Rubber Band Ball

Picnic [c]

They don't care what we do here. As long as one of us dies every month, we are free to do as we please. And we're so much more orderly than the ones who were chosen last year, the year before that, and so on. It's because they think we'll kill to go back home, break down into animals with no sense of humanity, just like they did.

This time, we've all come to an agreement that this place is better than home. Home is where not a day passes without gun shots, sirens, and screams that tear your heart out and rip it into pieces. Here, there is no curfew, no guns, and no dying screams. We simply wait until the end of the month, draw straws, and the one who picks out the shortest doesn't make a fuss. He or she ascends the mountains and enters the cave on the top, where hungry lions dwell.

The lions are trained not to attack unless it is past the end of the month and no one has died. So, it is easier this way. We wait for the longest time possible and then, only one of us dies. It's still harsh, but it's the only way we can think of.

I smile, tilting my head up to the sky. I bet none of them back at home thought I would last this long. Heck, I didn't even think I would survive the first day. I remember...

I was alone in what felt like a forest, trembling in my wheelchair, knowing I could be stabbed to death any second.

I felt a hand press against my shoulder, and I jumped and shrieked.

"Shh!" A male voice said. "I'm not going to kill you, I swear." His voice was soft and gentle, much like his touch. "What's your name?"

"L-Liana," I stuttered.

"Can't walk?" He asked.

I shook my head. "Not since I was six."

I felt his gaze travel over me. "Blind?" He asked, taking in my dark sunglasses.

I nodded. "Also since I was six."

He hummed in understanding. "That's rough. I'm Ethan. Volunteered for...my brother."

"Oh," I said. All of the people here were supposed to be handicapped, physically or mentally, but people did have the option to volunteer for them. It didn't make much of a difference, since the handicapped would just get picked again the next year, but if a volunteer happened to win, he or she could volunteer again. I felt my respect for Ethan go up just a bit. The risk he was taking was huge. "What does he have?"

"Down Syndrome," Ethan answered, and paused. When he spoke next, his voice was laced with guilt. "I didn't tell him I volunteered. I didn't even tell him he was chosen... I guess I wanted him to be happy for as long as possible." He sighed. "Is that wrong?"

I shook my head. "No, it's perfectly understandable. Oblivion is bliss, as they say." I stuck out a hand in the direction of his voice. "Nice to meet you, Ethan. Hope you know what you've signed up for."

I hear the sound of lopsided footsteps, and the deep voice of Cooper.

"Liana? It's time to pull straws."

His voice is heavy, like all of our hearts today. Today, someone will die. It may be me. It may be Ethan. It may even be Cooper, and someone will have to take his place as temporary leader.

He wheels me out to our makeshift camp's open center, where I can hear everyone gathered. There is a rustling as Cooper goes around with the can of sticks and we all pull one out.

I feel someone grabbing the back handles of my wheelchair, and Ethan's voice murmurs in my ear.

"This'll all be over soon, and then we can go out on our picnic like we planned." I hear the gentle shaking of a basket. "I have food ready." He kisses my cheek and returns to his position behind me.