The Game of Two

Chapter 14: Sacrifices Are Made

"Diless Singtree!"  the head Gamemaker calls, and I walk in, my knees quivering.  I'm the last one to go, being the female from District 12.

I glance up at the Gamemakers, who are chatting with each other and looking extremely bored.  They pay no attention as I grab four different spears and thrust them into the ground.  Then I grab 4 different ropes, a sword dummy, and tie the limbs of the sword dummy to the four spears.  I get some paint, one more spear, and use the paint to write the words "Werick Drest" onto the dummy.

Now I have their complete attention, them widening their eyes at me.  I smirk as I thrust the spear through the dummy's stomach and walk out, leaving them to contemplate what I have done.

I take the elevator up to my floor, where Chemrick immediately hammers me on what I did.  "I just threw spears at the targets," I lie, shrugging.  "No big deal, I don't want people to single me out or anything."  I'm sure if Werick finds out, he will.

"Oh, okay."  Chemrick sighs and sits down, waiting for our scores to come on.

"They'll be on... now,"  Shasta says, and on cue they start showing the scores.  The Careers all got scores between 6-9.  All the other tributes except for Terpetra got low scores.  Terpetra got a 10, and I feel pride swell in my chest.

Werick got a 7 and I got a... 2.  My mouth literally drops open, and my eye twitches slightly.  I got what I 'wanted;' that's an insignificant score, alright.  Now everyone thinks I'm a weakling; great.

"Well.... good job, I guess," Chemrick says, obviously disappointed.  "Tomorrow you will have interview training, which will be pretty difficult.  So you should go get some sleep."

Werick smirks and says, "Alright."  He walks to his room, leaving me, Shasta, and Chemrick.

"That means you,"  Chemrick says, and Shasta shoots him an evil look.  I say nothing but walk towards my room, instead going up to the roof.

I sit on the edge of the building, thinking.  I miss my family; I wonder is Prandi is any better now.

"Hey, robot girl,"  Feruso Cerington yelled at me from across the playground.  He threw a rock and it hit my leg brace in the knee, causing my leg to buckle.  "Robots don't have any emotions!  Does this hurt?"

He threw another rock, this time it hitting me on the side of my face.  I cringed on the impact, tears welling in my eyes.  I took a step towards him, my leg braces creaking.  Stupid polio.

"Leave me alone," I said, turning away.  Another rock hit me in the back of the head, and I was blinded momentarily.

"You can run, but you can't hide robot girl!  Wait, you can't run either!"  Feruso said, laughing with his friends.  The tears started streaming down my face, and I buried my face in my hands.  Feruso was about to throw another stone at me, but it hit something in front of me instead.

"Stop it, Feruso,"  Gregson yelled, hopping in front of me.  He didn't even flinch when the stone hit him in the shoulder.  "You stuck-up pig!  Don't ever hurt Diless, you hear me?"

Feruso knew better than to argue.  After all, Gregson's dad was mayor.  "I said, do you hear me?!"

Feruso glumly muttered, "Yeah, whatever."  He and his gang of friends walked past us, but not without 'accidentally' kicking my leg brace, making me fall.

Gregson helped me up and I hugged him, silent tears coming down my face.  "Thank you," I whispered to the 12-year-old Gregson.

"You're welcome," he replied.  "It's what friends are for..."

I feel a pang of guilt.  Gregson has done so much for me.  But I never loved him that way.  As a brother, yes.  Boyfriend, no.  There's only one person who stole my heart that way, and that's Terpetra.

I finger the hourglass around my neck, it feeling cold against my bare skin.  I stare at the many plants in bloom and name the majority of them in my head.  Lily, Iris, Daisy, Poinsetta, Rose, Bluebonnet....

Suddenly the rooftop door swings open with a bang and I see Terpetra, red-faced and puffy-eyed.  His hands are clenched into fists, but when he sees me he relaxes.

"Terpetra...?" I ask cautiously, standing up.  I can still feel the cold, hard metal of my leg braces against my leg as though they are still there.  "Are you okay?  What's the matter?"

"It's... the Capitol," is all he manages to say before he clenches his hands again.  He runs a hand through his shaggy brown hair, and I can't help but smile.

"What did they do?"  I ask gently, hoping I'm not pressing for too much info.

Terpetra shakes his head and walks closer to me.  "I don't really want to talk about it."  I sigh inwardly but say nothing as Terpetra intertwines his hand with mine and stares out at the gleaming Capitol buildings.

To lighten the mood I say, "Did you see you got a ten in your private session?"

"Yes, and I hate it." 

"Why?"  Ten is one of the highest scores you can get.

"Because... they want everyone to target me, Diless," he replies in a whisper, turning towards me.  "Why?"

I don't know how to respond.  I wish I could say something smart, something that would make him feel better.  But I can't.  So instead I lean up and kiss him, hoping to take some of his pain away.

Terpetra pulls himself away and I lean my head against his chest.  He's about seven inches taller than I am, which makes me feel really small.  "Diless, I need you to promise me something."

I gaze up at him and reply, "Okay."

"If- no, when- I get my revenge against the Capitol, I want you to help me. Will you?"  He looks at me pleadingly.  I've heard sayings about doing anything for the one you love, but should I?

I make my mind's decision, and I know I won't regret it either.  "Yes, Terpetra.  I will."