Dead people.

Three of them in fact. My father was on the ground, a bullet hole in the middle of his forehead. A Peacekeeper was next to him; the blood was dripping out of him. And the third...well I supposed he wasn't dead yet. Moments ago he had shot the my father's fatal blow. The second Peacekeeper dropped the gun from his hand as he continued to bleed out. His rasping breaths became further and further apart the longer I waited.

I looked at my hands. Splatters of blood covered my palms. I knew not whose it was; I had three possibilities, all of them equally horrible. I wiped my hands on my pants, but the damned spot would not come out..

My tears were all gone; I had none left to cry. My face was blank. I surveyed the scene with little empathy. My brain wasn't functioning properly.

I sat in the corner of the room and cradled my knees to my chest. I rocked back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth. Not one sound passed from my lips. Not one tear rolled down my cheek. Nothing but the gentle sway as I went back and forth, back and forth.

The silence was broken by the door slamming. "Lav, you in there? Turn on the TV, Toren's about to-What happened here?!"

I heard him search through the broken glass and furniture. He continued to shout out my name, as well as my father. He discovered the table knocked over and the blood drips on the floor. There were footsteps anxiously pacing as he looked for his family.

I heard the handle turn to the doorway to the office. The door opened. I heard nothing except a sharp intake of breath. I saw nothing; I stared at the ground where the blood was slowly seeping into the floor.

I saw nothing. I heard nothing.

"Lavinia." He said. "Lavinia! What happened?" He rushed forward to a corpse, trying to see if he was still alive. His hand at the pulse, he discovered the truth. "Dad!" He started to shake the body. He called out his name. He pleaded for him to wake up.

But nothing happened; dead is dead.

Again, a door slam. Jonathan stood up suddenly. "Who's there?" Nothing but muffled grunts and footsteps answered him. He picked up a gun from the ground, one of the Peacekeepers'.

"Lavinia, you have to tell me what's going on!" Jon pleaded, tears now furiously pouring out of his eyes. I stared straight ahead. My lips made no movement. I was a statue.

The door to the office opened suddenly. Jonathan turned to the people coming in and pointed his gun at them. He opened his mouth to speak, to demand answers. A bullet was fired and my brother fell to the ground. The gun tumbled out of his grip. He didn't move again.

Men stormed into the room. I heard nothing but noise as they barked commands at each other. More than a dozen of them, all combing the room. They knelt by the bodies and felt for pulses. By the shaking of their heads, I could tell that all three were now dead.

The men in white uniforms, uniforms identical to the ones on the dead men, searched the room. They opened drawers, checked wastebaskets, emptied compartments. Not one piece of paper was left unaccounted for. Still, they took no notice of me.

But then, someone stopped in front of me. I looked forward, noticing only the shoes of the person. Black heels, not the boots that the other Peacekeepers had. More femine.

The person knelt down. I dimly realized it as a woman. She swept her blond hair behind her ears as she read information off of a tablet. I recognized my face on that tablet.

"Lavinia. Lavinia Tagaria. My name is Agent Grayson." She held out her hand.

I did nothing.

"I need you to tell me what happened here." Grayson continued.

It was too much for me. I looked up suddenly, the first movement I made in what felt like hours. I saw my father's blood, Jonathan laying on the ground, Peacekeepers storming my home and tearing it apart. I began to panic.

"She's in shock." The woman said. She gripped my arms. I felt terror from it, from this person whom I had never met. I struggled to get free. Her grip was like iron. "I need a tranquilizer!"

My breathing rate doubled. My eyes darted from place to place, trying to escape. Everywhere were the Peacekeepers, staring at me. The guns on their hips, usually a reassuring sign, gave me a surge of terror.

I started to kick the woman, trying to get free. She grabbed my shoulders and held me down. A man came beside her and knelt beside her.

Suddenly my right hand escaped. I balled it into a fist and slung it at the woman. She fell on her side. I tried to get up, I was on my knees, my hands were free and I felt a twinge in my neck...and I suddenly felt...very...very...sleeeeeeepy...

...

I opened my eyes.

I was in a white room. The whiteness almost hurt my eyes as the brightness was extreme. I thought I was in a hospital. There were no doctors or medical equipment though. Just a cot, upon which I was laying, and a door. Nothing else.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes. I was still dressed in my clothes: neon green strapless top and orange pantaloons. My red hair was messed up, no longer in a coiled braid. I put it in a quick ponytail for right now. Hopefully I could get to some decent hair products before any of my friends saw me.

I still didn't know where I was.

Walking around, I looked for clues. Nothing. Just a cot. Wait, that wasn't completely true. In a corner of the room is a video camera. I stared directly at it as I wondered who was on the other side.

I went to the door and I tried the handle. Locked. I tried again and the door didn't open. I began to pound on it, hoping someone would hear me. Why was I in there?

Yawning, I wondered why I was so tired. My limbs felt lethargic and my senses were dull, like I had been sleeping for a very long time. I just woke up...but I didn't remember falling asleep.

Suddenly the knob turned. A woman entered, one who looked familiar.

"Hello, Lavinia. Do you remember me?" She walked towards me, talking in a soft voice, so as not to startle me. She was dressed in black, with a blonde bun on her head. Her eyes were a piercing green, staring right at me. But I ignored all of that at first; I was too busy looking at the gun in her holster. A gun...

That's when I remembered everything.

My father's death, my brother's shooting, Agent Grayson injecting me. All of it.

I backed away from her, a look of fear on my face. That was Grayson, the woman who was there when everything happened. The one who did this to me.

Agent Grayson started to talk, "Lavinia, it's okay. You've been in shock. We needed to tranquilize you to calm you down. Lavinia, listen to me."

"Where am I? What happened to Jon? Who are you? Why is my father dead?" I spat out my questions rapid fire.

"Jonathan is fine. We shot him with a tranquilizer, that's all. He pointed a gun at our officers, so we had to neutralize him. You are in-well, you'll find out soon enough. As I told you, my name is Grayson. I work for the Capitol." she said. She walked towards me, hands above her head like she was surrendering. I didn't care; that gun terrified me.

"What happened to my dad?!" I said.

"Lavinia, just calm down. You have to understand that you are completely safe here. No one is going to hurt you again." Grayson dodged the question.

"What happened to my dad?!" I shouted.

Suddenly everything just built up inside me. I had no idea where I was, no idea what was going on. I didn't know who this person was. Jonathan was missing. My father was dead. Once that was in my head, I couldn't get it out. My father was dead. He's dead, and he's not coming back. He's gone, forever.

Instead of anger, I simply felt grief. I sat down on the cot, my head in my hands. I wasn't in shock like before, no. I was present, in the moment. Instead of feeling nothing, I felt a massive weight on my shoulders. There was an aching pain in my chest every time I thought of him. It was just too much for me.

The woman put her hand on my shoulder. "Shhh...shh...it's okay."

The tears started to flow, just like before. I was too emotionally drained to hold anything back. I didn't know Grayson at all, but I couldn't stop weeping like a baby in her presence.

I stayed like that for a little while. I wasn't capable of much else.

When I finally sat up and dried my tears, Agent Grayson offered me a tissue. "Here." she said.

I took it gratefully and wiped my nose. I took some deep breaths to try and calm down.

"Are you okay?" she asked sympathetically.

I nodded. As okay as anyone could be in this situation.

"Now, Lavinia, I need your help. I need your help first, and then I will answer all of your questions. Okay?" Grayson looked me in the eye.

"Why should I help you? I don't know who you are." I said, remembering what my father said about not trusting anyone.

"I told you. My name is Agent Grayson and I work for the Capitol." she said, as if that was enough. I didn't respond, instead tried to stare her down. Grayson looked straight back at me, a stern look on her face. I didn't care; I wanted answers.

She sighed, and said, "You should help me because we know what happened to your father. Listen to me: I'm on your side. You have to believe me, I am looking out for you."

I believed her. I didn't know why, but I trusted her for some strange reason. I didn't think she was being dishonest, or holding anything back. She was on my side, I could feel it.

Suddenly I wanted to talk to my brother. I hadn't had any time to process anything, neither had he. My brother was my best friend. There was nobody in the world I wanted to see more.

I asked her about it, "What about Jonathan? Can I see him?"

She pursed her lips. "As soon as you answer a few questions, you can see him. Deal?"

"Promise?"

She smiled warmly, "Promise."

I felt relief. Everything would be better when I could be with my brother.

Then another thought came to mind. "Wait, one more thing." I said, "What happened to me, back at my...apartment?"

She said, "It's called shock. After traumatic events, it can occur to people who witnessed them. It usually wears off after a while."

I felt uncomfortable about that. She saw how concerned I look so she said, "Don't worry, it's totally normal. Happens to a lot of people."

I nodded again. I recalled something similar happening in the Hunger Games. Weaker tributes would stare into the distance after their allies were killed. Instead of fighting back, they broke down. It's scary to think that the same thing happened to me.

"Now, are you ready?" she asked.

I nodded again. I was ready; I wanted this to be over.

Grayson smiled and stood up while beckoning me to do the same. I stood as she opened the door. Outside, I saw a hallway. It was more of the same: white floors, ceilings, and walls. There wasn't really anything in it, just one of two people milling around.

I followed Grayson as she walked briskly down the corridor. There wasn't much to look at. Only after passing a few doors did she stop. She pressed her thumb to a keypad. The scanner beeped. The door opened with a click.

She ushered me into the room. It was more of the same. Instead of a cot, there was a wooden table with two chairs, one on each side. The rest of the room was empty. The only other thing that stood out was the opposite wall; it was just one mirror. I looked at my reflection as I sat down. I looked terrible.

Grayson took a seat opposite me. She took out her tablet and opened a document. She read off it for a moment, and then she put it away. Then she turned to me.

"Now, Lavinia. I am going to ask you several questions. Just answer honestly. Remember, you are completely safe here. Understand?"

"Yes." My voice echoed in the room.

"Are you ready for the first question?"

I nodded. I was ready for the questions because I just wanted this to be over. I was ready, I was ready to tell Grayson everything detail I knew.

I thought I was prepared, but nothing could have prepared for what she said next.

"At precisely 2:32 PM yesterday, a bomb was detonated remotely in the Control Room. The shrapnel left the building inaccessible. Fourteen people were injured and one is in critical condition. For three hours, Peacekeepers were excavating bodies from the rubble. Priceless equipment was destroyed. A fire started from the explosion, and consumed more expensive paraphernalia. It was absolute chaos, the likes of which the Capitol has not experienced for several years. My question is this." she paused dramatically, "Do you have any idea why your father would do such a thing?"

Next chapter: Lavinia doesn't know whom to trust as the mystery deepens and her search for answers intensifies.