Artemis knew this was the last year she’d ever have to put her name down for tesserae, and with that in mind, she applied for the maximum amount, this time feeling a little safer than she had the pervious years. Her name was probably in at least sixty times, if not more, but the same was to be said for most of District 10’s children.
Children. She was hardly a child at 18, but she wasn’t safe just yet. She stood silently, approaching the Peacekeeper with her head down, wanting to get all of this over with. She knew kids would be taken away from their families today. Twelve year olds would be shipped off to die, Her schoolmates could be chosen, her neighbors, anyone. Maybe a lifetime of enduring it had made her a bit callous, but she wasn’t worried. She wasn’t sad, nor was she afraid. She was just tired of it all.
She hardly flinched when the Peacekeeper injected the tracker. Her arm was calloused from years worth of it, and she was almost certain none of the other districts were required to have them put in (at least, she could never see any red marks on their forearms when it showed them on the television). But District 10 was a bit more stern than she imagined other districts to be.
She felt almost like cattle being herded as she fell into step behind a few other kids, finding her place in the crowd. She stood where she normally did, beside a few tearful twelve year olds, just a face in the middle of a crowd of kids waiting to be slaughtered. She let her mind wander back to the house- she’d have to help her mother prepare some fresh lamb for the families of the tributes chosen. It was a tradition, everyone in the district flocked to help the families if they could.
She focused once again when she man started speaking, lifting an eyebrow as he explained the twist for the Quarter Quell. Four tributes would be chosen? Her chest swelled momentarily, anxiety building, before she pushed the thought away. Thousands of kids were waiting to be chosen, the odds were ever in her favor. The first name was called out, and she lifted an eyebrow, following everyone’s gazes as they landed on the poor soul. Her face was red, and she looked terrified. The odds weren’t in her favor.
Artemis watched the girl walk up to the stand, and her mind began to wander again, until he stepped up to pull a name out of the bowl once more. Heisman took his time, before his fingers finally pulled out a slip of paper. He looked out at the crowd as he called out, “Artemis Boutcher!”
It didn’t register with her for a moment that he was saying her name. Her heart suddenly felt heavy within her chest, and she could practically hear the blood making its way through her veins through the silence. Then, behind her, she heard the soft whisperings of a young girl.
“Thank goodness.”
Artemis felt a jab to her ribcage, and it all came rushing at her at a speed she couldn’t handle. She was chosen. She was a tribute. She would die. She was going to die. Her feet moved on their own, carrying her up towards the stage. She forced herself to keep a straight face, wanting to look as careless as possible. She wouldn’t panic. She would stay calm. She wouldn’t let them see. She kept her gaze straight ahead until she was up on the stage, hardly bothering to look in the direction where her parents would be waiting. If she did, she’d lose it.
As she stepped beside the other female tribute, she tried to catch her eyes momentarily, but it was so brief she wasn’t sure the other girl would notice. She didn’t recognize her, but she looked a little younger than herself, so it wasn’t too surprising. This girl could kill her. She may have to kill this girl.
Odds were, they would both die.
November 27th, 2014 at 05:37am