kill for your love - the hunger games

(038) you are simply just a killer

▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄

KILL FOR YOUR LOVE.

act three.

(chapter thirty-eight, you are simply just a killer)

a white room, 75 ADD.

▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄

JUNIPER STOOD IN-FRONT OF the bedside table, eyeing the new tray of food that laid upon it. A Peacekeeper had brung it in a few moments ago and the Hale woman inspected the plate of corned beef and peas, eyeing the glass of water. It was not poisonous, that she knew of because she had watched Clampitt take a spoonful of her porridge in the morning, but she still didn't trust the Capitol. She never would.

But the sound of her rumbling stomach and the intoxicating smell of the corned beef filling up her senses forced her to sit down on the floor with the tray in-front of her, knife and fork in hand as she immediately shovelled the meat and vegetables down her throat. It was much better than any raw fish or bread she had eaten in the arena and whilst Juniper should have savoured the meal, cherished it due to her captivity, she didn't. The last time she ate was the evening of the last night of the Quell. And as she slurped the glass of water down, Juniper closed her eyes. 

Plutarch left her behind.

And then she swiftly opened them again. 

She clenched her jaw, tried to control her breathing as she looked around the room. But there was nothing new to see. It was all white, all perfect, all pristine, all clean. Nothing else was in the room that Juniper hadn't seen before and so, she placed the tray back on the bedside table before laying on the bed. 

But she didn't go to sleep. She wouldn't go to sleep. She couldn't because she knew the minute her eyes closed and Juniper was dragged by the hands of sleep, it would be the death of her. She fell asleep before, sedated, and dreamt of Brent Higgins. If she closed her eyes, who else would she see? Her father? Finnick? Lucy Stevens? Cashmere Nicholo?

Cashmere Nicholo. 

Juniper sat up and placed her head into her hands. She had told herself during training that she would be mad at the circumstances, despise whoever would kill the woman. But she also told herself she would move on, that Cashmere Nicholo's death would not break her. And she was right, Juniper wouldn't be broken about her death because she was unbreakable. She had built secure, strong barriers around her heart and mind that she couldn't possibly be broken. But she hadn't moved on. It had to have been days ago, Cashmere Nicholo's death and yet, Juniper was still thinking about her. 

Why was she still thinking about her? Why had she dreamt about Brent Higgins? She didn't feel guilty about killing the man and she wasn't broken over Cashmere Nicholo's death. She wasn't. Juniper knew that. She wasn't broken. She wasn't devastated. 

But one thing entered her mind as soon as that thought left. Juniper would be dead soon anyway. The Capitol was surely going to kill her soon despite what Clampitt said. If they pulled information out of Juniper, if, they would have no use for her. And even if they didn't, even if they failed, they would still kill her. They didn't like anything they couldn't control. That was why they sold Juniper off, to control her. That was why they put all the Victors' in the Quell, to control them. The Capitol wanted power, to control everyone and everything. They would eventually kill her if she didn't prove useful. But she needed to live. Not for her own worth. Juniper Hale couldn't quite care if she died, but she needed to live for Finnick. For her father. For Annie. And for... Lucy?