Melting of a frozen heart

Chapter 11

The sound of a soft breeze fills my ears. I try putting my focus on that noise, instead of the increasing volume of my unsteady heart. That was the sound that kept me from having a smooth slumber.

The sun rising woke most of the tributes from their possible last nights of sleep. I find it sweet that in these last moments of peace most of the district pairs are choosing to spend it together, while they are still kids. Even Dusty came and sat down next to me. We didn't exchange words, we just sent each other sympathetic smiles before he fell back asleep.

I'm not sure if little Wovey got any sleep at all. In the midst of the night when I woke up I saw her fiddling with what looks like strings, conjoining pieces together into small braids. I watched her work for a few minutes until I drifted off again. I now see her and Bobbin, counting the braided strings. She looks very concentrated, and he just holds them after she counts one.

When she's done she sends him a sweet smile and picks them all up. She puts one on his wrist and approaches the nearest tributes, and hands them both one. I then realized she if gifting each of the tributes one off the bracelets she made, and I find that very adorable. That even in these dark times she can find a way to spread light.

I see her look around and then her eyes land on me, and a big smile spreads across her face. She walks up to me and holds out her hand with a grin. I smile back at her and accept the gift. "Thank you Wovey, this is beautiful" I tell her. She gives me a quick hug before continuing her journey.

It's getting increasingly hard not to care about the other tributes, is what crosses mind as I wrap the bracelet around my wrist and tie it on my wrist. Wovey has such a kind soul, and I feel anger towards the bastard who created these devilish games. Bringing children into an adult war is the worst kind of punishment.

I can feel my anger build up more when peacekeepers come, and start banging on the fence of the enclosure, yelling at tributes to get off their so called lazy asses. I stand up quickly, and help Dusty stand as well before entering the truck that will bring us all to deaths door.

I choose to stand in the truck, so others can sit down, also because I don't think I can sit still. Mizzen takes the spot that I am standing in front of, with Coral next to him. Her mask is strong right now as she glares at her fellow tributes, and Mizzen looks like he is attempting to do the same, but I can see his fear creeping through. 

I feel sympathy for the boy, but for my own sake I look away, and keep my face as straight as I can. But nothing can remove the glare that has made a home on my features. After a few minutes of silence, Reaper breaks it. "I am sorry to all of you. Especially those of you I have to kill." 

Coral scoffs at his apology, and he just glares at her. The rest of the ride is fairly quiet, aside from Lucy's whistle flouting in the air. The shrill sound keeps stabbing at my ears, and my anxiety rises with each note. I can feel pressure start to build up as her whistle gets louder, and louder. "Can you shut up?" I snap at her with a glare. She just rolls her eyes, and stops, while Coral lets out a slight laugh.

Not long after the trucks rolls to a stop, and the tension in the room increases. The doors swing open, and nobody wants to be the first one out. "Move your asses!" the pecekeepers yells, and I end up being the first to walk out, with Tanner not far behind me. One grabs a hold of my arm, and starts pulling me in.

I notice from the corner of my eyes, that everyone is being dragged in different directions. They take me through the front entrance, and kinda throw me in, but I don't fall. I feel the barrel of a gun hit my back, and I begrudgingly increase my speed. 

I take a look around, and can't help but notice that the once shiny arena, now looks like shit. Rubble is everywhere, and big beams are littered around. I guess there are places to hide now, but I won't being doing that. "Stand on your mark." The peacekeeper growls at me, before I get situated on a circle with a 7 in the middle.