I stand, shooting a blank stare at the crowd, as Petra Gem casually walks past me to the boys' Reaping ball.

"And now for the boys," she announces, as if a boy to her is a kind word for a filthy animal. The ball rotates, the names rolling and churning in an angry boil of paper. It stops its last roll after five seconds. Gem reaches into the opening and delicately plucks a single slip. Opens it.

Reads the card in a flat and monotone voice.

I find that having a ton of bricks dumped over my head would have been a very pleasant substitution for hearing the boy tribute's name.

"Elijah Leviticus."

I hear at least five girls in the crowd gasp, horrified. One looks as if she is about to faint. I am recovered enough from my shock to roll my eyes at their reactions, but in truth I am as horrified as they are. It is truly a curse to be reaped with your sibling into the arena.

My brother is led to the front with me by two Peacekeepers. He looks completely consumed in shock, and as if he is having trouble standing up. I hear my mother in the back, her voice piercing through the veil of quiet. She has gone completely hysterical.

When Eli is positioned right next to me, he does not even look at me. His breathing is minimum, and his eyes are so wide they almost consume his face.

"May I present to you, the tributes of District Seven!" I notice now that Gem is entirely alive now, clearly enjoying all of this now. I can hardly stomach it. I ball my hands into fists and must quickly resist the urge to punch Gem in the face.

I see Eli turn to me and shake his head ever so slightly. When I turn myself to look at him directly, I notice something that scares me worse than anything else I had ever encountered- which is actually saying a lot, considering everything I've ever seen.

Eli is crying.

Not anything that can be noticed from the crowd; but when I look at him, a single tear falls from the corner of his eye, and his hand flinches at his side, resisting the urge to wipe it away. Eli stands with stillness only shock can give.

I have the strong urge to give him a bear hug like my dad always does; or a squeezing hug that Ivy loves to deliver, smiling all the while. Or even a warm, comforting hug that Eli himself always gave me whenever I felt alone in the world.

But before I can make a move, the Peacekeepers are hauling us away from the crowd into the Justice Building. I see my family begin to move as well, trying to move through the crowd to get to us. But the huge wooden doors close behind us; shutting out the world for now, my family for a few minutes, and my home. Possibly forever.

. . .

As soon as we are inside, we walk into the massive hall that is the Justice Building. The Peacekeeper to my right grips my arm with such a tightness that I feel the lack of circulation numb my arm.

I look up to the ceiling, and my eyes hungrily take in my surroundings. The Justice Building is as beautiful as any rumor about it, if not more so. I trace the complicated patterns of woodwork on the ceiling, and marvel at the massive logs holding up the entire building.

I turn to the side of me, where Eli walks more steadily than he did on the podium. "Eli, look up at the ceiling." I know how much Eli loves to look at any building's parts, examine what makes it stay upright. Maybe he will even take this to heart- we need to stay strong to survive the next week of cameras and microphones.

Almost as fast as I predict, his eyes travel to the ceiling. It cheers me just a tad to see how fast his expression changes from fear to amazement. I notice a subtle tug at the corners of his mouth, almost changing to a smile. But the pressure of the roles that we will soon have to live up to in the arena darkens his features once again as we are separated and locked into rooms on opposite sides of the Justice Building.

Soon, I hear sniffling from the other side of the door I face and then it opens, revealing my mother.

"You have a minute," the Peacekeeper behind her barks gruffly. He turns on his heel and shuts the door behind him.

Mom looks at me silently for a second, neither of us making sound nor movement. Then tears begin to slip down my mother's face again, already rough with salt from so many others today. She runs towards me and her arms wrap tightly around me. I wrap my arms around her with the same urgency, knowing this may be the last time I ever see her. She rocks from side to side for a few moments, and then pulls away.

We stare at each other for a mere few moments, but in those moments I feel as if I take in more of my mother than I ever bothered to take the chance to do before. I see countless emotions flitting across her face so fast that once I'm sure I know how she feels, the moment disappears before I can know truly. I see pride and sadness in large amounts in her eyes as she looks at me, takes me in. Maybe she is proud of what I've become. Maybe she wishes that there was more time to say good-bye.

Mom weaves her fingers through my hair and smiles wanly, as if in a trance. When the Peacekeeper knocks loudly on the door, her conflicted expression changes to one of determination; a strength I perhaps had never seen on my mother's face before. The moment is broken as the man grips her arm and begins to pull her away from me. Mom's eyes widen with panic as she tries to resist him, but he overpowers her easily. Instead, she makes one final lunge for me, and just manages to get close to my ear before she is yanked back.

"I love you, my brave girl," she whispers as she is strained back even further. Before I can open my mouth, the door slams shut behind her. The slam reverberates in my bones, and I almost have a meltdown right on the hard tile floor. I never even got to say good-bye. Yet I feel that if I am to ever survive the journey to the Capitol, I need to stay controlled and not fall to pieces, otherwise I may never move again. I close my eyes and exhale.

Suddenly, the door opens a second time, and I feel someone move into the room so fast that I am almost knocked over. Before I can even begin to wonder who it is, I feel the visitor give me a very familiar, very tight bear hug. I open my eyes and my father gives me a rueful smile.

"Hello, Cassia," he says. Behind him, I notice a small figure peeking out from behind Dad's tall frame. My sister is blinking back tears and silently reaching out her arms. My father makes room and I receive Ivy, who climbs onto my lap. She weaves her arms gracefully around my neck, her expression full of sadness and pride much like my mother's. We all take each other in once again, but my father breaks the silence.

"Listen, I need to say something before we go, " he says, directing an intense, serious expression on his face that immediately made me listen.

The only thing I can think to say is, "Tell me."

"You're a survivor, Cassia. A warrior. You could make it through the Hunger Games without having to kill anyone. But give or take, in order to survive you may have to learn how to kill. " His face is grim as he says this, making it even more imperative to me to listen and remember what he says.

He continues, "I know you're scared, but listen carefully. I had a friend who was reaped almost twenty years ago, remember?"

I nod, instantly remembering the man that occasionally visited my home. The one who always slapped my father on the back, laughing, when my father made a joke. The man my father said was a victor.

"His name is Cedar Akari, remember? You need to try to get him as your mentor. He knows a lot about how to survive, and he'll train you very well if you tell him that you're Adam Leviticus's daughter, okay?"

I nod hard.

The Peacekeeper knocks again.

"You need to survive, Cassia, okay? You have to."

My father is pulled through the door. Ivy turns around and begins to follow, but she suddenly turns and says three words with an incredible fierceness that has randomly begun to appear in all members of my family, looking me straight in the eye before she leaves.

"Kick their butts."

The door closes, and I am left in silence once more.

-   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -

And we are back!

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