My father was dead. My mother was dead. My big sister was dead. My two little sisters were dead. My little brother was dead. They were all dead, dead, dead! I rammed my head against the window of the train. I wanted to be dead.
The train screeched to a halt, a woman's voice on the PA saying "Welcome to the Capitol". The doors swooshed open and the peacekeepers led me out of the train. They had to handcuff me before I got on the train because I had been fighting them. I gave one of them a black eye and another a nasty gash on his face.
"You're free to go where you please," a peacekeeper said, taking off my handcuffs. I rubbed my wrists and looked up at him, confused.
"What do you mean?" I asked him. "Aren't you going to keep me prisoner somewhere or something?"
"No," the peacekeeper said. "If you do anything bad here, the Capitol citizens will just laugh and forget about it. There's nothing you can do wrong here, so go on and have fun. Just make sure not to break any major rules."
And with that, the peacekeepers boarded the train and left me alone. I looked around at the Capitol people. They had weird hair and clothes and tattoos. I sighed and started to walk around, examining all the stores as I passed. I reached into my pocket and saw a card that one of the peacekeepers had given me before I got off the train. It was pretty much blank, the only words on it being "NEW CITIZEN". I stuck it back in my pocket and continued walking around. My heart felt empty, I felt lifeless. My eyes were still wet from crying so much and my throat was scratchy from screaming so much. I breathed in the strange smell of the Capitol and continued walking, not wanting to think about my family at all. They were all dead, and I was pretty much dead myself. I had nothing left to love, nothing left to care for. I read a store's name and immediately stopped dead in my tracks.
"Permanent Hair Coloring" the sign read. I need to forget my family, I thought to myself. If I don't, I'll just be empty for the rest of my life. I'm sure President Snow is watching me and if I do anything drastic he's sure to do something even worse. I need to forget my family... but first I have to forget myself.
I walked into the Permanent Hair Coloring salon and immediately a man ran up to me.
"Welcome to Permanent Hair Coloring, where we color your hair permanently," he said, his blue spiky hair sparkling. "What can I do for you today, madam?"
"I want to color my hair," I said.
"Of course!" the man said. "And what color do you want it?"
"Red," I said. "Dark red."
Dark red, I thought. Like blood. Like Becky's blood when she was shot in the- stop! I squeezed my eyes shut and blocked out the memory of watching Becky get shot. I had to forget them, therefor I had to forget myself.
"Brilliant choice!" the blue haired man said, grinning like a fool. "If you will follow me, I'll get you started!"
I was led into a room with multiple chairs. He sat me down in one and then came over with a tube of hair coloring. He laid me back in my chair and rinsed my hair with spray-on-water and then squirted the tube of coloring into my hair. I closed my eyes as he massaged my head and rubbed the coloring into it. After putting in the coloring, he took out some sort of spray and sprayed my hair.
"Alrighty," he said, putting the bottle of spray away. I opened my eyes a stared into the mirror. My hair was dark red and I looked... amazing. I almost didn't recognize myself.
"It's wonderful," I said, trying to smile. "Thank you."
"Of course," he said. "Now, how will you be paying for it?"
"I... um..." I stuttered. Then I remembered the card. I pulled it out of my pocket and handed it to the man. He read it over quickly and nodded.
"Oh, a new citizen?" he asked.
"Yeah," I said.
"Welcome to the Capitol!" he said, grinning.
"Thanks; it's pretty cool so far," I said.
"I hope you enjoy the rest of your stay!" the man said, helping me up from my chair and handing me back my card. "And I hope you enjoy your new hair!"
"Thanks; I'm sure I will," I said.
I headed outside and looked around again at the other stores. I saw a tattoo place and bit my lip. I probably shouldn't, I thought, but then started to change my mind. I do need to change myself... I headed toward the tattoo shop without another thought and walked in.
"Hello!" a man with multiple tattoos said. "What can I do for you today?"
"I want a tattoo," I said, walking up to him.
"What would you like it to be of?" the man asked me.
I pondered the thought for a moment, and finally made up my mind.
"I want it to be of a bow and arrow," I said. "I want the arrow knocked on the bow and I would like it on my shoulder, please."
"Alright, one tattoo coming right up!" the man said, smiling. He led me to a chair and took out the needle. "This won't hurt a bit." He rubbed some sort of cream on my shoulder and then started to draw on my shoulder. And he was right; I didn't feel anything.
"How come it doesn't hurt?" I asked, always thinking that tattoos would hurt.
"The cream makes your arm go numb," the man explained, drawing carefully on my arm. After drawing out the main lines, he added some color in and then stepped back. I looked at my tattoo in the mirror and my mouth fell open in shock.
"It's beautiful," I breathed, staring at it.
"I'm glad you like it," the man said, smiling. "Is there any other tattoo you'd like today?"
I looked at myself in the mirror. I'd only planned on getting one, but it looked so beautiful...
"No thanks," I said, not wanting to go overboard like most of the Capitol citizens.
"Alright," the man said. "Payment?"
"Does this work?" I asked, handing him the card the peacekeeper had handed me.
"Sure," the man said, taking the card and scanning it then handing it back to me. "Welcome to the Capitol; enjoy your stay!"
"Thanks!" I said as I headed out of the store.
After getting my tattoo I headed to some clothing stores and bought a new wardrobe. By the time i had finished shopping, it was already growing dark. I headed to a hotel and handed the man at the desk my card, he scanned it, and gave me keys to the room I'd be staying in. I headed up the elevator and into the hallway. I found my room number and put in the key, turned the handle, and walked in. My mouth dropped open and I stared into the beautiful, lush room. I slowly closed the door behind me and hopped onto the big, soft bed. I breathed in the smell of roses and slipped off my bed and walked over to a mirror. I looked into the mirror and my mouth fell open even wider. I didn't even recognize myself. I looked completely different with my Capitol dress, shoes, and red hair. I looked like I was born in the Capitol instead of District 12. I shook my head and headed into the shower. I let the warm water wash over my body and stayed in there for at least an hour. After I was done I hopped out of the shower and slipped on a nightgown. I turned off the lights and hopped onto the bed. I pulled the soft covers over my body and closed my eyes. I was no longer the poor girl from District 12 who had lost everyone she'd loved. I was the new girl from the Capitol who got tattoos and was fearless. I closed my eyes and almost let out a smile. President Snow couldn't break me if I was already broken. I had lost everything and gained everything. By losing my family, President Snow could no longer hurt me. I was free.