Dangerous Charm - THG [2]

05

|COME BACK TO ME|

She'd been alone with her thoughts for approximately three minutes in a room with an empty table inside the justice building. There wasn't a chair so she perched herself on the table, hanging her legs over the edge while she picked at the jagged cuts on her knuckles.

A moment later the door opened and a peacekeeper stepped inside, behind him her father rolled into the room and greeted her with a mournful expression. It was as if he thought she was already dead.

"You have three minutes." The peacekeeper stated before leaving the room and shutting the door behind him.

As soon as the door was shut, Knox slipped off of the table and knelt before her father. Eli reached out and cupped her face, "You are strong, you're resourceful, you can fight." He began, his voice wavering slightly and his eyes grew glassy but no tears fell, "you can do this. I believe in you."

Knox shook her head, "No." she said firmly, "I can't do that. Lenox has to live not me." She reached up and wrapped her hand around her father's wrist.

Eli let the tears fall, "don't think about that. I need you to fight, I need you to survive. I adore Lenox like he's my own but I can't lose you too, you're all I have left of her."

Knox lifted her free hand to wipe her eyes, "I'll try. I'll try." She wasn't sure if she meant what she was saying but it was what her father wanted to hear. He let go of her face and pulled her close to him, hugging her tight.

No more words were shared between them until the door opened again and a peacekeeper re-entered with another accompanying him. Eli pressed a kiss to the side of her head and whispered, "Come back to me, sweetheart," in her ear before they were pulled apart.

⚔️

The train was about as painfully quiet as you'd expect. Knox sat forward in the navy plush armchair with her hands folded painfully tight, hanging between her knees as she rested her forearms on the tops of her thighs.

Despite it being possibly the most comfortable chair she'd ever sat in, she couldn't have felt any less comfortable than she did in that moment.

Lenox and Knox had been escorted to the train by peacekeepers who were now stood by the door of the train. They hadn't spoken a word to eachother and the longer she sat there, the more her sadness and fear turned to anger. She was angry that he'd volunteered—why would he do that? She'd already been reaped, he knew she'd be in there with him and that there was only one victor in the end.

The two hadn't been told anything but they also hadn't moved yet, so Knox assumed they were waiting for the mentors as they were alone and she knew there were at least three. As she expected, a few moments later three men were lead from the building by peacekeepers and boarded the train with Venable behind them, looking as gleeful as ever.

She knew each of their names already: Enoch the youngest and probably the most unhinged. He was completely sociopathic and seemed to actually enjoy mentoring. He was maybe ten years older than her and was their most recent Victor.

Then, Roland, he was mid forties/late thirties. His games took place the same year she was born and they were brutal. He didn't commit much of the violence himself, he had allies who did it for him but when it was needed he could hold his own but overall he was a decent person.

Lastly, Maxus, the oldest. A bit of a recluse that nobody saw anymore. She didn't know much about him and wasn't expecting to.

Knox lifted her head to watch them as they entered. Venable made his way over to herself and Lenox and excitedly grabbed their hands, shaking them around like an excited child with a toy but didn't say anything.

As the man let go and sat down in a spare chair beside him, Lenox stared at him in bewilderment. However, Knox just returned her arm to its previous position on her leg while she watched the mentors.

Maxus walked over and took a seat in the chair by the window and Enoch followed, perching himself beside him. Roland, however, made his way to the drinks cart and poured himself a glass of amber coloured liquid before wandering over too, plopping down beside Knox.

It was awkwardly silent for a moment, Knox had moved her gaze from the mentors to Lenox and was currently boring a hole into his forehead with her stare while he looked down at the floor.

The train began to move and Venable turned to one of the peacekeepers, "Darling," he drawled, "could you turn up the thermostat, it's very chilly in here. Dazzling." He hummed in satisfaction as the peacekeeper exited the room.

Lenox finally met Knox's eyes, sending her a disbelieving look but she didn't respond to it. She was too busy being angry with him to care that Venable spoke to peacekeepers like they were pets or notice that the train car wasn't actually that cold.

Beside her, Roland cleared his throat, "so, what are your names?" He asked.

"I'm Lenox." Lenox offered his hand for Roland to shake. He shook it before turning to Knox expectantly. She finally tore her eyes away from Lenox, "Knox." She informed him, not offering her hand.

Roland raised his eyebrows, "you're prickly." He commented, "I like it."

"She's actually the people person out of the two of us," said Lenox, "believe it or not. She's just annoyed at me."

"Annoyed is an extreme understatement." Knox muttered irritably, "I'm furious."

Lenox scoffed, "What would you expect me to do?"

"Not volunteer?" She said it like the most obvious thing in the world. To her it was.

"So you two know each other?" Roland questioned, watching the back and forth.

"Yeah." Lenox nodded. Knox hummed in agreement.

"Great." said Enoch, a malicious glint in his eye that Knox didn't like, "When the tributes are friends it makes a better show, gets more sponsors. Just how close would you say you are?"

"Uh, we live together. Mr Codie took me in when my parents died." Lenox told him, a hint of adoration in his voice when he spoke about Eli.

Enoch obviously enjoyed this answer as he responded, "This just keeps getting better," he praised, turning to the other three, "I think this year may be our first success in a while."

He reminded Knox of Venable. The way he spoke made her think he saw the games as actual games and not what they really were—massacres of children for Snow's entertainment and fear mongering around the districts.