CHAPTER 3 : HIS RETURN

"Everything is his fault." Nikolas growled.

Erin and Ruby looked up, surprised. The Hob was not open yet. The girls were busy cleaning up behind the counter.

"It's certainly unfair," Ruby replied. "He should have died, just like her."

Erin continued cleaning without taking part in the conversation. Her friends had been hostile since they knew that peacekeepers joined them almost every evening. They were not coming as enemies though. They did not have any weapons, they were defenseless. Nikolas hated peacekeepers. They had hanged his mother in front of him when he was a child when she tried to steal supplies from one of their trucks. As for Ruby, she stayed herself. Her past and relationships were a mystery.

"I don't understand the diversity of opinions about him," Nikolas insisted, clearly annoyed. "He didn't do it for her, he did it for himself."

"Ash says the Snow family has no money since the father invested everything in munitions in District thirteen."

"Ash says a lot of bullshits," Erin muttered to herself.

Nikolas stared at her, unhappy. She did not pay attention to it. She fully understood his anger towards the peacekeepers. However, living in hatred was not the solution. Erin liked to believe that Coriolanus was not as opportunistic as others might think, at least not at the start of the Games. She wanted to think that he had wanted to help Lucy Gray and that he had cheated because he cared about her life. He did it knowing he could have died too.

"What are we going to do ?" Nikolas questioned, impatient. "Does Ash have a plan ?"

"I don't think he knows at the moment."

Erin dropped her sponge in the sink and walked away from the counter under the watchful eyes of her friends. She locked herself in the storage room then stayed behind the door. She hated the atmosphere of the last few days. Revenge, anger, sadness. Erin had finally been able to turn the page on the horrors of the Capitol. Although District twelve had been trying to reach the peacekeepers for months, victory did not seem to be closer. They were always more armed than them, more organized and above all more numerous. The Capitol had the advantage of observing them and depriving them of their most vital possessions. Food was also becoming rarer. Following the attacks against them, the peacekeepers had surrounded the city and it had become difficult to escape. Her, who loved the forest so much, she hadn't set foot there for months.

Erin started serving customers as usual. The Hob was almost full. Every evening, as she often did, she looked for him. He seemed to have disappeared. For some reason, she was disappointed.

When it was time for her break, the young woman scanned the room looking for a replacement. Ruby was busy behind the bar, Nikolas too. There was another waitress, her name was Juliet. Erin was not close to her but she enjoyed her company. Erin deduced that she had not arrived yet. She did not want to disturb her teammates so she left outside without warning them.

The air was so cold that Erin could see her breath leaving her mouth. Feeling the low temperature, she rubbed her arms with her hands. Was the snow going to fall soon ? she asked herself. No one was outside, it was dark and silent. For a moment she stopped moving. She looked at the houses around her. Most were empty. The Hob was in an abandoned environment to avoid peacekeepers patrols. And now they had two right under their roof.

Returning inside the building, Erin noticed a crowd in a corner of the Hob. She approached the crowd with intrigue before realizing that people were actually grouped in front of the shooting target. On the right, Erin saw Robin and another boy. She looked at his face, disgusted. It was a common activity to challenge each other to various games at the Hob. Curious about her opponent, she turned her head to the left. With astonishment, she recognized Coriolanus Snow.

"You guys are new, right ?" Robin asked, haughtily. "Let's play two against two."

"I'm sorry," the blond's friend apologized, not sitting straight in his chair. "I clearly don't have the capacity to aim right now."

"What are we shooting with ?" Coriolanus questioned, frowning slightly.

Robin removed small knives from his pocket. Erin rolled her eyes. However, she noticed distrust in the peacekeeper's eyes. He took three knives in his hands and looked at them carefully. Erin wondered what could be going through his head at that precise moment.

Robin's teammate started the game. He managed to hit a single knife near the middle, the second towards the edge, and the last one ricocheted. Not proud of his performance, he scratched the back of his neck. Robin instantly threw his first and second knife. Both were very close to the middle. He concentrated for a moment before throwing the third which hit the target right in the center. With a smirk, he teased his opponent.

"I'm so clumsy that I risk hurting someone, said Coriolanus' friend once again."I really can't."

Abandoned, Coriolanus lowered his head slightly. He looked annoyed that he could not participate in the challenge. However, no one volunteered. Did they not want to help a stranger or were they afraid of messing with Robin ?

"I'm in," Erin announced, taking a step forward.

"You can't, thats's cheating." her ex-boyfriend answered back directly.

"How is that cheating ?" Erin replied irritated. "Two against two, right ?"

Confused, Coriolanus listened to the conversation without really understanding its meaning. Erin slowly approached the blond. Still uncertain, he gave her the knives.

Under the observant gaze of everyone, Erin placed herself in front of the target. Holding her knife by the blade, she remained straight while spreading her legs slightly. The distance being rather short, she bent her wrist towards her forearm. A technique that allowed the weapon to spin faster in the air. Staring at the center, she released her knife which instantly hit the target in the heart. Without any effort, the other two landed in the same place.

While the crowd was cheering the young woman's faultless performance, Robin gritted his teeth. Erin turned back to Coriolanus who was still focused on the three knives perfectly planted in the target. His gaze moved to her, for a moment they stared at each other. Erin knew that to get to know him she had to get his attention. And to get his attention, she had to impress him.