The Second Annual Hunger Games (Book 2)

Five

The avoxes serve us dinner and I notice Talon come into the room. He carries platters of food and drinks along with the other avoxes. I notice Tullis looking at him, trying to remember his face, but she can't. I dig into the food in front of me and avoid all eye contact.

Tullis, Inala, and Atla keep up the conversation while we're eating. They chat about pointless Capitol topics, but I watch them and try to study how they speak to each other. It could come in handy when trying to get sponsors. Soon the meal is over and the conversation lulls as we all realize how full we are.

"So," I say turning to the tributes. "Training starts tomorrow and it goes on for the next three days. We'll talk more in the morning, but I want you guys to get a good night sleep. You'll definitely need the energy tomorrow." They nod and go off to their rooms.

"Aldera, you're doing such a good job with them." Tullis smiles at me. "I'm proud of you."

"Thank you, Tullis."

She nods and stands. "Goodnight everyone."

The avoxes begin clearing away the plates. Inala and Atla stand and I follow. "Goodnight, Aldera," Atla says and she enters the elevator. Inala puts a hand on my shoulder but doesn't say anything. She joins Atla and they disappear behind the elevator doors.

I sigh and walk down the hall and into my room. I change into more comfortable clothes and a jacket; Inala said it would be windy. I wait ten minutes to make sure everyone's asleep, and then quietly sneak down the hall and into the stairway. I climb up, past a door labeled with a 12, and through a door with an R on it.

The Capitol is mostly quiet. Cars move along the streets below and lights from other buildings light up the roof. I walk straight ahead and sit down near the edge, watching the citizens scurry about below. After a minute I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around to see Talon smiling at me.

Hi. I pull him into a hug and then gesture for him to sit. This is probably a better place to meet than your closet.

I laugh. "It was nice of Inala to set this up for us."

He smiles and then it fades. Why did she set this up? Just so we could see each other?

Here comes the hard stuff. "Inala is a good friend of mine. She helped me a lot last year before and after the games." I hesitate. "After what happened last year she told me she would look out for you while I was gone."

I don't need looking out for. I told you, I think the Capitol has forgotten about me. For the first time he looks angry.

I hold up my hands and quickly think of a lie. "I know. It was more for my sake then for yours. It made me feel better." I decide not to tell him about his disappearances, it will only make things worse. "Anyway, we never talked about what happened and we needed a safe place to do it, where no one could hear us. Inala just wanted to help."

What do you mean 'what happened'? he asks.

I swallow. Now for the awkward stuff. "Last year, the night before the games." I look away, towards the street below. "Before they took you away."

I feel him tap me. He smiles. You have to look at me while I'm signing. He stands and pulls me up with him. You haven't seen the best part of the roof. I want to show you it before I have to leave. I follow him to the other side.

A beautiful garden has been planted. Vibrant flowers, bushes, and trees grow underneath the moonlight, a few of the plants even glow. "Wow, this is wonderful." As we walk further in the smell engulfs me. I breathe in deeply and smile as I let it out.

Pretty cool right?

I nod. "Very cool." I turn back to him. "So, did you hear what I said... about the night before the games? You know when we-"

Said goodbye, yeah I remember. You were crying and I held you on the bed until you fell asleep. I left after that. Are you mad because I didn't wake you when I left? He leans against the garden wall.

"No that was two nights before the games. I'm talking about the night after that."

There wasn't any night after that, you were in the games. He stands up straight and crosses his arms.

"You don't remember." I turn away from him and wipe the tear from my eye before he can see it. The Capitol did this, the Capitol took away his memories. I look up at the city around me and suddenly I want to burn it all to the ground. I want to march right up to President Dane's mansion and destroy it, just like he's destroyed everything in my life.

Talon puts a hand on my shoulder and turns me towards him. What don't I remember?

I stare into his hazel eyes and see nothing in them. No memory. No rebellion. No spark of life. No hope. And no love. The Capitol's mark lies in those eyes.

"Never mind. I think the games messed with my head too much." I swallow. "I should probably go now, before somebody finds us. We'll talk again later."

Goodnight.

I walk to the door that leads to the stairs and as soon as I'm behind it I run. I run back to floor 11 and into my room. I lock the door and pace in front of it. I can't sleep. I won't sleep. The nightmare's will be too much for me tonight. I need a plan. I need a purpose. I can't keep living like this. Before my goal was to live, my new goal is to survive.

But how?

I call Inala with the number she gave me, but I can't tell her what happened, not over the phone. She promises to do something, I'm not sure what.

Survive tonight first. Then tomorrow. Survive sending these tributes off to their death. Survive watching them die. Survive the games. Survive until I can get out. Survive until I can escape.

Hey everyone! How are you liking the story? What do you think of Talon's memory loss? Do you think Aldera should try to talk to him about it and get him to remember? Do you think she's going to be able to focus on the games and help the tributes with all this stuff on her mind? Let me know what you think in the comments. Also, I was wondering if you guys like me putting this little author's note asking questions at the end of each chapter or would you rather just read the story uninterrupted? Thanks for reading!