A Game of Chance [THG Fanfic]

Arena, Day Two (4)

-Troy Thorstone, District 10-

I attempt to stand, to look Valentyna in the eye, and to let her know that this isn't over. But, as soon as I attempt to, I collapse to the ground, vision flickering even more. There is a strange ringing sound in my ears, and the ache starts to lessen.

As if from a distance, I hear Valentyna laugh. Through blurry eyes, I see her turn to Damon, who's face is an ashy-grey colour, and yanks him to his knees by his good arm. Still in that strangly muted voice, she reminds him about some sort of promise that he made to her, pledging his alligence. She then drags him away, ignoring his quiet protests.

It is only then that I realise that their voices have not changed, but it is just I who has changed. The ringing in my ears is getting louder, and the numbness has spread to the rest of my body. My vision is fading rapidly.

So this is what it is like to die. I had hoped that I would win the games, but obviously it was not meant to be. Still, at least i'll be out of the Arena. Finally, I might have some peace.

I lie there, still, for what seems an enternity, feeling any will I have left to win drain away.

After a while, I struggle to try and move, but I am too weak to do anything. There is one thing that I have to do, though.

Opening my eyes a fraction, I murmer, as loud as I can, "bye, mom".

Having fufilled this, I close my eyes, and, as I feel my remaining strength leaving my body, I surrender to the darkness that beckons me. Faintly, I hear a cannon boom.

My last thought is that they sounded the cannon too early.

 ________

My eyelids feel heavy, as I open my eyes, squinting in a sudden, harsh light. I blink a few times to clear my vision, then stare around in confusion, and disbelief. I am in a cage.

Metal bars surround me on all four sides, stretching up from the floor, right to the ceiling. I realise the bitter truth; somehow I am a prisioner.

Suddenly, I remember all about th arena. I furrow my eyebrows, confused. Didn't I die? Didn't Valentyna kill me? I remember the sword plunging into my heart. Surely there is no cure for that.

I figure that there is only one way to check. Lifting up my t-shirt, I almost have a heart attack when I see the skin that was pierced.

It looks red, and extremely sore. A jagged, puckered scar runs down it, and blood still oozes from the wound. It should definitely have ended my life.

The strangest thing is that I don't feel any pain from the wound. Admittedly, whenever I think about how I got it, I wince, but that is only from remembering the pain, and nothing else.

I start to stand, cautious, then proceed quicker as no pain occurs. As I straighten up, I look at the narrow bars thoughtfully. They look quite flimsy. I am sure that I could make a gap large enough to fit through. In fact, I am pretty certain that it will work.

I stride with confidence over to the bars, and look for the weakest looking one. Eventually I find it.

The bar in question is marginally thinner than the rest. I examine it closely, worried that it might be a trap, but I cannot see anything. All I can hear is a light buzzing sound, but I presume that that is left over from the Arena.

I stretch out both hands to push the bars apart. As I touch them, the buzzing increases and I am thrown back, the shock freezing my body. It doesn't last for long, though, and as I scramble to my feet, I realise belatedly what the buzzing was. It was the electricity running through the bars. They must connect at the top, above the ceiling.

But, even so, the electric shock shouldn't have been so fierce. It was on a low buzzing noise- not enough electricty to gibe you more than an unpleasant feeling.

That is when I look down at my hands.

Finally, I realise the reason for the major shock. At the same time, I figure out why I am not feeling any pain, and why I am still alive.

The skin on the palms of my hands have been replaced with sheets of thin metal. If I were to guess, i'd say that my hands are probably not the only place.

Sure enough, when I bring one of my palms up and touch my neck, a small chime sounds. The metal is also on the neck.

I look down at the wound again, closely. A small section of metal is visible through the hastily done stitches, and not only in one place. There is quite a bit of metal visible.

This nightmare is the truth. I am not human. Metal fills me, like a kind of robot.

I know what I am, and where I am, and what I am. I am in the Capitol, probably in one of the testing labotories rumoured to lie deep underground.

I am a mutt. A Capitol creation, used to attack the remaining tributes in some way.

Yet I do not see how.

As I sink to my knees, head in my hands, a door squeaks open, and a square of light appears from the wall outside the cage. I jolt upright, tense.

A man in a white coat, possibly a new style, comes into the room and leans on the wall, facing me. He  stays still as a statue, watching me, as if he expects something to happen.

I glare at him, wishing that he would get on with letting me out of this cage. Cramped up here, i'm starting to feel claustrophobic. It's not as if i'm dangerou-

A sudden strange feeling seems to come over me as I think this, and I see the man in a new type of light. I feel as if I know him, and he has betrayed me. The more I think about it, the more I want to attack the man. I throw myself at the bars of the cage, trying to get to him. I am zapped back each time, but it doesn't stop me.

All humans are selfish liers. They must all die.

A smirk is plain on his face as he watches me. He gets up, and walks to the door, closing it behnd him as he exits. I slam at the bars with renewed vigour. He must not escape!

My attempts diminish as I feel him moving further away. I collapse onto the floor, and stare blankly into space. I cannot cry- I do not have enough water in me to.

Instead, I break down inside. I need to know what the Gamemakers have done to me. What else they have planned.

Most of all, I need to know what I am being used for.

A/N- I was wondering about perhaps doing a sequel for this book, if anybody thinks it would be  good idea. It might determine the ending of this book, and the ending of the games, if I do one or not. If you could comment, and tell me what you think of this book having a sequel, and if I do one or not, I would be really grateful!

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! (Cliffhanger.... ish >:-D)

-Wildifae