Chapter 35: A Meeting With the Enemy

After our meeting concludes, we all head back to our usual suites. I'm elated - with Ruth, Daphne, and Mac by my side, I feel more confident than ever that I could win the Games. There are only ten of us left now. If I play my cards right, I might actually survive. I'm not the same boy I was twenty-five years ago, either; I will do everything I can to keep Daphne and Mac alive, but I know better than to put myself in danger this time around.

If there's one thing I need before the Games begin, it's a good night's sleep. I've spent so many nights out of the Arena that I'm starting to get used to the feeling of the bed, but I know that once I enter the Arena, I'll be back to sleeping on the ground. I'll have to make this last night count.

The door to my room creaks as I open it. The lights are on, which is weird - I turned them off when I left.

My heart jumps as I spot someone sitting in the corner of the room. I let my breath out when I recognize who it is: Tantalus Snow, in the flesh.

"I didn't mean to startle you," he says, standing slowly from his chair.

"I get startled easily," I say curtly, closing the door behind me. "I can't put my finger on why."

Snow sobers a bit. "Fair enough."

I set down my belongings on my bed, sitting in a chair on the opposite side of the room. "Why are you here, Tantalus?" I ask him. He looks deep in thought.

"I just wanted to see you," he says, "before you go back into the Arena."

"I'm not your slave," I respond sharply. "If you have some desperate Capitol whore who needs a date, get someone to do it who's not about to die."

Snow winces at my words but doesn't bite back. "It's not about that," he sighs. "It's the Games. I thought out of everybody, you'd be actually willing to talk to me. The rest of them think I'm a monster. I guess I was wrong."

He's right - he was sorely mistaken. I can't pass up on this opportunity to hear what Snow has to say, though.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped at you," I say, clenching my fists a bit behind my back. "What about the Games is... bothering you?"

Snow sighs before he begins. "I just… I'm happy that the Games are ending, I am. I think a small part of me has died slowly each year I've watched those poor children die," Snow says earnestly. "Even if it is certainly exciting to place bets on my favorites, it's sometimes hard to ignore the more brutal aspects of it."

I nod, encouraging him to continue. Maybe he's getting somewhere here.

"But in a weird way, it hurts me more to see the Victors die in the Arena. You are the primary symbols of hope that this nation - even the Capitol - has. I regret sending you all into the Arena," Snow says. "I wanted to visit one of you before you go into that horrid place. Just one, to put my mind at ease."

"And I'm the one," I say.

"You are one of the few very special Victors," Snow explains. "I know you probably know this by now, but not many Victors won under the circumstances you did. I can only name a few tributes who had the caring nature you showed in your original Games and who made sacrifices you made for those you cared about."

I offer a small smile. I decide not to mention the fact that Snow rigged the Reaping to select my sister a few years after I won.

"Of all the Victors, you are one of the humblest," Snow compliments. "I'd say you're a man of the people. Not above the masses. And that makes you special."

"You know," he says slowly, "I think you're wiser than you let on. I think everyone sees the Games as a horrid thing. The Games bring out savagery in even the tamest tributes. But you… I still remember you. You glowed in your first Interview. I remember pitying your innocence. But you were just as skilled in combat as you were charismatic. Of all the Victors, very few are genuinely kind people. Even I know that."

"They're broken people," I remind him. "We've been put through more than you can imagine. The Games don't end when we leave the Arena."

Snow nods humbly. "I hope they may finally end after this year. For good."

We sit in silence before Snow stands, shaking my hand.

"I should go," he says. "You have an important day tomorrow."

I shudder a bit. 'Important' is an understatement. Why am I meeting with the most powerful, corrupted man in Panem the night before my friends are going to die?

He offers me a smile before he heads out. "Thank you for your words, Soren," he says quietly. "I certainly would have learned less from any of the other Victors. For the record, I'm still betting on you."

I smile back, and the smile lingers a bit as I close the door. All these years, I've avoided Tantalus Snow. I'm not one to hate anyone, but after everything I've been through, he's one of the closest to that realm. Of those who are alive, of course.

But his words make me more confident that he meant what he said all those months ago. The Games are really going to end, and then this will all be worth it.