"What?"
Peeta growled and stepped in front of Katniss protectively. Katniss was startled by his move. President Snow stood before them, the smell of blood and roses thick in the air. The dictator smiled slightly.
"You both won this Hunger Game, but only one of you can go back to District 12. The one who stays will not be killed, but just simply . . . employed."
Peeta's eyes widened. Katniss and Peeta had just won the Hunger Games, and were about to board the train back to District 12. Katniss stepped out from behind Peeta and glared at President Snow.
"You can't do that! Peeta and I won these sick games! We just . . . we just want to go home to our families."
Peeta could hear the tears in the back of her throat. Everything must have been catching up to her. Snow smiled and grabbed her by the upper arm.
"Well then, maybe you should stay."
Fear washed over Peeta. Neither of the District 12 children knew what would happen if one stayed, but it couldn't be good.
"No!"
Peeta pulled Katniss out of the elder man's grip.
"No. I'll-I'll go."
"Peeta! You can't!"
President Snow smiled and motioned to a couple of guards. Two dragged a screaming and kicking Katniss into the train. Peeta smiled sadly. At least she was going home. A guard ushered Peeta in the opposite direction.
"Sorry about this, but it's a formality."
Before Peeta could react, a needle was inserted into his neck. He felt the burning liquid enter his blood stream.
"W-wha?"
Peeta stumbled forward into a wall and slid down it. The last thing he saw was the grinning face of President Snow before everything went black.
Peeta was suddenly shoved awake by a large clang. Startled, he tried to sit up. He couldn't. it took him a moment to realize why. He was strapped down to a gurney. The metal pressed his arms to his torso and kept his legs flat. The gurney was moving slowly down a pure white corridor. Peeta looked up at who was pushing him. A man wearing a lab coat smiled down at him.
"Oh, you're awake."
Peeta was wheeled into a large lab filled with people wearing lab coats. All eyes turned to him. Peeta was terrified. Even more so than he was at the Hunger Games. There, he at least knew what to expect. He struggled against his bonds as one of the men strode over with a syringe full of a clear liquid.
"W-what the hell is going on?"
No one answered him, and Peeta felt the burning rush of the liquid enter his arm. Everything went dark again.
Awakening this time was a lot slower. Peeta moved his sore limbs, pleased to find them unbound. However, his entire body was sore. Like how he felt after the Hunger Games. And his back. Dear gods, his back was on fire. Peeta cracked an eye open to come face to face with a pair of wide yellow eyes. Peeta gasped and jumped back, only to hit the bars of his cage. He was caged like some animal. Peeta looked back over at the yellow eyes to see a child.
Or, what was once a child. His hands and feet were webbed and his entire body was covered in brown scales. He had no ears and only two small holes for a nose. His mouth was slightly open, revealing a row of sharp yellow teeth. Peeta waited a moment and leaned closer when the human lizard hybrid didn't move. The kid wasn't breathing.
Peeta slid away to the middle of his cage, hugging his knees. Multiple cages lined the damp dark room he was in. In each cage was a grotesque sight. Some worse than others. All of them dead or dying. Peeta shivered and reached around to rub his burning back. Only, his hands grabbed something else. Something on his back.
Peeta glanced back in horror at the large black wings on his lower shoulders.
Peeta had been testing out his wings. Unfurling them as far as he could, and then folding them back. After two hours of trying to get out of his cage, there wasn't much left to do. He could now move his wings just as good as he could an arm. Suddenly, the door to the room flew open and a large figure stepped in. The only thing Peeta could think was 'werewolf'. The 'werewolf' stalked over to his cage and looked in. The creature smirked at him and shoved a chunk of stale bread through his cage bars. The wolf-man turned to leave, but Peeta called out.
"W-wait! What's going on? What did you guys do to me me? Where am I?"
The werewolf just glanced over his shoulder, a sick smile on his face.
"Welcome to The School."