PART FOUR: Rizzo Theramin, District 9

I hate this place.

I truly and passionately hate this place. Why? Because it's frickin' District 9.

District 9.

Doyou even understand what it's like there? Of course you don't, because nobody really cares about District 9. I sure don't.

Talk about a lack of District pride. Well, everyone lacks it here.

And my Dad has this crazy fantasy that his only child is going to go into the Arena and win pride for District 9. He says that if we think like District 1, we'll be treated like District 1. Needless to say, my father is a whackjob.

My Mom would say something, but he beats her, too. Constantly.

Every time he does, I ask her, "Can I report him now?"

And she'd always shake her head and say, "Next time, I promise."

Next time was never good enough for me, nor should it ever be.

It will never be good enough for me.

My Mom is a petite woman, but I'm a big guy, just like my nutjob of a father. I want to stand up to him but every time I try, my mom always shakes her head and gives me a look of disapproval.

I'm going to, though. He abuses me just as much as he does my mother. One of these days, I'm going to punch the man in the face and then maybe he'll accidentally fall in a grain mill. Just accidentally.

Anyways, I've had trouble sleeping at night lately. And it's in my bedroom, lying awake at night, that I come up with my best scheme yet.

I'm going to run away. Not from my home, from my District. Maybe even from this country, if I can.

Where I'll go, I don't know. Who I'll take, well, that one's obvious. We'll get out of here together.

The next day goes as normal: get up, get dressed, go to school for 2 hours. Go home, throw down all of my stuff and go right back to work in the fields.

Now, one thing that sucks about having dark hair is that the dark absorbs sunlight. So, it constantly feels like my head's on fire. My Mom gave me her straw hat to use, and it helps, and it keeps the sun out of my eyes as I pick grain. Ugh. This sucks.

Turn in my grain, get basically nothing, walk back home and collapse on a kitchen chair.

"How was your day, Rizzo?" Mom asks, kissing my cheek, "You're hot!"

"I'm obviously hot. I was working all afternoon."

"Oh, honey…"

"Where is he?"

"Your father went out."

We all know what that means. He's coming home drunk.

"Mom."

"Yeah, hun?"

"We're going."

"What?"

"You and I, we're running away, we're getting out of here!"

"Rizzo, you can't!"

"MOM! I'm going, and you're coming, too."

She frowns at me, "Honey, we're safe here."

"No, we're not! Don't you dare say that we are, because we're not!"

"We have food-"

"No we don't! He has food! We don't!"

The lights shut out just about then.

"Rizzo-"

"Thanks a lot, Dad. So much for any source of power."

I see a slight flame as my mom lights a candle, "Rizzo. I love you more than anything else in my life, you know that."

I sigh, "And so do I. That's why we're getting out of here before he comes back. He'll be so drunk he'll set the house on fire looking for us!"

My Mom shakes her head, "No. We're safe here."

I blink a frustrated tear out of my eye, "I'm not going into the Arena."

"He can't make you."

"If I don't he'll kill me!" my voice cracks. Damn it.

"He won't kill you, Rizzo."

"WHY THE FUCK DO YOU STILL HAVE FAITH IN THAT MAN?" I yell at her, "HE'S DONE EVERYTHING TO YOU!"

She blinks a tear out of her eye, "Rizzo-"

"You're pregnant, aren't you?"

"W-w-what?"

She didn't deny it. It's true. My whole body shakes and I don't know what to do. "Why didn't you tell me?" I cry. She doesn't answer me.

"WHY didn't you tell me?" I'm ashamed, angry, upset, and hurt.

"Because Rizzo- I didn't-"

"You didn't want it, did you? That means-"

"Rizzo!" she cries, "Wait-"

"He… He-"

"Rizzo, think about this."

"I AM THINKING ABOUT IT! HE FUCKING RAPED YOU, MOM!"

She buries her head in her knees.

The next part, well, that's what kicked me in the face.

"That's what happened for me, too."

"Riz-"

"That's what happened for me."

She's crying so hard she can barely talk.

"Thanks for bothering to tell your rape baby where he came from!"

She sobs some more.

"I thought you loved me."

"I do! Rizzo, I do!"

"When?"

"Hm?" she squeaks.

"WHEN? When were you gonna tell me?"

She just squeaks again. I know what that means.

Never.

"I can't-I can't believe you!"

"Please-"

"I'm going. I can't live here anymore."

"Rizzo!"

I run out the door, holding back tears and slamming the door behind me. I run into my father, and we both hit the ground hard.

"Where do you think you're going, runt?"

"Nowhere. Not without this." And I slug my father across the face.

"YOU INFERNAL BRAT!" he shouts after me.

I kick him where it hurts when I realize what I've done. I take off running, and hear a shot behind me. My foot burns with a searing pain as I run through the grain. I make it, too. I make it to the fence and crawl under it. The barbs tear off the back of my shirt, but I don't stop.

I hear multiple other gunshots, and never want to know what they take with them.

I crash in the woods and let out all of the cries I've held back. About everything.

Stupid District 9… I hate it. Where I'm going, well, I don't know. I'm going somewhere.

I walk all night, and collapse in a bush at dawn.

I jolt awake to the sound of revving motors. A giant hovercraft.

I collapse in the bushes and hide. I hold my breath. 'Please, please, please…'

Lucky for me, it flies right over my head.

I sit up and sigh.

Then I see another figure move in the bushes.

And I'm suddenly face-to-face with another boy.

FATE

Rizzo and the other boy (who will be added in later) make it to District 13 together, both on the brink of death. Rizzo takes the position of commander for the District 13 military in the war, and is known as the ruthless Physical Training Major. In his adventures, he meets a girl from District 4 named Rudi, who he falls in love with throughout the course of the revolution. Though his whole family was killed the night Rizzo ran away, he remembers them every time he sees his metal, artificial leg, as much as he hates it.