Bold, black words rolled across the bottom of the screen and I blocked out the voice of the president. The words read:

𝘼 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙚𝙙: 𝙙𝙪𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙥𝙤𝙥𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙖𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙙. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙚m𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙨𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙫𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙨. 𝙉𝙤 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙫𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙨𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙡𝙡.

𝘽𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙣 𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙤𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙠.

"You have gotta be kidding me! I raise these kids just to let one of them be killed for experiments and 'satisfaction for all'?!" My mother howls picking up the nearest vase to throw it at the television.

"Alyssa," my father yells, plucking the vase from my mother's hands, "that was a decision made by the king and all the other men in our goverment. It was a hard decision and it is surely not a decision for a woman to criticize!"

Her eyes narrowed, digging into my father's skin like knives.

"I suposse I should finish cleaning up the table." Alyssa spoke firmly, raising her chin to my father. She gave him on of her iconic "I'm super [Insert word] at you" stares. Alyssa made her way to the doorway then froze.

"But I guess I'm not allowed to decide that becasue I'm just a woman?" she snapped, her words soaked with venom. She waited a minute then left and with her absence my father mummbled a rude comment mixed with a variety of curses.

My brothers were staring at me like I was some sort of animal in a zoo. Like they were watching- waiting for me to move.

"I'm going to go help mom." my quiet voice broke through the silence. I watched my father giving a nod of aproval and rose from my cushiony seat.

I left the room and found Alyssa cleaning our dinner plates in the sink, a lose tear running down her cheek. Slowly, I snuck aroung the table to the sink and gave her a hug. She hugged me back splashing water and dish soap on my purple, floral dress.

"You okay, Alyssa?" I said softly.

"Mom." she replied quickly.

"What?"

"Just because I'm your step mom doesn't mean you can't call me mom. If you uncomfortable with calling me mom it's alright, I know it's hard." she whispered in my ear, still keeping me in a warm embrace.

My biological mom died when I was 3. I was the youngest of her kids. It was hard to let go of. Then, my father died and me and Jake were adopted by my uncle or current father.

I want to stay quiet and act normal, but I muster up the courage to speak, "It's me."

Alyssa spulls away. She purses her trembling lips together, trying not to fall apart into a complete sob. Her hands shake and she looks down into the sink.

It's true. They can't get rid of the mother of the house, all but one of the boys are my fathers, I'm unneeded, and, well, boys outrule the girls.

My own legs start to shake and I become overwhelmed with fear and disbelief.

I'm being sacrificed by my family's choosing.

I start sobbing, bawling my eyes out to the point where everything is a blurr. I start shaking so much that Alyssa lead me to my room where I curled into a ball on my soft, velvety bed and cried myself to sleep.

* * *

I shiver and pull my covers over me. I want to stay here and hibernate. Pretend the sacrifice thing was a joke and move on. I'm not happy here, but it's better than being on the streets.

Or dead.

The past few days have been a mess for me. I try not to think, "this could be my last time..." and just enjoy the moments. My brothers treat it no differently then a normal day.

Well, everyone accept Jake.

I can tell he's cried. After all, he is my older brother and only actual sibling of his. He tries to do things I like to do. He offered to paint with me or look at my plants.

I told him he could look at my plants plenty when I was gone and added something like, "I'll make sure to add 'Jake gets my lovely plant collection when I'm gone'".

I should've been nicer. I'm walking to my funeral tomorrow.

This whole mandate to sacrifice your family, your blood line is bullcrap. There are plenty of alternatives.

Alyssa cooked my favorite dinner, my last dinner, calzones with beans and rice. For once no one complained and ate while giving me pitiful glares, like I'm a pet about to be put down.

You know, maybe I won't miss this place so much.

* * *

We wait in a line out cars, our dingy, black old van standing out among the other white cars.

I tremble at the thought of dying. At least I get to see my parents.

We stop and it's my turn to get out. The line is terribley slow, everyone getting in there last goodbyes. I make mine memorable.

I go through the boys, giving them eat a hug and something I liked about them. Jake gets a hug and a whole speech. Saying goodbye to him is the worst, the first punch in the gut.

I get to my father who has a sympathetic look covering his "get it over with, I want you gone" attitude.

I take a long, dreadful look into his eyes and spit everything I've ever wanted to say right into his face.

"I met grandma and I bet you're an embaressment to her. She was so kind and you are the opossite. My father was a hundred times nicer than you. You treat her," I point to mom agressivley, "like crap. All I ask of you is to respect her when I'm gone. GO TO H****!"

I smirk while everyone else in the car is frozen in shock.

Tears brim his eyes, fume steaming from his nose. Satisfied, I turn to Alyssa.

"Mom," I hold back the whine in my throat, "I love you and-"

The door behind me is thrown open and I'm dragged backwards. I grip the center console, not wanting to leave without saying my final goodbye to Alyssa.

"Mom!" I shriek, sobbing my heart out.

"David let go of her!" she whines.

"YOU BRAT," he booms, "LET GO NOW! YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO SPEAK TO ME THAT WAY, YOU WON"T SPEAK TO ANYONE IN MY FAMILY EVER AGAIN! LET GO YOU ORPHAN!"

He gives one final tug, throwing me out of the car. I sit lay sore on the ground from the force. David rushes into the other side of the car. All the doors close. I hear a slap, then a gasp before they drive away. I lay still in the grass and I see my mother sobbing, waving goodbye to me.

Everything goes blurry and then I fall asleep.

* * *

I wake up, surrounded by crying mothers, fathers, newborns, and children. People of all ages listen to a booming loudspeaker. I woke up to the end of a speech, still enraged at my goodbye fiasco.

"The goverment trusts us. Little do they know, you're not here for experiments. Were here to train you to fight. The king believed our lies. Were here to take down the monarchy. We're here to become a strong rebel force. If you are working with the goverment, you will suffer. Welcome to the rebelion."

I'm confused. We're rebels, here to destory the goverment? If so, Im in.

And we're gonna burn the monarchy from the inside out and they won't see it coming.