Chapter 38:

Kora Flickerman, Host of The Hunger Games

Kora looks around the modern, but quite frankly bland looking house of the Emmerich family as the crew finishes setting up, while Davy's family gathers in the living room. The patriarch of the family, Bohr, sits back in his own chair, face cold as he stares intently at his children as his wife Lita frets about, making sure all of them look good for the cameras. The eldest child, Amedeo, has been giving Kora flirty looks since she arrived, despite the wedding ring on his hand, making Kora narrow her eyes at him before turning away. The other two siblings, Radon and Selene, talk quietly to each other as Selene slaps her mother's hand away as she tries to fix her hair, making her twin brother laugh at her.

Two of Davy's friends are also nearby, brought to do their interviews here together to save on time. One of them is someone Kora is quite curious about, considering his eldest brother is there with him. But especially as the young red head walks over to her, looking nervous as he clears his throat. "Hi, Miss Kora, can I…uh…talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure," Kora answers Leandro as she looks over at the crew, making sure they have time. They take a step away from the crew and Davy's family, and Kora gives him an encouraging smile, seeing how nervous he looks – in addition to sleep deprived and immensely stressed. "What's up?"

"Well, about Davy…" Leandro starts nervously, quickly looking away as his eyes begin to water. He glances over at Davy's family as Lita gives up fixing her children's appearances and takes her seat. "They…don't know…about us."

Kora follows his gaze over to his family, noticing the curious looks they have been giving the victor's son. "They don't…oh. I see."

"Please don't say anything about us," Leandro quickly pleads with her and Kora turns back, finding the young boy staring up at her with desperate eyes. "Don't out him like this."

"Of course I won't," Kora answers him softly, glancing back over at Bohr's calculating eyes as he watches his children, just getting the vibe from him that he is judging everything they do. "If Davy hasn't told them yet, it's not my place. I'll leave that to him, should he win."

"Thank you," Leandro answers with a sigh of relief as Kora is called over by the crew to begin the interview with Davy's family. She nods her head in response to Leandro before heading over to the family, sitting across from them and feeling a bit more closed off to them than she was initially now that she knows they might not approve of Davy if they knew about him and Leandro.

But she has been working on her acting, so she puts on a bright smile as she faces Davy's family, ready to start the interview. "We are now in District Five with the family of Davy Emmerich! Now Davy has been doing quite well for himself in the arena-"

"Well?" Bohr interrupts her, a bit of disdain in his eyes as he looks at her, seemingly judging her. Kora's smile falters a bit, before coming completely fake as she looks back at him, only making his sneer grow. "He's been spending most of the time whimpering in fear."

"Bohr, that's not true," Lita says to him, defending their youngest child. "He's doing his very best."

"Yeah Dad, he's the youngest left," Radon adds on, looking proud of his brother. "That says something to make it this far."

"Yes, the youngest with a bunch of seventeen and eighteen year olds," Bohr mutters under his breath, making Lita shake her head at him. "Great odds there."

Kora can see the interview going south quickly and steps in, always hating to see families not having faith in their tribute. "Davy is the only outer District tribute to make a kill so far," Kora points out to them and she can tell from Bohr's face he doesn't have an immediate argument there. "And at fourteen, no less. I wouldn't let his age take him out of the running yet."

The family is quiet at this statement, varying levels of support showing on their faces, and it's clear not all of them believe that Davy has what it takes to win – like his sister Selene – but are doing their best to be supportive. Except for Bohr. He's just being a pessimistic asshole. "A kill that the Gamemakers basically gave to him," Bohr comments with a shrug.

"But it is good to have the support of the Gamemakers," Kora tells him, but she's not getting through. "In fact, Davy has had a lot of support from his mentor. What do you think of all the support Letha has given him in the form of sponsor gifts?"

A few of them glance over to the side where Letha's son waits as Lita answers Kora, her eyes watering up, "I'm so glad he has such a supportive mentor who is doing everything she can to help him out. So thank you, Letha, for helping my little boy."

Kora smiles at this comment, not at all surprised to see Letha doing her all for Davy, regardless of him maybe in a relationship with one of her sons. "Now we're almost out of time so is there anything you would say to Davy right now if you could?"

"Keep fighting, Davy," Lita speaks up first, wiping under her eyes at tears threatening to fall. "I know you can do it."

Amedeo is the next to speak up, making sure to give Kora a flirty grin that has Radon and Selene rolling their eyes at him. "Yeah little bro, keep fighting there. They got nothing on you."

"We're all still supporting you," Radon says quietly, looking over at Selene who slowly nods her head in agreement.

Bohr is the only one to not make any acknowledgement of the question and when Lita elbows him, he lets out a sigh of annoyance and finally speaks up, "Man up already and actually try to win, not just count on others to get you through."

"Well that's all the time we have for our interview with the Emmerich family," Kora really has to force herself to keep smiling at that comment from Bohr, but thankfully she's done interviewing Davy's family. The crew quickly moves in Griffin and Leandro for their interview. Leandro gives her a pleading look before they start, no doubt silently pleading for her to do what he asked her. And of course she will. No one could ever make her bring up information that would hurt a tribute in an interview for the sake of entertainment. "Alright next we have Davy's friends, Griffin and Leandro! So how do you two know Davy?"

"Davy's been my best friend for years now," Griffin answers first, clearly feeling a bit more confident than Leandro. Or maybe just not as worried since he doesn't have romantic feelings like Leandro. "Taught him everything he knows."

Leandro cracks a small smile at Griffin's joking around, but it doesn't last long as Kora turns her attention towards him. "We go to school together…" Leandro starts softly as he glances nervously over at Davy's family. "And do some club stuff together."

"Very nice!" Kora says to the boys, giving them an encouraging smile. "So would you say you know him very well then?"

"Better than anyone else," Griffin answers her while Leandro gives a nervous nod.

"Then as his closest friends," Kora starts, emphasizing friends and getting a small appreciative look from Leandro, "What do you think of how he's doing in the arena?"

"He's kicking ass!" Griffin says with a laugh, making Leandro shake his head next to him.

"He's…" Leandro starts, but quickly cuts off as his tears start falling down his cheeks. "I-I'm scared for him, but…but he's being brave."

"He certainly is," Kora says gently, trying to reassure Leandro as he is handed some tissues from Lita. "And he has full support of your mother, Letha."

"She's doing everything she can to get him home," Leandro tells Kora before pausing to blow his nose and Kora only cringes a little bit. "I made her promise she would…"

"I'm sure she will," Kora tells him, but can see in their faces that they don't fully believe that. "Now we're just about out of time, so anything you would like to say to Davy?"

Griffin gives a shrug before answering her, "Just keep doing your best."

Leandro takes longer to answer, trying his best to form words, and Kora understands why. He can't just say everything he wants to with Davy's family watching. "Just…please get home safe."

Kora nods her head at this before turning to the camera, "That wraps up our interview with the family and friends of Davy Emmerich! Next up, District Six!"

Kora was not prepared for the sharp change in tone going from the wealthy Emmerich home in Five to Six where she wasn't even taken to where Elias lives, but rather to the Justice Building. She's only been told bits and pieces of what is happening in the investigation into Elias' family – the minimum to get through this interview. An interview with only one person as the entire Pilkvist family is being held while the investigation is ongoing.

Cecy Falk sits across from Kora in one of the meeting rooms of the Justice Building, fiddling with the pair of goggles hanging around her neck and looking out of place in all of this finery. She had been brought in to be questioned as well to ensure Elias told the truth about her and now is staying there temporarily until they have determined if Elias' family may retaliate against her or not.

Kora clears her throat, bringing Cecy's focus onto the host and Kora smiles at her, ready to get this interview started. "We're here in District Six to kick off our next interview, starting with Elias' friend, Cecy Falk!" Cecy gives a nervous smile as she nods her head in greeting, again fiddling with the goggles around her neck. "So Cecy, why don't we start off with you telling us how you met Elias?"

"I found him wandering the streets on his own, abandoned by his family after the Reaping one year," Cecy starts, frowning as she retells the time they met. "He looked so lost and was bleeding from his prostheses… I had to help him fix the prostheses at least. After that, he just sort of stuck around and we've been making life work since then, finding work where we can."

Kora frowns at the new knowledge regarding Elias' parents, questioning how someone could ever just abandon their child like that. "They just left him…?"

Cecy nods her head, a bit of anger flaring up in her eyes. "Yep, just left him behind after years of abusing him and forcing him to fight and train, not giving him a proper education, all while slipping by unnoticed. They disgust me. But Elias is safe from them now and has been for two years. Except…"

"Except now he's in the Games fighting for his life," Kora prompts and Cecy nods her head. "Well he's clearly doing well for himself, earning the highest score outside of the careers. He even fought back and got away safely from two careers. And of course, he's made it to the final eight now. So I would say the fighting skills he was taught have been helping, even if the situation is awful…"

"Don't give them credit for what he's done," Cecy says quickly, brief bit of anger in her voice as she thinks about his parents. "They're not the only reason he can fight. He's doing this himself." Kora raises an eyebrow at the comment about fighting, making Cecy clearly hesitate with her response before letting out a sigh, "Elias doesn't like fighting…he doesn't like hurting people at all so I understand what he's going through… But he will do what is necessary to win. I'm sure Dampero told him what he needs to do."

"Dampero certainly is an experienced mentor, so Elias is in good hands," Kora comments as she keeps thinking about something curious Cecy said. "Now you mentioned finding work. What exactly is that kind of work?"

Cecy starts fiddling with her hands and looking away from Kora, debating her answer for a long time. When she finally meets Kora's gaze, she just gives a small shrug, "Odd jobs here and there, anything that would give a little bit of money."

They both know there's clearly more to this and Cecy isn't saying more for some reason. But Kora doesn't push her, seeing the pleading look in her eyes. "Well I think we're just about time so anything you'd like to say to Elias right now?"

Cecy turns to the camera, sitting up taller and looking stubborn as she points at the camera. "Elias, you have to fight and do everything you can to get out of that arena alive. You can fight…just do it. You've gone through hell already and deserve to be happy after this is done."

"Well said, Cecy! That wraps up our interview for Elias and-"

Kora is cut off by the crew signaling to her and she looks over to see a new woman standing there, looking around nervously. "We have a…uh… work representative that insists on being interviewed."

Kora tilts her head in curiosity and confusion, before nodding her head and gesturing to the couch in front of her. "Very well, it won't hurt to have another interview for Elias."

Cecy stands up hesitantly, staring at the woman nervously before stepping aside and letting her replace her on the couch. Meanwhile, Zephyr steps closer to Kora, clearly not trusting this new person and Kora is glad to have him nearby. She doesn't like unexpected things during her interviews. The woman sits tense with her back straight, hands folded on her lap as she stares at Kora with a neutral expression. "What's your name?"

"I prefer not to say who I am," the woman says as she adjusts her hat, tucking a loose piece of hair back before rubbing her nose under her pair of glasses.

"Very well," Kora says before putting a smile back on for this interview. "Now we have one more person who is a…work representative…for Elias."

The woman nods her head once at this. "I am speaking on behalf of the Faceless Man who runs a fighting ring where Elias is his champion. As Elias' benefactor, he wants to make the skills of his champion clear to all of Panem."

"I…" Kora hesitates, very confused about all of this, before just gesturing for the woman to go ahead.

"Elias Pilkvist is one of the best fighters in District Six," the woman starts, keeping her tone neutral. "To be personally chosen to be the champion of the Faceless Man is a great honor and speaks volumes about his fighting capability. He is not to be underestimated in that arena and can match any of the careers in a fight. That is all."

Kora doesn't quite know what to say about this and just keeps smiling at the unknown woman. "Very well. Thank you for that…very interesting development regarding Elias." The woman nods her head once more and Kora turns to the camera, hoping this truly is the last of the interviews for Elias. "Now we are done with speaking to people that know Elias Pilkvist and we will be staying in District Six for our next interview!"

It's a bit of an odd situation to be interviewing a family in Six for a tribute representing Three this year, but at least they were already traveling to Six for a different interview. Kora is unsure what reaction to expect from Amelia's parents, given the fact that Aero was just in the Games last year and a bit worried that they'll take it out on her. Not that it was her fault, but she is one of the faces of the Games…

But Amelia's parents had no issue welcoming Kora into their home filled with many pictures of Amelia and certificates of her accomplishments. One catches her interest as she recognizes the background as the Capitol. But as she looks around, a frown tugs at the corner of her lips when she sees how few pictures of Aero are in the room, and the ones with him all have Amelia in them.

Kora quickly gets her smile back on when given the signal to start, and the Fensa family is all smiles. "So we are still here in District Six for a bit of a unique situation with the parents of Amelia Fensa: Kew and Saira! Now obviously the unique situation is Amelia being reaped in District Three, not District Six. What do you think about Amelia being part of the prestigious first country wide university program?"

"Oh it's no surprise at all that Amelia was selected," Saira praises Amelia immediately. "She's always been top of her class and has won many design competitions."

"I taught her everything she knows," Kew adds on to the praise, sitting up a bit proudly. "She wouldn't have accomplished the things she has without me."

"Yes, I've noticed you have quite a few certificates and pictures up of Amelia," Kora brings up, looking around the living room. Kew gets a proud smile as he follows Kora's gaze. "One caught my eye because it seems like District Three wasn't the first time Amelia traveled outside of Six."

Saira follows Kora's gaze and gets up to grab the picture frame. She gently hands it to Kora, smiling at the picture of Amelia proudly holding a trophy in the Capitol. "Her first Capitol engineering design competition. She took home first place that day. We're so proud of her and what she's accomplished. Especially now being hand selected by the President to attend university in Three. We've always known she's destined to do great things."

"The Games have thrown a bit of a wrench in those plans," Kew says, making his wife start frowning immediately and looking on the verge of tears. "But we have no doubt she can make it out as victor."

"I can imagine it must be difficult watching these Games," Kora says gently, trying not to make Saira start sobbing in the middle of the interview. "After just losing Aero last year in the Games…"

There's a visible shift in their mood at the mention of Aero and Kora is ready to back off and quickly change the subject, but Kew speaks up as Saira wipes away a tear that Kora is pretty sure isn't real, "Aero didn't…have quite the same skills as Amelia does, so we're sure she'll continue to do better than he did. She's already making smarter choices by not trusting anyone else in the arena, which was Aero's mistake."

"Amelia was so upset by his death," Saira tells Kora, continuing to feign being upset. "It broke my heart seeing her so sad after losing him."

"Were the two of them close?" Kora asks, not as enthusiastic about this interview anymore after seeing their attitude towards their son they lost just a year ago.

Kew nods his head at this, even though he doesn't look that happy. "Yes, they were very close. I think Aero was trying to gain some intelligence by spending time with her."

"Well that's about all we have time for," Kora says quickly, cutting them off from talking negatively about Aero any longer. "Anything you would like to say to Amelia?"

"Keep being brave, dear," Saira says with actual tears this time.

"You're smarter than the rest of the tributes," Kew adds and Saira nods her head in agreement. "So just keep remembering everything I taught you."

"Very well," Kora says as she faces the cameras, forcing a smile. "We have one more interview left so it is time to head to District Ten!"

Compared to the loud bustle of District Six, Ten is just so…boring would be the best way Kora would describe it. Maybe some people like the fresh air and open sky, but Kora's a city girl. And the smell. Luckily Kora won't be spending too much time on the Durham family farm before she's back to the Capitol.

But she will say that Fox's family has had the best hospitality of all the people she's interviewed today. They immediately offered the crew drinks and snacks, even though it doesn't look like they could afford to share that much. Kora tried to refuse – while Zephyr ate quite a large amount himself – but when they started to look offended by her, she quickly took the offered food. She knows better than to upset an already upset pregnant person.

Paloma sits on the old torn up couch, dark circles under her eyes as she watches Maddox run around the room talking to all of the crew members. She keeps a hand on her stomach, looking quite far along. But really she just looks completely exhausted by everything going on right now. "Maddox, come here," she calls out to him as the little boy stops in front of Kora, looking up at her with wide eyes.

"Hi!" Maddox says cheerfully and Kora leans over to be closer to his height. "I saw you with Daddy!"

"You did?" Kora asks him, smiling at the little boy's infectious good mood. "Well we're going to talk about your father."

Maddox's eyes light up for a moment before he starts pouting, looking on the verge of tears. "I miss Daddy."

"Maddox, come here," Paloma says once more, her voice getting harsh as she takes a shaky breath and puts a hand over her eyes for a moment. When she looks over again at the sound of Maddox coming over to her, Kora can see tears in her eyes. "Maddox, please don't speak up during this. Now can we please start already? This is very hard for me."

"Of course," Kora answers, giving the woman a comforting smile as Maddox climbs up onto the couch next to her, nearly falling back until Paloma reaches out and helps him up. She holds him close to her and Kora starts to notice how much he looks like her. Kora turns to the camera, ready to start and be done with the interviews. "We are here in District Ten for our final interview for the Sixth Quarter Quell! Here we have Paloma, the wife of Fox Durham, and their son Maddox! So it's unusual to have a tribute who is already married. Have you known Fox for a long time?"

"Daddy!" Maddox says excitedly at his father's name, and Paloma quickly shushes him.

"Quiet, Maddox," Paloma whispers to him, annoyance in her voice. She turns back to Kora, shaking her head at her son speaking up. "We've been together for several years now, since we were 14. Then when I got pregnant, he insisted we get married to raise our child together. And now here we are," Paloma says with a gesture down to her belly, "Pregnant once more and- and-"

Paloma starts crying and one of the crew members hands her some tissues as Kora tries to give her an encouraging smile. "I can only imagine how tough this must be, watching Fox in the Games when you have a family with him. What's it like being a parent at your age?"

Paloma gives a laugh at this and shakes her head as she looks down at Maddox squirming on the couch next to her, trying to leave. She finally lets him go and he runs off to where his grandparents are waiting nearby. "It's a lot, that's for sure. At this age, Maddox is so much to handle. And with another on the way…" Paloma shakes her head once more as a frown forms on her face. "This one wasn't exactly planned…but then again, neither was Maddox…"

"Do you two want a big family?" Kora asks her.

"Fox sure does," Paloma says right away, not looking too thrilled at the idea of having a bunch of kids. "That is…if he gets home to have more…"

"Fox has made it to the final eight," Kora starts slowly, careful about her choice of words now that they're getting to a delicate subject. "What are your thoughts on his former alliance with Amelia?"

A scowl forms on Paloma's face for a split second before she quickly goes back to a neutral expression, clearing her throat before answering, "Fox is always seeing the best in people, so I'm not…really surprised he allied with someone else… But I knew that girl wouldn't be good for him and sure enough, she left him."

"But she did leave him with half of the supplies," Kora adds, getting a scoff from Paloma.

"Yes, but with no weapon to use," Paloma says bitterly. "And four careers still out there."

"Do you think he would be able to fight if he had a weapon?" Kora asks her, knowing everyone has been curious about Fox not wanting to fight.

Paloma considers this question for a bit, her eyes watering once more before finally shaking her head. "I don't know. He's just- he's such a kind person and doesn't like hurting people and always trying to make people happy. But you can't do that in the Games."

"Right…" Kora agrees slowly, not wanting to further upset Paloma. "But tributes in the past have been similar and they have fought back when it was necessary. And Fox has the best motivation to fight and win."

"I sure hope you're right…"

Kora gives her an encouraging smile, but Paloma is too busy wiping her tears to see. "I guess we'll have to wait and see. Now we're nearly out of time, so is there anything you would like to say to Fox right now?"

Paloma nods her head as she sniffles. "Yes," she starts before pausing to blow her nose. "Babe…you have to fight and get home. Don't leave me all alone here. I can't…I can't raise our children on my own."

"Very well," Kora says, turning to face the camera for the last time today. "That concludes our interviews for the final eight tributes of the Sixth Quarter Quell! Which of these tributes will be victorious? Stay tuned to find out!"

Kora is given a thumbs up from the crew when the cameras are off and she sinks down in her chair, letting out a sigh of relief that it's over without any issues. She turns to Zephyr, knowing he must also be ready to be done with this and back to Seraphim, "Let's get back to the Capitol."

"Yes, please."

Adam Vignola, 18, District 7

Adam couldn't believe that they were already at the final eight tributes when Khaya first told him and only on the fifth day. And when he heard that Fox was still one of them…he cried. He so badly wants Fox to be able to go home to his family and be with his children since Adam will never be able to. Let Fox be the father Adam will never get to be. At least the questioning has stopped…which only makes him more nervous about what is going on. Did they somehow find Cain? Is he still safe? Khaya wouldn't give him answers about what the rebels are up to, just saying Cain is safe, but he doesn't know how much to trust her…

The lights flicker on, bringing Adam's gaze up to see who is coming to see him. Instead, he finds commotion outside his cell as two men carry a person between them. The person keeps fighting against them and when they look at him, Adam's eyes widen as he recognizes the person. They stop moving and even without his hearing, he can tell they say his name.

But the rebels keep pushing the council member along, and Luciano pulls back on them, trying to get to him. Khaya soon follows behind them, her face looking unhappy as she glances over at Adam before quickly throwing a crumpled up piece of paper into his cell. Adam picks it up and hides it under his shirt, not wanting the others to take away whatever Khaya might have to say to him. He does move closer to the front of his cell, watching as they shove Luciano into the cell next to him, but quickly moves back when the two smack Luciano on the head, causing them to go limp.

Adam backs away as the two men look down at him and Khaya whispers something to the older men. They soon look away from Adam and head back the way they came. Khaya hesitates for a moment to follow them, looking over at Adam and giving him a brief nod of her head before leaving him behind. The lights soon shut off, leaving Adam to depend on the little bit of daylight shining in from the top window of his cell to see.

He waits a few minutes before slowly moving back to the front of his cell. He does his best to look over next to him before calling out, "Hello? Luciano? It's Adam…I still can't hear so…stick your hand out if you hear me."

Adam waits in silence for a few minutes as a panic slowly begins to build up in him. This cannot be good if they kidnapped one of the members of the President's Council… What kind of information could they torture out of them? And they might know where Cain is…

Adam moves further back in his cell, holding back a sob of fear for his baby. And not just his baby, but for what the rebels might cause by kidnapping someone as high ranking as Luciano. Are they trying to start another rebellion…? Don't they realize how much loss that would cause?

Needing something to distract himself before he can keep spiraling further into fear and panic, Adam takes out his hidden note with shaking hands and carefully unfolds it, smoothing out the crinkles in it. He moves underneath the window to get the most light possible to read the note from Khaya.

'Something is happening and the leaders aren't telling us their plan, which worries me. I don't know why they're keeping the younger generation in the dark…but it can't be good. They didn't tell us they kidnapped Luciano, who was supposedly a double agent for us. All I know is that they're getting ready to put some sort of plan into action with the Games. What that plan is…I don't know. But they are doing things that are making me question everything… I know you don't really trust me…but you must. Please believe that I want to help you out. Cedar was a brother to me and I hate seeing what they're doing to you. So just be ready to move at any time. I'm working on a plan. Make sure you hide this note somehow.'

Adam doesn't know what to think about the note…except for the chill of fear running down his spine at them taking action with the Games. He doesn't know if anything they could do would be peaceful…how could he possibly believe they will be peaceful after what they have done to him? Or what they might still do to him? He doesn't believe they'll do stuff that wouldn't harm people…

But as he crumples up the paper once more and tucks it into his pants, a new fear rises in him. If they're going to do something with the Games…what if they hurt Fox to hurt him? He would never forgive himself for that… But what can he do? He can't stop them. There's only one way he could, but he can't. Yet would telling them where Cain is even stop them at this point? If they're doing something else in the Games…this is something bigger than him.

This is something that could be bigger than anything Adam has seen in this country, or anything people have seen in the last 75 years…

That concludes our moment of calm in the eye of the storm and it is time to get back to our regularly scheduled Games angst! You probably thought this was just going to be a simple interview chapter but nope, we have some subplot time!

Not much for me to say this time around except buckle up because things are only going to get crazier from here on. Oh, I will ask what are your predictions for the final 8 remaining tributes! Who do you think will be next to go? Who will be victor?

See you all soon with Night Five!