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

Thirty One

Coriolanus gently pushed her off him to climb out of their hiding place. He protected her head  with his hand as he slowly lowered it to the ground. She continued sleeping peacefully, giving Coriolanus the opportunity to leave. As quietly as he could, he crept out into the open arena.

The night was chilled, rushing a cold breeze over his clothes. His eyes looked up at the shining night sky, noticing the stars through the damaged roof of the arena.

Finally, he quietly turned around and walked, for the first time, to the locked gate. On his way, he stepped over one of his classmates dead body, stabbed from behind. He didn't feel sad, he noted instead that running for the gate was a stupid thing to do in the middle of the day. Which is why he was here at night.

He turned around behind him to make sure he was alone and pulled at the gate, just to make sure. It didn't budge, instead rustling loudly, echoing through the arena. His body flinched but after a second, the sleeping silence returned, allowing him to continue.

Snow looked at the electronic lock on the gate, trying to figure out how it worked. He grabbed the small box and tried to pry it open.

Suddenly, a voice through the gate spoke, "I was wondering when I'd see you."

Coriolanus jumped back, seeing Dr Gaul sitting on the other side of the gate in the darkness. He tried to act calm, flattening down the bottom of his coat. "How'd you know I'd come here?"

"Strategy," She said simply. "That's what you do best, Coriolanus Snow. You strategise until you win. You're here no doubt to find a way to escape. But let me ask you this; for you? Or for your tribute?"

Snow frowned, "For survival, Dr Gaul."

"Ahh. Yes. Of course," she smirked.

"Why are you here?" Snow changed the subject, quickly glancing back into the arena to make sure nobody was sneaking up on him.

"I'm here because I'm soaking up the last days of my job. These games will never continue under this president, so once we pry open this gate, the hunger games will go flushing down the toilet," Dr Gaul sighed. "Everything I did to built this up, alongside your father, will be gone."

"My father?" Coriolanus asked.

"Yes. It's no wonder you're so good at them. It's in your blood," Dr Gaul smirked. "Death and violence and murder. The true hunger games."

Snow ignored her comment, instead trying the small electric compartment again. He knew if he could get this open, he could leave with Whiskey alive.

"Tell me. Where's your Lovebird now? Sleeping? Dead?" Dr Gaul smiled.

"You'd like that," Coriolanus hissed, getting annoyed.

"I would. She's distracted the best talent. You would've made a perfect games maker," Dr Gaul said sadly.

The sound of crickets followed and Snow decided it was time to leave. Maybe he could find some way to climb out of the ceiling with her. Or find a small exploded wall. Then they'd be able to live.

"Florus Friend," Dr Gaul suddenly announced, breaking his train of thought.

Coriolanus glanced at the girl on the ground.

"Pity. Her parents paid a lot of money to get her educated," She smirked, finding it humorous.

"You may think this is funny. But I think it'll be a good thing the hunger games ending. We can punish the districts another way," Snow said quietly.

"Really?" Dr Gaul frowned. "Then we are less alike than I thought. But don't worry, you'll change your mind. They always do."

-

Whiskey rolled over in her sleep, feeling cold. She was breathing in dust and her head was aching from the hard ground.

She opened her eyes seeing the rubble above her and reached out for Coriolanus's arm, but he was nowhere to be found. Whiskey frowned at looked around, but he was gone. "Snow?" She whispered in the dark.

On her hands, she quietly crawled out of the rubble to find him, but he wasn't near. Her heart started to race. Where could he be? He wouldn't just vanish like this without telling her?

"Coriolanus," she called a bit louder, fully aware of the other sleeping tributes. Silence replied, making her stand up and walk into full view of the arena. The glow from the moon illuminated her steps, reflecting the tragedy that seeped into the stone.

The spookiness of it all hid in the dark corners, reminding Whiskey of the danger she was in. A creak from the distance made her entire body jump, pulsing with adrenaline. Where could he be?

Suddenly, Tim walker, the man from district 7,  jumped out of the rubble and charged at her with a peacekeepers gun. She yelled and bolted, knowing she couldn't fight him.

She dived behind a small stone when the gun went off, exploding a shower of rocks next to her. Whiskey screamed yet stumbled away, trying to escape.

He quickly caught up to her and grabbed her wrist, immediately making hehe remember everything he did to her in the zoo. Her body rejected him and she spun around and punched him in the head.

In the moment, he stepped back startled, when Whiskey suddenly lost control. She punched him over and over, cry tears streaming down her face. All the memories invaded her skin and mind, fuelling her rage. The man fell to the ground.

In a desperate attempt to stop her, he reached for the peacekeepers gun. In a flash, Whiskey suddenly saw the light. Before he could pull the trigger, she pounced on him and snatched the gun. Without really thinking, she aimed it and pulled the trigger first.

The exploding noise of the bullet was so loud it rang in her ears. She immediately dropped the gun, realising what she'd done. Below her, the man from district 7's head was blown to pieces. Chunks of his brain scattered across the stone.

Whiskey stumbled back, crying. She felt her stomach rush to her head and threw up an empty stomach.

In the chaos, Coriolanus came running towards her from a distance. He'd obviously heard the gunshot, terrified she'd been hurt. His hands grabbed her, but she pushed him away, running back to their rubble.