Culling

Part I • Chapter IX

No, Chet being here was a thorn in my side, but was most likely not some part of some nefarious plot.

Probably.

It was surprising that he became a tribute. There had been a lot of people vying for the chance and he didn't have an upstanding record, even if he did have the wealth.

Perhaps there was something here... If anything he was always good at gaining a following. I really could not afford to not be paranoid.

I glanced over that Sang's sleeping form again and looked back to my family. I stifled a sigh, this was another complication we didn't need but there was too much at risk to ignore a potential threat.

"Alright." I nodded to Sean as I noted that everyone was listening. "We would have to deviate from our usual proceedings, as you know, so we can't monitor suspects the way we would want... However, add Mr Adair to the list of people we need to keep a close eye on. Just don't deliberately set him off. He is already volatile enough."

Kota nodded in acceptance, as did the others, before he exchanged a glance with North. He spoke, "We do not think that X is among the tributes. None of the men from district six really come across as capable enough. Of course, we won't know for certain until the Toma team communicates with us or X himself comes forward, but from the beginning we knew the likelihood was extremely low that he would be pulled into this anyway."

I thought as much and nodded in agreement. We had to play this by ear, but the odds were in our favor in this instance. That was one thing we may be able to strike off our to-do list.

I glanced at my watch again I noticed that we had been talking for close to a half-hour at this point. "Alright, we will continue this at another time. For the moment our tasks include going through the day-by-day activities, making sure Miss Sorenson stays safe and monitoring Mr Adair."

Tired murmurings of acknowledgement reached my ears as my family went off to their bunks.

Sean was the last stand up and he remained next to me for a moment. I felt his hand on my shoulder and I glanced at him.

"I'll be a minute. Catch up on your sleep, I have some things to think about." I told him.

"Don't stay up too late."

"Yes, mother." I waved him off, thankful for the concern but needing the privacy, even from my second. He gave me a knowing look and then left to go to bed.

I intended to sit for only moments, but it ended up being at least twenty. I knew that as much as I lectured the others, I was doing a poor job at following my own advice.

Finally I got up to go to bed, and as I walked past the end bunk a stifled sob caught my attention.

I paused mid-step, turned and made my way over to the bottom bunk to see if Sang was awake.

She wasn't. But she tossed and turned in a way that indicated that she was in the middle of a nightmare. A quick glance around the room showed me that no one else had heard anything.

Do I wake her or...

What was the etiquette for something like this?

I considered waking Sean, despite the fact that I knew he needed to rest. Then Sang starting crying in her sleep.

Well then, that wasn't acceptable. I suppose I'll just need to go with my instincts.

I shook her shoulder lightly, noticing how fragile her bones felt and how small her arm was in comparison to my hand. She must have lacked a proper nutrition growing up, but I had already guessed as much.