Aemil Frowiss

Head Gamemaker of the Saturn Games

I've never really liked hospitals. Something about them just gives me the creeps...they're always too clean...sterile? I guess that's the word. And everybody's always too...happy. The nurses will show you a fake smile as they tell you your mother only has 24 hours to live...it just isn't right.

So when I wake up on a hard uncomfortable hospital bed, with a blinding light shining into my eyes, it's understandable how freaked out I am. My first reaction is to jump up, but I'm bound by shackles. All I can do is weakly toss, turn and flop awkwardly like some sort of pathetic slug.

And then I notice the duct tape on my mouth too. So I can't scream for help, great. There must be some sort of way to get out of here then...I turn my head to see that the room is empty. I'm all alone, trapped here...fuck.

Ok...it's hard to stay calm, especially when my body's shaking so much. I can feel the sweat cling to my back and shirt too. God, this is uncomfortable. Am I showing withdrawal symptoms already? How fucking long has it been since I last took some Silphium?

I turn my head once more, to see what's in the room. Curtains, separating something. Probably more beds, but I don't think anyone's sleeping in them. I can't hear any noise, beside an annoying whir in the distance. There's a bunch of monitors, patient poles...just typical shit you'd expect to see in a hospital ward. Some dying plants, a clock slowly ticking (I can't make out the time), a tv that isn't turned on. It really is depressing here.

What can I do? I think for a minute, but my aching bones, uncomfortable position and anxious mind distracts me. I can hardly think straight without the cravings coming back too. Urgh, this is just a waste of time. I might as well just wait for the answers to come to me.

It can't have been more than five minutes, before someone walked in. A petite girl, no taller than five foot, with a frightful expression speeds in. The first thing I notice is the prominent red scar on her forehead...god, that is disturbing. What could have happened to such an innocent looking child to have such a horrible scar like that?

Her eyes widen as she notices me. I try to speak, but it comes out as muffled noise to her. The girl doesn't speak once, as she observes my body. So creepy, urgh. Giving me the shivers. She then turns around, dashing out once more. I scream for her to come back, but she ignores me.

Great. What was the point of that? You might as well just tease me with an exit door.

Another few minutes pass, before she returns, flanked with two soldiers, just as silent and serious as her. A smaller, weedy looking man who was hunched over followed after, mumbling to himself. He had not a sight of hair on his head, but a full grown beard, as well as thick horn rimmed spectacles.

At least somebody here can speak. The soldiers stood at the end of my bed, menacingly staring at me. Err...ok. The small girl sat down in a chair, anxiously waiting. She cracked her fingers, which makes me flinch. I hate that.

"Sorry about this. I would unlock all your bounds but…" The bald man mutters again, allowing me to at least move my hands. "We can't risk having you do anything dangerous yet."

He then rips off the duct tape, causing me to wince in pain. Straight away, I sling as many curses as I can think off at him. He doesn't react much, just awkwardly looking downwards as he waits for me to finish. Not the reaction I was hoping for. Come on, be provoked or something!

"Ah, are you finished?" He asks, in such a condescending manner. "Let it all out, it's better to vent your frustrations now, before we start our discussion."

"I'm not a toddler. Don't fucking speak to me like I am." I bite back.

He nods, showing a forced smile. The bags under his eyes are really prominent now. "Of course, Mr Frowiss. Are you ready to start now?"

I ignore his question. Who are you? Where am I? What have you done to me? Why am I trapped?"

"Your concerns will be answered in due time." The man says, still smiling with that tired expression. "Though I will introduce myself. Or, ourselves, I should say. You can call me...Porter."

"Porter? Like the girl from 5?"

Porter pushes his glasses up, as they're slipping down his nose. "Yes, it isn't my real name...but I am from 5. So there's a small connection, somewhere. I think it's quite a nice name actually."

I'm not sure why you'd want to name yourself after a permanently paralysed murderer, but you do you.

Wait, hold on...why am I with some random District citizen? Besides the tributes, I've never seen somebody from the Districts before. I had just assumed this freak was from the Capitol, although he doesn't have the accent.

"You're from 5? Are we still in the Capitol?" I ask, turning to the silent soldiers and girls.

Porter turns his head with me. "Ah, avoxes, you can dismiss yourselves. I'll call you if needed." He frowns. The girl nods, hopping out, while also being followed by the sturdy soldiers. I feel a lot more comfortable now without their intimidating glaring.

"Are you going to answer my question?"

"All in due time. Now swallow this." He says, handing me a small pill. Ah, it's a Silphium tablet! I eagerly swallow it, my body slowly feeling rejuvenated as it travels downwards. Ah, how I've missed this feeling of bliss and ignorance! Porter goes back to reading through his holographer, as I feel my consciousness slowly leave my body. My worries and stress begin to dissipate and my body begins to slowly stop shaking.

Porter pulls up a report. He tuts and sighs a few times. "You put up quite a good fight. Impressive."

"Good fight? When?" I ask, curiously. Heh, did I fight with the mafia or something?

"You don't remember? Oh, you had Silphium in your bloodstream at the time. I didn't oversee your detoxification."

Heh, I don't usually fight when I take Silphium. At least, I've been told I don't. And I've never been seriously injured when taking it. After I finish tripping, I usually just pass out and forget everything. But that doesn't stop me from feeling the cravings still! The cravings never go away, as I always need more.

I laugh loudly. "Did I win? Did you know I was a heavyweight champion in the Capitol Boxing Association?"

"I'm sure you were, Mr Frowiss." Porter mutters, not laughing along. He doesn't even respond to my question. Bore! "Anyway, I might have to delve into some backstory before I explain what happened two nights ago. You're currently being held captive by the Aureate, though we will release you if you comply to our terms."

"Aureate? Is this some sort of shitty cult?"

"No, not a cult." He doesn't elaborate.

I think for a few seconds. "Then what are you?"

Porter suddenly pulls something out of a draw. A tray of needles, filled with a strange substance. A few drops of a pretty blue liquid. A strong desire to smash them and drink it overtakes me, but I can't, as my legs are trapped. I forgot about that.

Porter walks over to me, fiddling with the needle. He touches my arm, feeling about my muscles and veins. Wow, hot. Well, it'd be hot if he didn't poke it into my arm, with no warning. I yelp out in pain, as he pulls it out again. Why was that so painful? I'm used to toying with needles, but it's never felt like that.

"What was that?" I shriek, still in pain.

"I know you're the Head Gamemaker of the Saturn Games, so you must be aware of the tracker technology of the games, correct?" I nod my head, not liking the sound of where he's going. "Well, we injected a special sort of tracker, named the Picana, into you. Not only does it track your every position, but it can also electrocute you if you do anything we...don't agree with."

He then pulls another tab up on his holographer. He types something in and I feel a short buzzing pain erupt in both of my arms. Oh god, oh fuck, oh god...that's excruciating...it feels like my arms going to fall off! Why did it hurt both? Did he inject more into my body before?

My state of innocence and bliss is interrupted as tears begin to stream out. "Why the fuck did you do that?"

"I was testing it out." Porter smiles, not looking up. "That is the weakest option we have, it ranges from that to fatally lethal."

"You can kill me just like that? Fucker!"

Porter doesn't respond immediately. "We can." He takes a quick pause. "I'm going to give you a quick briefing of what's going on. If you dare tell anybody about what I'm going to say, we will quickly end your life. Of course, you wouldn't, as you'll forget about this entire thing as soon as that Silphium wears off…"

I'm about to shout and swear at him, as I feel rage obscure my mind. But then the buzzing of my still burning arm and tingles from the silph come back, causing me to shut up. I don't want to anger him if he can kill me that easily...fuck.

"Good, stay silent." Porter mutters. "All you need to know is that The Aureate is a rebel group. Our motives do not concern you, though we have a small job we need you to take part in."

"Job? Job!?" I shout, enraged. "What sort of job would you like me to do, sir? Or would you rather be called master?"

Porter laughs. "Either will do. But that isn't my job to tell you. Shortly, you and a few others will be invited to a meeting with our leader, disclosing what we'd like you to do. It isn't optional by the way."

"Great, I can finally meet the bastard." I groan, still feeling extremely angered. It doesn't help that the Silphium heightens your emotions.

Porter smiles. "All we have to do is wait for our escorts. Simple enough, right?"

I don't even respond to his condescending remarks. Guess I'll be waiting to be released from this hospital ward then.

Aurelia Ozment

Former President of Panem

As soon as I regained consciousness, I was shipped out of the small hospital room I was in. It didn't take much time for me to figure out what was going and connect the dots together. It was obvious Dru had betrayed me and went against my wishes to force me to come to the Aureate's headquarters.

I can't even begin to describe how angry I am right now. But I can't afford to show my rage in these confusing circumstances. I'm not sure what's going to happen to me, but I do know what'll happen if I disobey them. They've briefed me about these 'Picana' devices, which could easily kill me in a blink.

I've spent too long trying to preserve my life. I'm not going to throw it away now in a pathetic act of small rebellion.

I'm prodded about by a large set of avoxes, who breach my private space bubble. I can barely breathe with them standing a step away from me, in every angle. I'm too small, so it's hard to see through them. Most of the facility is just...plain. A dull monochromatic scheme with no decorations. It makes the place feel more formal and serious.

I'm eventually led into a more...homey room. Compared to the barren and lifeless corridors around us, this room is a lot more decorated. It still isn't much, but it's much nicer. There's a lovely painting of a winding river on an Autumn's day. The reds and golds are definitely pleasing to look at. There's also a large round dark oak table, with twelve chairs around it. Only two are filled…

The first person is a rather plain looking woman. She's rather old, with wrinkly skin and long frizzy white hair. She has a comforting smile, but she does seem rather cold with her formal wear and observing eyes. And the second person is...Aemil? What is he doing here? Was he captured too...because of me?

"A-Aemil?"

"I'm not too sure what happened." Aemil whispers and smiles, for whatever reason. "They must have outnumbered me and knocked me out."

That's...really worrying. How can he say it so lightly? "Are you ok now?"

"Better than ever."

The other lady coughs. She shuffles a few papers, before picking one out. "Ahem…I would like to start this off with a formal apology. It wasn't our original intention to use such force and criminal tactics to get you here, though we didn't have any other choice. If we could, we wouldn't have put you through such pain. We're sorry."

"Pssh, you're perfectly fine with torturing us with those shocky things though." Aemil says, rolling his eyes. I can tell he's high right now.

She doesn't respond, clearly not knowing how to. "Second of all, introductions. You were scheduled to meet the leader, but...he's not here so, you're meeting me. My name is Honoria and I'm going to inform you of your future plans."

"So we don't have a choice?" I say, numbly.

"If you follow what we say, then you will. We won't keep you forever, Aurelia." Honoria says, flicking through the papers once more. I guess that's a promising sign.

Aemil suddenly coughs extremely loudly. Ah, he still thinks I'm Agatha...I can tell he's utterly confused, but he doesn't speak up. That's probably for the best.

Honoria gives him a dirty look. "Aurelia, I'm sure you know why you're here. Drusilla revealed a little bit too much, too early."

So she was just meant to stall as she waited for me to pass out, after drugging me. Drusilla always had problems with running her mouth. "How inconsiderate of her." I snarkily respond. "Where is Drusilla?"

"She's been dealt with accordingly." Honoria ominously says, though I don't press on. I'm not sure what that is, but seeing the other methods they've used so far, I'm not sure if I want to know. "Anyway, Aurelia, we've heard you've been trying to escape the Capitol recently. If you stick with us, we'll be able to transport you to the tips of the Outer Wilds in 7. We've set up a small camp in one of the abandoned war bases."

That...sounds too good to be true. "Really? Is it safe for me to go there?"

"The safest place in all of Panem. The Capitol hasn't approached that area in years. They think the camps were all destroyed by the mutts they dropped there." Honoria droned off, as if she was reading from cards.

"I don't think I have a choice though, do I? I can't just stay in the Capitol

Honoria shakes her head. "You're too valuable to stay here."

"I...I won't try to protest then." I frown. As much as I don't want to go with these tyrants, living in the woods of 7 sounds quite nice actually. I loved staying in the woods of the Capitol, but my entire experience was rather stressful. At least up north I won't have to be constantly worrying.

Honoria shows a sweet coordinated smile, which sickens me. "What do you have planned for me?" Aemil asks.

"It isn't as pleasant. As we're all aware, Aemil is the head Gamemaker of the Saturn Games, correct? Do you have full control over all the other Gamemakers?" Honoria asks, just making sure.

Aemil nods. "Yeah, to a certain extent…"

"Are you able to add Gamemakers to the team, without the consent of Fabian?"

"I could, but I would need to justify it eventually once Fabian checks again. The bastard is very thorough. He monitors everything." Aemil looks downward. I can see him frowning. He clearly doesn't like the way this is going and I'm not too sure if I do either.

Honoria kisses her lips. She taps a pen on the table, deep in thought, before suddenly scribbling again. "All we ask is that we add a few members of the Aureate to the Gamemaker team."

"Really?" He frowns. "I can't just add people that easily though…wh-what would they do?"

Honoria stares blankly for a second. "All we want to do is study the programming and code, as we'd like to use similar technology in the future."

"What for?" I interrupt, before Aemil can ask anything. I can see the cogs whirring in his mind again.

"You'll find out soon enough." Honoria dodges the question. It's hard to tell what she's thinking or planning and whether she's actually being truthful. I'm struggling to get a read on her.

Aemil frowns, obviously upset with this. He opens his mouth, before shutting it. Aemil then swears at her, which Honoria chuckles at.

Honoria shakes her head, somewhat solemnly. "We've created a cover story that the software has been affected by a strange bug, though the people you've hired will be able to get rid of it. It won't take long at all."

"That's a shitty cover story, but ok." Aemil grumbles like a child. "I don't want to lie to Fabian...but I'll make the fucking phone call."

Honoria nods, pointing to her arm. He flinches, quickly nodding too. Did they actually shock him? That makes sense, as I can't really see Aemil complying to their orders without a fight.

Aemil is escorted out of the room by a group of avox soldiers, who are still intimidating. I don't get the chance to mutter a goodbye. He doesn't even turn his head to me. I guess there are a lot of thoughts of mind right now. Aemil has been given a big responsibility that could affect his entire job, after all.

An uncomfortable silence passes, before I mutter: "Did you drug him?"

"No, no. He took the Silphium willingly." Honoria mutters back.

"He won't remember today when he wakes up tomorrow then."

She nods, with a somewhat defeated expression. "We're aware of what Silphium does to the mind and body, Aurelia. We've taken measures to work around this. In fact, it's rather beneficial as we could exploit that confused state he'll be in tomorrow." Hmm, her being so brutally honest is weird. Beforehand, she had skirted around the truth motives and actions of the Aureate, but she's perfectly fine with admitting them now he's gone.

"Right." I bluntly respond. "What do you actually want to do? In the Saturn Games?"

"I've already told you."

I...don't believe her. It's obvious she's lying, though I'm not sure what the truth could be. "What will happen to me in 7?" I then ask.

"You'll wait until needed. During that time, you'll be offered full protection from the Aureate. I promise it won't be too long though. We can assure you of that." Honoria says, though I'm not sure if I believe her. Again, she's being frustratingly vague by always answering with a white lie. She could be technically telling the truth.

I guess I'll have just to see what happens when I'm escorted to 7, whenever that is. At least I'll finally be able to escape this hellhole to go to a safe haven, which is all I've ever really wanted.

Late update time! Only one more prologue to go, which'll have the first cast reveal. I've decided that I'll keep subs open as the reapings occur, though I may be a little bit harsher when accepting or denying tributes as I will have started forming plans.

We've received 9 submissions, six boys and three girls! I'd love to see other gender identities and of course we need some more girls!

Thank you for reading and submitting if you do! See you soon for the initial cast reveal.