The Hanging Tree

The Hanging Tree - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Alwyn Wilde!"

It's me. It's me. Numb with shock, I take a step forwards and nearly crumple. My legs feel weak and unstable.

"Alwyn?" The Capitol lady calls my name again. I watch as the children in front of me part, creating a clear path to the stage.

The Capitol lady finally identifies me. "Come on up!"

I take a deep breath and begin to walk towards the stage. I pass friends I knew from school. But now all they do is stare at me like I'm a monster. A monster of the Capitol.

I reach the steps and the Capitol woman extends her hand. I take it tentatively. She drags me onstage and towards the microphone. "Well! I suppose it's time for the boys!" She chimes.

I stare at the glass bowl numbly as she inserts her hand and slowly removes a slip of paper. She scurries back to the microphone and unfolds the slip. "Dillan Fern!"

A young boy in the crowd looks around in shock. His friends stare at him in disbelief. Dillan closes his eyes briefly, opens them, and begins to walk through the crowd slowly. I swallow the lump that is forming in my throat, because Dillan can't be any older than thirteen. This might even be his first year.

The Capitol lady takes Dillan by the shoulders and turns him towards the crowd. "Say hello to District Twelves' tributes, Alwyn Wilde and Dillan Fern!"

I stare out at the crowd of children numbly as the mayor reads the Treaty of Treason. When he falls silent and the anthem begins, I feel a sharp tap on my shoulder. "Shake hands, tributes!" The Capitol woman is glaring down at me. I turn to Dillan and shake his hand. He stares up at me with his grey Seam eyes, and suddenly I know I can't kill him, can't have it be my weapon that ends his life. Who could do that to such a young child?

A peacekeeper takes me by the shoulders and steers me into the Justice Building. I end up alone in an elaborate room-the place my family will come to say goodbye.

"Alwyn!" I jump and whip around. Cillian appears by the door, rushes over, and wraps his little arms around me. "You're going to win." He whispers. I hug him tightly and close my eyes.

"I'll try." I promise him. And I will, because not trying is as good as giving up on my district.

Cillian looks up at me and smiles. "Good luck."

Good luck. Could it have been those words that caused that paper slip - my paper slip -to find its' way into the Capitol woman's hands? Of course, it's stupid to think like that. Words are words - nothing more.

"Good luck, Alwyn." I look up, startled. My mother is standing by the door, forcing a smile.

I hurry up to her and hug her tightly. "Try to keep Cillian alive without me, all right?" A peacekeeper enters the room and herds my family outside.

My mother turns towards me. "Are you-" The door slams shut. I run to the window and press my cheek against the cold glass, but my mother and brother are gone. Are you- am I what? I slump down in a velvet cushioned chair, covering my ears and squeezing my eyes shut, trying to block out the world and that harsh, painful thing called reality, if only for a minute.

Random warning: the chapters are really short (I've pre- written up to Chapter 9)