Serena

"GET UP!" Lucy screams from the tent doorway.

"She's coming! Goodness sake, Lucy," Lilly says angrily.

"Traitor," Lucy spits and walks out of the tent. Lilly shakes her head and turns back to me.

"I'm sorry about my... sister," she mutters, the last word slow and full of hate.

 "I'm sorry you have a sister like her," I whisper.

"That's Lucy. She's always been a little off. She worships Elijah though."

"I see..." I mumble.

"I'm sorry about today," she says and helps me up.

"It's fine. I know I'll be out of my misery tomorrow," I smile sadly. Lilly sighs and grabs my shoes. As she slips them on, I hear angry yells from outside. I grab a staff by the door and stomp outside. Two strong men are tying Nathaniel to a tree while Elijah yells at Nathaniel to stop moving.

"What in the world is going on here?!" I yell at Elijah, despite my pain.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty!" he coos and strokes my chin. I crack his toe with the end of my staff in return. He curses at me, then hobbles to his tent.

"Nice one," Nathaniel whispers, while his hands are tied around his back. I nod and walk to the edge of the hillside. The sun gleams bright red and shines over the dirty town. I lean on the staff and stare out at the view for a couple minutes. I sigh as I hear footsteps crunch the weeds behind me.

"What is it this time," I growl.

"Hi, I'm Sadie!" a new voice says behind me. I turn around to face her. She's about six years old with curly dark hair tumbling down her back and warm brown eyes. I feel tears come to my eyes and I wipe them away quickly.

"I'm sorry miss! Did I make you sad?" she asks worriedly.

"No," I say, trying to compose myself. "You just remind me of someone, someone I lost." I sit down on a log and she sits beside me.

"Who?"

"My sister."

"I'm sorry, miss." She says with a frown. I stare at her and see my sister. My lip quivers and I break down. She holds my hand and tries to comfort me.

"It's alright miss. Mama said everything will be ok one day. Mama’s always right." I pull myself together and smile at her.

"Tomorrow is that day for me."

"Why, miss?"

"I... um... I'm leaving tomorrow,." I say quickly.

"You're lucky," she frowns again, then suddenly perks up. "Hey! Your eyes are brown! That's my favorite color!"

"Really?" I smile, thankful to talk to a small child again.

"Oh yes, miss. You are very pretty," she says, twirling a lock of my hair.

"Thank you! So are you!" she smiles then a woman calls from a distance. She sighs sadly and stands up.

"Goodbye, miss! I will see you tomorrow!" she calls happily, and skips down a trail. I wave after her and I smile. She was so much like my sister and I felt a little better. I grab the staff and stand up. I sigh again and hobble back to the center of the camp.

I arrive to a very loud crowd. Elijah stands in the center, power practically bouncing off him. He spots me and waves me to him. I shake my head and he motions to people behind me. I hold out my arm and Lucy takes my wrist to drag me to Elijah. She throws me down in front of him.

"Just in time, devil child. Today is going to be so much fun!" He claps his hands with joy.

"Fun! Oh don't you love watching innocent children getting murdered?" I ask him sarcastically.

"Yes.” I realize he's dead serious so I go silent.

"Ladies and gentleman! Today is a special death! This one is nice and different! Change is always good. Now, bring out the spears!" he calls. Two women carry out a spear each and hand them to Elijah. He thanks them and they return to the crowd.

"Now, whoever kills the boy first, wins!" he shouts happily. "Any volunteers?"

"You are a sick being! You disgust me!" I spit at him.

 "You disgust me, devil child." He retorts back. "VOLUNTEERS?!" Jonathan raises his hand and comes to the front along with another man who might be his brother.

"Thank you Jonathan and Michael! So the object of the game is-"

"GAME?! THIS IS A GAME TO YOU?!" I yell at him.

"Yes, it's a game! The object of the game is to make the cleanest kill! The reward is choosing your death, devil child," he cackles. Jonathan and Michael step forward in front of Nathaniel and he closes his eyes.

"Lets do it together," Michael whispers and Jonathan nods. My throat closes up and tears fill my eyes. They raise the spears up and I know it's the end. Everything seems to be happening in slow motion now. The crowd screams, Elijah whoops, and the spears fly through the air. The crowd goes silent and the spears hit their mark with a sickening thunk. I look up and scream. I limp to Nathaniel and fall at his feet. Someone grabs my arm but I refuse to get up.

"Serena, please!" Lilly cries. I look up with her and tears stream down my face.

"I'm alone,” I whisper. "Officially alone."