Tortured but Together (A Hunger Games Fanfiction) [UNDER EDITING]

Chapter Four

A/N: Usual PSA, the Hunger Games characters don't belong to me, they belong to Suzanne Collins. That being said, hope you enjoy this chapter!!

(Katniss POV)
Only a few feet of desk separate me from the most evil person in Panem, President Snow. He glares at me, clearly mad that I destroyed his precious arena; and I glare right back at him, enraged that he destroyed my home and countless thousands of lives when he obliterated district 12. "Why would I denounce the districts rebelling against you, President Snow? Give me one good reason!"

"My dear Miss Everdeen, in case you haven't noticed, I'm the one pulling all the strings here. District 12 is gone, because I made the decision that it was no longer necessary. Now, tell me, what's to stop me from doing that to another district? Or, what's to stop me from going after your family; your cousin, your mother, your sister, your dear Mr. Mellark?"

I freeze, my face growing pale. "You wouldn't...it would just be more senseless murder. Killing them wouldn't help you gain anything...it wouldn't do anything for you! It wouldn't do anything for you, so why would you kill them?!" My voice rises higher and louder with every word, does he think that I'll support him when he's being such a monster? Is that really how he thinks this will go?

"Miss Everdeen, I believe we agreed once never to lie to each other. Did we not?"

"Yes."

"Then let me assure you that I do not lie when I tell you this. Killing your family, especially Mr. Mellark and your sister, would prove quite complicated and controversial. Unlike you, they are adored by the Capitol, perhaps as a result of their good nature, and their ability to know when to keep their mouths shut. That being said, if you continue to provide issues for me, if you continue to stand by and condone these acts of rebellion, if you continue to let the districts use you as their Mockingjay, I will have no choice but to terminate everyone you love."

The peacekeepers have to physically restrain me at this point to keep me from launching myself at President Snow. "You send children to murder each other! You leave us to starve to death in the districts while you spoil your Capitol so much that they force themselves to throw up to keep eating! You subjugate us and tear us to the ground and tell us we're worthless and that we would be nothing without your Capitol! What did you expect would happen? Did you expect we'd just put up with your abuse forever?" By the time I finish, my face is practically bright red with anger. President Snow made this personal, and I'm determined to fight him on this.

He waits a minute before putting his steepled hands on his desk. "Are you quite done now Miss Everdeen? Or do you wish to try and dig your grave even deeper than it already is? I will leave that up to you, but I suggest you choose wisely."

"How do I know you haven't already hurt them? How do I know they aren't already dead as just one more thing you decided to do to make my life even more of a living hell!" I shout. It's not about digging my grave deeper or not, it's about not surrendering to a monster.

"I give you my word that Mr. Mellark and the rest of your family have come to no harm at the hands of my peacekeepers between the end of the games and now." His voice is as annoyingly calm as ever though, and it's impossible for me to tell whether or not he's lying.

"What is your word worth? What would your word mean to me? You destroyed my entire district because you were mad at me, what reason do I have to trust your word on anything!"

"It's simple really. Everything I do, serves a purpose. Murdering the only people you care about would not currently benefit me. Think of it like this, their lives are my bargaining chips when I'm working with you. Their lives, for your cooperation, it's as simple as that. Does that explain it any better for you?"

"YOU SICK BASTARD!"

"Alright, take Miss Everdeen out of here. I grow tired of her shouting. Obviously it will take a bit more convincing before she'll be willing to cooperate. In the meantime, take her to her cell. It should give her a chance to think over her situation."

At his command, several peacekeepers firmly grab me by the arms, practically dragging me out of President Snow's office. Determined not to let him get the last word, I shout "THIS ALL STARTED BECAUSE I WANTED TO PROTECT MY SISTER! IF YOU WOULDN'T HAVE REAPED HER FOR YOUR HUNGER GAMES THEN MAYBE NONE OF THIS WOULD BE HAPPENING!"

Almost the second after I finish saying that, a peacekeeper gags me. "That's enough out of you. You'd better learn to hold your tongue before you lose it entirely."

That makes President Snow chuckle, my pain brings him amusement. "My dear Miss Everdeen, you should know by now that I'm not someone who you want as an enemy. I reward loyalty, and I punish disobedience, and, sadly, you have chosen to be disobedient. Until next time, keep this warning in mind, it's the things we love most that destroy us."

Before I can fight the gag out of my mouth to say something in response, I'm dragged out of the room with the door being slammed behind me. The peacekeepers lead me down a series of increasingly dark and dank hallways that look more fit for somewhere in district 12 than the Presidential Palace. How could they possibly manage to keep this places hidden from the public eye?

As if reading my mind, one of the peacekeepers says, "All of these rooms are underground. Not only will nobody ever see them, but we're far enough underground that no one will be able to hear you scream." With that, I'm tossed unceremoniously into a cell, and I hear the cell door slam shut a second later. I'm left to await my fate in total darkness.

P.S, sometimes I might use actual quotes from the books and/or movies. When I do that, those bits of dialogue will be in bold. I repeat, if you see dialogue that is in bold, it is not mine, it is a quote directly from the book. Just wanted to put this here so there wouldn't be any copyright concerns! Hopefully you're enjoying the story so far!!