Author's Note
I do not own the Hunger Games.
Emeria Delilah Echavoque, 15
The incident at the hospital should have been all over the news, but all that was being shown was footage from the newest torture the Districts were being put through. Most favored was the clip of the District Nine girl stabbing the boy in the back, but the mutts had also proved themselves to be quite popular.
And meanwhile, absolutely nothing had been said or done about the shooting at the hospital, nor the events afterwards.
"I can't believe this," Iridescence grumbled, staring at her holoscreen. They were gathered at the Sterlings' apartment, seated before the holoscreen as images from the arena played on repeat.
"They're just covering it up," said Phoenix.
Emeria sighed. They should have seen this coming, but somehow it still came as a surprise. They were the Simulation Survivors; weren't people interested in what they were doing now? They had been symbols of the Capitol's bravery and tenacity. Now all anyone cared about was this new version of the Hunger Games.
"So what does that mean for us?" asked Marcellina.
Ares shrugged. He still looked pale, his arm bandaged up where the bullet had grazed him, his hair sticking to his face.
"Do you think many of them saw…" Phoenix asked, her words trailing off at Emeria's look, but they all knew what she was referring to.
Who she was referring to.
"Do you think it matters?" asked Emeria.
"It's a hospital, there must have been cameras."
And what Zephyr could do could be of interest to plenty of people. He might not be a weapon, but his predictions might be handy if anyone could understand them. Ugh. The boy was such a freak. She shouldn't be worrying about him.
Except if not for him and his weird sister, maybe none of them would have made it out of the arena alive.
Emeria had never really known what to think. She wanted to scream and cry and blame him, but maybe she shouldn't.
Or maybe this was all his fault, from the very beginning, and she'd been right all along.
"There are now forty two tributes remaining in the arena," said the presenter on screen, smiling vacantly.
"Indeed. They have been encouraged to work together, but it would seem that the Districts can't do that even when their lives depend on it," said her partner.
Their hollow laughs echoed in Emeria's ears.
Luminita Summerfield, 17
She had to go home for the night, since it would be kinda inappropriate for her to sleep on Zephyr's bedroom floor. As if they hadn't slept around each other in the arena. As if she'd not fallen asleep with him wrapped in her arms before.
Luminita slept little that night. When she closed her eyes, she saw Sorcha's face, twisted and mutilated, drilling black ichor as she screamed.
"This is your fault! Why didn't you save me?"
"I tried! You wouldn't listen–" Luminita's words choked inside her.
"Are you blaming me for my death?"
"No! Well, maybe, yes! I don't know–"
Sorcha screamed and the sound echoed inside her until Luminita woke with a start.
She stared at her bedroom ceiling for a long time. Somehow, strangely, she'd never dreamed of Sorcha.
She'd dreamed of the Games, that living nightmare as she stumbled her way through the arena. She dreamed of watching Celeste explode and Silverie fall to their death.
But he sister had always danced just beyond her reach.
Up until now.
Luminita rolled from her bed and wandered down to the kitchen to put herself a glass of water. That was where Treasa found her, sitting at the kitchen table, staring at the dark window.
"What are you doing up so early?" asked Luminita.
"Wondering why you're up so late," replied Treasa.
Luminita shrugged. "Couldn't sleep."
"Is it the punishment Games?"
"I wish. But no." Luminita spun her glass between her hands. "Do you ever feel like something isn't quite right? Like the world isn't moving right?"
Teresa frowned as she sank into the chair opposite her. "Sometimes." She touched her chest, over her heart. "I think there's something missing here. Like Sorcha filled something and now she's gone."
"It's not about Sorcha." Luminita cast her glass aside and pointed at the window. "There's a storm coming. Celeste said it, and now Zephyr's saying it. And it must mean something to them, but what makes sense to them doesn't make sense to the rest of us."
Tressa pressed her lips together. "Celeste was that creepy girl you allied with? The one that exploded?"
"She didn't…"
Except she did. Burst into flame and took Phoenix with her.
And then Phoenix lived while Celeste died.
"But yeah. That was her. Zephyr's sister."
"I don't understand why you keep hanging out with that kid. He's fucking creepy."
Luminita managed a smile. "Yeah. He is, a bit."
But that was only because he saw more than the rest of them, and couldn't get them to understand what he knew. Luminita drummed her fingers against the table. "But he's right, a lot of the time. I think he does know things. And he did… at the hospital…"
And at the game center as well, after they all got out of their pods.
He was a strange kid, but there was something about him.
"I feel like we're all just waiting for something," said Luminita.
"This storm?"
"No. Yes. Maybe. Like a tipping point. I don't know. But it's coming, and I don't know if anything can stop it now."
"So what do we do?"
"I don't know." Luminita shook her head. "I don't know."