Light the Way

Chapter Thirteen

Everyone had made it back onto the train – Persephone Price included. She sat at the front of the cart with Lukeworn, so her symptoms could be better monitored. From the back of the train cart, Coriolanus could see that the welts had subsided, and she no longer oozed out any strange liquids. For the most part, she looked back to normal. Likely still terrified.

The train wasn't filled with the silence you'd expect after having a classmate almost die. That's the crazy thing about the Capitol - there was always something else happening that gained more attention. Everyone had gone back to normal, chatting away and making plans for the evening, forgetting about the wasps that almost ate their friend.

"Lukeworn said she'll be fine by the time we get back to the Capitol. I mean, it's just a couple of wasp stings. More of an issue with aesthetics than anything." Festus shared with the trio. On their way back to the train station, Festus managed to cozy up to Lukeworn by asking questions about the wasps and the arena. The boy could be quite the gossiper, and it was times like this where Coriolanus was happy to have him on his side so he could get some answers. It did help lighten the mood.

"Whatever she stabbed her with seemed to work. I heard she's still planning on going out with everyone after this." Olivia added.

The walk back had been filled with plans of celebration for the evening. The remaining classmates had made it past one of the tougher hurdles from Dr. Gaul and felt a celebration was necessary. Coriolanus agreed, thinking it would be a good opportunity to rid himself of the dread from earlier today, remind himself of his goals and prepare for what's coming next. It would also be one of the last outings where the level of camaraderie amongst teams would be the highest. After this, Dr. Gaul would release some more rankings and they'd be at each other's throats again.

Now they all sat back in their seats, Festus once again joining Olivia and Coriolanus near the large windows.

"How are you and Livia making out?" Coriolanus asked, trying to make conversation as the train started to roll forward. Olivia rolled her eyes at the questions and said she was going to sleep, leaning her head back and closing her eyes.

"Better than I expected – I was surprised she even showed up today, honestly." Festus said, lowering his voice. "Do you know she brought an entire bedding set? She thought we'd be sleeping out there. Was ready to set up camp in that pit!" Festus shared, leaning in closer towards Coriolanus. Even though he was quick to make fun of her, Festus seemed quite scared of the wrath of Livia Cardew, and Coriolanus found some humor in it.

Better Festus distracts her than me.

"What'd you think of it?" Festus asked him. He'd always looked up to Coriolanus in a way, always at the top of his classes, always making friends with the Professors and being the exemplary Capitol boy.

Coriolanus thought for a moment before answering. As much as he wanted to share his true thoughts and give him a heads up on the lack of water he noticed, he decided to keep it vague.

"It's an interesting arena. Different types of terrain and organic spaces this time. I think it'll be a good show." He shared, leaning forward to talk with Festus. Making it look like he was sharing some complex, secret thought. A bow-wrapped gift box containing a mere lump of coal.

Festus nodded in response, thanked him for the information and slotted it away in the back of his mind. That'd be the highlight of their paper, he guessed. Someone else's commentary.

"You're just so lucky. You and Olivia, I mean. The rest of us are pretty much just trying to stay afloat. You two make it seem so easy." Festus added. Acting as if they had some secret power the others didn't. As if Coriolanus was going to whip out a magical rock he'd been carrying around with him that brought them success. It annoyed him – knowing that Festus would never consider the idea that Coriolanus and Olivia were simply just better than the rest of them. Meant to shape Panem. Meant for something more.