.
THE TRAINING CENTER
Shadows fill the unfamiliar bedroom. Sprawled on his back, Jack stares grimly at the ceiling. The faint artificial ticking of a clock marks off the endless seconds until dawn. He knows it isn't a real clock. He checked it, turned over the silver box and discovered the little speaker on the bottom, running an endless sound-loop recorded from some faraway honest machine.
Nothing is real, here.
A faint whimper catches Jack's ear. Well. At least there's one real thing left in his life.
"Emma," he whispers, and sits up cautiously to peer at her face through the shadows, careful not to wake her.
His sister's room, one door down, is as echoingly large and impersonal as his own. He wasn't all that surprised when she appeared in his doorway, not long after lights out, even though it's been years since they used to pile into bed with their mother; and he sure as hell wasn't sending her back to sleep alone. This bed would comfortably fit a dozen Emmas with plenty of room left over for one measly brother.
Curled into a ball under the covers, Emma's small body looks lost among the yards of sheets and blankets. Her sleeping face is screwed up into a fretful expression, one fist pressed against her mouth. As Jack watches, she shivers in her sleep and lets out another tiny, frightened sound.
Jack sighs, unsure what to do. She needs her sleep for the days ahead, but how are nightmares supposed to help her rest? Frustrated with his own helplessness, he scowls, and reaches out to gently brush the pale, sweat-damp hair from her forehead. She looks like a ghost, after what that stylist did to their hair.
A light tap on the door rings out in the silence like a shot. Jack startles, twisting around to face the door as it swings open. A long shadow stretches across the rectangle of light from outside...
It's the same Avox who served their dinner, after the parade tonight. Jack relaxes. He's heard rumors about how people become Avox in the Capitol, but he can't imagine this man as a rebel insurgent or a dangerous malcontent. The guy looks about as threatening as a teddy bear, hardly taller than Emma, with a plump face framed with tufts of sandy hair. At the moment, he's carrying a glass of water on a tray.
Belatedly, Jack realizes he's waiting for permission. "C'mon in," he whispers.
The Avox nods and slips into the room, leaving the door open behind him. He sets the tray with its brimming glass on Emma's nightstand, then turns to Jack and presses one finger to his lips in the universal shushing gesture. There's worried urgency in his soft brown eyes.
"Not a word," Jack translates, and glances at the open doorway. "Got it."
Without taking his finger from his lips, the Avox's other hand dips into the pocket of his robes, and comes out holding a small paper packet. He hands it to Jack, who opens it curiously. There are half a dozen yellow tablets inside. Jack stares at them, then at his sister, then looks back at their silent servant.
"Will these help her sleep?" he whispers. "Peacefully?" The Avox smiles, and nods. Gratitude washes through Jack like a breeze; he gives the Avox a tired smile. "Thanks. This is..." He swallows. "Thank you."
The little man pats Jack's arm, and his whole face crinkles up in a gentle smile. Then he releases him, and slips soundlessly out the door again.
Jack watches him go, more curious than ever now. Maybe the Capitol wasn't completely wrong when they decided this guy was a danger to them. He shakes his head wryly, and leans over to wake his sister.