The Living Games
A/N Here we are again! This is a bump in the road for our favorite group! This will be the storm, I guess. Then what's going to happen next will be the storm getting bigger, and bigger, until you've got storm so big no one will survive. Ha ha, the fun! Hmm, remember that time something happened when you expected something else to happen? No? Okay, well that was very vague. Mhmkay, well, think back to the Reaping. Lol, that's all I can say, sorry! Well, that assumption is gonna come up soon. Along with a time lapse, because life is going to get boring, and I'm sure you don't want to hear about every detail. If you noticed, I changed Aubrey's age to 14 because I felt like skipping two years was a bit much. The most they've ever skipped in the book (not counting the epilogue) was six or seven months. So she's 14 now, but Zane's still 15, and Arianna and Josh are still 16. Without further ado, here comes the (boom! Sorry, I'm such a weirdo) climax. Well, one of them. I know there's only (usually) supposed to be one, but who ever does things like they're supposed to be done? Well, except Betty McCloud before the institute. Oh my, I'm mixing fandoms again. Sorry, I've just been feeling really into The Girl Who Could Fly lately, especially since Victoria Forester waited 7 years to make the sequel. Sorry bought that (How many times am I gonna say sorry?). Okay! Story time! How did this get a whole paragraph longer than it's supposed to be?
Chapter Eleven: No Amount of Mist Could Change My Mind
Almost a week had passed since Arianna had come home. Things were beginning to settle down, and people we starting to stop treating them like outcasts.
Aubrey yawned and rolled over, finally used to the idea of being rich. Well, maybe used to was a bit generous, but she didn't fall on the floor again like she had every day before that.
School was canceled the whole week, so it wouldn't be back again until Monday. Thank goodness.
She went downstairs to find a note lying on the kitchen table.
Going out to shop. Be back later. Cady is with us. Go get some fruit for a pie, and no inviting boys into the house!
—Mother & Father
She snorted.
Okay . . . so her parents weren't going to be home. That would be the perfect time for some Merchant girls to sneak their boyfriends in their house.
Aubrey didn't really see the point in sneaking someone into the house when she could just bring them in and no one would care. But some time with Zane would be nice, and it was hard not hearing his jokes and stupidity all the time.
After eating breakfast, Aubrey went upstairs into the entertainment room and turned on the TV. It was boring. Just old games replays, and Victors being interviewed. Plus weird Capitol dramas about damsels in distress. She really didn't need anymore drama or damsels in her life.
She rolled her eyes and left the room.
She was bored and she had nothing to do. Her parents took Cady with them, and who knows where Arianna went off to.
She groaned and got ready for the day. She guessed she was going to be stuck in the house bored all day, so she just put on some navy blue sweatpants, and a matching jacket.
Aubrey groaned again when she remembered she had to go get some fruit. Looked like she was going to have to go outside after all
Might as well take care of that now.
She stood up and left her room, then she realized she put the jacket on backwards so the hood was on her chest.
Fuck it.
She shrugged and left the house.
Little did she know what was about to happen.
A cool breeze ran through the district, warming up the summer air.
Aubrey sighed and ran her hands through her hair. She hadn't gotten to see Zane since their fun day in the meadow with their siblings. He was a little behind on hunting because of the Peacekeepers, but they had finally left the district so it was hunting time for him. Unfortunately for her, hunting time meant no Zane time. She missed him, and she just wanted to see him. She only had to wait until school started again on Monday, then she'd jump on him and attack him with kisses.
She rolled her eyes. She was starting to sound lovesick and clingy.
She walked a little faster, anxious to hurry up with shopping so she could go home. The cool breeze was quickly turning into a chilly wind, and she was glad she was wearing what she was.
Once she finished picking up a basket of fruit, she hurried home. She was in the middle of Town, so it'd still be a bit of a walk.
She was almost to the edge of Town when a cold, wet wind swept through the air, chilling her to the bone and making her shiver. She pulled her jacket tighter to her, but it didn't help much. The she saw it.
A white, milky mist was seeping into the air. It was almost like you could see the wind. A bunch of people came by to check it out. One boy sniffed it, and exclaimed that it smelt like peaches and spices.
More people started sniffing it, swaying and giggling. Soon, the mist was everywhere. Between the shops, down the roads, high in the air. Aubrey didn't know why, but she got a feeling she didn't want to take a whiff of this smoke, or whatever it was.
She pulled her jacket off, shivering hard, and stuffed it over her nose.
She swore she even saw some Peacekeepers holding tubes that looked like giant hoses, but it was pouring out gas.
She started running. To where, she didn't know
She found herself in the Seam. The poor, skeletal framed kids were sniffing the air and laughing, like they were extremely intoxicated, A.K.A her father.
She turned around and ran towards her home. Her mother said she was going with her father to shop somewhere and they brought Cady, so it'd just be her big sister home. That's why she was surprised to see her sister walking through town and the mist, not even affected or surprised.
"Ari? What's going on?" she asked when she reached her.
Her sister looked grim and dark with the cold hair whipping her hair around. The mist was flying all around her, but she didn't even crack a smile.
"I—It's the punishment. He wasn't lying! Aubrey, hold your breath. That jacket won't last for long. Where's mum? And where's dad? Oh my gosh! Where's Josh and Zane?"
She started running towards the Seam before Aubrey could respond.
"Zane's in the woods hunting," Aubrey said, keeping in pace with Arianna. "I think Josh is with him. The mist—will it reach the woods?"
Arianna turned to look at her. "No. He said it would spread too thin, and get stuck between the trees. As long as they're not to close to—"
"He? Who's he? What's this mist, and why aren't you affected?"
Arianna stopped and smiled with none of her usual humor. "President Snow. That bastard. The mist, it's made to make you forget! He told me he'd be sending it out to all the districts, making them forget that—"
"Aubrey!" Arianna was cut off by Zane's yell. She turned around to see Zane and his brother running towards them.
"Weird fog . . . we ran . . . didn't . . . reach," Josh wheezed.
"Come on," Arianna yelled over the wind. "Put your shirt over your nose and come on!"
They both knew better than to question Arianna ever since she came back, so they ran alongside with them.
When they reached their house, they slammed the door and locked all the locks, then took their clothes away from their noses and breathed heavily.
"What was—" Josh started.
"Come upstairs," Arianna cut him off.
What was it with all the cutting off today?
They ran upstairs into one of the rooms Aubrey had noticed earlier. It was a loft with three four-person couches, little light, and fancy curtains on the walls. Inside this room, Aubrey felt . . . safe. Like the impending feeling of being watched was gone.
"We'll be safe here. It's the only room in the house that doesn't have cameras."
Josh opened his mouth.
"If you cut me off, Josh, I swear," Arianna threatened.
He closed his mouth
"That's what I thought. Anyway, come here. I'll explain it to you. Or, what I know, at least."
They all sat down on the couch, with Zane on the end, Aubrey right next to him, Arianna next to her, and Josh on the other end.
It was silent for a few minutes.
"Well?" Josh asked, sounding impatient.
Arianna took a deep breath.
"My victory wasn't supposed to happen. The Capitol hadn't put the mines there to help us. And I used it to my advantage. President Snow called the meeting and showed up himself. He told me that he would get rid of my mistake, and make the people forget it ever happened. The boy from District Five was going to be made the winner, and no one would know I won."
What?
How could anyone make everyone just . . . forget that her sister had won? That for once, their district had pulled through and actually won a fucking game for once? All that hard work for . . . what? Nothing?
But it was so easy. Just a snap of a finger and here comes the gas.
"What if people stayed inside and avoided the gas?" Aubrey asked.
Arianna shook her head. "Peacekeepers made sure everyone was affected. It wasn't as bad as it could've been here, because most people thought it was food. The gas caused hallucinations just for reassurance."
"But . . . how come you weren't affected?" Zane asked.
"Anyone who's had intense Capitol surgery won't be tricked by the gas. I'm talking bring people back from the dead. So basically most of the Victors and maybe a few Capitol citizens. The Capitol has advanced technology, so it builds up a tolerance to certain things. It should slowly wear off in a few years, like forty to fifty, but by then, people will either be dead, or be so convinced they won't need a mist to tell them. "
The horrible thing about it, though, was that it made perfect sense. The perfect plan. It just shows the length that Snow will to protect his identity.
Which would make it even harder for them to beat him.
Aubrey sighed and ran a hand through her short hair. Why couldn't President just die? He should just come to District Twelve so Aubrey could slice him up with her knives.
" . . . Okay. That's . . . nice to know," Josh said.
"You just found out that no one would even remember that I won, and all you can says is 'that's nice to know'?"
Josh just shrugged.
Wait a minute . . .
"If you're no longer a Victor, then wouldn't that mean we have to move out?"
Arianna shook her head.
"President Snow said he would make sure to get the word around that they were testing out the house for him or something. He said it wouldn't kick us out, and he's not heartless." She snorted. "Yeah, right. Anyway, we can keep the money we have, and we'll still get a Victor's winnings, since I earned it."
"Could be worse," Zane said.
"Don't see how. Do you know what this means? Everything we did was for nothing. No one even remembers! What are we gonna do?" Aubrey exclaimed.
"Nothing," Arianna said, glaring at Josh when he opened his mouth. "We can't do anything now. We're already walking that fine line between life and death. I'll do anything at this point to protect you guys. The good thing is, I won't have to mentor anymore. I can stay here with you guys. But one of you might get reaped. We need to be prepared."
They all agreed. They planned out a schedule for training, and by the time their parents came home, Zane and Josh had already left out the back window. Aubrey grinned sheepishly when she realized she didn't follow her parent's rules.
Aubrey went to bed that night with a lot on her mind. If President wanted to go, they could go. But he'd fight as dirty as he needed to, and her four person army was nothing compared to what he had. This was President Snow we were talking about. He could crush them like a bug.
She shook her head to clear it and quickly fell into a dreamless sleep.