Fire licks at my heels as I clamber up the scorched tree. The forests of District 12 are on fire. I just have to make it to the top. Just to the top and then I'll be safe. But the fire is coming up faster than I can crawl. I look around wildly for a branch to pull myself up, but they're all just out of my reach. I'll never make it. Then, through the smoke-choked air, a glistening beacon of hope appears. I see my mother gripping the branch just above me. "Mom!" I scream. "Mom help me! Give me your hand, help!"
She doesn't respond. She just sits there, staring sadly off into space. The branch I am clinging to trembles, then snaps. I fall backwards into the flames, and the last thing I see is my mother finally turning her head. Her empty eyes take in my death, but she doesn't care. She has already accepted that I'm gone-
Still shaken from my nightmare, I don't talk much at breakfast. I do manage a small smile for Effie, and even have a hug for Awren, but I can't even look my mother in the eye. My dream haunts me, and I can't shake the feeling that there was a good deal of validity to it. No one is chatty today, and I think I might not have been the only one whose sleep was interrupted by the fears of the day. I gulp down my portion of the meal, and leave the table early.
Awren is having a private session with Effie today, so I make my way down to the training room alone. This time, I am the first to arrive and at first I worry that I have accidentally gone into the wrong room. Not thirty seconds later, however, an unfamiliar pair of tributes walks in. Both are scowling, but I notice that there is another emotion being masked by the anger. Hurt? Sadness? Fear? Loss. The boy's eyes dart around as though looking for a fight. I realize that they were not present for yesterday's morning training, and after recalling some memories I realize that they must be from District 2. Why skip training? I wonder. Even for the Careers…training is important for ally selection if nothing else.
The girl tribute turns to me and rolls her eyes. She is probably a year or two older than me, but only about a half inch taller. Her unrestrained chestnut hair falls in tiny ringlets down her shoulders, and her skin has an olive complexion. I guess my expression betrayed my thoughts, because she answers exactly what was on my mind. "We just got here last night," she says to me, her voice dripping with annoyance. "Our reaping was… delayed."
Delayed? How can that happen? Everything about the Games is so meticulously organized, I find it hard to believe that a whole district's reaping could have been delayed.
My skepticism must show on my face, because she rolls her eyes again and continues in a whisper, "We rioted."
I feel like laughing. She's clearly pulling my leg. There's no way 2 would ever riot. They're practically the Capitol's pets! I want to ask this girl why her District would riot to see if I can catch her in her lie, but she's still a Career, and I would rather not get on her bad side. Or even have her take any notice of me.
The boy looks at me and laughs coldly. "See, Brooke? No one will believe it happened in 2. We're too close to the Capitol."
Brooke turns to me again, and says through gritted teeth, "I know how to make her believe me."
The boy looks sick. "Brooke, let her be. Let her be happy for a little longer."
What could she possibly say that would make this situation even worse? For a second, I am afraid she is going to hurt me, but then why would the boy be so pale? Careers, especially those from 2, are notorious for being ruthless killers. That's the scariest part. Something has these killers terrified, and I'm about to find out what.
"It's the Quell," says Brooke. "In 2, it leaked out what the Quell challenge will be." She pauses. Her hands are shaking-with anger? Or fear? "In my district, there are usually lists of people who want to volunteer to compete for the glory of winning the Games. Once they found out what the Quell was, though, they all withdrew. For the first time in decades, they had to draw names." She looks over at the boy almost sympathetically, but he just scowls back.
"They drew my name first," she continues in a hush. "Then they drew Curt's 12-year-old brother." She is now almost in tears, a shocking display of humanity from a Career tribute, especially directed at me, from the furthest outlying district of them all. "He volunteered for his brother, but it doesn't matter... It couldn't change anything. Now his brother is on his own. Their father died years ago, and his mother... That's the twist. For the Quell, they're... They're..." She chokes on a jagged sob, unable to continue. All of the emotional shields she had built up with her angry scowl have fallen, and here before me she is falling to pieces.
Curt looks my way, and his eyes are hollow and dead. "They're sending the parents in with us. We have to kill our parents if we want to survive." Then he walks over to Brooke, takes her arm, and they step aside as the remainder of the tributes stream into the room.
Standing aside from the rest of them, I feel my world shatter into a million pieces.
Sooooo... You asked, and I gave it to you. Earlier than I was going to too! Ignorance is bliss sometimes, but don't worry. This is going to be more emotionally draining for me than it will be for you.
Shoutout to xxxRimaxxx who I'm pretty sure guessed all of this stuff ages ago based on their review. If you also guessed the Quell twist, congrats. You're cool.
More to come! ~Fancyclopedia.