The Black Widow- A Hunger Games Fanfic

The 76th Hunger Games

They left Annie and I in the cell for a week before they came to collect us. At the door, they tore us apart, pulling us in separate directions.
I didn't know where they took her, but I ended up in a fitting room. The same prep team as before entered and began to coat my face in makeup and do the waxing again. I didn't know how fast they expected my hair to grow back, but apparently they were appalled by the amount of hair they were pulling out after just a week.
When they were done, Victoria came in again, bearing a dress bag that too-closely resembled a body bag, just like normal. Except, now the dress she pulled out was black. But there were no accents, no pretty patterns or cutouts. It looked like something one would wear to a funeral.
Victoria didn't meet my eye as she helped me into it.
"Are they going back to the Black Widow look?" I asked, slightly confused. She shook her head, still looking at the floor. "This looks like something you would wear to a funeral." Only then did she raise her eyeline, the flames of rebellion flickering in her eyes,
"For Cinna," she said. And I knew that was the last time I would ever see Victoria.

An unnatural hush settled over the studio as I entered in my funeral garb. But no-one said anything to me. They stared. They whispered. But no-one would admit that their pet-victor was not quite as domesticated as she might seem.
By the time Nikolas Creed- the only person who might be able to force me to change- entered, we were already on air.

A video began to play on screen: the group (Katniss, Gale, Boggs, Cresseida, some cameramen and some people I didn't know) appeared, coming out from the abandoned building they had stowed away in to see what they kerfuffle was about. Peeta had arrived.
"Well this is interesting," Caesar said as Peeta and Katniss greeted each other icily. I knew why, did he?
Caesar continued talking, but I didn't hear him because I had just seen the last member of their squad emerge from the building: Finnick. No, what was he doing there? He needed to be in District 13 where it was safe. I couldn't lose him. Not now.
But where was Johanna? If Finnick, Katniss and Peeta were there, surely she would be too? Unless something had happened to her. But we had just got her back. Maybe that was it: Peeta had joined late, maybe she would too. Although, I couldn't think which would be worse: dead or fighting in another rendition of the hunger games. Each of those was equally likely to end with your body in the ground. If she was already dead, at least she would get a nice headstone. What was I saying?! Johanna wouldn't want a nice headstone; she would want to be out here fighting. If she wasn't here, something was wrong: seriously wrong.
"And what do you think of the new addition?" Caesar asked me. I stared blankly at him before it registered that I had to answer. I glanced at the camera- there was no speech on the teleprompter. They were relying on my charisma and natural public speaking abilities. I guess they're overestimating me then.
"Yes," I began, "It's very interesting. I wonder what happened between Katniss and Peeta to make them act like this." Caesar nodded solemnly.
"Well, it looks like they're heading inside. Tune back in for the next installment in the 76th Hunger Games."

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As it turned out, that was the very next day.
I had known that Victoria would be replaced, but it still hurt to see someone else coming in with the bag. The dress I was put in today was far more festive: pink and gold with explosions of purple ruffles. It was more Capitol-like than anything they'd put me in before. It was the ugliest fucking dress I'd ever worn.

They brought me in at the same time as Annie. She was considerably dirtier that I was at this point seeing as no-one would see her so they hadn't bothered washing her up. Some of the producers wrinkled their noses as she passed. It made me want to punch their teeth out. I could still do it.
But then they'd kill Annie and it would all be for nothing anyway. She probably valued her life over the respect of a bunch of people in clown makeup, but sometimes it was hard to tell.
"Pay attention, be good and she lives," Creed whispered in my ear as I ascended to the stage. I flinched away, not forgetting what he had done to me in the past when he had gotten this close, and finished my walk up to the stage.
The group had gone on the move.
"That," Caesar explained to the camera with a gesture to the device they were all staring at so intently, "Is a holo. It picks up on the traps we've set for them but it won't do them much good if any new pods are added. Oh, this is going to be so exciting!" I doubted that. Bloodcurdling and terrifying would be a more appropriate description.
"Where do you think they're headed?" I asked, trying to sound engaged and match Caesar's excitement.
"It looks like they're avoiding the most dangerous areas," Caesar said, "Don't worry folks, they aren't coming anywhere near the city center: they're too scared of our good President." With good reason. I wondered if Caesar also feared the taste of poison in his wineglass. One way or another, it was unlikely that he would live long enough to die peacefully of old age.
"Look," I pointed out with a glance to Annie, just to check she was still okay, "They're approaching a pod, but it looks like they know it's there."
"That one maybe," Caesar chuckled, "But that's not the only pod there." I forced a laugh but I just wanted to start sobbing and screaming. They needed to run and I couldn't help them. My heart began to race,
"So what pods are here?" I asked. Caesar just smiled and laughed slightly,
"Well we wouldn't want to ruin the surprise now, would we folks?" I would very much like to know what was about to happen. Even if the suspense killed me. But instead, I was forced to watch as the group triggered one of the traps.
They thought they were safe.
They walked into the centre of the circle of buildings and someone stepped on the pressure plates. I swallowed a scream as the explosion went off.
But then the dust cleared and I could see that they were alright. I breathed out shakily in relief.
"I don't know about you, Caesar," I said, trying to pretend that I was excited rather than sickeningly frightened, "But I'm on the edge of my seat."
"Quite right, Rose," he replied, "I can't wait to see what our gamemakers have in store for them next." So he didn't know either.
But it looked like we were about to find out.
Suddenly, the gaps between the buildings began to close and they were trapped. And then the oil began to pour in. They sprinted to higher ground but then Peeta grabbed Katniss. He ws going to kill her.
"Trouble in paradise," Caesar joked, but I was hardly listening. Someone else tried to intervene, but Peeta just hurled him into the inky blackness.
Then Finnick turned. No. He went back. He grappled with Peeta until Peeta was away from Katniss. The oil was rising, getting closer. Please no.
And then they began to drag Peeta back. They were too slow. I wanted to scream at them that Peeta was dead weight and they should just leave him.
But of course they would never do that.

We couldn't see them once they were inside, but after a few minutes, the oil receded and the cameras cut away to another group.
"Why aren't we watching them?" I asked,
"We don't need to," Caesar replied, "Instead, we're going to watch our valiant Peacekeepers on the way to stop them."
"Oh," I said, "Yes, that's a much better idea." No! Go back! I needed to see them alive!
I got my wish, but not the way I wanted.
The camera followed the trucks back to the circle, where they pulled out their guns. No! Without hesitation, one of the peacekeeper pulled up a rocket launcher and fired it at the building.
It came down. Nothing could survive that.
"And that," Caesar said solemnly as the building came down, "Is the consequence for defying the Capitol." I tried so hard to control my breathing... to control my thoughts... but... but...
They were gone.
He was gone.
And then the anthem began to play.
Katniss.
Peeta.
Cressida.
Boggs.
Castor.
Pollux.
Finnick.
I had never wanted to see his face in the sky. The tears came quickly. The urge to cry out was too strong. I wanted to scream: tell them exactly what I thought of them.
I forgot what was stopping me.
"Miss Gold," Caesar said, placing a hand on my arm to bring me back to the moment.
"Get away from me you fucking paedo!" I shouted, remembering how he had touched Glimmer's dress in her interview. "All of you can go fuck yourselves! You're all fucking murderers! You pretend that all your stupid outfits can hide the truth that you're all fucking psychopaths! I would love to stick a knife in every single one of your fucking throats. Every time you sent me to fuck one of your people, do you know what I thought about?! No?! I thought about how fucking satisfying it would be to cut off all your tiny fucking dicks!" I whirled to the camera, even though they'd definitely cut the broadcast by now. "Fuck you! Fuck all of you!"
And then I caught a glimpse of Annie out of the corner of my eye and my fire extinguished.
Right as the gun fired.
She crumpled to the ground. I tried to run to her. To stop the bleeding as the blood rushed from the gaping hole in her chest.
But they caught me and Creed just watched coldly as I struggled, not even looking at the still-cooling body on the floor,
"That," he said, "is what happens when you defy the Capitol."
I heard the cannon boom in my head as they dragged me away.