Kai From Four

First Night

I should be asleep right now.

Instead, I was sitting on my bed, with the room's remote control in my right hand. With every click of the arrow-marked buttons, my surroundings shifted. I knew the walls remained intact, but the high-quality illusion around me would have fooled anyone who didn't know of the remote.

Click. Trees around me stretched their leafy branches to the sky, and the plants on the ground tried to catch the bits of sunlight they could. Birds called overhead, chirping and cooing and cawing. On my left, a deer approached, its molten dark brown eyes staring and blinking at me curiously.

Click. Dry, golden sand blew across the bright blue sky and lay in shimmering hills across the landscape. Green-gray tumbleweeds rolled by and cactuses stood stiffly. The sun was almost blinding.

Click.

I put down the remote and stared out at the open ocean. Any other day, I could have watched this live, but today I was seeing it behind a screen. It still struck me as beautiful. Its surface glistened and churned, going from smooth to rough and back in an instant. A seagull or two flew overhead.

I closed my eyes, hearing but not feeling the sea breeze. My left hand went to my right wrist, tracing the letters of my mother's name.

M-A-D-I. Was it short for Madison?

My mind searched, desperate to remember even a brief flash of small hands reaching for a kind face. Nothing. All I could recall was memories of being surrounded by peers in public and being completely alone in my house.

My house. My family...or what was left of it. Would I ever return? I had promised to, but doubt and concerns slowly settled in.

If they couldn't look at me before, how can they possibly after?

A voice spoke up at the back of my head.

Maybe they realized they could lose you, too.

I sighed and opened my eyes before grabbing the remote and clicking it again, transforming my surroundings to a live nighttime view of the Capitol. With its tall, window-filled buildings facing me from all sides, I stood up and headed outside my room to get some water, leaving the remote on the still-made bed.

I silently made my way to the jewel-encrusted water tap and grabbed a clean cup nearby. As the cup quietly filled, I thought I heard crying from the hallway to the right—more specifically, Artemis' room.

Is she okay?

I waited for the whimpering to stop, but it didn't. It only grew more heartbreaking. I didn't realize my cup had filled until I looked down and cold water was running over the brim and my hands, numbing them.

I should check up on her.

I stopped the flow of water, grabbed another cup, and poured half of my cup into the new one before heading over to Artemis' room. If she was having a nightmare, she'd probably want the cold drink.

"Hey," I said, gently knocking on her door. "It's Kai. Can I come in?"

No response, only continued sobs.

I turned the knob and pushed in, revealing Artemis lying in a sideways fetal position on her bed, blonde hair splayed out. There were no covers on the bed; they were all messily strewn on the floor, probably kicked and pushed off. She was murmuring brokenheartedly.

"Apollo," she suddenly cried out, startling me. "Apollo, no!"

"Artemis..." I set down the cups on a desk and strode to her side. "Hey, wake up." I nudged her on the shoulder, and she curled into a tighter ball, sobbing.

"Apollo, I'm sorry," she wailed, and I could see the tears streaking down the side of her face, along with the trails of past tears that had slid down in different angles. The hair that would've been close to her forehead was plastered to it with shining sweat. "I couldn't save you, I'm sorry. I wish there was something–anything–"

Her breath was choking, coming out in ragged gasping bursts. Without further hesitation, I shook her until I was sure she was awake.

"Wh–ah–" Artemis' eyes slowly focused on mine. "Kai? What are you doing here?" She shivered and saw her blankets all on the floor.

"You had a bad dream," I said, fetching and handing her one of the cups of water I'd brought. "Here, water."

"Thanks." She took it and gulped most of it down quickly. "I'm sorry if I disturbed you from sleeping. It's just–the nightmare was so real." Her green eyes stared, almost unseeing, at the blank wall behind me. She drained the rest of her cup.

"It's okay," I told Artemis casually. "I wasn't sleeping yet, anyway." I took a gulp of water, sat next to her on the bed, and leaned back against the headboard. "Want to share it? Talk the nightmare out?" I offered, and after a moment, she nodded.

"I was back there watching my brother in the Games," she said, wiping her tears and combing her fingers through her hair. "He made it to the final two tributes, and was betrayed by his ally. I watched him get killed out there. Everyone saw it through the screens. Apollo, my twin brother, my closest friend, died in that arena...and a part of me did too, while the rest of me vowed to avenge him." She tried to blink away more tears. "But I don't know if I can any more. I was so sure then, and now..." She paused and looked at me, eyes shining with a fear I recognized as one starting to take shape in my own mind.

"Kai, I'm scared," Artemis whispered. "I might not make it back to District Four or see my family ever again. I want to, I want to so badly, but my chances...my chances-"

I put my cup down and cut her off with a hug. Her voice faltered and grew silent, and she hugged me back, releasing quiet sobs while I tried to convey a sense of hope.

"Artemis, don't worry. You will make it back to Four."

Can you keep that promise, Kai?

"I'll protect you in the arena, I promise."

Don't make promises you can't keep.

"I'll be your ally until the end."

Promises like that are lethal.

I pulled back and watched gratefulness shine in her eyes and light up her expression, which made my promise worth every word. I needed to protect her. Hopefully, she'd have my back as well.

"Will you ally with me, Artemis?" I asked.

We can't both make it back. We both know this. And yet...

She nodded.

"Yes."