The atmosphere is festive, the Capitol ecstatic as the 12th of May approaches. Children in their classrooms bounce excitedly in their seats, unable to pay attention to their teachers, their minds only on the fireworks that will be going off soon. Even rain approaching doesn't dampen the mood of the Capitol; shopkeepers still jauntily hang up flags of Panem and sell memorabilia from past games and symbols of Panem to excited citizens even as dark, bulging rain clouds in the sky are rapidly removed by the weather-control crew. The excitement is too big to contain, too happy to put down, so students impatiently tap their feet on the floor until Panem Day begins. It's a holiday for all of Panem; the districts having been quickly cleared of any undesirable citizens or buildings in the weeks before the big day by squads of peacekeepers so that the broadcasting of the fireworks in every district will be the brightest yet, be the most perfect day since the declaration of the Hunger Games by the Capitol twenty-two years before.
As the day dawns, thirteen frantic groups of engineers work at breakneck speed on their displays, each readying the fireworks that will light up the night in the main cities of the districts and the Capitol. The celebrations are a mandatory event, small villages in the hills of Two and fishing towns in Four have all been warned to sign into the check-in centres dotting the roads entering each main city. Only those on the verge of death and hospital employees are excused from the celebrations, told to continue their valuable services for the nation or waste away quickly so as to avoid more money spent on them. But the Capitol will at least attempt to keep them alive. The Capitol is a gracious Capitol, after all.
Young children looking to make a few sesterces are told to sweep the streets of the capital cities of their districts, quickly pushing away the dirt and rubbish that litters the district into dumpsters so that even the cobblestones can look tidy for the holiday. But no children have been asked to help in the Capitol. Avoxes have already been assigned that job for decades.
As school children run amoc in the Capitol, excitedly chattering to their friends and their mothers who've paused their weekly routines of plastic surgery for the big day about how they're going to carry sparklers in the parade. Even President Ember catches the spirit, making a rare appearance in the Capitol wearing a summer hat that causes several tabloids to frantically publish stories about what fashion icons had designed her outfit and how she had essentially started a war in Capitol clothing lines. But the mood is stiff in the districts, with more and more peacekeepers being shipped to the capital cities to watch for trouble. It's Panem's biggest celebration - not even the birds are allowed to step out of line. Peacekeepers have been ordered to shoot pigeons who perch on the roof of the Justice Buildings.
But when the big day finally arrives, everything goes to hell.
.oOo.
Helena Strong teeters around the streets of One, her dishevelled party hat awkwardly hanging off of the side of her thin face. Her curly blonde hair is clinging to her sweaty back, and the bottle of strong beer in her hand's about to splash onto the cobblestones of the street she and her friends have picked to watch the fireworks from.
Helena's drunk.
"You need any help?" asks a pale brunette in a short blouse and a shorter skirt, hiccuping as she tosses back her hair from over her face. "You're looking a bit under the weather, 'Lena."
Helena waves her away, a dreamy smile on her face as she watches the sky. "It's Panem Day, Sparkle! No work! We don't gotta keep blinding ourselves in those tiny-ass rooms!"
"Yeah!" shouts a man in a tacky green shirt and with short white hair, stumbling through the crowd with a bottle in his hand. "Panem Day!"
The crowd cheers, more due to the fact that half of them have bottles of beer in their hands than the fact that it's Panem Day. Then the fireworks begin and the crowd cheers once more, the red and white fireworks lighting up the night.
No one saw the person who crept up behind Helena and stabbed her in the neck before stuffing a white piece of paper into her mouth. But they all heard the screams.
.oOo.
It's only the upper class of Three that celebrates Panem Day.
The Ember-Ville residents are forced to take the long ride to the main city, of course, but none of them enjoy the occasion. Even if it's just a day off of work, there's been too many long days and pay cuts in the factories for them to celebrate. So the silent workers crowd the lower streets of the city, keeping their distance from the rowdy upper class of Three. They won't associate themselves with those who seem as bad as the Capitol to their eyes.
The fireworks start to go off and the workers shake their heads at the cost, only small children gasping in delight at the beautiful display of pyrotechnics. But the crowd is silent as the celebration begins, the cry of a small baby drifting through the crowd. He's scared of the fireworks lighting up the night sky.
But then a scream, then a gunshot shatters the relative silence, causing the crowd to murmur. Is it a firework? Is it some disgruntled worker?
Three men in black masks appear at the front of the crowd, brandishing pistols and screaming at the crowd to run. Peacekeepers try to tackle them, but one manages to escape into the crowd and starts to shoot. A little girl stumbles and falls down in the middle of the crowd, a swelling bruise appearing on the side of her cheek and tears streaming off of her face. "Mama! Mama!"
The shooter stops at the little girl and regards her silently, twirling his pistol in his fingers before handing the frightened child a small note, decorated with bright-red blood. Before the shooter has a chance to move, a trigger-happy peacekeeper shoots the man quickly. The shooter's body topples down to the side of the little girl before the peacekeepers grab her up and calm her down, carrying her away from the crowd. The mother's nowhere to be found, and they take her back to their headquarters to keep her safe until someone comes to claim her.
But they don't see the blood splattered note in her hand until the next morning.
.oOo.
District Six is always bustling during Panem Day.
The morphlings that litter the streets have been shut away in the jails for disturbing the peace weeks before the big day, meaning that the district is clean of drugs for the few weeks that the morphlings will be held in the peacekeeper headquarters. After all, the Capitol can't see the flaws of the districts. Why show them the districts at all if they don't like what they see?
Vendors who've asked for licenses from the Capitol are selling goods at every corner, the mood jovial and festive in the capital city of Six. Kids are running through the streets with little sparklers that kind peacekeepers handed out just hours before, and adults are chatting quietly with one another with glasses of water in their hands. They're all grateful for the holiday. It's one of the few reprieves they have from morphling addicts.
A hush of anticipation falls over the people as the fireworks are about to begin, a massive cheer rising from the crowd as the first one lights up the night sky. The fact that most have shut off their apartment lights and the factories are closed let the fireworks shine ever brighter in the sky, and television crews eagerly zoom in on the awestruck faces of young children watching the display. But it's not because of the fireworks they're watching the sky so eagerly, no matter how flashy they might be. For many, it's the first time they've ever seen the stars.
But as the fireworks go off, shouts of rage and anger come drifting into the crowds.
Some react instantly as gang members come streaming into the crowd, running for the nearest building and locking the doors as they pound up the stairs, but most of the crowd panics and stampede towards the Justice Building. A scream is heard when a gunshot goes off, and the fireworks keep exploding in the sky, providing the background to this perfect cacophony.
A man in a red jacket and a tattooed six on his right-hand pushes aside a young mother and her child, running towards the display of fireworks. The frightened engineers scatter as he and other gang members race towards the table, pushing aside fireworks and control buttons as they continue their search. The exhibition is now out of control, random fireworks firing into the air and colliding with one another as the people run.
A thin woman with the same red jacket as the man shouts in recognition as she finds a small case on the table, opening it as other gang members crowd around her. "What in Panem's name..."
All that's in the case is a small piece of white paper.
.oOo.
A peacekeeper trudges through a large field, beckoning his fellow officers towards the thicket of trees at the edge of the pasture. "Hurry up! Let's just get this over with so we can go back to the fireworks."
"You mean the free beer," another peacekeeper laughs, and the squadron ripples with amusement. "But we got to follow this lead. I think Collins was assigned to it already, but then he phoned in and asked for backup an hour ago. Sounded nervous too."
"Who cares?" yells a peacekeeper at the back of the group as they approach the trees. "It's just going to be some stash of morphling or something. We can deal with it tomorrow. I'm feeling like it's going to be a good party night tonight!"
"The caller was adamant about it being tonight. Something about evidence and whatnot." the head peacekeeper tugs at his helmet as the rest follow him quickly, walking into the bushes and searching for their target. The six peacekeepers quickly fan out throughout the bushes, their guns drawn and ready to shoot in case this is some trap. Worse things have been attempted on peacekeepers in eight. One of the more experienced peacekeepers stumbles over something in the bushes and swears angrily, holding his foot in his hands. "What the fu - oh shit. It's Collins, isn't it?"
The stiff body of a peacekeeper lies in the middle of the bushes, blood staining his pristine uniform. A younger officer takes off the man's helmet before throwing off his own and retching his last meal onto the ground beside the body, unable to stomach the torn skin and white gleam of bone poking through the man's destroyed face.
They almost miss the small white note clenched in the corpse's hand. But when they grimly shoulder their fellow peacekeeper up and march back, they find it all the same.
.oOo.
DISASTER ON PANEM DAY!
GRIM MASSACRE IN FOUR DISTRICTS AS PANEM MOURNS
WHERE WERE OUR PEACEKEEPERS WHEN WE NEEDED THEM?
President Ember looks up at the woman draped in a grey trenchcoat as she spreads the newspapers across her large desk, the grim headlines popping out of the front page. "One death in One, twelve in Three, one in Six - but it was an older citizen who suffered from a heart attack during the panic - and the deliberate murder of one of Panem's finest in Ten. All four crimes on what is supposed to be the one day Panem is united."
The women looks up from the newspapers, her grey eyes flashing at the President. "And what's the connection?"
"Four little notes, all in the centre of the crimes. All bearing the same three words."
The woman pushes back her grey hair, her smooth, olive toned skin shining in the light. "What did they say, Madame President?"
"They said that Ember is next. Obviously, this case is all under wraps; I don't need another panic about this so close to the Games, and seven more legions of peacekeepers have been sent out for extra security in the districts. I need you to help, Carameuse. You're an old friend, and you know how to see through people better than anyone I know."
"You've found suspects?"
"Five of them, to be precise. A Capitol-Appointed mentor, a game maker, and three rising politicians, all eager for their superiors to give up the ghost. They're all booked for a long train ride through the districts as the Games start. And by the time they come back, one of them will be arrested. I can count on you, of course?"
"Of course." Carameuse Heloise shakes her friend's hand tightly, her grey eyes smiling firmly. "When do I leave?"
A/N: Welcome to my second full canon SYOT! (or my fourth SYOT in total if we count Impossible and EVM ;D) I'm excited to start writing for this one, so I'm going to work hard on Distorted so that I can get to the finale and get to writing this! Because I have a little feeling telling me that this is going to be a great SYOT :D
Anyways, this prologue pretty much sums up the feeling of this SYOT. A fun little murder mystery will be the main subplot, with a few little surprises dotting this story! I think we're going to have a grand old time with Hiraeth!
Anyways, if you want to sub, the link to the google form is on my profile. By the way, I'm floored by how many subs I've gotten already. TWENTY TWO! TWENTY TWO! I was expecting, like, one, and was surprised back when I wrote this chapter, when there was SEVEN subs! XDD Anyways, that's a nice little surprise to have, and I'm hoping this prologue draws a few more people to this story.
Since the last of the three prologues (I've already written the second and half of the third) will tie into Distorted, expect it around the finale of that SYOT. If you want, follow that one! I promise it's all worth it ;)
Finally, have a good old time! It's not first come first serve, so shape your tribute carefully and look over my headcanons. I've got a few good ones, and I'm pleased to see that a few subs have already implemented them into their backstories! Until the next prologue, TheAmazingJAJ