Wildfire | Johanna Mason

𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝓉𝓌𝑒𝓃𝓉𝓎 𝓈𝒾𝓍

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When she woke up, Daphne was aware something was terribly wrong. She wasn't on her way to district 13. She wasn't even in her room in the Capitol. Everything was so bright, and when she tried to turn over, tried to cover her face, she couldn't move. She tugged and tried, but something was holding her arms down.

She tried to lift her head, but a sharp pain shot through her, so she laid down, closed her eyes, and counted her breaths. Trying to remember what happened proved to be difficult. She was about to leave when... when...

The Peacekeepers. They'd caught her. She hadn't made it, she was still in the Capitol. Realisation hit her suddenly, as everything clicked into place. Daphne was their captive, and they obviously had something planned.

Her breathing sped up, her head turned from left to right, the pain beginning to fade, if only because the panic was rising above it. She tugged on her restraints, but it didn't budge. She couldn't get out.

She shouldn't scream, wouldn't know what happened when she did. There'd be no one to come and get her, anyway. Katniss had always been who they wanted, she'd known the others were collateral damage, she just hadn't thought she'd be a part of that damage.

Panicking wasn't going to help, she needed as much time as she could before they'd notice she was awake. She tried to calm herself down, but her thoughts went to Johanna. Had she been able to make it out? What if Snow had kept his word, what if she was dead? Or worse, what if she was in a similar situation to hers?

That didn't help with calming her nerves at all, and she lifted her head, looking around. There wasn't much. A white chair with wheels under it, an empty metallic table. That was all. There was no one and nothing else.

What was going to happen to her? She wasn't dead for a reason, and was terrified to find out what that reason was.

She was certain that if they let her, she'd make herself go crazy, but a door, which she hadn't even seen, opened. A man in a white coat walked in, followed by a more muscular man. "Where am I?" She asked, the panic in her voice clear. "What are you going to do to me?"She couldn't help herself, felt like she was just a little girl again. She knew she should have kept her mouth shut, but how could she?

The bigger man stood back while the man in the coat sat down in the chair and rolled a bit closer. "Are you Daphne Westerfall?"

She looked at him, eyes big and, without doubt, full of fear. She did not answer, and the man just kept his gaze on her. It was uncomfortable, but maybe, just maybe, if she answered his questions, he would give her some answers. "Yes," she said, resting her head back on the table as a sign of slight surrender. Cooperation.

"Were you a part of the force that helped the tributes of the 75th Hunger Games escape?"

The question surprised her, although it shouldn't have. Of course they knew, they would have been able to piece one and one together. She opened her mouth, but answering in any way would only make everything worse. They had her here because they knew. They had her because she was alive, and by denying she wouldn't be alive much longer. By admitting, she'd be as good as dead, too.

So, she turned her face towards the ceiling with its too bright lights, and pressed her lips together.

The man, however, added on: "Part of the rebellion were Haymitch Abernathy, Coral Greenway, Manon Sykes, and an unidentified number of tributes along with district 13."

His voice was emotionless, distant, cold. She pursed her lips together. There was no way she'd be admitting to anything.

"Answer the question, miss Westerfall." He pressed, still as monotone as before.

"Why am I here? Where am I? What's going to happen to me?" She wanted to keep it in, but she was just a girl, afraid and alone. If she was going to die, she wanted to know.

"Answer the question," he repeated calmly.

She couldn't explain why she said what she said, but before she could think, she spoke. "No, I don't know about any of that! Please tell me what's going to happen. Why am I here?"

But she didn't get an answer. The man nodded, pushed his chair back, and left the room, followed by the other one. Once again, Daphne was alone, confused. Scared. She hated to be afraid, hated not knowing, and hated how she was left to the mercy of the Capitol. Everyone knew they had none.

She wondered what was going to happen, wondered what they had in store for her. Something horrible, without a doubt.

Forcing herself to take a deep breath, she focussed on other things, things not in that bright room. She thought of her father. He wasn't the most thoughtful person, but she was sure Sam had dragged him along to a safer place for now. She knew Johanna was alive. The tracker was out, she was probably in 13. She had to be in 13.

If she was safe, maybe Daphne could endure whatever that was going to happen. She could, she would be strong. Johanna would come for her. Of course she would, because somewhere along the way, things changed, and Daphne would burn down the world for her. She had to believe Johanna would do the same for her.

***

Time passed, but there was no way of telling how much. The lights stayed on, she didn't get food or water during the few visits of the man in the lab coat. A day could have passed, or just a few hours.

After the man's third visit, things started to change. Sometimes, the lights started flickering until she felt like she was going to lose her mind. Closing her eyes didn't help, and that was all she could do. So she endured it until it stopped, and everything was bright again.

Then, someone started screaming so loud she could hear it through the walls. She recognized the voice, but couldn't quite place her finger on it. Male. As much as she hated it, Daphne was relieved. Relieved it wasn't Johanna, at least.

Then the lights started flickering and the screaming began. The noise, the lights. Everything. She was hungry, weak, couldn't keep going like this. At her weakest moments, she wished she was dead. Nothing seemed to matter anymore. With each passing moment, the idle hope of 13 coming to their rescue felt more like a child's dream, and she felt it slipping from her fingers.

There was no more hope.

After who even knew how long, the large man came in alone, and the table on wheels got pulled closer. He had an impressive display of tools, and as soon as she saw the flicker of sharp metal, she knew she would die soon. Daphne didn't know what they were going to do to her, but she would wish she was dead until she actually died.

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(a/n): so this is kinda short but i didn't want to make it too long. anyway! exams start on monday which is why this is a bit later! over the next few weeks i'm not certain how much i can write, but in like max 3 weeks i'm back to my usual bullshit!