AN: So... you're probably thinking, "Boo, Amelia. Her Gale/OC fic was a failure, she is soooo not a writer, and she wrote this a lll the way back in JUNE."

Okay, so Second Best, my Gale/OC two-shot really was a failure. Two people reviewed only so I would really appreciate it if you went and reviewed (+read)! Ciara did NOT beta this so let me know if it REALLY SUCKS. It is a prequel to Dear Diary about Evelynn's best friend Jayne. Go read that (and review it) to understand this better and for BG info!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Hunger Games.

(sorry for rambling! The actual word count is 1,787!)

The cells were filthy. Small and filthy. They were like the concentration camps way, way back in the Second World War when Panem was still split into three countries. They crammed many people in one cell; they rarely fed us or cleaned the cells. Our beds were made of hay. We all knew why they were keeping us like this. They were hoping we would crack and spill. Well, they wouldn't have any luck with me.

They separated the girls from the boys on that day they called us to the town square. They threw at least five of us in one cell the first day. People kept coming after that, but they were actually arrested for an offence, as opposed to us. We willingly walked into a trap. I had no idea where Evy was or Tomas or Marx.

It was crazy. I managed to find a way to get messages across, but up until now, the only one that responded was Tomas. I wasn't sure if Evelynn or Marx got their messages. I hadn't heard from them. It scared me to think that Evy might be dead. She had been my best friend. We were always so close.

But then the messages from Tomas stopped abruptly one day. I remembered that day too well.

I was sitting in a corner of the cell, waiting patiently for a message from Tomas or a signal or anything really. But absolutely nothing came, except two peacekeepers at around noon (according to my estimation). Sometimes, pretending not to see them was the best way out. They wouldn't walk over to you and you would get to skip a day of torture if you didn't stare. Apparently, they were looking for me.

One of them stuck his arm through the bars and tugged on my arm, forcefully pulling me up to my feet. The girls behind me shuffled back quickly and curled up on the back walls of the cell. My whole body banged against the iron bars so hard that I could almost feel my bones squish against the metal and my weakened muscles cry out. I tried to get out of his painful grasp, but I just couldn't. In the end, I gave up and stared him right in the eyes.

The other one reached into his white coat pocket, pulling out a paper. Smirking, he passed it to me and I cautiously took it with my free hand. "I think this is for you," he said.

I looked down and read the note.

Don't trust them. You know what to do. I'll never give up on you.

-Tomas

"What have you done to him?" I screamed, pulling my arm with all my strength, but still getting nowhere.

"He got exactly what was coming for him," the guard that gave me the note said.

"No! Let go of me!"

Suddenly, a loud alarm went off, followed by several others. The guard slowly let go of my arm and backed away, frowning as more peacekeepers filed in. They were all yelling things and somewhere at the end of the narrow stone hall I saw smoke.

"What is it?"

"Fire."

"What? How? That's impossible."

"Doesn't matter. It's happening. Get them all underground until we can stop it."

Cell doors were opening and peacekeepers were pulling us up and dragging us down the stairs two at a time. I caught a glimpse of blond hair, thrashing wildly. There were burned holes in her clothes. One peacekeeper alone was handling her and he seemed to be having trouble. Finally, he threw her down on the stone floor. She didn't go unconscious, but she might have broken something.

And I recognized her.

"EVELYNN!" I screamed.

She looked up at me as the guard slapped cuffs on her wrists. "JAYNE!"

We finally made it downstairs in the large, dirty basement. There were two large cells, one on each side, just as filthy as the small ones upstairs. They put all the girls in the one on the right. Slowly, we saw the boys filing down into the one on the left.

The door to our cell slammed shut but not without someone trying to escape. They dragged her away through a small door. I looked away just as I felt a hand on my shoulder. I jumped and turned to see Evelynn. I immediately hugged her tightly and she hugged me back. I still winced when I heard the gunshot.

"Evelynn, I'm so glad you're okay!" I said. "I've been trying to get messages across to the three of you, but the only one that got back to me was Tomas. I thought you were dead…"

"I'm not… but Marx is…" she said, I could see tears starting to fall down her face.

"What? No! I—oh, God, I'm sorry Evelynn!"

"It doesn't matter," she said, taking a deep breath. "I started the fire."

I smiled weakly. "Good job. Anything broken?"

"Just my wrist."

I led her to an empty spot where there was a lot of mud and pulled out the only clean gauze I had left. I managed to snag some from the peacekeepers without them noticing a few day's back. Finding the broken bone, I wrapped it around a lot of times and covered it in a layer of mud.

"Just let it dry. We'll add more layers gradually if you need it. It's the best I can do for now," I said.

"It's better than nothing," she replied.

We both looked across the room to the boys and peacekeepers filing in when I saw Tomas.

He looked badly beaten up, with welts and bruises all over. He was searching the girls' cell. I stood up and yelled, "Tomas!"

He looked in my direction and smiled widely, "Jayne!"

The peacekeepers that had threatened me earlier noticed this. But I didn't see this because I was too busy being happy and watching Tomas fight against his peacekeeper. Finally, Tomas slipped from his grasp, leaving the peacekeeper to the other boy he was restraining. That boy seemed to be trying to cover for Tomas by thrashing around wildly and even throwing punches towards the peacekeeper's face.

"You're okay. Thank God, you're okay," I said once he reached the cell. His hands reached for mine through the bars.

"I know. When they found out about the notes I thought they'd kill you but… but they didn't. I'm so happy," he said, squeezing my hands.

"Please stay safe. We'll get out of here in the end. Stay safe."

And then a gunshot was heard.

Screams followed, but I was frozen still. I could already see the blood seeping into his shirt from his back. I held on to his hands tighter and tighter as he slipped to the ground. I kneeled down and held his hands, trying to pull him closer. But I knew I couldn't.

"No, no, no!" I screamed. I reached through the bars and tried to use his shirt to stop the blood from flowing out. Tears streaked my face. "Please don't go!"

He squeezed my hand lightly. "Get out. You know. About the district. Get out. Stay safe…"

And then he was gone.

I was frozen, sitting on the stone floor, tears slipping from my eyes. I was aware of Evelynn hugging me and trying to comfort me. But nothing else. I could only comprehend what Tomas had told me before he died.

He wanted me to blackmail the Capitol. He wanted me to save myself.

We were back in the original cells in no time. They put Ev on a different level. At least I knew she was okay. I hoped Ariya was okay too. I heard she was back home.

I resorted to sitting in corners of the cell far away from the bars. I had made a plan in my head. I could only hope it would work.

I was waiting for peacekeepers to pass by. It was my lucky day. The two that passed by was the one in charge and his assistant. They stopped by my cell, looking over dismissively to make sure nothing was out of place. When they turned to leave, I yelled after them.

"Where are you going? District 13?" I shouted after them.

They froze. The assistant turned towards me, holding up his gun, but the leader lowered his hand and turned as well. He walked up to me and I approached the bars. He inspected me, as if he was filing every single thing about me in my own personal file in his mental file cabinet. As if by looking at me, he would gain my life story.

"You wouldn't want to kill me would you?" I said loudly. "Because everyone here now knows that District 13 is still living and that they made a deal with the Capitol! You can't kill us all. We might remember some valuable Rebel information."

The air was completely silent for a while and I thought that he would pull out his gun and really shoot me right then and there. But he only sighed resentfully, looked around a few times, and said quietly, "What do you propose?"

"Safety. From your little Hunger Games plan. From death. Make me a Capitol person. Intense surgery. Give me a part. It's win-win. Your secrets stay safe and I get a new life."

He thought it over for a bit before unlocking the door and saying, "I will escort you to the Capitol immediately. You will be a mentor in the Hunger Games."

"A mentor?"

"Yes. It's your part. Training and watching the tributes from your home die."

They duped me. It was unbelievable. But it was either that or death. Or torture for the rest of my life.

"Fine. You have a deal," I said as I stepped out of the cell. He seemed a little surprised at my words, but didn't say anything.

He shook my hand and slammed the cell door shut.

Strawberry blond hair. Blue eyes. Pale, translucent skin.

It was exactly the opposite of me. I looked exactly opposite from my pitch-black hair, my grey eyes, and my olive skin. I looked like one of the merchant people from District 12.

I sighed at the reflection in the mirror and stepped outside where a car was waiting to take me to the town square for the first Reaping.

Was I ready to watch these people die?

What if I knew them?

My hands stiffened around the crumpled letter in my hands. It was from the President. It was a warning. It was a threat. It was telling me to watch my mouth.

This was it. I was trapped and I had no way out.

DRAMATIC ENDING! Okay, one more thing I didn't mention above: If you read PJO, go ask to join/subscribe to my community (info + link is on my page). Since I only need one more staff member, I will take the first person that asks to join. Others can subscribe! Please get the word out about it!

-How was my grammar/spelling? Atrocious?
-I'm sorry for rambling! I love you if you read everything!
-What do you think about Jayne now?
-What about Tomas?

Thank you for reading! And if you reviewed, I love you even more!