Waking up in a cold, pitch dark tunnel with nothing but stone to comfort you can be scary. Especially if you've convinced yourself that you didn't go to sleep alone.
I know Corvin isn't here, if he was then it wouldn't be dark, he would have lit a match or something. He would have run his fingers through my hair and told me that I'm gorgeous. He wouldn't have gotten up, he would have let me keep laying my head on his chest, because he knows that's what makes me happy.
I lie still in the silence, the darkness swallowing me. I can hardly breathe.
"Hello," says a voice. It's not Corvin's, it's someone else. They grab onto me and hold me tightly, but it's not in a good way. It is a firm grip and a cold voice to match.
"Your name is Evelyn," they continue. "I am Shrine. I have something that you want." I freeze, and my heart seems to stop.
"What do I want?" I ask.
"I talk, you listen," the voice orders. "My name is Shrine and I'm going to take you out of this tunnel. You are not to struggle or to run away. It is useless. I have watchers. They are everywhere."
I shiver. What if this mysterious person has Corvin? This isn't like any Hunger Games I have seen before. Even if I had, I would've never dreamed I would be the one living it.
"I understand," I say obediently, but my response is met with a sharp clap and I feel a stinging pain on my face.
"I told you not to speak!" The boy shouts. I want to cry, more because of shock than of pain, but I keep still.
"Anyway," he continues. "I am going to let you get up now." I stand on shaky feet, and the person clutches me at my wrist and shoulder.
"Remember," he says, "I have watchers everywhere."
The journey is simple. This person continues to hold me and we walk in a straight line through the tunnel. Unlike most journeys before, this one is short. Maybe a half an hour, I guess.
"I am from District 1," The boy explains. "I hear that you are from 12." His voice is cold and I can tell that it holds dry emotions. "I have a… connection… with 12." Finally light begins to filter through the tunnel until it grows into a white light. I have to wait for my eyes to adjust and I look around the room. It's a room like all the others, stone and circular, but everything is white and there is a low table with cushions on the floor around it. I sit on a cushion across from Shrine. For the first time, I see what he looks like.
My first thought is Corvin. He has the same skin, the same curly dark hair, and the same deep blue eyes. I ask shakily, fearing another hit from him, "Corvin?"
He answers angrily, "My name is Shrine, you stupid girl! I am not Corvin, but I know who he is."
"You said you had something that I want. What might that be?" I stare into his dark eyes.
"What I have," he says, giving me a sly smile, "Is information."
"I've got that," I answer coolly. "I don't know what game you're playing but-"
He cuts through my sentence. "You don't have all of the information. I'm not referring to the Games. I'm referring to Corvin himself." He holds up a small green chip and I gasp.
"Where did you get that?" I ask quickly. It's Corvin's token!
"As I said, I have watchers. Everywhere. I also am still holding the information that you need. All I ask in return is a favor."
"What might that be?" I ask, trying to stay calm.
"I want help. I'll explain later, but it's nothing you can't handle. As a matter of fact, you've got the better side of the deal! I'm giving you valuable secrets, and in return, you give me something that I myself own. It was stolen. I want it back. All you have to do is agree." He's smart, and definitely convincing.
"Oh, please," I say, still struggling to contain my anger and confusion. "I know there are cameras everywhere. They can't be secrets if this place is so public."
"This room has no cameras," he says. "It is secret. This is the only place in the entire arena without cameras, and it's all mine. Also, I thought if you would like to follow through on this little deal, then you'd like to know what the information is about. I'll tell you. It's about Corvin."
I sit and stare at him in awe. Who does he think he is? He comes from all the way across the continent from our homes, he said so himself. He is from 1, we are from 12. And Corvin refused to tell me any secrets about himself, so why should he tell this idiot?
"Fine," I say before I can stop myself. I was just too curious to not ask. "Explain."
"Excellent," he says with a grin. "I will now explain to you the facts that Corvin has concealed from everyone else. He didn't want you to know his story. Unfortunately, he can't hide it from everyone."
"Get on with it!" I say, rolling my eyes.
"Very well," he says. "Corvin is not the person you think he is. He comes from the Capitol. That is the first surprise."
Before I can argue with this statement, he interrupts, "Please don't intrude on the story. I know what I'm talking about and trust me, when I finish you'll understand." I sit back a little, relaxing.
"Anyway," he continues, "Corvin is from the Capitol. His real name is Corbin. I bet that's something you didn't know," he says in an annoying tone. "Yes, Corbin is his real name. He grew up with a man named Jayson, who was his father. Jayson's wife died two days after Corbin was born. Jayson was forced to raise the child on his own.
"Corbin was a very good boy, he grew up proper and knowing the etiquette of the Capitol, and his father never had to worry about putting his name into the Reaping. Fate was very giving to Corbin's family, wouldn't you agree? The story gets better. Corbin grew up loving technology. He couldn't stop dissecting televisions, radios, and all kinds of other things. As well as taking them apart, he was even better at putting them back together."
Shrine slammed the green chip down on the table, suddenly serious. Glaring at me, he continued. "By the time he was ten years old, he had invented these." Picking up the little tablet again, Shrine stared at it and held it in his fingers. "Strange contraptions, micros," he said thoughtfully. "Contraptions that we don't need!" Pulling out a knife, he laid the chip on the table and aimed for it…
"STOP!" I screamed, grabbing the little tablet before he could shatter it. I clutched it in my hand and squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for him to punch me.
"You fool! I could've stabbed your hand!" He screamed, and I felt him slit my wrist. Not a lot, but enough for me to feel the warm, sticky blood trickling over my fingers.
Ignoring the pain, I shouted at him, "That chip belongs to Corvin! It's special to him! Whatever it does that you don't like, it's none of your business!"
"None of my business? You imbecile, you stupid girl! Here I am, giving you a good deal, and you interrupt my story, you take away the rights I have! That was my chip to destroy! You took it!" My eyes grew watery but I suppressed the tears. I couldn't cry. Not now.
"Alright, you nuisance, I will continue. But consider this your last warning," He said, giving me a death glare. If looks could kill…
"Then get on with it!" I snapped, and crossed my arms.
"Fine," he answered. "Anyway, Corbin was great with electronics. The Capitol trusted that one day, he would make a fabulous Gamemaker. Unfortunately, he had other ideas. During school one day, he slipped out of the classroom and accessed the control panels to the school. By connecting circuitry and wire patterns, he was able to decipher the access code to the main power source of Panem. For a week, he blacked out his entire city."
I couldn't believe it. Gentle, loving Corvin was… a trouble maker? And one of that level… I could barely believe it.
"Corbin's father was not only Jayson Symma. Corbin's father was a Gamemaker. The head Gamemaker. And he remains to this day." Shrine gave me a moment to let that sink in. The man that I saw at the training arena after I performed for the gamemakers… that was Corvin's father. No wonder he was spying on us afterward. That was one more mystery solved.
"Corbin hated the fact that his father's job was to kill children. As a rebellious act to show his father how much he hated him, Corbin created that chip, the one you snatched away from me. It contains all the access codes to the security files and circuits, as well as the continuous power source of Panem. It is so powerful, that the Capitol tried to destroy it when they found out.
"Corbin would do anything but let that happen. Jayson Symma decided that the only thing they could do was send him to a place where there was no technology for him to hack into. So they sent him to your home, District 12. He was kicked out of the Capitol for his act of what he described as 'heroic.'"
Shrine sighed, and continued to glare at me. I was about to start crying. How could Corvin hide all of that from me? No wonder he was secretive about his past. He must have been so embarrassed. But still…
"Wait a minute!" I stood up and shouted in Shrine's face. "Why should I believe you? Your a stupid Career tribute, and I couldn't care less what you say! Besides, you know nothing about Corvin. So what? You have his MicroChip. I. Don't. Care."
"You don't care? I thought we had a deal," he said with mock sadness. "I guess it isn't my business. Sorry, Evelyn. I'm really sorry. I just loaded your sad little head with a bunch of misinformation. I guess the deal is off." He continued to sit calmly.
"What are you playing at?" I asked angrily, still refusing to believe the impossible.
"Evelyn, it is my business. You wanna know why? I'll tell you." He stood up and walked over to me. I stood on shaky legs, wondering why he wanted to tell me in the first place. I shouldn't have agreed to the deal.
He leaned in to my ear, and whispered, "Because I am Corvin's brother."