The Hanging Tree. *ON HOLD*

Chapter Six ~ Lunch with a stylist

Chapter Six ~ Lunch with a stylist 

When we felt the shudder of the train, which indicated that it had stopped, Finnick and I looked at each other wide eyed. We rushed around trying to get dressed but Althea came to find us when we were only half dressed. Her eyes widened in shock but all she did was grunt and tried to usher us out the door. I was in my over-sized t-shirt that I slept in and a pair of jeans with my hair only half-brushed. Finnick looked better. He had actually managed to get fully dressed and was wearing a tight t-shirt and a pair of jeans. We both grabbed a pair of shoes and ran down the train to the door where Mum and Dad stood. Their solemn faces told me not to do anything stupid. I skidded to a stop and tugged my shoes on. I glanced at Finnick who was doing the same and my heart sank.

I wish he could have had a better chance, I wish we could both be able to get out alive, I wish…

Before I could finish the thought the doors slid open and a wave of colour engulfed me and I was pushed into a crowd. Fingers grabbed at me and shouts of my name circled through the crowd. All I saw were colours and hands. I was starting to get worried when I was nowhere near the exit when just as suddenly I was pushed into a dark room and the colours and shouts stopped instantly.

‘Where are we?’ I whispered. No one answered but both my parents visibly tensed and I saw horrible recognition in Mum and Dad’s eyes. This is where we would be prepped and made desirable. This is where it all started. Althea stood beside me but she went of running in another pair of ridiculously high heels. I groaned and 6 people popped up in front of me. 3 of them grabbed Finnick and the other 3 grabbed me dragging us down the long hallway. The lights were dim so I had no idea where I was going. The one thing that kept stabbing my heart was that now the games really had begun. I was whisked into a type of room and the three people who were a mixture of colour and weirdness stripped me of my clothes. I stood there, naked, while these 3 people looked me up and down. They were complete strangers to me so I tried to cover myself up with my hands but they slapped them away shooting me dirty looks. When they were done ‘inspecting me’ they laid me down on a hard metal bed in the centre of the room and instructed me to put on a paper robe. I did as I was told pulling the robe over my head making sure it didn’t rip in half. When I had got it over my head I managed to look probably at the people who were examining me. They were 100% Capitol.

‘What are you doing?’ I asked trying to sit up. One of the preps, the one with clear pink skin and a lightning bolt down her arms (and whom I secretly named Bolt), pushed be back into a lying position. 

‘Didn’t your mentors teach you how to talk to your prep team?’  A male voice said, I looked up slightly and saw a man who resembled a bird, quick literally. His skin seemed to be painted with some type of feathers. I resisted the urge to laugh and replied hotly,

‘My mentors are my parents. They were busier worrying about the deaths of both their kids than to teach us manners.’ Bird and Bolt sighed dramatically and sympathetically but the third and final prep didn’t say anything. She was small and slight with the demeanour of a lovable cat. She didn’t seem as, abstract as the others. She just wore gold eyeliner and on her cheek there was a light gold heart, which contrasted against her dark skin making her look sweet and gentle. Her hair was a beautiful blonde, with flakes of gold strung through it. I noticed a tattoo on her left shoulder which was almost identical to the one on her cheek except that there was a name there. I saw a ‘C’ but she saw me looking and quickly moved her dress to hide it. I turned and lay down, obeying the stylists. Why shouldn’t I? I didn’t have any other choice. I never had a choice.

Once the preps had plucked every hair from my body and brushed my hair so many times that I thought it would rip out, they finally bought me into a bigger room. I sat down in the chair in the far corner as instructed. Bolt and Bird just looked at me sadly and left. Gold Girl was still standing there. She looked like she was torn between coming over to me and following after the others. For a second she hesitated but then she rushed over and looked me right in the eyes.