Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games
Roar
The words flew over my head. Speech after speech, I stood there spouting the same bland lines, the same impersonal words. But this? No, I couldn't.
This was for Rue. This was for the gentle, kind individual who didn't have enough time to live, who didn't get to show the world who she was, who was forced into a harsh and deadly arena where no one was willing to show mercy.
This was for Thresh. The silent yet strong man, the powerful and resourceful tribute, the dangerous yet merciful fighter. And truly, he was the only one in that arena who had any semblance of honour or dignity.
This day was different. My tongue wouldn't be bitten, nor would I hold my breath in an effort to forbid the words I truly wished to say from slipping out. I wouldn't let my fear of the retribution hold me back, not from rocking the boat or making a mess. And this time, I wouldn't allow them to push me into a chair and force frivolous words into my mouth. I would stand for everything.
Approaching the platform, my palms clenched into balls, I looked at the cards in my hands. Smiling bitterly, I flung my arms out and watched the notes rain down before me.
"This is a message," I began, "Not only to the Capitol but to every single person in District 11.
"You might have tried to hold us down," I stared directly into the camera, "But we will rise again. We will get up and fight like tigers, and you won't be able to handle the heat! You don't know the burning of the fire, the roar of a lion. We are all champions, and we will roar!"
My hand shot to the sky, fist beating the air. The crowd below me roared beside me, fists pumping as the uproar grew.
"We are the thunder in the sky, shaking the ground beneath you! You can't get away from us, Capitol. We might have been smaller than zeros at one point, but we can and will be our own heroes. And we will fight!"
Feet shook the ground, reminiscent of the thunder I mentioned. And I knew who the crowd were below me. They weren't civilians, no. They were an army in their own right, fighters until the very end.
"This is for Rue, a girl too young to be slaughtered in an arena for the amusement of sick, foolish people! This is for Thresh, a man too honourable and powerful in his own right to kill his opponent because she laid his companion to rest!"
The roar of the crowd rose, a tumultuous noise of hungry tigers calling for their next meal.
"Your bullets won't stop us! Your small fires won't burn us down, not as we light the earth you stand on ablaze! We will Roar!"