Chapter 3

Blood on my Hands

"YOU IDIOT!" Marcus screams. Marcus turns toward me, nostrils flaring, eyes resembling fire, and decides to take his anger out on me.

He comes towards me, and takes a belt out of his pocket. I have to wonder if he keeps it on him at all times.

He rips my shirt off again, and starts whipping me, Darius standing by and watching, being held by Daniel, who looks relieved he is not me.

When Marcus finishes, he orders Daniel to bring Darius to him. He pulls a knife out of his pocket, and poises it right above Darius's little finger.

"If you answer the question, your finger will stay attached. If not, off it goes!"

Darius is shaking, frantically trying to get away, but is being held against the wall.

"Who was in on it!?" Marcus shouts.

Darius makes horrible noises and shakes his head wildly.

"You don't know? Oh, well then say goodbye to this!" with that, he slices off Darius's pinky finger. Darius cries out in pain, his blood splattering the grimy floor.

I think I might barf. I've seen plenty of bloodshed in my time, but this, this is just plain horrible.

"Answer the question!" Marcus shouts, poised to cut off another finger.

Darius makes more terrible noises, and another finger lands on the ground, more blood pouring out.

Ok, I'm going to barf. I just know it.

"Alright, I'm going to ask you one more time, or else they all come off!" Marcus screams.

"Who. Was. In. On. It?"

More animal noises. Fingers on the floor. Blood. More blood. Even more blood. Darius crying, wailing, as best as he can. Toes. On the ground. I barf up bile. Darius being racked by sobs.

At this rate, it will take forever for Darius to bleed out. Eventually, Darius falls unconscious, and Marcus leans down and cuts off his foot. This one still has two toes on it, and is hanging on by a singular tendon.

I feel lightheaded. Dizzy. I barf again. Marcus slits Darius's throat, then comes toward me with the belt. I make up my mind that I'm never going to wear a belt again. My shirt, still a lump on the floor, is soaked in blood. Darius's blood. The blood I made him shed. No, wait, he tried to stop Thread from whipping Gale, didn't he? Then he became an Avox. It's not my fault he's an Avox, but it's my fault he's dead, so it doesn't matter.

Marcus and Daniel gather up the fingers and toes and put Darius and Lavinia's corpses in large trash bags. It reminds me that none of us are treated better then trash.

But blood is still on the ground.

Portia comes in and hands me a shirt and shorts, avoiding looking at me. I change, since my current clothes are stained in blood, and something I prefer not to mention.

Marcus leaves me alone for a while, and I'm not fed at all. I'm so thirsty, and hungry. I just want food and water. Or maybe I want to die. I don't really know.

"Peeta, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I guess. But Darius and Lavinia aren't."

"The redheads? What happened?" Johanna asks.

"Lavinia got too many volts, and they cut off all of Darius's- small appendages."

"Oh."

"You okay?" I ask.

"Yeah, they haven't really been here in a while," she replies.

"Me too. I'm hungry and thirsty."

"Mm-hmm."

A few minutes later, I hear the door creak and open on Johanna's side. Spoke too soon, I think.

I think I'm dying of thirst. And hunger. My throat is so sore, and my mouth is so dry, it hurts.

Marcus storms into the cell, carrying a bucket full of water. "Thirsty?" he says manically.

I cower in the corner of my cell, trying to figure out what the torture part of this is. He can't just be giving me water. That's not Capitol. Or, at least, not Marcus.

He grabs the back of my neck and drags me over to the bucket. "Drink!" he commands, and shoves my face into the water.

I try to drink it, but it doesn't help. There's just too much water. I start coughing, hacking, trying to get the water out of my- everything. In my nose, mouth, eyes, everywhere.

He shoves my head further into the container, and my ears are submerged. I can't breathe down here, I'll suffocate pretty soon.

Just when black dots are swimming in my vision, Marcus pulls my head above the surface. I gasp for air, and Marcus cackles behind me. I fall backwards onto the floor, and land in a puddle of dry blood. Darius's dry blood.

Marcus grabs my neck again, and shoves my head deep into the water. I don't try to drink it this time, since it didn't help before.

I try to pull my head above the water, but Marcus's strong hand pushes my head deeper.

It goes on and on. Coughing, hacking, barfing, gasping for air, coughing, hacking. It just goes on and on.

At some point Marcus just gets up and leaves. I bet he's hungry or maybe he's tired. It doesn't matter to me. As long as it's over.

I lean back against the wall, still coughing and hacking, when Johanna speaks up.

"Peeta, did they electrocute you, too?" she asks.

"No," I wheeze, but I don't think she can hear me.

"Peeta?" she asks, genuinely concerned.

I hit my fist against the wall, telling Johanna I'm alive and awake.

"What did they do? It had to do with water, didn't it?"

I hit hard against the wall. "Okay. Did they electrocute you?" she asks,

I hit the wall again.

"Well that's good. That's all they've been doing to me."

I hit the wall softly, and crawl over to the water bucket, which Marcus left here. I dip my head slightly, and drink it. I lie back on the floor, avoiding Darius's Pool.

I roll onto my side, laying on my non-broken arm. I barf again, and realize just how hungry I am.

My stomach is so empty, it feels like it's trying to eat itself.

I start coughing again, and at some point I pass out.

I'm awoken by Portia.

"Another interview," she says, a hint of remorse in her voice.

When she gets a good look at me, she looks like she's seen a ghost.