THE HUNGER GAMES: the taste of Whiskey and Snow // CORIOLANUS SNOW

Twenty Six

"Corio," Dovecote cried, rocking back and forth.

"Shh," Coriolanus tried to calm her down, wrapping one arm around her shoulder. "We're going to be okay. They'll get us out of here."

"What if they don't?" Dovecote sobbed. "I'm too young to die. I'm supposed to at least graduate."

Coriolanus stared out towards the dark turns and bends in front of where they were sitting, filled with murderous tributes and mentors. He knew he'd be high up on the list of people who wanted him dead, but he was ready to fight to survive. He had plans and a future. Nobody was going to try and take that away from him. After everything he'd done to keep it there.

Dovecote was starting to step on his nerves and he was trying his best to stay calm. He'd never spent so long around her before. She just kept whining on and on and on. It was frustrating and he was fighting with his lack of empathy towards her more and more. She didn't seem to realise that he was also in this situation too, but he wasn't crying about it. She needed someone to tell her to shut up and it was getting closer each second to being him.

Suddenly, right as he got a moment of peace from Dovecote's crying, he heard two people arguing further down the tunnels. Although he heard the echo of their voices before he saw who they were, he immediately recognised one of them to be Whiskey. He couldn't explain the tremendous relief he felt, knowing she wasn't slaughtered by one of the tributes.

"I'll go find some fresh water. I'll be back," Snow lied, pushing Dovecote off him.

"But wait! I'll come with you. Don't leave me," she cried, terrified.

"Shh," Coriolanus ignored her, standing up. "I'll be back soon."

His feet crunched along the ground, leaving his classmate in the darkness, as he stepped closer towards them. The closer he crept, he more he could hear their argument from around the corner.

"We need food, Ratley," Whiskey loudly whispered, trying to keep her voice down but struggling against her apparent frustrations. "We'll die without it."

"No, we need to find weapons so we can defend ourselves," Ratley argued back. "We'll die if we are spotted. What are we supposed to do if someone finds us? Throw bread at them? Don't be stupid, you idiot."

Whiskey scoffed, their footsteps getting closer, "Do you really think your capable of killing someone? Standing there with a rusty bit of metal isn't going to help you when you're too afraid to hit them with it."

"Are you forgetting that we are in danger?! People want us dead. Everyone is killing each other, we need to defend ourselves," Ratley pointed out.

"Maybe we wouldn't be in so much danger if you hadn't of sided with the psychopaths!" Whiskey complained, her voice echoing.

"It's not my fault you're in love with your mentor," Ratley rolled his eyes. "I'm just trying to survive."

Coriolanus raised his eyebrows, smirking.

They suddenly stopped walking. Whiskey suddenly sounded much angrier than before. "Wow, real mature. You're a dick you know that."

Ratley laughed, "I'm joking," trying to lighten the situation.

"No, I'm not dealing with you anymore. You go that way, find your own damn weapons. I'll go find food," Whiskey stormed off.

"Whiskey..." Ratley sighed, dropping his hands.

The second he realised Whiskey was leaving, Coriolanus stepped out from where he was waiting, but she was already gone. Instead, Coriolanus was face to face with Ratley.

He flinched and jumped back, frightened, but quickly recognised the blonde hair. "Oh it's you," he sighed, not looking pleased to see him.

"Hey, sorry to scare you," Coriolanus apologised.

Ratley turned, mid sentence, and started walking away.

"What-?" Snow called, confused at his obvious dislike. He ran after him and started walking along at his fast pace.

"What?" Ratley snapped, finally stopping.

The dark tunnel repeated his voice over and over, "What", "What", "What"

Coriolanus frowned, waiting for it to end. "Why don't you like me? What did I do to you?"

Ratley started laughing, "What did you do? What didn't you do?!"

Coriolanus stepped back, stunned. "The only time we've ever interacted, I did what you asked. I got Whiskey out of the zoo. What else did you want from me?"

"It's not that," Ratley sighed.

Coriolanus crossed his arms, "What is it then?"

Ratley crossed his arms too, "I can't explain it."

Coriolanus looked at the floor, unsure what to say. After a second, Ratley looked at the floor too.

"You're... everything I wanted to be," Ratley finally admitted, surprising Coriolanus.

"Sorry?"

"Every since I was born, I wished I was in the capital, like you. I wanted to study at the academy, like you. For goodness sake, I dress like you muppets. I want to be you. But I'm not. I'm district scum. You're so lucky to be where you are," he scoffed.

"Am I?" Snow frowned. "I'm not as lucky as you think."

"No, you can't say that. You're rich and educated and people like you-"

"I'm not rich. Not like you think," Coriolanus tried to explain.

"I'm just some guy who realised the girl he loved was falling in love with the guy he wanted to be," Ratley scuffed his foot along the ground awkwardly. "Tell me, how did it feel to kiss Whiskey?"

Snow kept his mouth shut, just watching Ratley. He wasn't sure what to do.

"How did he feel to steal someone's love? She was in love with me before you came along," He started escalating.

Snow took a step back, concerned with his rising anger. "What do you want from me, Ratley?"

"What do I want?" He took a step closer. "I want you to go away. I want to never have been selected as a tribute. I want Whiskey to love me the way she used to."

Coriolanus clenched his fist, getting ready to defend himself. "You know I can't change that."

"I want you to break her heart. Tell her you don't love her. Tell her it's all fake. It's all a show for the games. Then leave and never see her again."

Snow thought about it for a second. It was all a show, wasn't it? It was all for the games, wasn't it? It didn't matter to him, did it? But then the strangest word came out of his mouth, "No."

"Then, I'll have to kill you," He cried out in frustration, diving at Coriolanus.

The dark tunnel repeated his voice over and over, "kill you," "kill you", "kill you."