WINGS - Coriolanus Snow

NINE

ANOTHER TWO TRIBUTES HAD FALLEN. Poor Lamina, who fought to the very end, was killed by the tributes Coral, Tanner and Mizzen, who had formed a relatively strong alliance, but once they had succeeded in killing Lamina, Coral impaled Tanner in his stomach, ending his life instantaneously.

Reaper had been wandering around without any purpose when he spotted the bodies of Tanner and Lamina. He was in a sort of dazed state, it seemed like, and he began gathering the bodies of the fallen tributes in the centre of the arena. Bobbin, Marcus, Lamina, Dill, Sol and Tanner were all added to the makeshift morgue, but Jessup was left out as Reaper was likely afraid of contracting rabies. Reaper then went on to rip the flag of Panem hanging from the arena walls, draping it over their bodies like a blanket.

Five o'clock had rolled around, and all the mentors were dismissed for their dinner. For the second time, Coriolanus had been called to see Dr Gaul. He hoped a rogue mentor had not made their way into the arena, again, leaving him to go fish them out.

Thankfully, he was only called in to have his wounds treated. The day he sustained the injuries, he was given stitches and he was there again to have them checked.

"Did you know Gaius Breen, Mr. Snow?" Dr Gaul questioned.

"Did I?" Coriolanus repeated, confused at the use of past tense. Gaius had lost his legs in the arena, but Coriolanus wasn't aware of anything else about his condition.

"He's dead," Dr Gaul said flatly. Coriolanus found this difficult to process, as not long ago Gaius had a conversation with him, telling him a joke, something about the amount of rebels it took to tie a shoe.

"When is the funeral?" Coriolanus asked.

"That's still being worked out. You must keep it to yourself until we make an official announcement," Dr Gaul warned. "Rest assured, though, there will be repercussions," she said ominously.

Coriolanus was walking out of the lab when he spotted a group of workers wheeling away the tank full of snakes that Dr Gaul had crafted. When he had been in there before, Dr Gaul surprised Coriolanus by handling one of the snakes without any caution whatsoever, but she explained how if they were used to your scent, they wouldn't harm you, hence why she was able to hold them and not get bitten.

"Where are you taking the snakes?" Coriolanus asked out of curiosity.

"Oh, just to another lab," one of the workers said, although it sounded suspicious, especially when he began sending glances to his fellow workers. Coriolanus thought hard about this, and realised that the timing couldn't be a coincidence. With the death of another mentor, it could be construed as the rebels claiming a victory, and Coriolanus knew that Dr Gaul certainly wouldn't want that, especially after telling him that there'd be repercussions for the death of Gaius. The only way to somewhat get back at the rebels would be through the tributes. Dumping these snakes into the arena would ensure there was no victor for any of the Districts, which would make a point towards any rebels that they could never win. The Capitol always had the power.

An image of Aria drowning in snakes filled Coriolanus's mind. The moment those snakes were released into the arena, Aria would be done for. At least she could hide from the tributes attacks, but these snakes could slither through any gap and catch her completely off-guard, killing her. She'd die all alone on that arena, and Coriolanus would never know what could have been.

Coriolanus reached into his pocket and pulled out the handkerchief Aria had given back to him after she'd used it to wipe her tears. He had completely forgotten about this, not even taking any time to wash it, however this was beneficial to him now. Coriolanus ran outside to where the workers had brought the snake tank, and while they were turned away from it, watching the helicopter land in front of them, Coriolanus swiftly tossed the handkerchief into the tank before he could change his mind, watching as it disappeared before the rainbow of snakes.