When Stars Fall: A hunger games fanfiction

Chapter 3

It was like time had frozen. It was just me and Glenn. It was the first day of school again and he was the only one that had stayed and helped me. 

And the suddenly time resumed and Lucinda was telling us to shake hands. My shaky hand met his warm steady one and I felt calmer with him by my side. His face was a hardened mask of no emotion.

It wasn't until we were hurried into the Justice building that I broke.

"Why did you volunteer! Your an idiot! Now we can't go home together! One or both of us are going to end up dead!" The last words of my sentence ended with a squeak as a sob escaped from my chest. I turned towards Glenn to see silent tears running down his beautiful face.

"I'm sorry but do you think for one moment that I'm going to let that poor, innocent boy go into the Hunger Games?" He said. I glared at him, opening my mouth to respond but nothing came out. "He has so much more life left to live!

"And so do you and me!" I retorted.

"And besides I need to protect you. One of should go home and it's going to be you." He said this so certainly that the tears started coursing down my face faster.

"You ruined everything!" I screeched at him and pushed past him into my room where I would say goodbye to my family. I didn't turn around until I heard the door next door to mine click shut.

I sat there, my head in my hands until I heard a soft knock. I opened the door and my parents and siblings came in. Mom was crying, huge sob emanating from her chest. Dad didn't cry just stared at me. His dark eyes portraying thoughts he couldn't say out loud. Rey had horrified look on his face and Delilah, poor sweet Delilah, didn't understand what was going on.

"Mommy what's wrong. Why are you crying. Is Ally going away Mommy?" Her sweet innocence. She didn't understand. But she would one day, when I was dead and gone and all she would have left of me are memories and the cold whisper of my name throughout the house.

"Y-yes dearie. Althea is going to be going away for a little bit. You'll see her again soon."

"Awww can I come with Ally. Pleeeaase mommy," she begged, drawing out the please.

"Not this time, little frog, " I said, trying to keep the fear from my voice.

A peacekeeper outside the door opened it and barked:

"One minute!"

My mother ran toward and wrapped her arms tightly around me. I felt her warm breath in my ear as she whispered:

"What ever you do don't stop running. Keep
fighting. Don't stop. Keep on going. Now matter how hard it gets keep running and fighting. Be a flame and don't let them burn it out. You have what it takes I know you do. I love you so much."

My father stepped forward and hugged me.

"Please come home. We need you. We all love you. Stay alive," he said.

Rey was next. He didn't say anything. Just hugged me and cried. When he pulled away I whispered to him how much I love him.

When I saw Delilah's worried face peering out from behind my mother, I get my heart shatter. Her face was creased with worry and her eyes began to water. She ran towards me and wrapped into a hug. I lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around my waist.

"I love you so much, Delilah. Please always remember that," I muttered into her hair. I planted a kiss on her head as the peacekeeper came back and told my family they had to leave.

Shortly after they left, I was escorted out and to the car that would take us to the tribute train. None of us spoke in the car. Lucinda seemed to under stand how sad we were and our mentors knew how it felt.

That was the first time I had met the mentors for District 6. The female mentor, Kali Brina, won a few years back. I remember watching her on the screen tackling someone with her thin, agile body and stabbing them over and over again with a knife she had hidden. By the time she was done, the body was so disfigured and unrecognizable, that it looked like the chopped meat my parents sometimes buy. Kali's entire face was matted in blood that when the trumpets sounded her victory and she looked up, the only thing that wasn't drenched reddish brown was the whites in her eyes. It disgusted me. But to see her now, in front of me, her face cleaned up and wearing a short red dress. She was one of those fearless victors. One of the few not constantly drunk or on morphling, a drug that completely numbs the user. The only hint of regret and apology for her violence was a small tattoo on her worst that read: remorse is an echo of a lost virtue. The male mentor, Clayton Fligoon, numbed himself so much he was unlike any human I have ever seen. He had sunken eyes and was muttering to himself. If I won, I hoped to never end up like either of them. So broken and ruthless. A piece of glass full of cracks bound to shatter at any moment.

We got to the train station where we were loaded onto the Tribute Train. It would have been amazing if it wasn't the train I was being shipped to my death on. It had all of these wonderful things onboard. Food of every single kind you can imagine. Seats so comfortable it was like sitting on a bed. Beautiful scenery rushing past. I hadn't eaten in a while so as soon as I got onto the train, I filled my plate up. It was probably a good idea to gain a few extra pounds for the arena anyway. As soon as I had grabbed a plate of food, I sat down in chair as far away from Glenn as I could.

As I ate, I looked up to see him staring at me, his eyes wide and full of apology. I glared him and faced the window and continues eating again.

It was some of the best food I had ever eaten in my life. There was a rainbow salad smothered in a creamy orange dressing, crispy potatoes, some kind of bird with brown sauce that was so smoky and tender that it melted on my tongue. Some kind of fizzy drink with fruit and for dessert an assortment of little cakes with dollops of creamy frosting. As soon as I finished I escaped to my room.

I laid down on my bed, finally able to get a moment to myself. I let myself cry, letting the tears fall. I had just calmed down to a shaky shiver when there was a knock on my door. I wiped away the tears and opened the door to find Glenn standing there, hands in pockets looking worried.

"I just wanted make sure you were ok. Can I come in?" He asked timidly.

"I don't want to talk to you right now," I snapped back.

"You don't have to talk to me but just accept this," he said. He opens his hands to find the lily from this morning, wilted and just beginning to dry out.

"We are allowed to have district token and I wanted this to be yours," he said passing it to me. Seeing the flower made me realize that I couldn't stay mad at him forever. I accepted the gift and apologized.

"Glenn, I'm sorry I just don't know how I'm going to deal with you dying. You are my only friend. How can I live with out you?" I said. Glenn wrapped me in hug and kissed the top of my head. My heart rate quickened as I fell into his warm embrace.

"Remember it has to be nighttime before the day comes. And even during the night, there are stars and the moon to guide you." And then he was gone.

It was only after the lights were shut off and I was sitting in bed, staring at the ceiling that I realized he wasn't talking about the sky.

A/N
Thank you so much for still reading. It means a lot to me. Remember to leave comments and critiques. Have a good day and stay healthy.