Lest we FORGET - Hunger Games Writing Contest [OVER]

Chapter 4 Summary

Once again Caesar found himself in the studio. It was almost as though he had nowhere else to go; most of his time was spent in one of the various rooms of the compound. If not the briefing room, the powder room or the green room then on stage or right beside of it discussing the next course of action.

He did have a home. Somewhere. It was a penthouse apartment in the middle of town, not too far from work and offering a great view of the busy streets down below. Whenever the crowd was up to something he could see it with ease. This gave him the feeling that he was in touch with the man on the street even though technically he was far removed from said individuals.

This evening he would be doing a solo commentary backed up by footage from the day's proceedings. And what a day it had been. Not only had they seen much more deaths today than expected; some of those deaths were downright brutal.

Someone approached the desk and made eye contact telling Caesar he ought to get ready as they were about to start. He nodded curtly and straightened his jacket, sitting up in his chair then leaning on the table surface with his eyes trained on the main camera.

In the background he could hear the muted version of the show's theme playing and he made sure to put on the most endearing smile he could muster as he gave a little wave at the camera as though it were an actual person sitting in front of him.

"Welcome one and all to Day Two of this, our Sixty Fourth annual Hunger Games!", he cried in to the relative silence of the empty studio.

"Folks we knew that we had a feisty bunch on our hands this year as we saw yesterday. I'm sad to say our Man of the Hour Ferris Heartly had other duties to attend to so he won't be joining us. However; I've got plenty of things to show you and later we'll even have a surprise guest calling in by phone!"

He shuffled some of the sheets of paper on his desk. He didn't really need them but the ratings analyst had claimed that the presence of paper made the viewers more comfortable somehow. In truth most of the papers were blank as he had been doing shows like these for so long he could probably get away with not preparing for them at all.

"First I'd like to go over some statistics with you. Yesterday we found that we had already lost several Districts worth of tributes. Today, my friends, sees yet more of them sadly being wiped out."

The teleprompter, though not used for his usual speeches, flashed to life with some numbers.

"Ladies and gentlemen; today has seen the deaths of no less than eight tributes meaning that Districts Two, Five, Seven, Ten, Eleven and Twelve are no longer represented in the Games!"

He let it sit for a moment so the news could sink in.

"Futher more Districts Three and Four have been halved as well leaving us with only three tributes for Day Three. Could this truly be the shortest Hunger Games in the history of Hunger Games?! The way things are going it's certainly looking that way...!"

The screen behind him which had been flashing random images from Ironport Island now switched over to a replay of some of the kills. Some of the tributes had died unfortunate deaths, falling prey to traps or ambushes. Others had sought direct confrontations.

The scene switched to show Maverick Canton as he thrust his blade through a bewildered looking Tatiana Sparkle. The camera seemed to relish this action at first but then quickly changed focus to look beyond Maverick.

"Ah yes, Mr. Canton, our Career from District One. He thought to have had an alliance with the heartthrob of District Three, Mr. Kramer. But did he?"

The camera just picked up the blade as it came hurtling toward Maverick who deftly deflected it with his sword before turning to run.

"Alliance broken, Mr. Canton fled the scene and has kept his whereabouts carefully hidden since. Not a bad move with people like Mr. Kramer around as you'll soon see.."

The view changes to show Ethan Kramer hanging off the side of a building with Jay Wild standing on top, ready for the new arrival.

"Here we see him again, this time in the company of Mr. Wild from District Four. The two seem to make another alliance of sorts. But then...disaster strikes..."

Caesar puts on a grave face as the scene plays out behind him with the two boys laughing it up over the heart shaped candies. Just as they are about to move on, the image freezes and Caesar looks up at the camera as though having just witnessed a terrible crime.

"My dear viewers at home, I'm sure you found this as shocking as I. I'm happy to report we've got a live connection with Linny right now...

Linny, my dear?"

A crackling sound fills the studio and is followed by a high pitched female voice who seems barely able to contain their grief.

"Yes, good evening Caesar...", she manages, "...so nice of you to call me. After...that..."

"Linny, Linny, Linny....", Caesar consoles her as he gives the camera a sympathetic smile.

"And the worst things is, it's Pansybosom, not bottom!", she blurts out before Caesar has a chance to offer his support. Slightly taken aback by the sudden outburst he holds up his hand in a calming gesture.

"I'm terribly sorry for the embarrassment this has caused. Did you get any reactions from people?"

A sniffling sound is followed by a short, resolute sigh.

"Yes, there were some. I'm glad to say they've all been very nice so far. Unlike...him...", she states coldly.

"Linny, my dear, don't be too harsh now. I think the laughter was mostly brought on by stress. You may recall a certain miss Loper from the Fifty Eight' Hunger Games. After accidentally killing the male tribute of her own District she was seen dancing and singing, incapable of dealing with the world around her. Do you remember that?"

His best bet was to pretend that the boys really hadn't meant to be rude as unlikely as that might seem. It was true that people did strange things under stress. Whether or not the scene on the rooftop was brought on by stress? Caesar doubted it, but one could never tell.

"I do, yes. That was strange, wasn't it?", she sort of half giggled.

"Indeed. So I hope that's made you feel a little better. Thank you ever so much for calling in and taking part in our show." Having spiked the ratings by the live phone conversation it was now time to end it before she set off on some rant or another about how pretty mr. Kramer was.

"No problem, it's been lovely."

Caesar glanced ever so quickly at a stage hand who motioned to the directors to cut the phone call.

The scene changed once more to show the confrontation the two boys had with Kyra Armide. Caesar pointed toward it while casting sidelong glances at the camera.

"Now this... This is the sort of thing we were actually expecting to see from Hydra Kale's apprentice. Instead we find that the prettiest of the bunch is also the most ruthless. Former Games winner Kaylob Armide's sister not only got taken out; she was butchered.

Now you tell me; was anyone expecting that? I most certainly wasn't..."

The screens go back to the random images of Ironport Island before the scene gets too bloody as Caesar folds his hands together on the desk, turning to face the camera head on.

"Goes to show you can never tell how the Games turn out..."

Another heavy silence until the show's theme starts up again in the background.

"Ladies and gentlemen; I thank you for your time. Join us again tomorrow for the overview of what might be the last day of this year's Hunger Games!

To all a good night and remember; May the Odds be forever in your favor!"

The screen goes black as some of the lights in the studio dim.