A/N: Hello again! Thanks to everyone who has left reviews on these chapters. I hope your lives are all going swimmingly. Here's what I came up with next!
P.S. I promise we'll get some victors from the higher-numbered districts sooner than later. The first four districts aren't going to win, like, every games from now on…
Cobalt Thindrel from District 3
Victor of the Nineteenth Annual Hunger Games
THE ADVENTURES OF COBALT THINDREL
ADVENTURE NUMBER ONE: THE RACE TO THE REAPING
"You have to start behind the threshold!" Della said.
The three girls inched backward, pulling their feet into the house. Cobalt's heart was beating fast, pounding in her chest like a jackhammer.
Each year, Cobalt and her friends raced to the reaping. They started in Della's house, a gray slum building almost exactly five miles from the Justice Building. Whoever reached the Justice Building first won the grand prize: two loaves of bread and a small piece of the others' tesserae grain.
"Let's recap the rules," Della said. Cobalt just rolled her eyes. Della could be such a control freak.
"We leave as soon as the bell tolls twelve. Our exact target is the abandoned stall to the right of the district square. The first to reach the target wins. No interfering with your fellow racers. Let's shake on it."
The girls shook hands: Della, Cobalt, and an amber-haired girl named Pi. Cobalt narrowed her eyes in mock rivalry. This was a silly game, and some may even have called it childish. But there was precious little to be excited about in the grey, smoke-filled streets of District 3. Sometimes, the annual race was the only thing Cobalt had to look forward to.
The bell beat twelve, and Cobalt started running. The streets were mostly empty; the people who lived this close to the Justice Building typically slept in as late as they could. She imagined what the street would look like in one hour's time: filled with poor, downtrodden people moving in one direction like a cloud of ash.
A minute or two later, Della split away from the group, diving into an alleyway and scurrying out of sight. She must have scoped out some kind of shortcut before the race started. This was Della's neighborhood after all. She knew it better than anybody.
But Cobalt couldn't afford to be bitter. Time was ticking away.
"Seen any peacekeepers yet?" Cobalt asked, breathing heavily in and out as she jogged.
Pi shook her head. "None. They're all at the Justice Building on reaping day."
That wasn't entirely true. A peacekeeper stopped them roughly half an hour into the race, demanding to know why they were running. Cobalt told the truth, and the peacekeeper sighed. "I miss being young," he murmured. "Now get along, you two."
Relief pounded in Cobalt's chest like a second heartbeat. Unfortunately, she started to fall behind Pi as the minutes passed. Pi's endurance was simply incredible. I can go on forever, just like my name, she'd bragged one day, which Cobalt had to admit was very clever.
By the time Cobalt reached the stall near the Justice Building, both Della and Pi were already there, snoring loudly and trying not to giggle.
"Hey, don't make fun of me!" Cobalt exclaimed, but it was a playful complaint. They all burst into laughter, savoring the feeling of sweet friendship. In Cobalt's opinion, the meaning of life was to live as adventurously as possible. Every day could be a grand quest, even a day as dreary as the reaping.
Cobalt stopped running and wiped the sweat off her forehead. The square was filling quickly, rows of downtrodden factory workers pouring in from all directions. Cobalt and her friends signed in and then slipped into the audience, eager to settle in before things got too crowded.
"What do you think Vinia will wear this year?" Pi asked.
Cobalt's mind ran wild with ideas. Vinia, the lady who'd been reaping tributes in District 3 for the last five years, seemed to acquire an even more revolting fashion sense with each visit. Last year, she'd been dressed as a vulture, with black wings and an ugly tail stitched onto her feathery costume.
"I bet she'll be dressed as some kind of fruit," Cobalt suggested, to Della's delight. "Maybe a banana."
She was exactly right. When Vinia pranced out of the Justice Building garbled in a banana costume, the three girls burst into laughter. Cobalt clapped her hand over her mouth, trying to quiet her rampant giggles as her stomach tingled with glee.
"Welcome, welcome," Vinia sang. "I hope you enjoy my outfit."
Nervous giggles ran rampant through the crowd.
"I'll take that as a compliment," she added.
Della pressed a hand over her mouth, attempting to stifle her laughter. "This sure beats the vulture."
Vinia introduced Mayor Brown and Lumen Orlaith, the two most famous people in District 3. Lumen had aged surprisingly well in the seven years since his victory. In fact, Cobalt thought, he looked remarkably attractive up on the platform. Pi must have thought so too, because her eyes stood agape as she watched Lumen move across the stage.
"Oh, Pi. Always being boy-crazy," Della teased.
They started laughing again until a peacekeeper yelled at them to knock it off. "Cobalt Thindrel!"
Cobalt wrinkled her eyes in confusion, staring at the peacekeeper. How did the peacekeeper know her name?
But it wasn't the peacekeeper who'd said her name. It was Vinia.
"Cobalt Thindrel," she repeated. "Come out, please."
Panic took hold of Cobalt, grasping at her nerves like an electric current. She glanced at her friends, silently begging them to save her, but they were paralyzed with terror. Cobalt wordlessly stepped out of the crowd. By the time she reached the stage, her legs were shaking like jelly.
"Thank you, Cobalt. Tell us about yourself."
Her mind went blank of every thought that had ever passed through it.
"I'm seventeen. I… I work in the factory."
Like that was a surprise. Everyone in District 3 worked in the factories, chained to their machines day after day until they died from the smoke.
But Vinia wasn't looking for specificity. She just nodded and smiled and padded across the stage toward the other reaping ball.
"Tex Darling!"
The boy made a noise somewhere between a gasp and a scream. He clapped his hand over his mouth, sharply cutting off the noise. By that point, he'd identified himself as Tex Darling. Every boy was looking at him, and he had no choice but to walk to the stage before things got awkward.
"Welcome to the Hunger Games, Tex. How are you feeling?"
"Fine," he barked. He was clearly not fine.
"That's great to hear. Thank you for your attention, District 3. I give you the tributes of District 3, Cobalt Thindrel and Tex Darling!"
As she walked into the Justice Building, Cobalt caught one final glimpse of the square: the rows of people, the reaping balls, the abandoned stall that they'd raced to. That seemed like a million years ago. The last thing she saw before the door closed was Della and Pi crying together. She'd never seen her friends cry before. Maybe that was the ultimate proof that, from this moment forward, things would never be the same.
ADVENTURE NUMBER TWO: THE TRAIN ADVENTURE
Tex threw a thick slice of shortbread onto his plate. Cobalt wondered if he'd ever eaten something that fancy before. She certainly hadn't. In District 3, Cobalt had never exactly starved, but money was always tight.
"It'll last longer if you take the time to chew," Vinia cautioned, watching with disgust as Tex wolfed down the sugary feast.
Tex shot her a glance of hatred, then continued eating.
"How about you, Cobalt? You haven't eaten a thing."
Cobalt crossed her arms and glared out the window. She just needed some quiet time. How hard was that to understand?
"I'm not hungry," she spat. She wasn't meaning to be rude, but her frustration showed in her voice.
Vinia's face went white. "I don't like this new attitude."
Cobalt got to her feet and left the room. There was no use letting this escalate into a full-blown argument. She just needed some time to herself. Time to let herself cool down, let herself think. That wasn't too much to ask for, was it?
As she moved between the train cars, occasionally glancing out the window at the amber waves of District 9, she thought about Pi and Della and the life she'd left behind. Both of them had come to visit her in the Justice Building. They didn't really say anything, just sat there and cried. But Cobalt understood. Sometimes, merely showing up and sending good wishes is the best contribution a friend can make.
She entered the train car at the very back: a wide, semi-circle-shaped chamber with glass walls. She sat down on the couch and stared blankly out the wraparound window, thoughts racing through her mind like wires glowing in a circuit board.
"Nice to meet you," said a deep voice.
She almost screamed. She hadn't noticed the man sitting cross-legged at the opposite end of the train car.
"Lumen?" she guessed.
The victor nodded. "You bet. And your name is Cobalt, I hear."
Cobalt just nodded. For now, something held her back from trusting Lumen Orlaith. Maybe it was the way he ended every sentence like a question. Maybe it was the fact he was just a bit too good-looking for someone who'd grown up on the streets of District 3. But, Cobalt finally decided, if there was anyone she could trust, it him.
"You're our symbol of hope," she stammered.
"Pardon?"
"In school. At the market. Every time the Hunger Games come around, you're the only reason we aren't completely hopeless."
It was a stupid thing to say. Like Lumen needed to be reminded of his time in the games. Cobalt wondered if she should apologize, but Lumen just nodded. "It's the greatest honor to be a symbol of something," he said.
Cobalt thought that was a pretty grandiose thing to say.
"So, Cobalt, why did you come back here?" he asked, taking a sip of his drink.
"To think," she responded.
Lumen cracked a smile. "Of course. This is the best place to think. And I know you have a lot of thinking to be doing right now."
The train came to a stop. They'd reached the edge of District 9, and the train needed to be investigated before it could pass into the rocky wilderness. Cobalt wondered what kinds of illegal things they could possibly be hiding, until she realized it was probably just for show. Another display of the Capitol's power.
Lumen must have been thinking the same thing, because he nodded. "Let's go back to the main car," he suggested. "Vinia will be expecting us."
Cobalt figured that was code for the peacekeepers will be expecting us, so she followed closely behind the victor as he meandered his way out of the room. Almost immediately, her nostrils were flooded with the smell of cake. She'd eaten cake in District 3, at special occasions like birthdays. And, most memorably, on Parcel Day back when Lumen won the games.
But she'd never had cake like this. The confectionary masterpiece stood several feet high, intricately decorated with every pattern of icing imaginable. Something was written on the top tier in thick black writing. She had to stand on her tiptoes to read it:
Cobalt + Tex + Lumen + Vinia + Karma + Prudence
(The District 3 Team)
Tex stopped dead in his tracks, dumbfounded by the beautiful cake. Cobalt just asked, "Who are Karma and Prudence?"
"Your prep team, dear," said Vinia. "You'll meet them tomorrow."
"It's… it's a great cake, Vinia," Tex stammered.
"Thank you, Tex. I prepared it myself."
Cobalt could have sworn she caught a flash of an avox's red uniform in a nearby train car.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Vinia cried out. "Dig in!"
Just maybe, Cobalt thought as she cut out her first slice, she could have a little fun in the coming days. Just a second of enjoyment every day was all she needed to keep going.
She shared a smirk with Lumen, who winked at her before tossing the cake slice into Vinia's face.
ADVENTURE NUMBER THREE: THE QUEST TO EXPLORE THE CAPITOL
Cobalt waited outside the hospital ward, shaking from head to toe. Vinia was injured. As it happened, the avoxes that made the cake had held the tiers together using wooden spikes. And when Lumen threw the cake into Vinia's face, one of the wooden spikes impaled her. It dug several centimeters into her eye socket, and Cobalt heard a doctor say she might lose vision in that eye forever.
"I shouldn't have done that," Lumen stammered. "Oh my, I shouldn't have done that."
Other than Lumen and Cobalt, the waiting room was empty. Tex was in the gymnasium with the rest of the tributes, busily running through the first day of training. It wasn't Cobalt's fault that Vinia had been impaled, but she nonetheless felt inclined to follow along. She felt awful for the poor woman.
"The patient is now accepting visitors," some doctor said. Lumen scampered into the medical ward, with Cobalt following closely behind. How would Vinia react when she saw them? With anger? With aggression?
Cobalt's first impression was that Vinia looked surprisingly normal. Other than a blotchy wound near her eye, she looked perfectly fine. She was even sitting up, slurping down dark-red soup that smelled sweet.
"I'm sorry, Vinia," Lumen said quickly.
Cobalt suddenly wondered if Lumen would be punished. She quickly came to the conclusion that he wouldn't. He was a victor; what could they do? Put him in jail?
She half-expected Vinia to respond aggressively, but she just managed a week, "Good to see you," and went back to eating her soup.
Lumen didn't stay for very long. Vinia wasn't exactly being hostile, but she was clearly pretty pissed at the man who'd hospitalized her the week of the Hunger Games. When Lumen left the room, Cobalt followed behind, but Vinia stopped her.
"I need to give you something," Vinia said.
She reached under her blankets and pulled out a little blue stone. "Cobalt," she said. "My brother collects all kinds of stones, and I just had to ask him for this one."
Cobalt took the little cobalt stone, tracing its grooves softly with her finger. A funny tremor ran through her chest. This was the friendliest thing someone from the Capitol had ever done to her. Maybe, just maybe, Vinia was truly a friend after all.
"Thank you," Cobalt said. It was all she could think to say.
Vinia just nodded. "May it bring you luck in the arena."
She sprinted back to the gymnasium, her mind racing as fast as her feet.
The first training day was pretty uneventful. The tributes largely stayed to themselves this year, so there weren't many voices bouncing around the gym. Cobalt did team up with Tex, though. They spent the day learning how to use knives, which Cobalt thought was boring but useful.
The careers, a group of big and well-trained kids, didn't harass the other tributes, which Cobalt was grateful for. She thought back to the year before, when the careers had spent every waking moment taunting and jeering at the untrained tributes. That must have been hell.
Cobalt didn't feel truly at-rest until that evening's dinner. The hotel suite was a beautiful place, and the sweet-smelling food always calmed her nerves. Four people sat around the table: Cobalt, Tex, Lumen, and a newly-healed Vinia who claimed she could still see perfectly.
"How do you think we're doing?" Tex suddenly asked.
Lumen set down his fork, thinking deeply. He had a weird habit of wrinkling his eyebrows when he was deep in thought, Cobalt noticed.
"Well, how do you think you're doing?" Lumen asked.
"Not great," he answered, his hands trembling now.
Cobalt felt her chest ping with frustration. Now wasn't the time for this kind of discussion. "Let's just eat," she said, which quieted everyone down. She was surprised by how shrill her voice sounded these days. Like a trapped mouse desperately squealing out for help.
As weird as it sounded, Cobalt figured the best way to prepare for the games was to eat anything she could find. They were called the Hunger Games for a reason. It couldn't hurt to put on a few extra pounds in the next few days.
The rest of the District 3 team didn't share the same idea. Soon enough, they were talking about strategy again, and Cobalt excused herself with anger. She couldn't bear this any longer. Couldn't they stop discussing her impending doom for just one second?
As she jumped onto her bed, she let out a little whimper of despair. The one thing she thought she could count on was an adventure. Whether she lived or died, the week before the games would be the most exciting of her entire life. She thought back to the train, the tribute parade, and the training center. What kind of adventure was this?
Us tributes should be allowed to explore the entire Capitol, she thought. They better give us a tour of the most amazing things in the city before we die. They should let us into the president's mansion. Then we might be able to strangle him to death.
Interview night was nothing special. The stylists, Prudence and Karma, dressed her in a light-blue skirt that flattered her lithe form. Cobalt looked nothing like herself on the big screens of Caius Flickerman's stage. But it didn't matter; she'd already given up on being authentic. Anything to please all of these stupid rich people.
Caius asked her about her dress, her training score (an unremarkable five), and her life back home. There wasn't much to talk about, so she kind of just laughed and tried not to seem nervous. It must have been working, or at least Caius Flickerman was an expert at making any interview entertaining, because the audience seemed to enjoy her.
She teetered off of the stage into the arms of Vinia, who was grinning from ear to ear.
"You did amazing!" she said. Cobalt couldn't help but smile too. Vinia was an encouraging friend.
"Thanks, Vinia."
"Oh, you were just fantastic. They love you."
They love me? Cobalt thought. That had to be a gross exaggeration. In two days, the Capitol would be so busy fawning over the career tributes that they'd have no time for the girl from District 3.
But now wasn't the time to be pessimistic. She sat back and stared at the screen, watching as Tex fell into shaky discussion with Caius. She thought of the little blue stone, her gift from Vinia, sitting on her dresser back in the training center. Cobalt decided that the moment she returned to her bedroom, she'd hold the stone tightly in her hand; right now, she needed the touch of friendly encouragement more than ever. Because, she realized, no hero ever completed their epic journey without the help of a friend.
ADVENTURE NUMBER FOUR: THE JOURNEY INTO THE ARENA
As her pedestal began to rise, Cobalt's world melted like ice cream in the summer. There was the whirring of the rising plate, the pounding of her heart, the muffled words of encouragement coming from below her. Black spots dotted her vision. This was too much to bear. She would certainly pass out before the countdown finished. Maybe even stumble off a bit too early and die before the games even started.
But, as the plate stopped rising, her vision came into sharper focus. The ground was not made of dirt and grass, like most years. Instead, it was a thick velvet carpet that stretched outward in all directions. By the looks of things, the cornucopia was located inside a giant dance hall, with elaborately-decorated walls and a mosaic ceiling. A crystal chandelier hung above the horn, illuminating the entire space.
Outside of the room, Cobalt could see more fancy rooms and hallways. This must be some kind of mansion, she realized. There were no windows or exterior doors, of course. Wouldn't want any tributes escaping.
"Let the nineteenth annual Hunger Games begin," Caius Flickerman's voice boomed.
Her heartbeat pounded in her ears as she whipped her head back and forth, absorbing the scenery. In her mind, she tried to make a map of every possible escape route. It wasn't going very well; she was far too terrified to think that coherently.
The horn sounded, and Cobalt was cruelly reminded of the reaping: how she and her friends had raced to the Justice Building square. But this time, the prize wasn't just some money and bread. Their lives were on the line.
Within fifteen seconds, her movements started to lull. The supplies were all encased in fancy silver packages that made it impossible to see what was inside. The careers were tearing open the packages as quickly as they could manage, trying to find the weaponry they needed. Cobalt just grabbed everything she could carry with her and then ran for her life.
As far as arenas went, this one was beautiful. She passed through a dining room fully laid for a feast, a room full of treasure chests (which Cobalt thought was a little on-the-nose), and too many hallways to count. She considered stopping to rummage through the treasure chests, but decided against it. Once the bloodbath had fully died down, it would be much safer to examine the arena more carefully.
She resorted to a kind of quiet shuffle once she lost the power to run. The size of the mansion boggled her mind. It must have been five times as large as the president's estate. Once she was too exhausted to take another step, she dropped down in a little billiard room and let a few tears flow. That was enough pretending-to-be-fearless for today.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Ten tributes dead. Cobalt suddenly wondered how long these games would last. Normally, in an open but sheltered natural space, the games resolved themselves within two weeks. But this arena was completely enclosed. What would that lead to?
She couldn't bear to think about it for the time being. Also, she thought with dread, she couldn't stay in this little billiard room forever. She'd have to stay constantly on the run to avoid being found in a matter of minutes. This was just a little rest stop on her grand but terrifying journey.
She rummaged through the silver packages she'd taken from the cornucopia. A knife, some water, a dried strip of beef. Nothing incredible, but still worth being thankful for.
As Cobalt sprinted through the mansion, clutching her knife so tightly that her knuckles turned white, she caught little glimpses of red stains on the walls. Undoubtedly, they were blood marks left by injured or dying tributes as they traveled through the arena. She looked away from them whenever she could, just like she'd looked away from the dying tributes during the bloodbath.
Cobalt's question of how long these games would last was answered rather quickly. There were five more cannon shots by the end of the first day, and while Cobalt wasn't the best with numbers, she figured that meant the games would be over within a week. Good. No use prolonging the carnage if it was really inevitable.
That night, as Cobalt rested in an ornate bedroom, she pulled the blue stone out of her pocket. She held it at arm's length, hoping the cameras would see it. She thought about Vinia and Lumen. They must have done a decent job promoting her to the sponsors, because she'd been getting a scant trail of sponsor parachutes all day.
"Thank you," she whispered. Then her tiredness exceeded her alertness, and she slipped into an uneven sleep peppered with dreams about glass balls and abandoned stalls.
In one of her dreams, Cobalt stood within a formless mass of fancy lace. She stretched out her arms, reaching through the layers of the material. Then her heart stopped beating. Because she heard a sound coming from behind the thick lace.
Human footsteps.
She woke with a start, her blood roaring in her ears. Her jaw was clenched so tightly that a fiery pain rang through her face.
There were footsteps outside the bed curtains. Those were definitely, certainly real. She reached for her knife and prepared to defend herself. She suddenly thought of Pi and Della and everyone else that would be watching back home. This, Cobalt thought, was her life flashing before her eyes.
The bed curtains were pulled aside. But the tribute behind them wasn't a career. It was a small girl. Cobalt was motionless as the girl crawled into bed beside her. Then her fingers felt Cobalt's chest, and they both screamed.
"I won't hurt you! I promise!" Cobalt cried out. That was a weird thing to say when she had a knife in her hand, but she would only use it in self-defense. And this other tribute was certainly not a threat.
"I… I…" The girl seemed lost in thought, torn between being friendly and running for her life. "I don't believe you," she finally stammered.
"I don't blame you," Cobalt said. "Now, run away."
"What's that blue thing?"
"What?"
"I saw you with it. In the training center."
She held up the blue stone, her gift from Vinia. "My token," she said shortly. "Cobalt."
"Cobalt," said the other girl, suddenly making the connection.
It was a weird sort of conversation. Neither girl fully trusted the other, and the distance between their bodies was far from friendly. But Cobalt was so utterly starved of human interaction that she didn't care.
"What's your name?" she asked quietly.
"Joule."
Her voice was a whisper by this point. "District 5?"
Joule nodded.
"Which of the careers are still alive?"
"Just the 1s. The rest blew up in the treasure chest room. There must have been some kinds of explosives inside them."
That was the last thing Joule said before she ran for her life.
Cobalt fell back onto the bed, her mind running wild. The conversation had been brief, but it immediately rejuvenated her. She suddenly realized how much she depended on human interaction to keep herself going. It was a strange thought to have in a place where there was no such thing as true friendship, but she couldn't stop her brain from making the connection.
She climbed out of the bed and padded across the bedroom floor, her hand gripping her knife more tightly than ever. No use drawing these games out by being inactive. It was time to get this whole show over with.
ADVENTURE NUMBER FIVE: THE PATH TO VICTORY
There was a muffled scream somewhere far away. Cobalt broke into a run, drops of sweat flying off her forehead with every step. The events of the last two days spun through her mind, dizzying to remember. Mere hours after her interaction with Joule, she'd made her first kill. The boy from 9 was curled up in a dark supply closet, snoozing lightly even as Cobalt brought down her knife. As the cannon fired, Cobalt got the unsettling impression that her hands would never be clean again.
Now, it'd been mere minutes since her second kill. The girl from 12, the girl who moved so violently she seemed almost rabid. After her death, Cobalt gave up on cleaning off her knife for good. There was just too much blood.
The lights of the mansion flickered on and off as Cobalt careened through the hallways, passing through both familiar rooms and ones she hadn't visited. To her knowledge – and to her immense disquiet – both of the 1s were still alive. There was also the pair from 7 and the boy from 10.
Smoke crept through the building. Her heart leaped with panic when she felt the heat of the flames on her neck, singing away her smaller hairs. She couldn't be sure whether the fire was tribute- or gamemaker-made. It didn't really matter; it could kill her either way.
When she reached the central room, the one containing the now-barren cornucopia, she was surprised to see a giant cake sitting on the floor. This was clearly some kind of trap, but she couldn't hold back her curiosity as she crept carefully forward. Cursive words were carefully iced on the top tier of the cake:
Happy birthday, Stunning!
The people of District 1
Stunning? Really? She knew how ridiculous District 1 names could be, but come on! It was so silly she could hardly hold back a laugh. Sponsors sending in a birthday cake. Just when she thought she'd seen it all.
When Stunning himself burst into the room, armed to the teeth, Cobalt's mind went blank with panic. Stunning disarmed her of her knife, sending it flying off into the distance. So she dug her fingers through the cake and pulled out a giant wooden spike.
Gouging out the career boy's eyes was something she knew she would never forget. Even after she killed the boy from 10, the only other tribute who hadn't died in the fire, she couldn't force Stunning's gory final image out of her mind.
Caius Flickerman's voice flooded her chest with relief. "I present the victor of the nineteenth annual Hunger Games, Cobalt Thindrel of District 3!"
As the hovercraft lifted her out of the arena, she caught a brief glimpse of the arena's exterior. It had the ugly appearance of a giant cement cube; clearly, it had not been designed to be looked at from the outside. She suddenly wondered where the arena was located. The wilderness beyond the arena was a grassy yellow field full of twisting trees and horse-like creatures with enormous necks. Were they even in Panem?
Just then, there was a needle prick in her shoulder and everything went dark.
The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes again was a giant banana. I've gone insane, she thought. But it was only Vinia, once again garbled in the ridiculous costume she'd worn at the reaping.
"She's awake," Vinia chortled. "She's awake!"
Cobalt's chest prickled with annoyance. All she needed was some peace and quiet!
"Let me be the first to congratulate you," Vinia added. "I knew you could do it all along!"
"What?"
Oh, that was right. She was a victor. She'd escaped the Hunger Games.
Her vision came into clearer focus. There was a multitude of people crowded around her bed: Vinia, Lumen, Prudence. Her other stylist, Karma, must have been off preparing an outfit for her victor interview.
Every moment, her anger grew. Why couldn't they just leave her alone?
Fortunately, Vinia picked up on this, because she ushered Prudence out of the room fairly quickly. Now it was just her and Lumen in the little hospital area.
"What happened to Tex?" she burst out, shocked by her own suddenness.
"Careers got to him, three days in."
Lumen's expression was hard to read. Was there relief in there? Relief that after years of being the only District 3 victor, he finally had a companion?
Cobalt decided that it really didn't matter. Now was the time to be selfish and focus on her own mind. How could she ever possibly recover from the things she'd done down there in the games? She couldn't. That was why the victors always looked so dreary.
"I don't have the cobalt!" Cobalt yelled, feeling her thin white hospital gown.
"Don't worry. I took it from your uniform before it was sent off to the tribute museum." Lumen held up the blue stone, twirling it gently between his fingers.
"Wait," Cobalt said. "There's a tribute museum?"
Lumen made a sour face. "Yep. It's full of old uniforms and tokens and artifacts from the arenas. They'll be putting any weapons you used during the games in there. Like they do with every victor."
Cobalt had a terrible vision of colorfully-dressed Capitolites gawking at a glass case containing her knife. "What goes on in their minds, Lumen?" she despaired.
"I don't know," he said. "I don't know."
But, for just a moment, it didn't matter that a tyrannical government ruled over the nation they called home. The only things in the world were herself and Lumen and the tiny blue rock. The respite was brief, but she let herself sink into it, falling through the layers of her mind as quickly as she would run to an abandoned wooden stall.
List of Victors
District 1 (3 Victors): Luxor Dodge (1st), Citrine Whitacre (9th), Peridot Partridge (18th)
District 2 (3 Victors): Tyrell Crowley (3rd), Lancaster Percy (6th), Ajax Mathers (15th)
District 3 (2 Victors): Lumen Orlaith (12th), Cobalt Thindrel (19th)
District 4 (2 Victors): Mags Flanagan (11th), Ripple Hart (16th)
District 5 (1 Victor): Electra Wilty (4th)
District 6 (1 Victor): Jaguar Stratton (7th)
District 7 (3 Victors): Rowan Dobson (2nd), Willow Merrick (13th), Ebony Merrick (14th)
District 8 (1 Victor): Georgio Bronte (8th)
District 9 (1 Victor): Izzy Mayfleet (17th)
District 10 (0 Victors):
District 11 (1 Victor): Bluebell Singer (5th)
District 12 (1 Victor): Canary Roselock (10th)