Born in Blood, Chapter 1

[ali]

Born in blood
by Alikia Lombrary

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Chapter 1

It was a moist spring morning in the country of Panem and the citizens of District 6 were beginning to wake up from a long restless sleep. Disrict 6, was 1 of 12 Districts and it specialized in science. Some say it was the brains of Panem. However, despite earning quite a fair amount compard with some of the other Districts most of the citizens of District 6 lived under the poverty line.

Just like Alikia Lombrary. Alikia has had a hard childhood, in which she lost several siblings to illnesses and her mother to one too. She had her arm mangled in a factory accident and today her life was about to be turned upside down. She didn't know it of course. It was still raining when she woke in one of the many wooden shacks of the poorer part of District 6. The warm moist air patterened the air along side the smell of boiling oats. This was the first thing Alikia noticed when she woke up, the second was the fact that today was the day of the reaping. Alikia sat and gazed round the room which wasn't big enough to be called a bedroom, but wasn't small enough to be one. It held one chest of oakdraws and two rusty framed beds with blue woolen quilts to keep the occupients warm. Alikia's father was already awake, his bed was empty and his smoke damaged breath was not present in the 'bedroom'. Alikia sighed throwing the blanket that covered her bare knees off her small nimble bod. She was dreading today, everyone was.

However, one familiar face of District 6 wasn't fearing today for himself, he was fearing it for someone else. Dicentra Gambler, lived in the Market area of the District. His parents owned an art shop of sorts. They sold canvas's, dyes and other things that artists may need. He was a tall well built olive toned boy with brown ruffled hair. He was 15 years of age and was the youngest of 3 children. Dicentra sat watching his mother and sisters begin to cook the celebratory meal for this evening. However, Dicentra was not thinking about this evening. He was thinking about Lacey. Lacey was not his girlfriend, she was more of his little sister he never had. She wasn't a very big girl only standing at 4.5 feet roughly and nor was she the innocent little girl you would percive her to be. She was a leader and a rebelious little girl with pale skin and brown caramel hair. However Dice was still worried about her. It was instinct. It was her first Reaping and Dice was worried that she would be chosen as tribute. It was only a few more hours until Dice would meet Lacey in the town square for the Reaping ceremony.

"Morning" Alikias father smiled at her as he handed her a bowl of oats.

Alikia just nodded. She was shy, very. She would usually respond to her Dads greeting butshe was nervous today and she was worried that ifshe opened her mouth, nothing would come out ever again. Alika's father frowned and shrugged going back to the stove. He wasn't worried this year, luckily for them he hadn't forced Alikia into signing up for Terasae. So there was less chance that his duaghter would be chosen for tribute. He couldn't bare to lose the last family member he had. He'd lost his wife, along with many children. The most recent loss was his brother. He had a mental illness. He acted like he was a 4 year old all the time, the Doctors had predicted that he wouldn't live past 20. He had though, he had lived into his late 30's before dying of natural causes. Alika's father was devistated for many months but finaly got back on track. He dreaded to think what would happen if he lost Alikia as well. He looked over at the old half broken clock which hung precourisly on a nail. It was almost time to go.

Dicentra and his family walked the few minutes to the town square in silence. They were dreading it. One of the daughters wasto old to be reaped, the other was on her last. However, Dicentra Gambler was just the right age. He was between the ages of 12-18, and was illegible to be reaped for the Hunger Games.

The Hunger Games had been around for as long as the oldest people in District 6 could remember. It started after a failed rebelion, against the Capitol. Before the 'Dark Days' as they were refered to, there had been 13 Districts but District 13 no longer exsisted. The Capitol had destroyed it to show their power and control, but it didn't stop there. It was decided every year from then on forth, a competition would take place involving one girl and one boy aged 12-18 years of age, chosen at random from each of the Districts. The 24 children would then be placed into a arena to fight for the prize. 23 of the 24 would be killed by each other or various traps and events devised by the Gamemakers. The remaining tribute would be able to return home, wealthy and alive. Of course, this year was no different than any other year. The tv crews from the Capitol perched on the roof tops surrounding the square in hopes to catch every second of the reaping. There was nothing more that pleased the Capitol than the Hunger Games. It was almost 2 o'clock, the time of the Reaping for all across Panem. The square was almost full, everyone had to attend unless you were on Deaths door that is. Dice meandered away from his family, ignoring the people who watched everyone from above, in hopes of finding Lacey.

Alikia walked with her father towards the town square. Her golden hair was down for once and she wore a fine cotton dress with a pink silk sash around her waist. Everyone dressd up on the day of the Reaping. Even her father wore his best clothes. By the time they had reached the square, Alikias nerves had begun to boil deep inside her chest. She was nervous. Even though this was her 3rd Reaping, she still wasn't used to the amount of people that swarmed the town square. The Justice building stood proudly in the low cloud that hung over District 6, its dark grey stone capitol mark stared down at the crowd below. Alikia bid farewell to her father before joinging the crowd of other children. She slid through the people, her aniexty building as the time drew near.

She accidently bumped into someone before muttering "Sorry" and continuing to the far side of the square.

Dicentra stumbled a bit as a girl with blonde hair and a pretty white dress bumped into him. She didn't turn to him but she did apologize before continuing on her way. He shrugged off the accidentel in counter before turning to Lacey. Lacey held his hand tightly, his Dicetra bracelit brushing against her bare wrist. She looked up at him and smiled.

"Dice, don't look so worried" she smiled up at him, her hazel eyes glowing in the grey air.
Dice smiled weakly in return "I'm not, honest"

But Dicentra Gambler was anything but honest. He was a theif. He didn't need to steal, he wasn't like Alikia or any of the other children in the poor part of the District. His parents earned enough money to put bread on the table, but he still stole. He was a kleptomaniac, he really couldn't help it. He was urged to steal things, it was natural for Dice. Lacey did it too, she stole along side Dice. Sometimes she did it on her own. For example, she'd stolen a necklace with Dicentra flowers on and from that she had made Dicentra his bracelet. Dicentra was greatful for that she had done that for him and told her not to worry like him but yet again, Dicentra was lying. He was lying to Lacey because to be quite honest, Dice was petrified for her. Finally the clock struck 2, and the Reaping began.

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[ali]

Chapter 2

Atticus Fletcher was the Capitol escort for District 6. He had been for about 40 years but you could never tell. Atticus looked like he had when he started the job, 20. There was no hint of aging on his face or hair. He looked as handsome as he had the day he started. His hair was a deep electric blue, a color some what natural for those of the Capitol but not so much of those of District 6. As Atticus walked on stage in his leather black pants, jacket and boots, he got a few weird glances from many of the children who stood at the foot of the stage. He just smiled his perfect smile, one that looked so synthetic that if you looked close enough you could see the tiny lights embedded in his teeth that made his teeth shine. The mayor of District 6 gave the same short speech that happened every year, before Atticus took center stage. This was his dream, to be in front of thousands of people, every ear attentive. Every eye on him. He was a Caeser Flickerman, the man who did important interviews live for the Capitol every year, wannabe. He dreamed of fame and fortune, and there was no better place to start than being a Hunger Games escort.

"Good afternoon District 6, what and honor it is to be here!" He grinned winking at a few of the fair ladies in the crowd.

They seemed to gag slightly at the thought of Atticus kissing them. Atticus knew they didn't like them, no one likes the man who took your children to their deaths. Atticus however didn't care much for their feelings, he enjoyed the Hunger Games as much as the next Capitolian. It was like sport to him, an exciting one at that. It was entertaining for people like him. The Capitol was a weird place like that. They dreamed of perfection, and they got it. Of course their definition of perfection wasn't exactly normal. Their idea of perfection was dying your skin and hair to keep up with the times, it was having face changing surgery to look like something. It was having parties to celebrate a new death in the games. Atticus had been bred around the Games. He saw it as a natural way of life, the peasents sacraficed their children and the rich got a good nights entertainment. It had always been that way. Not even he cared if a child died, he was just interested in how and when they died and who would win. He stood up straight casting his gaze over the crowd who, as he had hoped for, were hanging on his every word.

"Now to choose the two lucky tributes who will enter the arena for the 58th Hunger Games!" He grinned broadly not pausing for a moment for a reaction because he knew he wouldn't get one.

Atticus walked over to one of the rather large glass balls that incased thousands of tiny slips of paper. Each of those slips of paper held a name that would change a dozen peoples lives. There were a handful of slips per person some more than others. It depended on their age and how much terasae they signed up for. 12 year olds would only have one slip, unless of course they signed up for terasae, 13 years olds would have 2, 14 have 2 and so on so forth until they're name is entered 8 times at the age of 18. However if a child is poor, and needs food to sustain his or her family, then they may sign up for terasae per family member. Terasae is a supply of rice and oil which is supposed to last a full year until the next reaping. Of course, when you are hungry this rationing rice does not last long and people starve before they can reach the end of 6 months. However if a District was lucky enough to have a tribute who won, they would receive enough food to benifit the eniter population. Hence why it is called the Hunger Games. Atticus however didn't care about where the name of his beloved games originate, he only cared about who would be its next victum.

"Ladies first," he said reaching into the girls ball. He pulled out a tiny slip of paper, carefully unfolding the delicate folds before reading out loud the name scrawled onto it "Alikia Lombrary!!!!!!!!"

Alikia's heart seemed to falter right then and there when her name was read out. No, it can't be she thought to herself but she knew it was true. She'd been chosen for the girl tribute. Somewhere in the crowd Alikas father was struggling against two peaces keepers who were preventing him approaching his daughter. Her father called her name repeatedly, but Alikia wasn't listening. Well she was but she wasn't paying attention. All she could do was walk through the sea of people towards the stage. People stepped aside for her, passing a caring sympathetic nod or glance. Someone tried to grab her hand, Alikia looked back to see Pam and Elliot Hale. Both were her only friends, Elliot however was something more to Alikia. Or atleast she thought. Pam, a dark haired paint splattered girl, looked like she was about to cry, or shout out she would volunteer but Alikia just shook her head. Elliot, a tall blonde haired boy with blue eyes, was holding Pam back by her shoulders, his eyes worried and shocked. Alikia gave him a weak smile before continuing her journey. Alikia knew that Elliot didn't like her back but that didn't really matter anymore. Finally after what seemed like eternity, she reached the stage. She turned to the crowd who all stood in morbid silence. Alikia began to cry silently, not caring that the whole of Panem would see this. As her tears began to roll down her cheeks, the boy tributes name was called.

"Dicentra Gambler!!"

Dicentra watched the girl who had bumped into him earlier walk up onto the stage, where she begun to cry. He felt sorry for her, but there was not a lot he could do now. He was some what relieved, in some sort of unselfish way, that Lacey wasn't picked. He gripped her hand tightly in response to the girl being reaped. He was glad it hadn't been his Lacey. He began to smile, wondering what his sisters had cooked up for the celebrations tonight when his name was called. Dicentra stood in utter shock for a few moments, he couldn't quite believe that he had been reaped. It must be some sort of mistake he thought but soon he realized that there were no mistakes in these games. His smile faded and he looked at Lacey. Her eyes were filled with tears, and she seemed to be just as shocked as he was. Pausing, Dice leant down and hugged her tightly. He would've held onto her forever but he knew he had to leave Lacey. He stood up straight turned back towards the podium, and shoved his way through the crowd. Some people stepped out the way others didn't. Yet soon he was on the stage beside the sniveling girl. He glanced at her, wanting to cry too but he knew better. Shaking the emotion away he looked for his family in the crowd but he couldn't see their faces int he sea of others.

Atticus looked at the two pieces of fresh meat that stood beside him. One, the girl, was crying her pretty blue eyes out. The boy was trying to look scary but his eyes were filled with doubt and worry, jittering to one side the the other as if searching for something. He grinned to himself thinking about how long they'd last in the blood thirsty arena. The girl didn't look strong enough to survive the blood bath. The boy looked like he could survive a fair amount of time but he could never win. Not when there were the careers to fight. The careers, as they were called, were the tributes selected from Districts 1, 2 and 4. These were the 3 wealthiest districts and in terms of the Hunger Games, the most blood thirsty. They trained their children to be the perfect warriors, they trained their children to win. These 'career' tributes were the most likely to win, but sometimes other tributes from other districts won. However it was rare, the Careers often banded together to kill the other tributes. It was then up to a final battle to decide on the winner. Atticus couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of this years games, and he wondered where it would be held this year. A handful of peacekeepers took the children inside the justice building to say goodbye to their loved ones. Atticus, just stood back and watched the crowd evaporate into a minority of people, mainly children playing in the center of town.

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[ali]

Chapter 3

Meanwhile, inside the Justice building Alikia Lombrary continued to cry. She hadn't quite grasped the fact she'd been reaped. See, she never thought she'd be the one but of course, no one thinks they'll be the one. Alikia was crying too hard to notice the beautiful room around her. It wasn't as dim as the outside but it was certainly creepier. A green colour light lit the room giving the walls a glistening obsidian feel. Paintings of past presidents hung on the black marble walls, their eyes carefully watching the people who hurried below them. President Snow's, the current president, portrait stood over the front desk glaring down at the receptionist. She looked up, her platnium blood hair falling away from her face and smiled broadly at the peacekeepers and bid them good morning. They nodded keeping close to the weeping girl and the strong boy. Dicentra however didn't feel like he was strong. All he wanted to do was cry and hug Lacey. Yet he knew he had to do this but not for the Capitols entertainment. No, he was going to do this for Lacey. He wasn't really thinking of anything else but her right now. Not even Alikias constant sobbing could break his train of thought.

The two tributes were escorted onto the second floor of the Justice bulding, this floor comprised of many corridors; almost like a Labryth. You could get lost if you didn't know the way. However unlike the ground floor of the bulding, this corridor was mainly comprised of granite pillars and wooden panels with the occasional double door. Both Dice and Alikia knew too well that this was were they would say goodbye to their families. The air its self was filled with morbid prosperity. Nearly all of District 6 expected that both children would never return. Not once in 58 years had a tribute won a games. It had been a close one in the 12th but their remaining tribute had been killed by the Mutts of that particular arena. Mutts had to be the Capitols favourite. They were mutant forms of normal animals. The most common Mutts in any arena being Tracker Jackers and Jabberjays. Tracker Jackers were wasp like creatures except their venom caused frightning hallucinations and most of the time, Death. Jabberjays were birds created during the rebelion to repeat parts of conversations of the rebels. In the arena, they are used to repeat sounds of loved ones to draw tributes to traps. Crossbreeds of Jabberjays and another rebelion weapon called Mockingbirds inhabit nearly all of the arenas. They are named Mockingjays. They unlike their parents, Mockingjays do not have he capability to repeat full human sentances but they have been known to learn songs.

Alikia was gestured into one of the rooms along the corridor, were she sat down. It was a nice room, filled to the brim with books and maps of all sorts. Some of the writing on the spines of some of the books reminded her of the old language spoken by the ancients- Anglish. She didn't know what it said but she didn't care. She just wanted it all to end. Tears continued to cascade down her face as she waited for her father to come and bid her farewell. It wasn't long before he turned up. The peacekeeper who was guarding her room opened the door for him. Her father stepped in and Alikia squeeked before she knew it she was in his arms. Her wails increasing in volume and intensity. Her father was so confused he was unsure of what to do. It wasn't everyday you had to say goodbye to a dead daughter who hadn't even stopped breathing yet. He just held her and wished the world would fall away so that it would just be him and her, no one else. Alikas sobs did not faulter when he pulled back holding her shoulders tightly looking into her blue eyes.

"Alikia listen to me, you can win..." he whispered below his breath "you just got to believe in yourself......"

Alikia shook her head. She knew she couldn't win. There was little chance she could. She was weak, even her father knew this. Alikia had a blanced diet but not one that could keep her alive in a killer arena. Alikia was a short girl and a thin one too. Her left arm was slightly shorter than her right due to an accident she had suffered earlier in her short life. It wasn't damamgd anymore than that but she still couldn't win. Alikias tears swallowed her voice as she tried to tell her dad she just couldn't. Alikia tried to speak as her fathers time drew to a close but before she could say any word at all, her father shoved something into her hands. He gently placed a kiss on her forehead before leaving the room. Once the door slapped its door frame, Alikia looked at her hands which sat in the creases of her dress. It was a heart shaped wooden pendant. One she recognized quite well. It was her mother necklace. Made of willow wood, her mother had received it from a small traveling family who specialized in apothocry. She looked back up at the door before looking back down at the pendant. Her mother would've wanted this to be her token in the Games. Maybe it would keep her strong.

The only thing that kept Dice strong was the thought of Lacey. She was his second guest. She had run to him tears running down her porcelin cheeks and onto the floor. He'd wrapped his arms round her as soon as she was in reach. He pulled her close and let her cry. He felt sorry for Lacey. What a first reaping, your best friend getting reaped. Lacey cried sniffling trying to put random words that fell out her mouth into actually sentances. Dice didn't pay attention to the puzzle of words that blurted out her mouth randomly. He was thinking about how they had met. It had been 7 years ago and Dicentra, being Dicentra had just stole some bracelets from a jewelers on the market stall. He was walking away when he bumpd into a little girl. He shook it off and watched as she walked away. It was only a few moments later when he realized that she'd taken his bracelets. He persude her, eventually catching her an confronting her. After a short deep conversation between the two, he knew almost everything about Lacey and she knew almost everything about Dice. They had been inseprable since. Dice sighed as he saw the Peacekeeper open the door. He looked at Lacey.

"Listen, I'll come back," he grinned slightly "I promise"

She nodded wiping her little eyes with her hand. The Peacekeeper took her shoulder and led her out the room. Dice knew at that point he would probably never see her again. He sighed heavily as the Peacekeeper returned to escort him to the train station. These stations were rarely used by people, most trains that passed through the Districts carried cargo from District to District. However once a year, two children would be taken on the train to the Capitol to be trained for the games. For most, it was an exciting journey. Both Dice and Alikia stared up at the metal train, Alikia's eyes bloodshot. Atticus turned to them and gestured over to the train, his crystal purple eyes glistening in the light. The tributes took a feverish step onto the train. Inside it was lavish. Silk curtains lined the windows, stylish couches sat to one end of the carriage. Their feet made of fine pine wood. A large flatscreen tv sat in front of them, the symbol of Panem flickered on the screen. To the right of the main door sat a small booth with a table which was covered in a lace table cloth. There was a long corridor leading to bedrooms, but they were to be explored later. Dicentra stepped on the train glancing at Alikia, who still cried. He shook his head thinking about how long she'd last. She wasn't exactly pretty, not when she was crying anyway. Dicentra sighed as the door closed behind them and their journey began.

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[ali]

Chapter 4

The train sped towards the Capitol at speed; the trees, hills and sky all blured into one colourfull mess. This area between, the Districts the tributes found themselves traveling through, was called the Wilderness. A place filled with spoils beyond any District Citizens imagination. Of course, these food sources and herbs of such belonged to the Capitol and those found hunting or tresspasing in the Wilderness would be punished. Of course if you had reason to be traveling through the Districts you would be spared. Just like our two friends. Dicentra watched the world go by from the dining booth, his head resting on his hand. He watched the vast areas of nothing pass by in a couple of seconds and didn't care much for the sights he saw. His mind was else where, with Lacey. He wondered what his parents were doing. He looked at the TV, the time appearing every few minutes. It was 5 o'clock, some of the people back home would be celebrating now, Dice thought. Of course, his family wouldn't be. Nor would Lacey. They'd be mourning his death even though it hadn't come yet.

Shrugging off the thought of home, Dicentra stood to go look at his room. He however, was distracted for the first time by the quiet sobs. Frowning he followed the painful sounds to one of the three bedrooms that occupied the train. It was slightly a-jar, so curiously Dice peered in. To not much surprise, it was the girl. Akia? Aleigha? No, that wasn't it, Dice thought as he looked at the girl. She was sitting at the vanity cabnit, her head burried in her arms on the desktop. Her long blonde hair rolled down across her shoulders. She wasn't wearing her Reaping dress anymore, she was wearing a different one. Probably one from the chest of draws. For the first time since he had been reaped, Dice's attention was not on Lacey it was focused on the crying girl. Her sobs felt painful to Dice, so much that he nearly flinched away from the sound. He could feel her devastation and sorrow in each cry, but he had no idea how he should or could help. Pausing for a few seconds, Dice cautiously knocked on the door.

Alikia was trying to get away from the contents of the train, crying quite loudly in her room, when someone knocked on the door. She sat straight up and turned to the door, to see who had disterbed her. It was the boy tribute. She couldn't quite remember his name. She didn't really care much though, she was worried she looked stupid, her eyes were bloodshot and her cheeks were almost tomato red. Tears tumbled down her cheeks continously as she looked at the boy. For some reason she was angry at him for disterbing her, but she also thought maybe he just wanted to help. She desprately needed help, more than anything but she wasn't sure if this guy was the right one to get it from. Shakily she wiped the tears from her eyes, only to be fruitless in her efforts because more tears took their place. The boy was still watching her as if she had shot him with a crossbow, or he had turned to stone. She could see the wheels inside his head turning as he looked at her continously. There were a few more moments silence before the boy spoke.

"Hello," he nodded

Alikia looked down, hiding her face from the boy as if ashamed of her emotion. She took a deep breath and managed to stifle a reply.

"Hello.."

Dicentra watched the girl break eye contact with him, looking down, tears still caressing her cheeks. He stepped futher into the room and closed the door. He didn't like it when girls cried. It hurt him, even if he didn't know them. He just didn't see it as right that a girl should shed tears. He paused holding the door handle before turning to her.

"Are you alright?" he asked concerned
Alikia looked at him with a shocked expression before replying "No, do I look ok?!"

Dicentra held his hand up in surrender, shocked at the girls outburst. He hadn't meant to offend her in anyway. Nor did he want her to start crying again, which of course happened anyway.

Alikia sighed heavily, dropping her gaze in remorse "Sorry,"
Dice nodded "It's alright...."

Dice walked over to the girl and sat on the floor beside her. He looked up at her and grinned. He was trying to be nice, which was something he was good at. Sadly, despite this Dicentra had never actually had a proper girlfriend. Yes, there had been girls but none of them lasted very long with him. Dice had never held a girls hand other than Laceys but he didn't think of her in that way. He and Lacey were friends, and only friends. Some words were like a taboo in their relationship. Dice never actually loved Lacey, he just cared for her. In the past he must of gone through a quater of the girls at school in his year. Some just weren't interested but others swooned and squeeled everytime Dice walked past. He liked that, he guessed but sometimes fame was too much and he'd ignore his name being called in the hallway or the taunts from the older boys. Something he was rarely able to do. The girl still cried as he looked at her, but she didn't look at him. He recognized her from somewhere, probably school. She must be in the year below because she didn't look 15. Maybe 13 or 14, Dice thought.

"Whats wrong?" he asked eventually
Alikia looked at him out the corner of her eyes before chocking out a broken sob "I want to go home...."

She then burst into harder, louder tears. Dice panicked and tried to calm her the best he could.

"He it's okay" he said as comfortingly as he could, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Alikia didn't shake off his hand. She needed someone now, and she didn't think she could go crying to Atticus. She looked up at the boy and wondered who he was. She had seen him, in the town square. His parents owned an art supply store, she thought. She had seen him in school too. He was in the year above, the same year as Elliot Hale. Elliot Hale was a medium heighted blonde boy in the year above Alikia. He wasn't a stand out guy, he blended in with the crowd. He is a kind, trustworthy boy and Alikia, though she talked to him once, has a crush on him. Alikia rarely got crushes, her emotions were always somewhat of a mystery to her. She never knew if she liked or loved a person until it was too late. Being socially awkward never helped Ali either. She had two friends, but often she thought that they were friends out of sympathy. She didn't really think it was possible to have friends. She looked up at the boy, thinking of something to say. She needed to ask him his name or at least say thank you.

"Whats you name..." she asked calming down a fraction
He looked at her and smiled "Dicentra, but some boys at school think its a bit girly so I insist on being called Dice"
She frowned a little "I don't think Dicentra's a girly name.."

Dicentra grinned at the girls kind words.

"Whats your name? Since were getting to a name to name basis" he mused slightly

She laughed a litte. She had a pretty laugh, Dice thought to himself as he grinned at her.

"It's Alikia," she paused for a moment "but you can call me Ali"

Alikia only allowed people she trusted to call her Ali and she didn't trust many people. Both turned to the door as Atticus pushed it open. His hair had been gelled back, creating a slick blue style. He wasn't wearing the dashing suit anymore, he was wearing footless black tights and a white ruffled shirt. He reminded Alikia of the stories her mother read her when she was smaller, with the man who rode a bull in the arena saving all the pretty girls. Though Alikia was positive she didn't want to be saved by Atticus. He wasn't very nice in her opinion. One year he had pushed a little girl out the way trying to get up on stage after taking a hilarious tumble off it. Atticus eyed the two tribute precariously. What were they doing, he thought. At least the girl Alikia had stopped crying. He slowly grinned and stepped into the room. He did enjoy a bit of lost friendship in the games, and these two seemed to be proising just that. His smile slowly turned to a smirk at the thought of the bloodshed.

"Dinners ready......" he stepped out the way of the door as the two children went to the dinner table.

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[ali]

Chapter 5

Dinner was sat in silence on the train. The sky outside was begininng to turn black, the suns rays escaping the horizon. Even though Alikia was shy, sitting at dinner without talking was awkward for her. She didn't like it. Atticus failed to make as much conversation as she had. Once she'd finished her main course, which included a roast pheasent along with vegtables and gravy. Her stomach as fuller than she could handle, Alikia went to her room before promptly vomiting into the shiny toilet. This food was too rich. There was too much food to eat. It was just like she was being forced fed, so she'd be biggr for the games. But she didn't want to be in the games. She wanted to be home. After finishing in the bathroom, Alikia had begun to feel hot and sticky. She walked back through into her room and turned on the light. It was twice as big as her bedroom at home. To the right of the door sat a vanity table, which was covered in tissues from her earlier water works, to the left of the door was her bathroom and a chest of draws with various items of clothing inside. And oppisote the door sat a single bed with silk sheets. Stripping from the blue dress she was wearing, she crawled into the cool bed wearing her underwear.

She woke hours later, no more than 3, to silence of the train. Non of the cooks were awake, Atticus was in bed. She wondered to herself if Dicentra was in bed. She shrugged and rolled over, trying to get back to sleep. But the train jerked and rattled, and Alikia couldn't drift back to leep. She through the covers off her. Before venturing out into the darkness of the train, she slipped into two peice pyjamas and put a gown over the top. Outside her bedroom door, there was nothing. It took her a few moments to get used to the dark. She waited a few seconds before turning right down the corridor. Her room was the closest from the Dining/Living cart, Dice's was the furthest. She slipped along the corridor, careful not to wake Atticus; Who was bound to shout if he got woken up at this hour. Dice's door was very slightly open but it was barely visable in this light. Glancing over her shoulder, she knocked twice. Nothing. She knocked again, only to receive no answer. Sighing she gently shifted the door open. Empty. He wasn't there. She frowned hard before making her way out to the balcony. Well, she says balcony because thats what it was in a way. It had two chair on it and a small table but it was on the back of a train, not ontop of a 4 story building. It took some force to pull open the back door. The cold evening air hit her like a wave of water. Freshning but shocking. She stepped outside, her bare feet burning against the ice cold wood. He wasn't out here either but his slippers were.

"Dice?" She called quite loudly into the passing wind.

There was a moment where only the wind and the train on the tracks could be heard. Then from abaove, someone shouted back.

"Up here!" Dice shouted

Dice had managed too keep his dinner down but he hadn't been abl to get to sleep. Everytime he shut his eyes terrible images of someone he loved dying in his arms appeared. Each time he'd immeaditly opened his eyes in horror. He wasn't sure who was lying in his arms but whoever it was, it hurt him deeply. He was sure it hadn't been his parents so that was okay. It wasn't his eldest sister, but it could of been his second eldest sister or worse yet; Lacey. He hadn't thought about Lacey since he'd heard Alikia crying. He lay in bed trying to relocate happy memories of him and Lacey or memories of his father and mother. Something to get rid of the horrid image that filled his head. Of course, nothing had worked so he had slipped out his bedroom and out onto the back platfrom. Here he felt safe but Dice sensed, like any good theif should, that he was still under the constant eye of the Captiol. To escape the all seeing ones, he had scaled the ladder which hung a few inches from the platform, and onto the roof. Dice felt safe up there, and even more safer when he heard a familiar voice. Alikia. She was shouting loudly, and he was afraid that she'd wake the others. So before he could get in troubled he called down to her.

Alikia was surprised when she heard the answer from above but she thought it was best to talk to him rather than try get back to sleep in the train. She walked over to a metal ladder which hung percuriously on the side of the train. She'd have to climb onto the fence that surrounded the balcony bfore climbing onto the ladder. The railing was cold, not to mention slippy. They were still quite far north so some ice still clung to the shiniest surfaces. She managed to grab the ladder rung and clamber up it even though it stung her skin as she climbed. When she reached the top she saw Dice, sitting crosslegged on the middle of the train roof. To much of Alikia's surprise he wasn't watching her. He was watching the surroundings. It was beautiful up here, Alikia thought as she crawled over to Dice. She could see alot more than she could down in the main train. The stars hung over head, glistening down at her like 1000's of dimonds. It wa beautiful.

"What do you want?" Dice asked cooly and calmy to her
She turned to him, glancing down "I needed to talk to someone..I couldn't sleep........."
Dice nodded in agreement "Same"

There were a few moments of an awkward silence where both just sat and stared into the blurring distance. It shouldn't be long until they would arrive at the Capitol. Then it'd be over. Finally Dice spoke up.

"I never see you round town...."
"I live in the poorer part of the District" Alikia replied "I don't have time to treck half way across the District to get to the town square. We have plenty of small shops in our area.....all sell good enough produce to live on...."
"Oh," Dice said "What class are you in?"
"14 b, why you asking?"
"I've never seen you round school"
"No course you haven't, your in the 15 block. Completely different part of school, you'd have to be held back to see me"

Dice had never liked the school system much. It involved 64 classes, each split up into age groups. 12-18. Then those groups were sperated into 3 different classes. Then in those groups you had seperate classes with other groups ect ect. It was all very confusing. He looked back up at Ali, her blonde hair dancing about in the wind.

"I know your mum, she used to come into our store sometimes with a little girl. Katie I think her name was? She was sweet..haven't seen them in a while though" Dice began saying before Alikia abrubtly cut him off.
"Dead."
Dice frowned and his expression turned serious "what?"
"They died...both of them...." she said, her voice breaking.

She began to cry. Dice suddenly panicked. He hadn't meant for her to cry. He was not that type of person. He tried to fix the situation. He couldn't find the words so he clowly and quite awkwardly put his arms around her and hugged her. He had never really hugged that many girls before. And when he did he did it cause he liked them or had to cause they were his family. This time was different. He was hugging a poor defencless little girl who was crying because of him. He hadn't known that her mother and sister, Katie had died. He wondered what had happened. He daren't ask or she may cry harder. All of a sudden she burried her face into his chest, crying very hard. He felt guilt was over him, and he pulled her tighter to his chest. For some reason this felt all to right but that feeling soon passed as she began to quieten down.

"Sorry" she muttered her voice still choked with tears
Dicentra shook his head "No, its not your fault Alik- I mean Ali. I shouldn't of mentioned it"
"You didn't know" Alikia insisted wiping her eyes

She pulled out of Dice's grip and sat with her knees in her lap. Both tributes stared out at the night as they both began to fall asleep on the roof, their hair whistling in the wind and their minds at peace finally.

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[ali]

Chapter 6

The sun poked its head over the growing moutain range, its ray spreading across the land like rain. The air began to warm and the train still speeding along towards the Captiol. Alikia blinked as the sunlight peirced through her eyelids. She couldn't quite figure out where she was for a momnt before she remembered where she had been last night. It had been an emotional evening, He had mentioned her mother and sister Katie. Katie had been the only sister she could remember, she had been her best friend. She had been killed when she was eight, by a freak accident involving a horse. Alika remembered being told that her sister was dead. She remembered crying for days about it. Around 2 weeks later, her mother had died. It hurt Alika deep in the hollows of her heart. She slowly sat up and gazed around, the mountains that surrounded the Capitol sat on the horizon. She looked over to Dice, who was curled up on his side slowly waking up.

"Dice....we need to get back" she whispered touching his shoulder

Dice stirred out of a dream where he was stealing with Lacey. The sun was rising slowly over hills that were barely a line on the horizon. The wind was cold and it made him shiver slightly. He felt a soft hand on his shoulder and Alikia's voice. He turned over and looked up at the girl who knelt beside him. Her sandy golden hair curled down to a few inches above his face as she leaned over to see if he was awake. Her blue eyes glistened in the morning sun light. She was almost beautiful, if that was what beauty was Dicentra thought as he frowned up at Alikia. She smiled a little, the apples of her cheeks turning into round like balls. Dicentra automatically smiled back. Alikia was a very nice person, and Dice felt like she shouldn't be here. He felt like it should be someone else who had been forced into this horrid sentance. He slowly sat up running a hand through his ruffled hair, letting out a long yawn. He looked at Alikia and grinned broadly.

"Come on lets go get some breakfast" He said holding out his hand for her to take

By lunch time, the Capitol 'wall' was firmly in their sights. Except, it wasn't really a wall that surrounded the city, no it was more of a natural mountain range. The peaks towered over their heads as Alikia and Dice strained themselves against the cold surface of the window to get a better view. One moment they could see blue sky and the snow covered peaks then they saw blackness. Alikia looked round a bit as her ears popped making every sound seem like she was hearing it from under a foot of water. Dicentra strained his eyes trying to see the light at the end of the tunnel but the end of the tunnel came and went so fast that both were stunned like rabbits for a few seconds. What they saw afterwards was absolutely horrific. Houses hung around below them, painted all different colours, making the city look like a rainbow of sweets and icing. More eye sores came as they pulled into the station. Capitolians swarmed the platforms, their faces thin and narrow; their skin colours ranged from red to pink to cyan, some had whiskers, and one person looked like a fish. Both tributes tried to hide their laughter as they were whisked from the train and into a black car.

Both of the children became very quite, which was normal. Atticus watched them as the awkwardly shifted in their seats trying to peer out into the Capitol. A small grin was painted across his face. He was almost certain that these two tributes wouldn't make it past the blood bath and that pleased Atticus alot. He thought that the girl would go first. She was very short and weak by the looks of things, but on the plus side she was pretty. Atticus loved pretty girls but he preffered the Capitol sort of pretty. Which usually meant insane alterations of their faces, crazy colors of hair and skin and the most obscure clothing ever imaginable but like every Capitol man, Atticus found that irresistable. He tapped his chin as he watched the boy and the girl glance at each other. The girl looked like she was going to cry again. See these girls from the Districts are so emotional, they can't ahndle their feelings like the real woman of the Capitol can, Atticus thought to himself as the car pulled to a halt.

Dicentra got out with Alikia behind him. They were deep into the Capitol now and were facing a tall dark metal building with tinted windows. Dice craned his neck to look up at the top of the structure as he was hurried inside. The lobby of the building was a plain white colour with a set of metal doors leading to an elevator on the far wall. Two couches with chrome legs sat by the window and there was a desk to the left of them. A woman sat behind it with hair as white as the walls of the lobby, her skin had been dyed a pale blue. She looked up at them and smiled, revealing a set of pointed teeth. Dice was unsure if they were her real ones or not because they were soon inside the elevator. Atticus pressed the button with 6 printed on it, and they shot up at the speed of a bullet. Alikia screamed a little but before they knew it, the elvator had ground to a hault. There was a ping and the door slid open into a long corridor with white walls.

"Dicentra your room is that way" Atticus pointed to a door to the left "And Aliea...wait no...Alikia your room is that one there"

Alikia followed Atticus arm as he gestured to one of the black doors. She glanced at Dicentra who was slowly edging towards his room. Alikia guessed she had no choice in the matter so she slipped quietly across the carpeted floors to the room. She turned the handle slowly before entering. To her surprise, she was not alone. 4 other people sat in there, all dressed in black. One, a man, had ice white hair and ice blue skin with sparkles. He reminded Alikia of Jack Frost. Beside him sat an oriental woman, whose hair was absent from her head and had whiskers implanted into her thin concaved chieeks. Another woman, who looked out over the darkening city from the window tree branches tattoed on her arms and face. She was by far the prettiest of the 4, Alikia thought until she saw the womans nails which were like tallons; atleast 4 inches long. The final person was a man. His ears were pointed like elf ears and was wearing black rimmed glasses with blood red lenses. He seemed normal enough apart from his teeth which were pointed like knives. Suddenly, all eyes were on her. The oriental woman gasped in utter disgust.

"Look at her hair!" she screeched running over almost immeaditly and twisting Alikia's hair painfully up, down and left trying to make some sense of the waves and curls.
"But her nails" Said the woman with the talons "Yang have you seen them!"

The woman ran over, looking panicked- before grabbing Alikias hand and renching it towards her. Alikia was too surprised to notice that the man who looked like Jack Frost had made his way over.

"Such a pretty face......such perfect skin" He hissed almost as he tapped her cheek
"She needs work" Yang admitted as she ran her fingers through Ali's hair harshly
"Of course she does.." Talons lady sighed "I mean look at her nails"
"Well then" Jack Frost said "Better get started then"
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[ali]

Chapter 7

Dicentra tugged uncomfortably at the sleeve of the outfit his stylists had created him. It was a tailored lab coat with tailored white trousers. Over his eyes he wore a pair of fallout goggles which had blue lenses. He thought he looked like a weirdo- which was completely true. He looked like some sort of mad scientest- which was what the Stylists were going for. The elevator slowly ground to a halt and the door opened. The room it opened up onto was long and large and smelt of horses.

(wip0