CH7
The group of teenagers walked swiftly to the city hall. The girls surrounded the boys defensively so that way they can stop any attacks if they came. The City hall was absolutely grand! They had the latest technology that the boys weren’t aware even existed! But what got to the boys quickly was the fact of the fashion the Capitol. It looked as if Lady gaga had gone to the extremes! The receptionist wore a white clipped uniform that looked like it was from Gucci but had taken a twist of multi coloured back with fake bits of meat hanging off the back.
“Name?” asked the clipped receptionist.
“Anders” replied Maria. The receptionist raised her eyebrows and led them to the back where a session was in place.
“No please! I beg of you! I didn’t steal from you!” begged an old man. Maria and her sisters forced the boys to face the wall.
“The court finds you guilty of theft and trespassing” hissed out a person in the left.
“You are condemned to death” said another voice that was slightly more pronounced than the first voice. There was a slight gurgling sound then a thud. The boys whipped around to see the man lying dead in a pool of blood.
“Ahhhh…. The Anders… long time no see” said a nastily voice from the centre of the hall. The boys raised their heads to see twelve men seated in a semi-circle above them. They gasped when they realized this is the capitol.
“This is area 15’s court of justice. They are not the capitol itself. Just representatives.” Lily whispered to the boys. The girls knelt before them and the boys quickly followed.
“Arise. And speak of your troubles” said another voice.
“Court of Justice. A few days ago, we came across these boys. They are Outsiders” said Maria looking at the leader of the Court of Justice straight in the eyes.
“She speaks the truth” hissed a voice. The court leant in to take a good look at the boys. The leader studied them and suddenly smiled. Zayn felt Lily’s shiver and knew she was afraid.
“Well….this is interesting.” He said with a small smile.
“Well… what to do brothers?” asked another member.
“I say kill them. They are outsiders. They deserve death.” said a man two seats to the right of the leader.
“No….” hissed out the leader. “They will not be killed… just yet that is.”
“Sir, what do you have in mind for these boys? They are under my protection!” Maria said back to them.
“Under your protection, you say? Interesting. Well, I know. We will make a deal” said the Leader.
“What is this deal?” hissed out Olivia. The boys saw the horror in the girls eyes and realized how much of a dangerous position they were in!
“This year is the 100th annual Deathly games and this year, they have decided to put in more candidates from this area, considering it was area 14th turn last time.” said the Leader, looking at the boys with deep consideration.
“What are you suggesting Sir?” asked Katrina in a suspicious voice. The whole court looked at them with dark looks.
“We are suggesting they enter their names into the deadly games. If the boys are chosen, they will compete, and they may die but if they win, we will grant them transport back to their home” said the Leader. The girls looked outraged.
“They are outsiders! They shouldn’t have to compete!” yelled out Olivia.
“Are you arguing against the court’s decision child?” asked a man in the back with a deep rich voice. Olivia fell quite but glared at the floor.
“As my sister has said before, Gentlemen of the court, these boys are under our protection. If they are going to go into the Deadly games, we want one of us with each boy.” said Katrina with a deep seriousness that the whole group didn’t think was possible.
“We will… consider it” said the Leader.
“You may leave” snarled another man.
The girls left the room quickly with the boys hurrying to catch up to them. They didn’t stop until they reached the house.
“Either way, we can volunteer to be part of the Deadly Games” Katrina said to Maria.
“Yes. I know that Kat. But the fact what I’m so mad is the fact the Capitol has finally caught us into a trap” Maria said back to her sister.
“We need to stack up. And hope grandmother will find the stash” said Lily quickly, moving books off the shelf.
“Yes, and we better hurry.” said Katrina, ripping some wall paper off behind the sink.
“What about the boys?” asked Angel coming up from the basement with her archery set. The boys looked so confused. What was such a big deal?
“They can amuse themselves” said Olivia, who was busy polishing her sword.
“We can’t leave them here alone though” said Maria’s voice from another room.
“And not to mention, the Capitol will be keeping a very close eye on them” said Lily getting out two silver daggers.
“And also on us” pointed out Lily.
“Then one of us should stay behind and protect them and also show them around and tell them our customs” said Katrina.
“We will need Lily though; she knows the edible leaves and fruits. I don’t particularly want to get poisoned.” Olivia laughed.
“How about you stay behind Maria?” suggested Angel.
“What?” she said sharply.
“I’m just thinking you have the most respect in this village. Thieves will be less likely to attack the boys if you are with them” said Angel.
Maria looked down in consideration and then nodded. The other sisters sighed in relief.
“We won’t be long.” assured Angel. She and her sisters put some food into a bag.
“How long will you guys be?” asked Louis. There was silence for a moment until Katrina replied.
“We don’t know. Before the deathly games certainly but we really need to stock up for the village” said Katrina going out the back door. Her sisters followed except for Olivia who looked at Maria straight in the eye.
“Don’t withhold information from the boys. If they are to be chosen, then they will have to know exactly the rules of the deathly games and what they are.” began Olivia. Maria tried to protest but Olivia continued.
“These boys may compete. You know the Capitol Maria, they want us dead. For years they have tried but the capitol can’t seem to get us into the games but now, it seems like we have no choice. It is more likely now they will try to get the boys into the games and use us as their protection. It’s the only way to protect them if we can’t.” She continued looking at her straight in the eye. Maria sighed and nodded slowly. Olivia seemed to relax and picked up her hunting bag.
“Good luck. And try to store up on duck. You know it’s traditional for Duck to be eaten in hopes of a winner from our areas return.” Maria called after her. In the wind, you could hear Olivia’s sarcastic laugh.
Maria turned to the boys and pointed to the couch.
“Sit down. You will need to, it’s quite shocking.” She said slowly.
