Disclaimer: I do not own anything from The Hunger Games trilogy all rights go to Suzanne Collins. I do however own Quinn and her story.
The string of her bow was wrapped round her neck as the career tribute sat on top of her, pinning her arms. She choked and spluttered as the air escaped her lungs, her blue eyes watered as she struggled against the bigger girl. The knife was just out of her reach but she extended her arms as far she could, focussing on staying conscious; her arm trembled and she felt her elbow joint tear. She refused to die. Chokes escaped her already blue lips and her eyes turned red, blood ran down her neck as the bowstring cut deep; the world blurred until her slender fingers finally grazed the hilt of her knife. With every last ounce of energy, she forced herself closer until she felt the cold handle in the palm of her hand – recharging her batteries. The smirk on her attacker's face was replaced by sheer terror as she reached up and drove the knife through their right eye, entering the brain.
The cannon sounded as hot sticky blood burned her cold and calloused skin. With the pressure on her neck removed she could finally breathe, the clammy arena air caught in her throat, making her cough. She couldn't fight the grin that appeared on her bloodied face.
"You should have killed me quickly." She smirked.
The bath was freezing when Quinn finally brought her head above the water. Breathlessness always brought back that one memory; she couldn't complain as it was one of the more pleasant ones but she just wished she could forget all together. Goosebumps glittered her pale skin as she wrapped herself in a cotton towel, Quinn was always cold. Physically and mentally, so much so her fellow victors had nicknamed her the Ice Queen.
As she made her way to her closet, her damp feet padding on the marble floor, she thought about her fellow victors. Quinn, as a rule, never got close to anyone after the fate she forced onto her family – she wouldn't allow anyone else to die for her – but she had always had a special bond with Johanna Mason from District 7. She may even go as far as to call her a friend. The two female victors had an understanding, don't get close but have each other's backs, and it worked well for them. They would share a drink and the latest news whenever they were both in The Capitol but they would never allow themselves to get attached. The District 5 girl had also run into Haymitch Abernathy from 12 a handful of times, they had always shared a mutual respect for one another and she had always been on his Christmas card list. Then there was Finnick Odair. Quinn loathed the victor from District 4. She always seemed to be unfortunate enough to run into him whenever she was in The Capitol and each time he cemented her feelings towards him by being his overbearing, flirty and generally obnoxious self. Quinn couldn't see why the women of Panem were so fascinated, in her opinion, he was nothing more than a pretty face with whitened teeth.
She imagined that she would be seeing them all relatively soon as she dressed for the Reaping. A black dress seemed to be the appropriate attire for a death sentence. The young girl knew that she would be back in the arena as she was the only able bodied female victor and if her name wasn't chosen then she would have to volunteer, the sliver of morality she still had dictated it. But Quinn made herself a promise as she pinned her blonde hair up – she was not going to die in that arena.
The peacekeepers led the District 5 victors to the Justice Building like lambs to the slaughter. The townspeople cheered as they saw their local celebrities lining up beside the two glass bowls on the steps of the building. Quinn's facial expression was void of emotion unlike her companions who were either smiling and waving or crying their hearts out. Pathetic.
Ophelia Fontaine, the escort for 5, stepped up to the podium and began her introductions. The already tall woman wore ridiculously high heels and her lettuce green hair and candy pink dress with puffed out shoulders assaulted Quinn's eyes and her vivacious voice battered Quinn's eardrums. The woman was the epitome of Capitol life and her naivety was nauseating but the victor from 5 had to admit that the woman did care about the tributes that she fattened up and led to their deaths.
"Ladies first!" Ophelia squeaked and clapped her hands together before selecting a piece of paper with a mouse-like gloved hand. "The female tribute from District 5 is…Porter Millicent Tripp!"
"I volunteer as tribute." Quinn immediately spoke as she stepped forward without a thought. The crowd gasped and some protested, the girl frowned as she had never realised the impact that she had had on their lives but in that moment she realised that perhaps she wasn't as alone as she had thought and that was dangerous. Porter smiled at Quinn gratefully, she had been her mentor during her games and had mentored alongside her in recent years. There was no way that the older woman would have survived these games, she had obtained a spinal injury on the last day of her games and was required to use a neck brace, the beauty was an excellent model but she would have died during the initial bloodbath.
"Very well, the female tribute for District 5 – Quinn Larkin!" the green haired woman chirped, "Now onto the boys…The male tribute for District 5 is Griffin Ramsey!"
A dark-haired man in his late 40s stepped forward. Quinn stood with a stony expression as the escort shouted their names one final time. She turned on her heel and immediately entered the Justice Building followed by Griffin, Ophelia and a number of peacekeepers. She refused to look at anyone as she made her way to the train.
The train journey was fairly quick; District 5 was relatively close to The Capitol as it provided all the power to the city. Quinn maintained her silent resolve, only answering questions that were addressed to her. Ophelia had spent the time gushing about the new training facilities and tribute centre. She warned the defiant girl to smile as the train pulled into the station.
As the doors slid open with a hiss the tributes were nudged out into the crowd. Flashes blinded Quinn as she plastered a smile on her face and waved to the crowd. It was completely against her principals but she refused to let Snow think that he was getting to her. The crowd chanted her name and some threw flowers, Ophelia placed her hand on the smaller girl's shoulder to guide her through the cameras.
Once they had safely navigated the jungle of neon colours and flashing lights the victors from District 5 and their escort entered the tribute centre. It was large and very metallic, very futuristic Quinn thought. As she moved through the centre and made her way to the lift she passed some of the other victors – all of whom nodded at her in respect. She smiled in return and entered the lift with her team.
Each District pair were housed on the floor that corresponded with their number. As the victors from 5 entered their living space, they went their separate ways. Quinn locked herself in her room with a file on all of the other tributes, although she had known most of the victors personally for a number of years, she wasn't familiar with their fighting styles and if she was going to survive then she needed to know their strengths and their weaknesses better than she knew her own.
Haymitch had the exact same idea as the female victor from 5 and had prepared a presentation for Katniss and Peeta to talk about potential allies and strategies. He rolled his eyes at Katniss as she was her usual uncooperative self. No wonder people don't like her. This year his tributes were dealing with experienced, trained killers and they were the fresh meat so he wanted to make sure they were prepared.
"Cashmere and Gloss, brother and sister – District 1. They won back to back games, Capitol favourites, lots of sponsors so they will be lethal. And the other half of the Career pack, Brutus and Enorbaria"
"What's with her teeth?" Katniss asked with a frown.
"She had them filed into fangs so that she could rip peoples' throats out."
"She's committed I'll give her that." Peeta commented.
"Wiress and Beetee – not fighters but brilliant and weird, real tech savvy! He won his games by electrocuting six tributes at once." Haymitch moved onto the next tributes, District 6. "Morphlings masters of camouflage, basically won their games by hiding until everyone else was dead, self-medicating ever since which I applaud, not a threat."
He swiftly moved onto the next tribute: "Finnick Odair right?" Katniss asked.
"Yes. He won his games at fourteen, youngest ever, extremely humble."
"You're kidding?"
"Yes I'm kidding." Haymitch scoffed in amusement, "He's a peacock, a total preener but he's the Capitol darling, they love him here. Charming, smart and very skilled in combat especially in water."
"What about weaknesses?" Peeta asked as he leant forward in interest.
"One. Mags. She volunteered for Annie, Mags was his mentor and basically raised him, if he's trying to protect her in any way it exposes him."
"A guy like that has to know that she's not gonna make it and when it really comes down to it he won't protect her." Katniss interrupted, insensitively.
"Well Katniss, I just hope when she goes she goes quickly. She's actually a wonderful lady." Haymitch retorted, his tone softened as he thought of the older lady. Katniss looked down briefly, in what could be assumed as guilt, before Haymitch continued. "And that brings me to Quinn Larkin – District 5. Favours a bow and arrow but is precise with any weapon she is given. She's ruthless and calculated. The Capitol love her, despite her best efforts and she is probably the biggest threat."
"Weaknesses?" Peeta asked again.
"None." Haymitch replied and smirked as Katniss finally took an interest, "She doesn't play by the rules and it cost her everything so she keeps everyone and everything at arm's length. You need her on your side but it won't be easy and you'll have competition from the others who have known her for years. But if you can get her on board, you won't have to worry about anything or anyone else, she's the most loyal person I've ever met."
Katniss listened intently to Haymitch's advice regarding the girl who couldn't be much older than herself and she was surprised to find herself intrigued. Quinn Larkin might have been the only tribute that Katniss would actively chase after; it seemed as though they may have a few things in common and if she could only grab her attention then she could potentially have a strong alliance and be able to keep Peeta safe and as much as it pained Katniss to admit, she couldn't do it alone.
Having brushed up on her knowledge of the other victors, Quinn sat twirling a knife between her fingers as she stared out of the window mindlessly. She was thinking about her first time in the Capitol. The change in culture had been a huge shock to the system and as devastated as she was to have been reaped, it had been washed out of her system by amazement. The style was something from another world, anything you could think of – they had a potion for it. The Capitol had astonished her merely a few years ago but that shine had been replaced by a dull cloud of oppression. The more time Quinn spent here, the more she noticed. She was lucky in District 5, it was one of the wealthier districts but there were people in the poorer Districts who owned one pair of tattered shoes and threadbare clothes and the people of The Capital complained that they had too many outfits to choose from, they wasted fabric on extra bows or added length. There were people starving in the poorer Districts and the people of The Capitol were drinking potions to make themselves sick so that they could eat more! Quinn grew angrier as her thoughts spiralled out of control, suddenly a thud knocked her back to reality.
Griffin watched with widened eyes as the girl's expression grew dark and she unconsciously thrust her knife through the wooden windowsill on which she sat.
"You doing okay?" The older man asked her cautiously as she snapped out of her mind and stared at the imbedded knife.
"Yeah. Fine. You?"
"As well as can be expected…I was wondering, are we going to be allies in there?"
"Well I'm not going to kill you; I just hope you return the favour." Quinn answered honestly. Griffin smiled and held out a hand for her to shake before she returned her gaze to the window.
"Deal."