District 14 (A Hunger Games Fan Fiction)

~Ash~

I stare out the open door.

Trees sway violently in the wind, leaves tumble down and onto the cold, wet grass. Chirping birds hop from tree to tree, squawking at each other. Squirrels scramble up trees, avoiding my gaze.

    “Ash, are you ready?” My head thumps at the sound of my brother’s voice. Douglas comes up behind me and smiles, following my line of vision until he realizes that I’m staring at nothing in particular. “Today’s the day.” He smiles, stepping back. “We get to show off our stuff to the president. The moment that determines our fate, our destiny!” he says the last part dramatically and sighs when I don’t respond. He kicks the back of my ankle. “Earth to Ash! We should get going.” I turn back and look at him. I see his smile, his happiness and light-hearted eyes.

    It makes me cringe.

~Johanna~

    I stare out the open window.

    People stride to and fro, not bothering to acknowledge each other. Each in their own little glitter-crusted, full-of-themselves world. Full and heavy shopping bags swing at their sides. A small dog trots happily behind a lady, covered in a droopy, ocean-blue dress that fans out by her feet.

    “Johanna.” Celeste Hummer stands in my doorway. Her hand is placed authoritatively on her hip, and she glares at me in disgust. “Today’s the day!” she says, a smile on her face. I stare politely back at her, trying to ignore her happiness and care-free attitude. Celeste sighs and walks over to where I am and looks down into the street. “Johanna, we need to go.” I don’t look away from the dog, who now laps water eagerly from the center’s fountain. “Johanna!” she says harshly, quick, irritated. I look up at her glowering expression. “Sulking won’t change anything. You were reaped. Boo-hoo. Now get out there and make our district proud that you out of all the others were chosen.” I stare behind her and mumble my thoughts. She didn’t catch it. “What?”

    “Easy for you to say.” I repeat, louder. I stare directly into her eyes, not allowing myself to divert my gaze. “You,” I jab my finger at her chest, “won.” Celeste says nothing, just lets my words wash over her. I turn and walk in silence out of the room. I walk down the hall to our level’s lobby. Larch sits on the couch, his head in his hands. His dirty-brown hair is spread messily across his palms. He looks up at me with tear-stained cheeks.

    “Are you ready?” he asks, standing up. I smile and laugh, short, harsh laughs.

    “When will I ever be?”

~Ash~

    I jump at the mention of my name. I stare at Mr. Burnwell, who points again to the seat I will be sitting in until my shift is over. I gulp and walk to the seat, conveniently placed next to Nect. He looks up at me and gives me a sharp nod before looking blankly at the computer screen. I bite my lip and gaze at my own. Information covers each screen.

Ash Clearwater.

15.

Current Position: Designer.

    Designing was what I excelled at in Career class, what I loved doing. I have never seen it tested out before. I have never seen what it could actually do. This was my chance. I should be excited. But I’m not.

    I replayed Nect and I’s conversation:

    “I don’t want to watch them.”

    “You have to, Ash.”

    “But I don’t want to. I make them for beauty, sufficiency. Not… not for this.”

    “I don’t like it either. I… I think it’s wrong.” We were sitting by the one lake in our little world, our little horizon. We were talking in hushed voices. No one was allowed to talk like this. Not in public, at least.

    “We… we could just not do it.”

    “Do you want to be a cleaner the rest of your life?” It stung, the notion. The notion that we had two alternatives: Doing what we loved even though it was wrong, or doing what we didn’t want to and watching other people do it for us.

    “No.”

    “If we don’t do it, someone else will. Just because we aren’t there won’t change anything.”

    “I… I know.”

    Now, on The Day, Nect and I sat in silence, waiting for the instructions. The Go. The Start. The Begin.

    We waited.     

~Johanna~

    I am in the elevator.

    Celeste stands on the other side, staring at me. My hair was is pulled up fiercely with multiple ties, if it broke then, well… I can hear them now. “District 7 female tribute dies when her hair gets in her face.” I laugh at my own little joke, and Celeste stares at me in confusion.

    “Know who to trust, Mason. Don’t leave everything to yourself.” She nods at me and presses her lips together. The elevator doors close. I start up.

    I stare at the wall in the dark funnel. I can barely see anything in the dim light. My big, dark grey heavy-duty coat weighs me down. It is so hot and stuffy that I can barely breath. A hood with fuzzy fur at the end covers my head. Gloves cover my hands. I can’t feel anything.

    I rub my arms against my sides. Nothing. No strange, loud sound that would give me away with every move. I sigh, relieved. A little “here I am” bell wouldn’t be helpful. I feel the elevator slow. The ceiling opens. I am blinded with light.

~Ash~

    Our computer screen shows an image.

    The arena.

    I stare at it, the bareness of it. The lack of… anything. There was nothing. I see the tributes stare at each other. They wear big, fluffy coats that cover every inch of their body. I see the aggressive ones eyeing the cornucopia. I see the shy ones looking for someplace to hide.

    Finally the shy ones find it. The woods. A small, small part of the arena. A place covered with trees and leaves and dirt and water and life.

    Next to me, Nect mouths what in regard to the woods. They’d never make anything that easy. A perfect heaven in this barren land? No way. I look closer. Then I see it.

 I see the secret.