august ❀ Lamina

Chapter 3

I was kicked awake by peacekeepers who barged into the little jail cell Marcus and I were confined to. It hurt a lot too. I covered my chest with my arms defensively, hiding the tears stinging the corners of my eyes. They roughly pulled me up even though I was only half awake. It was the middle of the night.

I was panicking for a second as they dragged the two of us away. We were at a train station. They forced the two of us into a train car. It was used to transport cattle usually, but this time it was used to transport children.

I was tossed in and landed on my stomach. I coughed as I slowly managed to stand up. Marcus helped me to my mild surprise.

There were about eight kids already in the car. That, plus Marcus and I, made ten. I winced at the pain in my chest. I was certain the peacekeepers had bruised one of my ribs.

I sat down next to a girl, though I didn't get a good look at her. Marcus sat down next to me, keeping a bit of distance between us. I clutched my shirt, trying to hide the pain. Everyone was quiet as the train started moving again.

I noticed the girl next to me was crying. I didn't blame her. I would've been crying too if it was just me and Marcus again and I had the opportunity of hiding my face.

I looked over at her and something happened. Something I can't quite explain.

I felt like I couldn't breathe for a second. I felt all warm inside, even though it was terribly cold. I felt nauseous, but it wasn't like when I thought about kissing a boy. It was a good nauseous. That didn't make any sense, but that's how it felt.

She was very pretty. She had reddish-brown hair and brown eyes that were filled with tears.

I quickly looked down at my hands, away from the girl. Blood rushed to my face and I hugged my knees to my chest, hiding my face in my hands.

Something had happened. Something was different and I was left extremely confused. Millions of thoughts invaded my mind.

What's happening?
Am I sick?
I should talk to her.
Say something!
But she's crying right now, she probably wants to be left alone.
Just ask her name or her district or something!

As my brain was torn in two, I glanced at the girl once again. My face felt like it was burning, so I looked away again. This didn't ever happen to me. Maybe I'd contracted the plague or something, but I didn't feel sick. Not the right kind of sick at least. I just felt... nervous.

I felt... almost good? The warmth in my chest felt nice. It made me happy, which didn't make any sense considering the circumstances. Nothing about this made any sense at all.

I looked at my hands, practically burning holes into them with my eyes. I was looking anywhere but the girl. I didn't like the feeling of my heart racing, yet it was still oddly comforting.

Everyone was quiet. The few who were talking only spoke to one other person, presumably their district partner. I could tell Marcus was not the type of person to want to talk in this situation.

I looked around the room, still avoiding the girl with my eyes. I was curious. Everyone was glaring, but not at anyone in particular. A girl with short red hair was sitting next to a young boy. They were whispering to each other.

I glanced at Marcus again. He was definitely not in a talking mood. I looked over at the girl again, this time more in control over my emotions.

She was sitting next to a boy who I assumed was her district partner. He looked a couple years older than her. My best guess was that he was seventeen, possibly eighteen. No, I was sticking with seventeen.