The Sound of Falling Snow | A Hunger Games Fanfiction

Chapter 2

I drift off, and when I awaken again, the stars are sparkling in the midnight-blue sky, a wispy cloud shrouding the moon. The only sounds that can be heard are the low humming of the crickets and the soft rustling of the dry grass in the prairie, though even those seem distant, like a dream that's impossible to catch. It's so rare for the outdoors to be this quiet, and the near silence is almost eerie.

I'm so relaxed in this peaceful scene I can just about forget that with Coin's announcement, I may be dead in a matter of days. But not quite. At least it's better here than it is at home, where the hushed murmurs will never escape me. I'm sure that right at this second, people are talking about it, saying how I'll be the first name they draw. Not as peaceful anymore, since I remembered it.

"Clio!" someone yells out, a shrill cry cutting into the night, echoing around the area, where the sounds are of nature, faint and serene. I came here to be alone. Why are they looking for me? They must know as well as I do that it won't be long until they'll see me in the arena, so why don't they just leave me to do what I want until I lose that luxury, anyway? There's only one person who would come for me at a time like this, not to drag me back, but to be there for me and talk to me.

"Victoria?" I call back, my question softer than the voice that had spoken to me a few seconds earlier.

My best friend, Victoria, walks over to sit down beside me. She plucks a Lily of the Valley stem from a dry shrub next to her, twirling it in her fingers. "I figured you'd be here," she says simply.

I can tell that she's waiting for an answer, for a reaction of some sort, but I don't respond. She wouldn't understand. She isn't guaranteed a spot in these Games. Even though she'll have three slips with her name on it and I'll only have two, she still has much better odds of survival than I do.

"There's still a chance, you know," she whispers to me, clearly meant to be comforting, as I can guess from her tone.

"A chance of what?" I snap back, more sharply than I had intended it to be.

"That you won't be reaped," Victoria answers, as if it's obvious. Does she really believe what she's saying, or is she just trying to make me feel better? Probably the latter; Coin couldn't have been clearer about the tacit meaning of her speech. The way she looked at me said it all for her, even if her words didn't.

"There's twenty-four tributes, and not nearly as many Capitol children left as there were," I say, trying to match her calm, referring to the bombing of them at the gates of the presidential mansion recently.

"And hundreds of slips in the bowl, and only two will have your name on them. It's like they say, it's not over till the mockingjay sings."

I wince. Mockingjays are not happy thoughts. They remind me of Katniss, who killed my grandfather, who supported these last Games, people have been saying. They remind me that I was nothing more than a pawn to my government, and that I didn't do anything but stand by and watch it, even if I knew it was wrong.

"Sorry," she adds quickly, realizing the impact of her statement.

"What if it's rigged?" I ask helplessly.

I have never seen Victoria speechless before, and her loss of words frightens me.

When she finally speaks again, the only thing that she says is "I hope not."

That's all it is. Nothing certain. Nothing for sure. The best we can get is to hope and to wish. Neither of which are very reliable when the people who hate us are in the seat of the government.

—

The rays of dawn are slowly fading into view, and I know it's time to go back home. My mother will be worried, especially so soon after the death of my older sister and father in the war.

Victoria has fallen asleep next to me, and I nudge her to wake her.

"We should go," I tell her. "Head home. We don't want to make them wait."

She nods slowly, and I get to my feet, trying to distract myself from the current worries that refuse to go from my mind.

"Come on! I'll race you!"

That gets her going. We both take off, running in the open ground, two friends that can never be separated. That's another thing that they can't take away from me.

I'm laughing because the wind in my hair feels so good, because I'm free, and because with the upcoming Games, I can easily guess that I have very few chances left in my life to do it. Better to seize the opportunity when I can. I might not have much time left, but that doesn't mean that I can't make the most of what I do have.

By the time we reach the outskirts of the city, I'm out of breath, but happier than I've felt in a long time. Looking beside me, I can see that Victoria is panting as well, smiling back at me. Her warm grin makes her blue-gray eyes sparkle with mischief and happiness, all in one.

The gentle light of morning gives a glowing hue to the city, and the warmth and slight breeze rolling over me, like waves breaking on a damp, sandy shoreline.

It's probably one of the best moments of my life, finally being alone with her and with freedom from our earlier system, even though Coin and the others from the districts would argue that we had the best of it and ask why we're even complaining saying that we were just rich, spoiled Capitol folk. Only they can't say that anymore, since it backfired on us. Since they turned it around on us.

I just wish that I could enjoy the time that I have here in this temporary paradise without counting off the days to my death.