Writer Games: Pending Secrets

Task One - Promises Left Untouched - Female Entries

Jana Monaco

*DID NOT HAND IN*

Chloe-Marie De La Fuente

*DID NOT HAND IN*

Felicia Reynolds

*DID NOT HAND IN*

Charity Lightning

*DID NOT HAND IN*

Shyen Ann Brooke

When Shyen Ann Brooke heard District Thirteen's sirens blaring, and received news that the District had been put on red alert, she foolishly paid no mind. She was busy writing an overdue essay on the history of Panem for school, and didn't want to be disturbed lest she receive a bad grade. It was the worst decision of her life, for the next thing the fourteen-year-old girl knew was that the wooden ceiling of her house was cracking, raining down a storm of dust and debris, as explosion after explosion shook the area and sent her crumbling to her knees.

With a choked scream she fell as the entire room shook, before just as quickly placing the palm of her hands firmly on the ground and rolling over in one smooth motion, so that she landed directly underneath her bed. Shyen Ann's breath came in heavy, ragged gasps as she racked her scrambled mind to find an answer for what was occurring. An earthquake? No, it couldn't be – District Thirteen had never been affected by earthquakes, Shyen Ann would know. She was a top history student in school and could not recall any incident of an earthquake happening in her home District – ever. Oddly enough, despite the constant rumbling and quaking of the house, Shyen Ann gradually felt her heartbeat calming and her breathing begin to calm. Thinking about a topic had always seemed to sedate her, causing her previously stiff body posture to relax and loosen as she ran a hand through her dust-coated hair and took several deep breaths.

Okay, Shyen Ann. She told herself, now focusing purely on her breathing. Her house gave a mighty lurch, as if she was trapped in a ship during a storm at sea, and on instinct Shyen Ann's hand stretched out and wrapped around the leg of her bed. Think, think, think. If its not an earthquake, what is it? What's happening? Then suddenly, a flash of realization hit her – but not in a way that made her grin because she'd finally discovered the answer to a question, but in a way that caused her heartbeat to stop for a second or two and her mind to go numb. No...no, it can't be. All previous calmness the fourteen-year-old possessed was gone in an instant, like a candle snuffed out by the wind. Bombs. They can't be bombing us, can't they?

A million questions arose from the depths of the young girl's mind as once again, the wooden foundations of the ceiling began to groan and an ominous cracking noise filled her ears. To Shyen Ann's horror, her bed itself began to shake and rattle, and she made a split second decision on the spot. Knowing that remaining underneath the bed would be stupid, Shyen Ann gnashed her teeth before rolling out in a flourish, before scrambling to her feet and grabbing her bedroom's doorknob. With a mighty push she flung it open and leapt out – half-falling and half-jumping out of the way of a collapsing lamp. A horrific smashing noise pierced her ears and Shyen Ann looked back, eyes widening when she saw that what once were her windows were now nothing but empty panes, and outside, the District was burning.

No. She didn't know what to do or say as she watched the thick, black smoke curl up into the blood-red sky, and the screams of the wounded and dying reached her ears. She sat on the carpeted hallway of her home, feeling nothing and everything all at once. A lump formed in Shyen Ann's throat as she picked herself up and began to run down the hallway and to the front door. Her father was outside, and so was her mother. They had gone out in the afternoon to the market to find some vegetable for dinner. What if they're...No. She shook her head to herself as she skidded over the damp living room floor, where a pipe had burst and was now flooding the entire area. That didn't matter now. I need to find Mum and Dad. Panic began to course through her veins as she ran out of her house and took a flying leap off of the porch – it wasn't a difficult deed; Shyen Ann had done it numerous times when she was younger.