BOOM.
The all too familiar sound of the cannon rang out on the television screen. Corin sat on the edge of her seat. Her supper was left untouched on the table. She was far too nervous to eat.
There were only six tributes left now. Four Careers, a very young boy from District Nine, and of course, Johanna. God... Johanna looked so scared. She had spent the entirety of the Games running and hiding from the other tributes, but as the hours dragged on, Corin knew that Johanna was going to have to step out and fight soon. She couldn't go the entire games without some sort of confrontation. Not only that, but the Careers seemed to be growing weary, they wanted to end it. They'd been hunting down tributes all day, and Corin could do nothing but sit at watch as she knew the inevitable was going to happen. She was going to watch the woman she loved die right on the television screen.
Sure, they were only sixteen. They shouldn't know what love was. But Corin knew it from the moment she met Johanna. She'd never been with another woman before, and neither had Johanna but there was something so special about their bond. Johanna was a firecracker, to say the least, but she was soft and sweet around Corin and it was something very special to her. She was beautiful, she was sweet, and sure there was a ferocity about her but Johanna couldn't hurt a fly. Could she?
Corin watched intently, as a small stream of blood started to drip from her hands from gripping the wooden chair too hard. The pack of Careers was closing in on her. They were calling out her name, as if this were some kind of game for them. Johanna was hidden in a hole in one of the trees, her eyes were closed. The Careers were getting closer.
And closer.
"Johanna!" They called out, "Come out come out wherever you are!" Some of them were laughing. How could they be laughing right now? Corin's insides tightened up as they came within feet of Johanna's hiding spot. "We know you're here, so why don't we just make this quick?"
Johanna's eyes snapped open. There it was. The ferocity that Corin, and many other inhabitants of District Seven, was very familiar with. Johanna tensed. Then, with incredible speed, she lunged out of the bushes at the District Two male. Dug her axe right into his chest and yanked it out.
BOOM.
The District Two girl threw a blade at Johanna, who practically danced out of the way, and swung her axe upward right through the girl's neck. She stumbled backwards, gasping for air until.
BOOM.
Both of the District one tributes had fled into the forest by now. They had underestimated her. Not only could Johanna fight, but she had just proved how merciless she was. Nobody saw it coming. Especially Corin. She was left sitting in shock, mouth agape as she stared at the TV screen. She was in love with a ruthless killer...
"Open up, Mom."
Corin sat at the table spoon feeding her mother. Her mother seemed a little drowsy. She was pale, and so thin that her skin seemed to be sticking to her bones. One arm was missing a hand and the other was gone all together, as a result of a major accident she survived and the lumber mill. She was lucky to be alive, and lucky enough that one of her children decided to stick around and care for her. The rest of them left after the incident, and neither of the women had heard from them since.
"It tastes good, doesn't it?" Corin asked. Her mother nodded. "It's from the Capitol. Johanna gave some of her extra food to me. She said they give her enough to feed half the District."
"Pays to... be friends with a Victor... doesn't it?" Her mother chuckled, between labored breaths.
Corin stroked her mother's face, "I asked our neighbor to come and check on you in about an hour. I'm going to go visit her again in a little bit."
"You're always... visiting her. What do you two even... do all day?"
Corin didn't seem to know how to answer this question properly. She wanted to tell her mother the truth, but she knew she couldn't. "We just have a lot to talk about. You know... the Games and all." Her mother nodded. Corin used this opportunity to get out before any more questions were asked. She kissed her mother on the cheek. "I love you Mom."
With that, she left.
It was quite a walk to get from her house to Victor's Village. There were several people who resided in the area, all men plus Johanna. But it was pretty isolated from the rest of the District. Corin never really understood why. Perhaps because they knew that not many people would ever reside up there. District Seven wasn't exactly known for producing powerful tributes. No wonder Johanna spoke of being popular in the Capitol. She was one of the smartest tributes to play the game, and those people were absolutely blown away by her strategy.
Finally, she reached Johanna's grand new house, where she lived alone as her family preferred to live closer to the city. She knocked on the door.
After a few moments, it opened. But Johanna didn't answer as she had expected. Instead, a young man answered the door. He was very handsome, with light brown hair and piercing blue eyes. Corin had seen him around before, when Johanna's friends and family were being interviewed, he was one of them. Instantly, she felt something boiling inside of her. Jealousy, maybe?
"Is Johanna here?" Corin asked.
The boy looked behind him. That's when Corin saw several peacekeepers standing at attention in the hallway. What the hell was going on? "Yeah, she's just a little busy right now. Who are you?"
Corin tried not to act worried. Not in front of those peacekeepers, "I'm her friend. Corin. Who are you?"
"Also her friend. I'm Ryker, it's nice to meet you Corin."
"What's going on?" Corin felt herself start to panic. She hadn't felt like this since the last reaping, when Johanna's name was called. She remembered how desperately she wanted to volunteer in the other girl's place. But Johanna refused to let that happen. But this? This only spelled trouble. Something big was going on.
Just then, he walked out, led by the peacekeepers. Ryker jumped out of the way, and nodded in respect at the older man. Corin stumbled back, out of the way, shocked. The man smiled and nodded at her, in what seemed to be a genuine bit of kindness. But there was something so cold in the exchange, Corin could feel it.
What was President Snow doing in District Seven?
