~District 9~
(Tori Windell's POV)
Storm doesn't seem to mind that I've latched onto his hand like a lifeline. I can't even make it to a chair before my legs give out and I sink to the floor, dragging Storm's hand down with me. Aryanna Toplit quickly pulls over a chair for me to sit on, and Storm gentle disengages his hand from my grasping clutch. He, Aryanna, and Elliot drag three more chairs over.
"Allies?" Storm asks quickly.
Aryanna shrugs. "Your choice. I don't know if you want to. I plan to make my death mean something, and it could put you guys in danger."
Storm glances at Elliot unsurely. Elliot shrugs, looking just as confused as I feel. Make her death mean something? Impossible.
"Um...Aryanna...the Games don't mean anything," Storm says slowly, like he's diffusing a bomb.
She rolls her eyes. "If I die in outright rebellion, it will mean everything. It could start another rebellion, Storm!" She has an excited light in her eyes as she speaks, and I don't know why. She's literally proposing she die for a rebellion that won't affect her. Because she'll be dead.
Storm frowns. "How?" Oh no. He looks like he's considering it.
"Well, I just need to take every opportunity to show how the Capitol is failing our country."
"Why?" The question pops out of my mouth before I realize I'm asking it. Storm and Aryanna both turn to look at me in surprise. I'm normally very shy, and I'm surprised at myself, really. I don't normally talk in front of people I don't know well. The interviews might kill me before I get to the Games.
"Why?" Ayanna repeats. "Well, to give them hope. None of the districts have had any since the Mockingjay Rebellion was quelled. If I can change things, I want to. The Capitol took away my family. I want to help take away their country."
"They took away your family?" Storm asks quietly, looking concerned.
Aryanna nods stiffly. "They were rebels. Somehow...I don't know...there was a Capitol spy in the group, and everyone was executed. Publicly. It was awful. Pointless. Like these stupid Games."
Storm frowns, concern filling his face. He's such a kind-hearted person, but I think he should be more wary of this girl. After all, she wasn't even alive during the Mockingjay Rebellion. Maybe her parents really were fighting for a lost cause. What if what I learned in school is right? What if the rebels back then were only terrorists trying to disrupt the peace of the Capitol's reign?
One look in Aryanna's passionate face convinces me. Her eyes are alight with a fire that I've never seen anywhere: the fire of hope. Hope that is now coursing through me, as I understand what she's fighting for. She wants other people to feel the same hope she does. She's laying down her life so that everyone she loves can walk free. It's so noble...I just don't know if I can give myself up for that.
"I can help too, right?" Elliot pipes up.
"Did you really need to ask?" Aryanna kids, poking him in the stomach. She quickly grows serious again as she turns to Storm. "So, it's up to you. Do you want to join us? Spark a revolution? Maybe someday they'll bring down the Capitol. Maybe it'll have started with us."
Storm glanced at me. "I need to talk to Tori about it."
"Right. Ok. Take as long as you want." Aryanna stands up and beckons for Elliot to follow her. "Let's give them some privacy."
As they leave the car, Storm raises his eyebrows at me. "What do you think?"
I shrug. "Is it worth it?"
My brother looks down. "Tori, you know I don't plan on getting out of this alive. You'll win, I promise, if I can help it. But if my death can mean something...how can I pass that up? If I'm going to die anyway, I'd like it to be more than just another victim of the Games."
I stare at my brother. He's an amazing person, but normally he's encouraging and outgoing. I've never heard him talk this way. Mean something...
"A-all right...ok..." An unwanted tear slips down my cheek. "B-but I don't want you gone!"
Storm holds his arms out and I fall into his comforting hug. How can I lose my closest friend? He and Gram are the only ones I have left...I can't lose him...
"Tori, it's all right, you'll be ok," Storm whispers, rocking us back and forth slightly. I try to quiet my sobs, but it takes a while. By the time I've calmed myself, Storm's shoulder is damp from my tears.
"Tori, it'll be okay, I promise." He looks a bit pained as he says that. I know why. He can't really promise I'll be okay. No one knows what will happen. It could be that I don't have to be without him. Maybe we'll just die together.
~~~~
(Elliot Toplit's POV)
How did I get here? The Reaping was a blur, just like today. Aryanna looked really intimidating, though. I guess that's good. Or not. I'm not sure what image she's trying to project for this whole "rebel" thing.
Me? I just want to stay with her for as long as possible. I'll probably die, and I know it. I'm going to be allied with an outspoken rebel. Of course they won't let me live. I'd like to say I'm not scared, but my parents taught me not to lie.
I'm terrified.
As I lie here in bed, on a moving train that I can't feel moving, I listen for the familiar night sounds from home. Where are the crickets? The barn owls hooting? Where is the breeze rustling through the leaves outside my window? All I hear is the faint whir of the wind past this bullet of a vehicle. I can't sleep when it's this quiet.
Finally, I sit up. Sleep isn't happening any time soon. I pull a blanket around my shoulders and wander out of my compartment. Maybe there's still some of that hot chocolate stuff. It was delicious.
I trudge sleepily into the main compartment and don't realize anyone's in here until they speak.
"There's 12 of us in there," Tornado, Tori, actually, whispers, staring at me with wide eyes. It's unsettling, actually. The light from the television illuminates her face.
I sink down next to her. "What do you mean, '12 of us'?"
"Twelve 12-year-olds," she breathes, turning back to the television screen, which is showing the replay of the reapings. It's one in the morning...I wonder if she's slept at all...
"Ok...that's sad," I say, not sure what her point is. Sure, there have never been this many young kids in the Games in the history of ever, and that's sad, but so? We all know the Games are just a horrible way to torture us. This'll just make it slightly more painful to watch.
"I don't want to die..." Tori breathes.
I glance at her in time to see a tear tracing it's way down her cheek. "I don't want to either," I admit. "I'm scared."
"Me, too."
~~~~
~District 10~
(Emma Smith's POV)
Ava isn't waiting for me in the Justice Building. She's not in the car that takes us to the train, either. She's not even in the compartment we're led into. I'm about to hop up and go look for her when one of the girls who got thrown in the Games faints.
"Lark!" the other shrieks, catching her as she falls. I quickly pull over a chair so the girl can set her sister down on it. She smiles gratefully at me.
I don't know what to say, so I slip away as some of the Capitol attendants come in and help Lark. Where is Ava? Slowly, a cold feeling runs through my veins. What if they killed her? They wouldn't, then they wouldn't have enough tributes. Would they? I start getting frantic, pushing on every door and shouting her name as I run down the length of the train.
I'm going so fast that I run right into a door as it swings open and fall on the floor. I jump to my feet, rubbing my head, and meet my sister's eyes.
Relief floods through me and I throw my arms around her. Ava winces and shrugs be off. I back up and notice just how beat up she looks. "W-what happened?"
Her hair, her beautiful braid, is half-way pulled down, and tangled beyond belief. Her dress is torn, and she has bruises all up and down her arms and legs. I slowly follow her into her room, worry creasing my brow.
Ava shrugs. "They got mad at me and started hitting me until I calmed down." She notices my horror-filled look and quickly adds, "I'm fine, though! Don't worry!"
I smile in relief. Quickly, though, that turns into anger.
"What were you thinking?! You could have been killed! You started a riot! They killed someone to make it stop!"
"What...?" The blood stains from Ava's face. "K-killed someone?"
I nod. "Why were you being so stupid?"
"I didn't want anyone to die..." she whispered.
My anger evaporates. "It's ok...it wasn't your fault..."
"It was though...it was..." She sits on her bed and puts her head in her hands. "How will we survive? I can't kill anyone...I can't be responsible for more deaths! This is hard enough..."
I don't know what to say. I've never seen my sister like this. What happened wasn't her fault...we'll survive...we have to...
~~~~
(Lark Mock's POV)
The first I see of the train is the floor. Literally. The first thing I see is the floor flying up to greet my face.
I think Evergreen must catch me because I find myself in a chair. I must have blacked out. It's not a rare occurrence, especially when I'm under stress. And where I am now: ultimate stress.
But it'll be okay.
On the bright side, I have all of the luxuries of the Capitol to look forward to before the Games. And even once I'm in the Games, I'll be able to make the most of every moment I have left with Evergreen.
Wondering how I'm accepting death so easily? I'm dying anyway. I know it. I haven't been to a doctor, that's way to expensive, but I know I'm dying anyway. I haven't told my family. I don't know how much longer I would have lived, really. But now I would get to see the glitz and glamour of the Capitol before the end. I just hope Evergreen doesn't try to be noble and save me. I'm already gone. I want her to live a full life. I'll smile down from heaven at her with her future husband and kids. And I'll be with Robin again. Everyone will be happy.
Evergreen hands me a plate stacked high with food, mainly fruits and sweets. She and our parents are always trying to get me to eat more, because I'm so frail. The thing is, I can't. Im not hungry for more. If I was, trust me, I'd eat more. I pick a few juicy-looking strawberries and pop them into my mouth.
So: I'm going to die. I would die anyway. This is my first and last adventure. Might as well make the most of it.
~~~~
So, another chapter is here! What do you think?
Will Aryanna start a revolution? Or will they all die tragically because I'm an evil person who likes to play with your feels?
How about Ava Smith? Is she a murderer? Should she feel guilty or not?
Vote and comment! Thanks!
~Ellie