The Hunger Games: Foxface

Chapter Two

I black out on everything else. As Celeste asks the simple, “How old are you?” and “Don’t you feel honored?” I just nod, staring at Ember, trying to show her how sorry I am to be standing here. I don’t even know who I’m supposed to kill from District 5. I don’t even realize where I am. I can’t even figure out who I am now, or who I will be in the Arena.

 My father and sister are allowed in the room that I’m suddenly in. I grab them both and I don’t let go.

“Why didn’t you let me volunteer?” Ember asks while breathing heavily into my shoulder.

“Because you’re younger. I couldn’t let my little sister volunteer for me. It just didn’t feel right.”

“What difference does it make? Our family is cursed! We will all die at the hands of the Capitol, either in that Arena or someplace else!” My father puts a hand on her shoulder to stop her from saying anymore.

“Autumn,” He says to me, “I love you. Fight fierce, Autumn. Fight bravely.”

The Peacekeepers take them away. My mind is already going back into that dark hole. I hear myself saying I love them too, but it doesn’t feel like I’m the one saying it. I can feel the guilt creeping in. I already know that I won’t win. I’m not a killer, nor do I know how to kill anything or how to hold any kind of weapon. My best chance is to trick the others and just make sure the Careers are just as screwed as the rest of us.

Next thing I know, I’m on a train. A very fast train. It’s a new one, too. I recognize the solar panel rigging on the sides that we made earlier this year to give the new trains even faster power. It’s kind of scary, thinking that the entire country of Panem’s power source comes from us. The door opens with a swoosh and I jump. A boy enters who, by the look of it, is seventeen. His sandy hair and sharp features matches the desert, which I’m suddenly very homesick for. Great. The boy I have to try to kill is two years older than me and looks as athletic as a cheetah. Superb. I have no clue who he is, or where he works.

“Hey,” he says. HEY? Is that all you are going to say before we murder each other in cold blood? Just HEY?!

Out loud I say, “Hello…” slowly and unsure. I’m naturally an untrusting and extremely suspicious person.

He continues. “You don’t know me, do you?” I shake my head, my eyes not moving from him. I don’t even blink. I feel my eyes narrowing just a bit, as I become more suspicious. Why is it such a surprise that we don’t know each other? Our town is huge. More like a city. I don’t know half the people in my grade. Why would I know him? He continues, “I’m Sean. My dad is the head of the Hydro-electrics department.”

“Oh,” is all I can manage to say. The Hydro-electrics department is one of the highest departments, and one of the best paying. My dad is second head chair of the Geology department - we study how the Earth will help us with harnessing the power by studying the change in rocks, soil, and water supplies. Also we study it in order to have a better insight on how the Earth is changing and how we have to adjust our use of energy.

“So…” Gosh, he’s trying to have a conversation with a girl he most likely will kill. I start to turn away and search the train for the emergency stop lever so I can get off this two hundred miles per hour death trap. “You’re Ember’s sister, right?” I snap to attention and turn to face him. My eyes are narrower than ever.

“How do you know my sister?” I demand, walking towards him, fast.

“Uh, my sister’s friends with her,” He says quickly as he takes a step back. “My sister is Mae.”

I stop. Mae’s been over a bit. “Oh, I didn’t realize she had a brother,” I reply, backing off a bit. I’m glad I could intimidate him. It felt good.

“Yeah, I’m usually helping out in the Peacekeepers’ Auto shop. What were you training to be?” Past tense already? Wow, okay.

“Geology.”

“Rocks?”

“Earth, actually. I like it outside.”

The door opens once again. And once again I jump. This time our mentor come in. What’s her name? Oh yes, it’s Jane.

“How are you?” Jane asks innocently.

“Excuse me?” I start, kinda appalled of how smoothly she’s taking this. “We are about to go into a murdering cage of who-knows-what, and are most likely to be murdered by a bunch of psychopathic kids, and all you ask is how are we on this day that is the beginning of the end?” I’m almost yelling, but I’m barely holding myself together.

“Oh,” Jane says. “Let me try that again. Sucks to be reaped, huh? Listen, one of you is gonna die, so I’ll help both because who knows who is gonna be the winner? But most likely you will both die, so there goes two other tributes I’ve tried to mentor and now I’m gonna have to console the parents that act like they weren’t expecting this outcome. So I’ve hope you’ve enjoyed your lives so far, because you can pretty much say goodbye to normality again.” She takes a breath. “There. Better?”

I’ve forgotten that she’s a Victor and has killed twenty-three other people.

Sean just nods in response, but even though I realize that her life kinda sucks, I can’t take it anymore. While she was talking, my eyes start wandering around the car. My eyes stop when I find the emergency stop lever and slowly walked my way over to it. I reach down behind the expensive looking sofa and pull it back. They train starts to slow, and once it reaches about twenty mph, I kick out the window and jump. I roll as I land and look to check my surroundings. It looks like we are in the prairie, probably a bit closer to the Capitol. I get up, take off my shoes, and allow my feet to get a feel for the new surroundings. Then I run. Fast and free.