Pain Hums

A cool breath blew in from the north as she exited on the main avenue and glanced to the sky. A flock of birds soared over the tops of buildings. The scent of morning was still softly fluttering through the streets. In only a few short days the Games would begin. All night the crowds stirred and cheered, fueled by the craze and anticipation of the arena.

Her boots splashed through a puddle of rain as she rushed towards the familiar white steps that led to the Hunger Games Municipal Tower.

At the entry a few guards nodded to her, after a year they had finally decided to let her pass through the doors and security levels with little supervision. She bowed to them as walked by, her eyes quickly moving ahead.

"Miss Sullivan! I'm so glad you could come."

Much to Pandora's surprise Artorius Flemming wasn't drunk.

"Hello, Mr. Flemming."

"Artorius—please, we've known each other nearly two years, the least you can do is call me by my first name."

"If you wish."

Artorious had asked Pandora to attend an interview that Caesar Flickerman was putting on. Apparently the Head Gamemaker thought that it would look good in the press for a past Victor to sit side by side with several of the other Gamemakers. He got the idea after the preliminary interview she attended. At first she wanted to decline, but there was nothing left for her to do. Finnick was busy with mentoring—it was different this year, different because he seemed more preoccupied with training than the prior year.

"I heard about your spill the other night at the Opening Ceremonies, I hope everything is okay."

She tried to smile, "I just lost my footing, those stairs feel a lot harder than they look."

"Ha! Of course—"

"Hello, Pandora."

Her gaze twitched to Artorius's side. Kol was walking hand in hand with one of the young Capitol representatives.

"Kol," she responded coldly, nodding her head to him in recognition.

"I hope my father's not boring you too much."

The girl on his side suddenly started laughing like a brainless animal, she placed her hand over her mouth as if she were pretending to be shy.

Artorius only corner-eyed his son.

"Well it could always be worse, couldn't it?" She quickly remarked, "I could be stuck with you."

"You should be so lucky."

"Kol—we don't have time to talk—Miss Sullivan and I were just heading into the interview room."

"Right," his hand slipped to the girl's side as he laughed, "I was just heading that way myself, escorting Lexia to her Tributes—"

"My name is Cora," she sweetly corrected, her thoughtless eyes peering up at him in confusion.

Pandora laughed in amusement, pursing her lips to stop herself.

"Right—that's what I meant."

"Of course," Pandora added, arching her eyebrow as an unstoppable smile overtook her face, "Artorius? We should probably get in there soon."

"Yes, we should—"

"It was nice to meet you Lexia—or—I mean Cora," Pandora purposely whispered as she winked to the girl and passed them by. Her smile broadened when she heard Kol scoff.

"I'm sorry about that," Artorius apologized as soon as they were out of ear shot, "He's so young you see."

"Aren't we all."

"If only—" his jovial laugh echoed through the corridor, "This shouldn't be long."

Several Capitol reps and stylists were crowding the hall. A few stared at Pandora as she passed, instantly recognizing her face. Her shoulders and arms twisted against the crowd. She could see a few Tributes coming through the doors and setting up on benches near the infamous silver doors leading to the training room.

Her heart raced at the recollection of her days before the arena. She remembered being completely lost in the training room, overwhelmed by the stations and equipment, scared of other Tributes. As Artorius and Pandora past by some of this year's group she could see the same bewilderment emanating from their whole body. The most nervous Tributes were the ones from the outlying Districts. Her eyes thoughtfully peered over different faces. She could hear some of the Careers laughing, see them huddled close to the doors confidently.

Her jaw clenched as she stared at their way. Instinctively she hated the lot of them, hated them because of her own biases. She was just about to look away when she caught sight of a familiar face.

Annie Cresta.

Her dark hair was pulled into a bun, her green eyes twinkled as she locked gazes with Pandora. It felt like they were staring at each other for an eternity.

"Pandora—"

Her eyes slowly scanned Annie's face, body, and demeanor. Even though she was standing in a huddle of Careers she looked nervous, out of place. She couldn't have been more than a year or two younger than Pandora.

"Pandora?"

Suddenly she snapped out of it. Her eyes closed for a brief moment, when she looked back to Artorius he was holding the door to the training room open for her. Somehow they had already arrived. Her brow furrowed as she tried to figure out when they had stopped walking.

"Are you okay?"

She blinked her eyes back to the Tributes. Everyone was staring at them.

"Sorry, yes…" her lips parted as she walked through the large doors into the vacant training room.

Everything was set up for the training to begin. It wasn't exactly how she remembered it, a few changes had been done to the organization and set up of the stations, but it was still eerily familiar. She glanced to the wall of gleaming weapons anxiously before lifting her eyes further to the observation studio.

Beyond the glass she could already see Caesar Flickerman preparing for the interview.

Artorius went up the steps first. Although Pandora was trying to concentrate on the task at hand she found herself looking back at the training room.

Even when they arrived in the studio room she headed towards the windows so that she could catch another glimpse of the equipment.

"Alright, I want the camera's to be there," Caesar was directing, "I want us to get a shot of the Tributes training in the background, you get that?"

She rubbed her lips together as she turned back towards the cameras being set up. A row of 5 chairs was set up. Almost all had been filled except two, one for Pandora, the other for Artorius Flemming. His was in the center. A single chair was separate from the others, presumably Caesar's.

"Pandora!"

Her body went rigid. Her eyes twitched to Caesar. He was heading right for her.

"I was hoping Mr. Flemming would convince you to come," as he reached her he grabbed her hand and planted a kiss on her cheek.

"Yes, it's an honor—as usual."

Her smile waned for a heartbeat.

"Don't be intimidated," He whispered, "The Gamemakers are a fun group."

She cynically stared at him, hating that she volunteered for this. Fun wasn't the word she would to describe a group of men and women who make it their job to idolize mass murder and violence.

"I'm sure," she hesitantly responded.

"Camera's are on in one minute!"

"We should get to our seats."

Pandora quickly darted to her chair, her eyes fearfully scanned over several of the Gamemakers, they were staring at her with an eye of scrutiny.

"Lero!" Artorius shouted, "You can let the Tributes in to train."

A man with a streak of orange in his hair emerged from behind the camera, he was wearing the uniform of an assistant Gamemaker, "Yes, sir."

"Alright, action in 3…2…1…"

The blinking green light turned red.

Pandora straightened her back and crossed her legs.

"Hello, this is Caesar Flickerman with your Hunger Games Update. I'm sitting here in the Gamemaker's Observation Studio where just beyond that glass the Tributes for the 70th Hunger Games are training…In addition to our lovely panel of Gamemakers including Head Gamemaker, Artorius Flemming, is one of the most beloved Victor's in Panem history, Pandora Sullivan."

Pandora smiled to the cameras, noticing that her interview companions were doing the same.

"Artorius as you've said this is your 6th year as Head Gamemaker."

"Yes, Caesar, that is correct…"

"What do you do to make every year original?"

Pandora's eyes twitched to the glass. She could hear the doors opening up. The Tributes were coming in now. She watched one of cameramen panning the camera around only a few feet away. He was capturing far off images of the preparations.

The Careers entered like they were running from a stampede. Instantly they picked their weapon of choice. It made Pandora feel sick. The idea that this was something a Career dreams about doing was insane to her. It was strange to live in a world where an eighteen-year-old boy would happily volunteer to slaughter other human beings for sport, but even stranger than that was the fact that only two years had past since Pandora was down there, scared and overwhelmed. Now she was in the observation studio, now she was a Victor. Many things had changed over those two years, but one thing had remained constant: the barb of being overwhelmed, the pang of fear.

"Now, Pandora—"

Instantly she looked to Caesar. She quickly reminded herself to smile.

"It must be strange to be sitting here, when only a short while ago you were down there…just another Tribute?"

It was as if Caesar was reading her mind.

"Yes, it's something else, isn't it? I was just thinking that," She laughed under her breath, trying to make her words sound carefree.

"It's true that the Gamemakers get an interesting perspective on the Games because, well, they help create each arena—but some might say you also have an insider's perspective, yes?"

"Yes. I guess that's why I'm here, Caesar," there was an edge to her voice that she didn't intend. Her eyes widened when she realized that Caesar looked a little confused.

"Well I don't want to bore you with the obvious questions, Pandora—I just want to get down in the dirt, just between all of us here is there any Tribute that you've seen and think has promise as a winner?"

She dropped her eyes. Truthfully she didn't even care, she wanted to remain as far away from the Games as possible but it was an aimed question. Any Tribute she picked would be endorsed by her, it would help that person with sponsors in the arena.

She smirked slowly, trying to come up with some sort of plan in her head. This was one of the only ways she could help Finnick, her eyes suddenly brightened.

"Actually I do."

"Oh really?! This should be interesting, who is it?"

Pandora cleared her throat, "Annie Cresta from District 4 seems to have a lot of promise."

"Interesting choice, why do you think that?"

It wasn't until she had said it that she realized how biased it would sound, after all she was in a relationship with the mentor of District 4. Her heart started racing, she cupped her hands nervously in her lap.

"I know it sounds rather out there but I have a feeling that she has a few tricks up her sleeve, some that the Capitol might not expect," Pandora recalled Annie's timid behavior in the hallway and recaps of the Opening Interviews, "I think she has spirit, don't you? A sort of understated charm?"

"Wow, quite a compliment coming from one of the most charming Victor's Panem has ever had."

She let out a laugh, glancing to the cameras, "Thank you, Caesar."

When his questions finally turned to the next person she relaxed slightly. Her lips mashed together in thought, she tried to keep her attention focused on Caesar and his questions but it was almost impossible.

Several long minutes passed before the closing.

Caesar gave his short goodbyes, smiling widely even after the cameras had been turned off.

One by one the stage lights shut off. Pandora didn't wait another long second to lift herself out of the chair and head towards the door.

She raced past the windows, noticing that the training room was now empty. Her brow furrowed. They must have been in that interview for longer than she thought.

Even the corridor was empty as she pushed through the door and meandered towards the exit. She twitched her eyes around, stopping when she finally saw a lone mentor coming out of one of the rooms.

"Excuse me—"

He was older with a warped face.

"Could you tell me where the other mentors are?"

"The Commons," the man vacantly responded, "Everyone adjourned for lunch."

Again, her brow furrowed. When she was a Tribute there was a common eating and lounging area but Lux Halstead hadn't let them in there. He told Pandora that it was a bad idea, only leading to possible fights. Apparently other mentors including Finnick didn't see it that way.

She nodded to him swiftly, picking up her pace in order to make it there before everyone had left.

The Commons was very large and ornate, just like everything else in the Capitol. Handcrafted tables covered in linin and china waited to be eaten off of. Screens broadcasted the latest news and stories. Tributes and mentors alike sat at their own tables, each one whispering to one another about possible game plans and strategies.

As Pandora entered she glanced around the room. District 4's table was completely filled. Not only were the Tributes and Finnick seated there, but the stylists as well.

Finnick looked up as soon as she stopped, it was if he knew she was coming.

Her hand lifted into a wave, her lips in a smile. But he didn't smile back. He looked tired and agitated.

He said something inaudible to the table before getting up and heading her way.

"What are you doing here?"

"I was in the building, I wanted to say hi."

"You're supposed to be on bed rest."

"I feel fine, besides I had an interview."

His eyes quickly darkened, he looked more on edge than Pandora had ever seen him, "Yea, I know. I saw the live feed."

She pursed her lips, unsure why Finnick seemed to snap at her, "Are you okay?"

"I need to talk to you."

Before she could respond she felt him grab her arm and gently pull her to the side. He was just about to speak when a wave of laughter roared from the Capitol representative on the far side of the room. Pandora saw Kol telling them jokes, he looked up at her for only a moment before returning to his mindless conversation.

"I don't know why he keeps hanging around here—" she hissed as she glowered at him.

"Who?"

"Kol Flemming, that pompous bastard."

"Pandora—"

She looked back to Finnick, her eyes widened.

"What?"

"Why would you say that in the interview?"

"I don't know what you mean—"

"You just told Flickerman that Annie Cresta is a good opponent."

"I don't see why that's a bad thing."

Finnick stared at her, "You just put a huge mark on one of my Tributes."

"I was trying to help you."

Pandora was confused, she didn't understand why he was so angry.

"Yea, well next time you want to help, reason before you say something."

"Finnick—I'm sorry, I didn't think—"

"That's the problem, you didn't think."

"I was trying to get your Tributes sponsors."

"I don't need your help!"

His whispered shout made a peacekeeper near the doors turn towards them.

Pandora glanced to the peacekeeper self-consciously, her lips parted with frustration, "Okay, I'm sorry, Finnick. I just—I'm sorry, okay?—Why are you so angry?"

"Look—I—" he looked back to the District 4 table and shook his head, "I didn't mean to yell at you…I'm just tired."

Her hand slowly reached out for his, it felt strange to hold it, "Why don't you come home, just take a day off?"

"I can't."

"You can though."

"If I do then it will only increase the chances that they'll die in the arena…I'll see you later, okay? I—" he quickly kissed her on the cheek, "I love you."

Quiet sadness swept over her. When she slipped her hand away from his it hurt her heart.

"I love you," she whispered back.

He gave her a strained smile before dropping his eyes and walking back to the table. Her gaze followed him, he didn't look back at her, not even when he sat down. She lingered there. Her back against the wall, her head hung low.

She was just about to look away, to walk away, when she saw something that made her stop. It wasn't a big deal, it was small, inconsequential even, but it made her freeze. As Finnick pulled his chair in he looked at the female Tribute, Annie Cresta. They smiled at each other. He looked happier than Pandora had remembered him being in a long time, his smile wasn't forced or pressed. It was a boyish grin, a whimsical smile.

"That's interesting, huh?"

She jumped in surprise, quickly recovering with a frown.

Kol. He had snuck up on her.

"What are you talking about?"

His blue eyes peered back to the District 4 table, "I thought you and Finnick were still together."

A slice of jealousy cut through her, "We—we are."

When she looked back she furrowed her brow. Suddenly her heart was racing. Finnick and Annie were laughing together, but it felt like they were laughing at her.

Kol crossed his arms and glanced at Pandora with a dimpled smile.

"Doesn't look that way to me..." he slowly replied.

She knew what he was trying to do. He was messing with her, trying to get under her skin. But the longer she stared at Finnick and Annie, the more inescapable and torturous the thought became. A low hum of a headache buzzed in her brain. She lifted her hand to the side of her face and blinked her eyes away, forcing the idea out.