Tommy Chen's Story

There they all where. Anyone who might get picked for the reaping in district 11 was standing in the center of town waiting to be picked or not picked. There was tense air as they began. How many more times was this going to happen? How long before freedom. "And for our male contribute - Leo Nander!" She heard the nightmare she never wanted to hear, his name bing called for the reaping. She dashed out as he was being taken away. She stepped out and screamed "I'll take his place!" For the whole crowed to hear.

After she walked up to the platform they put him and the first girlthey had go back into the croud while they picked a new boy tribute. "For the male tribute - Tommy Chen!" The boy walked onto stage with confident strides. I found it amazing that even though he was going to the games, this other tribute was still standing strong. We looked at each other for a second before i turned and spotted my little brother, Leo, stareing at me with an unhappy gaze. I dropped my head and began to say to myself "you're dead meat".

Barley was sitting on the train. She looked out the window and remembered back to only a few moments ago when she had said goodbye.
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"Barley! My baby!" my mother had screamed while in tears. She ran over and gave me a hug. My father just sat on the opposite side of the table. Leo came and sat next to me. As soon as he sat down he grabbed my arm and whispered "Dont go...I should go, you should stay here!" I leaned down and whispered back "But then i would have to watch you die" He looked at me and began sobbing. I picked him up and placed him in my lap. My mother was also sobbing but my father just stared down, his glasses hiding his face. I stared at him while my mother and brother calmed down. The gaurd came in "Times up" he said. My mother took my brother and left but my father stopped when he got neer. He bent down and took my hand and slipped something on before walking out of the room.
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I looked down at my middle finger. There was a silver ring with a wheat engraving. She smiled and looked over at the male tribute from her district. He looked somewhat familiar, but she dosent reconize where. She looked over at him and she gazed at him for some time before she stuck out her hand. "Name's Barley, Barley nander."

District 11's mood was different from all of the other districts. There were a profound amount more of peacekeepers here then at the others. The people were crammed into the center of the town, forced to squish together to accommodate for the peacekeepers that kept them corralled. Everyone had unhappy faces, others angry, but most were scared. No one dared utter a word about anything, so the place was silent. The speech was given once again, this time by a slightly more happy speaker they proceeded to call the female from district 11 who would be participating in the Hungers games, Barley nander. There was no incident when she was called, so the speaker carried on, so the speaker carried on. She looked as though she had hoped for a very eventful reaping. Being from the Capitol, she was eager to see something exciting, even before the games began. She wanted to be the next "Effie."

When she called out the boy,

"Tommy Chen!"

Her voice rang out over the silence, her bright eyes searching the crowd. For a moment, no one stepped forward. She said it again, slightly louder, then finally the boy with dark hair and cold eyes was pushed forward. He didn't look scared, only shocked, but once out in the middle of everyone, he recomposed himself and walked confidently to the stage. He kept his eyes forward and didn't look around. Once on the stage, the speaker went to reach for his hand and he pulled it away. The woman didn't miss a beat and announced them as the tributes for District 11, then they were taken off the stage and away.

Tommy looked out at the sea of faces as they made the final statement, their faces were those of sadness and sympathy. It was hot that day, and later he would recall thinking ' Why me? ' he wondered as he stared blankly into the crowed, now that the initial shock was gone there was only anger and fustration , ' out of all the other kids that could be standing here right now, why me? ' the woman was beginning to walk of the stage now but he didn't move, he just stood there like a stone until a guard came and took him firmly by the arm to guide him away. Tommy didn't resist surprisingly, he knew there was no point because he wouldn't get far before they descended on him with their hover crafts and stun guns. The guard's grip on him loosened when he felt confident Tommy wouldn't take of, he never would have until he saw something that shocked him more than being chosen a tribute for his district...he saw his mother out of the house in the crow, on the ground in her night gowned...weeping.

It struck a cord in him immediately and he yanked his arms away from the guard, hoped of the stage and bolted right for her as crowds of people parted like parting seas to lead him right to his mother. He hadn't seen such an out pour of emotions from her since his father died while he was still a small child, when Tommy arrived were she was he saw his Uncle standing tall next to her, Tommy's mouth hung open as he looked right at him. He wanted to ask how she got out here but his words failed him, still his Uncle seemed to understand " She asked me to bring her, your all she has left..neither of us would have even imagined you would have been chosen " he said with a stony yet compassionate expression, for the first time in many years Tommy wanted to shed tears of his own but his uncle's expression told him he should be strong, he got down on his knees and wrapped his arms around her, it was the first sign of affection exchanged between the two of thing in a long time and it made her wail even louder. " mother I..." he hesitated, he realized he had no idea what he should say, he knew better to make any promises of his return..there was a good chance his life would be ending this year. " I love you mom " he said as he kissed the top of her head, he stood and she remained on the ground weeping, Tommy looked his uncle in the eye and with no words the man understood exactly what he was saying to him ' If I don't come back, take good care of her for me ' " Don't fucking touch..I can walk on my own two feet " he declared as more guards had arrived to haul him off, he nearly broke his neck trying to turn and look back knowing the sad fact he was facing, this ight very well be his final memory of home....

Now he would probably be take to the Justice building, but with his mother in shambles...even more so than before, his Uncle would most likely be busy trying to hold her together. As things stood, there would most likely be no one there to say his final goodbyes to, in truth he hoped there wouldn't be, to him he had just made his final goodbyes and he didn't wish to suffer doing it once more.

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Later on he sat on the train in silence, staring at his unsheathed Hinting knife as the momentum of the train shook his body in an uncomfortable way he was not accustomed to, for quite some time he sat there in a trance with his face bawled up in an expression of anger. He didn't want to be there, he didn't want to leave his home and be forced to kill other people's children in order to survive, none of it was fair yet he knew there was nothing he could do to change things now. Or was there? If he would take the knife and slit his wrist or his own throat now then he would be free of his bloody fate, he quickly dismissed the idea though, knowing that if he did off himself they would just replace him with another poor kid from his District and with that on his mind there was no way he'd be able to go through with it. He heard a voice that seemed to come out of no were since he was so lost in his own thoughts, his head jerked up only to see it was that other unfortunate girl chosen to be a tribute as well and when he was her out stretched arm he scowled even deeper at first.

Tommy sighed and relaxed his expression as he placed the knife in it's small leather sheath and took the girl's hand to shake it, he wished he didn't tell him her name, he preferred not to know it as he might have to be the one to end her life some day soon....or the other way around, though he understood that she probably wanted to talk to someone else from her District to stave of the suffocating loneliness one felt while leaving their home to play a game of death. " my names..Tommy Chen " he said as he shook her hand, now that he was getting a good look at her he remembered seeing the girl around the district often though he never really met her until now, any other time he would have just told the girl to fuck off and keep moving but as things were now he forced a smile in return to hers to be pleasant. " Ready for Hell? " he asked.

Tommy Chen... where have i heard this name before? I asked myself as we shook hands. " Ready for Hell? " Tommy asked me. "Not the least" I said in response before smiling. I'm going to have to be or the next thing i know the cannon will be going off for me before the game even begins.

" Not in the least "

He managed to laugh, just a little bit, he should be angry and hate the girl that sat with him now for if she had not volunteered and took the place of the original male tribute he would not be sitting here today being forced to come to terms with the mortality that weighed heavy on his shoulders, heavier than any backpack of tattered textbooks. At the same time he knew if she didn't then there would be a mere child here instead, and no kid should have to endure such a fate.

" Well you better ready up, and fast, you don't wanna be the first to die out there " He retorted while clenching his knife, not in a threatening manner, more as a gesture of determination. There was absolute zero guarantees that he would survive this but one thing he knew for certain was that he was not going to be one of the poor bastards who died within the first day. He at least wanted a good chance to survive for as long as he possibly could and as long she serviced the first minutes and hours they both had a better chance of survival being from District 11, though he could not be sure about her because there was no telling weather she worked on any of the farms like he did or not. They could perhaps form an alliance being from the same district, that's probably what the other districts were doing especially those damnable Career tributes, though if they did form an alliance they would have to turn on each other sooner or later unless one of them gets picked off before the other which would probably be the best case scenario.