Took me a looong time, but here it is- the sequel to Water and Gold!

First of all, a big thanks for those of you who have been faithfully waiting for this story. I also apologize for said waiting- If everything works as planned, you won't have to wait much longer for the remaining chapters.

As for the story itself, there's something I need to say: it will feature a whole new society- wether it is the same as Panem's or utterly different, that's to be answered later. Anyway, this is my first attempt at a dystopia (not based on the Hunger Games, that is), so I would really appreciate it if you told me what you think about it :)

And last ,but not least- I'd like to thank SpeedyHanna for taking the time to read and review Crystal Clear (the prequel to this trilogy/series- make sure to check it out!). I'm glad you liked it, and I hope you will enjoy this story as well!

Chapter 1

Serena

I close my eyes and inhale deeply, enjoying the scent I know so well- of fish, of salt, of sand… of the sea. It clings to my skin in the form of tiny drops of water- and even though I know I will never be able to go back, I feel as if I'm home.

God, I missed that smell.

I'm startled when the music restarts, so loud that it seems to reverberate through my entire body, pounding against my ribcage along with my heart, and shaking the wooden floor of the deck beneath my black, high-heeled sandals. My eyes shoot open and I tighten my grip around the barrier that stops me from falling headfirst into the abyss- it's true that what lies below me is a very inviting beach, but I still don't like heights. I'd rather take the stairs, thank you very much.

I turn around slowly and scan the open air restaurant that has been turned into a dance floor, with food and drink booths scattered around. This welcome party under the stars just feels so… unreal. I feel like I'm about to wake up anytime, with a tracker jacker nest exploding next to my head.

The feeling that all of this is wrong only grows stronger when I spot David in the middle of a circle of cheerful fancied-up people, all laughing and applauding as he makes a weird, frenetic dance, his red curls swinging back and forth; not because he's making a fool of himself- his dance is really funny, actually.

But because just a week ago- in fact, just a few hours ago-, both of us, along with a big chunk of the people here tonight… were dead.

Twelve hours earlier

Marvel

I swing my bare feet off my hospital bed and place them carefully on the floor, a bit unsure if I can walk in my current state. Everyone around me just seems so pale and sick- especially Cato, who is covered in stitches, like he was torn open and then put back together; it must hurt like hell- that I assume I look just as bad.

"Don't worry, I'm here," Serena says softly, never letting go of my hand and squeezing it reassuringly.

I tremulously get on my feet and smile down at her. "Really?" I ask teasingly. Serena is so tiny that I easily tower over her- she's over a foot shorter than I am- and she's gotten thinner since we were in the arena. "Don't you think you would be squashed like a bug if I happened to stumble and fall on top of you?"

"I'm willing to take the risk," she chuckles. "But if you think I can't handle it…"

Serena motions to release my fingers from her grasp, but I hook an arm around her waist and pull her closer, pressing her body against mine. "I'm sorry. I'm sure you'll know what to do in case delicate little me decides to crash on the floor."

"Of course I do." She smiles. "I hope you don't mind to be rolled over."

"Attention tributes, please report to the deck," the pleasant voice repeats, this time louder.

"We should go," I say, slinging my arm around Serena's slender shoulders. Most of the other tributes have already walked past the- dorm? Hospital room?- door, which I now see leads to a long corridor with small, round windows lined along the walls.

"Do you think they are trying to trick us?" Serena asks insecurely, when we catch sight of a staircase across the hall. On top of it is an open trapdoor, through which the sun is shining. "Maybe we should be careful."

"We have nowhere else to go." I shrug. "Besides, weren't you just saying we should try and find out where we are?"

"You're right." Serena straightens up and begins walking faster, but I notice she's gotten slightly closer to me.

Around us, the other tributes- if we can still be called that- are heading towards the stairs at different paces, and even though I don't know half their names, some faces are terribly familiar; I find myself shamefully gluing my eyes to the ground- something I have never done in my life- when Thresh strides past me with little Rue clinging to his back. The boy from District 10 whose name I never bothered to know casts me a hateful glance before disappearing through the trapdoor, but the red-haired girl behind him stops and stares at me and Serena, seemingly intended on making us uncomfortable- and succeeding.

"Uh… Hi?" I say tentatively, when the creepy stare begins to annoy me.

The girl stares at us for a little longer, taking in my arm around Serena's shoulders with her fox eyes, and then a smile spreads over her face. "I knew it," she mutters under her breath.

I raise my eyebrows. "Sorry?"

"That you two were a couple," she replies. "I mean, it was quite obvious…"

Serena turns red at the girl's remarks, but I notice she's also trying not to laugh. "I'm Serena," she cuts off shyly, reaching out her hand.

"Robin," the red-haired girl replies as she shakes Serena's hand. She turns to me. "And you're Marvel," she adds matter-of-factly, causing me to shift uncomfortably. "Do you know where we are?"

"No," I reply quickly, beginning to climb the stairs and dragging Serena along with me. "Do you?"

"I don't know either." Robin is hopping from step to step, making her resemble a fox even more. "But something tells me we're about to find out."

I watch her disappear through the trapdoor, feeling absolutely puzzled; I had never spoken to that girl before- though I tried to throw a spear at her while we were in the arena-, and yet she was talking to us in a perfectly casual manner- minus the spooky I-know-who-you-are part. "What was that all about?" I ask.

"No idea." Serena shrugs, seemingly as confused as me. Then she goes up the last three steps, pulling me with her.

I'm not able to repress a Wow from coming out my mouth once we step into the daylight- we're on what appears to be one of those ancient ships my best friend Flint talked about all the time, all built in wood and complete with white sails. However, judging from the button panels I spot every now and then and the abnormal speed at which we are moving, I'd say this ship has some little improvements.

Suddenly, I hear Serena gasp, as she takes my arm off her shoulders and approaches the border of the ship; intrigued, I walk until I'm right behind her. She glances at me, taking in the inquiring look I shoot her, before turning her head again. "I never thought I'd see the ocean again," she says in a strangled voice.

I follow her gaze and instantly widen my eyes- I had seen pictures before, but they couldn't quite capture the effect the sunlight has on the water, or the sound and movement of the waves- soothing, yet at the same time strangely exciting. I open my mouth to say something, but no sound comes out.

Serena looks up at me with a playful gleam in her eyes. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" she asks. I nod in response, wrapping both my arms around her and resting my chin on top of her head. "You told me you wanted to see it before you died," Serena reminds gently. I hold her tighter- somehow, I think I need to feel her heartbeat against my own chest, and the scent of her hair, to keep me from going insane again. From the moment I opened my eyes on that bed, I have been being constantly assaulted by images from the days in the arena: the red 'MOO' I carved on the District 10 boy's stomach; my spear hitting Rue's body; and most of all, Serena being stung to death by tracker jackers.

"Is everyone here?" The same voice we heard earlier is now coming from behind us. We spin around to see it comes from a short, plump woman up in a stage, holding a microphone- the situation is terribly similar to the reaping, even though this woman has a pleasant, non-altered look, unlike Marcus, the escort back in District 1. "How strange, there's only twenty-two of you," she chuckles, in an attempt to break the ice. "You must be wondering where you are, and who I am." Serena tilts her head, indicating we should get closer. "My name is Helen," the woman goes on. "Welcome aboard the Red Lion!"

Robin's hand shoots right up. "Excuse me," she interrupts. "But-"

"Questions will be answered later," Helen chirps. "First, let me explain your situation- right now, we are crossing what was formerly known as the Atlantic Ocean. In about twenty minutes, we will enter the docks of Ceres." The tributes fall silent, and Helen seems pleased that she's got our attention. "Ceres was established a long time ago, before what you know as the Dark Days. It is a wonderful, peaceful place, technologically very advanced- our biggest achievement is called the Life Serum-"

"What does that have to do with us?" Cato's voice cuts off harshly, voicing our thoughts. I can't help but notice he's clutching Clove's hand, the way I am holding on to Serena.

"Well, it has everything to do with you!" Helen sounds delighted by the question. "Ceres always stayed in the shadows, having decided to ignore Panem's existence, while Panem did the same- this way, each country could rule its people the way it pleased. However, when the Dark Days came, the Capitol sent an appeal. Ceres people are pacifists, we do not believe in war, so we had no weapons. But we agreed to send the Capitol some supplies and medicine, as long as we remained anonymous. We couldn't risk being exposed at such a… delicate time of history."

"Of course, when we heard about the brutal way the Capitol had decided to punish the districts, we imposed another condition: every year, they would send us the fallen tributes, so we could revive them with the then recently discovered Life Serum- Ceres's population was decreasing, so the annual addition of twenty-three healthy young men and women was exactly what we needed. That's what happened to you!" I swear, if Helen's smile broadens any more, I'll have to shield my eyes from the reflection of the sun. Who has teeth like those?

"You are now, my dear children, part of a community called The Awakened. Ceres will be your new home- you can go back to school, get a job… Maybe even," Helen's eyes flash- or perhaps it's just the light- in the direction of where Serena and I are standing. "Start a family!"

This time, four or five hands shoot up. I'm surprised to see Serena raising her hand as well. "Yes, dear?" Helen asks, her eyes set on Glimmer.

"What kind of jobs?" Glimmer inquires eagerly- I bet she's already thinking about her designer career.

"Whatever you feel like doing!" Helen exclaims; Glimmer beams, earning glances from the boys around her. It's incredible how she still has that effect. "You." Helen points at Chip, who is practically jumping up and down.

"How does this…" he hesitates, "Life Serum thing work?"

"Well, I'm no expert," Helen replies, "But I believe that once inside your circulation, it restores full body function, even after your hearts stopped beating- as long as the body isn't too damaged. Luckily, neither of you suffered an excessively violent death!"

Is she serious? I have a scar on my neck that proves otherwise.

"Is it safe?" Chip asks. "We won't e-explode or something?"

Helen tilts her head back and laughs. "Of course not! People in Ceres use it all the time! That way we never get sick and live a long, healthy, happy life! And by joining the Awakened- the ones who were revived as well- you will get to live one too!"

The way this woman says it, we would think we are being brought to some kind of paradise- and somehow we are: I mean, a place where I can do pretty much whatever the hell I want with my life, and where I can actually hope Serena and I have a future? But she seems to be forgetting a tiny detail- that we, her dear children, were all trying to kill each other before they came along. And some of us- namely me- succeeded. More than once.

"Alright, we're almost there," Helen announces. "One last question!"

She points at Serena, who drops her hand and stands on her toes, making sure everyone sees her. Or, knowing her, she's probably trying to look threatening. This thought makes me smile- there's nothing in this world that can make Serena scary, which is exactly what should make her scary. "Excuse me," she says politely. "But when do we get to see our families?"

Helen's smile vanishes. "Oh, dear," she says. "I'm… I'm afraid you will never see them again."

Serena

"What?!" I gasp in a slightly hysterical voice, before I can help it. Around me, the other tributes- Awakened, that's what we are called now- seem agitated.

"I'm sorry, but I thought I had made it clear," Helen utters, "That Ceres will be your new home. You will have to get totally detached from your old life-"

"They will spend the rest of their lives thinking we are dead?" Glimmer asks incredulously.

"Indeed they are." Much to my pleasure, Helen seems uncomfortable. "If we let you have any contact with them, we would reveal our existence…"

"Then what's in the coffins they got sent?" Clove asks. "If we are here?"

"Replicas," Helen replies patiently. "Perfect replicas of your bodies were made before you were revived. I can assure you no one will know the difference-"

"What else did you do?" I ask shakily. I'm usually a quiet person, but everything Helen said just sounded so out of place- like something out of a nightmare- that I seem to be speaking without thinking.

"Baby-face," Marvel whispers next to my ear. He just says that- the nickname he got me thanks to my size and allegedly childish face-, but he uses a tone that is both warning and fearful. I decide to drop the subject-only for him, since I'm still freaking out over the fact that I'm alive and well, and yet I will never see my sisters or my friends again.

"We did nothing more," Helen answers defensively. "As soon as you… let's say, died, you were given a dose of Life Serum- some of you needed surgical intervention as well- and kept in a coma until all your fellow tributes arrived. You were then awakened at the same time," Helen eyes me, but as soon as she sees I don't intend to continue arguing, she goes on. "But since you have different body builds, the smallest ones were the first to wake up. That's why you," She points at Thresh, Cato, and then Marvel. "May feel a bit of discomfort. But that's all- we did you no harm."

Suddenly, we're all startled by a loud buzz that goes off- except for Helen, who just seems relieved. "Oh, we're here," she says cheerfully. "You will now meet your counselors."

"Counselors?" Marvel mutters, as he begins to walk towards the wooden plank that leads to the dock, still holding my hand. I notice he hasn't let go of me since he woke up.

Not that I mind- I admit I'm scared, no matter how wonderful and perfect Helen says our new home is.

I see that she was right, however, as soon as we set foot on said new home. As far as I can see, we're in an island, with cozy-looking striped houses, just like the ones we had back in District 4, and clean, non-crowded streets. I have to repress a cry of joy when I catch sight of the line of white sand that extends to both my sides, until I can no longer see.

Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I'll like it here.

In front of the Red Lion, a small crowd has gathered; the people are staring at us, wide-eyed, and shouting things like "District 6? Are you from District 6?" and "Do you know my family? We used to live by the factory-", but Helen is leading us away from them.

"Those were some of the other Panem Awakened," Helen explains. "The entrance of newcomers is always an exciting event. Who knows, maybe next year you'll be there!"

I can't help but notice how this reminds me of the arrival of the tributes to the Capitol. Except these people were tributes once, and aren't here to see us fight to the death, but in a desperate attempt to know news of their families.

"My work here is done," Helen announces, turning to us. "Your counselors are here." She smiles and begins to walk away. "Good luck, and see you next Monday." The curiosity over meeting our counselors is too strong for me to spend more than a second wondering why Helen is so sure we will meet again.

In front of us are now two women, both in their forties: even though both have blonde hair and light eyes, they couldn't be more different from each other. One is tall and muscled, with green eyes that would be disturbingly similar to Marvel's, if it weren't for the fact that one of them doesn't seem to move right; the skin around it is deeply scarred, and a horrible image of that eye being popped out comes to my mind.

The other is smaller and lean, with bright blue eyes and a much more sympathetic look than her partner. However, both women have huge scars- the tall one has a particularly gruesome one on her forehead that adds to the ones around her eye, while the other has a thin, long white line on her neck.

"Fresh meat!" the tall one shouts amusingly, sounding much younger than she probably is. I look up and notice Marvel is staring at her as if he has just seen a ghost. "Let's do this quick- I'm hungry and I haven't had breakfast because I was out here waiting for you. Alright, raise your hand if you were killed in the bloodbath!" Eleven hands, belonging to six boys and five girls, shoot up. "Oh, that's an odd number. Who died next?" A girl that I recognize with a twist of my stomach as the one I helped kill on the first night of the Games tremulously lifts her hand. The tall woman looks delighted. "A girl… perfect. No need to make any changes, then. They're all yours, May."

Her partner shoots her an annoyed look. "My partner meant to say," she starts, "That those of you who died in the bloodbath are to come with me. I'm Maysilee, by the way. And this is Silk." Silk nods, apparently her way of saying hello. "We're Awakened like you, and we're here to assign you your apartments and roommates.

"Roommates?!" Clove practically shrieks.

"Yes, princess," Silk snorts. Clove's expression is murderous- she was probably never called 'princess'. "I didn't like it either, when I got stuck with May here." She punches Maysilee's arm jokingly. "But she grew on me."

"Anyway," Maysilee continues, as if she hasn't heard Clove and Silk. "Your roommate will be, depending whether you are a boy or a girl, the boy or girl that died directly before or after you. This means you will be sorted by death order. I know it's strange, but you will get used to it. Now, normally we assign ten apartments that hold two people and one that holds three, but since there are twenty-two of you, we will have to assign two people for each of the first eight apartments, and three people for each of the remaining two."

Uh?

"That doesn't make any sense. Why can't we just get our own apartment?" Cato asks. For once, I have to agree with him- right now I couldn't feel more confused.

"Long story short, no one gets to live alone," Silk snarls. "Trust me, you will thank us later."

"She's right," Maysilee agrees. "But consider yourself lucky you're one in a group of twenty-two. In our year, there were nearly forty of us- and that's because not everyone made it here."

"Maybe we should thank the squirrels and the volcano that we didn't have to share our toilet with six other people," Silk says lightly.

Maysilee rolls her eyes. "One last thing," she says. "You need to know that among the Awakened who were in the Games, we have a… special way of greeting. Call it a tradition. So, whenever you are presenting to another Panem-born Awakened, you're supposed to say your name, district, edition of the Games, and how you died. I don't know why it's like this, but I guarantee you it will avoid a lot of questions later, and even help you make friends." She raises her wrist, where the tattoo of a red eye is visible. "This is how we recognize each other."

Marvel raises his eyebrows and leans forward, whispering, "Maybe we should run. I think these people are crazy."

I chuckle quietly, but stop right away, since Maysilee is still talking. "For example: I'm Maysilee, I'm from District Twelve, and I died in the 50th Hunger Games from a bird attack." She makes the See? It wasn't that hard face Finnick used to pull when he tried to convince me to dive into the ocean from a cliff by jumping ahead.

"And I'm Silk," her partner adds. "District One, 50th Hunger Games, and I died because my axe decided it wanted to become a boomerang."

This causes some of the tributes- especially Cato and Clove- to laugh, but I notice that Marvel has widened his eyes at Silk again.

"Before we lead you to your new homes…" Maysilee says softly. "I'm curious… Which of you are from District 12?"

She meets only silence, until Cato blurts out harshly, "They're not here."

This seems to surprise both Maysilee and Silk. "They're not?" Maysilee asks. "But that means…"

Cato crosses his arms, looking even more menacing than the last time I saw him- partly due to his stitch-covered face. "They won. Both of them," he replies bitterly.

This statement is met with surprised murmurs, until Clove adds, "They had a rule change saying there could be two victors from the same district."

An expression of pure joy suddenly crosses Maysilee's face. "But we haven't had a victor since… That means Haymitch did it!"

"I bet he told them to use the force field," Silk snarls.

"Would you forget about that?" Maysilee asks, visibly annoyed. "It wasn't his fault you missed-"

"Well, excuse me if my aim was a little off, thanks to my eye having been popped out…"

Glimmer clears her throat, causing Maysilee and Silk to turn around. "Our apartments?" she reminds impatiently.

"Oh, right," Silk says sheepishly. She signals us to get closer, while Maysilee does the same: the group I'm in consists of Glimmer, Marvel, the boy from District 10, Chip, Rue, Robin, Thresh, Cato, and Clove. "Let's see…" Silk seems to be sizing us up. "You first," she orders, pointing at me.

"Me?" I ask, startled. That eye is kind of creeping me out.

"Yes you, with the good-looking boyfriend. Come on, I won't bite." I hesitantly walk up to her; even though she only spoke to me, Marvel still has his fingers wrapped around my hand, and follows close on my heels. "Name and district?" Silk asks, without tearing her gaze from the clipboard she's now holding.

"S-Serena Brooke. District Four," I stammer.

"Ahh, a Career." Silk raises her eyes- or should I say, raises one eye- and smiles mischievously. "It says here you placed eleventh. You should be ashamed."

Even though it's obvious she's joking, I still feel color crawling up my face. Marvel tightens his grip around my hand, a muscle in his jaw twitching- but he still looks frightened by Silk's presence.

"Whoa, keep your shirt on," Silk says amusingly, when she sees his face. "I was just kidding." She turns back to me. "According to this, your roommate will be Glimmer Adams… Hey, which one of you is Glimmer?" she shouts. I give my new roommate a radiant smile that she retrieves, as she walks up to us.

I can't believe my luck- Glimmer was, apart from Marvel, the only person I truly liked in the Career alliance. If I really have to live with someone, I'm glad it's her.

"Twelfth? You placed twelfth?!" Silk exclaims indignantly, glancing at Glimmer's file. "You and I need to have a little talk, young lady, about something called District 1 pride…"

Glimmer places her hands on her hips. "Can we have our keys or not?"

"Sure," Silk says grumpily, holding out said keys. "Follow this street, and you'll find a building with a '74' over the door. Your apartment is on the 4th floor."

I can feel myself turn pale, already picturing the never-ending stairs- or worse, long elevator rides- and the windows, too far from the ground to my taste. "She's scared of heights," Marvel informs harshly, squeezing my hand.

"Alright, then." Silk lets out an exasperated sigh. "You can keep the one on the first floor." She gives us our new keys, and seems to remember something. "I almost forgot! Tonight you have your welcome party down at the restaurant Paradise Wave. Just ask around, and you'll know where it is. You won't want to miss it."

Welcome party?! This just keeps getting stranger.

"Thanks," I mutter. Then I turn to Marvel. "I have to go now. See you la-"

I stop mid-sentence when I take a look at Marvel's face- his eyes are even wider than before, and he's grasping my hand like a man who's about to drown. "No. Don't go," he pleads in a low voice.

"Marvel," I say kindly, blushing again at the need in his voice. "It will only be for a while. And you know where to find me."

"Okay," he agrees. For a moment, I'm shocked by how fragile he looks, but he seems to recompose himself. "Maybe I'll pay you a visit later," Marvel teases, winking.

I smile, even though I'm still worried about him, and stand on my tiptoes so I can kiss his cheek- I can only reach Marvel's shoulder, so he's forced to pick me up by the waist, something I've always enjoyed. Then I turn around and follow Glimmer towards our new house.

However, when I cast one last glance at Marvel, I see that his smile has vanished.

I hope this wasn't too confusing xD

More to come soon! What did you guys think?