Mika Hollis,16, District 6 female
"Hello Micro!" I greet my small toddler sized robot that's resting on the other side of the room as I sit up on my bed and I see it's eyes light up red signaling that he's "awake."
"Hello, Mika. What can I do for you today?" Micro waves at me and I look around this room that's honestly pretty cluttered with tools and blueprints right now trying to think of an easy task for him to do as a test run.
"Uh what's the weather today Micro?" I yawn.
"58 degrees Mika, may I suggest you wear a coat?" he suggests but I only let out a small sigh, would prefer if it was raining out there.
"Fully noted Micro, can you pass me that blueprint at the foot of my bed?" I yawn once again finally mustering some strength to sit up off of my bed.
"Understood Mika!" Micro does his cute little robotic march towards the blueprint next to me and raises it above his head for me to reach which I politely take.
"Thank you Micro." I thank Micro, he really is such a handy little guy.
"You're very much welcome Mika, always a pleasure to assist you!" Micro responds.
"Thank you, now rest, we got alot of work to do later." I inform him as I flip through the blueprint.
"Yes Mika, see you later!" He waves at me before his red eyes go out, signaling he's "asleep" again.
I flip through the blueprint to analyze his molecules and everything is pretty decent so far, the large amount of energy required for him to operate though is pretty taxing on his battery though causing it to drain very quickly. That's another reason why I don't have him on for too long, the battery fried last time just from him operating for about an hour.
Micro is a robot here that I built myself from scratch, it's a project I've been working on for quite a while, it's still a prototype which naturally still has some faults, but I'm currently in the middle of a deal with an engineering corporation, and if I can iron out most of the faults, we'll be able to mass produce these little guys for the district to use as homebots where they can assist with household tasks and needs such as cleaning, fetching items and providing updates on current news etc . This is pretty much what I do on my free time, I'm an engineer and innovator, I guess some people will call me an inventor too, but I think that's a bit of a stretch. I look over at the time though and this is usually around the time I help out Grandpa and make some breakfast so I quickly wash up and head downstairs to my kitchen.
I open up my fridge and stare at the contents of it wondering just what I'm going to make for myself and Grandpa today, but the fridge is practically empty and I grimace to myself as I realize I'm going to have to head outside and pick up some ingredients to cook some breakfast before I head out to work, and I close my refrigerator hearing my grandfather groaning in his room as hes likely struggling to get out of his bed, and I quickly rush towards his room to see him struggling.
"Hey wait Grandpa, I'm here, I'm here!" I practically yell and gently put his arm around my shoulder and wrap my arm around his waist slowly helping him up to his feet as he lets out a low groan.
"Oh, what a sweet girl you are, it's horrible being old, so you enjoy all your youth while you can young one, who are you anyways?" Grandpa asks me and I feel my heart drop…
He's been gradually losing his memory but it's getting worse now, sometimes he completely forgets who I am for a short amount of time and it's worries me, I don't want him to just wake up one day and just forever forget who I am, he's pretty much the only family I have left at this point, but even if he was to forget who I am, that wouldn't stop me from loving him and being by his side…
"Oh, right! Mika yeah, sorry! You know it's still early so I still have to get my thoughts together. Reapings were yesterday though huh? Another year safe so just uh two more years and you'll be home free right?" Grandpa laughs but I slowly shake my head…
"Actually Grandpa, the reapings are tomorrow." I break the news to him and he sighs.
"Oh…I see. Well you should still be safe!" he tries to convince me and I give him an assuring nod to make him feel a little better.
"Alright Grandpa, the fridge is pretty empty, so I'm going to have to head out to the store real quick, is there anything you want in particular?" I ask as I help clean him up.
"You know, I think today I'll take some Sunnyside up eggs with toast and grits, just how your mom used to make it!" He smiles at me and I think of my mother for a moment.
My father passed away soon after I was born so my mother raised me on her own. We often struggled and had to work hard for what we wanted but by our district standards we were doing fairly well. I thought me and my mother had a great relationship, I still remember her having mood swings occasionally but I considered us close. I remember when I was around 9, I came back from school and didn't see her home. I figured she must've stepped out for a bit, but she never came back home. My grandfather took me in however and we've been living together ever since. I don't blame my myself for her disappearance though, I don't miss her, and even if she was to try and come back into my life, I wouldn't accept her, she doesn't matter to me anymore…
"Sounds good to me, I'll just be a few minutes." I help my grandpa sit down on the sofa and put on the news and the headline gets my attention as it reads
"The Railroad Butcher strikes again, another teen girl found dead" and it's showing a picture of a young teenage girl…
"A serial Killer dubbed The Railroad Butcher is still at large as he has claimed yet another victim. The young girl's name was Talia Baker, who went missing the night before and she was found in one of the local railroads this morning dead. Like all of the other victims she was found with a single gash across her throat. This latest death brings the death toll to eight and authorities are trying desperately to find this killer. We recommend all of our residents here to stay home past 8 pm as we can conclude that all of the killings have taken place at night, so please do report any suspicious activities and provide useful information that will lead this criminal to justice-" she continues but I just have to zone it out.
Another death… yeah that's right, we have a serial killer on the loose here and it's been that way for about two months now. It's pretty scary to be honest, people are just capable of being so evil, so cruel, how anyone can just be out here hunting down other humans for sport is just so beyond me. I don't stay out late, but I do have a friend that does, I need to tell her to be more careful, infact I think I'm going to go visit her at her job after I prepare breakfast for me and Grandpa.
"Oh no, this is quite unfortunate, I hope whoever is behind this is found soon, you just be careful out there Elodie, please." Grandpa tells me and I have to sigh under my breath for a moment, Elodie is the name of my mother...
"Oh I'm sorry, I mean Mika, still getting my thoughts together haha!" My grandpa laughs and I smile along with him as I throw on a coat and slip on my slippers.
"Be back in a few!" I speed walk towards the door and head out as a breeze whiffs by me. The grocery store itself is only like a three minute walk from here so I quickly head there and see several familiar looking people coming my way.
"Hey Mika! How's little Micro coming along!?" a passerby, I think her name is Elise happily greets me.
"Hi, Elise, Little Micro is doing pretty well, it won't be long until the district is full of them!" I confidently say and Elise gives me a grin.
"I just love your confidence! You really are doing the impossible though, and you're considered the best engineer here for a reason! Anyways you take care of yourself and John, see you later Mika!" she says her farewell.
"Will do, goodbye Elise!" I wave to her and we go our separate ways. I'm stopped around the district often, it's no secret that Micro is on the verge of being mass produced and most of the residents here are just begging for an update, but I don't mind sharing it with them.
I approach the store, quickly enter it and I immediately set my sites on a dozen of eggs that I grab and put it on the counter where the clerk's whose name is Ellie eyes light up upon seeing me.
"Queen Mika! Such an honor having you here again!" He does an exaggerated bow and I snicker a little, Ellie is always extremely playful with me and uses honorifics when addressing me.
"Just the other day you were calling me Princess, I got promoted fairly quickly it seems!" I greet him back.
"Its for good reason as well my Queen, I was almost hoping you'll bring Micro along, it's cute how he can morph into a little droid and follow you around!" he giggles.
"Uh yeah, but it's so taxing on his battery, I need to adjust his power core a little more, and hopefully he'll be able to maintain drone form before crapping out on me in minutes." I explain to her. I bought Micro along with me here before just to test run his drone form. In this form, he can analyze objects and even record, I've recently implemented a defense mechanism inside of him like some mace spray, electric shocks and a concealed knife Incase you know, this serial killer decides to grab me or something. it's still not fully completed yet, but trying to find a way to balance out his battery life is my main priority.
"Well I wish I was smart enough to help out with that, but you're the Queen, I know you'll figure it out!" Ellie gives me a thumbs up.
"Well of course I will, I'm going to need a bigger challenge than that if you want to see me falter!" I confidently say as I put several coins in his hand to pay for the dozen of eggs.
"Of course, Of course Mika! Hey look I know you're often very busy with work and your projects, but if you're ever free, you ever want to like, go get some food or something, just to you know give you a breather from the hard work all the time…" he nervously asks and I narrow my eyes while slightly curling my lips.
"Are you asking me out on a date Ellie?" I bluntly ask but I see his face turning a flush red and it looks like he's starting to panic a little.
"N-no it's nothing like that, it's just you know hard work and- ok…yes it's a date…" he finally admits and I give him a respectful nod.
"...It's something I'll consider." I almost whisper to him, this kind of caught me a bit off guard. I don't really go out of my way here to form actual attachments to many of the people here so to just be asked out like that, yeah…
"Well uh yeah! Yeah, so uh have a good day Mika, and tell your grandfather Mr.John I said hello as well!" he says a little louder than it looks like he intended to and I smirk a little.
"Will do, goodbye Ellie!" I clutch the dozen of eggs in my arm and walk towards the door as I can see a figure standing outside of it. Through the foot glass I can already see it's a slim dark skinned figure that has both of their arms in a sling and when I open the door holding it out for them and see exactly that, my analysis is proven correct. The slim figure is a boy around my age and I've seen him around the district a couple of times. I think he used to work at a textile factory from his attire but he seems to have broken both his arms somehow and he definitely doesn't have it easy. Alot of the textile workers do suffer pretty serious injuries here however, so I guess it's not too out of the ordinary. He looks relieved that I opened the door for him though, I just hope he wasn't standing out here for too long…
"Thank you, thank you so much!" he thanks me as he quickly walks into the store and I don't even have time to say "You're welcome before he practically sprints into the back of the store…
It only takes me a few minutes to get back home and I see Grandpa is still watching the news and they're still talking about the recent killings, right now one of the victims mother is speaking out and she's obviously in horrendous pain as she's cursing whoever murdered her daughter and promises they will pay and it's tough to watch, a grieving parent…
After prepping breakfast for myself and Grandpa, I help him to the table and we eat a quiet breakfast together but I hear knocking on my door and when I go over to open it, I see it's one of my friends Annika and I can already see a look of discomfort on her face, she doesn't come to visit very often so I find it a little unusual.
"Annika hey, I was actually just coming to visit you!" I inform her but she lets out a sigh.
Good morning Mr.Hollis! and yeah we probably both have the same idea then!" she breathes a sigh of relief but I'm a bit clueless.
"Like?" I ask.
"This has gone on for too long Mika and I need to put a stop to this, but I need your help to do so!" she explains but I'm still lost.
"Are you talking about the serial killer?"I question.
"What? No, someone will take care of them eventually, it might even be you! But I'm talking about Edson, that fucking weirdo, I'm blowing the whistle on him today and I need you, well Micro to be more specific!" she quickly explains, me and Annika met at school and studied engineering together but she dropped out early in hopes of finding work to care for her ailing father. She managed to secure two jobs, one in the morning and the other in the evening, this first job has her working at a mechanic in a car shop owned by some guy named Edson, I didn't really know much else about him.
"Can you just tell me what's going on?" I ask getting a bit inpatient with all this cryptic stuff.
"He threatened to dock my pay if I don't come to work today in something 'sexy', he's a weirdo and a pervert but always acts so innocent when his boss comes to visit, enough is enough!" I notice her voice crack, I had no idea all of this was happening…
"Gosh Annika, I wish you could've told me this earlier.
"It was already hard enough to even say this, you know how desperate I am for a job and I just hoped he'll get better overtime but…" she breaks down right In front of me and I hesitate for a moment and hug her.
"Well then let's put an end to this." I sternly say and she raises her head up to look at me but I begin rushing upstairs to get Micro, this'll be the ultimate test for the little guy, but I'm confident he has enough juice to pull this off.
I run back downstairs with Micro wrapped in my arm and practically begins pulling Annika out of the house with me.
"You ladies ok?" Grandpa asks with some worry.
"Yeah everything will be fine Grandpa!" I say a little louder than I meant to and rush upstairs to my room. I'm still in my pajama shorts, slippers and fluffy coat but I don't have time to change and quickly scoop Micro into my arms.
"Okay Micro, I'm going to need you again, sorry for bothering you again so soon…" I caress him in my arms and his eyes light up signaling he's on again.
"No reason to apologize Mika, that is what I'm here for, how may I assist you?" Micro asks and I can't help but smirk a little, I've come so far with Micro, it doesn't even feel like I'm talking to a robot anymore, it's almost like I'm talking to a live person now.
"Thank you Micro, I really do appreciate you, were going to expose some weirdo so I'm going need you to go into recording mode." I explain to him.
"Yes Mika we will expose the weirdo together!" Micro chimes and I let out a low giggle as Micro quickly morphs into a watch as It wraps around my wrist. All I have to do is push a button on it and it'll start recording. I meet back up with Annika and I proceed to put the watch around her wrist as we start walking towards her job.
"Hey what are you doing? And you're not going to change your outfit, you look ridiculous!" she whines.
"Why is the outfit important? Anyways you're going to confront that weirdo, and pushing this button will allow Micro to record everything that happens, just make sure the watch is facing him and try not to prolong it, the little guy can't take a lot." I explain to her.
"You're not coming with me?" she panics.
"I'll be right next to you and I'll make my presence known when the time is right." I state.
"I have no idea what that means but whatever, let's just get this over with…" we pace towards her job which is only a few minutes away and we both enter the mechanic shop that she works at but I make sure to lean myself against the edge of the corner to remain hidden and Annika gives me a hesitant look and I give her an assuring nod before she goes off to confront the weirdo.
"Annika? So I see you're not wearing those shorts I asked you to wear, are you trying to upset me?" I hear Edson.
"Yes…I mean i- i don't care, I'm done being your eye candy Edson so…treat me like an employer is supposed to treat their employee or I'm leaving!" She sputters and I roll my eyes, she's still willing to give this creep another chance…
"You know how much you need this job Annika, you cant afford to leave me, you are my bitch! So you're going to do as I say or I'll make you regret it!" I hear Edson threaten her, I'm going to have to step in soon…
"Your words don't scare me Edson, and since you aren't willing to respect me, I will be quitting this job effective immediately, you deserve to be locked up for this!" I hear her shout and she comes back into view as she storms towards the door but Edson quickly blocks her path.
"What you think I'm just going to let you walk out of here?" he growls but that's when I decide to make my presence known and quickly pace towards him
"Actually I think you are." I sternly say and he jumps since he had no idea I was here.
"What the, who the hell are you? Wait you're-" he sputters.
"If you know what's best for you, you'll let the both of us go. We already have this recorded, so either way you're screwed." I threaten him.
"Well…dead men can't tell no tales can they!?" he quickly pulls out a switchblade and Annika gasps out loud and I give him a weary look, with all of the young girls that's been disappearing and turning up dead lately, it wouldn't surprise me if this weirdo is the one behind it…
"Micro, tase the weirdo, maximum efficiency." I order Micro and within moments an electric shock emits from the watch Annika has over her wrist and it blasts Edson into the torso immediately knocking him out cold.
"Oh, oh my god! I didn't even know he can do that!? My gosh that was so close, that could've ended really bad! He's not dead right!?" Annika panics
"Battery low, Battery low, shutdown is imminent!" Micro announces before he powers down, that shock drained the rest of the battery the little guy had, but he completed his task.
"No he's not dead but we need to get the authorities involved in this, With how willing he was to harm you just so you wouldn't expose him, he can very well be the serial killer that's been plaguing this district." I state.
"Kind of a stretch but at least I'll feel safer going to my other job this evening if this is infact him…thank you Mika, I couldn't have done this without you!" she begins sobbing but I shake my head.
"You still would've, you know your worth Annika and I knew you weren't going to let that creep have his way with you, hold onto this other job for now, I'm not expecting things to be easy for you but no amount of money is worth devaluing yourself over…" I explain to her.
"You're right Mika, you're so right!" she hugs me sobbing and I'm frozen for a moment as I'm not quite used to this level of…affection, but I eventually hug her back as well. We contact the authorities afterwards and the weirdo is cuffed away.
"You two little shits just wait! I'm going to arrgghh!!!" he curses as he's dragged away in cuffs and I breath a little better now knowing we quite possibly just put away a serial killer and that I helped a friend…
Kurt Caldwell,16, District 6 male
I hold my knife under the warm water, as I watch the dried blood it's drenched in begin to wither away from the force of the water. How many has it been now, eight. Hehehehe, I still remember all of them, all their faces, their desperate cries for help and mercy being drowned out from the blood filling up their windpipes, it was all music to my ears, and now it's time to claim another. The night is still young, might as well have some fun...
Once I clean the knife off, I holster it in the pocket of my textile uniform and slowly and quietly, walk towards my sofa and plop down on it to see what the latest news has to say. I've been stirring up quite a scene as of late, 8 young girls dead by my hand and the rest of this district has no idea how to deal with it, it's all a game to me really. Seeing the entire district in fear, knowing there's a reaper cutting through them one by one and knowing there isn't a thing they can do about it.
Right now they're giving an update on the latest victim as well as labeling me as the "Railroad Butcher". What's even more interesting though is that they're falling right into the little trap I see for them. I've placed my last three victims in various parts of the railroad stations scattered across the district to shift their attention towards them and that's exactly what's happening now. I know their little plan, staking out in the various railroads waiting for me to make another move, but what kind of fool do they take me for? I can't help but chuckle to myself a little as I pull the knife out of my pocket and spin it in my hands for a moment before getting off of my couch and heading towards my parent's room which is down the hall from me.
I creak their door open and gaze at the both of them, so happily sound asleep as they remain holding onto each other and for a few more hours, they'll have nothing to worry about and nothing to fear, how peaceful that must be for them, but my knife trembles in my hand momentarily as I continue gazing at them. How much longer till their blood is coated on this knife? The moment I was born, it was almost as if they sensed something off about me. They tried to have more children so I wouldn't be the only child but they eventually just stopped trying after my mother suffered several miscarriages. They still wanted me to be surrounded by friends and loved ones however and in a desperate attempt to achieve that, began entering me in various school clubs. It was the acting club where I truly felt at home. My acting skills quickly became renowned. it was to the point where fellow colleagues of mine were even frightened due to how realistic my acting was, but little do they know, that there is a reason to fear me…
After putting on my hat and dark sunglasses to disguise my appearance, I sling both my arms into their slings along with my trusty knife and leave the house afterwards as a cold breeze sweeps by me, which unsuspecting victim will have their blood coated on my knife tonight? The streets are practically empty right now, I know most of the authorities are staking out at the railroad stations right now, so I won't have to worry about them for the time being. My first destination is the grocery store and I of course have to pretend to struggle to enter the store with my two "broken" arms but I finally make my way inside and I see the store clerk is slumped over the counter with drool oozing down her mouth but she jumps up upon hearing the door close.
"Oh…oh I'm sorry! Welcome! Can I help you to anything?" she yawns.
"I think I'll be fine, long night though huh?" I smirk at her.
"Yeah… This is my third job, was hoping to get some sleep, cause I have to work in the morning too…hate this life." she sighs.
"Well of course. We live in a cruel world where we're not able to live, but forced to survive if we want to see another day, until we inevitably reach our limits, whether that's by own hands or other means." I comment.
"Hmm I can kind of see what you mean by that, doesn't look like you have it easy either though…" she notices my "broken" arms.
"I'm surviving…just like you are, you ought be more appreciative of the things you have though, you never know when someone might come and snatch it all away…" I explain to her, it wouldn't be any fun slaughtering her. She's hopeless. It's the people who hold hope i relish in killing as seeing it all leave their eyes in one fell swoop is what brings joy to me each and every time.
"Uh…I see,so what are you getting? I'll help you ring it up." She yawns but also seems a bit creeped out. I point out several cans of soda and she grabs them, packs them into a bag and after I pay for them, helps me out the door.
"Have a good night!" she gives me a phony smile and I can see the relief in her face that I'm finally leaving.
"Goodnight…" I casually say trying to balance the bag in my "broken" arm as best I can and I make my way back outside, it's already difficult holding the bag while I have both my arms in a sling but I make it look even more difficult, it's only a matter of time before some young woman returning back from some late night work stops to help me…
"Sir…are you ok?" I hear a young woman's voice and I almost grin but I contain myself and slowly turn around to face her, it's another young girl around my age, and most likely returning back from work as I can't see why else she'll be out this late, not that it matters to me.
"Oh uh, yes. I was just trying to get back home…" I state struggling to balance the bag in my hand.
"You live close by? I can help you back home if you want. I'm Annika by the way." She offers, hehehe, another easy one on the way.
"That'll be so kind of you Annika, my name is Gordon, I live just past the alley over there, so fairly close by." I explain to her.
"Oh ok that's not bad at all, here let me take that bag off your hands!" she smiles and walks up to me gently taking the bag, what a sweet girl she is, but so were the other 8.
"Thank you so much Annika, I greatly appreciate it." I thank her as we begin walking towards my "home".
"It's no problem at all, Gordon, what are you doing out here so late though?" she curiously asks though.
"Well my mother has been ill lately, but she loves to drink flavored soda pop so I came out to buy her some." I explain to her.
"Well that's kind of you, I hope she feels better soon, a lot of people have been coming down with the flu lately. I just came from work though, I quit my other job earlier so this evening one is all I have left…" she explains to me.
"Thank you, a lot of people don't even have that, so cherish that job of yours that you have left." I state as we reach the alley and that's when I begin gripping the knife that I have in one of my slings, it's almost go time!
"I agree with you, it's always so easy for people to say they have a shitty life or that they wish things could be better for them, but there's always someone doing worse than you, it's the little things that matter the most." She responds to me, wow me and her seems to see eye to eye on some things, it's almost ashame that she has to die!
"I'm glad we both see eye to eye on that Annika, you have a lot of hope, and people like you inspires me to keep going…" I almost whisper to her as i stop walking with her slightly ahead of me but still being in arm's reach.
"Yeah it's no-" she turns around to face me but with almost inhumane speed, I slice the knife clean through her throat and she immediately lets out a choking gasp as she drops my bag and clenches her throat but a large amount of blood is still pouring out of her neck like a fountain and I see the fear in her eyes as she falls down to her knees, realizing her mortality but most of all realizing that I am the grim reaper of this district and that she's now just another victim I can add to my list. She slumps against the wall of the alley way as she gurgles on her blood trying to cry for help, but her struggle soon ends as her hands collapse onto the ground and her head lifelessly hangs on her shoulders as blood continues to pour down her slashed open neck, drenching her clothes and the ground. Another victim claimed, now it's time for me to return home, reapings are tomorrow after all!
It doesn't take me long to get home and I once again to return to my bathroom sink to clean off my knife and change into my house clothes before laying down in my bed and reflecting on my latest victim. I left her right there in the alley so this should throw the authorities off quite a bit when they find her in there. Their incompetence brings joy to me, and as long as that continues, people will continue to die by my hand and I can't help but grin to myself thinking about it.
The smell of toast wakes me up in the morning and I let out a low yawn before sitting up off my bed and doing a long stretch before going to the restroom to wash myself up to get ready for these reapings. I'm going to wear my usual textile uniform with both my arm slings today. I've literally worn this to the reapings every year just so I'll have a good sob story and fake being a little weakling if I were ever reaped. I'm just that poor kid who broke both his arms in a textile factory accident.
I march my way downstairs and see both my parents sitting at the kitchen table with their toast and porridge as they look at the television screen where the news is playing, right now they're talking about the weather, but it's only a matter of time before they're talking about the latest victim, I'm pretty sure she was found by now.
"Good morning mother and father." I greet the both of them. We don't communicate very much, but they always come to my plays and are always dumbfounded by how talented I am.
"Good morning son, had a good sleep? You earned it after that performance from the other day!" my father greets me back. He's of course referring to my performance in my most recent Shakespearean play, Romeo and Juliet. It was a fun play but these lesser actors really don't deserve to stand on the same stage as someone like me.
"I did actually." I bluntly say and drink my glass of orange juice and take a bite of my toast before heading towards the door.
"You're not going to eat the rest of your breakfast Kurt?" My mother asks with some concern.
"I'll eat some more of it later, see y'all at the square, I nonchalantly say and make sure i sling both of my arms into their slings before I head out. It's quite busy out here of course, lot of families rushing to the square so they can get there in time, I still have a few minutes to spare though , so I'm going to walk by that alley way i left that Annika girl at, and it's pretty close by but when I get there, I already see the entire area is roped off as a crowd of people surrounds it while the authorities struggle to continue their investigation.
"This is not an entertainment show guys, please allow us to continue our investigation, and head to the square…" one of the detectives informs the crowd and I can see a news crew beginning to set up their gear.
"No no no no no!!!" I see a middle aged woman frantically running towards the scene and tries to jump over the caution tape but several of the authorities grab her, this must be her mother.
"My baby! My baby! Let me go! Let me go!!!!" she screams to the top of her lungs.
"Ma'am, ma'am please! I know how you're feeling, I know!" one of the detectives tries to comfort her as she falls to her knees sobbing uncontrollably.
"My baby!!! Nooooo! Oh my god, no, no!!" she continues hollering. This is a grieving mother right here who just lost the most precious person to her. This is why people need to cherish those in life that are precious to them. They can wake up one morning and it'll all be gone. I only let out a small grunt as I walk away from the scene and towards the square.
"She has to be alive, she has to! Where is my baby!?" I can still hear her mother sobbing.
"Ma'am I'm so sorry…" I hear the detective and I only let out a small yawn, I can't be stopped, no one can stop me. I am the grim reaper, the personification of death itself and people will only continue to die as the days go by, I might even go for a little stroll tonight!
Once I get my blood drawn, I join the other males at the 16 year old section and only hold my head down gazing at the ground just waiting for these reapings to fly by so I can get back to my business.
"Hey you heard they found another body right? This time it was Annika." I hear one of the boys conversing.
"Whoa…Annika? No way, I knew he got someone else but Annika!? Dammit, she was like the nicest girl in school… This damn killer, when is someone going to catch his ass!?" I hear another boy.
"I don't know man, but what's even more disturbing is that all of the victims so far has been girls, he's specifically targeting them, like what a fucking coward he is!" I hear the first boy and I have to really try hard to contain a chuckle. All my victims so far has been female, that is correct, but it's purely a coincidence, well mostly. The young men here are just as vulnerable, but men and their damn pride, don't want to take a few minutes out of their pathetic lives to help out some poor loser with two broken arms, I appreciate that the women are though and in return, I send them on an eternal trip to the afterlife!
"This is unforgivable, I swear I hope this moron suffers, he has no care in the world, no remorse, no consideration, I hope he burns in hell, seriously…" the second boy says through gritted teeth.
"Justice always wins in the end, Pete, I know he'll be stopped…" the first boy responds.
"Yeah? Well just how many more people need to die before that happens Harry?" Pete weeps, my answer to that though, a lot more. Does Justice always win in the end or is justice itself just a matter of perspective, there will always be evil, killing and hatred, no amount of fucking "justice" will ever change that.
"Ok uhmm let's start with the boys first then shall we?" I hear Perona and I look up to see her nervously walking over to the male's bowl where she scoops up a name.
"Kurt Caldwell!" she peeps and I almost let out a chuckle but I have to remind myself that I need to play the role of a weakling right now. I hold my head down and begin slowly walking towards the stage as I force my eyes to water where tears begin running down my eyes almost right after. That's the good thing about being an actor, I can summon all these crocodile tears on command. I make my way to the stage though and stand next to Perona as tears continue falling down my eyes and I already see the look of sympathy on Perona's face. Yeah I'm just the poor boy with two broken arms that's going to die in the bloodbath but boy do these people have another thing coming, like I said before, no one can stop me!
"Do we have any volunteers?" Perona asks and that's when I lift up my head still crying.
"Please someone, anyone please…I won't stand a chance out there…" I weep, but I already know the outcome of this, no one will volunteer for me cause everyone just fears death so much, but there's no hiding from it, there's no avoiding it and when it comes knocking on your door, it'll already be too late for you to realize! There's of course radio silence as no one volunteers for me and Perona let's out a sympathetic sigh afterwards.
"Ok…lets proceed to the females then." she walks over to the female's bowl and scoops out a name.
"Mika Hollis!" Perona announces and I can hear several gasps, her name is definitely familiar, what is she again like some big-time engineer? Anyways she comes out from the 16 year old female section and begins walking towards the stage. She's fairly tall, around 5'8 in height and has fair skin with a lot of freckles. Her hair is a rusty brown and is in a shaggy haircut that hangs just above her shoulders and her eyes are hazel brown, with defined cheekbones and thin lips. She's wearing a white blouse with black trousers and work boots and she slowly walks her way to the stage. Her face looks a bit puffy though, like she's been crying, beforehand. She makes her way to the stage and stands a fair distance away from me and she quickly wipes her eyes and lifts her head up, trying to look strong, not sure what her problem is, but something other than the fact that she just got reaped, is getting to her, not that any of it matters to me though.
"Any volunteers?" Perona casually asks and as usual no one volunteers.
"Ok…please welcome both our tributes representing district 6 this year, please shake h- uh well…" Perona notices both of my "broken" arms, but my hand is still exposed enough and Mikka extends her hand to mines where she gently shakes it and we're guided towards the justice building afterwards. She's walking slightly ahead of me but I figure I might as well say a few words to her.
"Hey…Mika right?" I ask, already knowing the answer.
"...Yes and you're Kurt right?" she responds.
" Yes… I heard about you a few times, some of your inventions are pretty amazing, like the prototype of Micro the handy homebot!" I pretend to be interested but I don't really give a shit.
"Thank you… look I don't mean to be rude but I'm not really in a talkative mood right now, my best friend…she was murdered last night." She reveals to me and I have to hide my shock of course. The girl I gutted last night was her best friend, well what were the odds of that!?
"Oh my…I'm so sorry." I 'apologize' to her.
"No need to apologize, not like it was your fault, these inventions and Innovations though, none of them were able to save her, or the other 8 girls, I just wonder what's the point of it all…" she laments.
"You can't blame yourself for that, there's just really horrible people out here and sometimes they're just going to do horrible things, no kind of technology or innovation can stop that…" I try to console her, I'm of course only pretending I care instead of just flat out laughing in her face and with my pristine acting skills, I'm pretty confident I can pull anything off. She slowly nods however seemingly agreeing with me
"I know…I, I just need a moment though, maybe we can talk more later?" She begins to head to her justice room and I nod.
"Yeah of course." I do a faint smile and she does a slight nod before entering her room and I enter mines. She seems like a pleasant girl, but that won't stop me from slitting her throat just I like I did the others!
Hey guys I am back! it's been a few months I know but I didn't abandon you guys, I was just taking a small break and playing a bunch of new video games that recently came out. Anyways guys here is the district 6 reapings and as usual, the reapings will not be in order, so I'll just be randomly choosing a district and taking it from there. I am also happy to announce that I FINALLY received a district 11 female and can officially close the submissions now, thank you to everyone who submitted and I hope you will all stay with me so we can experience this final journey together, but regardless, this story will be finished! Anyways what are you thoughts on these two? please let me know and I'll see you guys soon with the next chapter, till next time!