The crowd stared at Xersius in complete shocked silence for one second before their chanting filled the air. "TESLAS! TESLAS! TESLAS!" With each chant of their beloved Victor family's name, the citizens stomped and raised the district hand-sign in the air. Wiress and Beetee had a one second glance at the district standing unified in their fury of their children being reaped before the Peacekeepers shoved all four Teslas into the Justice building.
"Beetee -" Wiress gasped, her face paling as her knees gave way a second before her husband caught her in his arms.
"Kids, follow the officers to the train! Now!" Beetee commanded carrying a shaking Wiress and running behind his children. To his satisfaction, Estelle and Noah weren't showing weakness. Instead, they ran hand-in-hand with the Peacekeepers. Nodding their thanks, they hopped into the train as the Peacekeepers opened the door. "Ok, that's everyone." Beetee said as Xersius was pushed onto the train.
"Oh - oh - my - I've never had to hurry so - does my suit look wrinkled?" Xersius fussed as he sat on a poufy lime green cushion on the sunshine yellow carpet.
"YOU AND YOUR SUIT CAN GO TO HELL!" Beetee screamed. "GO TO YOUR DAMN ROOM AND DON'T YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT SAYING ONE WORD TO MY CHILDREN! GO!" At Beetee's dark red face and waving finger in his face, Xersius hurried into his room as fast as his three inch high-heels could carry him.
"Ryania, fix the kids the usual lunch." Beetee directed the Avox in the car. "And get the smelling salts, Wiress is out in a dead faint."
"Mama!" Estelle gasped looking at her mother's limp form in Beetee's arms.
"Dad, we can help you." Noah said approaching his father.
"Buddy, you and Stelle need to eat, ok? Wire's going to rest, but you two eat lunch. Now."
Grumbling to himself, Beetee carried his wife to the bed in their room. Opening the blinds in their window, he saw the Peacekeepers attempting to subdue the crowd. "They're going to fight for us, baby." He whispered to his wife as he settled her on the bed and stroked her face. "Please, baby, please, don't give up. Please, I need you to save our kids - Please - oh Wiress -" Dissolving into sobs, he curled up on the bed and held Wiress close.
Estelle and Noah sat at the dining room table eating silently. They watched their home pass by the windows. "Children." At their mother's whisper, they turned around. "Eating. Good." Estelle blinked back tears as she stared into her mother's large red-rimmed bloodshot eyes.
"Here." Noah offered his mother a small bread roll. "Did you make these?" Wiress gave her son a small smile.
"No - I showed Ryania -" Wiress explained before placing several small rolls on her plate. She cleared her throat and pointed at Noah who had tocked the gold embroidered napkin in the collar of his shirt. Estelle smacked him before he blushed and folded it in his lap.
"Ryania is very good at duplicating your mother's recipies." Beetee answered as he sat down heavily at the table. "Good job kids. Finish your plates."
"Ryania gave us a lot." Noah observed.
"Yes, because you will need to eat your fill at the Capitol. You're training for three days, kids -" Breaking off, Beetee blinked back tears. "To survive." He choked down a sob. "We have four hours on the train." He smiled. "I have some treats for the clean-plate club." Smiling knowing his kids remembered that from their childhood, Beetee was hopeful that he could get them through the next few days using his 'dad tricks.'
"Your turn." Beetee said handing the pair of dice to Estelle. The Teslas were in the living room playing a strategy game that Beetee and Wiress had at their house. This copy had a permanent place on the tribute train. They would play it with their tributes to gauge their skills in strategy and improvisation in addition to taking their minds off the impending Games. "Estelle, you can't move there."
"Yeah she can. It's Secret Move Three." Noah pointed out.
"Come again?" Beetee asked his son who gave his sister a horrified look.
"Estelle!" He yelped. "You told me Dad explained the rules to you!"
"He did." Estelle answered in her defense, however, a blush creeped up her cheeks.
"I did explain the rules, and I believe you added a few of your own, Estelle Wendy Tesla."
"Daaaaaad, make her start over!" Noah grumbled. "I swear, if we get home, I'm reading the rules again and I will beat you."
"Noah Terrimax Tesla, what did you just say?" Noah and Estelle gulped at the fury in their father's voice.
"If I get home, I'm beating her at the game." Noah muttered.
"I will not have that attitude, son. I don't want to hear 'if I get home' out of either of you again. Do you hear me?" Beetee asked harshly to mask the fear of loosing his children in the Games. "You're coming home. Understand?"
"Beetee -" Wiress began smiling. "Let's start again -" She arranged the board and handed each person their gamepiece.
"Aw, man! I think I got the hardest part!" Estelle groaned.
"As you are expert in the game to make new rules, I thought it would only be fair. Of course, we're going with the original rules, so you should be fine." Beetee quipped. He smiled at Wiress who was humming and finding excuses to reach across the table and hold her children's hand, straighten a collar, or brush hair out of someone's face. Allowing her to have a sense of normal family time with her children would keep her strong. His heart warmed as his wife gave him a warm smile. They would lean on each other and draw on each other's strength to save their children's lives.