Chapter 11
904 Words
Calvary Warsaw POV
My teeth hurt as I stood in the Reaping center. They always hurt. Three had fallen out since Dustin and I started stealing livestock in order to survive. I wiggled a loose tooth with my tongue while I waited through the Anthem.
Dustin and I lived in a shack at the edge of town. It wasn't exactly legal. The ruins probably belonged to some farmer who forgot they were there. It was dirty and barren, but it was home for us. We used to live in a real house with a real family, but the Peacekeepers took care of that. Mom and Dad were out after curfew one night, checking on the fence. That was all it took to make two kids orphans. We were starving when we finally broke down and snatched a chicken from the next farm over. We never took much. Just enough to survive. All I had in the world was my brother, and he was the only good thing I could ever expect.
Fluvius couldn't have known how much terror he inspired in us all. Outside the Games, he was probably a nice guy, but all we saw was the hand of death. I was glad Dustin was too old to be with me, but I wished he was next to me all the same. I tried to keep my face blank as Fluvius read the slip.
"Our female Tribute is Calvary Warsaw!" Fluvius announced. Pure terror filled me, but I didn't want anyone to see it. My emotions are for me alone, and even now I had to remember the sponsors. I shut my face down and walked onstage like it was nothing. I only wished I could shut down the fear inside me. I tried to think of Dustin.
I didn't expect Felix to join me onstage. Clearly Ten wasn't going to be a partnership this year. Felix was stronger than he knew, but he was just so clownish. He was emotional and bubbly- all the things I didn't want in an ally. At least I wouldn't have to worry about him.
"You can do this," Dustin said. I knew he meant it, but I didn't know if it was true. We used sickles and whips on the animals we butchered, but butchering people was different. I thought I could do it, but I wouldn't know until it happened.
"I love you," I told him. Dustin was the only one who got to know my feelings. Around him, I could be relaxed and open. I couldn't trust anyone else. I held out my arms for a hug and shared the pain and fear with him. From now on I'd have to be stronger than ever before.
Felix Veau POV
I wanted the Reaping to be done with. There was so much to do. Of course I had chores, but after that, I had things to draw and friends to be with. Fluvius did the girls first this year. A terribly skinny girl with brown hair came onstage. I'd seen Calvary around, but this was the first time I'd heard her name. I hoped she wasn't as thin as she looked. She looked starved. Fluvius dipped into the final bowl. I felt a vague discomfort, but the chances were so low I wasn't really scared.
"Felix Veau!" Fluvius cried. I guess the odds weren't in my favor. I tried to smile as I faced the crowd. My grandfather used to be a Peacekeeper, and he tried to teach me some things. He said if I ever went to the Games I'd be toast, so I might as well prepare. I wasn't a fighter, but I went along with it.
I had a lot of friends in Ten. My father ran a butcher shop, so we knew almost everyone in the District, and I like seeing all the people. At the moment, however, I only wanted to see my family. Mom, Dad, Marsellus and Grandpa all squeezed into the Justice Hall and gathered around me. I wasn't surprised to see Mom crying, but I'd never seen my father cry before. He was such a strong, imposing man. He looked like he'd lost everything.
"Oh, son... I wanted to give you everything. My shop, my legacy... I'm sorry," he said. Mom was still wailing to wake the dead. Her lack of words told me the state of her hopes.
"I haven't cried since I joined the force," Grandpa said. "But I've never wanted to more." His normally military bearing was broken and slouched.
"Don't listen to them," Marsellus said. "You can do it." I felt a stab of resentment that he hadn't said a word during the Reaping. He was awful confident when it was my life on the line.
This might be your last time seeing him. Make the most of it, I thought.
"Don't worry about me, and don't burn down the shop while I'm gone. Even though I'll be rich when I get back, I'll still want to run it," I said. Marsellus smiled, something he didn't do every day. Mom and Dad didn't stop crying, and my words seemed empty even to me.
Sorry Felix's is so short. I had a hard time getting him at first, but I'm sure he'll develop.
As for Mink working in a textile factory, I always mix up eight and nine. He works in whatever Nine does.
- Writer
