Sleep With Your Eyes Open

Chapter Two

April stares unblinkingly at Elizabeth. "April?", She calls again. She slowly steps out of the crowd and trembles. The peacekeepers come up behind her and grabs her by her arms. She yells at them angrily. "Let go of me", She screams and tries to thrash away from their grasp. One pulls out a whip and smack her in the back. You can hear hard leather scraping across fragile skin. She lets out a blood-curtling screech. I run up to them and pull her away, pushing her behind me protectively. "I volunteer!", I say confidently, but I'm shaking nervously. April is crying behind me. My mom quickly runs up and pulls her back into the crowd. "No!", She screams and tries to run back to me. The peacekeepers grip my arms and pull me to the stage. Elizabeth claps over-excitedly. "What's you name darling?", She questions me in her fake capital accent. "Willow Mellark", I say firmly. She nods, already knowing who I was. "Now for the men!", She thrills and waddles over to the bowl to her right. She pulls out a slip of paper. She accidentally picked up too many and they flutter to the ground. One that lands closest to me has "Pine Mellark" written on it in fine print. I stare at the crowd of boys. They all seem tense as they stare at Elizabeth, anticipating for the name to be called. I glanced to the crowd of girls and see April hugging my mother tightly, crying into her shoulder. I look back at Elizabeth. She studies the paper and  looks down at the crowd of boys. "Noah Spencer", She declares. Noah shakily walks out of the crowd and stares at the ground nervously. I hear someone familiar. Pine. "I volunteer", He says calmly and pats Noah's shoulder as he slides passed him to get up to the stage. I see Dad snaking through the crowd and rushes over to Mom. I can hear her sobbing. I stare at Pine, keeping my now, pale face emotionless. On the inside, however, I'm slowly breaking. Elizabeth makes him introduce himself too. One us will die. Or both of us. I start crying, seeing there's no hope. Until, Elizabeth gives me hope. "Now, remember, both of our tributes can win and come back to their families together." I stare at her and slightly smile. I quickly wipe my tears when everyone turns their attention to her. "Have a wonderful day, and May the odds be ever in your favor!" She guides us into the justice building and takes us to separate rooms so our family and friends can visit us. I sit on the velvety, leather couch. Peacekeepers barge through the door and push my family into the room. I jump up and hug them tightly. "Why would you do that!?", Mom hisses  and shakes my shoulders. "I-I couldn't let April die!", I sob and take deep breaths. Dad just gently places his hand on my shoulder. "Go see Pine", I whisper. They nod and Evelyn reaches out for me. Realizing that she wouldn't be able to get to me, she waves. "Bye bye Willow", She says harmlessly. The door shuts and I start balling. A small knock sounds on the old wood door. April wakes in and hugs me. She cries into my fragile shoulder. "Don't leave me Willow", She cries. "I won't. I'll win, for you, for my family, for everyone", I tell her. I gently stroke her dirty blonde hair. "Don't cry. You can stay with my parents while I'm gone", I say gently. She nods and the peacekeepers come in to drag her away. She grimaces when they touch her back from the whip. The door slams shut and I sit back down, staring at the floor. I hear another knock and look at the door. Noah slowly walks in. He barley gets through the door before a Peacekeeper pushes him. "2 minutes!", He screams. Noah stares at me. "Are you crazy?", He asks gently and places his hand on my shoulder. "No...just...brave", I say quietly and gaze into his greenish-brown eyes. He gives me a small kiss before the Peacekeeper -once again- drags Noah out. "I love you" he calls to me before the door slams. I close my eyes and dig my un-trimmed nails into my fragile, porcelain skin. I start to bleed and stare at the small wound. It's just a start to my wounds. Elizabeth peeks into the room and gestures with her pale hands for me to go with her. I reluctantly rise from my seat and walk towards her. She pushes me back into the room and quietly closes the door behind her. "Hurry up Elizabeth!", A Peacekeeper shrieks. "One second", She hisses at him. She clears her throat and looks back at me. My face is soaked in tears and is bright red. She gently wipes my tears. "I'm sorry dear. If I could get you out of here, I would.", She whispers and squeezes me. She grabs my hand and pulls me outside. A peacekeeper goes to grab me, but Elizabeth smacks him away. Pine comes up beside me and holds my other hand. "To the train!", Elizabeth thrills.

********
Once we reach the train, Elizabeth blocks us from the cameras and pushes us onto the train. The automatic doors close behind us and she waddles over to the hallway. "Andrew!", Elizabeth screeches, "I told you to be ready when they get here!" A tall man with dirty blonde hair walks out into the lobby area. "It's fine Liz", He laughs. She glares at him with her big eyes. "Don't call me that in front of the tributes", She snaps and smacks his shoulder. Elizabeth makes her way back over to us. "This," She says, acknowledging Andrew, "Is my brother. He will be your mentor." She clasps her hands together and for once, I notice her nervous, fake smile. Her pearly white teeth sit in a straight row as her lips are stretched tightly across her pale face. Andrew staggers over to us, shaking Pine's strong, sturdy hand. Then, he moves his hand to my small, shaky one. He stares at me for an awkward moment then turns away. "You will be on this train for at least two more days", He begins, pacing back and forth with his long legs, "Once we reach the capital, blah,blah,blah, you know the whole story." He glanced at us with an almost devilish smile. He's right. We do know the whole story. They take you to the capitol, let you train for a few days, letting you socialize with the other tributes, then you're forced to murder them. He seems you stare at me for a long while before Elizabeth shakes him again. "Get out of the way", She shoos him off and stands in almost the exact place he was standing before he started pacing. Her large eyes stare at us. "Your bedrooms are down that hallway and after you change, we shall eat", She grins. I want to run, jump out a window, get away somehow. My feet feel plastered to the carpeted flooring, so Pine walks to his bedroom and I stand there like an idiot. Unsuspectedly, tears roll down my small face. Elizabeth hugs me tightly. "I'll help you out of this", She mutters in my ear. I pull away from the tight embrace and look at her. I just nod and run down the hallway, to the smallest room, my room. There's a shiny golden plaque screwed to the wall. The only words that say on it are, "Female Tribute"