The Living Games
A/N Hey guys! So yeah, Zane's last name is Mellark. Remember a few chapters back when they were all hanging out and I said something about a shock? And how Zane was telling Aubrey about his family? Well, here's where that comes to play! No, Zane is not Peeta's father, because he doesn't fit the description. But I wonder who it could be . . . well I don't because I already know but still. And after the next game it'll be pretty obvious, if it isn't already now. I mean, if it helps, Peeta's family has the Victor thing going on. I'm running out of pre-written chapters, so I'd better get on that!
Chapter Thirteen: The Beginning Of The End Of Everything Nice
Aubrey's first thought was, his last name is Mellark? But that was quickly thrown away when she realized who it was.
No! It couldn't be! Not Zane. Not her Zane!
Aubrey's heart was in her throat. Was this happening? Was this really happening? This couldn't be real. But she knew it was. It was all real. She just couldn't get a fucking break. First Arianna, and now, Zane? It was like Snow planned it all out.
"No . . ." she whispered, feeling like the world was falling apart.
She saw Arianna come in her vision.
Aubrey could feel the tears building up in her eyes, and she could barely hold them down.
No, she thought. I won't cry. Not in front of everyone.
She pulled herself together and stood up straight.
Zane had started making his way down the aisle when someone screamed out, "Wait! No! I volunteer!"
Aubrey knew that voice . . . it was Josh!
"Josh! No!" Aubrey yelled, though she doubted anyone heard her. She saw tears stream down Arianna's face.
He didn't listen.
He patted Zane on the back, whispering, "No! You're not going. It's my job to protect you, as an older brother."
He let go.
Aubrey didn't want Josh to go. She didn't want anyone to go, yet she felt a tiny stab of relief that it wasn't Zane, and she hated herself for it.
He walked up the steps looking composed, but Aubrey knew him better than that. She could see the panic and fear he tried to hide in his eyes.
Kerri didn't seem to register what just happened.
"Oh! The joy, a volunteer! Come up, come up!"
She ushered him up the stairs.
"Now, what is your name? We can't have a nameless boy going into the games!"
Josh's eyes got stormy, like he was trying to hold in his disgust. "Josh. Josh Mellark."
Kerri squealed in excitement, not seeing the obvious. "Oh! Volunteering for a family member! You know, you're the first person to volunteer here in 42 years. The last volunteer was the first ever Hunger Games!"
She rushed over to the girls' Reaping ball and hesitated before picking.
She dug her hand deep down, and pulled out a name. She didn't waste any time rushing back to her podium. She was so excited, she didn't even try for suspense. She called a name. A name Aubrey knew all too well.
"Aubrey Oric."
She knew the name so well because it was her name.
Arianna immediately shot her head up, and opened her mouth. Aubrey knew what she was about to do.
"I—"
Aubrey clamped a hand over her mouth, and glared hard at her.
"No. You're not going in again. Never again."
Aubrey put her mess with me and you'll never see light again face on. It was time to get down to business. The games had already started. She didn't want to look like a wimp to the whole country.
Arianna grabbed her hand. "But Aubre—"
Aubrey didn't let her finish. She ripped her hand out of Arianna's, and went towards the stage, pausing to say one thing.
"If you volunteer I'll just knock you out and switch us. I'll go the whole games as Arianna Oric if I have to."
Yes, harsh, but it needed to be done. She had to learn she couldn't always be the hero, even if she was just trying to protect her.
Aubrey walked up to the stage. She stepped onto the stage, and looked the escort straight in the eyes.
"Present."
She had no idea why she just said that. It just seemed right. She might've felt a bit stupid after saying that, but she didn't regret it.
"Right. Okay! These are our tributes for this years' game! Shake hands!"
She looked at Josh, and their eyes met. He was like a brother to her. In fact, if her and Zane got married, he would be her brother.
She resisted a blush at the thought, and gave him a big hug.
Pshh. Just shake hands with her bro? No way.
With that, she walked off the stage.
The Peacekeepers met her halfway and escorted her. She felt so honored. Note the heavily used sarcasm.
They pretty much threw Aubrey in a room and locked it before she could rip their heads off.
The room looked the same as the last time she had come to see Arianna. Plush carpet, Velvet couches, green walls. It was very fancy.
Aubrey barely sat down when the door ripped open. Arianna ran in the room, and slammed the door in Zane's face.
If her confidence wasn't gone, she might've smiled.
"AUBREY!" Arianna yelled at her.
She cringed. She knew she'd be mad, but it was still shocking.
"WHY THE FUCKING HELL WOULD YOU DO THAT, YOU DUMB BITCH!"
Arianna started crying, and hugged Aubrey so tight her guts were almost seeping out of her skin.
"Ugh . . . can't breathe," Aubrey gasped out.
"Good. Maybe that will talk some sense into you."
"Wouldn't that just make me lightheaded?"
Arianna glared at her.
Aubrey sighed. "Listen. You are never going into those games again as long as I'm alive."
"Which won't be long now that you've done this!"
Aubrey rolled her eyes. "Oh, shut it! I did what I did already, we can't change it, so let's move on."
Arianna cried more. "I-It's just, what if you don't make it out? Then it'll be all my fault because I could have saved you. But I didn't! Josh said it was his job to protect Zane as his older sibling. A lot of good I did you!"
Aubrey consoled her sister.
"Don't worry. I'll make it out."
"And if you don't?"
"I will."
"If you don't?"
"I will! I believed you would, and you did. So shut the fuck up and believe in me."
"Believing won't get you anywhere! You need hard work, dedication, training—"
"You sound like my teachers. Just shut your goddamn trap and hug me!"
They hugged for a few more minutes until a Peacekeeper came in and ripped Arianna away from her.
"Get the fuck off my sister!" Aubrey grabbed her from his grasp and pushed her out.
She expected Zane to come in next, but it was her parents.
She hugged both of them. No matter what she said, they were still her parents, and she had to love them.
"Please, please come out alive," they murmured and hugged her. She felt sobs coming on, but she swallowed them down.
The Peacekeeper came back and took them away.
Next was Cady. She threw herself at Aubrey.
"Oh, Auby! Come out alive, please! You gotta!" Tears were streaming down her face and she was shaking with the force of her sobs.
"Shh, shh. I will. I will."
She sat there and hugged her sister. She wasn't sure if she could keep her promises. She wasn't sure she could make it out alive herself.
The Peacekeepers came again, and her last guest came.
She didn't even get a word in before he grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed her. She vaguely felt herself against a wall, with her arms around his neck, and his hands still on her shoulders.
When he finally pulled away, Aubrey took a moment to catch her breath.
"I-I'm sorry."
"For what?" he asked her softly.
"For-for getting picked."
Zane laughed. "Oh, Aubrey. That's ridiculous. You can't control what happens."
He turned serious. "Get a weapon, and find Josh. Protect yourself. You'll do fine. I've seen what you can do."
Aubrey nodded.
He pulled out something from out of his pocket. A necklace. It was a gold chain, pure gold, with a rectangle on the end.
Aubrey gasped, recognizing it.
"Zane . . ."
Zane put the necklace around her neck and kissed her forehead.
"Open it."
She did, even though she already knew what was inside of it.
Inside was a picture of her, Zane, Arianna, and Josh. They were all in the woods after training, just fucking around.
Arianna was smiling, and Josh was sticking out his tongue, cross eyed. Zane was smirking and Aubrey was smiling wide while holding up a peace sign, with Zane's arm around her waist.
"You already have a token?"
"No. This will be my token. Oh, my . . . How'd you find this?"
Zane smiled.
"Arianna was happy to search your room for me."
She had lost that very locket, the locket that she had gotten from Zane for her birthday.
"Oh, thank you!"
She reached up and kissed him.
"Aubrey, I've told you a million times before, but I'll tell you again. I'll love you until the end of time. Every time I look into your eyes, I know everything will be alright, and everything will. Trust me."
He kissed her again before she could respond. He put all of his words into his kisses. Time passed. Maybe and hour, maybe ten minutes. All she knew was that the door opened, Zane was gone, and she was alone crying on the floor.
They thought she could do it. They really did. They thought she could win. She couldn't. She wasn't as strong as the other kids.
Aubrey frowned and slapped her self three times.
"Get . . . yourself . . . together!" (A/N He he, for those of you who don't know, this is from The Incredibles. I love that movie to death. I loved that scene when Edna hit her with the newspaper so much, I just had to!)
Who was she? Some crying damsel in distress who needed saving? No.
She picked herself off the floor and schooled her face into a fierce expression.
"Woman your ass up."
She dusted herself off and waited patiently on the couch for the dic—erm, Peacekeeper to come get her.
He did.
When they got to the Square, there were cameras everywhere. She was glad her face was stone because she might have cringed.
There was a fancy looking car waiting for them. It looked almost as expensive as one of the Victors' houses.
After getting out of the car, the train showed up, and they were shoved on it.
Kerri—ugh—was there to greet them.
"Oh! I just love this train! Going at speeds over 250!"
Aubrey might've thought the train was amazing, but she had already been in in the Victors' Village houses, so this was familiar ground with her. The whole train car was bright and lively, pretty much the opposite of her mood
The brightly colored walls were almost too bright, and the velvet—and other fabrics she couldn't even name—were soft to the touch.
The chairs where black, with a velvet cushion, and the table was stacked with food, and a dark brown wood.
She ignored whatever the hell Kerri was saying, and went off to find her room. The room was smaller then her room at home, but still bigger then her whole old house. The beds were soft, some fabric she didn't know, and the walls were a plain red. The showers had less buttons than the ones at her house, but it was still really awesome. If she had seen this room before she moved into her new house, she would have just died.
After looking through the drawer, she put on a red short-sleeved shirt with a pocket over her heart and black jeans.
She just lied on the bed, fingering her necklace from Zane, and thinking about her goodbyes.
"I-It's just, what if you don't make it out? Then it'll be all my fault because I could have saved you. But I didn't!"
"Please, please come out alive."
"Oh, Auby! Come out alive, please! You gotta!"
"I'll love you until the end of time. Every time I look into your eyes, I know everything will be alright, and everything will. Trust me."
She stayed that way until Kerri knocked on her door, calling her for dinner.
They sat down and immediately started eating.
There were buttered rolls, spicy chickens and other mysterious meats. Not like school meat mysterious, but like they were meats that didn't come from District 12. There were fresh fruits, soups, stews, vegetables, juices, wines, and other stuff she didn't even recognize.
Aubrey knew not to stuff herself like she did the first like her mother wasn't there to watch her eat, but there were more options here than she had in her house. She really wanted to stuff her face, but then she remembered what had happened the first time she did that. She had thrown up so many times.
The food was good, and the chocolate covered strawberries reminded her of one day in the woods where she and Zane had eaten them at a river.
After they were finished eating, Kerri stared at them with respect.
"Wow. You two sure know how to pace yourself! Everyone else just stuffs themselves like there's no tomorrow!"
Aubrey rolled her eyes.
They got up to watch the Reapings.
The Careers from One were pretty, but clever. Aubrey hated to admit that the girl from One was really, really hot. The Careers from Two were not as pretty, but strong and brutal. Three was pathetic, and Four was okay. The boy was strong, but no threat. The girl only had one arm. Nothing happened until District 6. It was one of those districts where no one ever volunteered, but this year, a boy did. He had the most beautiful hazel eyes, and dark brown hair. It was about medium length. He looked about 13. Maybe 14. He volunteered for his little brother, who looked about 9, but Aubrey knew he had to be at least 12.
Nothing else happened until District 10.
The boy from Ten was tall, muscular, and he didn't look like he was one to give mercy.
They watched their Reapings, and then went to bed.
It had been a long day, and Aubrey just realized how tried she was. She was so done with the day, and she just wanted to go to sleep. And she did fall asleep, as soon as her face hit the pillow.