The Selection

Chapter 2

  I must be hearing things. She said my name. My name. Skylar Shields. One of the smartest kids in the school. Possibly in the top one-hundred smartest kids in the world.

I walk up on to the stage with the other kids and then they walk us backstage and we exit through a door. There is a van that can hold fifteen people. We all get in the van. Now is normally the time that parents watch the news where it says all of the students that got picked.

I might as well just say that I am going to lose this. My chances of winning is 1 in 10,501,190. I am never going to win. I might as well give up now. At least I now know what Prim feels like when she is picked for The Hunger Games. I also now know what Katniss feels like when she has to go into an arena.

We drive to the school arena and into a building and we each get a stylist team and they walk us each down into a room and they make us look good. They comment on how pretty I look and how they love my hair and other features of me. After about an hour I am ready to get into an outfit for the arena.

I am dressed in simple tawny pants, light green blouse, sturdy brown belt, a thin hooded black jacket that falls to my thighs, boots, and skin tight socks. The same clothes that was in the Hunger Games book.

We walk into these tubes and they bring us up into the arena. The other kids at my school are in the arena. We have ten seconds until the gong sounds because they want this to go by fast. The gong sounds and I grab a backpack that is about five feet behind me and then I run into the jungle. I look out of the edge of the jungle and see that Eric has killed Rachael. Everyone else has run away.

I run into the jungle and try to find water because that is one of the most important things I will need to survive. I hear a gong the sounds signaling Rachael's death. After about thirty minutes I realize that I have a backpack and there might be a water bottle with water in it. I look in my backpack and there is a box of matches, a water bottle halfway full with water, and a six knifes. No food though. You would think that someone who packs these bags will think to put food but no you have to put matches. Everyone who is smart will know not to start a fire unless you want to get killed.

I hear a scream from somewhere inside the arena and then a cannon goes off. I realize that it is almost midnight when they play who died. I have been thinking for hours. I climb in a tree to rest and then buckle myself in with my belt. I doubt that anyone other than me would have read The Hunger Games and know how to survive in this arena. I can outsmart the others and just wait until they die because I have no training when it comes to weapons or what to eat. I do know some roots that I can eat though. My father taught me and my sisters some roots to eat after Brian died.

It was a day like every Selection day we went to school watched people get selected and come home. Except when we come home Brian isn't there. Olivia, Saige, and I knew there was something that our parents were keeping from us it was just that we didn't realize that he was chosen for The Selection. Our parents then made us watch The Selection.

Brian made it through the School arena, County arena, State arena, Country arena, and then he almost won the World arena.

He was climbing a mountain when a block of ice fell on him. I was in shock. I really thought that he would have won. He was talented with a bunch of weapons, he knew what to eat, and he was good at hunting. I miss him so much. I wish he was here to help me now.

After that everyone at school and in our neighborhood comforted us. Soon I bet they are going to have to comfort my family again over my death.

I am taken back to reality when the night sky lights up and sows the deaths of today and how they died. Rachael Scott died from Eric Woods stabbing her with a spear. Benjamin Miller died from falling out of a tree. That was it for today.

I go to sleep so tomorrow I won't be exhausted because then I will be an easy target for other people.

I wake up the next morning and it looks about eleven. I unbelt myself from the tree and then put the belt around my waist. I carefully climb down the tree. When I get down on the ground I see Mackenzie Torres sleeping behind a rock. I go to wake her up to and see if we can be allies. I shake her gently and she jumps up violently.

"Mackenzie it's me Skylar do you want to be my Allie?"

"Sure? I mean since you found me I probably will die anyways so why don't I try it." Mackenzie said with some sass in her voice.

We walk on for what feels like forever until I get the courage to talk to her.

"So how's life been?"

"Horrible! Eric broke up with me yesterday and I have no idea why." She then starts to pout.

"That's disappointing," I didn't even know that she and Eric were dating. "When did you guys get together?"

"We have been together since we both were in fifth grade and then we both have to come into this stupid arena."

We both climb a tree and wait until midnight. After a while the sky lights up with the deaths of today. Brooklyn Richter died in five person fight. Nathan Evans died in five person fight. Natalie Evans died in five person fight. Spenser Jackson died in five person fight. And that was it for the night. Then we both belt ourselves into the tree and go to sleep.

When we wake up we drink some water and walk around for about an hour and then we hear a scream near us and a cannon go off. We walk a little bit more and we see Cole Baker's bloody body. Eric comes out from behind a tree and I look behind me and Mackenzie has a knife in her hand. I grab a knife from my backpack supper quick.

"To bad that you couldn't win. I mean I wish that you could win but I would want my boyfriend to win." Says Mackenzie.

"I thought that you and Eric broke up." I say.

Eric comes closer to me and tries to stab me with his knife but I use my quickness and stab him first in the heart. Mackenzie lets out a shriek and a cannon goes off. She is holding Eric's body and I take that time to stab her in the back right where the heart is and she falls to the ground and a cannon goes off.