The First Tributes

The Capitol

While Theta continued her eating, Rhymer explored the train, in a valiant attenpt to take his mind off what was to come. Judging by the speed of the train and the distance to the Capitol they would be there by tomorrow morning. District 3 didn't specialize in trains, or transportation at all for that matter which was the specialty of District 6, but that wasn't to say that District 3 knew nothing of  locomotives. Rhymer was a special case, having taken great interest in learning about trains, or any kind of transportation he could, in his spare time. Working with technology wasn't enough for him, he needed something more. Admittedly, he didn't a lot of time, but being just 16 he wasn't needed nearly as much in the factories as his father. Once he turned 18, if he turned 18, that would change, but until then he only worked the smaller, easier jobs. When he wasn't working he spent a good deal of time reading, directly opposing his twin, who was only ever in the house to sleep, and maybe eat. Even then, it wasn't a constant routine.

As he explored he considered the length of time he would be spending on the train before making to to the Capitol. It seemed to boil down to that one single night, as he didn't anticipate he would have much time for thought when he made it to his final destination. One night didn't seem like nearly enough time for Rhymer, not nearly enough time to digest what had happened. He could take a lot, but this was so different from anything he had ever had to thinking about.

That morning he had woken up slightly anxious, hardly eating what his mother had laid in front of him for breakfast. Theta was the same way. They had taken maybe one, two bites of their small, square rolls, fear of the unknown sapping their appetite. But overall, neither of them had expected to be drawn, and definitely not both of them. But Theta had shown her fear is a very different way than Rhymer, and she still was, but at least she had had more comfort. Her boyfriend had obviously come to see her. And both their parents of course. Rhymer had seen their parents, but no one else. Not his best friend, not his girlfriend. Theta had been led to him, which meant there was at least one person who had come to see her after their parents. She was so, loved.

Yes, he had been morbid. He was terrified for his life, he had good reason to be. He felt like he was secluded, alone. Theta had always been the favourite. She was more outspoken, she was the active one, the one who had the friends. The 'party twin' as it were. She had no problem making friends. Rhymer had precious few friends, and no one he could really relate to. Not even his parents. It was so hard for him to talk to people, it was almost painful. He didn't like his chances in these games, considering at first glance, which was the only glance he had, it looked to be about making alliances. That was going to be something he wasn't good at, all he could hope was that Theta would stay by his side. If she didn't, well, he didn't know how the other tributes would be acting, if any of them had the same problem he did, if any of them would be open to keeping him alive. It was truly amazing to him how Theta could play it so cool in this scenario. It was amazing how strong his sister could be, how relaxed she looked, when his dread was growing with every mile they covered.

He found his room, a small cozy place with a single window. His bed was covered in fluffy pillows and  thick bedspread. Light from the sun streamed in through the open window, the light of the setting sun. If it was setting, that meant it was almost night and if it was almost night then it would be almost time to sleep. And then the light would be gone, and they would be on the direct path to their deaths, no escape.

Rhymer sat on his new bed, noticing it was softer than the one he had at his house. He knew he should be eating, but he didn't have much of an appitite. No, correction, he didn't have any appitite. Instead, he pondered what his chances of survival were. Fairly slim, on first thought, he couldn't fight and he wasn't very strong, when compared to people from the other districts. If he was lucky, they would be 12, the youngest they were allowed to be, and he'd-