"We are here but for a second, but our impact ripples through time."
―Neetal Parekh
The Game Master, Location Unknown
Panem is unhappy.
It is as the history books describe the times when the Hunger Games involved all of Panem's districts. District Zero is growing larger every day, but the President will not do what is necessary to stop it. The unrest will not end until either the rebels get what they demand or Panem stops them. The President has already shown that he is not going to do what needs to be done. He would rather deal with the problem as his ancestors did.
He will be the reason for Panem's downfall as President Snow was the reason for the Capitol's. He will be the one standing in the way of our nation's greatness. He will allow the rebels to ruin everything that the Hunger Games works to protect.
He will have to be subdued.
The people do not know much of me. I am the Game Master, the mysterious voice that appears on their television screens during the Hunger Games and disappears for months afterward. They do not know me by any other name, but many believe I am the master of much more than just games.
They are right. I am more influential than any individual or group in Panem. I control even the President, though he does not know this himself. I am the Game Master, but also much more than my simple title.
I can save Panem from the impending rebellion before it even has the chance to begin. I can ensure that District Zero does not erupt the way the other districts have in the past. I can maintain life as the citizens of Panem know it; as it should be.
There is only one man standing in my way, and that has never stopped me before. I will stop at nothing to protect my nation, and he will not be able to stand in my way. Not if he wants to keep his useless title and what little power it gives him.
My advisors tell me that there may be only years left before the rebels can gather their forces enough to make demands. I believe we may have less than that, but there is still time. I have already begun the process, but it has not been easy. Many of the past Victors have simply gone missing and not even I can locate them. The ones that we have found are in my possession, but there are too many still at large.
I must find my Victors and bring them home. I know they are the reason for this uprising. They have abused the lives we have given them outside of the reeking smells of District Zero. They have manipulated my people, made them join their reckless cause. My Victors have done so much to ruin the nation that has given them everything they could ever want.
For years Panem saw peace, but this is slowly draining from our districts. I know whom I need to find, the leaders of this so called rebellion that will threaten the prosperity of my nation. My own children, my Victors; they are the ones who have betrayed me even after all I have gifted them with.
I will not stand for this. I will crush this rebellion. I will save my nation and my people. Panem will see peace for hundreds of years past today. We will not be stripped of everything we have gained. We will not repeat our history.
I will simply not allow it.
"Bring in our newest addition," I whisper into the intercom in front of me. I get no answer but I am certain they heard me. My staff is top of the line, the most trusted of my people; they always hear me.
My door slides open several minutes later and I nod to the guards that enter. Herald Truly and Nolan Delores, two of my most trusted guards that have been in my service since the day they were eligible.
Between them is my visitor, a Victor from the 229th Hunger Games by the name of Segan Rooney. She will be twenty-two this year if I remember correctly, but she doesn't look a day over eighteen if you ask me. Her eyes were what drew me to her when her batch of tributes was chosen. I thought they would look lovely on television.
"Good evening, Miss Rooney," I say cordially. She is filthy, not at all how I would have released her into her new life. Her eyes, though, her eyes are as beautiful as I remember. She glares at me and I smile behind my mask.
One wouldn't expect me to have let her or my guards see me without a mask, would they? That would be a very unwise decision on my part. No one in all of Panem knows my identity and that is the reason I am still able to walk among my people. How I would hate to give up my monthly visits home.
I wave the guards in and they place Segan down into a plush chair that sits opposite to my desk. To her credit, she doesn't squirm or try to run away. I imagine she realizes that she has nowhere to go. After all, she doesn't even know where we are right now. None of my visitors ever come into my headquarters without a healthy dose of tranquilizer.
"I am looking for someone," I begin coyly. "I hoped you might help me in my search."
"I'm sure I couldn't," she responds dryly. "Though if I could I still wouldn't."
I laugh shallowly. "Now that's no way to talk to me after all I have done for you, dear. Don't you remember the last time we met?"
She visibly tenses. "How could I forget?"
"It was such fun, yes," I say, remembering the young girl that was brought to see me after her release. She was the only one in her arena to get out, killing a Gladiator with the same poison plant that had accidentally killed her ally. I asked her, as I always did, where she wanted to go. She chose to live in District Seven where she still had some family. Though, not after she spent a few nights here with me. "What could I do to make it worth your while?"
"Nothing," she says quickly, but I know she is lying. Everyone has their price and I am more than capable of paying hers. The District Zero children are simple minds, even after living in the districts for many years. She will tell me what I desire to know.
"Oh, I think I can offer you something that would make you realize I am not the villain here, my dear."
"There is nothing you can give me."
"I just want to know where they are. That's it, and then I will give you anything you ask for."
"I don't know," she stammers. "People change locations so often, and there are so many people. I've probably never met-"
"Apex and Discord," I say simply and her eyes widen. "I want to know where they are."
"If you have their code names already then why would you need to ask me where they are?"
"My people have been unable to locate them in the past three years, but I do have contacts that could give me these names. I will offer again- tell me where they are and I will give you anything you ask."
"My niece," she breathes after a few moments. "She needs surgery but my family can't afford it."
"That can be arranged," I smile. Like I said, simple minds. I would be willing to give so much more, but I have rarely had to. As much as they want to believe otherwise, my children want to help me. I have given them more than their real parents ever could.
"They're outside Zero," she whispers so softly that I almost have to lean in to hear her. "Underground."
I nod and continue to look at her, prompting her with my silence to say more. She does, her eyes flickering from side to side as if someone might come out and shoot her for what she is about to say.
"Outside of Sector C, some yards away from the fences. I don't know more than that. They could have moved; I haven't been there in a while and they didn't tell me the location when they brought me. I just recognized C."
"Excellent," I nod, typing the information into my wrist device even as she is speaking. How lucky of me to have picked one of the Sector C tributes to help me. "She may go. Ensure that her niece receives the necessary medical treatment."
Segan hangs her head as she is lead out, but she should be elated. She was able to get something wonderful for her family in exchange for such a minor piece of information. She will return to her life in District Seven and likely never be called on again. Many authority figures would hurt her for the information she just gave me, but not me. I would never hurt my children; they are far more valuable than anyone knows.
A/N: Here it is, the second out of three prologues that I will be publishing. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Today marks the halfway point for submissions. I haven't gotten many but I'm still going strong planning for this story hoping that I will actually be able to write it. If you didn't already know or forgot, the deadline for tribute submissions is Monday July 4th at 10PM EST. That leaves you about a week and a half as of this update.
Not much else to say, really. I'm excited for this story to really get going and hope I see more interest in it soon.