The rise of Panem

Chapter 35

In my sleep, I was tossing and turning, thinking about who's gonna go. Sofia and Dad I don't have to worry about. Everyone else does. I can't believe this is really happening. I try to remind myself that this is a dream and no harm can come, but it all seemed so real to me. Maybe if I wake up, I'll be curled up in my bed. Maybe I'll go downstairs and mom and Sofia will be waiting while dad is in his room. It all seems real to me. In fact, too real. By midnight, I was already asleep until the door woke me up. Liam walks in, looking at me. "Sorry, every night I come to watch you sleep," he says. I scoot over, allowing room. "Can't you," I ask. "Ok," he says. He walks to the bed and creeps in the covers. I lay down on his chest, yet still not falling asleep. "Who is it going to be," I ask. He shrugs. "It will not be you, I won't allow it," he whispers in my ear. I put my arms around him and eventually go to sleep.

In my dream, Joci came to me. I am up and hugged her. We played dress up, did fashion shows and skits for our parents, and played with Barbies, just like we did when we were kids. When we needed each other most.

I woke up in the same position as I was. When I woke up, Liam woke up also. "Good morning," he said, "how did you sleep." He was the last person I wanted to talk about Joci, so I just do a thumbs up. "See you later, I need to get ready for the reaping," Liam said. He walks out as I start picking out dresses. After 10 pairs of dresses, I finally settle on a navy, ruffle dress. I think of all those innocent people all over Panem getting ready getting ready for the horrors that await them. I do a side braid in my thin brown hair.I touch it up with a little bow. I collapse on the bed, thinking about my mother doing my hair. her gentle finger arranging the hair strands. I open the door of my room and most people were ready. Samantha and Niall looked like they were going to prom. Samantha was wearing a pink dress that ruffled on the bottom. Niall was wearing a tuxedo with a bow tie. They were holding each other's head where there heads where touching, but there lips weren't. Haley was wearing a simple blue dress with her hair in a bun. Mags was a little over done. Her hair was arranged in 2 neat buns with a poofy aquamarine dress. Liam was in an amazing tuxedo that looked like Niall's. "You guys can hang out for a bit, we have to go soon," my dad's shaky voice was saying. I couldn't take it anymore. I run out of the door of the rental home, into the meadow and on a hill. I sink down and start crying. When my tears stop, I started to lay on my back. Liam was right behind me, with a sad look on his face. "Shh it won't be you," he said. He lays down besides me, looking up at the sky also. "Look, it's a tiger," I say. "My life is like a tiger," Liam says. "How," I ask. "Well, people think I am magestic, but I am not afraid to fight for what is right, my life can be sometimes dark, like my life sometimes, most of all, I watch other tigers die," he said. My eyes widened about what he just said. I loved Liam. "My love for you isn't forever, it is infinity and beyond, which is longer," I say. "Infinity describes our love I guess, forever and always?" he asks. "Forever and always," I say. He leans in and kisses me. When we stop, my dad was behind us. "Well, look who's got a boyfriend," he said, "time to go." I grab his hand and pull him up. We start to walk foward, where we know we'll find it. Time to see which innocent kids will be forced to kill each other.

After a few minutes, we got there. Liam randomly starts to cry when he lines up with the boys. I run to him and let him cry into my shoulder. "Shhh, it's ok, it isn't going to be you," I say. "I'm not worried about me, I'm worried about you, I love you and I don't want to see you die," he says. I hug him and head to the girls line. As the line got smaller, I realized what we have to do. A finger prick. I've done those when I was 5, and I remember screaming in pain. This time, however, it didn't hurt. It felt like a pinch. I go next to Annie and clench her hand. After about an hour of sweat, the mayor tells us about the dark days. After, a really scary women comes up. She calls herself Effie, which is a weird name for someone weird like herself. "Ladies first," she calls. He hand swims in the pool of names until she dives out holding a slip. She opens it and reads the name. My hands clench as sweat forms on it. Everyone clears a path as I release Annie's hand because I have just been picked.