PLATINUM • THE HUNGER GAMES ²

| 04. A CORRUPT CAPITOL

BOOK TWO
CHAPTER FOUR

( A CORRUPT CAPITOL )

THE FIRE DREW CLOSER TO HIS BODY, almost close enough to completely kill him. His gaze met mine for less than a second, lingering on to the last remaining life he had left. I could see the excruciating pain he was enduring through his expression.

The fire burst, rocketing higher and extending its path, engulfing him in the flames. My back reached a tree and I slouched against it. The red light was only slightly visible in the horizon, but the heat grew immensely, burning the paleness of my face. My waist ached from its wound and I fell helpless on the floor.

The last cannon of the 73rd Hunger Games was accompanied by a torturing scream.

Pain. It was like a thousand knives were constantly stabbing themselves into the side of my waist. It was the scar again; the slash from Althea's sword digging into my body. I couldn't stop the memories flooding back into my mind at night. Constant nightmares. All because of a scar.

I tugged at the bed sheets and pulled my self up to a sitting position. It pained more as I moved, so I lifted my legs out of the bed incredibly slowly and jolted up the rest of my body. The carpet felt warm on my feet, unlike the rest of my body. In reality, I was still freezing cold.

A sudden hum caused me to snap my head around. Will was lying on top of the duvet fast asleep. He appeared so peaceful, yet so terrified. I couldn't understand why, but maybe he was scared of me for snapping. Or maybe he's just scared of what could happen next. I was going into the Quarter Quell no matter what.

I shuffled around the side of the bed and reached the mirror hanging on the wall. I didn't recognise the girl staring straight back at me. Her hair was darker than before, messier too. She had bags under her eyes and she stood still as if something was crawling up her back, ready to assassinate her. She looked older since the last time I had looked at her this way. The little girl had been forced to grow up quickly under circumstances beyond her control. She was now to be a registered adult in less than half a year, by District law, and to be forced into working day in and day out to serve her country. The darkness in her eyes proved that she didn't want to do that. Instead, she desperately wanted to leave.

I wanted to leave, but there was this nagging voice in my head telling me that I had to win.

Making my way out of my bedroom, I gently shut the door behind me leaving Will to rest without interruption. The hallway was empty, like it usually was as I didn't share this house with anyone. The wooden floor scratched against my bare feet as I found my way through the pitch black surroundings and down the straits. Again, the silence longed in the air.

Quietly, without making another noise, I tip-toed my way to the sofa. Noticing the crease in my place I made yesterday night, I sat down and turned the television on.

I was shocked to see an elated Caesar Flickerman, still delighted by the news, appear on the screen. "All the people still desperate to see who may be entering these games in a month or two, you don't need to wait!" His voice filled the room, countering a creak coming from the room above me. "We have the footage of all the Victors able to enter this year's Quarter Quell!"

I gulped at the thought of the Games only being in a month and leaned further back into my seat.

"Sadly some brave Victors are not with us today, but our first Victor ready for reaping is Mags Flanagan!" Her face along with some random footage of her in a fight with another Tribute. "She may be our oldest person up for the Reaping this year, but don't underestimate her abilities," Ceaser said, smiling towards the camera like he had nothing worrying him in the world.

It went on for hours. Most of the Victors were from a Career district whom I had absolutely no chance against. They were all strong and wise, nothing I could ever be.

Once Caesar had reached the most recent years of Victors, it started to get interesting. Even though the usual Victors were mentioned from District One and Two, it appeared as if there were increasingly more outlying District Victors, including Johanna, Beetee, Mabel, Corey and Bradley. It was only towards the end of the five hour show that I was included in the late night news.

I knew they wouldn't keep me up there for long as I passed along unnoticed by Caesar and he just nodded at the sight of my name. Although, what intrigued me the most was that the clip they showed the rest of Panem was the clip of me discovering those beautiful daisies in the tropical forest. Not me winning, like every other Victor.

They showed Althea too, saying that she should have won: to support her brother, Cato, for winning against Katniss and Peeta. It became dreadful to watch. Ceaser prolonged the differences between the year I won compared to the most recent.

If President Snow wanted Katniss and I to be dead, why didn't he kill us when he had the chance?

Hope is the only thing stronger than fear. I heard someone say that once, not sure who though.

By the time the show had reached its conclusion, a ray of dappled auburn light shone through the thick curtains that were draped across the window. I could hear murmurs of sound coming from upstairs, warning me of others presence. Climbing up from the place I had been sat for hours whilst tucking my chin into my knees, I stumbled into the kitchen to fetch some breakfast. It remained to be untidy from the assortment of unclean cutlery and plates. Only two meals had been eaten; Corey, Will and I's cold and untouched, only reminding me of the disaster last night was.

I picked up and unhappy looking cloth from the rack beside the sink, along with a knife, and began to wipe away the evidence of food.

"Sleep well?" Swiftly pivoting on my heels, I turned to see Will resting on the door frame. His eyes were red as if he had been crying in his sleep and his light brunette hair was scruffy and falling over his face.

"Nightmare." I announced, as if it was a commonly known answer to his question.

Will replied with a half frown painted across his face as he rubbed his forehead with his palm. "Thought so." He walked towards the sink and stared out of the window, watching the few clouds float past in the sky. "How bad was it?" He asked, continuing to gaze out.

"Let's say, I don't want to see it again any time soon," I sighed; it was most definitely true.

"Why don't we go out, into town? So we can get away from all of this," Will's gaze diverted down onto his hands before staring straight into my eyes.

"What is this?" I asked, slightly lowering my head in question.

It took him a moment or two to think before he finally replied, "I don't know what this is, but we need to learn from it."

"What do you even mean, Will? You're not making any sense."

"Come with me."

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