The Tremors

As the days go by, more and more of my friends disappear. They go without notice or reason. They never even say goodbye. It seems fishy if you ask me. The number of disappearances the past few months has been alarming. When I first moved here, I thought I was going to escape the reaping, I actually did for a while. It was quiet for a couple of months, then the reaping started getting closer.

I went to the park.

Deserted.

I looked out my window.

Empty.

I went to my neighbors.

Gone.

I began to panic, I knew I was going to be next. I could just feel it. The military began vacating people from their homes. Neil Watt, my other neighbor, went outside to see what was going on.

"Everybody MOVE, this is not a drill!" a soldier exclaimed.

I went to talk to the soldier. His name was Captain Rhimp. I asked what was going on. He offered little explanation and told me to grab whatever belongings I had. He instructed that everyone just had to listen and pay attention to what he had to say. More soldiers were appearing on the horizon. Minnie Knowles and her school of children were behind her. Neil Watt showed up with his entourage. Neil was always one to be flashy. Minnie caught sight of Neil. Although nobody has heard of anything, I have always noticed some tension between Minnie and Neil, sparks fly when they're together, if you will. Sam Mund was the last of the bunch to show up, he was late, as usual.

Once the town was rounded up, the soldiers wasted no time in getting them moved. Tremors could be felt from above. Another reaping was imminent. We moved quickly and quietly, we didn't want to attract any attention to us. I glanced over and saw Manuel Ray cowering in a cave.

"Manny! Come quickly!" I pleaded with him.

Manny hurried over to the group. He was scolded by the soldiers but he brushed it off. He was just happy to have company during the reaping. The tremors became larger and more common, we didn't have much time. Seconds passed and then minutes, the tremors just moved quicker than us. Sam was the first to lose his optimism. He started rambling about his pending doom. He stopped moving with the group. As soon as I looked back to yell his name, he was gone. Captain Rhimp ordered us to keep moving and not dwell on the past. We didn't have time to mourn his loss since we were still in danger.

Minnie's school of children were the next to go. They began to tire and slow down. Minnie stopped and turned around in horror. Neil stopped as well and moved next to Minnie. They snuck a quick kiss in as they were abducted.

Now it was me, Manny, and Captain Rhimp. The captain sent his soldiers off in different directions to search for survivors. I feared the worst for them. That's when I realized I had far more pressing matters on my hands. We were headed right towards another reaper. We tried to quickly change directions but it was too late. We were caught in its grasp. The trap closed itself and we were lifted higher and higher. It got harder and harder to breathe. I felt myself losing consciousness. Then it all went black.

And there we all were.

Captain Rhimp and his soldiers were spread into a divine cocktail. Sam Mund was on the chopping block, ready to be de-boned. Neil Watt was in tank, just swimming around nervously. Minnie Knowles and her school were in there as well. Directly across from that tank was another one that housed Manuel "Manny" Ray. Then there was me, Robert Clawson, having my legs amputated and plated.