The crowd gathered around the stage, holding their breath. My sister and I hung back, scared to interfere. Well her at least. I wasn't scared. I was never scared. If I ever entered the games, I would win. I'd have to win. For the only life I have. For my sister.
Someone came onto the stage wearing bright, flashy clothes. That was so stupid. Colours stand out. Standing out is bad. It's easier to recognise you if you stand out. Easy to kill you, when you stand out.
I held my breath as the girl was reaped. When the name was called, it was not my sister. I breathed a sigh of relief. Some other girl's name was called out and she seemed to collapse out of sheer fear.
In my heart I felt no sympathy nor pity for the young girl. She was inevitably weak. She would die within a day. An hour maybe.
"Any volunteers?" was asked.
What a stupid question, no-one would possibly-
"ME!" I heard a shout from a ginger girl.
She strode to the stage and said her name proudly into the microphone.
"Axis Rose!"
What an oblivious girl. She seemed so young. Fourteen, I guess.
"Now onto the boys," the Reaper announced, "Jet. Jet Flash!"
I froze, completely taken by surprise. My name? No. I must be having a nightmare. I turned to look at Evie but all I could see in her eyes was fear. Fear and pain.
Hardening my feelings, I gave her a faint smile. I hugged her, feeling her relax.
"I'll win and come back!" I whispered into her ear, "I won't leave you behind. Okay?"
As I pulled away, she nodded. I felt proud of her. She learned to lock her feelings away just like me.
I squeezed her hand a final time and strode towards the stage. The reaper nodded at me and I nodded back.
"Winning is what I was born for!" I shouted into the microphone, cheers and hoots erupting from all around.
I glanced over to where my sister had been standing. She stood there, tears pouring down her face.
She shouted something, but I couldn't hear it over the noise. There was no need to hear it. I knew what she had said:
"I love you, Jet!"
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We were taken to a room. It was bigger than any room I had ever been in, but still seemed to be small compared to the rest of the building. The time spent in that room was spent in silence.
I had no desire to talk. Why should I need to talk? I was still fuming over the fact that Evie had been snatched away from me. She was all I cared about. All I had.
She was my reason for staying alive. A life without Evie would be like a bee who couldn't make honey. Or a koala that couldn't climb. Or even a kangaroo that couldn't jump.
I turned to the guard at the door and finally opened my mouth.
"Will I see my sister again before the Games?" I asked, coldly.
He said nothing but shook his head. I wouldn't see her before I had to massacre everyone. That's fine. As long as I don't forget her, nothing stands in my way.
As the minutes ticked by, I got bored. What were they doing? I was dying here. I just want to get everything done and over with. I want to see Evie again.
Sighing, I glanced at the other tribute. The crazy girl who volunteered. I wonder why? Maybe I could find out. It had been I while since I had used my investigating skills. I want to use them again...
Her nails weren't chewed, indicating she wasn't anxious or nervous. Her outfit was clean, new and crisp indicating she had no money issues. As she had no money issues, the only reason she would join the Games would be for fame. The loneliness in her eyes revealed she only had a single or a small group of friends. She seemed well educated and kept on raising her hand to her necklace showing that she had some attachment to it. Maybe it had something to do with her mother perhaps?
Whew. That was pretty fun. Been a long time since I had done that.
The peacekeepers opened the doors and motioned for us to get out.
Finally. We could find out what's going on...
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The Reaper led us to the train station platform. It was somewhere I had never approached before. I never needed to come here.
The train door opened and I recognised Evie's presence. We stepped into the compartment and sure enough, there she was. I also saw a mother, a father and a girl. They probably all belonged to Axis's family.
Sure enough, they turned out to be. She embraced them with a hug as Evie and I cuddled together on the sofa. Evie leaned on my shoulder and fell asleep as the train pulled out the station.
I was going to win no matter what. There was absolutely nothing in the world that could stop me. Evie came first. She was the queen and I was the knight.
She was my hope and my light.
Without her, the darkness would claim me.
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When we arrived, we stepped out the train to rows of cheering people. A smile played at my lips. IT was funny. Funny how they cheered.
Evie pulled my arm and my attention was drawn back to her.
"Where are we going?" she asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
I shrugged, and asked the Reaper.
"Where are we headed?"
"You'll have a short tour then you'll be taken to the training centre to sleep," the Reaper informed me.
Evie nodded and held my hand.
The tour was pretty boring, but Evie enjoyed it. She had never seen anything like it before. Neither had I, but it wasn't as flashy as I expected.
As the day drew to a close, we were taken to the training centre. Evie shared my room and we snuggled up together in the same bed as we always did.
"Goodnight, Evie," I smiled.
"Goodnight, Jet," Evie yawned.
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The next day, I took Evie shopping. She enjoyed it a lot but, she had the look of fear in her eyes again. She was scared for me. I wasn't even scared for myself.
After a long trip, we went to a feast. Again, there was fear in Evie's eyes.
"Hey, cheer up!" I grinned, tucking in.
"Okay!" she beamed.
We had been offered clothes and I had refused. Evie, however, liked the dress they provided her with. It was pale orange and looked beautiful on her.
“My dear Tributes. Friends. Family. We are gathered here to celebrate the lives of these brave people, many of who will, unfortunately, die. But not today. Today we shall live. We shall cherish life. We shall cherish the company of those we love. With good food an music I hope to make these last moments before the games pleasant moments. I want you all to know I am not your enemy.” She looks into the crowd looking beautiful and commanding, “I want to help you. Every one of you. And as a sign of my good will, the left-overs from this feast will be divided and bagged so that each of your family and friends will have food to take back to your District. Now let's eat, drink an be merry.”
Be merry my arse...