Author's Note
I do not own the Hunger Games.
Andreas Amandiel, 18
He thought he might have heard more from the others, given how much they had all jumped into helping his campaigning and their strong thoughts on these Punishment Games, but instead his comm had been surprisingly silent as he watched the District kids struggle against the water filling the white hall they stood in.
It was a cruel arena. He wasn't sure yet whether the doors were going to open into more of a typical arena, like the one he'd been in, or whether they'd lead to something else more devious. Neither were those online, if all the chatter was to be believed.
People were just tuning in to watch the District kids die.
Andreas found it hard to say how he felt about that. It had been District rebels that nearly killed him, and put him through one of the most gruelling experiences of his life. He could see the reasoning in punishing them. But at the same time, it was barbaric, a remnant of the old world in what should be a progressive future.
"Nothing from the others yet?" asked Carnelion.
"Nothing." Andreas closed his browser and pulled up the group chat, which he'd been keeping on silent for months. Several dozen unread messages. He scanned down them. "Huh. Iridescence is in hospital."
"It's not Augustine's, is it?"
"They didn't say. Why?"
Carnelian held his own holo-comm out. It was displaying his own online channel, screaming about an attack and gunshots at Augustine's hospital.
"Shit." Andreas muttered, pulling up his own social media. The newest posts were talking about explosions at the hospital and problems with the lights, combined with the arrival of the peacekeepers.
He opened the group chat again and entered a new message. 'Are you still at the hospital?'
A ping came a moment later. Emeria. 'No.'
Short and sweet. But she might not be able to manage anything else.
'At Marcellina's,' she sent a moment later.
He didn't want to enter anything about the attack in the group chat. Probably best not to put anything in writing.
'Can I come round?' he asked.
Emeria left him on read for what felt like far too long before an answer came.
'Yes. Coriolanus Square, Block Seven, Apartment 5C."
'Be there soon.'
Ares Gilmore, 15
He'd almost expected a gunshot wound to hurt more. But although it hurt, he was slowly finding his faculties again, and the makeshift tourniquet was slowing some of the bleeding.
"How does it look?" he whispered.
Phoenix investigated the wound with careful fingers. "I think you'll live."
"Cheers, doc."
"You'll still need proper medical treatment. I only know the theory, and I can't do anything if something goes wrong."
"What's this, don't put my faith in you?"
"Oh, stop it."
They piled from the car as it came to a halt. Phoenix had to help Vivaldi out, supporting him on her shoulder.
"Thorin…" he whispered.
"Not here," Ares hissed. It had been a risk bringing Andreas into the secret, giving it away to Marcellina's dad would be even worse.
"Come on, let's get you inside," said Marcellina's dad, ushering them towards the building.
"Andreas is messaging," said Emeria, flicking at her comm phone. "What do I tell him?"
"The truth, I guess. He's going to learn what happened either way."
Ares wasn't sure how much they'd told Andreas about Zephyr. Then again, they'd never said much to each other about Zephyr. They just all knew. Something in their hearts that recognised the other among them.
Iridescence helped him up the stairs to Marcellina's apartment, where her dad let them inside. They all fell through the door, and it took some effort for Ares to stay on his feet long enough to make it to their main room.
"Does one of you way to explain what just happened?" asked Marcellina's dad.
And suddenly Ares understood exactly why Artemis had laughed as they stood looking at the cornucopia.
Zephyr Almon, 13
All the strength had gone from him.
All he wanted to do was collapse and sleep.
Zephyr leaned heavily against Luminita as she guided him up the stairs to Marcellina's apartment. His legs felt as though they'd been leaden down, struggling to keep his weight.
"Did any of them hit you?" asked Luminita.
"Hm?"
"The gunshots. You're just… very quiet."
Zephyr shook his head. He couldn't see where he was going, but that was good. He didn't want to see. He didn't want to know how his friends died; didn't want to see his home in ruins.
Maybe Celeste had known how to handle this better, but Celeste was gone and he had to handle this alone now.
They gathered in Marcellina's main room, scattering across the floor. Zephyr stared into the depths of his mask.
"Does one of you want to explain what just happened?" asked Marcellina's dad.
Ares began laughing. It was a sharp, hysterical sound, driven by hysteria.
"I think someone just tried to kill me," replied Iridescence. Her voice trembled slightly. "And he– God, he killed that nurse. And he would have…" She trailed off into strangled sobbing sounds.
"Did he say why?" asked Emeria.
"Only that we weren't meant to survive the arena. I guess he was trying to make up for that? I don't know."
"And you two just knew about it." There was heavy suspicion in Phoenix's voice. "How did you two know?"
"I told you, Zephyr knew. You know how he is," Luminita replied.
"Do we?" asked Emeria.
"How do we know you didn't set us up?" Iridescence asked, and with his blindfold on, it took a moment for Zephyr to realise the question was directed at him. "All that stuff in the arena, everything you and Celeste knew, and now this? How do we know you're not working with rebels?"
"Thorin would have said…" Vivaldi said weakly.
"Would he, or would he have kept covering for them?"
"We shouldn't argue. It'll only make things worse," said Zephyr.
"Oh, I'm sure that's what you want. Have us all distracted so you can take us apart from the inside."
"Isn't that a little paranoid?" asked Marcellina.
"No, she has a point," said Emeria, her voice steady and cold. "Celeste abandoned us once, remember?"
"Celeste sacrificed herself to get us out!" Zephyr snapped, leaping to his feet. "And maybe if you've forgotten that then I should leave."
"Zephyr–" protested Luminita.
"Look, all I'm saying is that it's weird. All this stuff you can do, knowing things you have no right to know, now this at the hospital… Normal people don't do any of that," said Iridescence.
"I think you're being a bit harsh," tried Vivaldi.
Zephyr shook his head. "It's alright. I'll leave. But– Look. The more we fight, the worse all of this is going to get. There's a storm coming, and it's being created by all the blood spilled."