Chapter 50- Silver Bellcreek
I sit up and hug my knees to my chest. As the fireworks continue I start to sob again, and this time I can't stop. My right-hand wanders down and covers my leg wound, coming away slippery with blood. I don't even notice the hovercraft that appears above me, dangling a ladder down. Right now I don't want to survive, I want to die right here in the arena like everyone else.
I don't have a choice. The ladder touches my leg and paralyzes me. I try to scream again but I can't; my vocal cords are frozen too. It's like the bugs all over again, get them off, get them OFF!
Slowly the ladder retreats upwards, bringing me with it, like I'm stuck to a spiders web. The screams are stuck inside me, begging to get out. This is a trap, it's got to be a trap.
Once we get inside the hovercraft I'm blinded by the lights. The paralysis ends and I start to scream again, throwing myself against the walls, beating until my hands hurt. I need to get out, I need to run. The blood runs out of my leg and starts to make a pool on the floor.
"Silver, Silver," someone says behind me. I lash out and strike the person across the face. It's another tribute trying to kill me, it has to be. Or are they a mutt? Two more tributes come up behind me and grab my arms; I flail and scream and kick and lash out. I feel a sharp pain in my shoulder and everything goes dark.
Everything's double again, then triple, then double. Finally my eyes focus and I only see one of everything. Where am I? I try my hands but they're tied to the bed. They're going to torture me. Well, I'd rather be dead. I've been tortured enough.
I start to scream again, kicking my legs and trying to untie my hands in vain, until the lights in my head go out again and I slip into unconsciousness.
When I wake up again, I'm somewhere else. Where am I? The walls are white and there's a window to my left. It's sunny out.
I try my hands here and they're untied. I'm free. I sit up and become aware of the tubes and wires coming out of my arms. I'm scared. What are they for? Am I dying? Are they going to kill me now?
I run my tongue over my lips and freeze. My teeth that Buck knocked out have been replaced. I look at my leg that had been cut and the damage is gone. My nose is straight, every scar I had on my body has disappeared, and my hair is untangled.
Someone slams a door and I hear footsteps coming. I get down and try to hide under the bed but it's too low and the wires in my arms prevent me from doing anything low.
It's an Avox girl dressed in red. She's holding a tray. She doesn't look too threatening- or is she? She might be a mutt.
She sets the tray down next to the bed, on a table that I didn't notice before. The tray's full of food. It's probably poisoned. I won't eat any of it. This is all a trap, it's all part of the Games.
The Avox notices me crouching on the ground and runs away. I stay down until a man in a white coat approaches me. The Avox girl does not return. He probably killed her. Maybe he's a mutt.
"Silver, are you alright?"
"Stay away from me!" I hiss at him. He has rubies implanted over his eyes. I don't care.
"Silver, you're safe now."
"No, this is part of the arena, and you're trying to kill me!" I tell him.
"I promise you this is not part of the Games. The Games are over. You won."
"Is the food poisoned?" I whisper.
The man laughs.
"No. You're safe. You're in the hospital. Once you're feeling better you'll meet your prep team again and you'll have your final interviews before you go home."
Home.
After a bit more coaxing and promising, I agree to get back on the bed. Maybe he's not a mutt after all; maybe he's telling the truth. I'm still wary though. I'll kill him if I have to.
I look at the tray for the first time, still a bit twitchy. The food offered is so meager- some applesauce, some weak tea- but when I'm done I'm stuffed. It wasn't poisoned after all. He was telling the truth.
It takes three more days to be released. I'm still numb inside, which I'm grateful for. I'm not ready to face what happened in the arena yet. I'm not convinced this is part of the Games anymore either. To all appearances, I'm safe. I think.
I wake up on the fourth day in the bright hospital room. It's quiet here. There's something on my feet. When I sit up all the wires have been taken out of my arm. At the end of my bed there's the outfit I went into the arena in: short sleeved black shirt, black pants, green coat, boots. I start to bite my nails and hyperventilate. They're sending me back in. I'm getting ready to start screaming again when that doctor comes back in.
"You're not going to send me back there," I say in a low tone. "I'll die first."
"You're not going back anywhere. This is what you'll wear to meet your prep team again."
When I'm dressed I feel sick. I don't trust these Capitol people completely. And why should I? They sent me into an arena to die. To be tortured. I feel no allegiance to these people and I wonder if the districts were right to revolt. After this I would too.
The first person I see when the door in front of me opens is Cordia Caerellia. It seems like years since I saw the pink haired fool, and yet, I'm so happy to see her. Behind her are my silly prep team, and with them is Kensa, my stylist.
Surprising even myself, I launch myself at them, hugging first Cordia and then Kensa and the others.
Cordia beams at me.
"Well done, Silver! Oh, I'm so proud of you. Well done!"
"Nice going!" Kensa twitters.
I take a step back. Well done? Proud? I killed people. I killed many of them, and saw so many die. Why are they proud?
But I keep a smile on my face and they don't even notice that I'm silent and biting my nails. They're too busy talking about the interview tonight. That I dread.
"What's going to happen tonight?" I ask. Cordia laughs.
"Oh, you'll watch the Games all over again! It's going to be so much fun!"
"I don't want to watch them again. I did them once, now I want to forget."
"Nonsense!" Cordia chirps. "You'll watch them tonight and that's that."
As it turns out, I don't have much of a choice. Kensa puts me in a stunning floor length dress that sparkles blue and white. I don't care. I don't care much for anything right now. But I don't want to see everyone die again.
"Silver Bellcreek!" Octavio Floris announces, and like someone else is piloting my body I sweep onto the stage to a cheering crowd.
"Welcome back Miss Bellcreek!" Octavio says cheerfully, settling me down on a red chair. Octavio's hair seems more purple than the last time I saw it.
"How does it feel to be the first Hunger Games winner?"
"I'm not sure yet. I'm glad to be back in the Capitol!" I say, and that is the holy truth.
After a bit more back and forth the lights dim and the screen above the stage lights up with the movie.