right next to me screamed out, causing one of my ears to ring.
"I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE!" Miko yelled as she raised her hand while standing on the stage right next too me.
"What?" Starscream, Fowler, the audience and I all blurted out as Miko smiled with gleam, keeping her hand raised up as if she was reaching for something.
"How did she sneak onto the stage?" I heard Fowler ask while he looked around confused, only for me to roll my eyes.
"That's Miko for you", I replied in my thoughts.
Miko then stood next too me as she leaned towards me, "If you think I'm going to let you have all the fun, you better think again", she smirked while I wished I could slap her. But it wouldn't look good on the broadcast and I was taught never to hit a lady.
Who am I kidding Jack? Miko has never been anything lady-like.
"SILENCE, EVERYONE!" Starscream snapped towards the audience who had been whispering and talking to one another over what's happened.
It was a usual rare occurrence to have a volunteer from any district, but to have two? That would certainly be a big surprise for the audience, except I was no longer with the audience. Even though it's been over five minutes since I've volunteered, I still felt like this wasn't real. That I was expecting to wake at any moment, but it just wouldn't happen yet.
Starscream was trying to remain calm, but it was pretty clear he was very annoyed. Annoyed with being here, annoyed of being the host and annoyed with two volunteers coming out of the bloom before him. Everything just seemed to be an annoyance for him.
"Fine then…what is your name gir...", but as always, Miko was one step ahead.
"My name is Miko, Miko Nakadai! And you better remember it because I am going to whoop those other tribute's in the butt!" she suddenly grabbed my hand and lifted it into the air.
"We'll both fight for district twelve, for all of you!" he yelled to the audience who remained quiet at first before suddenly applauding.
I have to admit, despite having her major flaws; Miko did know how to turn a bad moment into something else. The audience seemed to have forgotten the tragedy of the reaping and was now constantly cheering for us.
Wanting to finish this quickly, Starscream continued to host on stage as he remained standing right behind us "Ladies and Gentlemen, District Twelve's Tributes, Jack and Miko!"
Once that was said, the anthem music was played in the background while the two of us began to turn around and were lead off the stage by some of the Con guards. I kept trying to look back and see if I could spot Raf or Mum, but it was too crowded. I did wonder if I would be able to see again, at least one last time. I had some things I needed to tell them.
Once we left the stage, we were taken into a holding building where all the tributes would go once they have been selected. It was heavily guarded with Cons, probably there to prevent the tributes from trying to escape. I doubt they would kill them, otherwise District Twelve would be left without tributes, causing a problem with the Games.
Miko and I were taken to separate small rooms. To be honest, there wasn't much in the room besides a couch, a table and a window. It was also pretty cold which meant the room had been unused for a while; at least that's what Raf would tell me. According to him, humans can radiate heat into a room, not as powerful as powerful as a radiator, but still, we could produce a little heat into a cold room. So the more humans that enter the room, the more heated the room could slowly get.
Right now, I was shivering not just from the cold but also from the whole thing beginning to finally sink in. What was I doing here? I shouldn't be here! I should be at home with mum having some meat and vegi stew with her! Maybe I should have listened to Miko and get everyone out of there and into the woods before the reaping begun. No, there wouldn't be enough time, and there were too many Cons around to spot us escaping. Then we would all die on the same spot.
Think Jack! Think! What can I do? What can anyone do? There is no going back! There is no way out!
I banged my fist against the table as I could feel my eyes began to swell with tears as my body was shaking. I knew it seemed pathetic, especially for a boy my age, but I wanted to cry. I wanted to breakdown all together and feel like a failure for my dead father.
The creak of the door opening caught my attention as I quickly tried to straighten up, not wanting to look weak in front of Mum or Raf. But the person that entered the room was no other then William Fowler, the last person I expected to see at this moment. As he came inside, he still had that same pitying look on his face as he closed the door behind him.
"Jack Darby, I am William Fowler and I will be your mentor until the time comes where you and Miss Nakadai enter the arena", he got straight to the point as he approached me.
I nodded my head a little, "Yeah, I know who you are", I literally croaked out feeling like an idiot.
The man then gave me a re-assuring look as he placed a hand on my shoulder once again like before, only this time we were facing each other, "it's okay Mr. Darby, you don't have to act strong here. This is what this area was made for, to allow you to let off some steam while saying goodbye to your loved ones", he reassured me.
"You mean…I get to say goodbye to them?" I perked up a little.
"Of course son, it would be dishonourable for the tributes not being able to say farewell to their loved ones. Anyway, before I leave you to have some privacy with them, I just want to let you know that I really do feel what you did out there for that boy was a truly a noble act. You should be proud of yourself, despite what's coming, and I will do the best I can to help you get through this. Because I a good feeling that this year will be different", he gave a hopeful smile before leaving the room.
Proud? What did I have to be proud about? I am leaving my mother and Raf behind to fend for themselves while I may be forced to fight against my hunting buddy, Miko in the Arena in just a few weeks time! There is nothing good for me to come out of all of this.
The door then opened once again as Mum and Raf came running straight over towards me. I didn't hold back as I too wrapped my arms around them as we all held each other tightly. Mum was already crying and so was Raf. I was very tempted to cry as well, but I kept keeping myself to be strong for them. I couldn't let them see me in any weakened state since the two of them often looked up too me.
Once the hugs and crying were out of the way, we all sat down on the same couch as I immediately got down to business with telling them what I needed to tell them. First I looked right into my mother's eyes.
"Mum, I know this is going to feel like what happened with dad, but I need you to be strong for me, even when the Games are over…just keep yourself alive, for my sake! You should be able to afford enough for yourself while I'm away. If I don't…make it back, then sell my things...just keep yourself alive", I say to her with a serious look.
I didn't want mum to die just because of my selfless action. I didn't want her to lose her mind and lock herself away from the world like last time. It was the worst few months of my life. One we got the news that dad had been killed in the mines, mum just completely shut herself off from everything, including me. She stopped working and just lay on the bed for hours and hours. Some of her friends or workers would drop by to try and give her some feeling of hope, but she just wouldn't say anything. She even stopped cooking to feed us, but luckily Raf's mum would send Raf over to my house and give me some of the already cooked food she had made for her family. Raf was very young back then. I would tell him to thank his mum and he would always ask how mine was doing. I would have invited him to stay a little bit more or to accept his invite too his house, but I couldn't leave mum alone. Not even to go hunting. I tried to get her to eat some of the food that was given too us, but she barely touched it and she was loosing weight fast. I didn't know what to do, for if she remained like this for too long, then chances were she would die, leaving me in this world alone. I couldn't accept it and wasn't going too. I tried talking too her, trying to convince her to eat again, but she would come up with excuses or ignore me. Then finally I have had enough with it as I ended up slapping her in the face and yelled at her for failing dad and I. That really woke her up as instead of telling me off, she hugged me tightly and kept apologising for being a terrible mother. I decided to forgive her on the condition she starts eating and getting better again. She agreed as we both sat on the table together as I shared the soup between us that Raf's mum and sent over. As I sat down, mum took dad's photos and placed it in the empty seat, so that all three of us were still together in some way. That night, we enjoyed the soup together. As mum got better, I got to spend more time getting to know Raf, now that I was able to trust my mother being on her own again. He was a very shy kid, but seemed sure of himself when it comes to explaining things. He wanted to be a teacher and loved reading books all the time. In fact, he was the smartest kid in his class, but not popular. He would tell me how no one really wanted to play with him or would make fun of him for being a know-it-all. I could tell it saddened him, so I decided to start hanging out with him as a way of repaying him for delivering the delicious food to our house in our time of need. Over time, he became like a brother too me. I would always act protective of him, and he would always cheer me up or tell me something interesting. Actually, if it wasn't for him, then Miko and I would figure out which herbs were edible and which were not. We could have ended up poisoned, but we didn't because of Raf. I would even take some back to his house for his mum to use in her cooking. She herself told me is made her food even more delicious then before.
Raf's mum was a nice lady, but kind of strict. She made sure Raf was clean, wearing clothes with no holes in them and wasn't going anywhere dangerous. I guess the proper word to describe her is being "Overprotective" with her son.
Mum looked at me with tears running down her cheeks as she tried to remain strong, her warm hand against my cheek, "Jack…I….I won't…I promise. For your sake only", she sobbed as she hugged me again, "Oh Jack…this isn't fair…why did this have to happen".
"It's all my fault Mrs. Darby", I heard Raf mumble sadly as he sat next to me on the other side of the couch, looking down towards with floor.
"It should have been me…It was my name".
I shook her head as she wrapped my arm around Raf, "Hey, it's not your fault…it's no ones, these things just happen", I said trying to give him a little warm smile, but seeing him crying made me want to cry as well.
I noticed then that Raf was holding something in his hand before handing it over too me. When I took a look, I saw it was the same golden badge he had found, "For luck", he told me.
I wanted to reject the offer, but then I decided that I not only needed luck, but I also needed something to remind me of the reason I am entering the games.
"Thanks Raf", I said as I hugged him close to me.
"Raf, whatever you do, do not try to risk going hunting like I did, it's just too risky for you. And remember the time when you helped me when my…dad died? I need your help again, this time, I need you to be the one to help give my mum support. Do you think you could do that for me?" I asked him looking into his teary eyes with a serious look.
Raf nodded as he sniffed a few times, "I will…I promise…and I will be watching you Jack".
"No, whatever you do, please don't watch me die", I began to plead to both of them.
"But Jack, you might actually have a good chance of winning", Raf commented, "I mean, you been to the woods many times, and you can hunt".
I thought about what Raf had said, he did have a point, "Hm, maybe I could….most of these tributes probably never left their districts…and I'm kind of smart, right?"
I could tell my mother was about to say something, but the door suddenly opened as Fowler appeared again, "I'm afraid time is up, you must leave us", he told mum and Raf, who instantly held tightly onto me.
"There has to be a way out of this…please, you must help him", mum began to plead to Fowler, but we both know it wasn't possible. There was no way out.
"I will try to best I can…I promise you that Mrs. Darby", Fowler tried to reassure her before gently escorting both mum and Raf out of the room.
"Don't forget about everything I've said…do it for me", I yelled out too them just as the doors closed.
As I waited a little while in the cold and lonely room, I could pick up some shouting coming from the room across the hallway. I couldn't just go over to the room to find out since there were some guards there, so I peeked through the keyhole and focused directly over to the door across the hall. Some of it sounded like Miko, some sounded like her mother. Then I could see Fowler about to open the door himself only for Miko's mother to walk out of the room herself with red all over her face. Clearly she was very unhappy, probably with Miko's decision.
Perhaps later I will ask Miko what went on in there, but for now I felt like we should just focus on what would happen next.
Once Fowler escorted us from the building with cameras and Cons watching us, we were lead into a pretty neat looking car that looked like strangely very much like the Cons. The doors opened by themselves allowing Miko and I to sit in the back while Fowler sat in the passenger's seat.
"Sweet ride! I've always wanted to go in one of these", Miko squealed with excitement as the doors closed ad suddenly the car began to drive by itself, without a passenger at the wheel.
"Um…Fowler, Sir, who is…".
"Driving the car?" Fowler smirked as he looked over his shoulder at me, "Your not the first the ask Darby. These cars are actually Cons themselves. I don't know if you've seen it or not but changing their hands into weapons isn't the only thing Cons are capable off", Fowler explained.
"So…we're sitting inside a Con? Ew, what if we're in it's digestive system", Miko looked around grossed as I chuckled a little.
"Um, Miko, their robots. They don't eat and poop like we do, remember?" I said as Miko crossed her arms.
"Well, you never know what else these Cons are capable off. They can turn into weapons and cars, what else? Can they fly as well", she argued while placing her legs up against the front seat.
"Well actually young lady, they can…in fact, we are on our way towards jet that will take all of us straight to Darkmount", Fowler responded as he looked at her through the mirror.
"Oh my gosh! You mean we're actually goanna fly? So awesome!" Miko lifted her arms up with excitement, while I felt incredibly nervous. I was not up for flying in a fast jet any time soon.
When we finally arrived at the runway that was in the middle of nowhere, we got out of the car as Fowler lead us over to where a Con-like air-craft was waiting for us. We had to climb up some stairs to reach the correct height before carefully hoping in. There were just three seats inside and all the controls were at the front. The engine was already on so it made an incredible loud noise until the windows were placed shut over us, like a protective dome.
"Buckle up you two, unless you want to be thrown all over the place", Fowler told us as we sat in our seats.
Fowler was in the front, while Miko was in the middle and I sat right in the back. I grabbed my seatbelt as quickly as I could before securing myself tightly. I then took some breaths as I tried to relax. It's not that I'm scared of heights, it's just I wasn't prepared to do this. Going very high and fast as the same time. I just hope I don't end up throwing up.
Once the Jet started to move, it began to move fast on the runway while I clutched my hands against the edges of my seat. I gasped when I felt it's small attempts to take off as if was closing in on the ending of the runway.
When it finally took off, I just screamed as I held onto my seat tightly while Miko just waves hers into the air and yelled "whoooohooooo".
The taking off part was horrible! I never felt anything like it before and never want to experience that again. It felt like a force is pressing your body against your seat as if it's trying to prevent you from breathing, like that time where I got very ill. My eyes were shut tightly as he kept my grip on my seat. Miko however, was having the time of her life.
After a while, the flying did feel more calmer and smoother then before as my grip loosened up a little. I could feel Miko's hand rub my shoulder, 'Hey Jack, you okay? You turned white".
I opened my eyes a little, looking to the seat in front of me where Miko was looking at me with concern. My body was still trembling a little and some sweat had ran down my forehead. I felt rather ill inside, I was afraid I might throw up.
"How long is this flight?" I mumbled, placing my hand against my forehead.
"A few hours from now, don't worry. You've past the worst part", Fowler reassured me as I tried to relax against my seat. I haven't dared to look out of the window yet.
Miko couldn't stop staring like crazy, "Whoa, this view is amazing! We must be miles up in the air. I've always wanted to do this", she smiled placing her hands on the window, not caring how much she was smudging them.
"Jack, you have got to see this. It's incredible".
I shook my head as I kept looking down to the floor, "Maybe soon…just, let me try and relax my stomach", I groaned, still not used to the small movements of the plane.
"Suit yourself", Miko rolled her eyes as she continued to watch the scenery.
Once I felt my stomach relax, I finally decided to start taking a glance out of the window right next too me. I had to admit, it really was incredible to see. We were even flying above the clouds and could see the shadows they would form on the ground. The landscape was covered in different colours and shapes, like green, yellow, blue, orange and brown. It was very similar to the map that would hang up on one of the walls of our school, only this had must more detail too it, like the trees, rivers, roads and mountains. We even flew past some of the districts where Fowler would explain too us which districts they were and what the district purpose was.
Twelve, (our district) was Mining for Energon and Coal.
Eleven is Agriculture, they collect foods that are growing for the starving people of the other districts, like wheat, orchards and cotton.
Ten is Livestock. They have plenty of farms there with plenty of cattle roaming about. Not that we don't have any at our district, we do have some sheep, goats, chickens and turkeys, but cows and pigs we didn't really have. Plus, not many of us could afford it.
Nine was Grain. Kind of similar to Eleven except it didn't have any woods but miles of fields. There was also some large factories there, where the grain would be processed and sorted into grams before being take to all the other districts. I guess you could say Nine was the district keeping everyone alive.
Eight was Textiles. It had large factories as well with loads of smoke fuming out of the large chimneys; you could practically see the dark smoke roaming the sky right above the district. The work there was basically making clothes for everyone.
Seven was Lumber. The area was entirely lavished green with forests of trees fore miles on. It really looked incredible from this high up above it. Apparently, some of the Hunger Game's strongest competitors from the past games often come from seven, which I just realized. Maybe it's because of their wood chopping and carrying large trees for miles skills that explained it. So already I knew Seven would probably be a challenge.
Six was Transportation. The area wasn't very big compared to the others. Fowler explained is was just there for trains to deliver items from a certain number of districts, like one train would have travelled from Twelve to Seven to pick up the objects that the higher districts would need, while the train carrying some valuable materials from district One to Five would meet up with the other train at the station in district Six. After swapping baggage, the trains would head back towards the districts to deliver the items, so that while the high districts get the food, wool, clothes they needed, the lower ones would get the more expensive and valuable items, like tools, fish and lights.
Five was Power. As we flew past the district we could see some giant dams that were harvesting water to keep the power running through all the districts. Including Darkmount. The District that was keeping the lights on.
Four was Fishing. It was actually quite close to District Five, mainly because the same ocean area where the fishers would fish would travel through in rivers and lakes for miles until it reached the large waterfalls where the dams were.
Three was Technology where things like the Cameras, TVs, Computers and even weapons were being made, only for the Cons to use against anyone who rebels against them.
Two was Masonary. The District is on the high mountains where both Cons and Humans work together to not only construct all kinds of things both humans and Cons need, but also seem to share loyalty for their ruler, Lord Megatron. It is also said that Cons use and train some humans for the Hunger Games as if they were pets for a betting round. It's funny to hear that because Two is one of the wealthiest places for a human to live, yet they have Cons as masters. Anyway, most of the volunteers from that District are winners due to being trained most of their lives. Turning them into killing machines in the Arena.
One was Luxury. It seemed to be the only place out of all the districts where humans could work in the most galmourous jobs they wanted, such as designing and creating all kinds of luxurious things for both Cons and Humans. According to Fowler, no human there really understands the hardships of the other humans, and just like two, also very loyal towards the Decepticons and also train their humans for the Games.
I noticed as we counted the Districts further up that they seemed to get darker and metal-like, where as the ones further down were more landscape and filled with life. I also started to notice that it was getting darker in the sky as the journey kept going. I always loved watching the sunset while standing in front of the fence after getting back from my day of hunting. The orange and blue mixing in the sky always made me wonder about things. Especially if my father is watching me from wherever his soul is. Watching it in the sky and over miles of land made he feel really sad about leaving mum and Raf behind. By now mum and I would be having the stew she cooked today. But she would have to have it by herself. I then remembered back at the holding area in District Twelve where I could hear Miko and her mother yelling. My guess what that Miko's mother wasn't too happy with her volunteering with me. She only had one daughter anyway.
Then we finally saw it, Darkmount.
It was by far the darkest and more metal out of all the Districts as it stood high up in the mountains, surrounded by large walls with cannons on the outside to destroy and protect against anything threatening too them. Directly in the middle was where Lord Megatron's fortress stood. It was very similar to a tower, only it was much large and had spikes pointing outwards everywhere. There didn't seem to be any life around the area besides rock and metal. No grass or trees. Everything around it seemed to just look gloomy compared to Districts One and Two.
I suddenly clutched onto my seat again as the jet began to lower itself for an incoming landing.
"Whoa, looks creepy doesn't it?" Miko kept glancing at it as we approached the bottom of the fortress where a couple of large doors opened for the Jet to fly in and land on a run way.
I felt very nervous about this place. Not too many good stories are heard coming from Darkmount. They do say it contained one of the various weapons that defeated the Con's enemies within a few weeks, bringing Earth to it's knees.
There were more Con guards everywhere. This time they looked more threatening then anything with their darker and spikier amour and larger weapons. The way they moved and stared also looked incredibly intimidating.
Once we got off the jet at last, Fowler looked at us, "Okay you two, whatever happens, follow me and do not, I repeat, do NOT go wondering off. This place is filled with all kinds of dangerous Cons."
"Yes sir", Miko saluted as I looked around the area, noticing something.
"Um, Fowler…where are the other tributes?" I asked, curious at not seeing any of them so far.
"Don't worry, you'll get your chance to meet them early tomorrow morning, that is when your training begins. As for now, you will lead to the rooms you will be staying at, until the time comes", Fowler explained as we both followed him down the long hallway where many security cameras were watching us.
While I tried to keep to myself, Miko couldn't stop glancing at everything in sight. It kind of annoyed me a little, but what could I do? No use telling her to do anything without touching a nerve.
We then walked inside a room that seemed to be round glass with nothing inside of it.
"Is this it? What kind of room is this?" Miko crossed her arms unimpressed, "it doesn't even have a bed or windows".
I too was confused, but when Fowler pressed a button that caused the doors to shut, the floor suddenly moved upwards, causing both Miko and I to nearly fall on our butts as we were being taken upwards to somewhere unknown.
"What is this thing?" I asked as I struggled to balance myself, not used to the suddenly movement of the floor moving.
"It's called an elevator…it's a small room that transports you to whichever destination you want. Since you are from Twelve, you get the penthouse on top," Fowler answered as he looked at his watch.
"Sweet! Can an elevator go side from side as well?" Miko asked as she was tempted to press one of the buttons, but Fowler stopped her.
"No touching, understood? These floors are guarded with Cons, and if they spot you they'll think you are attempting an escape." he frowned towards her before crossing his arms, "As for your question, no…just up and down".
After that unexpected short ride, we could see there were a few Cons already waiting outside with their weapons in hands. Both Miko and I kept behind Fowler as we followed him into the room, trying not to bring any attention onto us.
"Fowler sure wasn't kidding about the guards", Miko whispered as we walked past them and into our room where we will be staying for a new few weeks.
The room was nothing like I have ever seen, with the floors made out of beautiful black and blue marble that looked as if they clashed together, like the orange and blue sky I saw before landing here. All the walls were made of stone that had been carved into sculpture shaped images, some of gladiator warriors fighting one another. The lights were hanging down from the ceiling in large globes. The dinning table was made of carved stone and glass, big enough to allow around eight people to enjoy a meal together. Another area of the room had a long, black leathery couch with green and orange cushions for you to sit on, with a large and flat TV in front, while the floor was covered with soft, pink carpet and a strange, shaped coffee table in front. There was also a small balcony with a few comfortable seats for you to watch the view, though there wasn't much to see besides the mountains and sky.
"Whoa! Is this really where we'll be staying?" Miko asked Fowler as she began to check everything out, "This is so AWSOME!" she jumped with excitement as she began to run about and check all the rooms out.
As for me, I took things slowly as I went over to the table and felt it with my bare hands. It felt very cold, but it was covered with delicious looking things on the table, things no one in my district would be able to afford. There was beef and covered in cherries, pineapple cake, roast potatoes, vegetable stew, fresh bread in a basket, pumpkin soup, fruit salad and some kind of dark yet bubbly liquid drink.
I picked up the cup and smelled it, feeling the gas of the drink tickle my nose a little before looking at Fowler, "What is this? Am I meant to drink it?"
"It's called Cola, it's a sweet yet fizzy drink that been very popular for a long time. Try it", he told me before taking a glass himself and taking a sip.
"Well, why not?" I shrugged and I took a little sip of it, almost chocking due to the shock of how sweet yet strong the taste was on my tongue. I could also feel the fizz tickle my tongue and throat before accidently letting out a large unexpected belch, "Sorry", I excused myself remember my manners, "This stuff is…kind of weird…yet I like it".
Fowler could help but chuckle a little, "I remember my first time Darby, I have to say, it was magical", he tapped his glass with against mine as if giving a little toast. I was surprised at how much Fowler was smiling now since it was the first time I've seen him like this. I guess it was because there were no cameras watching him, giving him the chance to relax.
Miko then took her seat at the table as she picked a cherry from the beef and plopped it into her mouth, "Mmm, so good…come on guys, lets chow down".
"You guys go ahead, I'm just goanna check out my room", I said before making my way down the small hallway where there were two doors facing opposite each other. One of them had my picture on it, while the other had Miko's. At least I know where I was sleeping tonight. When I pushed the door open, I came to a bedroom that was not only bigger then my house, but was decorated with yellow and grey stone, also having carved images of worriers fighting one another while electric lamps hung from the ceiling, changing into various colours to match the mood of the room. The bed was much large then my one with golden and aqua coloured sheets as various decorations of weapons and art portraits of human people were all over the room. There were also a window for me to see the view of the now nighttime sky that was just filled with clouds and no stars. Not even a moon.
I sighed as I just sat on my bed, taking the badge out of my pocket and looking at it, while feeling the blue bird on my dad's shirt. I missed them already, despite being just a few hours away. The food in the other room did look and smell good, but I just didn't feel like eating anything. In fact, I was exhausted emotionally from today's events.
I didn't bother looking in the cupboard as I removed all of my clothes, except my underwear before sliding myself under the rich and soft sheets. I laid my dad's shirt against my pillow before I laid my head on top.
As my eyes began to droop, I held onto the badge tightly that Raf gave me while remembering what he told me before I left.
Maybe…just maybe I might have a chance of winning.