ást og stríð [treech]

i v

It was like looking at a ghost. Sheaf Sativa stood a few feet away from Eydís, her body partially concealed by a tall boy with dark blond hair. She was ten years older than the last time Eydís had seen her, yet she was still recognizable.

"Sheaf?" Her voice came out barely a whisper, more of a squeak than anything else.

Despite their circumstances, Eydís's sister smiled widely and rushed toward the blonde girl. The two flung their arms around each other, hugging tightly. It was like the world faded away, leaving only Eydís and Sheaf behind.

"I thought you were dead," said Eydís.

"So did I," said Sheaf. "You and Ma made it to District One?"

Eydís reluctantly pulled away from Sheaf so she could nod. She tried not to wince at the way Sheaf called their mother 'Ma.' There was so much Eydís wanted to tell her sister, but she didn't have the voice to say anything. All of her words seemed to get lodged in her throat. She felt like she couldn't breathe properly. Her eyes stung. Eydís hated the sensation, it made her feel helpless.

"You look beautiful, Maizie," said Sheaf.

Eydís wanted to tell her that Maizelynn wasn't her name anymore, that the girl who had selfishly left Sheaf behind in District Nine had died long ago. But her mouth wouldn't move. She just stood in silence, blinking back tears as she tried to process what was going on.

"Come on, Eydís," said Facet. He tried to lay a hand on her arm, but she shook him off. "Are you okay?" he asked, following her over to a truck that the other tributes were entering.

"I'm fine," grumbled Eydís.

"You don't look fine," said Facet.

Eydís didn't wait for the Peacekeeper to shove her into the vehicle. She just pushed past the other tributes and climbed inside. She sat on a bench, next to the angry girl with the bandana. Once Facet made it into the truck he took a seat on Eydís's other side.

Treech and Lamina sat across from them. Sheaf was a few tributes to Eydís's right. Eydís let her gaze flit over to the boy with curly hair before scowling and facing the back door of the van. One person stood out from the twenty-four tributes. It was the same boy in the red uniform who had been waiting for the train.

The truck door closed behind the tributes and shortly after, the engine rumbled and the vehicle took off. As the streets of the Capitol passed by the slatted walls of the truck, Eydís kept her gaze locked on the blond boy. She suspected he was from the Capitol, he was too well kept to be a tribute. But the more she looked at him, the more she noticed about him.

His curly blond hair was just a bit too long, like he had gone a while without a haircut. His clothes were slightly wrinkled and he shifted uncomfortably, like his shoes didn't fit. Eydís liked how scared the boy looked. She knew she couldn't hurt him or she'd be punished, but she could mess with him until the Peacekeepers got rid of him. A tall boy Eydís didn't recognize stood.

"What's the matter, pretty boy? You in the wrong cage?" he asked. Eydís felt the faintest of smiles play on her lips. Apparently the boy had the same idea.

The blond boy made an attempt to look unimpressed. It was almost embarrassing, the boy looked like he was going to faint. "No, this is exactly the cage I was waiting for," he said, an almost imperceptible tremor in his voice.

Eydís surged forward, pinning the boy against the door, her forearm across his throat. Their faces were just inches from each other. The Capitol boy turned even paler. As Eydís pressed her arm hard against his windpipe.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

The boy tried to gasp out an answer, but his constricted air supply didn't allow for much noise to escape his lips. His face was starting to turn red from a lack of blood flow.