district 17 | svt

ID NUMBER 3733

I don't regret my actions.

I'm actually glad I had the courage to do it.

What did I do?

Well, it's a long story.

_________

Growing up, I had no interest in anything the district taught us. Agriculture was boring, so was economics. Medicine? Too complicated. Mathematics? Hate it with every bone in my body. DPO Training? Absolutely terrifying. Laser-shooting guns, learning self defense moves, and different combat techniques gave me shivers just thinking about it.

Nothing sparked an interest in me...

Until about a year ago.

I was in the District Library, desperately searching for books that would be the slightest bit enlightening to read. I went deeper and deeper into the aisles of books on the first floor, finding nothing. I somehow ended up looking for a book on the second floor of the building, not realizing there was no student in sight.

I reached for one book, not really thinking anything of it. However, it was stuck, like the corner of the book was glued to the shelf. So I tried another one, a little ways away from the first one I tried to take. That one was stuck too.

I let out a quiet groan of annoyance.

"What is with this shelf?" I mumbled to myself, walking over to the farthest end of the shelf, reaching for another one.

I grabbed another book, hoping this time it wouldn't end up with the same fate as the other two. I was almost able to take it off the shelf, but as I tilted it and tried to pull it off the shelf, it stuck, leaving me completely bookless. I let out another groan, scratching the back of my head with frustration.

"This is hopeless," I sighed.

I turned around to walk away, when there was a sudden click coming from the shelf. I slowly looked back at wall of books, noticing that the shelf was slightly open, like a door.

My eyes widened, carefully making my way back to the door. I looked around the room, hoping that no one was near. I quietly began to creek open the mysterious hidden door, extremely curious of what lies behind it. It was intriguing—very intriguing.

I stepped into a dark, vast room, closing the shelf-like door behind me and securing it shut. The only light source was from a lamp dangling from the ceiling, which hovered above a round wooden table. The room was filled with shelves of books, boxes, and weird little gadgets I couldn't recognize. A small grin grew on my face.

Well, isn't this mysterious.

I walked over to one shelf, pulling out one of the boxes before setting it on the table. I opened it, revealing a bunch of wires and ancient-looking technology items. One thing inside the box caught my eye— a pair of headphones connected to some sort of device with a bunch of different buttons. I took out the set, placing it gently on the table before putting on the headphones with the cushions secure on my ears. I held up the rectangular device, examining its appearance. It had a small square screen and a circular button in the middle with a ring-shaped button surrounding it. It was small, compact, and a little bulky.

I pressed a button on the top right corner, causing it to turn on and reveal a lit screen. A small little icon in the left corner of the screen caught my eye. There were two little black dots with staffs sticking out from the sides of them that were connected together with a black bar.

Instinctively, I tapped on the circular button in the middle, causing noises to transfer into my headphones so I could hear them. I flinched at first, slightly taken aback by the sudden volume; but slowly became more intrigued by the sounds I was listening to.