• Athena Spring has spent her entire life carefully curating the perfect image. Perfect grades, a proud family, and the Plinth Prize nearly within her grasp, Athena has it all. However, when her plans are derailed by an unexpected twist of events, s...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Athena's hand trembles as she raises it to the door, the cold metal of the knocker feeling like the only solid thing in a world that's suddenly spinning out of control. The sound echoes in the quiet hallway, too loud in the stillness of the night. She half-expects the door to remain closed, a final rejection to cap off the night's horrors, but it swings open to reveal Nero Price's concerned face.
"Good heavens, Athena, we weren't expecting you at this hour," he says, his voice a warm balm to her frayed nerves.
"I'm sorry, Nero. I lost track of time," she mumbles, the lie tasting bitter on her tongue.
Nero steps aside, ushering her into the warmth of the apartment, "Persephone mentioned you might come by, don't worry about the time. These Games have all our schedules turned upside down".
Athena nods, her eyes scanning the familiar surroundings of the homely apartment. Whilst the Prices certainly do have an eye for opulence, their apartment seems so much less bare and unforgiving as her own.
"Persephone's still awake, I think she's in her room watching the Games," Nero muses, hesitating before adding, "She hasn't left the screen since she got home. Worried about the kid, I think".
Athena fiddles with the cuff of her uniform uncomfortably, thinking of her own promise to Treech to not leave the auditorium for a moment. She hadn't expected the Games to go on for this long, for the past decade the Games had lasted no longer than a few hours and had produced a Victor quickly.
She makes her way to Persephone's room, her heart in her throat. The door is ajar, and through it, she sees her friend, Persephone, sitting up on her bed with her eyes glued to the screen as the Hunger Games continue to play out.
"Hey," Athena whispers, her voice barely carrying.
Persephone looks up, her face etched with worry, "Athena? It's so late, what kept you?"
Athena moves closer, the weight of the night's events threatening to crush her.
"A lot's been going on," she admits, her gaze flickering to the screen where the image of the arena has just come back to life.
"The feed was down for an hour," Persephone says, her voice laced with anxiety. "I've been so worried about Mizzen since... since Bobbin died..."
"Did they show how Bobbin died?" Athena says urgently, quickly walking over to get a better view of the screen.
Persephone just shrugs, replying, "No, the feed cut out and then suddenly he was just on the ground with his head smashed in. Whoever did that... well, I know they're all just kids but that's monstrous".
Athena sits beside her, the mattress dipping under their combined weight.
"Persephone, I have to tell you something," she begins, her voice a mix of fury and fear, "But you have to promise not to repeat it, seriously".
