The Les Misérables Games

Task Seven: On My Own Pretending He's Beside Me Final Eight Females

Ariade Summers

Another family is mourning this day. Azar Tomas is dead. 

There's seven of us left -not including myself. Phrynia is in District 3, interviewing people. No, correction: She's is District 3, wasting her time. My relationship with my parents was not the best, and I had few friends, because I was unable to trust anyone enough to form a friendship. There's only one exception. Scratch that: There was. The Capitol has made sure he belongs in my past. Not wanting to get drowned in a whirlpool of guilty thoughts, I turn to my partner. “Tony?” I can't stand the silence anymore.

Anthony Hawks is half-sitting half-lying on the floor of the Cafe. He turns to face me. “Yeah?”

I knit my eyebrows. “Say something.”

He puts on his thinking face for a couple of seconds, then he says: “Something.”

My reaction is limited to a scoff.

Anthony shrugs. “What do you want me to say, Toadstool?” 

“Yeah, stick with the “Toadstool”, 'cause I found you a new nickname: Conversation killer.” I get up and head to the door. He clicks his tongue, but I'm already outside. I really need some air.

With perfect timing, a silver parachute flies over my head. I approach it as it keeps falling at a slow rate. It's mine; the parachute is meant for me. I've been sponsored! A smile lights up my face. The way the parachute is floating and the things it probably carries... I unwrap the package full of anticipation, like a kid that's unwrapping a gift. It's rectangular. Maybe it's a set of knives, or some new clothes... Hey, a girl can dream.

But, to my disappointment, it's a plate. An insert-swear-word-of-your-choice plate. What am I supposed to do with a plate? Turn it into a frisbee?

No, I'm wrong. It's a screen. “Now you're talking...” I mumble. I could do a lot of things with an electronic device. As if it's greeting me, the tablet buzzes in my hand and it lights up.

A very familiar face appears on the screen, and I find myself engaged in a fight with a strong desire to throw away the device, lie down in fetal position and cry. But I'm smart enough to appreciate the value of the screen and the things I would be able to do if I managed to hack it. Plus, I'm strong enough to keep myself from crying. My vocal chords manage to form one single word: “Atlas?”

“Hey, Phoenix.”

The realization strikes me so hard it makes me dizzy. Phrynia is known for her cruelty, but this crosses a line. Before she ordered his execution, she had him videotaped. So she could use it against me later. More specifically, now.

The video of Atlas keeps playing mercilessly. “I bet you've forgotten all about me by now.” I can hear the pain in his voice. “But I don't blame you. I mean, come on, let's be realistic here: How could a girl like you ever fall for a guy like me?”

“No, don't say that, please. I'll never forget about you”, I say. But it's a video. He can't hear me.

He scratches the back of his head awkwardly. “You... you just used me to escape. Don't think that I didn't know; I knew it. And I still covered you.”

I have to admit that this was my original intention. Among the Peacekeepers who were assigned to me he was the friendlier one. Soon, I figured that, since he was into me, he would be easier to fool. But, in the process, many things changed. And it was more than I'd bargained for.

“I've always admired you. I don't know if you are afraid of anything, but you sure never let it show. That amazes me. I wish I could be more like you. Be equal to you. And I thought I'd get your attention that way...”