Word Count: 1539
Here's a one shot about a very under-used character. Lavinia the Avox who serves Katniss and Peeta in both of their Hunger Games. The idea of this just came to me a week or so ago and I wanted to write it. Hope you enjoy!
The sun is bright when Syrio comes into my room. My little brother, although not at all little anymore, tells me he has an idea.
Clouds move in when he tells me what it is. Escape the Capitol. Go to District 13.
It starts to rain when I begin to yell at him. It is too risky. I have only just become an adult and he is only 16. Still, he insists. Mom is dead and Dad has abandoned us. We have no where better to be. So I agree.
That evening I watch the sky from outside my window. The rain beats down on the earth. Again I was rendered silent by my brother and his never-ending ideas. I hope, for our sake, that this one will actually work.
...
We are running for our lives.
The Capitol is chasing us. They know we have escaped. Syrio has hurt his ankle but continues to run on it. Our clothes are tattered where the plants of this forest have scratched at us with their limbs. My eyes feel heavy from the lack of sleep. Still, we run.
Clouds start to dance onto the sky and I'm worried. Clouds mean something bad is going to happen. But at least clouds are better than-
Rain. It has started to rain. More of a drizzle but I know darkness is upon us now.
A shadow covers the sky. Syrio looks up and shouts, halting to a stop. My feet stop and I spin around. The drizzle turns into a stream.
Something falls from the sky, encasing me in its grasp. I'm pulled up to the sky where I see a hovercraft. A Capitol hovercraft. Syrio screams for me and my eyes seek help. In the shadows of these large trees, I spot a pair of gray eyes. Gray like a storm waiting to engulf me.
As I am trapped useless in this net, another thing falls from the sky. I panic, they are going to trap Syrio too. But it is much worse. A spear sails through the streams of water, lodging itself in my little brother's stomach.
"Syrio!"
The stream turns into a downpour. Blending in with my tears. I hardly notice as the hovercraft flies me away. Syrio is dead. I should have made him stay in the Capitol. I want to scream and cry. But someone has gagged me. I'm silent.
...
I scream as two men drag me into a room. I scratch and kick but they won't let go. They throw me against the wall of this large room and leave me alone. For a while at least.
The room is quite nice really, if I wasn't being imprisoned. There is a nice, large window, showcasing the downpour outside. The tears that roll down my cheeks taste like saltwater. My little brother is dead and who knows what will happen to me now.
"Oh, Syrio," I whisper, putting my hand up against the glass. "What am I supposed to do now?"
...
A few hours pass until I see another person in my prison. Three more masked men come in, dragging what looks like a surgery table and carrying a box of tools. My heart slams in my throat and I can't make a sound. An Avox. That is what I will become.
Two of the men, the ones from before, lift me onto the table. They start to punch and whip me. I scream but my pleas aren't heard. They don't matter.
After minutes of whipping and punches, my vision starts to darken. Suddenly, I feel a searing pain in my mouth, followed by the taste of blood. I choke and cough but can't make a sound. The men finally leave.
I gasp, choking on blood, and crawl over to the window. Right now, I need to see the sky. The dark clouds match my feelings. I'm scared. I'm terrified. But worst of all, I am silent. I cannot say a single word for the rest of my life. The flabby bit of my tongue that is left flaps uselessly. I'm silent in the loudness of the rain outside.
...
What feels like centuries but is only a few years later, I have become used to my new life. Time has blended together. I have nothing to look forward to. No reason to check what year it is. I know by now that Syrio would be an adult. I would probably have a job. I do now, but it is one I never though I'd have.
An Avox. A speechless servant of the Capitol. Forced to cater to the every need of the newest tributes. Sickening, heart-wrenching work. These children are almost as unlucky as I was. Almost.
I mindlessly serve food and refreshments, not caring to look into the faces of those I serve. They will end of dead in a matter of days anyways. Then, one day, everything changes.
A girl, the latest tribute from District 12, has made quite an entrance. The first volunteer in a long time. I am almost intrigued by this girl, I wonder who she is.
When I see her, our eyes widen together. Those stormy gray eyes. The last thing I saw before I saw a spear kill my brother. This girl is special. Special and deadly.
...
When the girl, Katniss Everdeen I hear her called, defies the Capitol, I wonder why she hasn't been punished. Instead, she is allowed to live her life as a Victor, the highest thing to achieve in a District. Yet, somehow I know something is coming.
When the Quarter Quell is announced, I don't see it as too much of a surprise. Katniss had to be punished. It surprises me when I realize that I'm worried for her. She was a beacon of hope, a chance that things could be changed. Now I don't know what's going to happen.
...
My heart races as I look around this unfamiliar room. I remember the Games ending with the arena exploding. The screen went black. After a few minutes, more scary men in white uniforms had burst in, blindfolding me and carrying me away. I couldn't even scream.
Now, I look around at the other people in this prison like room with me. Darius, my Avox partner, is in the same cell as me. He's shaking. I pat his hand and he gives me a tight-lipped smile. The boy who won with Katniss, Peeta Mellark, is here too. His cell is in front of ours. He's pale and looks tired and confused. I feel bad for the young boy, he's so young and who knows what the Capitol will do to him.
I look around for Katniss but she isn't here. She must somewhere safe then. I hope she is still alive. Instead of her I see a woman who I remember as a tribute from the Quarter Quell. She looks fierce. The Capitol could never break her in the way they broke me.
Everyone jumps at the sound of a long, drawn out scream. A young woman with dark red hair identical to mine is thrown into a cell near us. She crying and screaming for someone named Finnick. I wish Syrio were here to comfort me. With her dark red hair and porcelain, white skin, the young woman, who must be around my age, reminds me of myself. We both try to be heard but no one will listen to our screams. We are both crazy in our own ways.
For a few hours, we are simply left in our cells. The fierce woman and Peeta talk while me and Darius try to stop ourselves from shaking. We are already Avoxes, any method of torture after this will be deadly. I jump when I hear a familiar sound. Rain beating itself against the small window of our cell. I close my eyes, this is meant to break me even further. I know it is. Rain has always symbolized misfortune and horror in my life. Furthermore, it means being silenced. I'm terrified.
Not two minutes later, my cell door is thrown open. Darius pulls me back and we flatten against the wall but it's no use. Three workers of the Capitol enter, carrying a huge glass tank of water. Horrible noises exit my mouth when I'm dunked into the water. I come up gasping for air, only to be pushed back down. This continues for what seems like a lifetime. I catch sight of Peeta and Darius's face. They look horrified as I come up once more for air. Only then do I see the assortment of wires being held in the arms of the men.
A pain I have never experienced rips through me. I'm pushed under and water fills my mouth as I scream helplessly. I feel as though I'm being fried alive. My vision starts to blur and darken once again and I feel myself slip away. The last thing I hear is the rain. It's rhythmic noise soothes me in these last moments. The world fades away and a smile stretches upon my face. I'm silent in the beautiful wonder that is the rain. But not for long.