Chapter 52: Marie Meredith
A/N: District Five have done it again! They've brought home a Victor, but at first glance, she doesn't really seem like much. All we ever really knew about her was that she was killed by a tidal wave during the Quell. However, that only means you're in for one heck of a wild ride in her Games...
P.S. So yeah, Marie's name was partially inspired by Marie Curie (that's kinda obvious) and of course, my good old friend Marie464 (I would insert a snarky comment but I can't think of one). The part about her being terrified of snakes and the 'traitor' part of her is based off our conversations on Discord aha. Check out her story 'Ashes of Snow and Ice', it's wonderful!
P.S.S. Join my Discord server! Link is in my profile!
P.S.S. Thanks for all the reviews! The original arena idea was from TheBookworm, and then EvanPengu suggested it too in my Discord server, so here it is, the most nightmarish of arenas, a school! XD Thanks for the idea guys!
Katniss frowned. "She was the girl who drowned in that tidal wave, right?"
Peeta nodded glumly. "She seemed nice in training. We didn't get to know each other well, though."
"How did she win?" Katniss asked, staring at the girl, who didn't seem like a strong contender at all.
"She betrayed a lot of kids," Peeta said, shuddering. "You know what, maybe it was for the best that we didn't come across her in the arena. She might have double-crossed us or something."
Katniss nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, you're right. But I remember the Capitol showcasing some of her art. It was brilliant."
Peeta let out a soft chuckle. "A beautiful work of art to disguise a cold method of victory, that was what Claudius said after her victory."
"I couldn't agree more," Katniss said, nodding. "But hey, she had to do what she had to do."
Marie Meredith
District 5
Aged 14
1 Kill
The story of Marie Meredith began in District Five, the District of power and research, the second smartest District in Panem. While Marie was in her own right very intelligent, she wasn't as academically strong as the other brainy, scientifically brilliant kids in her neighbourhood. Every test in school, she would gape at the incredibly complex questions that were presented before her, stumbling across the pages while her fellow peers zoomed through the questions with ease, their pens dancing swiftly from question to question. But what she lacked in the sciences she made up for with her artistic skills. Born to a family of nuclear scientists, her parents, Kracht and Fysica Meredith, often neglected her and her siblings, Dmitri and Rosa. Rosa was two years older and a top student in almost every regard, her niche being physics, a subject which she had never failed to obtain a perfect score in. Rosa was often left in charge of the family whilst their parents either went off to work or were abusing drugs in the black markets, located underground in the old network of sewage tunnels. Being the bitter, unforgiving sister she was, Rosa tormented Marie, beating her up on numerous occasions and sometimes denying her access to food. The worst thing she would do to Marie was to dump her in the basement, full of snakes, Marie's worst fear, and forcing her to sleep through the night in the chilling basement as slithery serpents crawled all over her, plaguing her with absolute terror. As a result, Marie turned to art to channel her frustrations. She drew up her own characters, often choosing to immerse herself in her own little worlds that she herself created rather than the thick textbooks that were the norm in the bedrooms of District Five kids. She crafted her own stories, writing about adventures in far-flung lands, conjuring up mystical characters with supernatural abilities on exciting quests to defeat enchanting monsters. The art that accompanied these stories only served to bring her worlds to life, it was just a shame they were never appreciated. In a District like Five, there was no place for wild imaginations, creativity or the arts. Just science, science and more science. Marie began work as a lab assistant when she was thirteen, alongside Rosa. Dmitri, who was a year younger than her, was employed in a different research facility working to research on a newly discovered element. While Dmitri had always been nice to Marie, Marie had always been envious of Dmitri and his chemistry skills, something on par with the best scientists in the entire District. Marie was the black sheep of the family, the social outcast within her District. But there was more to this creative, artsy girl than met the eye. While on paper she might not seem as smart as the other kids, she had other tricks up her sleeve. You see, Marie Meredith had stealth. She could walk without making even the softest of sounds and creep into hiding places that no one would expect. Her speed and agility certainly helped too. On Dmitri's thirteenth birthday, she saw her mother Fysica sneaking into a corridor with a man named Wrijving Teller, one of her colleagues in the nuclear plant that she worked in. Marie had been taught that curiosity kills the cat, but Marie didn't know anyone named curiosity and there was no cat in sight (she took that phrase way too literally, it seemed), so, harnessing the energy of one of the explorers in her stories from a foreign, ancient land called Oregon that she had conjured up on a cold Thursday evening, she began to follow the pair. Making sure she took off her shoes to minimise the noise she made, she tiptoed after them. She hid behind a wall, and peeked out. Fysica and Wrijving were having a chat, laughing and talking with each other in a manner that made Marie rather uncomfortable. Something about the way Fysica constantly touched Wrijving's arm and tugged at her dress, it just seemed very suspicious to her. Her stomach churned and she cringed a fair bit throughout their conversation, which was about each other's spouses, however, those said spouses weren't exactly portrayed in the best light. Then came the penultimate moment. The kiss. The one that sent Marie running off to tell Kracht. She couldn't believe it. Fysica Meredith and Wrijving Teller. No way! Her own mother, cheating on Kracht. Marie could hardly believe it. She knew she had to tell her father. But when she did, the response wasn't what she expected. Kracht simply shrugged and said, "Whatever," a response that Marie found absurdly odd. Even weirder was the fact that Kracht beat her up for telling on Fysica. Like, why? She had tried to help him, but clearly, that didn't please him one bit. Oh, and she was tossed into a tiny drawer and forced to spend two days in there with several slithery snakes and a knife to kill and cut them up for food. All this horrible injustice just pushed Marie to create more art to vent out her troubles, all of which would be revealed in due time.
Reaping Day. The morning was a hectic one, with the entire family rushing around in an attempt to get ready in time. There was no alarm clock in the house, so naturally, everyone had overslept. Once Marie stepped out of the small shower space in their bathroom, Fysica grabbed her by the hair and dragged her to her room, before pulling out a rather ugly green dress and forcing her to wear it, despite Marie's protests. All Fysica had to do to get Marie to wear it was to pull out a large copperhead and Marie instantly went silent, not daring to venture any further for fear of the brown reptile that was held out before her. She trudged out of the room, grumbling and staring at the floor glumly as Rosa gave her a cheeky smirk. "Why, don't you look amazing, sis," she mocked, spitting at her. Marie gave her a withering glare and went to the living room. Dmitri was there, fishing into Kracht's bag for some reason. Marie instantly hid underneath a table, eager to observe what would happen next. Dmitri fished out a wad of cash and chuckled to himself, before slipping away. Marie gasped. Her smart little brother, the pride of the family, stealing? A wide smirk spread across her face. This was a golden opportunity, a chance for her to prove that dear little Dmitri wasn't all pure and perfect. A simple betrayal, that was all that was needed. Oh, she knew exactly what to do.
By the time the family arrived at the Reaping Square, Dmitri had more than a few bruises on his face and was shooting Marie the dirtiest look possible as Fysic and Kracht dragged him by the arms, digging their long, dirty fingernails deep into his skin. Marie, on the other hand, didn't care. She was a tattletale and proud of it. Standing in her zone, a playful smile on her face even as the others around her gave her quirky looks, she was proud to have finally busted Dmitri, the golden boy of the family. It got even sweeter when Rosa walked by and Marie stuck out her foot, making her regular tormenter trip and fall to the ground. Rosa began to cough out a mouthful of dust as little kids around her began to giggle at this spectacle. Marie giggled too, elated at finally being able to rise above both her siblings for once in her life. Shame karma just had to be a bitch and she ended up being Reaped. As Marie nervously stumbled up the stage, she could see the wide, satisfied smirks on her siblings' faces. But she was too busy crying her eyes out to care. Shit, she was going to die in the Hunger Games!
Switch tried, she really did. But Marie just kept on crying and crying. No joke or funny act Switch tried to pull off could stop the tears from flowing down her face. It didn't help that Switch herself hadn't been feeling great lately. None of the Victors were quite the same after what had happened to Hassan and Sterling. Their dying bodies, the blood oozing out of the wounds, the life draining slowly out of them, it would continuously haunt Switch forever. The news that Axel had been diagnosed with lung cancer a couple of weeks before the Reaping hadn't exactly been great for her either, neither was the news that Emma, Franc's wife, had been killed in a car accident by some drunken men, including two Peacekeepers. But unlike the other Victors, many of whom were drinking aggressively, Switch had managed to somewhat keep herself together, and tried her very best to continue smiling even in the face of such dark times. Porter, the other mentor this year, was with the male tribute, Lading Simons, a fourteen-year-old boy who was just as nervous as Marie and was no doubt crying in Porter's arms at that moment. Marie grabbed a handkerchief from a drawer, a silk one made in District One with beautiful patterns stitched in District Eight. Such luxurious beauty was virtually nonexistent in District Five, yet it was in a sheer abundance on board this single train, which had a total area that was extremely laughable compared to even the smallest town in the District. It didn't sit well with Marie, but who was she to comment on this injustice? Wiping her tears, she proceeded to grab a pencil and paper from a separate drawer, and then she began to draw. Switch glanced over curiously as Marie began to draw something she couldn't quite make out. "What is that, Marie?" she asked, her voice gentle and genuine, unlike that of the escort, who pranced around and said everything in an annoyingly singsong voice.
Marie looked up, a sad, melancholic look in her eyes. "Nothing, just a little drawing of one of the Victors."
Switch raised an eyebrow. "Ooh, which one?"
Marie blinked for a while, then lowered her head and continued to draw. Switch observed her, not wishing to interrupt her, gazing at the way she sketched out a face. Soon, as the pencil flicked back and forth, leaving behind dark marks that contrasted with the ghostly white paper, a face began to form. Switch didn't recognise it initially, but as more and more of those dark marks were dished out by the tip of the pencil, she gasped, realising just who it was. Jill Wilson, the violinist Victor from District Seven. Marie kept on drawing, singing softly to herself as she sketched out Jill's eyebrows. Her singing was quiet, barely audible, but Switch could tell that it was an old song from their neighbourhood. After all, Switch had been born in the same neighbourhood as Marie, and had known Kracht and Fysica growing up, although the only thing she could remember of them was the time they spent the afternoon throwing pebbles at her as she tried to practise her quick-change routines that had now become a huge hit in the Capitol. Soon, the drawing of Jill was complete, bearing a striking, jaw-dropping similarity to the real girl, down to the tiniest of details such as the tiny freckle beside her left eye. But she didn't stop there. Switch raised her eyebrows as she swerved her pencil to the side, and began to draw out a second face. When the face began to form, Switch's eyes widened in alarm. It was Elm, Jill's fallen District partner, the deceased boy who had once been the best painter in Panem. But how? How had she known about him? Even Switch could barely remember him apart from his name, skill and face. She couldn't even remember his surname. But Jill had remembered every detail ever so vividly, and never did stop weeping for his loss after all these years. But how about Marie? How could she possibly know about him? "Rosa made me watch a replay of Jill's Games," Marie explained, as if she had read Switch's mind. "Made me take a good look at Elm's death. Then said that's what happens to people who like to draw." She bit her lip, scrunching up her face a little, as if trying to suppress a memory.
Switch nodded understandingly. "Your drawing is beautiful, Marie."
Marie turned a bright shade of red and smiled shyly. "Thank you, but you're the only one who thinks that way, it seems."
Switch laughed. "Oh, really? I bet the Capitol will appreciate your artwork! They have wee little brains, they'll see your drawings and think they were sent from heaven!"
In time to come, Marie would realise that Switch was right. The Capitolians did have wee little brains, but that could only play into her advantage.
Marie felt relieved. Her stylist this year was Prudens Barrenstill, and while at first glance his dark eyes, pale face and smug smile gave Marie the terrifying impression of Celosia, an evil witch from one of her stories, in reality, he was a pretty nice guy. Sure, he sang praises of Snow's regime, which utterly annoyed Marie, so much so that she tried to meekly tell him to change the topic, only to be blatantly ignored, but he seemed to genuinely care about her, encouraging her and even having a nice chat about art and how both of them felt unappreciated within their respective families. "My parents wanted me to be a Peacekeeper, you know," Prudens said in his distinct Capitol accent that bugged Marie for some reason. "They took one look at my drawings and decided that it was rubbish! I had to flee from my family to pursue a career in the arts!"
Marie gave a weak smile. "I've always considered that too."
Prudens chuckled. "Yeah, and my sister Wreed would often terrorise me with snakes!"
Marie's eyes widened. "Really? My sister Rosa does the same with me too!"
After their conversations, it was time for Marie to check out her costume. She gasped. It was stunning! A blue top covered in shimmering glitter and a pale skirt with several metallic gadgets that emitted neon blue flashes of light around her. She also wore gauntlets that emitted white flashes of light and a pair of glittery shoes that sparkled in the darkness of the Capitol sky. Considering the fact that last year's tributes were dressed disastrously, and the year before that was the year Millie ripped off her own costume, Marie was more than grateful for Prudens. She gave Prudens a big hug. "It's beautiful, thank you!"
Prudens smiled. "Well, I had to give it my all, you know? I had to please our great leader Snow, and do you guys some justice for once."
Marie found herself unable to dislike Prudens for complimenting Snow.
Marie just wished the tributes would look away. Yes, she loved her costume, and she could see that Lading liked his too; his costume was designed with a very similar concept in mind. But, the other tributes, these strangers, these children, who were out for her blood who would revel ins seeing her die a brutal death, they eyed her and her costume like vultures, their stern gazes unfaltering and ripping holes within Marie. Were they jealous? Marie didn't want to know. She kept her head low, biting her lip so hard it began to bleed and she quietly took her place in her chariot beside Lading, all without making even the softest sound of a peep. Lading was muttering under his breath, and Marie managed to pick out Druk, the name of his brother who he apparently loved dearly, according to Porter. Did he miss him? Yes. Did Marie care? Heck no. He was going to die sooner or later anyway. Half of the tributes still hadn't arrived, so Marie just stood there rather awkwardly as people continued to stare. Not the finest start to the pre-Games for her, it seemed. She especially hated those smug sneers the boy from Two was shooting at her. Gosh, he wanted to kill her, didn't he? Marie gulped, her fingers drumming a little too aggressively against the side of her chariot. Switch and Prudens had gone over to sit at their designated seats, so there was no one to calm her down. But the show had to go on, didn't it? Marie forced herself to keep her cool, even as the boy from Two grabbed a pebble and hurled it at her, hitting her arm. She wasn't here to please them, rather, she was here to win.
Marie was glad the crowd seemed to love her. Last year, the tributes from Five had been jeered by the crowd. It wasn't even their fault, really. Their stylists were idiots, and yet they got paid while those poor tributes got killed off. But this year, the crowd didn't jeer or toss rotten eggs at her or Lading, thankfully. Rather, they threw sunflowers at her. They had seemingly learnt their lesson after a couple of kids got cuts and bruises due to wild fans hurling thorn-covered roses at them, and Marie was glad. The other tributes were swiftly heading to the elevators, and were already in the process of creating their own little alliances and groups. Great. Just great. What hope was there for Marie, really? None. If she couldn't find an ally, she was more or less screwed. An alliance was forming between the boys from Six, Seven, Nine and Twelve, all of whom were muscular and way older than her. If she didn't have any help from anyone, Marie didn't fancy her chances of carving apart this alliance. The Careers, on the other hand, didn't seem too united. The pair from Two were arguing and kicking at each other's shins, not exactly a sign of a strong alliance. Marie leaned against her chariot and watched as the girl grabbed the boy and judo-flipped him to the ground. She gasped. This wasn't supposed to happen. But this was great! A smile began to spread across her face as the boy retaliated with a hard punch to her shoulder. She couldn't help but chuckle as, in another corner, the boys from One and Four began fighting too. Both were volunteers and had seemingly disagreed over their arena strategies. They shouted and screamed all sorts of colourful insults at each other that, in District Five, would've earned them a mouth-washing with a bar of soap. This was brilliant, wasn't it? The Careers were turning on each other, that was fantastic news! Not too far away, Lading, who was with his newfound ally, the thin scrawny boy from Three, Apparaat, snuck towards the boy from One, Diamant, and plucked a couple of feathers from his costume before dashing away with the little technician Apparaat, giggling uncontrollably as he ran. Just then, someone tapped on her shoulder. Marie spun around, balling her fists meekly, half-expecting someone to ambush her from behind. The girl from Four, a thirteen-year-old tribute with an eye patch, stood there, blinking rapidly with her one eye. "Hello," she muttered shyly.
Marie raised an eyebrow. "What do you want?"
Before the girl could answer, though, her mentor, Timmy Fisher, if Marie could remember his name correctly, sauntered up to them, dressed in a black suit with a tiny stain on his collar, grinning broadly. "Hey there, Morwenna, whatcha doing, huh?"
The girl, Morwenna, gave him a side glance, drumming her fingers against her side, her expression glum and dejected that she had to resort to lying with the girl from Five of all people. "I've asked around for allies. No one wants me so I'm trying my luck with this one." She pointed at Marie with her thumb.
Marie thought for a while. Morwenna did not seem nice at all. But considering the fact that everyone else already had an ally, she figured she'd give this downcast fisher girl a chance. "Cool beans, I'll be your ally."
A shadow of a smile formed on Morwenna's face and she nodded. "Good. See you in training, then." With that, she walked towards the elevator, her walking speed alarmingly fast, with Timmy almost struggling to keep up with her. Marie narrowed her eyes, her fingers closing around the crayon in her pocket, her tribute token that she had refused to let go off even during the Parade. Suddenly, a plan began to form in her head, and as she made her way to the elevator, a dangerous look crossed over her eyes. Marie wasn't ready for the arena.
But the arena wasn't ready for Marie either.
Marie gazed around, raising her eyebrows as she took a good look at this year's arena. Her palms were sweaty, and for a fleeting moment, the thought of the sweat droplets falling to the ground and activating the landmines sent shivers up her spine. Shut up, stop that! she scolded herself. She wasn't going to act like that fool of a boy Simon from one of her stories, who was too scared to run away and got killed by an invasive army. No, she was far braver than that! Adjusting the plum red volleyball sweatshirt she had been given to wear, she gazed around at the school that she had been thrust into. A school. Really? Of all places, a school? Marie found herself rolling her eyes a little, but not even she could resist gawking at the sheer magnificence of this school in particular. It was nothing like hers back in District Five, which was a singular, concrete building with tight corridors and labs, classrooms and storage spaces clumped together with little floor planning beforehand. This school consisted of long, elaborate corridors with fancy marble staircases that wove and interlocked around the floors, and classrooms were scattered across the school, with various signboards on them that were too far away for Marie to read. According to a map on the walls right behind Marie, there was a swimming pool, a soccer field, a basketball court, a library, a garden, a gymnasium, an auditorium and several other facilities written in smaller ink that Marie couldn't quite see. The Cornucopia was located within a small, grass patch between two corridors, and the tributes were all dressed in volleyball sweatshirts of varying colours. On the corridor to Marie's left, there was a trophy cabinet, and as far as Marie could tell, most of the trophies were won in volleyball competitions, which probably explained the sweatshirts. Marie scanned the tribute, eventually locking eyes with Morwenna, who was scowling deeply. Maybe she had a bad experience with volleyball? Marie had never played the sport before, since sports were virtually nonexistent in Five, but according to Switch, sports, including volleyball, were deeply rooted in the culture and traditions of District Four. So perhaps Morwenna biting at the sleeves of her sweatshirt had something to do with her sporting past. After all, Marie had heard Timmy mention an injury that Morwenna had once sustained. Shaking her head, she regained her focus. Morwenna was eyeing a backpack not too far away from her. Marie figured she would run for a backpack herself. The people next to her, the boys from Seven and Eleven, were looking away, seemingly preoccupied with other tributes. Perfect. This was her chance to swoop in and get some supplies. The gong rang and off she went, racing for the bottle green backpack right there in front of her, just waiting for her to scoop it up. But just as her fingers closed around its straps, someone knocked her to the ground. A sharp pain seared through Marie's ribs. Groaning, she rolled over and muttered a very foul curse as she saw the boy from Eleven looming over her, an axe in hand. Shit. No, this couldn't end now! Marie tried to get up and fight, but the boy kicked her in the head, causing her to fall back to the ground, this time with a splitting headache. Marie groaned. This was it, wasn't it? Shit, she wasn't ready to die! Not in the Bloodbath! Just as the boy raised his axe, though, an arrow went flying through the air, before lodging itself into the back of the big farmer boy's head. He crumpled to the ground, blood spilling out of his wound. Marie winced, but Morwenna grabbed her arm with one hand, the other holding a bow, a quiver attached to her pants. "Come on, we have to go!" Morwenna barked, although her facial expression remained as downcast and as depressed as ever. Marie didn't need to be told twice. Ignoring the sharp pains in her ribs and head, she stumbled along, following Morwenna down the corridors.
Timmy took another sip of his beer. Beer was good, it reminded him to forget. And oh boy, did he have a ton of things to forget! Last night's blunder when he had said the wrong lines over at the pub was a good example of that. Or how about, the way that leech of a woman Terreure treated him immediately afterwards? The bloody VPR, oh how he wished he could hoist Draco and ruddy old Snow by their ankles and dump them into a smouldering volcano! Now, wouldn't that be nice, especially after all that had happened? He took another swig, continuing to watch the screens in the mentoring room. Morwenna was asleep in the library while Marie was on guard duty, a sharp pencil in her hand that she used to draw some rather pretty figures on a piece of paper to pass the time, although Timmy doubted she could use that pencil to fend off anyone, least of all the Career pack. The fact that the pair had chosen to rest in a library, though, was ever so fitting. Back in District Four, before his Games, Timmy often snuck out of class and slipped into the school library, before dozing off in a corner. Ah, good times. And who could forget that time he poured a bucket of milk over Miss Boeken's head? Legendary, that was. He chuckled to himself, but then his smile faded into a melancholic frown. These memories, were they really his? He couldn't quite remember himself being a cheeky, fun-loving boy. Because the Games had happened and once you go into that arena, there is zero chance of anyone making it out as the same person they were before. Timmy was now reduced to a drunken fool with occasional comedy gigs, but his eyes were devoid of joy, because, after these gigs, some leech would buy him and abuse him in the worst ways possible. Okay, maybe not the worst ways. Sapphire had gotten the worst treatment. Poor girl, now that she was deemed too old, she was cast aside like a dirty old rag doll, forgotten and broken. It wasn't fair. He saddled up next to her as she gazed emptily at the ground. "What's poppin', Saph?" he asked, trying his best to give her a sly grin.
Sapphire gave him a faraway look. "I don't want to talk. Not now."
Timmy raised an eyebrow. "Whoa there, what happened, Saph? Who do you want me to beat up, huh? Give me a name, I'll yeet them to the next century!"
A fragment, a shadow, a mere ghost of a smile flickered on Sapphire's face, then disappeared again. Good, that was progress, in Timmy's eyes. "Not here, not now." She leaned closer. "It's about Draco."
Timmy nodded. "Ah, I see." With that, Sapphire stood up and walked out of the room, her head hung low and draped in a shawl, her face pale as ever, with a slight resemblance of the haunting beauty that had once inhabited this hollow shell of a body. Before Timmy could think of what to do with her, however, Mags began to shout.
"Hey! What's that soggy littleun trying to do, huh?" Mags growled, glaring at the screen in front of her.
Timmy frowned, and went over. What he saw made him fall to the ground, a startled expression plastered on his face. Marie had her pencil raised above Morwenna's chest, a sly smirk on her face. Timmy gulped, but he knew what would happen next. He squeezed his eyes shut, and forced himself to listen to Morwenna's agonised screams rippling through his eardrums as Marie stabbed her multiple times with that brutal little pencil, yet another hollow reminder of Timmy's failures to bring home a Victor since Iris. He didn't stick around to hear the cannon. He raced out of the room as tears gushed down his face, Morwenna's final cry for his help echoing through his head, hurting more than even the worst of physical wounds.
Porter hadn't slept in ages. But she didn't mind. Her years of living as a homeless girl in Five had given her a good stamina to stay awake for prolonged periods of time. If she did need to sleep, however, she made sure to wake up after just fifteen minutes. After all, she had a tribute to look after! Lading and Apparaat had been separated on the third day after an ambush by the Careers in the music room, and Porter was just glad the Careers had decided to pursue Apparaat instead of Lading. Apparaat had used a trumpet to bash Diamant's skull open, a very gruesome sight that Porter did not ever want to see on a replay (but one she knew would most certainly be on the front page of every Capitolian magazine and in the highlight reel of this year's Games, ugh, stupid Capitolians). The Careers themselves didn't seem to like the idea of working together. The girl from Two was already dead after the boy from Four stabbed her earlier on, and the boy from Two had deserted the alliance. Watching Draco's reaction as all this unfolded was pretty funny too. Porter couldn't help but smirk as Draco ranted on and on about loyalty and nationalism and idiotic Careers and blah bah blah. Freya also joined in the ranting at the start but even she seemed to be getting tired of Draco's nonsensical shouting and tried to tell him to shut up, not that it was very effective. In fact, Timmy had recorded a section of his rants and had sent them to Jill and Olive, who proceeded to convert it to a rap song with backing music and some backing vocals courtesy of Axel, who, while bedridden in a Capitol hospital, hadn't lost his sense of humour. When Porter first heard it, she immediately spat out the coffee she was drinking and burst into peals of laughter. The recording went around the Victors Circle, causing mass fits of laughter as everyone admired the true art and brilliance of seeing Draco get a taste of his own medicine. Unfortunately, Scipio accidentally leaked the recording to Freya while at a bar together. Luckily, Freya had laughed at it instead of telling him off. It seemed that not even she could resist having a laugh at Draco for a change. That same night, Lading had come across Marie over at the science labs. Marie was unarmed except for her pencil, which was soaked red with Morwenna's blood. That kill had been really sickening, but Porter couldn't exactly fault her for it. After all, only one person could come out alive. But still, that had been so brutal, Porter really did not want to see that on a replay either. She wished Morwenna had been able to hold on to her bow and arrows, because at least that would have made the kill far more humane. But no, she had lost it during an attack by the alliance of Outlier boys, which led to her horrific demise. And now, here was Marie, teaming up with her tribute, Lading, in the auditorium of the school. Lading didn't have a weapon of his own either, and while he was good at sneaking up on others, he had a dangerous tendency to slip off into his own little world at random periods of time. He reminded Porter of Wiress, the shy, severely traumatised Victor from Three, who blanked out at times. Wiress just so happened to be the mentor of Apparaat's District partner Technika, but the poor little electrician from Three had already died in the Bloodbath. Lading and Marie were having lunch in the control room of the auditorium, sitting amongst the wires and machinery whilst eating some bread Lading had grabbed from the Cornucopia during the Bloodbath. Porter watched as Marie took her pencil and began scribbling on the walls, drawing rough sketches and some quirky shapes while using her other hand to hold her bread as she ate. The girl was talented, no doubt about it, but Porter didn't quite fancy her chances of winning. Especially not when the Gamemakers released the snakes. It turned out, the auditorium was a huge snake den, with snakes and serpents lurking in every nook and cranny, but the genetic scientists had done a great job in camouflaging them. Porter herself didn't see them, until she saw a flicker in the sound system. A tiny flicker of movement was all she needed to see to determine that something was there. She glanced at her sponsor funds. Empty. Curses, she couldn't even warn them! Porter gritted her teeth and crossed her fingers, hoping the snakes were harmless.
But they weren't.
Suddenly, a snake lunged from the projector and landed just inches away from Marie. The young artist, who Porter knew was absolutely terrified of snakes, screamed at the top of her lungs, her eyes filled with wild hysteria as she dashed out the door, Lading following right behind her. He was slower than her, however, and struggled to keep up with this girl who was ensnared with pandemonium at the idea of encountering a slithery creature. More snakes began to reveal themselves, making rapid lunges at Marie and Lading, but Marie punched and jabbed with her pencil, successfully fending off the vast majority of them. They were nearing the glass exit door now. Porter was almost certain they would escape. Just then, one snake lashed itself around Lading's ankle and bit deep into his flesh. Porter's heart sank as he let out a loud cry of pain. Another tribute was going to die, and once again, there was nothing she could do about it. "Marie, please!" Lading cried out as another snake bit his wrist, drawing blood. Marie didn't even look back. She didn't even seem to hear Lading's cries for help. No, Porter watched in dismay as Marie charged out the door, and locked it, trapping Lading with the snakes. Lading made a desperate run for the door, having pried off the snakes that had bitten him. He banged furiously on the glass door, screaming Marie's name, but his District partner was nowhere in sight. Porter sank to her knees as the snakes began to lunge at Lading, overwhelming him in a crazed flurry of scales and venom. She buried her head in her hands, giving in and letting the thought of another loss swallow her up.
Beetee wished that Apparaat had stayed away from that girl from Five, but to be fair, he hadn't had much of a choice. They were down to the final four, and it was them up against the remaining two Careers, the boy from Four and the girl from One. He knew that Apparaat wouldn't stand a chance on his own, but did he really have to work with Marie, who had already betrayed two allies before? So, on the ninth day, Beetee decided to try and give Apparaat an edge over this unpredictable girl, gathering all the sponsor funds he had received from wealthy elites after Apparaat's two kills (Diamant and the boy from Seven), and using them to buy him a bottle of drugs and some dynamite. He smirked as the parachute landed right beside Apparaat. He didn't like hurting one of Switch's tributes, after all, the woman really did put in her best effort to keep them all sane year after year. But in this scenario, when dealing with a dangerous tribute, he was left with no choice.
However, he didn't expect his plan to backfire ever so badly.
It was a night in a classroom. When it was Marie's turn to be on guard duty, she quietly slipped her hand into Apparaat's pocket and gasped when she pulled out the drugs. Beetee groaned. Great, just great. Of course she had to find out about those. Ugh, the horrible luck Three had sometimes, it was unbelievable. Marie frowned as she examined the drugs, then to Beetee's horror, she crushed them into a fine powder and dumped them in Apparaat's drink, a cheeky smile on her face as she did so. Beetee glanced at his now empty sponsor funds and smacked his forehead. He couldn't even warn Apparaat or give him a new bottle of water! This really was not going as planned.
Over the next few days, Beetee could only watch helplessly as his inquisitive genius of a tribute was degraded to a stumbling, bumbling, drugged boy who could hardly even think properly. Marie would order him around, and he would be like an obedient puppy, following her every command diligently. The drugs were too strong, too effective, and now Apparaat had ceased to be Apparaat. Instead, he had basically been enslaved by Marie. And to think, this was all Beetee's fault for giving him the drugs in the first place! There was a sickening crunch in his heart as he realised that Apparaat was long gone, a walking corpse ready to be served to the Grim Reaper. The pair approached the Careers in the dead of night, who were camped in the bathroom right next to the gymnasium. As the pair crossed the several exercise machinery to get to them, a medicine ball, twice the size of a normal one, came tumbling down a rack and straight at Marie. Beetee half-hoped that it would crash into her and kill her, but no, instead, Apparaat caught it inches away from her face and placed it back onto the rack, grinning broadly as he did so. Beetee sighed, the disappointment written all over his face. Marie, on the other hand, was relieved to have survived and gave Apparaat a peck on the cheek, which only served to trap him even deeper in his trance. Beetee scowled as Apparaat giggled like a little kid, holding the dynamite like it was a toy car. Marie pointed at the Careers. "Go up to them and drop the toy on the floor, okay?" she told him. Beetee gritted his teeth. This was it. The moment everyone had been waiting for. It had been inevitable, but Beetee had hoped that maybe, just maybe, Apparaat would wake up from his trance. Sadly, that hadn't happened and the entranced boy grinned, giving her a salute.
"Anything for you, my princess!" he chirped. Marie had told him to call her that, apparently citing it as a reference to one of the stories she had written. Switch had shown him one of the stories, and while it had been amazing, he couldn't quite appreciate it considering the author was about to be responsible for the death of his tribute.
Marie nodded approvingly. "Good. Now then, go!"
With that, Apparaat charged at the Careers, who were beginning to wake up and reach for their weapons. "TAKE THIS!" he screamed as he dropped the dynamite on the floor, causing him and the Careers to blow up in a huge explosion of flames and fire. Marie stood there, quietly observing this, as, outside the windows of the school, ashes of snow and ice began to fall, and some of those ashes, he realised with a sickening feeling, were from the burnt remains of Apparaat's body.
Katniss and Peeta held a minute of silence for Marie, the witty girl who had tricked her allies in order to win. "We might not like what she did," Katniss noted. "But in the end, at least she didn't turn out like Draco or Julia."
Peeta nodded. "Yeah. According to Haymitch, she was even part of the Victor alliance during the Quell, along with Laurel and Mare, just that he forgot to mention them while in Thirteen." He paused and fished out a small photo from his pocket. Katniss leaned over and gasped when she saw a drawing of her and Peeta standing together on a chariot dressed in Cinna's costumes. "Marie drew this," Peeta told her.
"That's amazing," Katniss breathed. "I can't believe she did that."
"Yeah," Peeta muttered. "She taught the morphlings how to draw too."
The pair went on for a couple more minutes, until they had run out of things to say about Marie and it was time to move on. Peeta flipped the page, revealing a boy with scruffy brown hair and dark eyes that stared melancholically ahead. In his palm was a wooden locket, but his fingers were closed around it so neither Katniss nor Peeta could see much of it. The boy had a splash of freckles across his forehead and looked pretty young with his rosy cheeks and messy hair, although his eyes revealed his true age and beyond. "Blight Gavin."
VICTORS
District 1-Sapphire Huntington(4), Onyx Hibonite(9), Franc Montgomery(14), Crystal Montgomery(21), Sterling Jones(25), Luxe Carmichael(36), Geneva Cooper(37), Cartier Cooper(44)
District 2-Ragnar Sveinsson(5), Reyna Boudicca(6), Draco Hadley(10), Scipio MacAllister(17), Freya Carson(22), Hercules Nichols(28), Julia Dawson(39), Brutus Gunn(42), Lyme Sveinsson(45)
District 3-Nikola Johnson(13), Gadget Schroeder(24), Beetee Latier(40), Wiress Jansen(47)
District 4-Marina Bluebell(1), Mags Flanagan(11), Jolien Fisher(31), Timmy Fisher(32), Iris Fisher(33), Rafael Fisher(34), Coral Thiller(41)
District 5-Shocker Crimson(8), Switch Kim(19), Flash Morrison(27), Porter Tripp(38), Marie Meredith(52)
District 6-Ford Hamilton(20), Kimi Bentley(51)
District 7-Hassan Greenwood(2), Jill Wilson(15), Olive Sanchez(26), Birch Davison(35)
District 8-Woof Casino(16), Calico Pepper(48)
District 9-Gwendolyn Whitfield(18), Laurel Flamsteel(29), Miller Thompson(49)
District 10-Ringo Alvarez(7), John Gatwick(23), Mare Trybull(43)
District 11-Orchid Bloom(12), Seeder Crue(30), Chaff Mitchell(46)
District 12-Axel Millar(3), Haymitch Abernathy(50)
Victors that are underlined are deceased.
A/N: And there we go, Marie (not to be confused with Mare) has come home! As I said, she's partially based off my good friend Marie464 (check out 'Ashes of Snow and Ice' or get skadooshed, jkjk) and I took the part about her being scared of snakes and the fact that she likes to draw and put it in Marie Meredith's character (and also the whole traitor thing, which is basically an inside joke, if you join my Discord server or cartierscrown's, you'll figure out why XD). Thank you so much for reading this and if you're free, be sure to drop a review, those really make my day! Stay tuned, Blight is coming up next! Cheers :)