² SECOND CHANCE ─ the hunger games

nineteen - checkmate

— GWYNETH —

I HOLD ON TO the bar above the window as the hovercraft slowly descends from the cloudtops.  

I watch the sun slowly set, and I can't help but wonder if the tributes are sitting inside the arena, watching the same sky. But probably not. They're probably trapped inside a forcefield, destined not to leave until the victor is determined. I think about how many are left from this morning's ten - they must like a good show. Maybe the number's down to eight, or seven.

The sun stains the sky a peachy orange. It was Charlotte's favourite colour. I wish she could be here right now and see this - but she's gone and I caused it.

Our hovercraft touches down in a patch of land in the Adelaide Woods, and even from afar, I can hear voices murmuring and talking loudly.

I follow the rest of the stylists off board, and walk from the woods back to the city centre.

People are talking about the sudden cut of connection, but they quiet down after seeing me walk onto the stage.

For a minute, I stay silent. "They hate me,"  I realize.

They hate me for supposedly mentoring my friends and not caring about the other twenty-one; they think I don't care about them - or who they are. They hate me for still being that ruthless killing machine I was in the arena. But I am not, and I will not let that define me, or the person I am, because Gwyneth Anderson is not that person that they saw for a short week in the arena, and she never will be.

"You must be surprised to see me here," I say, grabbing the nearest microphone that is set up by the corner of the stage. "And of course, you all must be wondering why we can't watch anything from the TVs."

"But I don't actually know what's going on. We need to face the common enemy here. There has been a sudden cut of connection, which is why the Games aren't going to be broadcasted to the Adelaide Woods anymore," I continue, and people break out into commotion because they won't know if their own children have survived or died.

"Most of the stylists and crew in the Capitol were from the Adelaide Woods and forced to work under Byrok. The Hunger Games have always been unfair, and I don't think you all want it to continue, either," I intone, as the crew nods in assent. "The Capitol has broken down in chaos. I started this rebellion with nothing but good intentions, and don't wish it to go on. Now let's end it together. By showing them that we're not just pieces in the Games."

"And that everyone deserves a second chance," I mutter to myself under my breath.

I jump off the stage as the crowd starts to talk in small groups.

Have I finally done the right thing this time around? Or have I cheated, again, in the game that was never meant to be fair?

***

"Congratulations, Miss Anderson, for being our first victor," James says. "But who taught our little lovely victor to cheat in the Hunger Games?" he asks, and my heart takes a leap.

"You," I spit. "I'm not lovely, and you know it. They were my best friends, and you took them away from me." I swallow the lump in my throat that resurfaces, but he doesn't give up asking.

"The stunt with the berries. You know what you caused, Gwyneth Anderson, and it's dangerous," he shouts, his voice becoming louder and louder by the second. "Tell me!"

"The truth?" I ask, and when he nods, I recoil into my chair. 

"WELL, THE TRUTH IS YOU! IT'S ALWAYS YOU!" 

"I've always wanted freedom in my life. When your freaking New Regime came in, well, my dream. MY DREAM - of being a journalist - was CANCELLED. Not only that, the aspiring tennis players, musicians, LOST their chances. Remind me why you invaded again? Because you wanted that stupid chip? Well, you should have asked  for it. You should have paid  for it. We had nothing to do with you. AND BECAUSE OF YOU, THOUSANDS OF YOUNG PEOPLE HAVE LOST THEIR DREAMS." 

Silence follows, and I inhale.

"IN THESE THREE YEARS OF MY LIFE, I'VE NEVER HOPED FOR ANYTHING ELSE EXCEPT THAT YOU PEOPLE WOULD GET OUT OF MY GODDAMN LIFE AND LEAVE ME ALONE! SOMETIMES I JUST WISH THAT YOU WOULD EXIT THE ADELAIDE WOODS BECAUSE FRANKLY, WE'RE NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!"

I yell. I holler. I scream, and I don't even notice that I've kicked my chair onto the ground amidst the chaos, my shaky hand pointing towards James.

"Calm down. As you wish, Miss Anderson," he says evilly, signalling for me to sit down. "But would you mind playing a game of chess with me first?"

I move my pieces quickly, yet carefully, but he's better, and with one swift move, he puts me in check.

Yet I'm not totally doomed. I spot an opening on the left side of the playing board, and I advance. "Checkmate," I say with a smirk on my face, smiling.

But instead of saying "Fair play this time," or "Good game", the Prime Minister flicks all of the game pieces onto the table and flips the playing board over. I stumble back in shock, and can't help but wonder if the Adelaide Woods, everything that Byrok has control over, is just like a piece - a pawn - to help them win?

Even if it is unfair? Or sacrificed for what is called "the greater good", which is nothing but a gimmick?

***

Our lives to him, to them - they were, are - nothing but pieces in a game of chess. They could abandon the playing board when the tables turned in someone else's favour any time they wanted - the pieces were at their disposal, just like how they created 'rules' for us to follow, allowing themselves to make all the standards, and executing anyone who they simply didn't like. We had no choice, no will, even no power to speak. But to me, it meant more than that. Way more. 

Because life is more than a Game. Even more, it's more than a meaningless game. It's about how we enjoy the game. And after all, there are no losers in life.

Why do they fail to realize that?

Byrok may always have the Adelaide Woods in a headlock, keeping us in check. 

But after all, I believe, there is always a way to get out. A way to push out from the vicious cycle, and put them in checkmate instead.