The Incoming Storm: The Tale of the 325th Hunger Games

Chapter 36

 The process of getting ready for Victory Night is not nearly as bad as the first few times I was prepped. This is due to the fact my body is basically reset from all my surgeries. During my prep, the team goes on and on about their favorite parts.

"I missed the attack on the careers originally, I had to go back and rewatch it!"

"When you killed Adore I just about leaped out of my skin!"

"I could not stop crying over Ross's confession. Then when he sacrificed himself! Truly marvelous."

"Those spiders at the end were a real feat of engineering I have to say."

And on and on they go. I don't entirely mind it though, since I don't have to talk to them. I know they have nothing to do with my being in these games, but everything about the Capitol is making my skin crawl. How could they do this? How could they get away with it for 325 years? Worse, I have played right into their hands, I volunteered, I played their game. I gave them their power.

Anger, sorrow, and more emotions wash over me, "Dear, red is not your color," Rose says, laughing to herself. I take a few deep breaths.

"Sorry, just nervous," I say.

"Oh don't be!" Flavo says, "You already faced the arena, now you just have to watch the show!" I feel like I'm going to throw up, both with disgust and anxiety. But I grit my teeth and get through the process. I know that Rose, Flavo, and Azure have nothing to do with this, if anything they are just as many victims of the Capitol's brutal cycle of death and destruction. I blame the president for this, not just Artemia Ring, but Ravinstill, both Snows, Tarre, Zero, and Gaul as well. All evil men and women who have encouraged the evil acts performed by the Capitol.

When the prep team is through with me, I am left alone in my room. I take the time to sit on my bed for a few minutes when Leto enters with her portable wardrobe. She reveals my outfit for Victor's Night, the top is a sleek black geometric pattern resembling a spiderweb and the bottom is a long flowing skirt of white silk. My arms are covered in matching black patterning. Leto does my makeup dark and angular, I look strong. Finally, my hair is pulled back in a tight ponytail that makes the skin of my head feel like it is being pulled back.

Leto stands back, admiring her work. "How do you feel?" she asks.

I smile in the mirror, "Like a victor," I say, hoping to gain confidence for the night before me.

From my room, I am ushered by Clio to a limousine that takes up back to the Grand Theater where my first interview took place. We are taken to a prep room underneath the stage where a circular panel will lift my entire team to the stage.

I can hear the roar of the crowd as Victor's Night music begins to play. On a small screen showing what is going on above I see Otius O'Hall take to the stage, and the roar of the crowd becomes deafening.

"Are you ready to meet the team behind the victor of the 325th Hunger Games and 13th Quarter Quell?" Otius asks. Cheers of ascent overtake the auditorium. "Alright, let's get the show started!"

The first to rise onto the stage is my prep team, Rose, Flavo, and Azure. The 3 of them are wearing identical suits but in different colors. Rose wears a blue suit, Flavo wears a red suit, and Azure wears a yellow one. The wave soaking in every moment of fame they are getting from prepping the victor. Next is Leto, who is wearing a white dress made from a yarn-like material. Next to go is Clio, who also milks every second of screen time blowing kisses and waving to the crowd. The last person before me to go is Quin, she gives me a brief hug and whispers "good luck" and she begins to rise.

She waves to the crowd smiling, but not overdoing it like my prep team and Clio. Finally, it is my turn. I board the circular plate and begin to rise. The dull roar of the crowd becomes so intense I can feel it in my chest. I force myself to smile and wave to the crowd.