Sole Survivor

Chapter Three:

As soon as the train stopped Haymitch disappeared and we were swept away by a bunch of grotesque Capital people into a big white building. They immediately separated us then once in a secure room ripped off my clothes, brought out a hose, and washed me down then moved up to my hair and roughly scrubbed it "clean" or at least what they consider clean which was weird coming from the green skinned, pierced person.

Once I was clean they shoved me into a chair and came at me with a white strip of paper settled it onto the top of my leg then violently ripped it off.

I held in my howl of pain from having such a sensitive spot tortured like this and kept in all my sounds of pain except a small whimper to which they "comforted" me by stopping for a second. Eventually, they finished my legs and moved on to my torso and so on and so on, when they were finished the only hair on my body was on my head and my eyebrows

While I was enjoying my moment of painlessness I heard them whispering behind me, "What," I demanded as I looked behind me, "what are you saying."

"Oh nothing," said the only man here, "we were just saying we might have to wash you down again."

Oh is that all I thought to myself sarcastically. I shook my head and let them wash me down again and once they were done they left saying they were going to get Cinna who must be my stylists.

I sat alone, naked in complete silence for I don't know how long, there were no windows to see how much time has passed and in a stale white room it was completely creepy.

Eventually a dark skinned man came into the room that looked completely normal except a little gold eye liner on his eyes.

"Hello," he said his voice somehow clear of the Capital accent, "come talk with me."

He walked into a room off of this one which was also windowless along with colorless and sat down on a white couch then pressed a button that somehow summoned food.

How was it that here in the Capital they could summon food with a push of a button when in the districts when either had to work and when no one worked you starved. Unless you're like me and Gale who walk the line of danger every day to hunt for our family's.

"How despicable we must seem to you," Cinna said softly.

I just looked at him, I mean, what are you supposed to say to something like that but fortunately he just settled himself into the couch obviously not expecting me to answer.

"I love your braid," Cinna commented nicely, "it fits your personality perfectly."

"Thank you," I said quietly, "my mother did it for the Reaping."

"And I like your aura," he commented as if I hadn't said anything, "it says I am fire touch me and you will get burned."

"Really," I asked unbelievingly.

"That's it," he exclaimed again as if I hadn't spoken, "I know what your costume will be fire you and Peeta covered in flames with coal black everything and we'll even sprinkle a little coal dust on you guys."

"That's a great idea," I murmured not expecting him to hear me.

"Thanks," he said grinning at me, "now let's get you dressed and ready."

I was dressed in a complicated black suit that was flammable, apparently, and had multiple loops and holes but the prep team had left my braid the way it was, orders from Cinna. We were at the end of the line in a coal black chariot and coal black horses once I was there I climbed on to the chariot with Peeta who was dressed similar to me. Eventually, Cinna came up to us and sprinkled coal dust on our faces and lit us on fire!

I personally would have screamed and the only reason I didn't was because Cinna put my hand into Peeta's. At first I wanted to rip my hand away from him put as everyone's chariots left and the sun went down we were the only ones left I found his hand increasingly comforting.

When our turn came I gripped Peetas hand so tightly I was surely cutting off his hands circulation. As we came out into the twilighting streets of the Capitol people gasped at us, either because we were on fire or how our glow illuminated to streets only fading as we pasted. After what seems like years of stunned silence the crowd exploded in delighted screams and joyful cries for us.

Eventually, the crowd started screaming our names which they must have bothered to look up somewhere. Peeta and I have never experienced this type of praise so we, caught up in the excitement, raised our held hands for all of Pamen to see. Sometime after that I realized mine and Peetas hands were still twined and I tried to let go but he held on and said, "Please don't let go you're the only thing holding me up."

A few minutes later someone, somewhere in the crowd threw a rose at me and when I caught it I blew a kiss in their general direction and everyone went crazy.

Suddenly everyone was screaming for "Katniss Kisses" and every time I would blow one the crowd would get louder until I could stand it no longer. Luckily just as I had reached my limit we went into the victors circle and the Capital started the national anthem so they had to be quiet.

Throughout the whole parade the cameras had been trained on us and they had a hard time putting them off of us now. It was traditional to look at the president while playing the anthem but the cameras would come back to us every other minute.

Once the anthem was finished Cinna and Patricia came up to us and extinguished our flames as we pried our hands from the other. As the prep teams were congratulating us for our stunning entrance into the Capital world I felt a burning sensation in the back of my head, like someone was watching me. So I turned around to find the monstrous boy from Two glaring at me calculatingly like he was planning my death already.

I naturally glared back at him challenging him to do something about it, knowing he couldn't, for fear he would get killed.

When I turned back to every one they was already walking towards the elevator so I ran to catch up with them just barely making it to the elevator. On the inside of the elevator in was all the same stainless gray color and the only thing there was buttons numbered one through thirteen, but thirteen was crossed out so I assumed they were for the once thirteen districts. One number was glowing so that I assumed was where we were going, the twelve floor.