The PokéGames (A Pokémon/Hunger Games Crossover Fan Fiction)

Chapter 4: The Goodbyes

My ears were ringing.

No, I thought to myself, this can't be happening. I must be dreaming, or hearing things.

That's when everyone began turning around to face me.

"Come on now, don't be shy!" The capitol lady grinned at me like there Cheshire Cat. Suddenly I felt a hand on my back, and a police officer pushed me out of the section of 16-year-old girls and guided me up the aisle to the platform. I slowly climbed up the steps to stand next to the capitol lady.

I was still in shock, my face expressionless, as I looked out over the crowds. I was still telling myself that none of this was real. Then my eyes found my family, and I had to fight back tears. My mom's body was shaking with silent sobs, Lily's arms wrapped around her neck, her tiny head buried in Mom's hair. Paul was standing behind them, his hand on Mom's shoulder, watching me with intense eyes. There were tears streaming down Kyle's face as he held Mom's hand over the rope keeping him in his section. I had to tear my eyes away from them before I started crying. If you cry at the Reaping, you get targeted as weak.

"Let's choose our second Kanto tribute now, shall we?" The lady continued on cheerily. She walked over to the other side of the stage to the second glass bowl. She plunged her greedy hand into the sea of slips, and daintily plucked one from the lot. She hobbled back over to the microphone and carefully unfolded the paper. I prayed to Arceus that it wasn't Kyle.

"Chet Atkins," her voice announced clear and strong. The crowd's attention turned to the young boys, and soon a blonde head began bobbing through the crowd to the aisle, flanked by a police officer. I recognized him as soon as he stepped out into the aisle, his trademark green plastic glasses glinting in the sunlight. I had seen him around school every once in a while. He was the kind of guy who got picked on regularly, but it was such a normal occurrence that no one really cared. He was really short and skinny, and had curly blonde hair and freckles all over his face. He was wearing green skinny jeans that matched his glasses, along with a black shirt and black boots, and a red wristband. I remembered seeing him with all kinds of crazy, mismatching colors on at school, especially red and purple, but his mom must have made him wear more formal black for today.

He climbed up the stairs and took his place on the other side of the lady at the microphone. There were tears flowing freely down his face from under his glasses. I wanted to tell him to stop, that crying will do him harm, but I couldn't because of the distance and the microphone.

"And there you have it, folks! Your Kanto tributes!" The lady grinned wildly. She stepped back and told us quietly to shake hands. Chet held his hand out, but didn't even grip my hand or look me in the eye as I shook it.

We turned to face the audience as the anthem played. Then, we were whisked off the stage and into the building behind it by some police officers. I was steered off to a small room and left alone.

I found a chair and fell into it. My brain was still trying to wrap itself around the whole tribute thing. I held my head in my hands and tried not to think about it. The door suddenly clicked open, and Lily ran into the room and threw herself at me. She was sobbing as I wrapped her into my arms. My mom stepped in after her, and quietly closed the door behind herself.

"Shh, Lily, it's OK," I whispered as I pulled her onto my lap, trying to calm her down. "I'll only be gone for a few weeks, and you get to watch me on TV! Won't that be cool?" She sobbed loudly, and violently shook her head, too choked up for words. I brushed my fingers through her thin, curly, black hair, and rocked her back and forth. "C'mon, Lil, you're gonna make me cry," I said, my voice breaking, and my eyes threatening to overflow with gathering moisture. I kept rocking her and whispering words of comfort into her ear as she cried.