To Save a Victor

Chapter 20

Y'all ought to hate my guts at this point. I am kind of the worst, but I plan to make it up to you with this CHAPTER ;)... Love you guys and ENNNJJOOOYYYYYYY! 

The next morning a meeting was called. An hour later all of the victors crowded around the Bodie's little dining room table. The mahogany piece was too small to accommodate the amount of people crammed around it like caged wild dogs. In total there were eight of us, four male and four female. Not good odds, especially when you factored in age. Two of the male victors, Andy and Carson were over 60 years old, and their bodies had been destroyed by years of alcohol and morphling abuse. Tryant, the other male was younger, maybe mid 40s if I was being generous, but he had slipped into a kind of drug induced haze about 20 years ago. That left Finnick. The female lineup wasn't much more promising, with Ash having a family, Mags being over 80 years old, and Annie's mental state... That left me. The room was filled with a tense silence, half of the victors taking a particular interest in the woodgrain of the table beneath them. Hank wasn't here, and I found myself wishing that he was. Wishing I could feel his steady, unbroken presence in this room full of damaged people. Tryant was picking at the wood, then at his hair. He jerked suddenly before falling still and slumping forward so that his head hit the table with a loud crack that sounded like a gunshot. Shuddering, I made a mental note to stay away from whatever drug he was currently self medicating with, probably morphling, or something stronger. Ash was bustling around, pouring coffee and tea. Trying to keep herself busy. I met Finnick's eyes from across the table. He sat next to Annie, an arm around her shoulders as she shook and swayed. My heart ached, they didn't deserve this. None of us deserved this.

I cleared my throat, breaking the silence in the kitchen with a blow like one might break a sheet of ice in the winter, "What the hell is Snow trying to do?"

Finnick watched me carefully, "Did you not see the broadcast?"

"What broadcast?"

Andy spoke up, "Where the girl from 12 ran in front of the flogging."

"Katniss?"

The old man nodded, "She interfered with a peacekeeper, the broadcast cut off when she ran in front but the whole country saw it."

My mind was running laps, trying to grasp this new information and file it away. I stayed away from my television, especially the Capitol broadcasts. Unless it was required to view, I wasn't watching. Maybe that might have to change.

"Is that the reason for the Peacekeeper infestation?" I asked and Fin nodded,

"It has to be,"

I sat back in my chair, letting out a long breath. "This isn't just a Quarter Quell, this is an extermination."

Finnick nodded, "That's what it looks like don't you think?"

The gold ring on my finger suddenly felt very cold, and I looked down at the Mockingjay stamped onto the surface.

I forced myself to speak the words I had come up with last night, when sleep wouldn't come. Even while I had been wrapped in Hank's warmth the thought wouldn't leave me alone, "I want to be the female tribute."

Ash dropped the coffee pot onto the hardwood floor.

It shattered.

Nobody moved to grab it.

"Sage you can't do that," She said, her face was ashen, like someone had sucked all the blood from her small body. She looked, how I felt.

"I can. And I will." I stood, pushing my chair back and bracing my arms on the table, "If Snow wants an extermination, if he wants to make it a show, I'm the best one for the job." I gestured to Ash, who was bending down to pick up the pieces of the fallen pot. "You have a family to take care of, Annie is in no shape and," I looked over at Mags, the old woman gazing up at me with sad eyes, "And neither are you Mags. That makes me the best option."