"Rue Willis!" Mayce repeats. Another sense must have taken over me as I walk towards the stage. My limbs are stiff and my tongue dry. I have a gurgling feeling in my throat as I am led up the stairs. I can hear the screaming of my mother in the distance, but every sound was muffled, as if I'm in a trance. As I stare at the blazing sun, the microphone touches the corner of my mouth and Mayce seems to be making words with her mouth, but no sound comes out. All of the sudden, sound blasts back to my ears and I see Mayce staring at me expectantly.
"Rue, are you excited to be part of the 74th Annual Hunger Games?" My blank stare must have been a good signal for her to shut up, because she moved right on to the boys.
Her hand dives in once again and pulls out a slip of paper.
"Thresh Hawkins! Where are you my dearie? Aha! Come! Now lets hear a round of applause for the tributes of District 11!"
What follows is the deadest silence I have ever experienced in my entire life. I realize my age is probably a big shock to everyone. Thresh is probably seventeen or eighteen. He's huge. Mayce's signals for us to shake hands. He takes my tiny little hand in his huge one and shakes it firmly. Our eyes lock for a mere second, before a dry applause is forced by Peacekeeper.
Before I even know what's going on, I am rushed into the Justice Building. A Peacemaker whisks me into a small room and closes the door. It's a nice little room with silk couches and curtains of deep purple. Everything looks so...expensive. It would cost us our entire house to buy anything of this material. As I'm gawking at the quality of the fancy room, the door opens.
"You have two minutes", the Peacekeeper says, and my family rushes into the room. My father swoops in before anyone else and picks me up. He holds my head to his shoulder as I let tears run into his shirt. I just let him hold him as I choke back sobs. He sets me down on the couch and holds out a small, woven necklace. A blue stone hangs from its middle. I clutch with my hand and let him plant a kiss on my forehead.
My mother offers quicks words of encouragement, choking back sobs with every word she says. She takes the necklace from my hand and clips it around my neck. I smile at the stones brillianc and mutter her a thank you. She hugs me for a few seconds then allows my siblings to offer their sad goodbyes. Sadly, the barely even know what's going on. All they know is I'm going away for a long time. But Kleo understands. She goes last. She wraps her tiny arms around me.
"You can do it, Woo. I know you'll come home." Her precious face nuzzles itself into my shoulder and she doesn't shed a tear. Kleo is probably the strongest little girl that I know.
"Your time is up." My family is all of the sudden whisked away.
" No! My baby! Noooo!" My mother becomes frantic but my father holds her back and gives me one last sad glance before the door shuts.
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Rue's Story: Catch Me If You Can
Fanfiction"If they can't catch me, they can't kill me." Throughout the entire rendition of Katniss's experience i...
