Middle of Hell by Queensryche
Head reeling, I guess I wasn't dreaming.
Heart racing. Hard to breathe.
Prep One
Kyra Lacasse, 14, District Ten
I close my eyes as the lights turn on, the brightness feeling like needles stabbing into my eyelids. The wall feels cold under my fingertips as I reach out for something to hold onto. The material is nothing like I have ever felt before, it's dry and smooth, definitely not like the stone my walls are made out of.
It takes almost a minute before I can force myself to pry my eyes back open. Even then, part of me would rather keep them closed. I blink spots from my eyes and wait as the room focuses around me.
I am in a room that is no wider than I am tall, with a piece of cement chained against the wall that sort of looks like a bed. The walls, ceiling, and floor tiles are all stark white and appear even brighter bathed in the light coming from the disk on the ceiling. The only other pieces of furniture in the room are a small table and a single chair, both coloured to match the rest of the room.
I don't even want to touch any of it.
I keep one steady hand on the white wall near the door as I stand, unable to do anything except simply stare at the room. I don't have time to suppress the scream before it echoes through the room as the door flies open to hit me in the back. Immediately I jump forward, nearly stepping onto the bed in my panic.
When I turn around I see a very surprised looking girl who looks to be at least twenty years old. She has long, wavy blonde hair and narrow eyes and almost everything about her screams 'expensive'. The pink dress that hugs her body, the dotted scarf around her neck, even the shiny shoes on her too-small feet. The style of clothing isn't something I can recognize as coming from my district, or likely any district at this point.
My eyes widen. The only people that would be able to afford such luxurious style are the Capitolites. Without meaning to, I take a step backwards away from the woman.
But wait, if she is here... does that mean that I am in the Capitol? Is that where they brought us to in that train? I can feel my heart beating a hundred miles an hour in my chest and for a second I think of how ironic it would be if I died of a heart attack right here, after they had gone through so much trouble to bring me here.
"Kyra?" The woman says unsurely and I nod, my lips not wanting to cooperate with speech at the moment. "Oh good, I was afraid I might have the wrong room. They really should label the outside better, I had such a terrible time finding you and I get to do it all over again to find August when we're done. Joy."
August, that's the blonde-haired boy that came with me from District Ten to here. I never spoke to him, but I wish I could have. He looked so lost on the train just looking around at anything that moved. Not that I likely looked much more comfortable, but still it was difficult to watch.
"Who are you?" I say. Well I mean to say it in my regular voice, but it comes out in such a quiet whisper that I almost feel the need to repeat myself in case she didn't hear me.
"Oh, silly me forgetting to introduce myself," she says with a wave of her hand and a roll of the eye. "I'm Reina, Reina Hulins. I'm your mentor."
"Mentor?" I am even more confused than ever. First there is this strange woman in here that somehow knows my name, and now she's my... mentor? What does that even mean?
"Oh right, they said none of you knew much," she laughs and then clears her throat as if she had practiced this speech a million times over. "I'll be your mentor as you journey through your preparations for the 1st Hunger Games. If you have any questions or concerns I will be here to answer them. Basically I'm going to babysit you and make sure you at least sort of know what you're supposed to be doing."
I must still look pretty confused, because she continues talking after a few seconds pause. "Look, I'm just supposed to stop by and say hi tonight. The real work starts tomorrow so best get some rest. I have to go and do this all over again, so I'm going to head out now."
"What am I supposed to do? Just stay here?" I say quickly. I don't even know this woman but somehow the thought of her leaving makes me panic. I don't want to be alone in this place, I don't even know where I am.
"Bed's over there, press that button if you need to go the washroom," she says pointing to a small almost unnoticeable dent in the wall just above the bed. "I'll leave the television on for you."
On her way out the door, Reina presses another button by the door and a large screen flips out of the wall across from the bed. A second later, the black screen flickers to life with color and I am staring at a Justice Building that definitely isn't District Ten but looks eerily similar to it. My eyes widen as I see a dark-skinned man take the microphone on stage and announce the very thing I heard my mayor say earlier this morning.
"Good morning District Seven. It is a very exciting day as it is the very first time we will be sending in our brave tributes for the 1st Annual Hunger Games. Today, we begin history anew."
Jonah Lintell, 16, District Seven
I'm not sure how, but even amidst all of this chaos and confusion, some lady I just met ten minutes ago has managed to make me feel safer than I have in a long time. I'm not sure if it's the tiredness or panic that is swaying me in her direction, but I could almost hug her right now. Honestly, I don't even think she would stop me if I tried. Unlike everyone else that I have dealt with today, Cateline seems to actually care and even somewhat understand.
"So how are you feeling?" She asks, tilting her head just slightly towards me. Just the sound of her voice makes me feel like all of the stress of the day is just melting off of me. I think it's the softness of her words, or maybe the way her eyes look at mine as if she were actually interested in my response. It reminds me so much of how people would speak to me before the war happened and I lost everything.
No one wants to look at a street kid. It's like they're afraid of catching it. It's been so long of me living like that that I think I've forgotten how it used to be when people talked to you as if you mattered to the world.
"Confused more than anything," I murmur. My eyelids feel like they are collapsing in, but I fear that if I tell her that I'm tired that she will leave me. I couldn't have spent more than an hour in here by myself, but I am in no hurry to do it again. I feel more uneasy in this little room than I have on any night I spent sleeping in an alley.
"That's what I'm here to help with," she smiles. "Tell me what's confusing you and I'll explain it as best I know how."
I consider this for a moment before speaking. "Why are we all here?"
She opens her lips to talk and then closes it again, the look in her eyes reminding me of the look on the man's face right before he told me that I was the only survivor when the shelter collapsed. "I'm not going to sugar coat this, okay? You need to know everything so that you can protect yourself."
I nod but say nothing, the beating of my heart making it impossible to even consider speaking.
"You're here to punish the districts. It was determined that the tragedy that happened during the war was not enough. That's why you're all here, a boy and a girl from each district." She swallows thickly before continuing, never breaking eye contact. "In four days all of you will be transported to a sectioned off, outdoor arena. The Hunger Games, as they have deemed this event be called, will end when only one of you is left."
My heart drops into my stomach and I instantly feel sick. She didn't even have to say the words, I can fill in the blanks enough to understand. "T-They're going to kill us."
"No," she breathes. "You're going to kill each other. That's the point of it, that the Capitol is not the enemy. That we are not to be blamed for what is going to happen."
I can feel my entire body shaking and it's not easy to ignore the burning feeling that sits over my skin. "But the Capitol is to blame. They're the ones doing this. They made this... this thing."
She shakes her head. "You're very smart, Jonah, but they're not going to make it look like their fault. If you kill someone in the arena, they're going to show it like you are the monster. Not them."
I try to say something else but the thoughts can't mould themselves into words. Two kids from each district, so twenty-four of us, put in an arena where we're supposed to kill each other. We're not murderers, by what I heard back home none of us is older than eighteen. I am almost able to comfort myself in the fact that it seems so impossible that any of us will be able to do the deed.
"None of us will do it," I whisper, realizing that I am not sure if I believe it. I don't know any of the people here, not even the girl, Merryn, that I was reaped with. How do I know that none of them would kill me if it was there life on the line? I don't. I don't even know if I would be able to refuse to do it if those were my only two options.
"I'm sorry, Jonah," she chokes and for the first time I see the tears in her eyes as she leans in and places a comforting hand on my shoulder. "They have the power and they are going to make sure their game works. I wish there was something else I could do for you and Merryn and, well, all of you guys, but there isn't. You know as well as I do what power the Capitol has. I am so sorry."
I put a hand over my mouth and try to blink away the tears. I look up from the floor for a second and as soon as I catch Cateline's eye I completely break down. She cautiously moves closer to me and I all but collapse into her, tears falling freely for the first time in a long while.
"I don't want to die," I whisper through my tears.
Her arms tighten around me. "I know, and you better believe I am going to do my best for you."
It feels like centuries that I cry into her sweater, probably leaving marks of dirt from my face all over her expensive clothes. I pick my head up and sink back into my chair, blinking hard to try once again to stop the tears. "I'm sorry about your shirt."
Verden Arell, 16, District Nine
"I swear if you try to come anywhere near me I will tear this thing off the wall and pound it into your head," I spit, pointing at the slab of concrete hanging off the walls by metal chains. I'm fairly sure it's supposed to be a bed, but I'm not sure I would give it that much respect.
The woman stands in the doorway with her hands up defensively. By the look on her face it doesn't look like she expects me to actually go through with my threat, but unfortunately for her I am dead serious. I don't know who she is or what she wants with me but I am not going to let anyone else just come and get me and take me where they please. I honestly don't care that no one has offered me a choice in any of this insanity. I'm making my own choice and that is to get these people the hell away from me.
"Calm down or I'm going to have to call the guards," the woman says, the boredom evident in her tone. We have been in this sort of stalemate for several minutes, and it doesn't look like things are going to change anytime soon. I want to ask her who she is, but I feel like that would be giving up in a way. I'm not taking any more of this shit. They're not going to push me around like they have been all day. I'm sick of it. I want answers, but I'm not willing to give up my defensive stance.
"Go ahead," I dare her, keeping both feet planted firmly on the white tiles and both hands balled up into fists at my sides. I'm not afraid to fight her or any of the guards she keeps threatening to call on me. I would have tried getting a few punches into the Peacekeepers back in District Nine if I hadn't been handcuffed so quickly. Now that the restraints are off, I am absolutely positive that I am not going to let them put them back on easily.
"You really don't want that, Verd," she sighs. "But if you insist-"
I don't let her finish the sentence before I throw myself at her. She doesn't even know me, how dare she use the nickname my friends and family call me by. How dare she! Both of us crumble to the ground under my weight and I try to bring my fists down onto her face but she blocks every one with unexpected strength.
I am pulled up from the ground before I even realize the guards have come in. There is one of them on either side of me, wrestling with my flailing arms as I try to shake them. A third snaps a pair of handcuffs on my ankles and then gets to work trying to get them on my wrists.
The woman sits there calmly and dusts off her shoulders before standing up. She looks at me curiously, but oddly enough doesn't look in the least bit surprised or even angry. As the guards finally manage to put the second set of handcuffs on she even takes a step closer to me.
"I like the toughness. Keep that up it will help you in the arena," she says calmly. "I'll advise you not to turn it on me, though. I'm not the bad guy in this situation, and unfortunately I'm one of the only people you'll be meeting that is better for you to keep alive."
I furrow my brow but have no response. I didn't expect her to be so calm, and somehow the fact that she is makes me even more furious and helpless. I wish for another moment that I had been able to punch her in her smug little face, and yet her words make me almost admire her. She has the most guts out of any woman I have ever met.
She turns to leave and then stops mid step as if she had forgotten something. "My name is Petra. It was very nice to meet you, Verd."
My hands tighten once again into fists and I can feel the guards' grips on me tighten as well. I realize now that there is no getting out of whatever I have become involved in. I almost call out to stop Petra from leaving, but I can't bring myself to abandon the last shred of dignity I might be able to salvage from this encounter. Besides, if she came around this time I expect she'll be back.
As I watch Petra disappear around the corner, I almost forget about the three guards around me. "Are you quite done with this?"
"Sure," I say, suppressing the snide comment I so badly want to make. I don't expect it will get me anywhere, but I still don't feel good about giving them the satisfaction of subduing me so easily. Still, I let them sit me down on the bed and undo the cuffs around my ankles.
"What about these?" I ask, turning my back slightly to display the handcuffs still around my wrists.
"We figured you could keep those for a little while longer," the shortest of the three guards says with a slight grin as they all turn to leave. I grit my teeth once again to avoid screaming at all of them, this time because I know that it won't change anything and it would probably make them all feel even better about themselves.
They close the door behind them and I hear the click of a lock, confirming what I already figured out. That I am stuck in here until they decide to let me go or move me or whatever they're going to do. It may have only been a day, but I'm already starting to figure out how things work with these people. I'm at their disposal, and nothing I do is going to change that.
I sigh and sink into the hardness of the bed, separated from me by only a few thin blankets. I might as well get comfortable. I have no idea how long I am going to be here for.
Song: Middle of Hell by Queensryche.
A/N: Another chapter so soon? Yes. Mostly because I have an essay due in about six and a half hours and I am procrastinating something fierce. Oh well, at least it means updates for you guys! I expect that this chapter will show even more how different these Hunger Games are going to be. Honestly, this is just the tip of the iceberg so get prepared.
Basically I have a lot of school work to do so that will (oddly enough) likely mean quicker updates because I love avoiding completing my responsibilities.
If you have the time to I would very much appreciate a review answering the below questions and also providing a general review on how the writing was this chapter.
Have your opinions on Kyra, Jonah, or Verden changed at all?
What do you think about the changes to the Capitol structure that you have seen so far?
That's basically it, now I guess I am off to write that essay..
Bye.