Sirena Current, District 4
"I'll hunt the pearl of death
To the bottom of my life
And ever hold my breath
Till I may be the diver's wife."
Joanna Newsom, Divers
Panem was surprised when Sirena Current chose oyster-diving as her talent. Most victors picked singing or dancing, not something that you could earn money for anyway.
But that was exactly why she'd chosen it. Because, in District 4, a lot of people tried to earn money diving for oysters and one of those people was Sirena's boyfriend.
When Sirena had won her games, almost a year ago, her mother had warned her not to get too close to anyone who wasn't a victor, otherwise the Capitol would be able to threaten them. Ever since Sirena's father had died of cancer, the only person that the Capitol could threaten was her mother and they couldn't really threaten her because she was a victor as well.
But not even Saorise Current knew about Beck Morgan. Nobody knew about Beck Morgan. He'd been a boy from Sirena's class in the academy who she'd had a crush on for years. She was relieved when he wasn't chosen to be her district partner.
When he came to her room in the Justice Building to tell her that he'd always had feelings for her, she'd been so shocked that she hadn't told anyone.
Now Sirena swum along the seabed, searching for oysters. There was a special breed that had been introduced to these waters just after the war, one that produced pearls twice as quickly as a regular oyster. Sirena's heart raced at the thought of finding one. She loved pretty things.
But her favourite thing about diving was being near Beck. Even with a short stretch of cool, still water between them, Sirena felt close to him. She felt this invisible connection between them. Every now and then, she'd look over to see his graceful limbs move through the water and his sun-bleached hair float away from his face and she'd feel more in love than ever.
Suddenly, just as Sirena thought she'd seen the edge of an oyster poking out of a clump of seaweed, there was a sudden movement in the water. She turned to see a dark, sleek shape shooting towards Beck.
A shark.
Sirena's arm shot forwards and grabbed the mysterious object from the ocean floor. She'd fought a shark before, during her games. She knew where the weak spots were.
She hadn't been so terrified before. Maybe it was because, last time, it'd only been her life on the line. She'd been exhilarated by being so close to death. But now Beck was in danger as well, she felt sick with fear.
Sirena swum towards the shark as its jaws clamped down on Beck's torso. Blood tinged the water. Sirena stabbed the object in her hand towards the shark's gills. Now she realised that it was an oyster shell, a sharp one. The shark thrashed around in pain and let go of Beck.
Sirena wrapped an arm around her boyfriend and pulled him away from the shark, painfully aware of the thin trails of blood that floated away from his body. She was desperate to ask if he was okay but she couldn't until they got out of the water. Besides, she knew he wasn't. Beck's sea-green eyes were unfocused behind his mask. He was losing blood rapidly.
Sirena tried to swim away as quickly as she could but she was aware that surfacing too quickly would lead to the bends. Beck definitely wouldn't survive that. His skin, usually tanned from so much time outdoors, was a pale, sickly grey.
Then, the worst happened. The shark decided that it wasn't finished with Beck and bit down on his leg. Sirena felt it try to tug him away. So she lashed out with the oyster shell again, aiming for the eyes. As she slashed away until the shark released Beck, something occurred to her.
Sharks weren't supposed to be this persistent. They usually swam away when they were hurt. But the shark mutts in her arena had taken a lot more effort to defeat.
This shark was a mutt and it was here for a reason.
Finally, they reached the surface. Beck was unconscious by now. Sirena knew that, unless he got medical attention, he wouldn't have long left. It was a good thing she'd picked up some medical skills at the academy. She was nowhere near as good as her mother but, if she got to dry land, or even a nearby boat, she'd be able to keep Beck stable for long enough to save him.
The nearest boat was a fancy, white yacht, presumably belonging to some Capitollites on holiday. They were about to get the shock of their lives. Sirena swum towards the yacht and clung to the side. There was a ladder up to the top deck. Discarding all their heavy diving equipment, things like masks and oxygen tanks that Sirena could pay to replace if she had to, she draped Beck's limp body over one shoulder and began to climb.
"Stop climbing or we'll shoot!"
Sirena looked up to see a group of peacekeepers aiming their guns over the side. That wasn't that surprising. Some Capitol families travelled with peacekeeper bodyguards. They were also more likely to have medical equipment on their yachts.
"I'm a victor," Sirena called. "I was diving for oysters with my friend and we got attacked by a shark. He's dying. I need to get him to a hospital."
"You may keep climbing, Miss Current," President Snow leaned over the side of the yacht. Sirena felt a chill run through her body that had nothing to do with her soaked wetsuit and the blood pouring down her shoulder.
Her instincts told her that it wasn't a coincidence that the president's yacht was in the same waters that her boyfriend was attacked by a shark.
Sirena climbed onto the deck and laid Beck down on polished boards. She could tell immediately that there was no saving his leg. She tore a long strip from Beck's wetsuit, and started trying to tie a tourniquet. Now she just needed something to hold it in place. Sirena wondered if the president would mind if she destroyed one of his deckchairs.
"You know, Miss Current," the president said, calmly, as if there wasn't a boy bleeding to death on his boat. "My vessel has a fully-stocked medical bay."
"Take me there," Sirena sobbed. "Please."
"Okay, let us make a deal," Snow said. "Your boyfriend will be given the full medical care that he requires on the one condition that you agree to your full victor's duties. If you refuse, you'll be forced to watch him slowly bleed to death."
Sirena looked down at the boy bleeding onto the deck. She'd been foolish to think that she could keep their love secret from the Capitol. Now she realised that this was all her fault. They must've sent the shark after Beck because of her.
Now he'll either die because she'd loved him or he'd live on, scarred by his encounter with the shark. Sirena knew that Beck would lose his leg. Then he'd lose his job because he wouldn't be able to swim. Then it'd be hard for him to find a new one because so many jobs in District 4 required both legs. He wouldn't be able to support himself, let alone his three-year-old brother, Loam.
Either way, she'd ruined his life.
"Okay," she whispered. "I'll do whatever you want."
I actually surprised myself with how much fun I had writing that chapter. I didn't really like my first draft so I went completely off-piste and ended up reliving my childhood days. I had this book called 'Danger! - an encyclopaedia of all things dangerous' and the first few pages are about sharks.
Speaking of childhood, Sirena's grown up a lot since we last saw her. She's still reckless but she has the skills to survive the Hunger Games and save Beck from a shark. Unfortunately for her, her decision to have a secret relationship with Beck means that it's easy for Snow to manipulate her. Some victors take a lot of convincing to bow to Snow's demands and, in Sirena's case, it took her boyfriend being almost killed by a shark. Setting that up must've been a lot of effort, even for Snow.
