𝓣𝔀𝓲𝓬𝓮 𝓣𝓪𝓴𝓮𝓷

𝐈

❧𝒫ℯℯ𝓉𝒶 𝒫ℴ𝓋☙

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✧*。𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑶𝒏𝒆: 𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅。*✧

The world around me feels distorted, like I'm watching it all through a thick pane of glass. The Capitol citizens are buzzing with excitement, applauding as if President Snow's announcement was some grand spectacle, not the nightmare he's just unleashed on us. It takes everything in me to keep standing here on stage, my knees threatening to give way. I'm barely holding myself together, my mind already spiraling back to last year's Games, to the faces I thought I'd left behind.

The fallen tributes. They're bringing back the 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝.

Beside me, I watch Katniss bolt, her braid swinging as she shoves through the crowd, disappearing in a blur. I want to chase after her, to help her somehow, but I'm frozen in place, locked in a dizzying surge of memories. I close my eyes, but the images are sharper there, too vivid to escape.

The fallen tributes. I know exactly what that means. I can almost see them, as clear as if they were standing here beside me—those I fought, those I ran from, those I watched die. Glimmer, Rue, Marvel... and Clove. Especially Clove. She was fierce, unrelenting, her eyes hard with a determination I understood all too well. She fought for herself, fought for her life. In some twisted way, I respected that. She was a lot like me, willing to survive by any means necessary, forced to be brutal because that's what it took to make it.

And then there's Cato. I remember him too well, the coldness in his gaze as he towered over me, his knife at the ready. He was unstoppable, a force of pure, violent energy. I was certain that he would finish me off right then. I braced myself for it, knowing that nothing I could do would change the outcome. But then, just as I thought I'd breathed my last breath, Clove screamed.

Not out of fear, not because she'd lost her nerve, but because she was stopping him. She saw him about to kill me and threw herself on the ground, her voice echoing through the trees, her face twisted in a way I hadn't seen before. It wasn't the face of a bloodthirsty Career; it was the face of someone who wanted to help, who wanted me to live. And somehow, she saw something in me worth saving.

I remember lying there, wounded, trying to make sense of what had just happened. Cato had hesitated, just for a moment, before he turned to check on her. That split-second choice, that sacrifice she made, it saved my life. I still don't understand why. Maybe she saw something familiar in me. Maybe she saw the way I was trying to survive, the way I kept going, even when I had nothing left. Maybe she recognized something in me that reminded her of herself.

And now they're bringing her back, along with everyone else. The Capitol has found a way to reach beyond death, to twist the rules in ways that make no sense, as if the horror of the Games itself wasn't enough. They're going to make us face these people again, the ones we lost, the ones who lost to us.

The thought churns in my stomach, tightening like a knot I can't undo. I can picture them already, those fierce, unyielding faces, all the wounds and grudges they must hold. I know Cato will be there, the same rage smoldering in his eyes, but Clove... I don't know what she'll think of me now. I'm sure her instinct will be to fight, to win, but some part of me wonders if she'll remember that moment in the arena, that strange, unspoken bond we shared. I wonder if she'll see me as a threat or if she'll still see a part of herself in me.

The Capitol crowd is still applauding, their cheers a sickening reminder of the entertainment they crave, as if we're not people but just pieces in a game. They don't care what we feel, what we've survived, or what it's going to do to us to see those faces again. To them, it's just another thrill, a twist to make their lives a little more exciting.

I clench my fists, forcing myself to stay calm, to keep breathing. I feel the fear pulsing in my veins, thick and relentless. Every instinct I have is screaming at me to run, to take Katniss and flee as far as we can, away from Snow, away from the Capitol, away from the arena that's waiting for us like a grave.

But then I think of Katniss, and the dread inside me shifts. She's terrified too, I know it. She's always been stronger than anyone should have to be, forced to carry more weight than anyone should have to bear. And now, they're asking her to go through it all over again. I can't leave her alone in this. No matter how scared I am, no matter what we're about to face, I know I have to stay. I have to go back into that nightmare and face the ghosts of the arena. For her. For us. For the chance to make it out alive, one more time.

The fear doesn't go away, but I let it settle, let it burn inside me as I stand tall, feeling the weight of what's to come.

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𝑷𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒂 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑪𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆'𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒏!

✧･ﾟ: *✧𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒆✧*:･ﾟ✧