Note- Muahahaha, torture, I'm so excited. xD Okay, okay, don't worry, I'm not going to kill him, that would just be against all rules of SYOTS.

Elisabeth Bronzebrook (D11 Female)

As I walked down the hallway, I felt all my hopes crumble. Literally. I was going to have to torture someone! This was inhumane. I...I couldn't do it. Never.

The guy we had picked up, Tyler, was coming along behind us, his pace brisk and determined. I hoped he had some kind of plan to get us out of this mess. Why had I even agreed to this? I shouldn't have listened to her threats that if I didn't, I was "aligning myself with the guilty". Ugh!

Spruce was a few steps ahead, his eyes dark, no sign of emotion coming into them. I wondered where they had kept Algar. Hopefully not somewhere bad. It must've been an accident. He wouldn't have purposely attacked Mark..right?

"Tyler," I whispered urgently, needing to get the bitter words out of my mouth.

The redhead's eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth silently, then closed it. Must've been thinking the same consequences as I was.

"What do you want?" he hissed suddenly, fists clenching.

My tongue went dry. I said quietly, "I...I."

"You know, if you're not going to say anything, then we might as well stay quiet," he said through his teeth, darting glances quickly up at Feline, who's back was turned.

"Why'd you agree?" I said in a rush. "Do you seriously want to torture Algar?" I clamped my mouth shut immediately, a hot pink fluttering across my cheeks.

"No, of course not," he snapped.

"So why'd you agree?" I prompted softly.

He stared at me for a second, eyes fiery intense, then dropped his gaze. His pace slowed for an instant as he wondered what exactly to say, then some kind of driving pressure overtook him and he glanced back up.

"You don't know the Capitol," he said through gritted teeth, eyes darting as if he didn't know how much he could reveal.

"And you do?" I blinked at him.

He grunted. "No, I don't. But I've heard too many things about them, and not much is good."

"If you think they're bad, why'd you help them?" I needled, and a look of pure anger fell over his face like a lightning bolt, illuminating it until he was deathly pale.

Then he shook his head, and all the fight drained from his body. "You wouldn't know," he muttered.

I gave up after that, content on just walking along. Of course, I didn't know why I myself had said yes, but partly it had, I confessed, been because I was scared. Scared, I thought now, was the worst explanation ever. But it was true. And I bet Spruce was thinking the same thing- or at least something along those lines. Tyler..I wasn't too sure about that.

Finally we came to a stop, and Feline turned around lithely, a mocking grin on her face. "We're here," she smiled. There was a set of heavy iron bars to bind the prisoner to his cell, and the floor was smooth cut stone. There was no sign of the Capitol at all here, no diamonds, no jewelry. It was so plain I almost thought we were back at Eleven.

But of course, there were some giveaways. For instance, the table in the back corner was studded with pearls, a notebook on it covered in glitter. A pencil- the fanciest I had ever seen- lay beside, adorned with golden wings.

"Jeez. So this is what they call a prison," Spruce remarked, his dark eyes staring around in the shadows. I had to agree. It was..an interesting prison, to say the least. I couldn't even catch any sign of Algar behind those bars.

Tyler did not speak, instead returning to clutching both hands tightly.

Feline trotted over to the table and threw open a drawer. I felt sick as she withdrew to allow us a clear view. Inside, there were three knives, all glinting sharp as if it had just been washed. "You know how to use these?" she purred, stroking the blade of one of them. It accidentally cut into the flesh of her finger and she hissed as a finger of blood trickled out.

"No, how would we?" Tyler asked cautiously. "If you've forgotten, we live in non-Career Districts."

She kept up her smile. "Oh, I know," she reassured him, looking anything but reassuring. Though she was beaming, there was a hint of a glare in her face, beneath all the thick makeup a flush of cheeks. The white powder of her face was stretched tensely taut.

"For you," she said, suddenly brisk. She handed Tyler a knife, and the redhead looked like he wanted to stab her in the face with it. Next she gave one to Spruce, who twisted it between his fingers mutely. Then, me.

I took the knife, my breath catching as my fingers naturally curled around the handle. Its blade was a brilliant reflection, a diamond that could draw blood. I was acutely aware that I could actually attempt to kill myself right then and there. Feline expected me to, by the way her eyes were trained on me and her feet set tensely.

But I didn't. I would never commit suicide. I had to at least try to win. For my sister, if anything.

I could just hear Rosie's voice in my head, and with those pleading words, my will hardened. I would win, no matter what. I had to try. I had to try.

"Go ahead," Feline said silkily. "Do what you want with the prisoner. I'll let him out." She twisted her hand to reveal a scanner. It beeped as it went in range of a camouflaged scanning system. I held my breath as the bars were dropped, and saw Algar.

He was a mess, for being in there only an hour or so- I hadn't really kept track of the time. The boy limped out, bite marks white on his ankle. The blood had dried but with no medical care, it lay crusted on his skin.

His hair hung like curtains across his face, hiding a pair of eyes. I wanted to pull back the curtains and see what this boy felt about his situation, but I didn't dare. There was absolutely no way, I just couldn't..

Algar's muscles were coiled just beneath his skin, extremely prominent unlike us three. He was wearing a simple gray shirt and matching gray pants, a pair of black shoes thrown carelessly on his feet that looked three sizes too big. He parted his hair and I could see a blank look in his eyes, as if he no longer cared about the world anymore. My heart twisted unexpectedly because of it.

"Elizabeth," Feline nodded to me quickly. "You're first."

I took my knife, shaking all the while. I could not do this! There was no way! I could not hurt a human being, especially for really no reason. I didn't care about the Careers and surely this was an accident so he wasn't even supposed to be here. This wasn't fair! Well, actually, maybe it was. But still! I could not do this!

I realized I had frozen right then and there and everyone was looking at me, so I gulped, raising my knife. Algar put up his hands in surrender, not even bothering to fight even though I knew he might win against the three of us combined.

I couldn't do this! Sweat trickled down my face and I wiped it away. Suddenly I was panting as if I had run a mile. The knife was just another weapon in the Games, and I was just another pawn. I viewed this from the outside, from previous knowledge, and knew that the Capitol was wrong. Even if I killed Algar and eliminated an enemy- putting me at a better chance of winning- I could not. I would not. The Capitol would not use me like this and I would never just kill a soul. Never, unless it was for a good reason. Accidents were no reason at all for death.

"Elisabeth," Feline said coldly. "Will you hurry?"

The next seconds passed by like a lightning bolt. Algar threw his hands down and charged for me. I dodged but her tackled me to the ground nonetheless and began throwing punches at me. It hurt so much! I wanted to scream as they landed on my skin, some of them breaking the flesh and pouring blood outright.

Apparently he was in better shape than I had thought. The pain was so harsh I wished I had just taken the opportunity earlier and killed him, however much the voice in my head argued he would never have let that happen- not without a fight.

And it looked like in this fight that he was winning.

"Algar," rumbled Feline, though a smile was beneath her voice as if she liked the fact that the prisoner was beating the executioner breathless.

Tyler stepped forward hesitantly and then thrust the knife into Algar's exposed bicep.

He howled and a nasty ripping sound filled the air. I winced, rolling out of the way as he clutched his arm, panting like a dog, streams of sweat running off his hair. He tried feebly to stop the bleeding but Tyler had done his job. Now Algar was more focused on saving himself than killing us.

I shot Tyler a tight look of gratitude. "Thanks," I whispered.

He grunted, "No problem. Just don't make me save you a second time."

"Okay," I promised. Hey, maybe Tyler wasn't so bad after all. I mean, he had just saved my life...

I looked at all the bruises Algar had showered over me and wanted to shrink into the ground and melt into the earth. They were blue-black against my usually pale skin, some throwing unusual shocks of pain occasionally. Others simply stung, nothing to worry about. But the ones that screamed of agony...

I said quietly to Feline, "Erm, are there any medical people or something?"

She glared at me. "Oh, no way. You will keep fighting until he has learned his lesson."

"B-but..." I was getting beaten by a strong personality...I couldn't let this happen...

"Shut up and fight!" she snarled, brandishing a new knife out of thin air. "Or I swear I will kill you!"

Now I was faced with the choice- would I kill someone or be killed myself? A selfish streak rolled over me and I held the knife. This was not my time to die, not now in this terrible mess. I would survive until at least the Bloodbath.

Spruce was still just watching, his knife pinned against his leg. He was silent for a while longer and I wondered if he'd face the same punishment as me.

What I wasn't expecting was for him to send the knife straight for Feline.

While her back was turned, she couldn't see, so the knife was definitely a surprise. I was definitely surprised. Tyler- not heroic, smart Tyler who knew which situations he could get in but disappear without trouble and which situations could get him into hot water and Spruce- who I hadn't been able to tell much of but that he was a bit exhausted and moody saving the day? What was this? This "battle" had demanded the most out of all of us. I blushed as I thought except me. I was the only one who hadn't saved the day. Instead, I had gotten beaten up.

"Come on. Let's go," urged Tyler, not bothering to look behind him as we darted out of the room. We escaped down the long hallway and went back to the lunch room, all sweaty. Spruce didn't say much but even he looked a bit shocked out of his disinterest.

Spruce noted darkly at one point, "That was some battle," and I agreed fervently. I had never gotten into much of a conflict before and this one had sent my heart racing like it had never done before. Adrenaline was pounding in my veins and I felt like I could run miles on end before getting tired. A whirlwind was raging inside me and my need to let it out startled me. This was not about loyalty- this was just about opinions, rights and wrongs and the Districts against the Capitol. We could...we could spark a rebellion! How we had just defeated those two- we could do anything if we wanted it. If we had the courage and strength.

I sat back at my table with a couple girls who had been chatting. I had shyly just sat there and ordered my food, not really knowing how I could pipe up in the conversation. I was introverted, sure, but that didn't mean I was plain quiet. The events just before had proven that.

One of the girls, someone called Twyla who had dark hair that was unnaturally red at the bottom(how was that possible?!) said loudly, "Hey, maybe we should actually try to include Elizabeth in our conversation?"

Harriet, the girl from Six with long hair and a sweet aura, glanced at me and brightened. "Oh, yes!" she said invitingly. "Like, for instance, what just happened?"

The other girls joined in and I could sense their enthusiasm, but still, I felt that if Twyla had not said those first words, they would've gladly went on with their conversation without a glance at me, and I felt grateful to her for that. Maybe we could be allies or something...

"So, Elisabeth. Tell us!" the girl from Eight exclaimed. I had forgotten her name but she had seemed pretty decent to me. Cheerful, bubbly, optimism... that was exactly what I needed to get out of all my dark, sometimes doubtful thoughts.

"Well," I recounted, "it's kind of a long story.." My voice was soft as it usually was when speaking to utter strangers. "You see, we were just sent to go kill Algar. You know, that guy who always gets into trouble? Yes, him. Well, he was held in this prison and Feline let him out so we could kill him.

"She said I could go first and so I kind of hesitated and that was when he tackled me. That was where all those bruises came from." For once the words were coming out easily, and I let them go eagerly, wanting to put the burden on someone else and see how they handled it.

"That's terrible!" said Harriet sympathetically. "I wish I had been there to help."

I went on with the story and they listened, offering all the correct remarks. I couldn't help thinking that Twyla would be an amazing ally, even though I knew she was probably too popular for someone like me. I mean, she had all these girls right here who could be a better ally than me! I wasn't so sure I would help her or anything. I would be too dependent..

"Tell us about yourself," Twyla encouraged, her eyes glowing fiercely. I looked at her many scars and my story came tumbling out.

I told her everything. I told her about my stepmom, how she treated me terribly and how my dad blamed me for my mom's death. Twyla's eyes widened and understanding went into her gaze. I noticed all her scars and I asked her, "Where'd those come from?"

From the start, we were destined to be allies. I just knew it.

9/15/2017