Then There Were Five

Chapter 3

*Author's Note* Do be expecting a longer chapter. Just saying.

Chapter 3

Zayn

They led me and that girl back down the walk way, off toward the Mayor's house.  It wasn't really his house, but he practically lived there with the amount of work he does to make sure that the district stays up and running properly.  I looked over at that girl. She had no emotions on her face.  She was beautiful, though.  Her blonde hair peaked out of her head dress.  Gosh, she wasn't even Middle Eastern!  Now she had me curious.  I'd have to ask her about it later.

Suddenly, my face made contact with the ground. What the hell? I huffed, rolled over, and sat up.  As I shook the dust off me, I looked around.  Apparently we had walked over a curb.  I looked up at that girl, who just giggled.

"Maybe you should pay attention to what you are doing instead of staring at me," she laughed.  She outreached a hand. "I'm Sarah. Sarah Oajkley."

"Zayn." I grabbed her hand and stood up.

"Got a last name, Zayn?"

I blushed. "Malik."

"Well, I would say 'nice to meet you, Zayn Malik', but under these circumstances, I wouldn't find it quite appropriate."

"Me, neither."

We made our way into the building, which was nicely decorated with reds and golds.  I really loved those colors.  None of the golds were real, but it didn't matter.  It kind of made me feel warm inside. That feeling didn't exist at the moment, though, because of the reason for my visit.

The mayor met with us and prayed over us.

"Even though they must fight to the death in the cold arena, please, be with them and protect them from the non-believers.  Aid them in their battle against them." With that, he ended the prayer. "I wish you two the best of luck."

We were led to separate rooms, where we would be seeing our families for the last time.

"Oh, Zaynie," Safaa said, hugging at my legs. "Please tell me that you're coming back."

I let a single tear fall down my cheek. "I'll try my very best, munchkin."

"Zayn Javaad," my mother said. I turned to face her. She had definitely been crying. "Please be safe." She wrapped her arms around me.  I was going to miss these hugs, where the love was definitely shown.

Eventually, they had to leave.  I hugged my sisters, my mother, and my father one last time before letting them go.  It was time to get on the train to Cowell's capital, Xos. 

I looked at Sarah, who looked so scared.  I grabbed her hand to comfort her and we boarded the train, not looking back.

Liam

Danielle pulled me along as we boarded the train.  We didn't get the chance to say good bye to our families, because we somehow fell behind during the drawing.  This honestly sucked.  I was never going to see them again, and I didn't get to say good bye.  Good bye, Mum. I thought to myself, holding back tears.  I was going to miss them so much.

The train was a deep purple, much like the colors of the District.  Danielle let go and flopped down onto the couch.  I decided to take the couch on the other side of the car.  Its not that I didn't want to sit beside her, because I did.  But we really didn't know each other very well, considering she barely remembers me. 

I remember a period of time when she lived in District 11, with all those attitude-filled people.  She lived there for all of Year 10.  That was the year I realized how strong my feelings were for her.  I really missed her when she was gone.  When she came back Year 11, a new attitude came back with her.  She didn't really lose her innocence (that I'm fully aware of, I'm not gonna ask about her love life), but she did come back different than when she left.