The Capitol Games

Chapter 9

Anger floods my body. How could they do this? Portenia looks at me with disgust on his face.

"What are you looking at?" I practically spit my words.

"About time you finally go into that arena."

"Excuse me?" I retort.

"All these years and you Capitol people are finally getting what you you deserve. All you people think about is yourselves. You didn't care about the district people. You only care when YOU have to go into that arena. You are all selfish, ignorant," I can't take this. "Idiotic, stup--"

I grab him by the hem of his shirt and drag the 37-year-old man across the table, knocking all of our food off the table and smearing a percentage on his shirt and pants. I bring him toward me and cover his mouth while he screams into my cupped hand.

"Listen here, stupid." I hiss through gritted teeth into his ear. "You think I would go through all this crap because I LIKED the Games??? Well you thought wrong. I did this because I cared. I wanted to show people that we don't just think for ourselves. Well I think I know someone who is TRULY selfish." I throw him onto the ground next to the table. "You."

I get up and wipe some food off my shirt. I walk to the door, look back at the mess on the floor (including him) and say "see you through the television. Send me something nice, will you?" I laugh then walk to the hovercraft. I get in and sit down in my chair.

"Hello" a woman co-pilot says jeerily.

"Hi" I reply. She takes out a needle and I flinch just looking at it. I am such a wimp.

"This holds a tracker to let us know where you are." I nod and she injects the long needle into my arm. I feel brief pain, but then it goes away.

I look at the tributes around me. I am going to have to kill these people. She gives a thumbs up to the pilot and we take off to the arena. I look around at the tributes and I find Yongshi McLardow staring at me, smiling. I never knew he had it out for me. I look at my hands the rest of the ride. We get to the arena and the co-pilot leads us to the separate rooms with the tubes leading into the... Place. All the tributes have their mentors with them, except for me. I go into my room with the glass tube in the center. I shudder. I sit down in one of the chairs, when the co-pilot comes in. I stand. I was raised by good parents.

"What a gentleman" she laughs. I blush. "I notice you didn't have your mentor with you so I thought I would come. I'm Caroline." So that's her name. She extends her hand.

"Shaun" I say and shake it.

"So" she grins. "The mentor still serving breakfast on the ground?" I laugh. I should have known my living space had surveillance. "It was broadcast to the city!" I crack up. It's been a while.

She makes a motion of me dragging Portenia with her hands and I laugh hysterically until I hear "10 seconds to launch" over the loud speaker. I must have forgotten where I was. We both immediately turn serious and look toward the tube. I walk toward it and get in, the glass lowering and encasing my body. I rise up toward the ceiling and the last thing of the real world I see is Caroline sobbing.