lost to the world ://: train thread [minieclover]

After the reaping, me and my District partner were whisked off into the Justice Building to say our goodbyes to loved ones and friends. I was taken to a little room, which smelt of damp and dust, which contained a small red couch and a few bookcases and a plastic plant- its leaves felt rubbery between my fingertips- and left alone to wait. I wanted to tell the Peacekeeper that there was no point in this, that there would be no one coming to say goodbye to me but I could barely utter a word of thank you as the Peacekeeper closed the door behind me.

I was in shock, I must’ve been. I could barely breath, my palms were sweaty, clammy and my skin felt like it was on fire and there was this ringing in my ears, deafening me. The knot in my chest grew tighter and tighter as the time ticked along forgetfully; I perched on the edge of the couch and stared at the wooden floor at my feet, my eyes unblinking. My stomach churned, I felt as if I were going to be sick. My stomach heaved inside me like a tug boat on a vast ocean during a summer storm, but I managed to keep my breakfast down; yet the world still span as I finally took a deep breath.

I hurriedly dig into my pocket and pull the bracelet from its depths, I look at the silver beads as tears form in eyes. As I read the delicately carved letters on the square charms, a sob breaks out of my chest; my hands shake violently. Fear has me wrapped in its hand, it is squeezing me so that I can barely breath- I want to escape it but I can’t. It consumes me and I begin to cry; my whole body writhes as I sob into my hands, doubled over on the couch as if I would disappear if I managed to make myself small enough.

By the time the Peacekeeper returns to collect me, I have stopped crying and I am just leant against the back of the sofa, staring blankly ahead. He doesn’t need to tug me by arm for me to stand, I am on my feet when I hear the door creak open and I am out the door seconds after; much to the surprise of the peacekeeper. He walks beside me, and I wonder if he feels sorry for me. Here in 12 a lot of the Peacekeepers are a little less strict, they are a little more human than most of them; they have to watch the new tributes every single year and I wonder if he has seen someone like me before- someone who hasn’t had anyone visit them before they are escorted to the station.

The journey to the station is short- we are crammed into a car alongside the escort and the three previous victors and ferried to the little building which acts as a train station for the District. Not that many use it for transport of people to other places in Panem, it is mainly used to transport coal that we mine here to other places around the country but on a few occasions, the cargo of the trains is humans; dead and alive. Today is no exception as we make our way out onto the platform where a silver train stands waiting for us- it looks like a bullet, sleek and shining in the sunlight of this winter afternoon.

We step onto the train and it feels like a castle. There are couches, a bar, and a mahogany table and there is the smell of rich and fragrant food wafting through the cabin; I breathe in deeply, cherishing the smell that hangs in the air. The door shuts behind us, hissing as the door slowly moves across with a clank. I glance at everyone else before I move to the window as the train begins to move forward along the tracks. It was slow, at first, a jolt forward then a moment where the word outside the window began to creep away, slow, before the train picked up speed. I watched as soon, District 12, my home, was nothing but a messy blur outside the window. Soon I was staring out the world beyond 12, empty fields and forest of pines.

I let out a heavy sigh. I would never see my home again, that was inevitable. There were 24 tributes in the Games, out of those I was merely just one body ready to be disposed of. I may have been tall, strong and built to be a career if I had been blessed to have been born in 1 or 2, but I had no training. I was only a salesman, someone who stood outside every day from dawn til dusk to try earn a living selling peat that I dug up myself from the fields near the seam. I would return to District 12- in a coffin.

I turned to sit on the couch that was by the window. My body sunk into the fabric and I leant back, attempting to relax but I couldn’t. Fear still niggled at my brain, like a parasite trying to get in and my hands still shook as they lay by my sides. I reached into my pocket and took out the small bracelet again, looking it mesmerised by it as if it were the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.