Amber Waves Of Grain (A Hunger Games Fanfic)

Chapter 2

  "What did you learn in school today, dear little boy of mine?
    I learned our government must be strong.
    It's always right and never wrong....
   That's what I learned in school."  -Tom Paxton

    I sat in the plush red chair as I waited for my visitors. Then, I realized something. Daisha. I stood up and murmured something to the Peacekeepers: a name. They glanced at me quizzically. "Just get her in here!" I snapped. They ducked out, hopefully obeying my order. A few minutes later, they came back with a woman. Mrs. Clark, our neighbor. She had always taken care of me when mother couldn't, bringing me meals and making sure I bathed. This was before Daisha was born. "Mrs. Clark, please. I need your help." I said urgently. She looked at me warily, almost fearfully. "I need you to take care of Daisha. You know Mother is too sick, and I won't be here. Please." I begged. "What if you die, Malan? I'll have to care for him until he's an adult." She sighed. "Don't be selfish! He's just a child! You cared for me until I was able to care for myself." I snapped. "Malan, it's gotten harder now..." She trailed off. "You listen to me, you cow! If you don't take care of my brother, I will make sure your life is a living hell!" I yelled, poking her chest to emphasize my point. "How? You'll be dead." She blinked. I gritted my teeth in fury. "Don't you think I'll have connections when I'm in the Capitol? I can get Javia to pick the name of your lovely little niece. Tributes are treated like royalty in the Capitol." I hissed. Her eyes widened. No, I was not the innocent little girl she practically raised. I was an older sister with only one thing to lose, and I was not going to lose it. The Peacekeepers told us our time was up, and I gave Mrs. Clark a sinister smile and waved as she left, dazed.
       Daisha came in, and ran into my arms. I held him against me, tears streaming down both of our cheeks. "Alright, look at me. We have to talk." I leaned him back and looked into his eyes. I wiped away his tears. "Mrs. Clark will bring you food and other things you need. You'll need to sell what you can and sell the rations you get from tesserae for Mom's medicine. The bottle is by her bed, it has the name on it. Make sure she gets enough to eat, and you too." I said. "Okay. Malan, I have something for you." Daisha took something out of his pocket and handed it to me. I opened my hand to look at it. It was a locket, one I recognized, because it was Mom's. The picture inside was of Mom, Dad, me, and Daisha. Daisha was about two years old in this picture, so it was taken before Dad died. I smiled and put it on. "Thank you, Daisha. It's perfect." I said. "It'll be your district token." He said softly. "Thank you. Tell Mom what happened, and that I love her, okay?" I sniffed. "Okay. I love you, kaikuahine." He whimpered. "I love you too, kaikunane. I'll win and come home to you." I tucked his hair behind his ear, and gave him one last hug. This would be the last time I ever lied to my little brother.

       I blushed as I got on the train, realizing that everyone was already there waiting for me. I sat down next to Lori on a small couch. "Well, now that we're all here....introductions! I am, of course, Javia, your escort. This is your mentor, Sylvia. Sylvia, this is Lori and Malan. Let's hope you can actually get some winners this year." Javia muttered at the end. I thought she was being rude, until I got a good look at our mentor. She was just a wisp of a thing, average height but with a tiny build. She was slumped over, and didn't even bother to look our way, let alone take offense at Javia's words. "It's...it's nice to meet you, Sylvia." I said nervously. She sighed and looked up with some effort, her beady eyes glancing over me before she keeled over again. She was as limp as a ragdoll, and her movements were jerky, as if she was a puppet and someone was pulling her strings. "Come on, I'll show you to your room." Lori said quietly, nudging me. I got up and followed him, leaving Javia to deal with our strange mentor. We moved through the cars until we reached one with two rooms facing each other. "Sylvia won the 56th Games." He told me. "Oh? How did she win?" I asked. "I wish you hadn't asked that. The arena was a frozen tundra, and it was particularly tough. Almost everyone died of hunger or the cold, but she outlasted everyone." Lori said, a haunted look in his eyes. "How?" I whispered. "She killed a mutt and cut it open...and she crawled inside of its body to stay warm. By the last day, she was so hungry, she went in search of food....and she found a tribute." He shuddered. "She ate a tribute?" I gasped, recalling her beady eyes with a shiver of fear. "Yes...she didn't even know. She was so hungry, and she was almost dead, and that's how she won...she ate her district partner." Lori said quietly. The gravity of his words sank into my brain, and I trembled. "I guess that's why she's so messed up." I said. I had a new found fear of our mentor, and a new found sympathy.