An Ode to Her - Coriolanus Snow

Chapter 10

What had he done? He sprinted out of the laboratory, awkwardly making his way back to the hall. He was starting to sweat, and his hair was sticking to his forehead slightly. Did anyone notice? His hands must be trembling. He can hear his heart inside his chest. Thump, thump, thump.

"Coriolanus? Are you alright?" Festus asks suddenly.

Coriolanus jumped slightly, sat in his chair, then swallowed hard. "Yes. I just went for a walk. Like Lucky suggested. Did I miss anything?"

"No." Festus shook his head. "Coral and Mizzen have been tracking down Wovey for awhile now, but your girl is nowhere to be seen."

Coriolanus grunted in response, suddenly remembering he did not want to talk to Festus for the rest of the day. In any case, dusk was approaching fast, which meant that Gaul's plan will unfold, and he could only pray that his actions would prove successful. Otherwise, he will have cheated for nothing. If Carolina doesn't win, then he has zero chance of winning. Highbottom won't give him the prize simply for having a fling with his tribute. It just won't suffice. So she had to win the Plinth Prize. If she ever comes out of hiding, Coriolanus thought.

"It appears that Coral has snatched another victim!" Lucky announced. Coriolanus's head shot to the screens, but he relaxed when he realized it was just some random boy named Tanner, from district 10, who got stabbed by Coral's trident. Domitia Whimsiwick slammed her fist on her table and left without a word. Coriolanus was glad to see another mentor go. As long as it wasn't him.

And it might not be. But he also may never know if Carolina is dead or alive for a long time. He just hoped she was fine. Until then, he could do nothing for her.

"Starting to get nervous?" Sejanus appears beside him, his gaze set forward.

"No." Coriolanus fixed the sleeves on his uniform, rolling them up once. "In fact, I feel perfectly confident."

"Coriolanus, I think that if we're going to be friends, we have to agree not to lie to one another." Sejanus pats him on the shoulder and heads back to his own seat.

Friends? Were they friends? It was one of the only things in life he didn't know. How can he tell if someone is his friend?

"District 7 is having their own battle," Lucky says suddenly. "Yet, it kind of seems like a battle of morals. Two tributes, from the same district, and only one can return. Deep stuff, people."

Lamina and Treech are both on the beam now. Lamina looks weak, tired, and certainly underfed. She is sunburnt to a crisp now, and can hardly stand without swaying. Treech is yelling something at her, but it's unintelligible in the Academy. He is holding a long spear, though, and makes a singular move to her.

"This isn't fair! She's clearly too injured to defend herself!" Pup protests.

"I don't believe the Hunger Games have ever been quite fair, Pup," Dean Highbottom sighed, rubbing his forehead. "It's high time you realized that."

Lamina holds up her hands as if to beg for her life, but it's too late. Trench takes one final look and plunges his spear into her chest, killing his district partner instantly. He removes the weapons, and she falls to the ground with an odd squishy sound. Heavensbee Hall is flabbergasted. Crying, oohing, and sighing. Coriolanus can't help but feel glad that another tribute is down. He crossed Pup and Lamina off of his list, and preceded to check who else he had to look out for.

There was only a few tributes left. Both from 1, girl from 2, girl from 3, both from 4, and a boy from 5. District 6 was wiped out in the bombing. 7 was going strong, until Treech killed Lamina. Little Wovey from 8 was out there somewhere, and only the boy from 9 remained. 10 was wiped out. It was a mystery on where Dill from 11 was, but everyone assumed she had just perished from her tuberculosis. So, Reaper it is. And then of course Carolina, whom was also a mystery.