If We Burn..

A Peacekeeper leads us down the hall, and to a pair of doors."You've got five minutes," They say. Nicotine exits through one, and me the other.

Inside, I am tackled by a pink blur.

"Midnight!" Littlewing yells "Oh Faust, Midnight! I'm so sorry I wanted to volunteer but you told me not to and I was so scared and it's not fair and what if you die and I'm sorry!" she says, without pausing for breath.

"Woah, woah, calm down!" I say, and get to my feet. "Sorry," mutters Littlewing "But... well, I brought you this..." she holds out a necklace, nothing at first glance, but it means more to me than life itself. Okay, now that was a bit dramatic, but you get what I'm saying. It has two feathers, one red, one dark blue, hanging from a thin silver chain. Feathers from the wings of my parents,  apparently, as the necklace was hanging around my neck when I arrived at the orphanage. "They let you take one thing from your district into the arena. I thought you'd want to take this." I'm tearing up now "Oh, fuck, Littlewing..." "Shut," she tells me and grabs me in a hug. After a few minutes of hugging and crying, a Peacekeeper comes in. "Alright, time's up," they say. "Good luck..." says Littlewing, before walking away.

After I finish saying my goodbyes, I'm rushed away with the other tribute towards the train station. I'm not particularly fond of traveling in any form except flying, and the shock of being reaped isn't exactly helping.

There's a crowd at the train station to see us off, but I barely get a glimpse of anyone as the Peacekeepers herd Nicotine and me onto the train. As soon as we're on, I look out the window to see if I can catch one last glimpse of Littlewing, but I can't see her in the crowd. I wave anyway.

Then the train began to move, and District 12 starts to slide away, so I leave the window.

Sassy Saddles, as chipper as ever, shows up shortly after. She tells us that our rooms are two cars down, clearly labeled and that she's certain we'll both like to take an hour and a half to settle in and freshen up before it's time for dinner.

Me and Nicotine look at each other, and head in the direction Sassy's pointed. Sure enough, there're  two rooms, both next to each other, each with a bronze cut-out on the door; one mare, one colt.

"See ya, then," Nicotine says, "Uh, yeah," I mutter. I push open the door to my room and take a couple steps inside.

It is... riddikilus. (authors note: HA! Harry Potter puns!) And so... fancy. From the heavy carpet beneath my hooves, to the thick red comforter and the innumerable pillows on the bed, it's fancier than anything I'd seen in my life.

And it's all for me. A mare that, odds are, won't live to see many more sunrises.

I guess it only made sense to make the most of it, yet I can't help but feel kinda... well, guilty. It's not really sensible, but I look at this room, and all I can see is enough money to keep the whole district fed for at least 6 months, with plenty of pie to go around. Is the frame of the mirror made of real silver? Are the curtains silk? I can't tell for sure, but I wouldn't bet against it.

I spread my wings and flutter over to the queen-sized bed. There're some comic books in a style I don't recognize; 'Manga', I think they're called. I don't know what to expect from those, and anyway, I want something long, to keep me occupied. I settle on a dystopian book called Uglies, and started reading it.

Oh, cool. this is pretty absorbing.

I'll stop when supper's ready, scout's honor.

Wait, I was never in the scouts.

Tally thought of the lesions on Shay's brain, the tiny cancers or wounds or whatever they were, that she didn't even know she had. They were in there somewhere, changing her friend's thoughts, warping her feelings, gnawing at the roots of who she was. Making her forgive Tally. "Thanks, Shay. But no, it doesn't-"

Tally's monologue was interrupted by a series of sharp knocks on the door. "Midnight!" a musical voice that I recognised as Sassy Saddles trilled. "Supper's ready!" I rolled my eyes.

"Coming!" I called and jumped off the bed. After a moment's hesitation, I tucked the book under my wing. I'm going to die, so to shit with it. I pushed open the metal door, only to be blinded by a flash of sunlight pouring through the window. Shielding my eyes with my other wing, I set off to the dining car.