Change It All {District Three Train Thread}

[Kaplan]

Nellie Query
District Three

In the end, I suppose we'll all just meet on the battlefield. There's nothing we can do to change it, once our names are called. Death is almost inevitable when you're the one being announced as the Maze's next victim runner who will represent your District, the escort's voice booming across the Square so that no one is left without the knowledge of what's occurring. I've always liked being knowledgeable. Being in-the-know about everything that happens is something that I seem to need in my life. I suppose, however, that there is a point where that line is drawn.

I don't need to know what it's like in the Maze. I don't want to know, either. I've seen it televised and watched as our District's runners have fallen, one by one. Now, this year, which is the first year where I'm old enough to be selected, I'm the one they choose. With everything being completely random, my name only being entered once and there being a rather large number of people in the District I live in, the odds should be insanely low that I would be chosen. Regardless, it was me. The odds were still existent, even if they were minuscule. There's nothing that I could do to change it all- or any of it, for that matter.

My loved ones came to see my off before I was escorted to the train, and my twin sister, Nessie, was an absolute mess. She was in tears, broken down in a way worse than I'd ever seen her before. How would she be if I died in the Maze? What would she do? How would she react to it all? These were all questions running through my head, along with many others, but I couldn't answer them. They were queries that would likely never be responded to with a definitive answer. Sure, I could give my own hypothesis as to what the result of my death would be, but it wasn't worth my time. There would be no way for me to find out if my guess was right, anyway. I'd have to be dead for such events to even unfold. Therefore, it would be physically impossible for me to ever discover the answer to what I was wondering.

When I got on the train, it was everything I expected and more. There was a plethora of refreshments- food and drinks alike. Even the seating was extremely fancy. This, however, didn't take long to sink in, as I knew what it would be what I was going to be seeing for the next while. I took a seat in one of the rather plush chairs, only taking a moment to glance at my District partner. His name was Bolt Jewel, if I was remembering correctly.

"How are you holding up?" I inquired of him. Normally, one would think that the older and seemingly stronger runner would be asking the smaller and seemingly weaker runner such a question. This time, however, it appeared that the roles were reversed.