Chapter Three: The Betrayed

Kieran

I'm waiting in a luxurious room. It's filled with light blue furniture with seashells and starfishes on the fabric. It's what other districts would call a typical District 4 room. The chairs are really comfy, and I wonder what I'm waiting in here for. Finnegan and I were put in separate rooms, I don't know why. I can still hardly believe my District would betray me like this. Three thousand eight hundred and forty-two of them. I'd like to know who they are.

I see the door knob turn, and see my brothers Jonah and Seamus enter. I can only tell them apart because Jonah's face is more square while Seamus's is more round. My first question is, "Where's mom and dad?"

They exchange a glance. "Uh," Jonah says, "Mom and Dad weren't fit to come. They've gone into a state of... numbness, I guess you could say. They can't believe that you have to fight their best friends kid, and only one can come back."

"Oh," I spit. I'm upset that my parents don't even have the strength to say goodbye to me. "I bet they voted for me. I bet you did, too,"

"No!" Seamus says. "We would never put you in danger like that, Kier. We voted for that Kenneth and Caitlyn pair that almost beat you. So did Mom and Dad. They just don't like that their daughter is in the Games,"

"But... Mom was in the Games. She could help me," My voice was reduced to a whisper. "She was supposed to help me if this ever happened, but she's not,"

"She's comforting Dad, Kieran," Jonah says. "She did have some advice for you, though; don't trust anyone. Stick with Finnegan. He is to be your only ally."

I shake my head. "No," I say. "What if Finnegan and I are the only two left? I don't want that to happen,"

Seamus shrugs. "I doubt you will. And even if you are, the Gamemakers will have some sort of finale so that maybe another creature will finish you off,"

"Yeah, but they know we're best friends, so why not make the Games more interesting by having the two kill each other?" I growl.

Jonah comes up close to me. "Listen, Kier," He says. "I know you can do it. Just do what we stay and stick with Finnegan. You two will be fine. Eventually... one of you's gonna die, it's sick, I know, but..." He shakes his head and leans against the door.

"Just be strong. You're clever, a great hunter, and can probably win if you're thinking smart," Seamus says. "We believe in you, okay? So go out and show them what you're made of,"

Then, the Peacekeepers take them out, and the door shuts. Those were my only visitors. I begin to hate my District more than I hate the Capitol, which is saying something.

Finnegan

My only visitors were my father and Conan. They told me to protect Kieran, and stay with her. But that's obvious. She's like my little sister, so I have to protect her and stay with her. I know her weaknesses will hurt her in the arena. She can't stand the sight of blood, and she can get very clumsy if she's under pressure. Hopefully her and our strengths will outweigh our weaknesses.

My weaknesses? I will probably make a joke out of it all. I'll probably abandon Kieran in order to save myself. I'm selfish, I know that. But I hope I don't break my promise to Jonah and Seamus. They told me to promise I'd keep Kier save in the arena. I hope I will.

I'm led out of my room by Peacekeepers, and to the train station. There, the train headed towards the Capitol is stopped. Cameras swarm the station, and people bombard me with questions. I decide it's best to answer them, but the Peacekeepers only allow me to answer one.

"How does it feel to be in the arena with your best friend?" asks a bug-eyed reporter. I look him straight in the eye and answer, "Absolutely terrible,"

I know the Capitol's rigged the system. My father said so. He works in the Justice Building, and got a peak at the results before anyone else. Kenneth got a few more votes than I did, but the Capitol believed that since Kenneth and Kieran didn't get along, that it would be a bad show. So why not put the two best fishing, field and swimming partners in the District together?

But I couldn't tell Kieran that. Not now. I know she's already unstable because she can't believe her district would betray her, and this would unhinge her trust in Panem forever.

I board the train, and the Peacekeepers leave. The train immediately takes off after that. I look around, panicking. Where's Kieran? They couldn't leave with out her, could they?

Thayer pops into the compartment I'm standing in. "What're you waiting for?" He asks. "Come on, we're waiting for you," He leads me a few compartments down to a restaurant-type compartment. Kieran and Cavan are sitting down, quietly talking. I see Cavan's trying to calm Kieran down.

I take a seat beside Thayer and across from Cavan. Cavan smiles weakly at me. "Hello, Finnegan Hughes," he says. His voice is somewhat of a whisper. His sea-green eyes stare into me. They contrast with his blondish-red hair. "I'm Cavan, your mentor for this year. I'm sorry you were voted. I'm here to make you win,"

Kieran looks out into the distance. Her eyes are glazed over, and if I didn't see her breathing, I would've thought her dead. "Nice to meet you, uh, Cavan," I say. "Do you have any tips for us now?"

"Not really," Cavan answers. "I was just trying to calm down Kieran here, she's very nervous," He lightly shakes Kieran. "Kieran, it's going to be alright. You're not in the arena right now, you're safe in a train,"

"Off to the Capitol," she answers, and to my surprise, a smile forms on her lips. "The Capitol,"

"I think she's going insane," I whisper. "Kier, it's okay, I'm here. You're going to be alright,"

Suddenly, her eyes return back to normal and she stares at me. "Oh, hi Finnegan," she says. It's like nothing happened.

"Kieran, are you okay?" I ask.

"Never better," she replies.

We eat our lunch in silence. The lunch is probably the nicest I'll ever have, with fancy herbs, spices and sauces sprinkled on the fish and meat. The soup is extravagant. When we finish our lunch, Thayer leads us to our compartments. Mine is right next to Kieran's, but I don't get to see Kieran's. My compartment has a sea-blue bed with a television in the front. There's a drawer for my clothes (although I've brought none) and a bathroom. Overall, it's a very nice room.

A few minutes later, Thayer pops in. "Hello, Finnegan," he says cheerfully. "Enjoying the stay?"

"Yes, thanks," I say.

"Okay, well," Thayer begins. "There's a program on TV that's going to be on in five minutes. It'll showcase the Reapings. You may want to check it out, to see who you should watch for," He pauses. "Cavan and Kieran are watching it in the TV compartment, if you want to join,"

"Okay," I say.

Kieran

Thayer and Cavan are sitting on chairs either side of me. I ignore Finnegan as he sits next to me on the couch. He's probably smiling goofily, making a joke of it all. The thing is, I don't want to be allies with Finnegan. Sure, we work great together, but honestly, I don't want to be sticking around when he dies. Or, I don't want him around when I die. I want to make sure that at least one of us make it home.

"Hey, Kieran, you feeling better?" Finnegan asks. I can feel everyone staring at me.

No, I want to say. No, I'm not feeling better. I'm about to watch twenty-three tributes die. One of them may be me, or you. I don't want to be here. I can't trust anyone anymore. But all I say is, "Fine, thanks,"

Finnegan looks at me strangely, but I ignore him. I'm not usually like this. I'm usually optimistic about the Games. Hell, my mom's been preparing me for these my whole life, basically. She taught me how to fish, run, jump, swim, survive the brutal heat and freezing cold... but she never mentally prepared me. And that's my biggest weakness.

Suddenly, the TV flicks on and two announcers appear. I recognize them immediately. One is Kupper Sandaw, the official announcer of the Hunger Games. He's strange; with magenta hair, eyebrows, and blush. His eyes are a bright pink. The other is the Head Gamemaker, Lavinka Shuyrl. She has light, green hair and bright orange eyes. Her hair is cut into different lengths, which gives a startling effect.

"Hello, ladies and gentlemen! Tonight, we will be showing the results of the Quarter Quell. They are showcased like Reapings," Kupper begins to explain the Quarter Quell, even though we were all required to watch. "This year, Districts were required to vote for their tributes, even the children." The children just selected photos of who they thought were the strongest tributes. I bet some voted for me, because I taught a class at school how to fish. "And, here are the results..."

Instead of showing Reapings, like they usually do, the program is just showing the names, district, gender, age, and how many votes they got. District One shows up first. There are two pictures of a boy and a girl. They look like beasts. The boy has sturdy shoulders, jet-black hair, and bright yellow eyes. I see that the rich Districts are also in touch with Capitol styles. His name is Velvet Chartruse. The girl's name is Pillow Greatta, and she has long, blonde hair. However, she isn't pretty. She has hulking shoulders, a large waist, and beefy arms and legs. In fact, I think she's bigger than Velvet. They look dangerous.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Finnegan jotting down notes.

Next, District 2's tributes appear. They're both significantly smaller than District 1's, but I can tell they're dangerous, just looking in their eyes. The girl's name is Katarana, and she has bright blue eyes and dark hair. Freckles dot her nose. Her face is twisted into a sick smirk that says, "I can kill you, watch me," The boy next to her is small, but deadly looking. He has spiky blonde hair and a muscular frame. He has a sneer on his face, and his eyebrows are arched down in an expression of hatred. I know to watch out for these two, as well.

As usual, District 3's tributes look like geeks, but I know they're probably smart. I doubt they'll be a huge threat, though.

Next, Finnegan and I pop up. We actually have the same picture; split in half. It was taken on the beach at sunset, after we won our fishing competition. I have a huge smile on my face, holding up my fish. The fish is cropped out, though, and it looks like I'm punching the air for fun. Finne looks dumb; he's cheering in his picture. I hold back a laugh. The other Districts are probably categorizing us as easy kills right away.

District 5 and 6's tributes don't look particularly dangerous. However, District 7's tributes look lethal. In their pictures, they're both holding axes. The boy, Odysseus Mordon, looks like he could tower over the District One tributes. His muscles are huge. The girl, Helena Rashal, looks just the same. Their eyes are both a dark green. I see Finnegan write them down as "dangerous".

The farming districts, 9 through 11, look pathetically skinny. I know 9's a pretty well-off District, so I remind myself not to write off District 9's tributes immediately. District 12's tributes look oppressed and sad, as usual.

The TV switches back to Kupper and Lavinka. "So, Lavinka, what do you think of this year's tributes?"

"Well, it's obviously going to be a good match. Remember, these are the strongest tributes in the Districts, and that's why they were voted on. But I think we should watch out for District 7's pair. They look like they could pull a fast one," She answers.

Kupper nods. "Yes, it will be a very interesting show. And what do you think about that pair for District 4, the best friends?" My heart skips a beat, and I feel Finnegan clutch my arm. "How do you think that will work out?"

"It's going to be a very sad ending for the two of them," Lavinka answers slowly.

Yes, and that it will be, I think.