The Eighty First Hunger Games «MAJOR REWRITING, REEDITING, AND REVISION»

:10: The Damage Is Done

The private underground train was too slow, and definitely not comfortable. Although I was alone in my car, the seats were made out of a metal that does not easily comfort tushes. Despite the fact that we were moving at impossible speeds, the minutes ticked by in the time of an hour. It wasn't fast enough when my mentor, my friend, someone I could trust, was in a critical state.

The train came to a sudden stop, and I fell from my belt less seat to a heap in the floor. I stood and rubbed my aching face, walking to the front of the train to see what happened. I knocked on the door to the control room, got no response, and looked in the find a room empty of anything but blinking lights. When I got enough brain to look up, two men were talking. I clambered out of the door and heard clips of their conversation.

"...engine died..."

"...take three hours..."

"...won't fix too soon..."

"So the train broke down?" I confronted them head on. One nodded as the other fiddled with a glove. I tilted my head to the right, the way I knew we were headed, and the man nodded again. I whispered my thanks.

And ran.

I'm not too fast, but I'm not slow. I'll get winded, but I won't pass out. I like the feeling of the wind flying through my hair and my feet slapping the forest ground-which I haven't felt in quite a bit-, but not the feeling of a side-stitch. It seemed like all mercy was placed on me, releasing me of the common side-stitch and replacing it with newfound energy. My disease was giving me freedom also. I felt like I had slept for days, when I hadn't slept in weeks.

My shoes pounded the ground as I ran to the end of the tunnel. Harper needed me, and I needed Harper.

The sun blinded me and I was transported to a world of light as I reached the end of the dark tunnel. As my eyes adjusted, multiple colors flashed by, surrounded by gray buildings. The Capitol's citizens watched me as I shoved through them, sprinting towards the towering building with a giant "H" in the middle of the front wall.

I burst through the doors and didn't slow until I reached the receptionist. She patted down her deep green curls and looked at me, shocked to see a tribute let loose in the city. "Excuse me?" The woman asked in her Capitol accent.

"Harper Fledgings room?"

"E28. What are you doing here?"

I ignored her question, barely even hearing it as I ran for the nearest elevator. A bunch of peacekeepers melted from the walls and ran towards me, but I jabbed the floor E button a million times and closed it when the nearest was a foot away. The elevator dinged as it shut and I felt the floor lift quickly. This elevator wasn't transparent like the one in the Training Center, and I sighed in relief, knowing no one could get me in here. The floors clicked by, and before I knew it, I was on the fifth floor, floor E, Harper's floor. There was a fork in the opening, which was empty, thankfully, and I headed into the second hallway from the left.

I scanned the room numbers, which went from one to ten. Wow, the Capitol is so very cryptic.

As I walked down the hallway, the air got more brisk and bitter, as if I were spending fall with an angry tree.

Link stood in the hallway, talking to an older version of him. It was obvious they weren't related, but the similarities were overflowing. Their features were identical, but the man was maybe half a head taller than him. He had Link's black hair, but it was more of a jet black than a natural color. His eyes seemed black as well, and I felt that, if he looked into my eyes, he'd see straight into my soul.

"What are you staring at?" He snapped.

"N-nothing," I whispered, cowering in my spot.

"Well, go in already," the man sternly. I did as he said and crept into the room. I relaxed when I saw Tef and Catre sitting side by side on the couch by the bed where Harper slept. I sat in the seat next to her head and looked at each of them curiously. Tef had a black eye, as Catre had told me, and his arm was in a sling.