Hello! Now, this chapter was supposed to tell y'all about the sponsorship system. But since littlekad16 and I have not yet been able to discuss this, here's a small story to entertain you! WARNING: there will be violence in this chapter. This IS Panem, and this IS a Hunger Games fic, after all, so it's to be expected. Enjoy…
Somewhere in the Capitol, in a dark room, there was a girl shackled to a wall. This girl was very pretty, so pretty in fact that people had look at her blindfolded, or else they'd fall in love with her and set her free. This, of course, was unacceptable, so President Snow decided to lock her up good this time. She had escaped once before-she wasn't getting away again.
This was Maryanne Suzanthony Vollins Myer Wolf Sunbeam, of District 13. Yes, the Capitol had said it would leave the District alone, but it happened to find her strolling about the ruins. Snow had decided to train her for the Hunger Games as the PERFECT tribute, but she escaped. Having found her again, he had decided to "dispose" of her. And after having to deal with Ottawa Crane, he was in the mood for disposing. He entered the dark room and turned on a light.
"What do you want, Mr. Snow?" she asked cheerily, despite hating the man who had beat her when she was young.
"I just came to say hello, my dear," Snow said, putting fake happiness into his voice. It disgusted him. "I also came to say that you'll be released from the shackles today."
"Really!?" asked the sweet girl excitedly.
"Yes. And, to make sure you'll 'cooperate' with us, we've decided to give you some pets to play with. You will, of course, be under remote guard. We'll be watching you. But you'll be comfortable as long as you listen." The girl squealed with joy.
"Oh, thank you mister Snow! I promise I'll be good!" she said. I'll listen for a while, but I'll get out again. Soon, she thought.
"Goodbye, Maryanne," Snow said. It would be the last time they spoke. He left the room, locking the door. Shortly afterwards, Maryanne's shackles opened and she fell to the ground. She lay there, rubbing her wrists. Then, a light unseen glowed red on the wall, and underneath several large dogs came in through. Their tongues were hanging out, panting.
"DOGGIES! Here, doggies!" called Maryanne kindly. The dogs turned to look at her, and ran at her. The tackled, sniffed, and licked her, causing her to laugh. Then one of the dogs bit her leg, and she kicked it. "Bad dog! No biting!" she scolded. The dog retreated, growling. The other dogs started growling too, and stopped licking her. They got off and surrounded her like she was prey.
"Doggies? What are you-" she started to say, but she never finished the sentence. Without warning, the small pack leaped onto her, this time with claws and teeth bared.
"AAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHH!" she screamed shrilly. Behind a one-way window, several Gamemakers recoiled at the blood. One spoke up.
"Sir, are these to be used in the Arena? This seems a little much, even for a mutated beast."
"No, we're still working on them. We'll probably perfect them in about ten years," another replied. A bloodcurdling scream reverberated from the other side of the glass. Maryanne was missing a lot of flesh, and losing a lot of blood.
"Please, help me! Someone!" she screamed.
"Ten years? Isn't that a little long?"
"I suppose, but we're trying to perfect the eyes. Our goal is to make them look human, to mess with the Tributes." The screaming stopped.
"I like it, whose idea was it?"
"You know the Head Gamemaker, Ottawa Crane? His son, Seneca. The kid's got a knack for this. He'll be a great Head Gamemaker someday." A voice came on through a PA system. It was President Snow.
"Is it over with?"
"Yes, President Snow," the two Gamemakers replied.
"Good. Send me the video and make sure you clean the room. And make it quick-you two need to help Crane. He has a… project he need finished by today."