The Raven That Refused to Sing

The screams were horrifying. Smoke and gunfire burned her eyes and nose. Rivers of rain ran through her hair and down her nose. The storm refused to let up, and the riot was even worse.

Pandora twisted through alleys, dashing around corner after corner. The closer she moved, the clearer the chaos became. Shot after shot whistled through the air and echoed. Each time she heard the gunfire Pandora imagined the bleeding corpses falling like brittle leaves in autumn, corpses with familiar faces and teary eyes…but that's impossible, she tried to tell herself, everyone I love is safe. Everyone I care about can't be hurt. Not anymore, not after all I've sacrificed.

Her boots splashed through puddles. She quickly slipped the stolen gun into the belt of her trousers and pressed on. By now Jarvis would have informed the field communications officer she had escaped but Pandora didn't care. Her movements felt like someone else's now. Finnick had called her brave once. Sprinting towards the growing riot that's all Pandora could think of. She hadn't known it was a memory until it popped into her head, now it was all that Pandora could think about. Why? A voice at the back of her head wailed. Why is he gone?

The corners of her mouth drew downward. A part of her knew the answer to that question. Another part remembered broken glass and sad green eyes. She couldn't even remember what Finnick looked like, all she remembered were his eyes. Gone, those eyes whispered, gone forever.

She felt the fatigue of a headache coming on. Distorted memories always gave her a slice of pain in the skull. It was best to forget about the past. The present, she thought as a gunshot met a thunder's clap, Adric.

She bulled through a cloud of smoke and fragmented cement.

Once Pandora Sullivan had been a tribute, and then a victor, a model, a voice—now she was all those things and something else. Her faces changed with every passing day. They had tried to numb her heart and plant a monster in her brain. Or was the monster already there? Any moment she could break and betray her heart. More than anything Pandora wished she could find that bitter place born out of confusion and death, a place that compelled her to hate the Capitol…but there was black hole where that bitterness used to be. In a way the absence of that resentment was the strangest part. She wished she could hate Snow, hate the Gamemakers. Pandora was positive that there had been a time where she did, but not anymore. Now all she could feel was fear, and fear had a harshest taste.

Pandora wiped the rain from her eyes. A wave of chants and roars coupled with the wind, sending a chill down her spine.

She paused for a moment of breath. The mouth of an alleyway was just a few paces ahead and from it she could see anarchy dancing. The square was a rampage of bodies, fighting and running. Gas canisters had been set off sending pink and yellow smoke into the air. The public executions had sent District 6 into a frenzy. All the talk of underground guerilla tactics had been pushed aside, this was a full-blown uprising. An uprising that had been decades in the making.

Pandora stumbled back and narrowed her eyes. Before she could stop herself, before she could reason with herself, she was sprinting straight into the void. Her shoulders braced for the impact of bodies. She whirled to the left and then the right. At first navigating through the crowd was simple, but then the mob thickened. Pandora clenched her teeth together as she spun around and violently slammed into a broad man with a cleft lip. He lifted a piece of rubble and was about to lay a heavy blow on her when she jumped back and ducked. The debris missed her head by an inch. Before he was able to try again she turned her stumble into a run. All of it was distantly familiar. Almost as if long ago she had been in this mess before, only then there had been a boy with bleeding eyes who shattered her leg, a wisp of girl with a broken neck, and a curling smoke that promised death.

Her boots sloshed through the mud. Faces melted together, dissolved and deformed. In the darkness it was hard to tell who was a Capitol soldier and who was a civilian. Then Pandora realized something. This riot wasn't just made up of young men. There were old women fighting, and even children. Some had gotten weapons, others were hurling rocks.

"Down with the Capitol!"

She widened her eyes and tore through people, savagely whipping her head around. Adric was somewhere in the crowd. She had to get to him. She had to get to him so she could help. One of those terrifying shots could have been aimed at Adric. This wasn't their revolution. They didn't belong here.

Near the center of it all Pandora witnessed a group of men tearing apart a soldier. They weren't just ripping through his uniform, they were ripping through skin. Blood sprayed everywhere. She gasped as the soldier threw back his head and howled in agony. It should have shocked her more. It felt wrong to be watching such a thing. She felt tainted and sick, but when Pandora tried to shuffle back a sharp pain spread throughout her leg and backside. Quickly and confusedly she whirled around and yelped as a third rock came flying towards her. It hit her square in the chest. A gust of icy breath escaped her lungs. Her hands clawed at the tumbling raindrops as she fell backwards. In the blink of an eye the ground had come up to meet her, sending a cry of serrated air roaring from her whole body.

"Down with the Capitol! Down with the Capitol!"

The chants were horrifyingly sonorous. Someone trampled her hand. Another person stomped across her legs and for a split second Pandora thought she felt Scorch's ghost pulling on her leg and breaking her bones once more. Another cry escaped her.

"Adric!" She screamed.

It was no use. Even if Adric had been a foot away from her, the thunder and the riot would have drowned out her voice.

In desperation she rolled onto her stomach and gripped the muddy cobblestones. Her fingers had just curled into the grooves when another rock hit her in the shoulder blade. The impact made her whole body collapse. The gun dislodged from her belt and dropped into a nearby puddle. A second passed before she felt someone clawing at her.

Scorch! A distant voice yelled to her, but she knew it couldn't be. He's dead. He's gone. Just like the rest of them.

"Capitol whore!" The person that wasn't Scorch hatefully roared as he started to hit her with something. Each hit was agony. Something warm trickled down her shoulder and back. Blood.

Her head was spinning. She tried to crawl away but it was no use. As her attacker bashed a rock against her back once more she lifted her eyes. She could just make out the butt of her gun. Her arm stretched as far she could force it. The puddle was far but it wasn't that far. When her fingers finally gripped around the heavy weapon she took in a breath and flipped around. In an instant she had wrenched free from her attack and given him a secondary kick that sent him flying. White breath rose into the night as she whipped the gun around and cocked it.

"Don't move!" was all she could think to shout, but as soon as she saw her attacker her hand began to shake.

It was just a young boy. He couldn't have been older than fourteen. He looked like a skeleton covered in stretched and pallid skin. In his hands was a brick. It was dripping with fresh blood. His eyes burned with disgust. Pandora quickly understood that the disgust was aimed at her.

Although the kick to the boy's chest must have hurt he was swiftly recovering. He climbed to his feet and lifted the brick. Pandora knew what he was about to do, she knew he wanted to kill her, but even still she couldn't pull the trigger. The gun uncontrollably shook. Just a boy.

"Just—we can talk about this!"

His nostrils flared. Her gun was pointed at his heart. All it took was a small flex of her finger and he would drop.

"Put—Put it down!" She shouted. But the boy refused to obey.

The brick lifted higher and higher. Any second he would bring it down on her. Any second she would die.

"No! Wai—"

Her words turned into a gasp of horror as she watched two strong hands grab the boy like a ragdoll. A silver blade gleamed and slashed the skeleton across the neck. Ribbons of crimson poured from the boy's throat with a grotesque gurgle. The brick dropped and so did he.

Pandora stared in wide-eyed dread at the fresh body. When her eyes finally lifted she parted her lips and shook. Baro was standing in the rebel's place. The blood kissed knife still in his hand. He took a step forward and smirked down at Pandora.

"What did—What did you do?!" She shouted, her eyes dropping to the boy's face.

Baro's smirk broadened, "Just saved your life, Sullivan. You're welcome."

"You—" black dots swirled in her vision, "—he was just—he was just a little boy."

She cowered back as Baro knelt beside her, "No one's just a little boy in war."

"War?"

Blood was pulling away from her head, she could feel it.

"Look around you," he grabbed the gun out of her limp hand, "What do you think this is?"

"I—"

"See that's just it. Those big chums in the Capitol put you on a pedestal, didn't they? Made you into a brilliant fighter…." He laughed cruelly, "But you can barely shoot a gun without feeling sorry for someone who's about to kill you, can you? Under all those glares you're sweeter than honey."

Suddenly she thought of blood spraying on a ceiling, the cranking of metal chains, a hot brander reflected in a pair of black-rimmed glasses…

Nyx. Her brow furrowed in confusion. The pounding in her head worsened. She didn't know anyone named Nyx. Why did I just think of that name? It's just my headache. Silly Girl. You're making things up again.

"Adric—where is he—"

"Oh Sullivan, you look terrible."

She felt terrible. It felt like a bad dream. How could he be so normal through all the chaos? The answer was so obvious to Pandora that she wanted to die. People like Baro lived for this destruction. She had known Baros all her life. In her arena, and even in District 7. Predators that thrived off of violence.

"Don't you worry," He continued, "Lucky for us we're on the winning side."

Slowly, Pandora peered around. Her muscles suddenly relaxed and her body slumped against the ground. All around them she could see what Baro meant. The rebels were angry but the soldiers had firearms. The crowd was being pushed back. District 6 was being tamed by the iron fist of Panem. Citizens scuttled into alleyways and nearby buildings.

Her breathing shortened. Her hand reached to her heart. She couldn't explain why but she felt hot tears burning in her eyes. When she looked up Baro was staring at her. His dark eyes cut. It made her skin crawl. She wanted to take that bloody brick and hit him until his skull cracked. She wanted to scream. She wanted to let herself cry. Instead she did nothing. Every hit Pandora took she could feel at that very moment in a sudden rush of pain.

"Adric…" she whispered. "Is he…"

Baro slipped the gun into his belt and smiled, "Our little officer is fine."

"He's fine." She felt her eyes roll back into her head.

Suddenly Baro's face was duplicating and whirling around her vision with stars. She felt her arms hit the cobblestone and rain kiss her cheeks, and then everything went black. Slowly the darkness faded into a dream…

Her eyes opened up to see bold bright stars. They were silver jewels in a velvet black sky. They burned warm and bright and she wished she could hug them, become one of them.

Waves lapped against her toes and the hem of her blue dress. She was on a beach. She had been here before.

As she dropped her hands to the shore cool sand caressed her palms.

"I was wondering when you'd show up again."

The sand felt good against her cheek as she turned to the side.

He was lying beside her, tracing shapes with a shell. His hand propped his head up.

"Do I know you?"

"Of course."

His eyes lifted. Green.

She parted her lips and glanced back to the stars.

"You don't remember?"

"Remember…"

Slowly he slid his hand over the sand. His fingers felt warm against her arm.

"I've…I've been here before. A long time ago."

"Well we're not that old, are we?"

"My Victor's tour," another wave licked her legs as she sat up and turned around. Behind them was District 4, only it wasn't as she entirely remembered. It was dark and vacant. Everything felt hollow. Even the beach they were on felt hollow. Her gaze dropped to her dress. The same dress she had worn those many years ago.

"You're arm—" he suddenly sat up as well. "Who did this?"

The branding stared back at her. It was white and blaringly ugly against her fair skin. "Someone…" she closed her eyes but the name wouldn't come, "…no one."

He seemed concerned but then soon the concern vanished. Her brow furrowed as she took her arm back, eyeing him up and down. "I need to go."

"You only just got here."

"I don't belong here."

"You do."

Slowly her eyes looked to the ocean and then back to him. "Finnick."

"Pandora…Are we playing games again? Like we used to?"

"I don't remember ever playing games."

His eyes sparkled, "Don't you? We could stay here forever. Just you and me. Like we did when—"

"No…I'm awake now. I'm not in a coma anymore. I'll never be in a coma again."

"Don't wake up." He tried to hold her hand but she shuffled back.

"You're not him. You're just…a memory."

"I'm real, and out here it's just us. We don't need to worry, you don't need to be sad anymore."

She tearfully pressed her lips together and shook her head. "I don't want it to be just us."

"Pandora…"

She thought of hair so blonde it looked like light and a pair of hazel eyes filled with something she couldn't quite understand. "I don't want a ghost. I can't play games with you, Finnick. I wasn't meant to play games. I have to wake up."

His green eyes stayed on her face. "I left you."

She nodded. "Yes."

"Do you hate me?"

"I don't know."

He looked away and sighed with the wind.

She grasped a handful of sand and turned her eyes towards the stars. "A strange dream, isn't it?" She finally whispered.

That made him smile and she smiled back. One last smile, one last time before she went away.

"The best dreams are always the strangest," he replied after a time.

And then she awoke.