A/N: Hi guys! I'm so glad to see I got some reviews on this already. I'm going to try to shoot for at least one update every week on Friday. I'd do more but I have school and all so...anyway, I have so many ideas for this. If you do as well, don't hesitate to comment them. Thank you so much for reading!

Annie

There are two Peacekeepers carrying me, each one with one of my arms locked in their glove-covered hands. The pressure that they're squeezing on me is unbearable. Screaming does nothing, my attempts at trying to fight them flunk.

They drag me down numerous halls, all colored the same shade of white. Another hallway. A flight of stairs. Three more hallways.

Our final destination is a room as white as the halls I've previously passed. And this room is consisted of various prison cells. From what I can see, each cell is it's own cube, a metal bar gate enclosing one of the four sides. A majority of them are empty, but some are filled with filthy people as thin as toothpicks. I dare to glance at them for just a second, then cock my head in another direction with my eyes closed to try and delete the image from my mind.

The cell we park in front of is abandoned from all the others. The lightbulb in the hall where my cell lies is burned out, so for the vast part, it is hauntingly dark. One of the Peacekeepers releases my arm - which is instantly grabbed by the other one - and unlocks the cell gate, then swings it open. The one that had the firm grip on my arms literally shoves me inside, brutal. After locking the gate back up, the two of them depart from my vision, mumbling something to each other that I can't make out.

I sit down on the freezing tile floor, my back against the marble wall, my arms curling around myself. Salty tears slide down my cheeks involuntarily, and I don't even bother them. I let them go.

I'd be fibbing if I told a soul that I wasn't horrified as of now. It's one thing to be arrested for not showing up to reapings, but to be arrested for not the vaguest idea of a reason? Cruel to the heart. Before Finnick had left for the Capitol for the Games, he told me to stay at home as much as possible. To rarely go out. Hadn't I done that? I think so.

Insane to believe that only less than a day ago, I was home in District Four. I had been cleaning the house up the day the day they came. When a knock on the door sounded, I hurried, hoping to find Finnick, only not finding him. Just a body of Peacekeepers.

I should have wised up and realize there was danger lurking in them. But, of course, all I could do is ask was, "May I help you?"

I received no reply. Unless if you considered the shout of a Peacekeeper that said, "Grab her!" and the synchronized movement of the others reaching for me.

There was no escaping them. I had darted upstairs anyway, hoping I could find a hidden place for safety. Stupid me to think I could outsmart them. Because now...

Well.

Out in the distance, I hear a striking scream, belonging to a man. My hands quickly find their way to my ears, tightly sealing themselves to filter out the scream.

It sounds like Mikee. Just like Mikee. Right before the ax flew in. You could've swore it was a bird. But not many birds can behead people.

I shut my eyes. Tight. I press my hands over my ears. Harder.

I feel myself becoming drowsy.

And I fall asleep.

Pain shoots inside of my side, and I wake up from my dreamless sleep. How long I was out, I can't tell. When I look down at myself, I am in new clothing. A white tank top and loose white pants.

When I look up, I see that I am not alone.

"Miss Cresta, we are here to escort you to President Snow."

The man the voice belongs to is not a Peacekeeper, though he is surrounded by them. He is clothed in a black leather jacket, black shirt, and black cargo trousers, oh, and black combat boots. His eyes could display his gentleness, but currently, they are masked in a costume of sober.

The man holds a hand out to help me up but I reject it by standing up on my own. Something I can do by myself. I shoot him a look. His is plastered solemn as response.

He leads the line, me following, then the Peacekeepers who are preventing my possible escape surrounding me. I stay obedient and walk behind the man, who's name I find out is Ed.

We stop in front of a pair of heavy wooden doors. Ed knocks on the door twice, then speaks. "Mr. President, Miss Cresta is here."

"Splendid. Don't hesitate to bring her in," I hear him respond.

Ed opens the door and motions for me to head inside.

And as an obedient girl should do, I walk inside.

President Snow is reading a book of some sort, but he catches sight of me and sets it away. "Miss Cresta. What a pleasure to have you here. Sit, please."

I show not a trace of emotion to him, but I do sit down in the red velvet chair.

He searches my face with his despicable eyes for a moment, then grins. "How are you feeling, Miss Cresta?"

"I've been better," I say frank.

"Yes, well. I apologize for the inconvenience. But there is a matter in which I have invited you to my mansion today."

"You have a way of treating your guests," I snap back. The anger is boiling inside of me. The man sitting right across from me is the same one who brought the Games to this world. The one that killed innocent children, who barely got a chance to live. He's the one who departed Finnick from me. And it's why I'm not safe in Finnick's arms now. And here he is. Apologizing.

"I'm not here to discuss my guest treatment with you, Miss Cresta. Can you make an educated guess as to why you are sitting in my office at the current moment?"

I nod. Where a specific idea does not come to mind, I know of a very general foundation. "Finnick."

"Yes, you are heading down the right track. Mr. Odair is such a lovely man. He must love you a lot.

"But unfortunately, some young men have the tendency to make impetuous decisions, and then not realize what they're doing until they become in very grave danger. You see, it appears that Finnick wanted to...switch sides. Do you understand what I am talking about?"

I stare at him in puzzlement. I have no idea what he is talking about. Switch sides? I can't seem to figure out where this discussion is heading.

I shake my head ever so lightly.

President Snow half-gapes at me. "Pardon me?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about," I explain.

"Is that so?"

"It is, sir." And that's probably because it is.

President Snow tries to piece this together. This is what I suppose.

"You know what? Kill me if you don't believe me. That is the truth." I really didn't mean that. It's be nice to come out of this office alive.

"I can't kill you, Miss Cresta. That's not what is laid out.

"You see, I believe you. I believe Mr. Odair would tell you nothing of the sort for your protection. But you must understand, I did not bring you here to the Capitol for no reason. You see, the system of Panem is on the verge of collapsing, and we can't have that, can we? And I feel you have something in you that could help us function the country.

"Miss Cresta, you have a very simple role here. And that is to be cooperative during your stay in the Capitol. If you can manage that, no harm will come to you. I advise you to prevent yourself from stepping out of line. You are an untouchable as to execution already. Can we agree on this?"

I nod. An untouchable. I can't be killed. A sliver of a weight is lifted. But to be cooperative with a man who made people judge me as a mad girl will be difficult.

"Good girl. Now, Edward will return you to your cell, and I will have the attendants mail you something to eat through your cabinet. Edward can show you where that is if you couldn't find it already."

"Thank you," I reply.

"It's my pleasure. You must be on your way now."

I stand up from the chair and exit the room, Ed by my side as we walk back to my cell.

My mind races back to the deal that President Snow and I just agreed on. It seems too simple to not have a scheme in there. All I have to do is cooperate and I'm fine? And cooperative or not, I cannot die?

I struggle to find the flaw in this deal. Perhaps there is not one.

Ed drags behind the Peacekeepers to whisper things to each other that I can't make out clearly. We walk down the white hallways, in bare silence.

After walking about dive minutes already, he is still chatting with them, though I do not know for what. It is at one point where Ed speaks too loud.

"Odair won't function as long she's here. He's hopeless."

And it is as if the world was being formed into a big, clear picture as we speak. I may be considered mad, but I am not dumb. I put the pieces of the puzzle together.

I am not here to help President Snow function Panem.

I am here to be used as a weapon against Finnick. My heart's savior. The best thing that has ever happened to me.

The darkness interlocks with the pain of the truth I just discovered. Mikee's cries of terror find it's way into me. President Snow joins in too. And Finnick, screaming my name.

Everything in my body stops working. I collapse onto my knees, lift my hands over my ears, and scream my head off.