~The Sound of Falling Trees~ Chapter One

Instructions

Chapter One: Aspen Crawford woke to the sound of children giggling. Her eyes slowly open and she sits up in her bed, groggy. She stretches and yawns. ¨Hey, you two, why are you running around the house?¨, she asks, as her eyes begin to focus, and the two boys stop mid run. ¨Now Danner and Conifer, what would mom say if she saw you goofing around in the house?¨. ¨Mom would ask, what happens when you goof off?¨, a boy with dirty blond hair, around the age of eight to ten said. ¨Good job Danner! Now how would you respond, Conifer?¨, Aspen asked a boy with brown hair, and dimples, around the age of six to eight. ¨You get hurt¨, Conifer said fidgeting with a loose thread on his blue overalls. ¨Now you two hear that a lot from mom. So to avoid that conversation again, what are we going to do?¨, she asked, standing up from her bed. ¨Not run in the house¨, both boys said in unison. The two boys went outside and started running around the small front lawn. Aspen looked out watching the boys. The sun was just starting to rise, it was foggy, with only a few clouds in the sky. Sadly, perfect weather for the Reaping in District Seven. ¨Morning Punkin!¨, Aspen turned around to face a shorter woman with brown hair pulled into a bun, wearing a brown dress with a white apron. ¨Morning Mom!¨, she said giving her mom a hug, ¨I’ll be back in a while, I’m gonna go to the town square before the stage and everything gets set up to see if anyone is willing to buy the rest of the deer that I killed last night, it was good target practice for my throwing actually. But anyway we sure as heck won’t eat it all. So why not share the wealth?¨ ¨I think that’s a decent idea, especially on a day like today, people are going to want something nice to eat to celebrate not being reaped¨, her mom said, handing Aspen black leggings, an olive green t-shirt, and some brown boots. ¨Wear these until I get your outfit for the Reaping ready ¨. ¨Thanks¨, Aspen said, she walked into the bathroom to change. A few minutes later she came out, her brown hair pulled into a messy bun. ¨I’ll be back, let Heath, Hawthorn, and Pop sleep¨, she said, grabbing a brown bag to carry the deer, while walking out the door she asked, ¨Can you make sure my axe is clean? I think I missed a few spots of deer blood¨. ¨Sure thing!¨, her mom said and she started out for the town square. The walk to the square wasn’t that far, when she arrived she headed straight for a booth covered in black sheets of fabric, with deer and other animal skulls hanging from it, not even bothering to look at the other booths. ¨Hey, Rowan, I got some deer for you!¨, Aspen said, setting the bag with the small amount of deer that was leftover on the counter of the booth. ¨Hello deary!¨, a small hunched over woman with white squiggly hair said as she stepped out from behind a curtain. She examined the meat, ¨I’m willing to give you five dollars for all of it¨ the woman said. ¨You’ve got a deal, Rowan¨, Aspen sliding the meat over to Rowan and taking the money from her, she grabbed her brown bag and started walking away, ¨Pleasure doing business with you!¨, she called back as she walked away. But Aspen didn’t walk straight home, instead she took a small detour to the abandoned saw mill. The new saw mill had been built near the Justice Building when new technology was discovered to make the sawing process faster. ¨Gideon?¨, she called while walking around the old mill, ¨Gid?¨, she asked again, this time a tall boy with red hair, wearing a white long sleeve t-shirt and black jeans, stepped out from behind a fallen pillar. ¨Happy Hunger Games!¨, the boy said jokingly. ¨Happy Hunger Games indeed¨, Aspen said laughing, ¨May the odds be ever in your favor, Gid!¨, she said as she playfully pushed his shoulder. They walked throughout the building, ¨So how many times is your name in the pot?¨, Aspen asked trying to start a conversation. ¨My name is only in a few times, since I don’t have that big of a family, but you…¨, Gideon said trailing off. ¨I know 35 times, I mean l could have more but there’s always a chance¨, Aspen responded, nervously rubbing one of the one dollar bills she got from Rowan between her fingers. ¨I’m sure you won’t get reaped. It'll probably be someone older like an 18 year old with a big family¨, Gideon said trying to stop her from worrying, ¨Trust me you’ll be fine¨, he added when she didn’t respond. She stayed silent fearing the worst, but she was soon surrounded by a rush of warmth, and realized Gideon was hugging her, she leaned into the hug. After she took a few deep breaths she leaned back, and Gideon let go. ¨Thanks¨, Aspen said tucking in a loose strand of hair behind her ear, ¨Thank you for everything¨, she continued. ¨You’re welcome, I’m so glad to be your friend¨, he said. He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by the sound of vehicles driving past outside. (Continued...)