No Hope Left-A Mockingjay Story

Chapter 8

The tenseness of the room is unbearable for me. We sit in akward silence, not one of us daring to speak. I add minor details to my flower, shading in a few parts and adding more lines. Annie just stares ahead with a blank expression, as if she is sleeping. Brett has made some futile attempts at a conversation, but no one was in the mood to keep it up. Finally, Brett speaks up again.

"You know, I don't think we're going to make it out alive, but can we please just act like decent human beings?" he pleads.

"Well, not all of us are decent," Johanna says, glaring at Enobaria.

"Are you calling me indecent?" Enobaria demands. "Just look at yourself."

"Oh, well, excuse me! At least I am not the Capitol's little play-thing!" Johanna snaps.

"Play-thing?I am a CAREER!"

"That didn't seem to help you, did it?"

"STOP IT!" I shout at the top of my lungs. Everyone looks at me.

"That is enough," I say."I am tired of being cooped up in here-"

"We all are," Brett points out.

"-but that doesn't mean we can turn into animals and kill each other. We have to stay strong and keep together."

"Keep together? With her?" Johanna scoffs. I give her a warning look and she falls silent.

"They can do anything to us, but they can't break us, can they?" Neil chimes in. I think back to seeing Katniss trying to shoot me. It seemed so unreal, and yet so real. I had felt the pain, and I had felt the water against my skin as I swam in the pond. Maybe they could break us.

I lie awake, staring at the ceiling. It is nightime (or at least in my understanding) and everyone was asleep. Our dinner was no better than our breakfast. It was the same sort of bread with a glass of water. I turn over on my side and watch Annie's chest rise and fall in an even pattern. She flinches every once and a while, and I know she is having a bad dream. I hope they won't do anything to her. I turn back over onto my back and peer at the cracks on the ceiling. The darkness makes it very hard to follow the lines. I pat the ground until I find the peice of chalk. My fingers close around it and I sigh. The chalk comforts me.

"Pst."

I turn my head in Johanna's direction.

"Yeah?" I whisper.

"What did they do to you today?" she asks. I sigh again, unwilling to remember anything.

"Peeta!" she whispers sharply. I describe the way I was injected and how I relived my memory of being shot by Katniss. After I finish Johanna is silent.

"That's not real," she says after some time.

"What do you mean?" I question, obviosly confused.

"I mean that they altered your memory of that day."

"With the Jacker venom?"

"Yeah. Although I don't think it was Tracker Jacker venom."

"Then what do you think it was?"

"I don't know."

The blinding lights awake me with a jolt. I sit up and rub my eyes. Enobaria loudly complains about sleeping and Johanna tells her to shut up. Brett yawns loudly and rubs his hand together.

"What's for breakfast?" he asks.

"Pain," Enobaria retorts.

"Which pain? The pain people feel or the French bread?" I ask innocently. Everyone except Enobaria laughs.

"Well, your 'ighness, your French bread is served," Hadrius spits, tossing some bread into each of our cells. Vince comes in with glasses of milk, which he kindly gives to each of us. I meet his eyes and raise my eyebrow in question. Vince gives me a slight shake of his head and moves on to give a glass of milk to Annie. I inhale the bread and swallow my milk, even though I feel a little dizzy. It must be from the injection, I decide. I realise I have to go to the bathroom.

"Uh, Hadrius? Vince?" I call. Vince comes in.

"Yeah?" he asks gruffly.

"I need to use the bathroom...," I say.

"Hm. So do I," Brett says standing up.

"One at a time!" Vince orders.He unlocks my cell and leads me to the bathroom. As soon as the door is closed, I glance around for any sharp object or something that can help me. Finding none, I am dissapointed. I come out and find Vince tapping his foot impatiently.

"What took you so long?" he demands. I shrug meekly and follow him back on my aching legs. When I get back I slump down against the wall. All I can do now is wait for my next torture session.

It comes soom enough. First, Hadrius comes in to torture Johanna. He drags her off, then brings her back, bloodied and bruised. He opens the door to my cell and pushes me out. I fight back, even though I know that any resistance will be useless. I shove the guard aside and wait for him to regain hs balance.

"You little scum!" he growls. He punches me square in the chest.

"Enough," Vince says, opening the door to the room where I went yesterday. Vince points to the chair again and I sit down.

"Don't worry. The Doctor knows what he's doing," he whispers. I am confused at Vince's words, but I brush it aside and sit down on the chair. Dr.Cornelius is filling a syringe with the same liquid. I shudder. Vince mutters something to the doctor and the doctor grunts in response.

"Too early," the doctor says. Vince straps me to the seat just as Snow walks in.

"Hello, Doctor. Will we do better today?" he asks, going straight to business.

"Yes, yes, sir. The first dose is always repelled by the person," Cornelius explains. Snow nods and turns to me.

"Well, hello ,Peeta," he says. "Are you ready for your second...dose?"

Curiousity fills me, and I can stand it no longer.

"What are you doing?," I burst. Snow smiles his signature smile.

"Helping you, of course," he says cheerfully. "Now, Doctor, if you can begin."

Doctor Cornelius once again injected me, and I once again fell into a darkness.