Rising Rebellion [#3]

Chapter 4 - Betrayal

Months had flown by after that special visit from Plutarch Heavensbee. John and Sylvia had struggled to sit still the last few months as the words in that note haunted their every waking moments. They mumbled it amongst each other several times, but they could never make sense of it. Perhaps they weren’t supposed to make sense of it now, but later. What also occupied their minds was the fact that they were finally going to be a part of something big, something that could change the nation, something that hopefully would change the nation.

John had thought back to his first year as a mentor when he had just stood on that hill leading down towards town before the reaping. He remembered he had been thinking that he wished he had just made a big enough impact on the nation to do something about all of it. Now, four years later, the two victors from District 12 had sent the entire nation off balance. They had scared the hell out of President Snow and John and Sylvia now wielded more power in the District than they were used to.

John and Sylvia had spent these months mostly together, except for the days when they saw tendencies to rebellions acting out. For now, the people had to stay calm, keep their heads down and just go working as if it was a normal day, although they all knew that no days were normal anymore. Other than that, John and Sylvia tried to make the best of the time they had before the announcement which would take place one month ahead of the actual reapings. They knew that after that, a lot of attention would be directed at them and they would have to prepare themselves physically for going back. None of them had actually kept in shape after they won their own Games. John had grown a bit in the last five years and had gained some muscle despite the fact that he only had one leg. Sylvia had grown significantly since she won the Games at fourteen, and if you combined that with her feisty attitude and her ability to kill, she didn’t need much training before she was ready.

“I’ve been waiting months and weeks for this to come.” Sylvia then said as she sat down on the couch. Patience was never really one of her strong sides and she had grown more and more impatient as the days went by. “Well, but we made the most of those weeks and months, right?” John then asked smiling as he sat down next to her. She smiled at him and swung her legs on his lap. “We certainly have.” She smiled as she kissed him. “Still doesn’t make us in shape for what we have to do though.” She then said as she looked at the hologram while resting her head on his shoulder. “I know, but we’ll worry about that later.” John said as they turned the hologram-screen on.

“Ladies and gentleman, today is the day. Yes, today is when we will know that special twist in this 75th annual Hunger Games, also known as the Third Quarter Quell!” Kellerman said as he was hosting the announcement with some other guy. “And now, we’ll go directly over to the President himself and the announcement.” He then said as the picture changed into President Snow at his presidential balcony in front of thousands of people. “Ladies and gentlemen, this is the 75th year of the Hunger Games. The third Quarter Quell to add some extra entertainment!” He said as he grabbed an envelope, supposedly written 75 years ago, but pretty much every victor knew better than that. It was too convenient for these times to have been written that long ago. “In the Third Quarter Quell, as a reminder to the rebels that even the strongest among them cannot overcome the power of the Capitol, the tributes are to be reaped from the existing pool of victors!” The President read out aloud.

“There you have it. It’s official now.” Sylvia then said with a slightly shaking voice. John grabbed her hand. “We’ll get through it, you know that, right?” He then said as she looked over at him. “I sincerely hope so. I want more time with you.” She said she then kissed him. He kissed her back. “I promise you, we will have many more years together.” He said as he placed his hand on her cheek as he pulled her against his chest.

As the silence filled their room, they suddenly started hearing noises: gunshots, explosions, and people screaming. “What do you think is going on?” John asked as they grabbed their coats and got out the door. “We’ve been their protectors against the peacekeepers. They know that the Quell is the Capitol’s way of taking that away from them, to control them with even more brutality.” Sylvia answered as she got to the hill and saw the chaos at the Square. People were trashing the Mayor’s Building and burning the Capitol’s flag in front of armed peacekeepers. “They were really on to something with those Nightlocks, weren’t they?” Sylvia asked as they looked at the chaos down there. “Especially now that Snow believes we have more power than we’re actually aware of.” John then answered. Sylvia nodded as she looked around at the crowd until her eyes landed on someone in particular. “John, they’ve got Marge!” Sylvia said as she pointed in that direction. She was fighting the peacekeepers fiercely as they tried to drag her away. “You go down there and try to stop them, I’ll find my bow and catch up.” John then said.

Sylvia ran as fast as she could down the hill and into the crowd. She had to duck and jump multiple times to avoid punches or things thrown in the air. She managed to catch up with the ones holding Marge. “Hey! What’s going on here? What are you taking her for?” She asked the peacekeepers. “Stay away, victor. It is none of your business.” The peacekeeper answered as they continued. “You can bet your sweet Capitol-ass that it is!” Sylvia said as she was about to try and block his way before he threw her to the side. “You will keep away from us! She started this wreckage and she will pay the price the way the Capitol demands!” The peacekeeper said. “In the meantime, you and your fellow victor will stay put in the Victor’s Village until the reaping. Those are orders!” The peacekeeper said as they walked away.

As John got to Sylvia, she saw her down on the ground and helped her up. “Where did they go?” He then asked. He had a look around but didn’t see them anywhere. “I don’t know, John…they just took her away and I couldn’t stop them. They told me she started all of this.” Sylvia and John looked around at the people still fighting the peacekeepers throwing things at them. The gunshots didn’t scare many of them, not until a new force came and directed them at the people. Sylvia grabbed John’s hand as she saw them coming. John was about to pull up an arrow. “No, John, don’t! It won’t do any of us any good. Let’s just get out of here.” She said. But John was somewhere else. He had his eyes on the peacekeepers who he wanted to kill. “John, this isn’t the time. Remember what we’re a part of.” She said as he then looked down at her. He let the arrow go in the quiver and followed her back to the Victor’s Village.

John had thrown the away the bow and the quiver as they stepped inside the house and then he had sat down on the couch. “John?” Sylvia tried out as she sat down next to him. “Any opportunity they get, they take away someone that I care about. I’m running out of people.” John then managed to say. She grabbed his hand and patted his back. She leaned on to his shoulder as he kept on talking. “I’ve got almost nothing left to lose.” He said as he looked over at her. “Only you…” He said. She kissed him before she said anything. “John, we will make sure that her disappearance won’t be for nothing.” She started without getting a response. “You know she’s been very opinionated, especially since the last Hunger Games.” She continued.

“She just found out that her best friend was going back in the Arena, probably to never come back. She reacted just like the rest of the District.” Sylvia said. “And that’s what Snow loves, isn’t it? An excuse like that to just march right in here and take her!” John got up on his feet. “This has to stop.” John then said as he just stood there looking at her. She stood up and walked over to him. “And trust me, it will, but it’s going to take time and sacrifices.” She said as she held his face in her hands. John touched them as he looked down for a minute. “I can’t take more sacrifices, Sylvia. I can’t lose one more person.” She looked into his eyes to make sure he got the message. “You will not lose me, John.” She said. John nodded weakly as Sylvia rested her head on his chest and felt his arms embrace her. Even though this last month would be best spent training for the Games, none of them had the energy for it. None of them wanted to. They were just too reduced.