It was a dim room, surrounded by the darkness and the stillness of the night.
Cornelius Junius sat back in his chair, the Head Gamemaker by his side, waiting for their first report. The room was tense, and quiet. Aika took this extremely seriously. At this point… She had no other choice. Agent Eight was the first to be paged to the interrogation room, here to observe and give intel. He greeted the others with a polite smile, looking for his fellow agents and sitting in a seat when he saw that they weren't yet there.
The door opened and Bonnie Bunsen was escorted into the room, flanked on either side by the guards. He was sober now, but hanging his head. He knew that he'd failed.
"Well, boy? Give us your report!" Junius told him, crossing his arms as the guards on either side of him stepped back and left him alone with no security. No support. Bonnie's heart pounded as he took a few deep breaths and put his hand on his chest to feel his own heartbeats. He was alone.
Bonnie wasn't looking at Junius, or at the Head Gamemaker. He stared at his shoes to hide the mist on his glasses from the Head Commander. He couldn't cry. Not here. He already had residual red spots on his face from when he threw up. Because of the alcohol or because of nerves… He didn't know.
Bonnie cleared his throat and held his folder close to his chest. "Freddy Smith is in protective custody," he said quietly. "He went with them and didn't fight…"
"What's going on?! Why are they here?!"
He looked at him over his glasses with desperate blue eyes. "Freddy, please. They're here to protect us, don't you see?! Just go with them, please. Trust me."
And he did. He submitted to the Peacekeepers, let them bind his hands, while Bonnie watched, not at all restricted.
"And? The others?"
Bonnie swallowed a lump in his throat. "Mari was gone. She texted me that she isn't coming back to the penthouse. All I found in her room was her hair extensions. I… She didn't tell me where she went."
"You told me that you had rapport with your bandmates," Junius said, putting his hands on the desk in front of him.
"I did!" Bonnie said, sniffling a little bit. Aika and Jun watched this pathetic scene with blank, calculating expressions.
Jun knew he should just be glad that Mari, his ally, got out safely. But he couldn't feel anything. No, no, he couldn't feel anything but paralyzing fear. Just… A terrible feeling that something was very wrong… A feeling that he couldn't shake.
Agent Eight didn't wait for the Commander to speak again, standing up and staring at Bonnie in the face, trying to get the damn bastard to make eye contact with him. "Lizzie!" he cried out, his voice dripping with desperation before he tried to calm himself down. But he couldn't. "What about Lizzie?!" Bonnie squeezed his eyes closed and the first tear broke out of his eye as Jun stared at him. "Where is she, asshole!?" he asked, about to lunge for him when one of the guards unmasked and Agent Apollo gave him a hard look. Jun sat back down in defeat, but he didn't stop glaring daggers at Bonnie.
Bonnie cleared his throat. "I made a… Miscalculation," he said quietly.
"Leave me alone!" she shouted, kicking her legs.
"Lizzie, please don't fight them, they're here to keep you safe."
But she wasn't listening to him. She was only desperately fighting to get out of the grasp of the men that were trying to handle her. "Let go of me!" she cried out.
Bonnie, completely free, just stood and watched her cry and struggle.
"They want to keep us safe, Lizzie, please. Trust me."
But she didn't.
"I had no idea that she was learning self-defense," Bonnie said, not looking at them and shaking his head. "I really thought she would trust me and go with it, or I would have asked for more reinforcement. I was trying not to starve you of resources, but… I was wrong. She slipped away from them and ran…"
"Where is she?!" Jun asked, balling his fists in frustration with him.
"We'll find her," Agent Apollo said. "Everyone must be in, it's past curfew. It will be easy to find her."
He'd better fucking find her. She was somewhere out there all by herself, wandering the empty streets, and probably scared out of her fucking mind. She didn't fucking deserve this, it was sick. And the people that found her were only going to make her more scared, hurt her more.
"Put me on that damn taskforce," Jun said, his entire body shaking with his rage at Bonnie and his worry about Lizzie. "I will find her and be back to go into the Arena tomorrow." He had no idea if he would find her, and that thought terrified him. He was going back to that place. That place of desperately trying to protect someone that didn't even know Jun at all. But he didn't fucking care, Lizzie was out there somewhere and he couldn't risk something bad happening to her because he wanted to sleep before the Games. He would destroy himself if he had to, but he wouldn't be able to live knowing that he had failed twice.
"Agent Eight is one of my best men," Apollo said. "But he will need a partner to ensure that emotions do not get in the way." The bite in his voice did nothing to help Jun's worry, but he held his place. He was biding his time.
"Done," Junius said. "We must find the girl." He stood up from his desk, reaching over to pick up his baton that was propped up beside it. "I thought you said you had this under control," he told Bonnie, stepping slowly towards him. Bonnie slinked back against the wall, staring up at him as the tears started to roll down his face.
"I can handle this, I can get Lizzie back," he said, but the desperation was dripping from his voice as he let out a small sob. The room was silent except for the sound of the first crack that sent Bonnie down on his knees as he screamed and hit the ground. "No!" he said, curling up into a small ball. "Don't! Please!"
Aika watched this in horror. How could Junius do this when he knew about the abuse Bonnie experienced as a kid!? She instinctively teared up at the sobs that Bonnie let out as he was hit again with a smack, but even when she saw the blood on Bonnie's face, she didn't do anything to stop it. She trusted that Junius was doing what was best to keep them away from war.
Jun could have stopped it, but he didn't. Bonnie was a damn snake for what he was doing to Hosanna and for letting Lizzie go like that. How could he know about her past and not approach this differently!? Foolish. Now she was out there, alone.
"STOP!" Bonnie cried out, sobbing a little bit and trying to protect his face. "PLEASE!" He let out another scream as Junius cried out in frustration and hit him again.
"CUT IT OUT!"
Jun's eyes widened at that voice as the second guard threw off his helmet and put himself between Junius and Bonnie. Bonnie sat up, still sobbing and blubbering as Red took a hit for him and Bonnie pushed himself backwards, staring up at him with wide eyes. Junius stopped when he saw the Peacekeeper in front of him, staring at him defiantly.
"Red what the fuck are you doing?!" Apollo asked, gaping at him.
"Stop it," Crimson said again, widening his stance so he was fully protecting the drummer, who was staring at him with jaw dropped. "He messed up but he's trying to help you fix it, and… And, well, he's just a kid, and you're trying to make him take all this responsibility, it's like you were setting him up to fail. Let him help."
Junius glared at him for a long moment, but turned away from him, choosing not to pick this fight. Bonnie was in for a much greater punishment, anyways.
"Thank you," he whispered as Red reached a hand down to help him up.
"Send the first unit out in search of the girls," Junius said. "And kill them at the first sign of defiance. We can make a spokesperson out of the boy, he'll do whatever the fuck he's told."
"Don't kill them!" Bonnie said, still standing behind Crimson. "They-they're probably just scared, they don't deserve to die," he said quickly, moving his glasses to wipe at his eyes. "Please."
For the first time, Bonnie Bunsen and Jun Kozart agreed.
"I'm going in search of the girls," Jun said. "Do the interrogation without me."
"The what?" Bonnie asked, but Agent Eight was already pushing his way out the door, not even waiting to be dismissed. He couldn't let that happen to Lizzie, she had no idea what was happening and was probably just scared. The door closed behind Agent Eight and left the room in a tense silence.
Junius sat back in his chair a little bit. "Come, boy, sit," he said to Bonnie, patting the chair right next to him. Bonnie grabbed onto Red's arm a little bit at that.
"I'm friends with your brother," Red said to him quietly. "I'm going to make sure nothing bad happens to you."
Bonnie let go of him a little bit at the mention of his brother. But… He'd saved him. He quietly walked over to Junius and sat where he patted, the baton still clearly in his sight.
"Bring in the suspect for questioning," Junius said.
The guards left the room and Bonnie just stared at them for a second, swallowing down the rest of his tears. "Sir… I'm confused," he said quietly. "What's going on?"
His question was answered when the doors opened again and Bonnie's blood ran cold. Lester didn't fight the guards on either side of him. He allowed them to escort him in, and kept his face expressionless as always.
Bonnie stared at him as his glasses misted again. Not Lester… He was so damn scared seeing him in front of him this way. Maybe they were exes, but… Lester didn't deserve to die this way. Nobody did. Bonnie wouldn't wish the beating he got on anyone, not even his worst enemy. Lester looked at Bonnie, but when he tried to make eye contact, the intern looked away.
Aika was just as shocked at this. "Sir, he's innocent," she said. She was trying to convince herself of this more than anything.
"He will talk about his own innocence," Junius said, as the guards left him handcuffed to the table and Lester stared at them all.
"Sir, I truly am innocent," Lester said.
"That's my cue. Alright, I'm going in. If something seems like it's going wrong, say your full name and I'll make my way out as fast as possible. Keep going, Lester."
"Lester…" Bonnie said quietly. He couldn't believe that Lester would be working with them. Not his Lester… What were they going to do to him!? "He's innocent, okay, he has to be innocent," Bonnie said quickly.
Junius just smiled. So, the great Bonnie Bunsen had a weakness after all. "So, Mr. Gilmour. Would you care to explain exactly why you've been paging tributes down to the back office? I've been in contact with your professors, it seems you don't have a single paper due for your classes…"
Lester swallowed a small lump in his throat. "Oh, you're gonna love this story, Commander," he said.
"I'm in. Keep them there and whatever you do, don't let them leave."
The Complex was empty, just as it should have been. Lester's badge was twirled around nervously as a flashdrive was plugged into the main hub.
Lester knew he wasn't supposed to react to the sound coming out of the microscopic earpiece, but he couldn't help a smile of anticipation at that. "I had actually decided to make my own little experiment," he said with a small shrug. "You see, I am a small little twink that was just looking for some fellow twinks and trying to figure out the twinks from the bears. So I targeted the male tributes that were of age and just gave a little survey. Y'know, twink, hunk, bear, otter, the sort."
"You're crazy, and this is ridiculous." But it was working.
"What?" Junius asked, his smug smile becoming completely confused as he looked at Aika.
"I don't know what that means either," she said, before both of them looked at Bonnie.
Bonnie stared at Lester for a moment. Was he really serious right now?! How could he be so fucking thirsty and so fucking stupid?! And now, he was making Bonnie explain to the Head Commander what a damn twink was! He cleared his throat a little bit. "A twink is, uh, a gay man that has kind of cute, boyish qualities. A bear is a gay man that is hairy and burly and typically more dominant over the twink. The otter is in between, slim build, boyish face, but hairy. And a hunk, I don't know, Lester, you're so… stupid! What does that even mean?"
"Oh, Bonnie, I am so glad you asked," Lester said. He had them tied around his little finger. "Bonnie is correct about the previously provided definitions for the terms twink, bear, and otter. A hunk refers to a really smokin' hot guy with lots of muscles, probably plays sports. Bears are typically weightier and twinks are usually scrawny, but a hunk is pure muscle. Like the damn cutie with the blue eyes over there, Grade-A hunk."
"Lester!" Bonnie protested.
Junius stared at him for a moment. Could one man really be that audaciously stupid? "Why would you even want to do that?!"
"Well, you see, I just wanted a fellow twink to hang out with!" Lester said. "I'm just a cute twink and it's a bear's world out there."
"Come on…."
"I didn't mean for it to become a full-fledged underground twink network, but… It kinda did. Oopsie."
"Keep going, Lester, do not stop."
"Somehow by the end of the pre-Games I became the head of this weird and crazy little network of twink tributes, escorts and mentors," Lester said, intentionally slowing down his speech a little bit. "Really… It's funny how you can find twinks if you really try and search for them…. Like… Kodiak, he's a twink. And so is his escort Eryx. And Alvis, he won't admit it, but big twink vibes from him. I was just trying to put the twinks in contact with each other!"
"Unbelievable," Bonnie said, shaking his head.
"Lester, this is the dumbest shit I've ever heard in my life, and I worked with Lux Hastings for a year!"
"I resent that, you little walking nightmare!"
Lester had to hold back a laugh. "Sorry, Ms. Muramatsu, I really didn't think that this would get me into trouble. I mean, people flirt with each other all the time in the Games!"
"But not behind closed doors you idiot!" Bonnie said, quickly getting defensive at the idea of Lester flirting.
"I brought along my binder. It has the reports of my findings and also some very helpful illustrations regarding the art of the twink and the bear. You'll see that I'm completely innocent. The only thing I'm guilty of is being thirsty."
Red flipped open the binder and snorted a little bit and the diagrams of gay sex.
Junius took the binder, but handed it to Aika right away, who started scanning through every page, looking for any sign that this was out of the ordinary. Bonnie looked over her shoulder out of morbid curiosity. There were graphs and everything! And they were color-coded! Bonnie stared over at him and Lester bounced his eyebrows at him. Only Lester Gilmour could put so much effort into something so fucking stupid.
"You're doing great, kid. Keep them on the ropes for just a little while longer. Not gonna lie… I kinda missed this place."
He started typing code into the mainframe, the sound of the clicking filling Lester's ears.
"Ya know, I'm willing to be attached to a lie detector, I will prove my innocence that way as well! I didn't mean to cause any harm to anyone, honestly. In fact, you should hook me up to a polygraph and ask me a ton of questions so I can show you that I'm totally innocent. Oh, I'll start. Do you work as the Gamemaking intern? What were you doing in the back office? How big is Kodiak Chay's dick-"
"STOP!" Bonnie said, shaking his head at the thought that he would know that information.
"It's big," Lester said with a small whistle.
"As much as I didn't want to know that… You did good kid. I have what I need. Man, Aika really made a mess of this place, I left it so organized for her."
"I'm innocent and I swear I won't be up to anything shady anymore," Lester said. "If I had any idea it would have led to this, I wouldn't have done it. I love my country and I love my Capitol and my job and my friends."
"I am fucking out of here! Sianara, evil place!"
"Is this typical behavior for him?"
Bonnie sighed. "Unfortunately."
"I believe him," Aika said. "He's been a great intern and he is a very thirsty man."
Junius spent a long moment in thought, glaring at Lester. "Let him go," he said, finally. "But one more slip-up and you'll be wishing you were killed in this room tonight. Mr. Bunsen is also dismissed. If I were you, I would not get a single wink of sleep until your precious girls answer their cell phones."
"Y-Yes sir," Bonnie said. The cuff around Lester's wrist was undone, and as soon as Lester stood up, Bonnie ran over to hug him, his body shaking a little bit with sobs as he held him tightly. "You fucking idiot," he sobbed, grabbing onto him.
Lester didn't want to give into him again – not after their fight, not while he was dating some other girl that he didn't truly love when he was still obviously hung up on Lester. But as soon as he caught the scent of his deodorant, he clutched tightly onto Bonnie and hugged him.
"V-Viola!"
Lester grabbed Bonnie tighter at the fear in Lux's voice in his ear. But he couldn't know. He pressed his face into Bonnie's chest as fear started to climb up his spine and make his heart race. He counted Bonnie's heartbeats, holding onto him so tightly as he could feel Bonnie sobbing into his hair.
"Woah woah woah. Please, just… Put the gun down…"
Bonnie held him tightly with those strong arms, not even caring at the places on his body that ached and complained at how tightly Lester was holding him back. Not to have him here, and have him safe.
"Promise me that you won't get tied up with them, please," Bonnie said, pulling back a little bit to hold Lester's face in his hands and wipe his tears. Lester sniffled a little bit and just smiled up at him. "It'll only get you killed, and I… I still can't lose you. Don't do that to me, Angel Face, please…" His voice broke but he didn't care, he still stared at Lester with those intense blue eyes that everyone thought had contacts in them, but Lester knew the truth.
A loud boom practically shattered the inside of Lester's eardrum through the earpiece.
"Okay," he said, not flinching at all and just maintaining that gentle smile as Bonnie rested his forehead on his.
He had to keep his heartbeat steady as he waited to hear Lux's voice.
But all he could hear was static.
Lester's eyes filled with tears again as he hugged Bonnie again. It was selfish – he was taken by someone else. But Lester just needed support from his Baby Blue right now as he quietly sobbed into his shoulder. Was this all his fault?
Bonnie held him and pressed his cheek against the top of his head for a second before pulling him back to stare into his eyes. "Lester. Promise me."
Static.
Lester swallowed hard. He didn't want to lie to him, not after everything they'd been through together. Not when, after all that, he still loved him.
But he had to.
"I promise."
~.~.
Twenty-two tributes entered the Complex. The security was tight, but it seemed that the party had gone by without another disaster. Not like last year. The District teams were escorted to their floors. Many of them elected to shower, some to go straight to bed, but one thing was the same between each one: they were absolutely beat.
The alarms started ringing at 12:30 sharp.
"All tributes, report to the training center immediately." The voice over the loudspeaker sent a cold feeling upon every single floor.
"What the fuck is going on?!" Wendy cried out, protesting at how Cartier urged her along towards the door. Basil reached out to take her hand as they took the stairs down.
"I didn't do anything wrong," Nadia said. Ryder's heart was pounding in their chest when the elevator doors opened and Vyka was standing alone. Alvis still hadn't returned. She was beginning to worry about what happened to him…
Ridley rubbed his eyes as Keelan was running a comb through his hair and they decided to go down the steps. Ridley slowed his pace when he saw the pair from District Five skipping steps on the way down in a frenzy. His heart broke at the terrified expressions on Kaoru's face and Amiah instinctively fell under Ridley's open arm as they went down the other flights of steps. I'm alive. That was what mattered to her.
Gian and Riggs were holding hands, carrying their respective tributes on their backs to keep them protected. Dante was looking around in the chaos for Vasilisa, and wincing at the sound of the alarms. Ruthie pressed closer to her mentor as Anakyn produced a pistol from the inside fold of his jacket. It was so well-hidden that even Riggs was surprised.
"I'm not going to let anything happen to you." The escort led the group, but instead of taking them downstairs, he first took them up.
"Please don't make me go alone!" Mary sobbed, looking around for her escort, but he was nowhere to be found. Helen had tears in her eyes and Ceru knew that now was the time that he had to step up. He put an arm around the thirteen-year-old.
"You're not going anywhere without me," he told her. Helen reached up and rubbed her eyes, pressing her boot against her foot to feel the small dagger Anakyn modified her footwear to hide… Just in case.
"Me too," Helen said. But when the door opened and she saw her fiancé on the other side, Helen let out a sob of relief. "Ani!" She knew he was going to keep her safe.
"Come with me," Anakyn said. Dante looked up from where he was hiding his face in Riggs's shoulder at her and Mary quickly looked away from him as the tears fell down her face.
Mary stayed close to Ceru, who took them out as Helen left them.
"I can fight too," she said.
"I can't let anything happen to you," Anakyn told her, taking her hand and kissing her engagement ring. "Carry out the back."
Helen nodded as she went behind Mary and Ceru.
The elevator soon arrived on the District Eight floor to pick up Rory and Paisley, who strictly weren't talking to each other – or anyone else on their floor.
"We're coming too." Odessa held up her hand for them to keep the door open.
"Didn't want the elevator to make an extra stop," Cadmus said.
"Oh, I'm so glad you're here, boo," Paisley said, pressing closer to him as Cadmus just sighed a little bit. Rory could feel herself going pale when the elevator skipped the District Ten floor and went straight to pick up Rose, Vasilisa, and Antonio from Eleven.
"Vyka?" he hurried over when he saw her alone. Vasilisa looked around for her ally, but stayed close to her escort, gripping her hand tightly as the elevator made one more stop to pick up Ember and Adrian. Angelina was with them, but when she saw that the elevator was getting full, she hesitated. But it couldn't stop her from being there for her tributes.
"Scooch," she instructed everyone, pushing her way in. The ride was a silent one, only interrupted by the occasional quiet sob.
When they got downstairs, spots were marked for each tribute, lined up in District order, just like the first day of training. Nobody hesitated to fill in their spot. Ryder could feel the blood draining from their face when they saw that Kodiak wasn't there. And neither was Alvis. Fuck…
Everyone fell into place. Rory let out a small cry of relief when the door opened and Chiwi ran in the room, winded from taking the stairs as she moved to take her spot, but the spot beside her was empty. Kodiak was the last tribute to arrive, wearing his training uniform and with his hair wrapped up in a towel, obviously in the middle of showering when the alarms started.
"It's okay," Riggs told Dante as the younger boy stayed latched onto him and some Peacekeepers approached the District Six team.
"Mentors and escorts will be promptly escorted back to their own floor," the first guard said.
"I can't leave him," Riggs said. "No. No!" he shouted, trying to fight the Peacekeepers that pulled him away from Dante.
"I'm so sorry," Gian said quietly, but he resigned, letting go of her and yanking her hand away from the bottom of his shirt as he went peacefully with them. "Riggs. Just go with them."
Riggs stopped fighting at the tone of his voice, but didn't walk with them, looking resigned as he allowed them to drag him away from Dante. Helen and Ceru left Mary there, holding hands, and Angelina put an arm around Rose to guide her away from there without a question. Anakyn yelled at the Peacekeepers, but there was nothing he could do to stay with his tributes. It wouldn't stop him from putting up a fight.
Soon, the twenty-two tributes were alone in the training center. The doors opened and the Head Commander stepped out and faced them all, alone. His normally white uniform had a splash of blood on it as he surveyed the room.
"So, we have all twenty-two," he said, walking up close to them all. Ryder's heart was pounding so hard. Did he spend an extra second walking past them? They didn't know. When he stood over Kaoru, he whimpered a little bit, squeezing Ruthie's hand who practically had a vice grip on him. "We have a few important orders of business to fulfill before you step foot into the Arena tomorrow," he told them all. Mary swallowed down her tears, but when Dante reached out, she quickly took his hand with both of hers as he walked past her, to Rory and Paisley, the latter staying perfectly cool and collected.
"First order of business," Junius said. "Alvis Shirogane is not with us tonight. He's currently… Out. But he will be back and given a fair chance in the Arena tomorrow." He lingered by Vasilisa and Antonio for an extra second before moving towards District Twelve, staring at Ember.
Five things.
"Second order of business," he said, putting up his hand as the door opened and a man was escorted in by the Peacekeepers. His head was hung and he struggled, but it was a fruitless one. "One of the leaders to that abhorrent war-causing group of rebels is here with us tonight to face execution. I want everyone to know their fate if they associate with this dangerously outlandish group of violent outcasts." He looked at him for a moment before looking to the other side door. "Bring in Mr. Mitchell."
The door to the other side opened, and a few unmasked Peacekeepers brought in the young escort, who had a scared look on his face as he looked around. But when his eyes locked on the criminal, he let out a feral scream.
"YOU!"
The man looked up for the first time, a little blood dripping into his eyes from an open wound on his head as he stared at him. "Em. It's me. It's just me, Babe… Calm down."
"I trusted you. And… And you hurt me! You ruined everything!" Em shouted at him.
"Benjamin McGinty," Cornelius said. "For that callous orchestration of deceit last year at this very party that caused the stability of our nation to crumple, you will receive the only fate appropriate for what you caused."
The Peacekeepers by Ben forced him on his knees as Em continued to scream and sob. Mary stared at her escort with wide eyes. She had never seen him act like this before… He was fighting the guards that were holding him, but not out of defiance.
Out of fear.
Junius took a gun out of his holster.
"Babe, please, you have to snap out of this," Ben said, trying to keep his voice level and steady.
Em quieted for a moment at hearing his voice, staring over at him. "For what you did. For causing my uncle's death. It was you. You deserve to die," he said, his voice wavering as tears started to pour out of his eyes.
But instead of shooting, Junius slowly walked over to Em. He put a hand on his shoulder.
"Oh, sweet boy. You'll never have to worry about this evil man's intentions again," he told him. Then… He put the gun into Em's hands. He smiled and rubbed his shoulder. "It's showtime."
Em took the gun, looking over at Benjamin as his lips started to tremble. He looked hesitant. But only for a second.
"Remember what I taught you," Junius said, stepping behind him. Em looked back at him, before he looked back over at Benjamin, who had been forced to his knees by the guards.
"Em… You can't. It's me! I love you. You love me. I know you do. You have to search for that place inside of you."
More tears dripped out Em's eyes as he approached him with the gun pointing at him. "You hurt me. You hurt my family and you hurt my country!"
"I didn't! I'm trying to free this country!" Ben said, staring up at him. "What did they do to you?"
"They saved me!" Em said. "They saved me from you, you evil, dangerous man! You killed them, you killed all of them! Don't say that you love me!"
"I didn't do anything wrong, Babe... You have to snap out of it."
"End his begging for mercy!" Junius said. Em extended his arm, locking it into place with the gun firmly on Ben's head.
"Em…" Ben said. "Please don't do this to me."
"This is the fate you and all of your supporters deserve," Em said, clicking off the safety.
Ben pressed his forehead against the gun. "Emmet… I love you. This isn't your fault, it's theirs, and I forgive you."
"STOP!"
"I hope you can forgive yourself someday."
Em stared at him as another tear streaked down his face. But as memories flashed in front of his eyes – horrifying, terrible memories of what this man did…
He pulled the trigger.
A few of the tributes cried out at the loud bang, and at the sight of the gore in front of them. As soon as he saw the brains on his feet and on the floor, Em stumbled backwards, screaming again and grabbing his cheeks, dragging his nails down them from his eyes to his jaw as the unmasked guards came to take him away. Junius just smiled in satisfaction at this as Em was led out of the room, still screaming and crying. Dante was off of his spot and on Mary's, clutching her tightly as the room was silent besides the sound of her screams. Ember doubled over, grabbing her chest and grabbing onto Adrian. Kaoru leaned away from Ruthie to dry-heave at the smell.
Ben's remains were taken away, quickly neutralized as the chunky bits were pushed to the side efficiently. Too efficiently.
"Next order of business." Junius looked over his shoulder, making a face of disgust. "Bring in the criminal."
None of the tributes were ready to see Robin again. He had to be dragged into the room, making sounds that many wouldn't guess came out of a human. He started go gurgle, and Rory gaped when she watched him spit out an enormous mouthful of blood.
"They Avoxed him," Basil whispered to his allies, stunned at his appearance.
"Obviously, the presence of Robin Nyquist has been… direly missed," Junius said. "Now… To show you that I'm serious about our nation's security… I would like to strike a deal with you. If you are realizing that you are in over your heads for a cause that will never get off of the ground and you prefer to take the easy way out… One of you may volunteer to die in his place."
Robin's eyes widened as he made another noise – but what he was trying to communicate, nobody would ever know.
"You may have your five seconds in the spotlight, and be offed quickly and efficiently," Junius said, coming back to walk past all of them. "If you are caught after tonight, the consequences will be severe… And you will wish that you had died when you still had the choice."
He got right in Cadmus's face when he said that, who swallowed a heavy lump in his throat.
Robin cried out at that, clasping his hands together.
"He swears on his innocence," Junius said. "And if he is released, he will have a fair shot at Victory, just like his competition. Fall in LINE!" he yelled right in Dante's face, but Dante stayed strong, even when Lis let out a loud sob. But he did let go of Mary and stood back on his spot.
"Now is the chance. Will someone step forward and save this boy? Who is willing to become the martyr in his place?"
Please, Robin signed. A sign he'd learned from his mentor. Please. He didn't want to die. He volunteered to get away from the Falconers, and help the Capitol. He stared at Alvis's empty spot. He wished that his ally was here. He would understand. He would be able to tell Junius that they were on the same side after all!
No tribute spoke.
None of them wanted to die tonight. None of them were ready.
"Well?" Junius asked, slowing his pace right by Kodiak and stepping closer to him to be in his face. "He said your name... Faggot."
Kodiak stood his ground. He couldn't back down now. "I'm innocent," he said, keeping his voice nice and steady. "I want to live."
Junius left him, taking his time to walk past the Twelve tributes.
Adrian couldn't stop thinking about what he was told. "You're the only one with nothing left to lose." He wanted to die. Quick and easy. He wanted to join his family. His District did fail him. This was what he wanted, and he could save the kid. Junius stared at him for a long second, waiting for him to speak. But he couldn't do it. He couldn't lose his life tonight for the sake of a kid he didn't even know.
Junius left him and walked around to where the District Two tributes were standing.
"Ryder Kota. He said your name too." Robin cried out at that as he got close to Ryder's face. "Now's your moment."
Ryder stared up at him as a lump formed in their throat. They had come here to do this. To die for something, to be a martyr. But now they knew that… They had a way more important job to do for the cause. Dying for them was too easy. They didn't care if that was what Cheri thought was right. They were doing what Ryder thought was right. "I'm innocent," they said, nervous that he heard the slightest waver in their voice. Or were they just imagining it? They didn't know. "I want to live."
Junius looked at them, and back over at Robin. "Very well." He sauntered back over to the middle of the training center, by Robin. "Last call. Any volunteers to take this young person's place?!"
He was met with a room that was completely silent, only broken by quiet sobs from Mary and Vyka.
A smile went across his thin lips.
"Very well. It's just as I thought. None of the twenty-three believe in your innocence enough to take your place."
Robin cried out a little bit and pointed at the empty spot for the District Three male. But Junius just laughed at him, smiling at the fear and the tears that were trailing his cheeks. "Alvis? You think Alvis will save you!?" he asked him, laughing at him as he took another gun from his holster, leaning forward to speak into Robin's ear.
"Who do you think sold you out?"
Robin froze at that, their whimpers cutting off abruptly into stunned silence as they stared at that empty spot. The betrayal only had a few moments to cross their face before their misery was ended with another loud boom, this time through Robin's back. This time, nobody cried out.
Robin's body slumped over, revealing red, bloody marks all over his bare back and dark bruises surrounding the area.
"It was for the best that he died quickly," Adrian said to Ember and the District Eleven tributes. "He had suffered greatly already, he would have never won the Games anyways." His voice lowered to whisper. "After everything he suffered through… He deserved to finally have the sweet release of death, be saved from living like that any longer. He deserved the mercy of death."
Junius stepped away from Robin and folded his hands as he looked at the tributes.
"You are all dismissed. The Games begin promptly at noon."
He turned around and walked out of the room. As soon as he left, Ember buckled, letting out a few sobs. Adrian allowed her to lean against him and started calmly walking towards the elevator. That broke the stupor of most of the tributes. Paisley followed them, and Antonio grabbed Vyka and pulled her away from there in a stunned silence. Odessa quietly looked away from Robin's dead body left on the ground. Who would do something like this?
She walked over to Rory to take her hand. Rory was rooted in place. Chiwi.
Ridley was approaching the District Ten pair before Rory could make herself move.
Of course.
They were still going to the Arena tomorrow.
Rory turned around and held out her hand to Mary instead.
"Come on," she said quietly. "Let's go."
Mary squeezed her eyes shut and stuck out her hand to take her ally's, allowing Rory to walk her over to Odessa and Amiah and board the elevator together.
Ridley didn't care that Keelan, Nadia, and the pair from One went to take the stairs together. He came over to Kodiak and Chiwi and when Kodiak launched himself into Ridley's arms, the tribute from District Four hugged him tightly.
He wasn't ready to see any of them die. These people… They were Ridley's friends. He couldn't help the tears that trailed his cheeks at the sobs from Kodiak. What had he gotten himself into?
Ryder came over and gently put a hand on Chiwi's shoulder, rubbing it softly. Chiwi pulled her arms into herself.
"Sleepover on our floor?" Kodiak asked quietly, pulling up a strand of hair that fell out of his towel.
Chiwi glanced nervously at the others. She just… Wasn't sure she could trust them all. But she didn't want to sleep alone. "Okay," she said with a small sigh.
"I'll be there," Ridley said with a sigh, letting go of Kodi. Ryder jumped into his arms and gave him a tight hug, which was quickly returned. It was a hug that spoke a thousand words. The four of them went to take the elevator together. They were followed by Kaoru, who was carrying a sobbing Ruthie on his back. She grabbed onto him tighter as the door dinged and opened. The four Careers went in and Kaoru hesitated outside the door.
"Come on," Ryder said, putting out their hand to him. Kaoru took their hand and followed them. Three remained.
Lis slowly sunk down to the floor with her face in her hands. Everything was so real. Tomorrow, she could easily fall to the same fate as Robin…. What had she done? She had the best night of her entire life, but… She wasn't ready to die.
Dante came over, gently putting his hand on her shoulder and rubbing it softly. "It was merciful," he said quietly, looking over the corpse before quickly looking away.
Lis let out a small sob and grabbed her ally's arm. "Please don't leave me tonight," she sobbed quietly.
A few tears escaped the young boy's eyes as he put a hand on top of hers. "I won't. If it's my last night, I want to spend it with you."
Vasilisa sobbed again at that. She didn't want anything to happen to him. But she was realizing that it was going to have to happen to him if she wanted to live. But she pushed herself to her feet. They were about to leave when they saw that there was only one living tribute left.
Cadmus was crumpled down on the floor. This scene. The two gunshots. The announcement of the executions. He was taken back to that day. He could hear the screams and sobs of his siblings as they watched their parents die, grasping onto him. Everything as he knew it was crashing down. The flashbacks wouldn't leave his memory. He couldn't stop seeing the blood bursting out of them, soaking white uniforms red.
Cadmus looked up at the gentle hand on his shoulder. He felt comforted when Vasilisa gave him a gentle smile, though her face was covered in tears. Dante was beside her, making a crying face as he was trying to be strong.
"Come on. Let's get out of here," she said gently.
Cadmus stared at them for a moment. Why would they be kind to him? He didn't know. But it was the reminder that he needed that he didn't have to stay here forever. He slowly pushed himself up on his feet. Dante came over on one side to support him, with Vasilisa on the other as they silently took him to the elevator.
When the tributes got back on their floors, they had no explaining to do. The events were televised and broadcasted live. Tributes were greeted with open arms and warm hugs. Allies met with allies and slept in the great room. Arthur made the small group of Careers hot chocolate to drink as they stayed awake and tried to waste time talking about the party. Mary nestled herself into Ceru's side and cried herself to sleep. Odessa slept on her couch, Amiah on the floor. She was still alive. The District Twelve tributes each slept alone.
When Lis, Dante, and Cadmus arrived back on the District Eleven floor, Chervil and Miracle were waiting for them with Riggs, who was worried sick.
Rose Westmore would have given anything to be there for her tributes after what they'd all been forced to witness.
But she wasn't there.
Tonight… She had to hug her family. Tell them she loved them. Tell them to be safe out there. They were all walking into a dangerous situation.
She cared about her tributes, but she had to do all of those things for her family. Just in case that would be the last time.
And for one of them…
It would be.
~.~.
A/N: Did I mean to end on that cliffhanger? No. But it just works. Oops.
Everyone place your bets, it's time for all of this to come to a head! But oh yeah, we have the Games happening next chapter, so I guess this will just be put on pause for a hot second. Silly me! What crazy timing.
And it's BB time! I really want to get this out by the end of August. I go back to work on August 25th and since it is finished, I can say that the BB will be posted on Saturday, August 21st! Anyways, let me know your thoughts on this chap and hopefully this gives everyone enough time to catch up before then!
CQ: Bloodbath predictions? Arena predictions?
See you next chapter!
