Light the Way

Chapter Thirty One

Her mother had forgotten it was no normal day.

Mags kicked her boots against the ground as she walked, her attention focused solely on the view to her left, as the waves crashed against the sand and birds squawked in the distance. In the off chance she did get selected, she wanted to ingrain this memory into her mind. The place where she felt the safest – at sea.

No one stopped to chat with her on the way. No one stopped to ask her about her parents and her family, or to exchange any other forms of pleasantries one would normally encounter when walking through the town. Reaping Day had that effect on people. It focused them. Scared them.

A table with two peacekeepers was set up at the town centre entrance, an attendance log and a quill in front of each of them. By the looks of it, Mags was part of the later crowd as many of the normal stomping grounds were abnormally full.

Maybe the faster we all pile in, the faster we can go back home.

"Name?" The peacekeeper asked, his youthful appearance stunning Mags. He looked no older than she did, and she was freshly sixteen.

"Magdalena Flanagan."

He nodded at her and checked through the booklet, handed her a quill, and pointed to the box she needed to sign to confirm she attended. She always wondered what happened if someone didn't sign in. Did they go through the books at the end of the day and raid all of the houses? Did they pull the kids out of bed and send them into another arena? That fear alone likely enhanced attendance to nearly one hundred percent.

Chattering continued as she walked down the row of girls, each in small blocks separated by their age groups, with the older kids near the back. She stopped midway down the line and joined the rest of the girls from her class that she recognized. Not knowing them well enough to call them friends, but Reaping Day had a way of pulling the unlikeliest of people together. For the most part, everyone seemed less desperate than last year. Less worried that they'd be picked, which wasn't uncommon in Four.

For the most part, everyone's names between the ages of twelve and eighteen were only in there once. Plenty of families did well enough to not have to ask for anything extra. Mags had an equal chance as any and based on the crowd of people out here today, she felt like she had good odds.

"He is so handsome!" One of the girls next to her squealed, her eyes were crazed and her body was shaking in excitement. Her gaze drifted over to the blond boy on the stage who looked out of place. Definitely not from Four.

"Ugh, the Capitol has the dreamiest men! Maybe being a Tribute wouldn't be so bad this year." Another joked, staring hungrily up at the boy with blue eyes, just like the water. To be fair, there wasn't a whole lot of action going around in Four, and most of the suitors her friends would be interested in were kids they had known their entire lives. They were all too familiar compared to the well dressed, and broad shouldered boy standing up on stage.

Next to him was a petite brunette girl, who seemed anything but tiny. Presence wise, anyways. The older boys across from their section were making the same kind of comments, Isaiah included. Her green eyes flitted across the audience, her lips breaking apart to flash a perfectly crafted smile. Was everyone from the Capitol so polished and perfect? And why were they blessing Four with their presence?

Mayor Hoffan came out from the doors of the Justice Building, chatting with the peacekeepers who escorted him down to the dais to the microphone. A camera crew to his right began to spin their equipment around, earning a few eager smiles and waves from the potential Tributes, wanting to show face in the Capitol. Mags balked at the thought and kept her expression neutral – this was far from anything to celebrate.