Chapter 57

NARRATOR | Alma Parsons, District 7

"It's a disaster, Alma," Dale's voice crackles faintly through the landline; it sounds like he's talking into the wrong end of the phone. He's been a lumberjack all his life, and he never quite figured out how to use the telephone in our home in the Victors' Village. Still, I can sense something in my husband's voice that I rarely hear, and his tone makes my heart race.

"I mean, it's been bad already; you know that," he sighs. "But when she killed Ansel, it was like she flipped a switch. There were riots like we've never seen... the city square was destroyed. Peacekeepers shot into the crowd after a while. They're trying to enforce a curfew."

"I don't know what to do," I exhale, pinching the bridge of my nose and squeezing my eyes shut. "This is new territory."

I expected Violet to be unpopular in the Districts; tributes like her always are. As her mentor, I tried to stop her before the Games began, but she refused to listen to reason. Twisted by grief and a thirst for revenge, she was willing to plow through anybody and anything. Well, she certainly did that. The question is, how can we recover now?

Across the table from me, Lila sits quietly, her eyes staring out the window. She's always been a comforting figure to me since she mentored me in the Games, but even she can't pull me out of this one. I can see the gears turning in her head as she thinks forward to tomorrow, next week, next year. Right now, we should be singing and dancing - Violet is a star, the Capitol adores her - but we're not going to spend the rest of our lives in the Capitol. Violet has become everything the Districts despise, and I'm the one responsible for her.

"Listen honey," Dale says, the line crackling as he speaks. "I've gotta go. But you've been through that Arena, and you've survived worse things. At the end of the day, the girl has to live with her choices. All you can do is guide her the best way you can."

"I know, darling," I sigh. "Get some sleep."

Dale bids me goodnight, and I slip the phone into its receiver. Across from me, Lila shakes her head.

"We wanted a Victor," she mutters. "And we got one."

Right on cue, Carina Talonia waltzes into the room, giddy as ever. I don't think she's stopped smiling since the Games began, and her enthusiasm just makes everything an extra step worse.

"She's ready!" Carina sings, pointing her finger in my direction. "The Gamemakers have sent for you, dear."

I sigh, rising from the table to follow the eccentric girl. I've barely planned what to say; what can you possibly say to a girl like Violet after everything she's done? But the time has come, and I have to face the monster I've created.

Carina leads me through the maze-like halls of the Training Center to Violet's hospital room. I know my way down here by now - I've forced the doctors to give me regular updates on her health - but it's still nice to have somebody with me. As annoying as Carina can be, her incessant chirping does help keep my nerves at bay. She cracks Violet's door open, staying behind in the hallway as I step in.

The pale white interior of Violet's room is nearly blinding. A group of nurses crowd over her; behind her, a monitor with her heart rate beeps loudly.

"Ah, Ms. Parsons," the doctor says, rising from his desk in the corner. "She's just awakened, but she's disoriented. We called as soon as we could."

I glance over to the bed. Violet has looked better - her skin is pale and sunken, and she looks like she's crawled out of a cave. But that's nothing Capitol cosmetics can't fix; her shoulder looks like it was never injured, and that's good enough for me.

"We'll need to send Ms. Chappelle in five minutes to prepare for her interview," the doctor tells me. "You can speak to her until then."

I give him a nod, sending the nurses away with him and turning to my tribute.

"Well, Violet," I sigh, trying my best to force a small smile. "You made it."

"I made it," she whispers, her eyes wide in disbelief. "How long have I been out?"

"Five days," I grimace, pulling her hair away from her face. "Your shoulder took a while to heal; the doctors thought they were gonna have to amputate."

I can see something in Violet's eyes shift as I remind her of her injury. I remember experiencing the same thing; the events of the Games are so traumatic that our minds automatically lock them away until we're forced to remember. Only now is Violet starting to realize that the Games were real and not just a nightmare.

"Listen, Violet, we don't have much time," I say, leaning closer. "They're going to interview you tonight, and it's Carina's job to mentor you. Don't listen to anything she says, Violet. Everything depends on it."

"You know I would never," Violet says, her smile dimming slightly. "I know my way around an interview by now. She doesn't."

Violet studies my face, her eyes flickering up and down.

"...Alma, what's wrong?"

All I can do is shake my head; I don't want to distress Violet so soon, but both of our futures are on the line. "You've become a star, Violet," I sigh. "The drama, the tears, the swinging from good to evil, it's made the Capitol obsessed with you. But, of course, the Districts don't feel the same way. You represent everything they hate."

"Well, they should hate the people who made me do it," Violet says, her chin tilted to the ceiling. "The people who put me in there to begin with. I'd never kill outside of that Arena."

"The Districts don't see that," I tell her. "They haven't been in there, they don't know what it's like. Now, the Capitol adores you, and that can work in our favor. They are the ones with the power. But you aren't spending the rest of your life in the Capitol, Violet. Remember that."

The door behind me swings open and two Peacekeepers step in, trailed by Carina and the doctor.

"Time to go," one of the Peacekeepers says, grabbing me roughly by the arm. Have they been listening to our conversation?

"Be smart, Violet," I beg as the Peacekeeper pulls me from the room. "Please..."

The door slams behind me, and the Peacekeeper silently leads me back to the District Seven suite. Carina's annoying voice bleeds through the walls, echoing behind us as we walk. She's going to do everything she can to goad Violet, to get her to gloat in the face of the Districts. Violet's shown already that she's more than willing to do so.

All I can do now is sit and hope that she'll listen to me for both of our sakes. Based on our history, though, I can't be too confident.

A/N - Sorry this chapter took so long, school got crazy and I needed the lock-in of the century! But I'm on break now, there are only about five chapters left so I really want to grind them out! We'll see though lol

Do y'all think Violet is going to back down and apologize, or will she double down on everything that happened in the Arena? We'll find out soon :)

~S