The Hunger Games - Through the Fire and Flames - Book 1

Chapter 26

For the briefest moment I was floating above myself. My body was still, pale and lifeless as it lay on the operating table. The noises around the room consisted of a long beep and the clinking of metal as tools were layed aside.

"I need those paddles." I heard a doctor say.

Suddenly they were rubbing them together. In one swift movement I watched my body lurch from the table and then relax

"Stay with us Aloe. Come on stay with us."

I watched them go on about this for the longest time.

"Should we call it its been 4 minutes." A young doctor spoke.

"Apparently you haven't worked here long enough. If our champion dies then so do we. I have a family back home so I don't know about you but I'd like to see my wife and kids."

Of course they were only caring because their lives were on the line. If I died the Capitol had no champion and their Games would be a failure. They needed me alive.

I watched as they added more voltage to the paddles and rubbed them together before their pressed it to my chest. My body lurched again and I felt a tug before everything was black again.

I was unsure about how long it had been but when I opened my eyes I looked around. I was in a sterile smelling white room. It was empty except for the tray that stood off to the side. My throat was parched and my mouth felt chalky.

I tried to remember the last thing I remember. I was pinned to a tree with knives through my hands. I yanked my hands free causing them to be sliced open. I turned my head to look at my hands, they were perfect. My scars were gone and my skin was scrubbed erasing any sign that I had been a contestant in the games. My finger nails were filed down so my tips were rounded.

My mind finally caught up and I remembered the knife that had been in my chest. I pulled aside my gown and touched the place I knew the knife had once been. There was no scar at all. I slowly got to my feet and got dressed in my clothes before I moved from the room. I was met up by a female who was telling me to prepare for landing.

I moved over to a window and looked down. I could see the roof top of the building. The garden where my father and I talked was growing larger and large the closer we came. Then it came to the front of my mind, my brother was gone. The moment they were positioned over the building I was released.

Without looking back I ran through the doors to the stairwell and flew down the flight of stairs to the 12th floor. The room that was mine was there and I had never been happier to see it. Before I could enter the room the door opened. In the door way stood a dark skinned male with curly brown hair. My face broke into a smile as I ran forward and threw my arms around him.

"Cinna!" I cried.

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me tighter. "Good job." he whispered to me.

The moment he let go of me I noticed behind him his team of stylists. They seemed a bit edgy and it was really awkward so I just shrugged it off. Almost at once they began their work on me as I would be going out in front of camera's for another interview of sorts.

"Where is my mom and dad?" I asked Cinna as the stylists were taking directions from his for my look.

"They are home, your brother is arriving today. Don't worry you will see them tomorrow evening." Cinna replied.

I understood what he meant. My brothers body was arriving and they would need to be there to recieve it or they would burn it and toss the ashes down the drain. I quieted down as I tried to focus my emotions and listen to what Cinna was having done to me. To my relief they darkened my hair back to its natural brownish blonde color and left my face clear with no make up. After they did my eye brows and waxed my legs I was dressed and then moved in front of a mirror.

"What did you do to me?" I asked him as I could hardly recognize myself.

"I didn't do anything to you. The capitol decided that they would alter you. If I was there I would have told them to let you be."

I rose my hand to my face and touched it. "It's fine Cinna. Just going to get some taking used to."

He placed his hand on the small of my back before he led me from the room to the place where they would be doing the interview. Just like the launch room I would be risen up from a tube to a stage. I moved into the tube and held Cinna's hands until the case fell around me and I began rising. The moment I was on the stage laughing, cheering and applaudes filled the air. Down the length of the stage was a single seat.

I stared at it as I made my way slowly and shyly across the stage and took my seat. Several camera's flashed and I leaned away. Before I could adjust a guy sat before me. He was sporting an intersting green hair style..

"Welcome back Aloe." The man said to me.

I smiled and nodded my head. "Thank you"

"We all know that you were a contestant in the Games by volunteering to take your friends place. How do you feel knowing that she ended up there and died anyways?" The man asked me.

I tensed up before my mind blanked out and I felt a tear fall from my eye. "I don't like it." I said plainly.

"Do you feel like you failed as a friend?" He asked me.

I shook my head as I felt my face turn pink. "Why are you asking me this?" I said in a quiet tone.

"What about your brother?"

I shook my head. "Do I have to do this interview. I honestly do not want to talk about my family and friends."

I looked around at the crowd before my eyes found Cinna. He nodded his head gently and smiled. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before I relaxed a bit.

"My brother died protecting a girl from another district. My brother was a great person and a good brother. He was supposed to be a father, his girlfriend was pregnant but she and her family died from a gas leak in their house."

Several aws were heard in the crowd. Surprisingly the rest of the inteview passed quickly and soon I was being placed into a car and driven to the train that would take me to my District. It was a lonely night on the train but it passed quickly. The only thing I did was sleep as it seemed to pass the time by the quickest.

I didn't even bother to eat or stretch my legs as we fueled up at the halfway station. The moment I knew we were getting closer though I moved to stand before the doors. I didn't want to be on this train any longer than needed so the moment the doors open I dove out onto the platform. It took me several moments to come to my senses and get to my feet before I started looking for my family. I saw my mother and father standing off to the side and screamed as I ran to their sides.

"Mom... dad" I choaked out as I began to cry.