Warning: Bad language.
Lumas
I hate District 13. No matter how bright and clean its corridors are, I can't shake off all the nightmares about being buried alive. I want to get whatever business Coin has summoned me here for done as quickly as possible.
I hardly know anyone around the table. That just sets me more on edge. I was away fighting for most of the war, first in Eight, then in Six, then in Five. I didn't have time to get to know any of the other important rebels. I know who Coin is, and Plutarch, but I've never really talked to either of them about anything but the rebellion. The only other victor important enough to be here is Binah. Over the war, I've come to realise that she's Ramona's friend, not mine. Then there's Fawkes, who I hardly know. I don't think we have a single thing in common besides being rebels and having PTSD from the games.
Maybe I could've been friends with them if Ramona were here. Maybe I could've spent more time with them, got to know them better. But it feels like I'm surrounded by strangers.
Coin announces that we've taken all the districts. I already knew that. Five and Two were the last to fall, within days of each other. It was my idea to target Luka Starkwain, the victor who'd funded most of Five's peacekeeping force. I was the one who held the gun to his granddaughter's head and forced him to surrender.
Most of the people here act like they didn't know that and cheer.
Coin starts talking about how we're going to approach attacking the Capitol. I'm only half listening. My approach worked in the urban districts. Why would the Capitol be any different? The only major difference I can think of is I'll actually enjoy killing civilians.
But then the screen behind Coin flickers and one of Lobos' propos starts playing. Coin falls silent.
It begins with Lobos standing in a dimly-lit corridor, facing the camera.
"I've come to realise that there's no way I'm winning the war," he says. "The rebels are too strong. The only way to prevent excessive loss of life and suffering in this city is to surrender."
There's a cheer even louder than before. I join in this time. Maybe I won't get the opportunity to shoot any Capitolites but I'll probably get Ramona back sooner.
Then Lobos opens a door.
"But, before I surrender, I'm going to take a few prisoners with me."
The camera follows him into the cell, where three prisoners are tied to chairs. They have bags over their heads but I think they're two men and one woman.
My blood runs cold. I recognise the woman instantly.
"Ramona!" I cry. "Someone do something! Stop him!"
Binah shakes her head. "It looks pre-recorded. She's probably already dead."
Lobos shoots one of the men in the head. The other two prisoners make a muffled scream. Then he shoots the other man, face grim.
He aims the gun at Ramona's head.
"Just one left," he says, walking closer until the barrel of the gun is pressed right up against her forehead. She gives a little shudder of fear but she doesn't scream. She has to know what's coming. She must've accepted it.
Lobos pulls the trigger and I've never hated anyone in the world more than I hate him.
The gun makes a harmless clicking noise.
"I'm out of bullets," Lobos says.
"He knew," Fawkes says. "He made sure there were two bullets in the gun, shot the other two and made it look like he was going to shoot Ramona. She's too valuable for him to kill but he has to scare us somehow."
"Why didn't you say that a minute ago?" I ask, through gritted teeth. Fawkes is a good guy. He does a lot for the rebellion and he's been through a lot. But something about him rubs me up the wrong way.
"I wasn't totally sure," he says. "I didn't want to give you any false hope."
"Thanks," I say.
"Actually," Lobos says. "I think I'll spare Ramona. She didn't do anything wrong, not like the others. If you rebels cooperate with me, I might even let her go."
Lobos pulls the bag off her head. I search her face for cuts and bruises, any sign that he might've hurt her again. There's nothing. But there is a gag in her mouth and something in her eyes I don't think I've ever seen before. Hope and fear and desperation all mixed together.
I want this to be the last time I ever see Ramona like this. I want to reach through the screen and carry her to safety, to finally find a way to protect her.
"I'm willing to make a deal," Lobos says. "Come to the Capitol so we can sign a peace treaty. Once we've made an agreement, I'll let Ramona go. But if you march on this city and kill people, I'll have no choice but to kill her."
I see something light up in Ramona's eyes, something I haven't seen since they took her. She knows this is the last one, the last propo. Soon, she'll either be free or dead.
"And one more thing," Lobos says. "I want Lumas Taffeta to be there when we sign the treaty. If he's not there, I won't sign anything. Let me know when you're willing to sign."
The propo cuts out.
"We're signing the treaty," I say. "End of discussion."
President Coin looks at me and smiles.
"Fortunately for you, Soldier Taffeta, we had the beginnings of a treaty drawn up about a week ago. We knew we were going to win the war. There's only one item left to be decided."
"What's that?"
"I'll tell you when everyone's here."
I look around, wondering if there are any important people who aren't here, but then Coin stands up.
"This is a matter for victors and survivors only. Soldiers Taffeta, Katayanagi and Chau, you are all needed. The rest of you are dismissed."
We're led to another room with an even larger table. Binah and Fawkes immediately sit down next to each other. I walk around the table and sit across from Binah.
"So…" I say. "It's almost over."
"Yeah," Binah says. She looks down. I don't think she wants to talk to me.
"What's the first thing you're going to do when it's over?" Fawkes asks, trying to break the tension. "I'm going to buy the sofa."
"Which sofa?" Binah asks.
"You know the one," Fawkes says. "Training Centre, District 3 floor."
Binah smiles. "That's cute."
"Then I'll take you to a party. There will definitely be a party somewhere. And we'll dance all night and get so tired that, when we get back, we'll just fall asleep on the sofa immediately."
Binah looks at Fawkes like there's very little stopping her from kissing him. I don't really want to see that now so I start talking.
"I'm going to take Ramona home," I say. "And just… be with her."
"You'd better start hoping you're still good enough for her," Binah says.
"Binah," Fawkes says. "Are we going to have this conversation now?"
"What? She's my best friend. She deserves better."
"I did what I had to do," I say, quietly.
"A lot of soldiers did," Binah says. "You didn't. What you had to do was kill people. And killing people is absolutely fine if it's quick. All it takes is one shot. Boom! Dead."
She mimes a gun with her fingers and sighs.
"You could've made it painless," she looks at me with dark, serious eyes. "Those peacekeepers you tortured, they probably had families and friends. Whatever crimes they were guilty of, you made someone innocent suffer. And Ramona might think differently. She might be glad to be with you again but I think she's too good for you and I'm probably going to think that for a while. I just want you to know that, before you get her back. I want you to be sorry for what you did. Then I can forgive you."
Anger fills me. I can't believe Binah's judging me when she spent the entire war safe in District 13 with her boyfriend. She has no idea how lost and desperate I've been feeling for months.
"I didn't know you were capable of forgiving people," I say.
"Lumas, don't-" Fawkes says.
"Oh, sorry," I snap, ignoring him. "I forgot you forgave Fawkes for trying to kill you. Maybe you are capable of forgiving people if they're pretty enough to trick you into thinking you have a heart."
"I forgave Régine, didn't I? And Ramona! I used to hate her. I used to think she was some selfish, traitorous brat! And you have an advantage, Taffeta. I didn't know Ramona before I hated her but I know you're fully capable of not being a dick. So stop being a dick!"
She sits back, arms crossed. Fawkes looks between us.
"I don't like this," He says. He doesn't say why but he takes Binah's hand and I know why. It's nothing to do with me. He just doesn't like seeing her upset.
"Of course you don't," I say. "You're allergic to conflict."
"It's still better than being addicted to it."
His words hit me like a knife to the gut. I want to respond but I can't think of what to say.
Am I really addicted to conflict?
Luckily, other victors start coming into the room. Some of them are fellow rebels. Some of them are on the Capitol's side, being escorted in in handcuffs. I get a few glares from them.
Once everyone has found a seat, Coin clears her throat.
"For those of you who do not already know, the Capitol has surrendered. The war is over."
The room erupts with cheers. Even a few of the pro-Capitol victors seem happy the war is over. Coin waits for silence before continuing.
"A treaty is being drawn up as we speak. However, there is one item still to be determined. A lot of people believe that the Capitol need to be punished with the severity of the the suffering they've caused. Just punishing the leaders alone will not satisfy them. Some people are calling for a complete extermination of Capitol citizens."
"No!" Luka Starkwain cries. I smile. I know his wife was born in the Capitol. His children and grandchildren all have Capitol blood. I wonder how he'll feel, having the people he loves torn away from him.
"Of course, due to population issues, that's not something we're willing to consider," Coin says. "What we are willing to consider is a ceremonial Seventy-Sixth Hunger Games containing full-blooded Capitol children. The vote for whether it goes ahead or not will be left up to you, the victors of the Hunger Games. There are fifty-one of you present so, if the petition has twenty-six signatures, the games will go ahead. Are there any questions?"
Most of us sit there, stunned. I begin to wonder what it would be like. Another Hunger Games?
Maybe it's the only way to make the Capitol pay for what they did to us.
There's a clink of chains as Granitte Sacro raises her cuffed hands.
"Why are the children here?" She nods her head towards Fawkes and the boy sitting next to him. I recognise him as Silver Oberst, one of the five survivors of the Quarter Quell. The other three all got picked up by the Capitol. "Do we get to see them fight to the death to claim victorhood? Can we bring the other ones in? I'm looking forward to watching Eidolon choke the life out of that blonde bitch who had the gall to seduce my niece."
Silver looks like he's going to lunge across the table and attack Granitte but Fawkes holds out an arm to stop him.
"I was in an alliance with Ageis and Régine," Fawkes says. "They loved each other. Your niece liked girls, Granitte. Being with Régine made her happy. But you never cared about her happiness, did y-"
"What do you know?" Granitte snaps. "What have you won?"
"The war, Binah's heart and a game of wink murder. What about you?" He leans back in his chair, leaving Granitte to quietly seethe. Then he looks around at all the other victors. "The games were never about victory. They were about survival. I might not be a victor but I survived the Quell. I can probably say more about being in an arena than some of you. Anyone else here think I'm not worthy?"
There's a silence. All the victors know that nobody argues with Fawkes Chau and escapes with their dignity intact. He's too smart, too good with words.
"Good," Fawkes says. "Now, there's something I need to ask."
He pauses and looks at Binah. She nods. Something passes between them in that moment and I know it's probably bad news.
"Who hurt you the most?" He asks. "Out of everyone in the Capitol, who was the one who did the most damage to you? Are they one of the twenty-four children who will go into that arena? Are they going to suffer because of the games? Or are they dead already? The chances are, everyone who actually did damage to you is either already dead or due to be executed for their crimes before these games go ahead. If you sign this petition, you will gain nothing. You will only stain your hands with more blood."
I know exactly what he's doing. He's trying to stop the games from going ahead. And not for a good reason either, just because his girlfriend doesn't like watching people suffer.
Even if they deserve it.
I have to stop him. I want this games to go ahead. I need to find some clever argument.
Amber LeClerc, the oldest surviving victor from District 1 gets there first. "Are you just going to let your girlfriend whisper in your ear and do everything she says?"
"Yes," Fawkes says. "And I shouldn't be ashamed that I want to make my girlfriend happy more than I want revenge. Binah matters more to me than revenge. I know I can't change the past. I can't undo what Seneca Crane did to me and I can't hurt him. He's dead and I'm alive. The best revenge I can have is to live my life, let go of the past and embrace my future. This war has been more about what we've been fighting for rather than what we've been fighting against. We've been fighting for the future this country can have, a future free of violence and oppression. Letting this games happen would be a step back. It would be admitting that we aren't going to change anything. It would make us just like the Capitol."
Someone starts laughing. I realise it's me.
"Great!" I say. "Good for you and your happy, perfect relationship. Not all of us are that lucky."
Fawkes looks at me. I can see all his defence mechanisms kicking in.
"Would Ramona want-"
"Don't talk to me about Ramona!" I snap. "While you've been sitting underground playing movie-star, I've been fighting a fucking war! You weren't there when Lobos bombed the districts. You didn't have to pull bodies out of the rubble."
"Twenty-three new bodies won't make things better," Fawkes says, looking spooked. His voice sounds quieter than before.
"Do you know how many Capitol civilians died in the war?" I ask. "Zero. Why do they get to be safe from the fighting? They've been hurting us for decades and we're still the ones losing. I was hoping to make their streets run red with blood to make up for every drop of our blood they've spilled. So what if your girlfriend gets a little upset? Mine is currently tied to a chair with a gun to her head! And do you know what she told me the day before they took her? She said she wanted to destroy them, to make them pay for everything they did to us. It's just twenty-three kids. Compared to everything they put us through, it's a small price to pay. Give me the paper!"
I hold out my hand. Coin gives me the petition and a pen. I sign my name with no hesitation. I slam the paper down on the table.
"Let me destroy them," I say. "Let me destroy someone."
Binah and Fawkes glare at me across the table. So do a handful of other victors.
But so many of them flock behind me to sign that I know the games are going to happen. I'm going to make them happen.
This chapter was pretty sad to write because it shows just how far Lumas has fallen. He's probably the character who the war corrupted the most. He has no hope left, nothing to fight for. Instead, he's fighting just to destroy the people who have made him suffer all his life and kidnapped his girlfriend. At this point, he doesn't care who he destroys anymore. It also means he destroys his relationships with other characters. I think it'll take a while for Binah and Fawkes to forgive him for this.
