AUTHOR'S NOTES: And here we see a little more about a particular enigmatic past victor. The purpose of this chapter, I suppose, is to serve as Amy's final turning point from a fence-sitter into... well, either a full-blown loyalist or a full-blown rebel. Time will tell.
Happy Reading!
CHAPTER 43: Jumping off the Fence
True to Clove's word, she and Amy later stopped at the home of Layla Aranai. Amy had done a little research on her over the last few months, and learned that she had lost two sisters to the games, and had been horrifically traumatized by her games due to the wiles of four particular tributes and several different kinds of mutts, but at the same time, she could not help but wonder what could have driven that poor girl so crazy? It reminded her about just how delicate most children were in that phase of their lives, and how no amount of training or tempering could make them immune.
She had her own demons and suffered from her own problems indeed, but she considered herself one of the lucky ones. Sure she was lonely with her parents in District 5 as Peacekeepers, and no real friends outside of the victor's pool (although some of the potential tributes at the academies had caught her eye at least once), but she was still mentally sound and not necessarily very reclusive. That had been the first time, by contrast, that she had ever properly met Katsuo and Kaede, and even by looking at them she could tell that they were a terribly messed up pair of siblings.
"Go away," they heard a woman's voice from inside the mansion as Clove knocked on the door. She kicked it open anyways to find herself inside a rather dimly lit mansion.
"Layla…" Clove called out, "it's just us victors. You can come out…"
A shaky, middle-aged woman probably around 60 years old appeared from behind one of the large columns. She was a small, thin little thing, definitely looking her age, although she seemed to have more grey hair that most people did. Her hollow eyes and gaunt expression told a lot about her, but at the same time, Amy could see that hers was the body of an old fighter—probably agile, deft, and dexterous.
"What… brings you here…" she asked them, sounding both tired and weak.
"We came here because of the general consensus that there is discontent in District 2," Clove explained, "and that this discontent stems from the victor village, and from people like you."
"I would gladly go… to the Capitol… and give them a piece of my mind!" Layla asserted, "but I suppose… that's not what you're here to invite me to do."
"I'm curious," Amy admitted, "what… exactly happened during your games?"
Layla glanced at the tiny girl, and noticed a glint in Amy's eye that reminded her of herself at that age nearly 50 years ago.
"Take a seat…" she told them, "let me get… a drink… and I will tell you… everything."
Layla returned a moment later, sitting across from Clove and Amy, with a bottle of what turned out to just be water. Amy was already considering 'taking a side' at this point, but on the other hand, she wanted to make sure that if there *was* a rebellion, that it was not just the radical actions of a fringe minority. In fine, she wanted to make sure that her stance was plausible and that it was backed by something—even if it was simply a story from a mysterious old victor. Amy's opinions changed as new information was revealed, after all.
"The 48th Hunger Games… that was where the grandson of the old victor Naisha Szasz was—he was my partner that year… I remember this now."
Amy glanced over at Clove, who looked equally serious. As Layla took a drink, she asked the older girl if she knew of any of this story.
"Your guess is as good as mine," Clove admitted, before Layla continued.
"Other than the arena playing on every tribute's fears with the erratic nighttime patterns, the gator-mutts, and the other unseen horrors that lurked in the shadows and tried maiming us in our sleep, four of the tributes were absolutely scary. There was a boy from '11 named Kamau who literally tore my partner in half near the end of the games. He was a gigantic beast of a man that also ended up killing a kid during the bloodbath by punching his chest in. I haven't seen anything like that since Smash from the 46th games."
"Pardon my curiosity…" Clove raised an eyebrow, "but… Smash?"
"She was an enormous District 11 girl from two years prior. '11 seems to have a record of producing stacked kids like that. But… I digress."
Layla took another gulp of water, which seemed to help keep her voice from cracking. "Kamau's partner, a girl named Kana, was equally as scary. What she lacked in size she made up for in frightening strength, and she could wield a hammer like most kids swing knives. She broke a kid's arm with her bare hands once, kind of like Chel did to that Iris kid a couple years ago."
"So who were the other two that were scary?" Amy asked, "I know that the District 11 pair from my games were a bit unnerving with whatever they did with those Night Witch things, but…"
"Oh goodness, those things *were* quite the fright…" Layla shuddered, "but as scary as District 11 was that year… District 12 was even scarier. The boy, Fenris, was unnerving because he was so erratic. There was no real telling what he would do, or when he would show up. I felt a wave of relief when we finally got him, but his partner…" Layla shuddered, clearly being reminded of some of her traumatic memories.
Amy and Clove went silent to give Layla a chance to recover. No victor liked being reminded of their traumatic memories, but at the same time, if there was anyone they could vent about them to, it was fellow victors, who had undergone similar horrors themselves.
"If there's anything that my games taught me," Amy noted, "it's that District 12 is no laughing matter. Say what you will about their victor's record, but they know things. They're up to something."
"That girl from District 12 my year was the scariest thing I ever ran into." Layla shuddered again, "she had it out for me, from the day she locked eyes with me on the hovercraft, to the final night where I struck her down. She was mute, but that just made her scarier. She was a master of subterfuge—bombs, grenades, blow-darts, knives… she could have been an assassin for all I know.
"She almost sounds like Monica—cold and ruthless, at least on the outside." Amy pointed out,
"Oh, I'm fairly certain this kid was a cold heartless war machine through and through." Layla countered, "Zefira Saratoga gave the career pack a hostile reminder about things they don't teach you in the training center—and they're there to help you remember that the Hunger Games are a vile, sadistic practice that can turn a career's adventure into a nightmare in a heartbeat—or at the throw of a knife."
As if to prove her point, Layla flipped on a television, switching moments later to some highlights of her games—the 48th Annual Hunger Games, and the dank, marshy arena that it took place in. Zefira was a little black-skinned girl with wild hair and what appeared to be tribal tattoos up her arms and parts of her legs, given that her pants were pulled up to her knees. What was the most interesting about this girl though was that she worked as a scout for her alliance, but also that she was able to craft all sorts of nefarious gizmos from grenades to smoke bombs. She used these tricks as well as her own stealth and poison darts to strike mortal dread into the hearts of the career pack, which she and her team nearly picked off one by one.
"And this, Amy… is why you've got people like Enobaria and Leto, who are so passionate against the Capitol." Layla explained, "Zefira and Monica were not very different in terms of whom they became—and both of them were District 12 girls who took 2nd place to a District 2 girl victor. Monica might have been putting on a see-through act, but do you see those kids?"
"Of course," Amy nodded, "and I think I know where this is going."
"That, Amy Zavala, is what District 12 is about." Layla affirmed, "Those rumors about them being rebels… they are all true, I am fairly certain."
"You set me up," Amy turned towards Clove as if to accuse her.
"We can't have you sitting on the fence forever, Zavala," Layla quipped, "Just because I am reclusive does not mean that I am oblivious. What happened to Katsuo and Kaede is not what happened to me. When the riots start across Panem… know that I will be among them."
Amy gave a slow nod. She had not necessarily been supportive of the Capitol, but she had not wanted to take risks one way or another when she felt that staying neutral would be the most advantageous. The Capitol would not have eyes on her, and the rebels would not accuse her of being a loyalist that stood in their way.
"Well," Amy noted, "clearly rebellion is coming then, aye?"
"Aye," Layla nodded, "District 2 is not by any means ready to join it, but give it time… I'm sure it will happen not only in your lifetime, but probably also in the next decade even."
"I'm glad I was able to meet you then, Layla Aranai." Amy shook the older woman's hand, "I might be the new kid on the block, but let it not be said that I wish to remain oblivious. I want to know what the rest of my fellow victors know, so that I can stand among them."
"Can't say I'd argue with that one, kid," Clove chuckled.
"And," Amy added, "If my fellow victors are going to stand against the Capitol… then so will I."
