The Hunt

Chapter 7

     My tears are a never ending fountain of misery. The short man and the other Prey walk over to where I lay on the chair, panting.

     Blood is seeping into my plain-white shirt collar, turning it a deep crimson. I already feel lightheaded.

     I know that the cameras are probably all focused on me, seeing how I'll take this new twist. Thinking of this, I try to stop my tears, but they are too strong and they still flow out of my eyes like a waterfall.

     I sit up painfully, but immediately feel light headed from lack of blood. 8 prey stand over me. I look around me, but don't see dark-skinned girl or mismatched eyes boy. They are all looking at me with pity in their eyes, all except Jean-boy. He kneels down in front of me and asks me if I am ok.

     I mutely nod, but the blood dripping over my shirt speaks differently.

     "Here," Jean-boy says, as he rips his shirt along the hem, muscles bulging, "Let me tie this around your neck, then I will introduce you to everyone."

     I sit still as he ties the fabric tightly around my neck to stop the blood. He bites his lips in concentration, and his dark, dark, dark brown hair covers his hazel eyes almost completley.

     He sits back when he is done, and suddenly the dark-skinned girl walks over. "I'm Vera." She says snarkily, then walks over to the closet to promptly pick out a purple dress to wear to the parading ceremony.

     "How do you know these people?" I say to Jean-boy, sincerely wondering.

     "The guard that lead us here introduced everyone." He responds, a smile playing on his lips, "He didn't introduce everyone to you, though."

     I was right, they did get notified of something I didn't.

     "Anyways," He says, gesturing with his left hand to a super short boy with blond hair and green eyes, "This is Gaines."

     He shyly waves to me and I smile, he seems nice. Next is Brendi, the girl that I saw earlier with the shriveled left arm and no right arm. She explains that her left arm is useless, and I frown.

     Then is Barbary, a bigger boy with a XXXXLarge shirt and jeans that barely fit. He frowns at me and doesn't say anything.

     Bree is next, a small girl who looks to be about 13, but I know she is 15, with dark skin. She waves to me then comes and gives me a hug. "I hope you get better, " She says softly, and I immediately like her more than Veda.

     After Bree is Treller. He has red hair like mine, but blue eyes. I know that I should immediately bound with the other red-head, but I have this sense in my gut that leads me to immediately hate him. He scowls at me, too, so I see that my hate for him is also something he reflects back at me. That, or he is trying to appear tough.

     The cameras are no doubt showing footage of my first encounter with the other red haired Prey, but I keep a poker face so there is nothing to use against me.

     Next is Scroto. He is about my height, with brown eyes and brown hair. He has a learning disability Jean-boy tells me, and I want to cry. Just because people are different shouldn't mean that they deserve to be treated differently!

     Second-To-Last is Cayli. She is about my height, but has blond hair so bright that it is almost white. Her hazel eyes, however, stopped her from being in the highest zone, instead they pushed her to the third highest zone – without her family.

     This makes me sad, but not as sad as what Jean-boy says next.

     "She is also deaf, and she can't hear a thing. The Hunters' refused to give her help, instead they made her come to the Hunt, despite the fact that her Dad is one of the most rewarded racecar drivers."

     I gasp, but I guess Cayli can't hear that. I immediately know that I want her as an ally in the Hunt. Others might see her as weak, but I know that her lack of hearing means that her other senses are sharp and on high alert.

     Last is Cullen, the mismatched eye boy. I figure out that he is blind as Jean-boy talks because Cullen's eyes are a little unfocused. Despite that, he is a super nice boy, and I weakly give him a hug.

     "So...That leaves me," Jean-boy says, hands in his pockets, he is rocking back and forth nervously, "I'm Jaxton." I am about to say hi when he pulls up his pant leg and I gasp. A crudely-fashioned prosthetic leg reaches from his right thigh to his foot, where a metal spoke is stuck into his shoe.

"Oh-I'm so sorry!" I say, genuine concern in my voice. He shakes his head, andsays that it doesn't bother him much anyways. He tells me that he made it himself out of parts that he found in a junkyard. I am about to tell him that I could make him a better one, after all I have lots of experience with taking stuff apart and putting it back together, when a large gong sound echoes through the room. We all look up at the ceiling and around the cavernous space.

Whatcould this mean?