PLATINUM • THE HUNGER GAMES ²

| 10. MISLED MINDS

BOOK TWO
CHAPTER TEN

( MISLED MINDS )

"I HEARD IT ALL."

Prior to their reaction, I steadied myself as the train carriage rocked around a tight corner. I checked Corey, making sure he hadn't fallen out of my grip and back into the arm chair beneath him again, with a saddened look.

"I — I know this is a shock to you, Silver, but—"

"It's what I said, Bradley: leave it," I exclaimed, holding my arm out in front of my body signalling him to stop. "We've got more things to worry about."

"Fine, what's your idea?" He questioned, walking away hurriedly towards the carriage window. His fists clenched against the dining table and his tear stained eyes flickered back to my view.

Out of nowhere, Corey's voice piped up, "We gain trust. 'Cause without that, we are nothing."

Bradley's eyes rolled in response like sarcasm was running through his veins on high alert.

"I agree. Johanna, Finnick, and Beetee — they're all our friends." I paused. "They're people we can trust, whether you like it or not."

He ran his hand through the back of his newly cut and slicked back hair that flopped to each side of his head. He had to cut it before the reaping as it used to fall everywhere in a scruffy way. That was when drunken Bradley had taken over, not caring about his appearance, other's appearance or even his own reputation. For some strange reason, it had coincided with my return from the arena. Leading me to think something had triggered his depression.

Leaning back onto the arm of a nearby chair, I sighed in response with Bradley's irritating stubbornness. I tugged at the bottom of my dress momentarily during the silence that clouded the air between us, in hope that the awkward movement would edge towards actually talking instead of angrily shouting at each other or commenting on our own mistakes.

As the awkwardness hung in the air like a wet towel, I eventually felt the train coming to a sudden halt. It caught the attention of us immediately. Our heads snapped towards the left side window in curiosity and Bradley almost had to give himself the effort to physically turn himself around to see what was happening. The glass was misted, covered in a smooth layer of condensation, but it soon cleared to reveal our destination.

The moment the carriage door forced open we knew exactly where we were.

"I can't believe that you're back." A soft voice came from the entrance, angelically eloquent pronounced words. Following the sound, a red haired figure emerged and emitted a petite smile. I instantly knew who it was.

"Saffra?" I questioned in disbelief, racing towards her. She extended her arms in response, but i stopped before she could touch me. I furrowed my brow as I heard a distance foul chuckle for behind me, but I didn't need to look back to see because I knew exactly who it was. "Get me out of this train."

Her smile switched to a straight line in reaction to my answer, although, this was most likely because of Bradley's next actions.

"Hallelujah," he spat with a menacing tone, marching past the two of us and out of the train, "I was about to tear them both in half.

The atmosphere was cold as we entered the Capitol. No clouds hung in the sky and an overwhelming sense of confinement lingered over my thoughts. An unforgiving nature loomed once again as we travelled towards the Tribute Centre. Towering above us as we walked, the tower slowly grew in size, enlarging itself as the four of us strode closer. Peacekeepers guided us along our way, checking on our behaviour as we neared towards the centre of the Capitol. Yet, for some strange reason, it felt like the defence had tripled in size since the last year and I honestly didn't know why.

Saffra strode ahead of Corey and I, chatting to a moody Bradley along the way. I couldn't see his words from a smile at all and his shoulders were slumped back sluggishly. His posture was unusual. He usually held his head up, eyes eager to face the day. Despite his drunken mood swings the last years, his normal self was confident. Now he was half dead to the world. He had his hair cut back again, forced by Corey and I, in hopes of regaining his spirit, but even that had proven itself worthless.

"Thank you, Sil'," Corey announced, his eyes gradually flickering towards mine.

"It's just. . . Well, I've never seen him like this before," I explained, pacing closer to the glass doors in front of us. "He's acting like everything's changed."

"Because it has." He shrugged. "We'll all be changing. You've changed already."

The door was pushed open for us swiftly as we reached the entrance, and both Corey and mine's voices drifted quieter.

"What do you mean 'I've changed'?" I questioned, removing my glance from him and staring straight ahead instead in preparation for another lecture of some sort. However, his voice changed tone suddenly, pulling his head the closest he could to my ear without it looking like a whisper.

Just as I was about to dismiss his assumption, he opened his mouth and stated, "Two years to this day, I saw you for the very first time on television. Mabel was to my left and, to my right, sat no one. You see, Bradley was always the supportive one, the one who kept us all together, and for those five weeks we couldn't touch that single seat that he owned—"

"I don't see where this is going," I interrupted doubtfully as we journeyed through the corridors to our District floor. I had forgotten how winding the hallways were, zig-zagging and curving around the base of the Tribute Centre. Perhaps I was always too distracted to take a look around for once.

He chuckled slightly before continuing, "No one knows what happens when people leave for a long period of time. I was scared; I was always scared when he went to the Capitol. Maybe it's because he's my friend. But, if he was my friend would I feel scared? I'd feel sad, and sadness was never a feeling that knowing him gave to me."

A pitiful smile emerged on my lips once I figured out what he had meant.

"Then, I saw you on a screen, and you were sacred. A moment later, you won. That fear for someone else drove you because you knew that it would lead you to someone else who would make you feel differently. And, once you have met someone else who takes that fear away from you - you change."

We abruptly came to a halt as we both realised that we had talked the whole way and arrived at the elevator. As the Peacekeepers left our side and let us rise up the building, we remained conversing again, this time facing each other in the silence of the night.

"Those two people are the same person for you, aren't they?"

The only answer I received was a short hum before the elevator doors quickly opened, revealing Saffra, Bradley and Atlanta sat around the dining table, their heads bent over from the tiredness of the extremely early morning start.

Corey placed a hand on my shoulder before I could walk away, restraining me from moving myself out of the elevator.

"You've change because you have found Will. I cannot because my best friend is not himself anymore, he hasn't been since he returned with you those few years ago," He whispered calmly. "He has saved me, now I need to save him."

And, for once, I felt truly proud of him. He had evolved from his shy self into a leader, and, if that was the right mind needed to struggle through this, I was going to follow his lead.

I felt honestly proud of what he had become.

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