² MANIA ─ catching fire

[ 004 ] adapt or die

THINGS FALL APART.

Inch by bloody inch, destruction seeps into the tightly-wound system Atlas had built for himself, like a crack that starts deep inside a stone, spreading and spreading over time, spiderwebbing and growing outward, until it reaches the end and the whole stone falls to pieces. It takes only a day, a single tap of just the right pressure. Just like the stone, you see the problem unravelling only after it all falls apart.

The centre cannot hold.

The most troubling thing is that Atlas doesn't understand how it all spiralled out of his hands so quickly. One moment they're in the Square, awaiting the names to be pulled by their escort, Alastor Hatter, a man with paper-white skin and an explosion of flame red hair sticking out beneath a ridiculous top hat, the next, there were cameras flashing in his face as both him and Alecto were being escorted onto the train, Evander and Iko hobbling on her crutches trailing behind them, waving to the camera crews. There hadn't been time for visitations—Atlas didn't know why they'd decided to cut that out of the program—before they were rushed towards the platform. Amidst the crowd cheering, the blinding flashes, Alecto's white-blonde hair glowing in the sunlight, he'd managed to slip into his old Career tribute persona, one he'd culled and cultivated and sculpted into perfection back in his prime. Back when all he'd wanted was the first lick of glory, the crown on his head, and the tide of destruction became the blood in his veins. There was that golden grin, the menacing flash of teeth, the sharpness in his eyes. When the train doors closed behind them with a mechanical hiss, all he knows is the roaring of his blood in his ears and the slow poison of horror saturating his veins and Alecto, back on the train, the wrong cattle on the way to the slaughterhouse. Reality set in just as the train jerked, and began to move, thundering away from District 2 on its tracks. Instantly, Iko collapsed against Evander, who caught her with ease, concern etched on his features. And silence came down upon them like a guillotine.

"Dammit," Iko growled, tossing aside her crutches with more force than required as Alastor Hatter dragged a chair over to Iko. Her crutches clattered to the ground, loud as bombs. They were out of view of the camera crews now, so Iko could afford to look as diminished as she did now. Pale faced, gritting her teeth like between them ran her lifeline.

"Hey, take it easy," Evander said, softly, kneeling before her. Iko buried her face in her palms, massaging her temples. Taking her wrists in his hands, Evander frowned. He'd been her mentor during her Games, one of the only people who knew what the Games took from her. More than anyone else, Evander understood what being on this train meant to Iko.

"I can't—" Iko squeezed her eyes shut, at first, Atlas thought it was the pain, the effort from walking all the way down the red carpet towards the train, but as Iko cut a freezing glare at Alecto, Atlas realised it was the rage inside. Rage, as she seethed, "what the hell were you thinking?"

Naturally, Alecto didn't answer. Merely glared back, her iceberg eyes twin scythes of blue fire. She hovered by the dining table, half-in half-out of the present, a ghost ready to melt into the walls and disappear once they took their eyes off her.

"This wasn't part of the plan," Iko snapped. "You weren't meant to be here."

"How would you have fought?" Atlas pointed out, finally finding his voice. "You stand no chance while you're on crutches."

"You don't even get me started," Iko roared, nearly lunging out of her chair on her good leg as she jabbed an accusatory finger in Atlas' chest. Evander caught her just in time before she could do any damage, pushing her back onto the chair. But her teeth were bared and her eyes were burning, live coals of black, the embers of fury ravaging every last nerve, thermonuclear furnaces set to rip and rend the world apart. If she really wanted to, she could have Evander flat on his back and Atlas pinned to the wall of the train in seconds.