A WEEK BEOFRE THE GAMES:
Battery James' POV:
"Battery are you there? I need you here!" calls Fuse as he crashes around his office, I sigh, for such a genius he can sure be a prat.
"What's wrong?" I shout back though to his office, I'm in the middle of typing up some notes from a meeting I only half understood and it's hurting my brain, putting me in a bad mood.
"Come here now" he orders and I mash the save key before heading into his office. He's crouched down over by a filing cabinet and throwing my perfectly organised files absolutely everywhere, this is going to take me hours to fix and I know he won't help me.
I sigh again, I m not in the mood for Fuse's personality today, him playing boss and me following his every command, yes it's a good job and yes he secured it for me, but sometimes it becomes just too much for me to handle.
"What on earth are you looking for" I snap,
"That proposal, for the new projector system, I had it just here and it needs to go to the capitol to get approved" he continues to throw paper everywhere.
"I sent it yesterday Fuse" I tell him calmly - tell me again which of us is supposed to be the genius here, the one with the high paid job at just seventeen.
"Really" he stared at me with a look of relief.
"No I threw it in the trash" I roll my eyes "yes I sent it on the first train yesterday morning, I got an e-message just thirty minutes ago that it had be signed for."
Fuse wraps his lanky arms around me and laughs "what would I do without you Bat?" he asks.
"I have no idea boss" I reply with a half smile "shall I go now"
"Yes yes" he says letting go and waving his hand, ah back to superior Fuse are we now mate. He walks over to his desk and pulls out some clean sheets of paper, which he begins scribbling ferociously on; I guess he has another idea.
As I continue to type up words that make no sense about the inner working of one of Fuse's new inventions, I wondered what it would be like in his head.
Yes he's smart, his parents pulled him from school at twelve years old as he was already so far ahead of the others it was just wasting his time. They found him a job here at the capitol's main design labs for the creation of new technology ('CONT labs' for short). When I left school at fifteen after discovering I'd learnt everything my teachers could tell me about Panem and the jobs available for a mid intelligence boy in District Three, Fuse had already risen to the post of head developer and was in the position to hire me as his secretary.
Of course I have to stick out this job, the pay is good and I share it with my family meaning we can afford to eat and pay our rent for the small two four room apartment we live in.
I honestly don't know where my family would be without him.
Time passes slowly as I continue to type slowly ensuring there isn't a single mistake in the document, it takes a couple more hours but finally I finish it.
Just as I'm wondering if I want to brave Fuse's office again to get to fixing the mess he's made the phone buzzes and I grab it.
"Fuse Zapa's Office"
"Battery darling its Fuse's Mom, is he free?"
"I'll just see" I reply before hitting the hold key and connecting to Fuse's phone, "it's your mom," I tell him "Do you want to talk?"
"Urm... yeah go on then" he says and I connect the call through, listening in through his thin-ish door I can tell it isn't a happy conversation. Its loud and shoutey and includes phrases like 'why is this my fault', 'I only do what you tell me to' and 'why do I have to fix this?'. It finally ends with the line being cut off from Fuse's end.
Battery comes out of his office and groans before leaning on my desk. "Guess what he's done now" he cries and I shrug.
"Who your brother?"
"Yes Volt, he ran away from school and they found him hiding at Huxley's house."
"huh?" I ask "why?"
"Because the little brat told Huxley that he also hated me and you know how Huxley has been poisoning his mind. Now he's decided he's moving back to those depressing apartment blocks with his older brother!"
I don't mention the obvious that I also lived in the 'depressing apartment blocks'. But I could see his problem, ever since his older brother had left home complaining of the way that the family all treated Fuse like he'd won the flipping Hunger Games or something.
Of course his obnoxious superiority complex didn't help one bit.
"How irritating" I sympathise "Why don't you head over there later and talk to Volt, I'm sure he'll come home if you ask him too. Maybe take little Alba with you"
"Volt's too much like Huxley, a stubborn little kid, he'll never come home now. You can be very dumb Battery, do you know that?" he scoffs as he marches back into his office.
I groan "if you say so boss"
Byte James' POV:
Battery comes in from work exhausted he collapses on out threadbare couch and groans "what's up bro" I ask as I bounce onto the couch beside him, the creaking of the springs tells me that wasn't the best idea.
"f'ing Fuse as usual" he groans
"Battery language" calls our mother from the kitchen
"Tell me all about it big bro" I say as he starts a pretty usual rant on how his best friend/boss has been an insufferable little prat today.
"And then" he exclaims at the end of a particularly long diatribe "and then he goes and calls me dumb!"
I chuckle "quit then"
"Ha" he guffaws "as if I could, you know we need every cent Byte"
"Of course I do bro" I reply reaching up to his head and ruffling his hair in a way that I know irritates him greatly.
He barely has time to swipe my hand away before a tap on the door grabs my attention.
"Come in calls" mom from the kitchen, at the door is Pexey my best friend "You free Byte" she asks quietly "I have something to show you"
"You mind mom?" I ask "I'll be back in time for dinner"
"Yes sure love" she sighs, "but try not to get messy, you need that dress clean for..." she pauses "next week"
I nod understanding and Pexey grabs my hand and pulls me out of my front door. We rush along the great corridors of apartment block Q floor 6 until we reach the stairs, I expect her to lead me downstairs but we head up instead all the way up to floor 14, the roof.
We come to a stop by a small maintenance shed that's been untouched for at least as long as we've been using it as a hideout, which is about as long as I can remember
"What have you got to show me then?" I ask, she smiles and pulls out a tightly folded sheet of paper from her pocket laying it out on the floor she pulls over a few chunks of rubble to secure it down.
"That" she says we look at the sheet for a while it's a technical drawing of some kind. It's more complex than the ones we've studied at school though and I struggle to piece it together.
"What is it?" I ask "why are you showing it me?"
"Just look" she says her intense brown eyes staring at me "look at it" she stabs the sheet for emphasis.
I look at it, firstly assuming it may have been one of the sound systems we we're studying in school that week, but Pexey isn't one to bring school work home with her. She is the type of girl however to not let a preoccupation go and this week it's her dad, specifically his top secret job in the government labs. Oh and the strange company he's been keeping lately, I've told her to leave it a hundred times, her dad has a mean streak and she should't be angering him.
"Where did you get this?" I ask.
"Found it, you know what it is yet?" she grins wickedly
"I can't help but feel that you already do"
"I have a suspicion but I need a second opinion, please just think!" she begs me.
I look at the drawing and see some kind of space to add something to make it work; it seems to be hand held with a single point of contact to operate it. There's also some kind of propulsion system and re-loading barrel, like a ...
"oh"
"It is isn't it" Pexey whisper "I knew it, it's a gun, a peacekeepers gun"
"We shouldn't have this" I say "if they found it we'd be dead. Why do you even have this? It's obviously from your dads work"
"I found it in his desk draw" she whispers "if it was so dangerous why would he even bring it home?"
"Why did you take it then Pexey?" I retort I'm freaking out a bit now.
"I don't know" she exclaims "it was just there and I grabbed it. Should we give it back?"
"No then they'll know you had it!"
"Destroy it then!"
"No!"
"Why not, what else can we do with it? Oh gosh Byte I don't think, I didn't know!"
"No no we can deal with this" I say, I take a few deep breaths and start to panic "we're going to die aren't we Pexey"
"I don't know" she screams "you're the clever one, help me fix this"
I screw my eyes closed "you took it from your dad right?"
"Right, it was in his work bag"
"we need to sneak it back then"
"But how, he's home now, he usually spends some time talking with those weird men in the kitchen before dinner"
"Where does he keep his bag then?"I ask, trying to formulate a plan.
"At the back of the kitchen" she answers "he always leaves it in the same place, just tonight it was open."
I grab the plans and fold them back up into a small square "let's go" I say as I pocket them and head for the door to the main building.
We slowly walk down the stairs till we return to floor 6 and tiptoe along the corridor until we reach our own doors, facing each other in the middle of the long corridor.
"you ready" I whisper Pexey nods and turns the handle. We slide slowly into their main room, which like ours is used as a kitchen, living space and sometimes workspace, to the back are three more doors, two bedrooms and a bathroom. We shut the door behind us and I look to the kitchen table, around it sits Pexey's father and three other men, the ones Pexey calls weird and my mother would call 'bad news'. Behind them at the kitchen counter stands Pexey's mom, keeping quiet as usual.
"Where are they Pexey?" her father asks standing up from the kitchen table, he is joined by the three other men, all of them tall and scary. I pull the plans from my pocket and hand them over. All plans made in the last half hour forgotten instantly.
"We didn't know" I say as I pass it over "we're so so sorry" Pexey had begun to cry.
"I'm sorry daddy" she weeps "please forgive me"
"You girls know what this is?" one of the men grunts.
We both shake our heads.
"You girls are smarter than that" laughs Pexey's dad, scaring me to my core "what is it?"
"A gun" Pexey squeaks "I shouldn't have took it I'm really sorry"
"Byte you should go home now" her father orders and I open the door and leave, shutting it behind me. Pausing to collect my breath I listen out for the sounds of a beating. No such noises come however and although I remain pretty sure that Pexey may have a new bruise tomorrow, I return home and eat my dinner with my Mother and brother with a smile on my face.
Syrio Flower's POV:
The first thing that jumps out from district three beside the dull grey skies that seem to be a constant there is the stark contrast of its two mentoring victors to the left by the district mayor stands Gadge Jobs and to her left is Flash Dublin, one a recluse who is singlehandedly bringing up three, no scrap that two sons, I remember that Gadges' youngest died in the games last year, stupid kid was the second to go after wandering into a snakes nest. I liked those snakes, one of the few prideful memories I have of last year's games.
Flash on the other hand is still milking his every moment as a victor as much as he can, living life in the 'flash lane' I believe he calls it. He's never been very good at mentoring though.
"Boys first then" announces their escort a tall man by the name of Elvio who wears glasses without lenses in an attempt to appear intelligent. He reaches into the pall and in one quick movement pulls out a slip.
"Fuse Zapa" he calls there is a murmur in the crowd as a boy emerges from the middle of the crowd.
"This can't be right" the boy says "this can't be right, I'm important, I was safe right?" he is still muttering as he reaches the stage.
"Any volunteers?" asks Elvio with a cheerful grin. There is silence.
"But.. But I'm important" whispers the boy again his face frozen wide-eyed in shock.
"Girls then" Elvio continues to hold his grin as he grabs a name from the top of the bowl "Pexey Bones" a girl emerges from the same part of the crowd looking terrified, she however remains silent; the only noise is a woman weeping somewhere.
No one volunteers for the girl either and a silent Pexey and shaking Fuse shake hands and I groan at the dullness of Three for a moment, such a downer between two brilliant districts.
Oh well I think as the bright sunshine of Four bursts onto my screen, the show must go on.