Part 5: The Girl On Fire

Chapter 2

I walked into my house. My mom and Bri came out from around the corner.

"Did you have a good walk dear?" My mom said aloud. Walk? She knows I go hunting.

"Walk? I was just out..-" I started but Bri quickly interrupted.

"We have visitors." Bri said. Two men in black fancy uniforms walked into the living room.

"Miss Everdeen. This way please." One of the men gestured. I followed the men to the study room. They opened the door revealing President Snow standing behind the desk. A wave of confusion flooded over me. Fear started to creep up my back. The men closed the door leaving me alone. A hologram of the end of the Hunger Games popped up on the desk from a tiny device. It showed a video of me and Peeta at the end.

"Such bravery. Such spirit. Such contempt." Snow snickered.

"President Snow. What an honor." I said with a forced smile.

"My dear I think we can make this so much simpler if we agree not to lie to each other. What do you think?" Snow said.

"Yes I think that would save time." I said the forced smile disappearing from my face.

"Sit down please." Snow said. He sat down as did I. He turned off the hologram.

"I have a problem Miss Everdeen. A problem that began the moment you revealed those poison berries in the arena. If that Head Gamemaker, Seneca Crane, had had any brains at all, he would have blown you to bits then and there. But here you are. I expect you can guess where Crane is." Snow sneered.

"Yes I think so." I replied. Knowing Snow I bet Crane was executed.

"After that fiasco there was nothing left to do but to watch WCKD kidnap you. You were very good at playing out your little scenario at the end of the Games. That whole love crazed besotted school girl routine. Impressive truly. You convinced the people of the Capitol. Unfortunately not everyone in the districts fell for it. I mean you can't know this but in several of them people viewed your little trick with the berries as an act of defiance. Not as an act of love. And if a girl from district 12 of all places can defy the Capitol and walk away unharmed what is to prevent them from doing the same? What is to prevent say an uprising? That can lead to a revolution. And then in a fraction of time the whole system collapses." Snow sneered.

"It must be a fragile system if it can be brought down by just a few berries." I retorted.

"Yes it is indeed. But not in the way you imagine it." Snow snickered.

"How should I imagine?" I asked dryly.

"You should imagine thousands upon thousands of your people dead. This town of yours reduced to ashes. Imagine it gone. Made radioactive. Buried under dirt as if it never existed like District 13. You fought very hard in the Games Miss Everdeen. But they were games. Would you like to be in a war?" Snow retorted.

"I already was." I said.

"WCKD was weak. It always has been. That was nothing. I'm talking about a real war. Would you like to be in that?" Snow retorted. Fear washed over my whole body.

"No." I said.

"Good. Neither would I." Snow said. He picked up a cookie.

"Did your mother make these?" He asked.

"Peeta." I said.

"Oh. He's a lovely boy. Tell me. At what point did he realize the depth of your indifference towards him?" Snow asked.

"I'm not indifferent." I said.

"Don't lie! You promised." Snow said taking a bite of the cookie.

"Why don't you just kill me now?" I asked. Snow sighed.

"I don't want to kill you. I want us to be friends. But if not friends then allies." Snow said.

"What do I need to do?" I asked.

"When you and Peeta are on tour, you need to smile. You need to be grateful. But above all you need to be madly prepared to end it all in love. You think you can manage that?" Snow said.

"Yes." I said.

"Yes what?" Snow asked dryly.

"I'll convince them." I said.

"No. Convince me." Snow said. He pulled out a white rose.

"For you Miss Everdeen." Snow said placing the rose in front of me. He then turned on the hologram.

"Do convince me. For the sake of your loved ones." Snow snickered. I looked at the hologram. A video showed Gale kissing me in the alley way. My jaw dropped in utter shock. I heard Snow open the door and leave. I sat there frozen again. I shouldn't of come back.