A/N: Just going to put a general statement here that will apply to the rest of the story. If you couldn't tell from the chapter title, things are spilling out of the arena. No one is safe at this point, not just the tributes in the arena. So you have been warned.


Chapter 35:

Hour Zero

Odyssey Gunderson, Victor of the Sixth Quarter Quell

"I hate being in the dark," Odyssey says as he paces in front of the couch, biting his lip nervously as he keeps looking at the blank screens. Is Seraphim at the arena by now? If he is, Bez could be one of the first tributes they save…if they managed to make it that long against the mutts. He sees the look on Misha's face, silently begging him to sit back down next to him, but he has to keep moving and do something.

"Welcome to my life," Anastacia replies without missing a beat and shrugs a bit. "You'll get used to being in the dark."

"That's not what I meant," Odyssey says with a small huff, which only makes Anastacia smile a little bit knowingly. But the comment from her helps to at least give him a small reprieve of normalcy that's much needed right now.

"We'll find out soon enough what's going on with them," Amelia speaks up as she rubs Fox's shoulder, trying to comfort him as he sits with his face in his hands. But Odyssey can see that Amelia is just barely holding it together herself right now. "They'll rescue all of them."

"But what if they don't?" Elias asks quietly and Anastacia makes a face at that thought. She starts patting his arm until she finds his hand and holds onto it tightly against her chest. Elias tries to force a smile at her comfort, but his face quickly goes back to a pained expression. "I'm scared for them."

"They're going to rescue them," Misha tells them all and Odyssey wishes he had his confidence right now. But one look at him and he can see in his eyes that he doesn't truly think that. He's just trying to stay hopeful for all of them.

Odyssey immediately goes back to the couch and sits right next to Misha, putting his arm around him and holding him tightly. "You're right, they will find them."

And he really hopes they will… Just looking around the room and seeing the hope on the faces of the mentors with tributes still alive…he doesn't want to see any of them suffering if their tribute dies and others live.

His friends and his partner, all with tributes still alive… Jory clearly trying not to stress in front of Emilio while Drazen leans back in a chair, absentmindedly throwing a stress ball up in the air repeatedly. Muir pacing on the other side of the room, holding her phone in front of her as she keeps trying to get in contact with her husband. Letha drinking water with shaking hands, no doubt worried about both Ciana and her family back home. Dampero and Jarle both so hopeful that maybe both siblings could get out of this alive. Cal curled up in Glen's lap as the older mentor runs a hand through his hair repeatedly, whispering to him and trying to keep him calm. Clark continuously tapping the side of his water glass anxiously, ignoring the looks he gets from some nearby mentors, and the look in his eyes makes Odyssey feel a pang of guilt for causing the young boy this stress last year. Fonio sitting by the bar, staring at his untouched drink as Lelantos sits by, watching him with a look of disappointment in their eyes. Pinova keeping up a brave face as she sits with Ain, the escort for once quiet and without his flute out.

And then there's Johan, sitting with the group of new young escorts, no doubt trying to keep them calm despite having a tribute still alive right now. Even though he has his own tribute to be worried about right now, he's still there being selfless to help the escorts who have never dealt with this before. Roo looks the most anxious of the four, rubbing his hands on his legs nervously as he tries to listen to what Johan is saying, but his eyes are unfocused as they keep going back to the blank screens. By his side, Sloan has their arm around him, whispering a bit as they keep a close eye on Letha. Probably most surprising of all is Mord just sitting still and quietly for once, nodding as Lucky talks to him.

"Hey, I brought you guys some water," Radian says, bringing Odyssey's attention away from the surrounding groups and back to his friends. The escort gives them a small smile as he holds up the pitcher of water and pile of plastic cups. "You know, figured I could make myself useful this way."

"Ah yes, by being the water boy," Anastacia comments with a small smirk before holding out her hand for a cup. "So thoughtful and helpful. I'll gladly take some, Water Boy."

"I'm not-," Radian cuts himself off with a small scoff and shakes his head as he pours her a cup, but Odyssey catches the look on his face. Oh that man is in deep and Anastacia doesn't even know it. "Fine, here you go."

"Excellent," Anastacia says as she swirls the water, almost spilling it before taking a sip and seemingly debating the flavor for a few seconds. "Ah, yes, what a fine choice you made today."

"You're something else," Odyssey tells her, getting a knowing grin in return, before he turns his attention to Misha. He curls up closer to him on the couch and Misha holds him tighter, before letting out a small sigh. "Do they really expect us to just stay here waiting all this time?"

"You heard Calisto," Misha answers him and Odyssey frowns at just the tone of his voice. He hasn't heard him this tired in a long time… Misha gestures at the guards stationed around the room, with a small group clustered together and talking among themselves as they watch the mentors and escorts. "We're in a locked room with guards. We're probably in one of the safest places to be right now."

"I don't think anywhere is safe right now," Odyssey says quietly, watching the guards and just having a pit in his stomach about all of this. His family is back home in Two, unprotected and unaware of what is happening with both of them right now. Maybe even in one of the least safe spots in the Victor's Village, if the rebels are really targeting anything with the Games right now… But would they really kill the families and victors still there? "I'm scared for our family," he whispers to Misha, blinking quickly to keep tears back. He couldn't start breaking down now, he knows his friends are looking to him to be the strong one and lead them.

"Diana is going to keep them all safe," Misha reassures him immediately and rubs his arm, trying to comfort him, but there's not much he can do in this situation. Odyssey just nods his head as he watches the group of guards split up, one of them going to talk to another one, and he waits, hopeful that maybe they had some news from the arena. "Come on, do you really think that woman won't protect all of them with everything she has? But she won't need to do that, the Capitol is going to keep them safe, just like they're keeping us safe."

"He's right," Zan says as they approach, glancing back at the Peacekeeper they were just talking to with a slight scowl. "They won't tell me anything despite being one of them for years, it's ridiculous. But you can trust them. I might have even been part of their recruitment."

"I still can't believe one of my role models had such a similar upbringing to me," Odyssey says, shaking his head in disbelief. "Just seems like such a small world that we ended up here and-"

He's cut off by some screams when a muted gunshot goes off and one of the Peacekeepers by the door drops to the ground. Odyssey is frozen in shock as the blood starts pooling on the ground around them, but the others start moving while he just sits there. The Peacekeepers start turning on some of their own and Zan jumps up to go run over to stop them, and Odyssey can't even let out a cry of warning when he sees one of them turn their gun towards them and shoot. Zan collapses to the ground, wheezing for air as blood pools around them from the bullet hole in their chest.

"What the fuck is going on?!" Anastacia shouts as the room breaks into total chaos. Some of the mentors start trying to hide under tables and behind chairs, but the remaining Peacekeepers start grabbing them and pushing them towards the wall to line them all out. When one of them grabs Anastacia's arm, she yanks it back and tries to punch them with her free hand, earning herself a hit to the side of the head with the butt of the gun. She cries out as she starts to fall over, Elias barely catching her with a fearful look in her eyes.

At seeing Anastacia get hurt, Radian lunges forward towards the guard that hit her, making Ain jump up to stop him. As Ain grabs onto Radian's waist to yank him back, Odyssey can just stare in complete shock at Zan and the blood surrounding them, his mind struggling to even process what happened to them, let alone what is happening now. He's shoved over towards the wall, half-dragged by Misha who refuses to let go over his hand, as his mind goes numb. What is even happening?

"Odyssey, just do as they say and stay quiet, please," Misha begs him and Odyssey looks over at him as his brain slowly processes what is going on around them. Some of the mentors and escorts are cooperating with the Peacekeepers – are they even Peacekeepers? But some protest them, despite seeing what happened to Zan.

He watches as Jory practically picks Drazen up around the waist, shoving him by the wall and slapping a hand over his mouth, while Emilio holds Jory's shoulder tightly. They're among the few reluctantly agreeing to listen to them, especially after some of them get jabbed in the back by a gun to move forward.

"Don't touch him!" Astrid screams at them as they try to get near Clark, who she has behind her back as he clings to Iris in fear. Iris slowly drags Clark back towards the wall, pulling Astrid with them, trying her hardest to protect them both right now. Iris keeps a hand over Clark's mouth, trying to keep him quiet before he says anything to get himself hurt, but she's more worried at this point about Astrid doing just that.

It almost seems like Ain is going to get himself killed for doing something stupid over his brother, but when Pinova puts a hand on his arm, he stops and lets out a loud breath through his nose. But he reluctantly gets in the line, holding onto his brother as Pinova hugs his arm tightly.

"Fuck you!" Sloan yells at them as they fight them grabbing them. They spit at the feet of one of the guards when they grab them and put cuffs on their wrists behind their back. "Cowards. Can't even show us your faces?"

"Sloan, please," Letha begs them, reaching out to them as she stands next to Amelia, holding an arm around the girl tightly. She's not the only one begging Sloan to stop talking, but Roo is just giving them a silent look as Johan holds onto him to protect him, grabbing Mord by the back of his shirt with his other hand.

"What, do you want to see the faces that killed your beloved mommy?" One of them taunts Sloan, who's face falls at this information, before they start screaming and struggling in the handcuffs once more. The rebel just laughs at their reaction, slowly raising a gun at their chest which makes them stop moving right away. "So eager to join her?"

"Fuck you," Sloan tells them, bottom lip quivering in fear as they raise their head. They aren't going to be afraid of these cowards. "You're monsters."

"Oh this is no fun, you're supposed to be scared," another speaks up, moving along the line of mentors and escorts, pausing when they reach Winona. Without hesitation, they fire a shot into her chest, watching her collapse to the ground before kicking her in the stomach, as Cal cries out and hides his face in Glen's chest, and a few others scream in fear at the gunshot. "That's for your sibling killing Vera," they tell her as she bleeds out, gasping for air, and continues along the line and not even giving her a second glance. When they get to Roo, Sloan starts struggling and crying out again. "That's what I thought. It's been so pitiful watching you cling to each other."

"Please, don't kill him, kill me instead!" Sloan begs them, desperate to get to him, but they hold them back. "Please!"

"I won't kill him…yet," they reply, raising their gun at Roo, before moving it to shoot him in the arm instead. He screams out in pain as Sloan lets out an equally painful cry, and Johan quickly tries to put pressure on the wound. "Uncuff them so they can try to save him. Then it will hurt them more if they fail."

Sloan is released and they rush over to Roo, ripping his belt off to tie it around his arm tightly, making him cry out once more. "I'm so sorry," they tell him, shaking their head as tears fall out of his eyes, knowing this is their fault. "I'm sorry, it's all my fault."

"It's not your fault," Roo whimpers, sniffling as he looks around with wide fearful eyes. Mord crouches down next to them, grabbing his hair worry from not knowing what he can even do to help. This was supposed to be an easy job with no fear, now some of them were dead and others hurt!

"I have no problem revealing my face now," a girl laughs as she steps forward, clearly the leader of the group. She takes off her helmet and Odyssey can hear Amelia whimper in fear a little as she recognizes her. She waves at Amelia with a cruel smile, other hand resting on her gun. "Remember me? No? Maybe I should remind you," she says before shooting Amelia in the leg. A few mentors cry out at the sound of the gun and Amelia stares down in shock at her leg, unable to feel the pain still from last year, and she slowly presses her hands to it in shock. "It hurts, doesn't it? Oh wait, I forgot they fucked you up so bad you can't feel. Guess I should have shot one of the others instead."

"Stop, we have orders, Larisa," the other person clearly in charge tells her as she takes off her helmet, shaking out her hair as she tosses it aside. She stares at the line of mentors and escorts, disgust on her face for all of them, but she lingers a little bit when she reaches Pinova. "I once thought you brought so much hope to us in Eleven. But you're just as bad as the rest of them, dating him. Handcuff him."

"What?" Pinova asks in shock as some of the other guards step forward. She tries to hold onto Ain as they grab him, forcing his arms behind his back as they handcuff him. "Stop, he's innocent!"

"None of you are innocent," Larisa spits out at them, watching Sloan reluctantly leave Roo's side to go tend to Amelia, where Fox is putting pressure on her leg. They take their own belt off, pulling it tight around her thigh as they quietly talk to her, instructing Fox to keep putting pressure on it. "You all are pawns in their games, keeping us all in this hell! Well no more, it ends today!"

"We've got them detained," the other girl says over a radio before nodding at Larisa. "Elin's ready to start the broadcast."

"Excellent," Larisa says, keeping her gun in her hand as she glares at the line, before turning her attention to the screens that come to life, but no longer with Games footage. This time, it's the leader of the rebellion addressing them.

"Hello, Panem," Elin starts as they stand in front of a blank wall. "My name is Elin Martinez-Snow, the true leader of Panem. And today, I am ending the Hunger Games. For too many years we've let the Capitol take away child after child, and for what good? Only to keep us repressed! But no more."

Elin shakes their head at the camera as Odyssey shares a worried look with Misha when he squeezes his hand tighter. "Today, the Third Rebellion has started. Lives will be lost and the Capitol will be to blame, for they have had many opportunities to stop the Games, yet chose to continue the unnecessary bloodshed year after year. You want death? We will give you death."

The screens shift to inside the mentor room, showing the bloody scene with everyone standing against the wall, and Odyssey looks around nervously, trying to figure out where they are filming them from. But from the angles, it has to be up above. "We have your mentors and escorts held hostage right now, in the very place you swore you were protecting them in. These people all volunteered knowing exactly what was going to happen this year, the lives they were going to be responsible for ending. Some have already paid the price for fighting us." At that one of the rebels started filming on a small camera, showing the bloody bodies on the floor of Zan and Winona, before it shifted to Amelia and Roo, who are still bleeding, and then to Ain handcuffed. "Some of them were just unwilling pawns in the Capitol's Games. But others encouraged them, trained your children to send them to their deaths. Rona, bring them forward."

The girl points over to the line and when Odyssey sees her eyes land on him and Misha, he grabs his arm tightly. "No, please, don't hurt us," he begs them as they grab him, pulling both of them forward.

"Get your hands off me!" Anastacia protests and fights against them as they pull her over too, and Emilio leans over to whisper to her as he's brought over with Jory and Drazen. Jory's eyes are full of fear as he looks at Emilio, a look that sends fear through Odyssey for all of them. The last two to join them are Muir and Iona, and the two women look at the rest of them with resigned looks.

"On your knees," Rona instructs them, shoving Odyssey forward and he cries out when he hits the ground hard.

Misha quickly gets down next to him, holding his hand tightly as he looks at him, and the look on his face sends fear through Odyssey. "I love you," he tells him quietly as the others get down – some forced and some willingly. "No matter what happens."

"Don't go saying that," Odyssey says, shaking his head as his eyes start watering. Fuck, he can't have anything happen to Misha, it would absolutely destroy him if something happened to him. "Don't you dare say that. You're not leaving me."

"What's happening?" Anastacia asks, turning her head around as she tries to understand what's happening to them, but when Rona puts the end of a gun on her forehead, she freezes up right away. "Why didn't you just do it last year if you were going to kill us?"

"Quiet!" Rona says, kicking Anastacia in the stomach and making her collapse in on herself, hugging her stomach. She looks over at Larisa, waiting for her to nod her head, before she starts walking down the line of eight career victors. Odyssey looks over at the others, finding various looks of horror on their faces as they watch them. Rona holds up the gun in front of each of them, and when she reaches Misha, he lets out a small whimper of fear for him. At that, she gives him a side glance and a scoff of disgust, before moving in front of him, and all he can do is just stare at that gun pointing at him. Is his family about to watch him be killed? Oh God, please don't let them see that happen to him or Misha. "All of you have been complicit in lives lost each year. You trained them and made them excited to go to their deaths." Rona goes back to the center of their line and stares at each of them, before cocking her gun. "And now you will pay the price."

When she slowly raises her gun up in the air, Odyssey shuts his eyes and holds Misha's hand so tightly, terrified that both of their lives were about to end. "I love you, I'm so sorry," he tells him, and just waits for the crack of the gunshot.

Silence follows and Odyssey stays still, eyes closed still, until he hears the gasps and small screams of horror and opens his eyes in time to see Iona's body hits the floor. Next to her, Muir stares with a look of pure shock, mouth hanging open as she's covered in splatters of blood. On the other side of her, Jory hugs Emilio close, letting out a small sob of fear that they will be next.

"…Who was it?" Anastacia finally asks quietly, turning her head around as she tries to hear who is still alive. "Odyssey?"

"Still here," he answers quietly, unable to take his eyes away from Iona's body on the ground, bullet wound in her forehead, the blood pooling around her. So much death…and for what purpose? "It was…Iona…"

"You have until this evening to meet with me," Elin's voice comes through once more, but Odyssey can't bring himself to look at the screens again. He can't bring himself to move, not even when Rona moves and Misha tries to get him back on his feet. "You have until 4 pm to make your choice. If not, we kill another of your beloved victors. Iona was first for running the training center in Four. Who will you sacrifice next?"

"Meet with us tonight and meet our demands, and it will end," Elin tells them, but they all know there is no stopping the rebels without a war. "I want to meet with the President to discuss your terms of surrender. The real President, the one you have kept hidden away for the last year and pretended to be dead to make a martyr out of him. Yes, your beloved President Xavier is still alive. Shocked that the Capitol lied to you? You shouldn't be."

"So President Xavier, I speak to you now," Elin says as they stare directly into the camera. "Meet with me and surrender. It is your choice if you want to end this or not. If you don't meet our demands, more will die."

At that, a few of the mentors start letting out murmurs of panic as Odyssey finally gets to his feet, letting Misha put his arm around his shoulders and move him away from the rebels. He just feels numb, not knowing what to even feel at this and everything that Elin has said.

"We won't stop until we bring an end to the tyranny of the Capitol," Elin continues, cruel smile on their face and a look of pure delusion in their eyes. "It's up to you how many innocent lives you want on your hands. Make your choice, Panem."

The video ends and Odyssey turns to Misha, horrified look in his eyes. "Is this really happening?" he asks him, hugging him tightly to press his face into his chest as he squeezes out some tears.

"I don't know…" Misha says quietly, hugging Odyssey back as he still shakes from fear over what just happened in front of them. "But whatever is happening…I'm scared."


District Two

Kat Liero, Victor of the 99th Hunger Games

As soon as the screen cuts out, right in the middle of Chantelle's fight, Kat slams her fist on her desk and can hear cries of outrage from trainees throughout the building. "You've gotta be fucking joking me," she says as she stands up, going to the door to her office and peeking her head out the door.

Down the hall, she can see Clemont doing the same and when he sees her, he starts heading towards her. "What's going on?" he calls out to her, waving a group of trainees back into a classroom he passes. He waits until he reaches her to talk quietly. "I don't like this, Kat. It's got bad vibes all over it."

"You and me both," Kat replies, crossing her arms as her stomach starts to twist a little in worry. This wasn't normal to have a blackout of Games feed – in fact, she doesn't remember a single time it's happened before. "Something's going on. And right in the middle of Chantelle's fight…" She sighs and shakes her head, not having a great feeling at all about Chantelle's outcome. "Fuck, this isn't good."

"What do you want us to do with the trainees?" Clemont asks as Kat feels her phone buzz aggressively, so she holds up a finger to have him hold that thought as she looks at the message.

DISTRICT TWO IS NOW IN LOCKDOWN. ALL CITIZENS REPORT INSIDE AND STAY THERE UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.

"Oh fuck," Kat mutters under her breath and pinches the bridge of her nose for a moment, trying to prepare herself for what was about to happen. Because now she is responsible for an entire training center's worth of trainees in lockdown, along with all the victors and trainers. She looks up at Clemont, who has his phone in his hand as well and is giving her a fearful look. "Get that look off your face," she instructs him as she heads back into her office, going around her desk to get to the PA system. She looks up at him in the doorway as her finger hovers over the button to speak to the entire center. "They're going to be scared and looking to us to be brave for them. So take a moment to get your shit together, and then march back to your trainees and keep them calm."

"Yes ma'am," Clemont replies quietly and nods his head. He takes a deep breath before he turns and heads back down the hallway to his classroom.

Kat takes a moment for herself to prepare herself for this and when she sees Viola now in the doorway, she shakes her head and presses the intercom button. "Trainees and staff. We are now in lockdown until further notice – this is not a drill. If you aren't already in the auditorium, follow your trainer to the auditorium at this time, where I will give further instructions. Please stay calm and move in an orderly fashion. Thank you."

"Kat, what the actual fuck is going on here?" Viola asks once Kat is done talking over the intercom and sits back down. She puts her head in her hands for a moment, trying to prepare herself for what might just be the hardest thing she's had to do in her life.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Kat asks as she looks back up at her as she can start hearing talking out in the hallway. She stands up, starting to gather some things from her office, including her airhorn. "The rebels are attacking, somewhere, somehow. And now we have all these kids to protect."

"Fuck," Viola mutters, putting a hand on her chest in fear as she watches Kat move around the office. Kat gives her a look and Viola takes a deep breath before nodding at her in understanding. "Whatever you need me to do, I'll do it. Just say the word."

"Just help get everyone in the auditorium for now," Kat says, moving to the doorway and putting a hand on her back to give her a small push out into the hallway. "We'll regroup there."

Kat steps out into the hallway, directing the groups of trainees as they make their way to the auditorium, thankfully behaving for the most part. Some of the older ones are goofing around, not taking this serious at all, and cut it out when Kat gives them a sharp look. Meanwhile, some of the younger trainees have scared, wide eyes, but Kat can't help but be proud of her victors when some of them stick by the scared ones' sides, comforting them quietly.

It takes some time, but eventually all the trainees have been corralled into the auditorium, with Kat standing up on the stage watching over them. She knows many of them have questions, but she waits until Clemont comes up to her and lets them know that all the classrooms were checked and empty before addressing them over the airhorn. "Everyone, quiet please!" she stands with her hand on her hip, waiting for them to settle down before continuing. "Alright, listen up. District Two is currently in lockdown – yes, the entire District, not just us. No, I don't have more information than that at this time."

She pauses at the unsettled murmuring in the crowd at that, giving them a look until they quiet once more. "Yes, I know, you want to go home to your families right now. But I cannot allow you to do that. From now until we are cleared to leave, you are staying right here. We have rations to keep us here for an extended time, but hopefully this will pass quickly."

"You can't just keep us here!"

"This is bullshit!"

"I want my mom."

"EVERYONE SHUT UP!" Kat screams over their protests, not having the patience right now for this. These kids don't even realize the sheer danger they are in right now, being in District Two during a possible rebellion. "Right now, the rebels could be planning an attack on the Capitol, so for once in your life, just listen to what I tell you to do. We're going to make a plan to hunker down for an extended time. There will be no outside communications to reduce the risk of signals getting picked up by the rebels."

She looked at the small group of victors on the stage with her, hoping they would be enough to do what had to be done. Only five of them left at the center, out of sixteen of them… She couldn't blame Darach and Glacia for staying home with her grandmother. But now, she is starting to worry about the rest – the four in the Capitol mentoring, the three in the other training centers across Panem, and who the fuck knows where Zephyr is now. Hopefully staying safe somewhere with Seraphim, but…she isn't so sure about that.

She points at Lysander first. "Lysander will collect phones and we will keep them in a safe location. If you try to protest that, he'll make sure you are up doing pushups instead of sleeping tonight." That earned a few groans from the older trainees as the victor started heading out into the seats, gathering up the phones, but they did as she said, knowing she is damn serious.

"Marian will work with years 15-18 on gathering up the mats in the gym and spreading them out for sleeping," Kat continues, pointing at the youngest of their group, who just nods her head in understanding. If anyone of their five could keep the oldest in line for that, it is Marian.

"Viola will take years 12-14 to the kitchens and take inventory of what we have in our stores, and start making a plan for distributing food," she says, getting a couple kids in that group cheering in excitement for being near the food, but they quiet down quickly at a look from her.

"Everyone else, follow your trainers to the gym. And Clemont is going to help me," she finishes, giving him a pleading look for assistance. There's no one she trusts more to help her keep all these kids in line and help her keep a headcount. "He'll coordinate with the rest of the trainers and make sure no one is separated from the group. Now, any questions?" she stands with a hand on her hip, waiting, but none of them speak up. From the fear in their eyes, it seems to finally have sunk in that this is serious and they're going to actually listen to her. "Perfect. You have your tasks, lets get moving!"

With a clap of her hands, the trainees all get up and moving out of the auditorium, some chatting with their friends quietly while others walk in silence. Kat stays up on the stage, watching them all file out, and turns to Clemont. "Let's hope this is only for a couple days at most," she tells him quietly, but she is absolutely worried it will be longer than that. "I fear it will be though…"

"We've prepared for this," Clemont tries to reassure her and squeezes her shoulder. "Brave face, Kat. They'll stay calm because of you."

"I know, but it's not easy doing that right now," Kat admits to him, watching the kids that she is responsible for. If anything happened to any of them right now, she'd never forgive herself. "War is much different than the Games."

"That's an understatement," Clemont says with a chuckle and puts a hand on her back, guiding her off the stage. "Come on, let's go supervise them and make sure they are moving."

Kat nods her head in agreement and they walk in silence over to the gym, where the oldest group is getting yelled at as Marian points around the gym for where the mats should go, while the youngest sit on the side. Some play little games with each other, while others cling to the trainers, who are quietly reassuring them. So far, so good… They have a plan, and that plan is being executed, just as it was supposed to be.

But she should have known it wasn't going to stay that way for long.

A few of the kids cry out and cover their ears when the siren starts blasting through the District, a sound that sends a chill down Kat's spine. It's a siren she had hoped she would never hear outside of the yearly test of the system, when everyone knew it was going to happen, and they would wait a few minutes before it stopped and they could go back to whatever they were doing. But this siren isn't going to stop, because it can only mean one thing.

District Two is under attack. And in her gut…she just knows the training center could be one of the targets. And if the siren is going off, they only have minutes to get to safety.

"TO THE BUNKER, NOW!" Kat yells at the group, grabbing the arm of the nearest trainee and starting to push them towards the door out of the gym. Kids are crying in fear, some freezing up, some running towards the door and trying to shove each other out of the way in their panic. And Kat wants to run with them, but she can't. Not when they are her responsibility, and she will not step foot into that bunker until she knows every single one of them is inside. "Marian! Get them inside! Clemont, we're checking every room!"

The two do as she said, fear on Clemont's face as he follows her, but Marian has a look of determination as she starts leading the group out of the gym. They all know the path, having done the drill twice a year, but they were calm then. Now, they're scared and panicked, and it's taking every effort to get them into that bunker in time.

As Kat runs down the hallway, she keeps pushing kids and trainers to move faster, as Clemont checks in every room they pass. "Move it, go! We only have minutes!" she yells at them, stopping for a moment as she passes Viola and grabs her arm. "Is everyone out of the kitchens?"

"Yes," Viola replies, nodding her head as tears are falling down her cheeks in fear. Kat just gives her a nod of understanding before letting her keep running.

Kat continues after Clemont, checking her watch in fear. She knows there isn't enough time, she doesn't even know how much time they have or if they're even the target. But she'd rather do all this for nothing than risk all the lives here today.

"Come on, we need to go," Clemont says as he stops at a young girl curled up against the wall, holding her hands over her ears as she sobs loudly. He looks up at Kat as she approaches, and with a look from her, he picks up the girl, putting her over his shoulder with a groan, before he keeps following her.

They reach the end of the hallway and Kat nods at him, feeling confident they cleared this wing, and they start running back. Kat grabs the arm of one of the older boys who is standing in the hallway, trying to help the trainers get the kids in. "Go, move it! Take her with you!" she tells him and points at Clemont to hand the young girl off to the teen so they can keep moving.

As they run to the east wing of the center, they're able to run faster, with the hallway thinning out from everyone getting to the bunker. And with every passing second, Kat is driven to move faster, knowing it could be at any point that the attack could start.

"Kat, we need to get in," Clemont tells her as she checks one more room. She turns to him, seeing the fear and worry on his face. "They need you in there."

"Go, I'll be a minute longer, I have to make sure they're all inside," Kat tells him, seeing him hesitating so she yells at him. "GO!"

Clemont lingers for one more second, before he nods in understanding and starts running towards the bunker, giving her one last look before turning the corner like he fears this will be the last time he sees her. And it very well could be, she knows this. But if she dies knowing that she made sure every single one of the kids under her responsibility was safe, then so be it. She will have done her job.

As she starts sprinting through the empty hallways back to the bunkers, she can hear hovercrafts flying overhead, and a rush of fear goes through her. Are they rebel hovercrafts or District Two hovercrafts? There's no way to know, but all she knows is that war has arrived in her home District.

She's about to make the turn to the bunker when a young preteen runs past her, Marian right on her tail. "Annaliese! Get back here!" she yells after her and when she sees Kat, she cries out in worry. "Her brother Hugo, he's missing, please, he's my nephew! I tried to stop her, please Kat, I need to save them both, Jazmyn will never forgive me if something happens to them!"

"Get back in, I'll find him," Kat tells her, running after the girl and cursing to herself that she thought she had found everyone and almost left someone behind. Marian is right by her side, not listening to her, and Kat doesn't blame her. She wouldn't have been able to leave family behind either. "Anna! Come back!" she calls after the girl, but there's no stopping a sister on a mission. She catches up to her, her lungs burning from all the running around, but she doesn't stop her from searching.

"He was so scared and ran off," Annaliese cries as she runs to the classroom for the youngest trainees, tearing apart the room as she looks for him. "I tried to run after him but they wouldn't let me! Hugo! I'm here!"

Kat hears a whimpering in the supply closet and Marian runs over, yanking the door open and letting out a cry of relief when she finds the boy there. She picks him up and hugs him tightly as Kat grabs Annaliese's hand. "We need to go, now," she tells them, starting to drag the young girl with her.

But when loud booms start around them and the ground shakes, nearly sending them to the floor, Kat knows it's too late to get to the bunker. She just throws herself over Anneliese as Marian curls up around Hugo, trying to protect the two kids as bomb after bomb is dropped on them and the building collapses around them. Kat cries out loudly as chunks of cement hit her back and she curls up tighter around the girl, trying to keep her safe. She doesn't care about her own life right now, she just needs to protect these two children who she didn't protect enough to get them in the bunker in time.

It feels like an eternity that the bombs are being dropped and the building is crumbling around them, until finally there is just the sound of the siren still blasting around them. If it wasn't for that siren, she would assume she was dead. Even then…her body aches and her ears ring as she coughs, struggling to get clean air in with all the dust in the air. "Marian?" she calls out before going into a coughing fit, trying to look around the dark rubble she finds them in now. "Are you there?"

She's met with coughing as Annaliese whimpers under her, but it's not Marian who calls back to her. "She's bleeding!" Hugo tells them, crying loudly in fear for his aunt and everything that just happened to them. "Miss Kat, I'm scared!"

"I'm going to get us out of here, Hugo," Kat tells him, but she doesn't know if she can even do that. She doesn't know how much rubble they are buried under, or even yet how injured she is. And she's scared to move, in case it shifts the stone and causes it to collapse on them and kill them this time.

But she knows that no one is coming to rescue them. Anyone who would is locked down in the bunker below them. If she wants to escape this crushing pile of stone and cement that was once her pride and joy…

She has to figure it out herself. And despite all the fear in her, she has to be brave right now for these two kids, and for Marian, who she can hear coughing and gasping for air among all the dust in the air.

"We're going to get out of here alive, I promise."


District Two might have been the first attack, but they were not the only one. Across Panem, all of the training centers were under attack.

District Eleven, Ten, and Nine's empty centers were attacked by groups of rebels with Molotov cocktails, setting them ablaze before the Peacekeepers could arrive and stop them.

District Eight, Six, Five, and Three's centers were destroyed by rebels sneaking in and placing bombs all around the bases of their structures, sending them collapsing to the ground. The centers might have been empty, but the collapsing buildings sent rubble dropping to the ground and destroying the buildings around them.

In District Seven, a huge group of rebels marched down to the training center, firing at the Peacekeepers who tried to stop them. Some were killed, but enough made it to the building to bring it to the ground with heavy artillery. And even once it had started to collapse, they rained down on it with fire, just to make sure the Capitol wouldn't dare build a training center in the rebel's home District again.

The victors who volunteered to travel to these Districts weren't in the buildings when they went down, instead safe in the Victor Villages. But the same couldn't be said for the career Districts.

In District Four, the failing training center wasn't full like District Two was. Many of the trainees didn't bother watching the Games there, choosing to watch it back at home. But Okeanas Var hadn't given up just yet on her training center, so she was with the small group of truly dedicated children, trying to teach them something about the actions the careers were making, when the hovercrafts came through and dropped bombs on the center, the District lacking the technology to warn them of the incoming aircrafts like Two.

In District One, they also didn't have the warning system. But unlike Four, their training academy was filled with trainees and trainers. Between the children who stayed there year round to the ones watching the Games with the trainers, hoping to get some insight from the victors and tips that might help them be chosen in the future. A future that was no longer a possibility for them. The children weren't the only ones in the building when the bombs dropped on it, as a handful of victors were inside, trying to keep them all in order after the screens had gone black, led by Thetis Oneiroi. And she was joined by two women who stood by her side no matter what had happened: Dracana Molloi, who had been shunned for years by the District she loved, and Aura Roscoe, who had just recently gotten married.

And the very first career, Tanya Benito of District One, had to watch it all happen live on TV from where she was in District Three to train there, unable to help the people and academy she helped create.

And in the Capitol, a small group of rebels broke into the empty building, setting it ablaze before Peacekeepers surrounded it. The Peacekeepers quickly gunned them down, stopping them from causing any further destruction in the Capitol.

It was clear exactly what the rebels wanted: the Hunger Games to end, and they didn't care what lives were lost.


I saw Celtic post an update, so I wanted to post an update! Don't write this for months, then manage to bang out like 7k words in a day lol. It do be like that sometimes.

We'll see about long updates in the future, it's probably gonna happen. Summer has been Busy with working full time, went to visit Celtic, saw BTR together and got covid together (friends that get covid together stay together? lol let's not do that part again). But here we are. Still will see this story through to the end, no matter when that ends up being. We're at the Good Stuff now, and yes, I did kill some of my victors. Shocking, I know.

Next chapter we'll see what's happening when the group arrives at the cornucopia, and just what is going on with everyone else in the arena. Buckle up because all bets are off and anything could happen now.