❝FIRE ON FIRE WOULD NORMALLY
KILL US, BUT THIS MUCH DESIRE,
TOGETHER WE'RE WINNERS❞
in which a girl from district 4
meets a boy from district 2
during the 74th annual
hunger games.
[the hunge...
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LILIA SAT IN THE CHAIR, her body woozy from the drugs coursing through her veins. She couldn't focus on Caesar's words, couldn't feel anything but the ache in her chest. Seeing Adrien had torn something inside her. It had ripped open a wound she thought had been closed. The Capitol had taken him from her. And now, they wanted her to lie, to perform.
Lilia blinked slowly, trying to form words, but everything felt distant. Weeks of captivity, starvation, and torment had broken her down to the point where speaking seemed almost impossible.
"It's...good to see you too," Lilia replied, her voice coming out quiet.
Caesar leaned forward, sensing her hesitation. "You look well, I'm sure the Capitol has taken great care of you during your recovery from the Games."
The sentence appeared in Lilia's mind like a cruel joke. Recovery? Was that what he called it? Her eyes flickered toward the cameras, knowing that millions of Capitol citizens were watching her, oblivious to what she has endured the past few weeks.
Lilia could feel their eyes on her, waiting for her to respond, to give them the show they wanted.
But she couldn't do it anymore. She wouldn't.
"Looks like you're a little shy today, Lilia," Caesar joked with a chuckle. "Well, I'm certain the Capitol has been incredibly gracious, giving you everything you could possibly need in your time of healing."
Gracious.
Lilia's fists clenched in her lap, anger rising in her chest. That word snapped something inside her. She looked forward, her eyes narrowing in the bright lights of the studio.
"Gracious?" Lilia replied, scoffing. "You think the Capitol is gracious?"
Caesar's smile wavered, but he quickly recovered. "Of course, Lilia. The Capitol has-"
"They've tortured us!" Lilia cut him off, her voice raising. "They've starved us! They used all of us to entertain you, to keep you distracted from the truth. The real enemy isn't the rebels. It's the Capitol!"
Before she could get another word out, two Peacekeepers rushed forward, grabbing her by the arms and forcing her up. The girl struggled against their grip, but her strength was nothing against them.
"Get her out of here," Caesar's voice spoke coldly. "Cut the cameras."
Lilia's body was dragged across the floor, her arms locked in the grip of the Peacekeepers. The Capitol halls blurred past her as she tried to twist away from her restraint, but it was useless. There were too many of them.
