Chapter One.

Amaris Persaud
District One Victor of the 111th Hunger Games
Victory Tour of the 119th Hunger Games

"What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Lash flinched as Leonora slammed her first on the table. The Peacekeepers behind him took a step forward, weary of the escalating situation. Lash was handcuffed, his wrists wriggling under the tight pressure of the metal. Amaris felt uneasy at the sight of his blood-stained hands and shirt and looked away as Lash began tapping his feet in the pool of blood below him. Lash kicked the shattered glass bottle to the side and the Peacekeeper tightened his grip on his shoulder.

"He was taunting me by being here," Lash replied calmly. "He came to my District after killing my tributes."

"Boo-fucking-hoo," Leonora snapped, clenching her fists tightly as she paced back and forth. "It happens every year. They die and you get over it."

Amid the tense exchanges between Leonora and Lash, Amaris was slowly inching towards the door, and Leonora glared at her. "This is what you get for babying him."

Amaris didn't answer. Leonora tossed her head back, murmured to herself, and scurried to the window. The crowd outside began to clap and cheer for her, and she waved hesitantly, desperately smiling through the distraught look on her face. Clearly, it was fooling them, as the crowd's chanting got louder when they saw her at the window.

"Where's his cannon?"

"What the fuck are you on aboutt?" Leonora turned away from the window and raised her voice.

"I killed him," Lash replied, maintaining his calm composure. "Where is his cannon?"

"Boom," Leonora bellowed, rushing over to him. She got in his face, screaming at the top of her lungs. "Boom! Boom! Is this what you wanted? Are you happy now?"

Lash chuckled. Leonora grunted at him, eyes widening from her growing frustration with his indifference. Flustered, she turned around, and crossed her arms. Her hands were shaking uncontrollably as she gripped the doorknob, hoping that no one was behind the door. This had to stay between the three of them.

"This does not leave this room. Do you understand?" Leonora whispered, eying the Peacekeepers who were forcing Lash to stand up. "No one can know about this."

Amaris nodded and that was not the answer Leonora was looking for. Leonora gestured for her to say something else, but Amaris' only reaction was to nod again. She rolled her eyes, glanced at Lash and the Peacekeepers one last time, and slammed the door shut behind her. The room was eerily quiet, except for Lash tapping his foot. He raised his hands that were bound in hand-cuffs and looked over his shoulder, nudging the Peacekeeper.

"What happens next?" He asked, but the Peacekeeper remained silent. He looked at Amaris, a smirk on his face, still not understanding what he had just done.

Amaris was nervous to speak, since now that she was alone with the Peacekeepers, she was unsure of what they would do. The body was already taken away by two other Peacekeepers and Amaris was uncertain if that is where Leonora went. Leonora was competent, but none of them knew what would happen next.

They have to report this, right? Lash is going to be taken away. And so are we.

"Amaris?"

Be quiet, Lash. Just be quiet. You're going to make the situation worse.

Amaris looked out the window and scanned the crowd, noticing the cameras in their hands and the eagerness and excitement in their faces. They were anxiously waiting for Ronan Pitt, the District Three Victor of the 119th Hunger Games, to come outside. In the distance, Peacekeepers unloaded out of a large truck and spoke into a megaphone, telling the crowd to disperse and go home.

No one can know about this, Amaris repeated in her head, knowing that Leonora meant what she said. No one can know about this. Especially not the Capitol.

Violence against victors was a thing of the past. When the rebels bombed Districts One, Two, and Four, they killed several of Panem's cherished victors, and the Capitol retaliated with the 100th Hunger Games. The violence didn't stop there, as any victors who were involved in the rebellion were also murdered. Panem lost more of its victors, and soon after, Panem's citizens were disgruntled and disillusioned.

From that point on, the Capitol vowed there would be no more violence – against the victors, at least. The Capitol amped up security in the Districts and increased the amount of Peacekeepers nation-wide. The victors were always considered untouchable, but the rebels made the mistake of betraying that. Here, Lash committed the unthinkable act of murdering another victor. Albeit untouchable, the victors were not above the law, even if they hail from District One. The Capitol treasured its victors even more than its lapdog District.

Amaris understood why Leonora didn't want anyone to find out; District One's victors were dwindling, whether it was from old age or tributes not performing as well as they used to, and after Leonora lost her sister in the 100th Hunger Games, she spiraled. She couldn't handle any more loss, especially her fellow District One victors. Leonora knew that if the Capitol found out, they would murder Lash. Leonora and Amaris would be seen as accomplices.

"He deserved it," Lash concluded. Lash and Amaris continued to stare at each other and she got a chill down her spine. Lash was beyond delusional, but she always knew that. She always knew what he was capable of.

Amaris felt personally responsible for the emptiness in his eyes. When she was his mentor, she made excuses for him. She chose not to be concerned about his unhinged behavior; when he targeted the younger tributes and when he tortured his ally, she convinced herself that it was a strategic tactic and that he was doing it to prove something to the other tributes.

She was afraid of him. Even as his mentor, she was afraid of him. Everyone was.

To the Capitol, violence against victors was not excusable anymore, and now, she was going to face the consequences of his actions.

All of District One was.

Author's Note:

Here we are. Writing Hunger Games fanfiction once again. I'm continuing my trend of prologues that don't have much meaning for the story. All of you can roll your eyes at my obsession with District One.

In retrospect, I wish I didn't do the SYOTs the way I did… 120 Hunger Games is a lot of Hunger Games. Since I can't go back and change anything because I have all of the victors figured out, take into consideration that it's been 120 years. I'm sure Districts figured out ways to prepare their kids for it. Be creative!

The form is on my profile and please submit by Sunday, April 12. At that point, if I think it's necessary, I'll extend the deadline.

If anyone's bored of social distancing and needs something to do, I recommend the podcast 'My Dad Wrote a Porno.' Funny stuff. It's a bit inappropriate but if you're willing to read teenagers killing other teenagers I'm sure you can handle vulgar language. Anyone else have any podcast recommendations?

Also, it's been a few years: What's everyone up to nowadays? What's different with you all? Snail (who is now trying to erase his past with the new name tear that cherry out) catfished us as a girl and now we know he's a boy… so clearly things change. While I am stuck in my apartment for who knows how long, I work full time and go to grad school full time, so bear with me here :)