Chapter One: The Beginning
Blinding white lights shine in my eyes as I come to. My mind is hazy, and I can't remember too much. My senses are as dull as my mind, but even in their weakened state I can still smell the pungent scent of roses coming from somewhere to my right. I try to turn toward the source, but strong hands firmly hold my head in place. Have they always been there? I'm not sure. A stern voice speaks to me, "Look straight ahead." I'm tempted to resist, but I'm not sure what good that would do. I know that I'm not alone here.
A calm voice speaks to me. It's low and hard to hear, but I make out most of it. "Hello Mr. Mellark, I'm glad you are finally awake. We've been worried about you." I know this voice, and I know the poisonous lies that it so often spews. This is one of them. I shouldn't trust this man, but he's so calm...it's hard not to believe him. Suddenly, the white lights in front of me begin to change. No...they aren't lights...it's a screen. A white screen. Shapes begin to appear on it. they twist and turn, eventually forming the image of something I did not expect to see. A face.
The calm voice speaks again. "Do you know who this is, Mr. Mellark?" At first I don't. It's blurry and out of focus, but somehow I recognize it. "Y...yes..." I stammer, but my voice isn't my own. It's different, almost alien to me.
The voice speaks again. "Who is it, and what is your relationship with this person?" My heart begins to beat faster. I don't want to answer, but he's so calming...I want to trust him...
"K..Katniss Everdeen...Victor of the 74th Hunger Games...I lov..." Something stops me. A memory, perhaps. I don't want to talk to this man anymore, I don't want to hear his poisonous words. I close my eyes, trying to block him out.
The calm man sighs, and then I hear footsteps. Someone is coming towards me. I try to move, but my hands are restrained. Have they always been? Someone steadies my right arm, and I feel a small prick. It doesn't hurt yet, but something tells me it will soon. Suddenly, the hands holding my head in place are gone. Were they ever really there? I turn to the right immediately. The man...no...the snake...is there. His white hair as blinding as the lights I woke up to. He whispers to me. "We're going to help you remember things a bit more clearly, Mr. Mellark."
His face starts to swirl and bubble just as my vision begins to blur. Just as everything begins to fade, the white-haired man whispers to me again. "Just get some rest."
Then I feel it. Pain strikes my right arm harder than anything I have ever felt. Normally this would wake me up, but not this time. The pain is making me even more tired. The scent roses is the last thing I smell before everything turns black.
My eyes snap open. This isn't right. I shouldn't be here. Artificial sunlight gleams off of the cornucopia, and the sound of retreating mutts can be heard somewhere in the distance. Everything looks different, almost as if I'm looking at it through opaque glass. My arm feels hot, as if I had just burnt it on an oven, but the heat doesn't stop there. It radiates throughout my entire body. Then I see her. Katniss is standing in front of me, holding out her hand. I look into her eyes, where I would normally find peace, but instead there is only darkness looking back at me. I don't love these eyes, I'm afraid of them. She opens her hand, revealing a clutch or purple berries.
"Eat these, Peeta. They'll make everything go away." She hisses at me. I don't trust her, not at all. Her face begins to bubble and contort, and I feel terror building inside of me. I turn to run away from her, but my feet feel like they're made of lead. Somehow, I manage to start running. I can hear her chasing me, slithering through the grass like the snake that she is. "Come back Peeta, so we can be together!" She hisses.
I trip and fall onto the ground, my face coming into contact with the cold, hard earth below. I know that she's going to kill me. One bite from this snake and I'll be dead, just like the rest of the contestants. I turn to look at her, but for some reason she is running away. For a split second I can almost see the snake's tail as she goes to hide in her hole. A soft hand falls on my shoulder and I am helped to my feet.
The man's calming words reach my ears just as the scent of roses reaches my nose. "Are you all right, Mr. Mellark?" President snow asks. For some reason I trust this man. I'm safe while he is here. "I...I think so..." I stammer, looking in the direction of the fleeing Katniss. "You saved me?"
The President speaks. "Of course, dear boy. We will protect you from her and all other enemies of the Capitol." He looks at me with welcoming grey eyes and smiles. I feel safe. Then, all at once, my world begins to fade.
My eyes flutter open, and I immediately wince in pain. My right arm is burning, but it feels distant, almost as if it's coming form somewhere other than my own body. I look up, and I scream. She's staring back at me. The Mockingjay. The Snake. Fearful tears stream down my face.
The calming voice speaks to me. "Do you know who this is?"
"Yes." I say as I try to look away. The President immediately asks, "Who is it?"
I answer without hesitation, as if the answer was programmed into my mind. I have never been so sure of something before, yet something still doesn't seem right. "Katniss Everdeen. Enemy to the Capitol."