Here's Chapter 11. Its a bit shorter than the rest, but I hope you like it :) Don't forget to review!


I groan. My head hurts. Where am I?

White walls surround me and the whiteness of it all overwhelms me. For a moment I even feel like there are no walls, like it all just stretches out forever. I snap out of it and whip off the blanket to look at what I'm wearing. A white top and white pants. What? Where am I? Some kind of sterilization room?

"Annie Cresta of District 4. Tribute and winner of the 70th Annual Hunger Games."

I look around for the source of the voice. It's the high, clear voice of a woman.

"Please confirm your identity."

How do I do that?

"Hello?"

"Confirmed as Annie Cresta."

A door to my left slides open. I didn't even see it. To be fair, it's also white.

I walk out the door and find myself in another room. It's pitch black, except for the circle of yellow light in the middle of the floor.

"Please step into the light."

I take a step. I look up, but I can't see anything besides the painfully bright light.

I hear people walking around me, but I can't see anything in the dark. I just end up looking into empty space.

The lights turn on, and apparently, I'm in the middle of a small room with people seated all around me. They all wear white as well, and they have clipboards in the hands.

A woman sits directly in front of me.

"Please state your name, Annie." Her voice is quite stiff and there's a trace of her Capitol accent, but oddly enough, only a small bit.

I forget the question and ask, "Sorry, what?"

"Please state your name, Annie."

This puzzles me. "State my name? But you just said it!"

"Yes, but please state your name."

"Fine. Annie Cresta."

"Thank you. Now please state your district."

I take a deep breath. "District 4."

"Okay. Now Annie, do you know why you're here?"

What? How would I know? So I volunteered to be kidnapped by Harold to be taken to a place that triggered a million memories all at once and made my head feel like exploding. Yes. Definitely volunteered for that.

"No, I don't," I say, trying to hide my anger and frustration, "Would you care to inform me?"

"Why of course. We are here to investigate the reasons for your... umm... how do I put this?"

"Insanity? Oddity? Madness?"

"Flashbacks."

For a moment I am quite happy, since I might find out the reason. But there's something fishy about this. They wouldn't just suddenly want to help me. And why did they have to kidnap me here?

"But why?"

"Why? Because we want you to live a happy life, Annie!" Her Capitol accent is quite strong here. I start to step back.

"Please don't move, Annie. If you put your foot outside that circle of light... I don't think you'd want to know." Nope.

"Okay. So now, we will go through a series of tests to see what triggers your flashbacks."

I'm okay with this. Until I realize what she means.

I think she sees my mask of horror because the corners of her mouth twitch up just the slightest bit. But that only makes me more determined. I don't want to cry, or to beg for mercy, or to start screaming because that's just going to give her pleasure.

I lift my chin up and say, "Alright then. Let's start."

Her face is shocked for just the slightest bit before she composes herself. I hear people scribbling all around me. Bet they didn't expect that.

The room darkens and I hear the slightest shuffling of feet. How they stay so silent, I have no idea.

Silence.

After a while, the darkness and the silence combined seem to form a tangible thing that just stretches and stretches and then wraps all around you. It's cocoons you until you feel suffocated and you try to break free. But that fabric, that cocoon is so soft and peaceful that you don't want to let go.

This was how long that silence was. I felt all those things.

BOOM.

I scream.

BOOM.

It's so familiar.

BOOM.

It actually sounds like...

BOOM.

The cannon in the arena.

I squeeze my eyes shut and try to block out the noise.

No.

I force out all the images that are struggling to flood my mind.

"NO!"

My high-pitched scream fills the darkness. Echoing in what seems like an infinitely big cave.

"Please... Just stop..."

I take my hands out of my ears for a while.

BOOM.

That's all it takes to unhinge me.

I scream again and when I open my eyes, I see trees.

I struggle to get on my feet. "No," I whimper, "Please don't do this to me."

There's a rustling to my left. I close my eyes and try to go back. But it's too late now. I can't do anything but try to go through this.

I look around. I see something in the shrub near me. I walk closer.

A small, cute, furry animal jumps out, sniffing the air. It looks around and catches sight of me. I smile a little.

But then the squirrel scurries towards me and starts climbing. It goes on top of my head and starts pulling my hair out.

I shriek at the top of my lungs and try to get it off me. I suddenly feel little feet climbing all over me. Some start scratching my skin and others proceed to biting me.

I run around trying to get them off me, until the pain swallows me whole and I'm unable to do anything but wait for death. I fall to the ground on my back and I hope it squishes some of those darn animals.

I close my eyes and try to forget about the pain.

The pain from the animals.

The pain of betrayal.

The pain of loss.

The pain of living.