Chapter 4: The Departure
Master Markson led me away from the others after the Selection was over. The blonde-haired boy had gone to Mr. Yorkshire, a brown-haired girl had gone to Ms. Rose, and Mr. Freeman had chosen an African-American boy, whose limbs rippled with muscle, and I, of course, had been given to Master Markson.
No other Fighter had been bid for a price that was higher than mine. Some were lucky to surpass five-thousand dollars, but compared to my ten-thousand dollar price tag, that was nothing. Mr. Leonardo from the Process had gotten his wish; a high price had been asked for me, a very high price.
The sight of a pair of unfamiliar double doors made me stop in my tracks. The choke chain made me jerk forwards an inch, but I didn’t budge any further than that. Master Markson looked back at me and gave my leash an encouraging tug.
“Come on, now.” He said as he gave another tug, “What’s the matter with you?”
He kept tugging until the back of my neck started to hurt. I wanted to go, but unfamiliar places struck the fear into me more than an annoyed master did. I didn’t know what sort of a world I was leaving this one for. The world of the ring held many surprises for Fighters; some more terrifying than others. I was afraid.
The clopping of heels from behind me made me turn my head, and I was relieved to see that it was B, who wanted to be there to say good-bye to me one last time.
“She’s just scared, Mr. Markson.” She explained.
Markson gave her a questioning look, “Why?”
“She’s never been outside before. All she knows is a dark room with a cement floor.”
A playful smile settled on Master Markson’s face, “Then this will be a real treat for her. It’s nice and sunny outside, today.”
Nice? Sunny? They were all words I had no familiarity with.
“Let me take her.” B said, “She might be a little less skittish with me.”
Master Markson nodded and passed my leash to her. B gave me an encouraging tug forward and slowly—step by step—I started towards the door.
As the doors opened, my eyes snapped closed. There was a blinding light beyond the door; a light brighter than any in this building. The light burned my eyes.
“Don’t worry.” B said calmly, “It’s just the sun. Slowly open your eyes.”
My eyelids fluttered and blinked, but the light outside was too bright for me to get them open.
I looked to my feet and realized whatever shadows where there was enough for me to open my eyes. I looked down onto a flat, rocky surface. I saw powder dust flying up into the air as a breeze started up. As my eyes adjust to being outside, I looked around.
The things B had told me about in my days in the nursery suddenly became real. There were trees and grass and earth. There was a blue sky with white clouds. The sun; it was so bright, and it was the yellow-white color B had always said it was. It was warm too and it made all the cold of the building behind me vanish into nothing but a bad memory. The Outside was beautiful.
Up ahead I could see a truck with a trailer attached to it. The trailer only had a row of slits towards the top to let in light, but aside from the doors, it had no other openings. The floor of the trailer was padded with straw, and nothing else.
Now that I officially knew what was going on, I allowed B to lead me into the trailer. She unhooked my choke chain and placed her hands on my shoulders.
“Now, I don’t want to hear about you getting into trouble, okay?” she told me, “I’m not goin’ to be around to baby you anymore.”
I nodded, “Will I see you again?”
The words seemed to send a pang of sadness into her. B could only look at me with a sad look.
“Maybe . . .”
The reality that she would never see me again was a very likely one. I could be killed in a fight, which was a common fate for most Fighters. On the off chance that I did survive to graduate from the fights, it was likely I’d stay well within my district and I wouldn’t be visiting any other.
Master Markson came around and rested a hand on B’s shoulder and pulled her back.
“We’re almost ready to leave. Have you said your good-byes?”
B brushed a tear away from her cheek, “I think so.”
With that the doors the doors of the trailer closed. Rays of sunlight come in through the holes of the trailer, which I played with happily in my hands. Even in small amounts, the sun was warm and had that yellow-white color. I heard a metallic roar and it grew louder as I felt the trailer getting pulled away from the building. I curled up in a nest of straw and closed my eyes. I didn’t know where I was going, but something told me it wouldn’t be all that terrible.
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