² MANIA ─ catching fire

[ 016 ] everyday, we're running in circles

TWO YEARS AGO.

IT TOOK ONLY A SPLIT SECOND.

Alecto hit the ground hard on her back, crushing her lungs into her spine. One mistimed misstep. Winded and gasping for breath, she rolled clear just as the bright flash of the sword came down upon her. One miscalculation. The blade struck the ground with a skull-splitting thud, cleaving into the space right where her head might've been. Panic flooded her system as she scrabbled ineffectually against the floor on her hands and knees, struggling to breathe. Adrenaline iced her veins. The furious ringing in her ears was her trainer's livid voice, shouting from the sidelines of the combat ring, and her opponent's mocking tone, demanding she get to her feet. None of it registered under the roar of her own heartbeat. The world crackled black for a terrifying second, and Alecto inhaled so sharply she choked.

Get up.

When the first wave of air finally hit her lungs, the world shifted violently back into focus, and Alecto only had a second to reorient herself before seizing the hilt of the sword her opponent had knocked out of her hand earlier, and blocking the next blow that bore down upon her. Blades clashed, metal hissing against metal, the vibrations from the bone-crushing impact snaking up her arms so violently she almost dropped her sword again, but she held fast.

"You think you're good enough just because your daddy won the Games?" Her opponent sneered, baring his teeth as he pushed down on her sword. The edge of the blade gleamed, boring down upon her throat with a searing kiss. Sweat slipped down her temples, trickling down her skin. Arms trembling, Alecto fought against the weight pressing down upon her, but Nikolai's raw strength and the physics of his position proved far too advantageous. Alecto felt her sword slip as Nikolai bent his head closer, his lips just inches from her own, his malicious stare burning right through her icy glare. His warm breath ghosted her chin. "Think again. If you were even half as good as you thought you were, maybe you wouldn't be dead within a minute."

Something within Alecto snapped. Rage poured forth like a nuclear explosion, tearing through her blood. Nikolai Kovacs might be stronger and faster than she was, the best that the Academy could offer, but that didn't mean he couldn't die. The world went red. All her life, her every stride was measured against her father's. While Alecto fought tooth and claw to maintain her position among the elite ring, among the rare brood of upstart candidates selected for advanced training, her father's picture hung upon the walls of graduated alumni who'd made the top of the class. She wore his eyes, but none of his accolades. He'd made the leap into the arena and come home with the crown. Alecto was still stuck in District 2, fighting for a place in the dirt, the stain of her father's shadow eclipsing her every move.

What does it take to be a monster? Someone had asked once.

Simple. You work hard. You get strong, came the answer. It can happen. You rise.

Alecto twisted vehemently, sliding her sword out from under Nikolai's. With a livid roar, she lunged, swinging her sword in a sharp arc, intent on slashing his face to pieces. You rise. You rise. You rise.

Stunned for a moment, Nikolai barely dodged her relentless assault. He countered as the bright arc of her sword bore down upon him, the clash of their swords sending a sharp, seismic reverb through Alecto's bones, threatening to crack her apart. For every sneer, every snide remark, every time he's pummelled her into the ground with his boot to her neck, Alecto drove him to the corner of the ring. As she advanced, sword flashing, inferno sweeping through her body, every strike calculated, faster, stronger, without mercy, she saw the shock blasted across his face morph into something harder. Gone was the vicious, condescending smirk that drew his lips into the shape of scorn. Gone was the mocking, malignant spark behind his eyes that followed her at every turn, dissecting her every move, sneering, you will never be your father, you sad, weak girl. Now, the sharp line of his jaw set, his eyes narrowed into an assessing glare, Nikolai shifted into a defensive stance, unable to find a gap in her relentless attack. Now, Alecto bore down upon him with the vehemence of a tempest of slashing steel, the crescendoing clang of metal on metal ringing through her ears, each step forcing her out from beneath the shadow. You rise. You rise. You rise.