Surviving the Same War

Chapter 24

Warning* Reading this chapter near a white rose that has an aroma of a typical rose, blood, and death may cause suicidal thoughts and extreme sickness which may include involuntary puking, stomach aches, head aches, and death (by poison or otherwise).

Enjoy!

Snow's POV

Jeanine threw me into my cell. I was barracked with white walls and fed only twice a day. My hunger was used to my advantage, I was tortured with the smell of food I knew was being made right outside my cell door. My assumptions are the food is wasted, thrown into the garbage for rats to have a feast. My stomach ached as I thought of eating, I curled over and gripped my sides crossing my arms over my body. The door slipped open and a tray of food peered inside my cell. The usual bread and water, it reminded me the old days, before the Capital.

I reached and grabbed the bread in my hands. My mouth watered as I stared into it, almost believing it wasn't real. Maybe I should save it, maybe I'll need it. What if I stop being fed? Won't I need it?

My mind didn't work as fast as my body and soon it was already down my throat.

"Don't eat it all at once. You'll need it for later you know." I turned and saw Jeanine hovering above me. I didn't realize I was kneeling in the ground until now. I reached for my water and slowly took the cup in my hands, Jeanine has spilled it before and right now I can't afford that risk. "Don't drink that too fast either, hardly any of it will go into your mouth, it'll all just get caught up in your beard." My beard had grown long, it almost reached past my chest when I stood up. The white hairs tickled my chin at first, but I had gotten used to it. "Get up." I tried to lift myself up off of the floor, but all of my plastic surgeries and make up can't hide the fact I am old. My bones snapped and cracked as I put weight onto them and lifted myself up.

"What is it now Jeanine? I've already told you everything I know about the girl." My voice is hoarse and my throat hurts when I speak, but there's nothing I can do about it.

"Yes, yes. I know you've told me everything about the girl, but it's not the girl I want to talk about this time. It's you." Her words made my heart throb and painful memories stabbed at my brain. Memories I wanted to keep locked up forever, but with everything that has happened to me these couple of weeks, those simple words are enough to let them out of their cage.

"Katniss seems to be very scared of you. Her eyes just flooded with fear and hatred when you walked into that room with me. I want to know why." Jeanine took a step closer to me. "Sit." She ordered. A chair was carried in by a couple of guards and set down in the middle of my cell. One came up to Jeanine and handed her a small syringe filled with my own creation she had stolen from me. I called it the Juice, she called it the Candor Truth Serum.

"Your arm." She ordered again, but didn't wait. My sleeve was jerked up and the needle forced into 4 layers of plastic surgery in my arm and 6 layers of wrinkle-free lifts in the Capital, not to mention my actual flesh, but the needle had no problem reaching its target. "Now you are going to tell me everything about yourself. Start."

"I am the president of Panem-" I began.

"No!" She slammed her hand on the armrest of my chair and the sounds echoed through the air. "I want to know everything. So start from the beginning, the very beginning."

"I was born on August 16, fifty-seven years ago as the son of Jackson and May Prior in-" Jeanine's eyes grew wide and I saw nothing but pure rage. My heart skipped a beat and felt frozen. "Should I continue?"

"Yes. Ignore me." I nodded but felt the hatred pour out of her mouth as she spoke those small words.

"I was born to Jackson and May in District 7 and worked whenever I could to help support my family. I had a sister you know, her name was Yulaine. I was named Asher, my parents told me it meant joy and that my name would give me joy for all life, I was a fool to believe them. Joy made a habit of never interfering with my life. Ever..."