Black, red and oranges were splashed across the sky as smoke billowed out from the direction of Nero in the distant mountains. Like when she was a child, all Sera could do was watch from inside the safety of four walls as the fire consumed someone dear to her yet again.
Across from where she sat, Plutarch Heavensbee was accompanied by his secretary whose name Sera didn't remember or know, his own bodyguards—not Peacekeepers, she noted. On the other side sat Mayor Weathers and his wife, Estelle Weathers who as always appeared emotionally detached from reality. Standing not so far was Sera's own personal guard, Scarus Redcliff who mysteriously appeared in Five just as Nero exploded yet again.
The ticking of the clock filled in the gaps of silence in the room as Sera eyed all occupants.
She wasn't back at her home in Victor's Village. No, she was at Victor's Village just not home. She along with her family and the victors of Five and their families were gathered in one empty home on the edge of the Victor's Village, furthest from Nero and the rest of Five.
The house that had sat empty for years was actually a safe house for prominent members of District 5, something she would've normally found fascinating but now she was too busy looking for an exit and she wasn't the only one.
"My sister...Clarisse isn't here." Huxley spat out at the Peacekeeper staring up at him. "I need to find her."
The Peacekeeper glanced back at his colleague and shook his head. "No one leaves."
"Icarus, please," It stung Sera to plead with her guard but she had no choice. "My sister and brother are missing, I need to go find them." Ramiel was at Nero and Talissa was at work, the last time Sera had seen her. "My cousin is also missing too." Aunt Dahlia's grip on Sera's wrist tightened as she started to tremble violently.
Scarus kept his gaze on Sera, ignoring the other victors and took note of what she said. "...I'll see what I can do." He tried to smile, to reassure her—stunning her but unfortunately for him, his smile appeared more like a grimace than a smile.
His charge scoffed in disbelief and walked away from him, slipping through his fingers when he tried to grab her; he quickly drew himself back. He was going too far for a simple charge.
The other victors weren't happy. Uriel shakily got up and approached the squad of Peacekeepers. "My grandchildren—"
"No. One. Leaves." A Peacekeeper cut Uriel off and marched over to Scarus.
Mayor Weathers and his wife shared a look before Estelle strutted towards the group of Peacekeepers fronted by Scarus. "Send a scouting group or a search party for the missing or unaccounted families of the victors." She ordered.
"That was the plan." Scarus bit out slowly, actually scowling this time. "You heard the mayor's wife," Estelle flinched at his words but stood her ground. "Split into four groups and head out."
The Peacekeepers all glanced at each other before they formed into groups of four and exited the room, leaving five including Scarus behind.
Uneased, the other victors traded silent glances with one another. Almost every victor in the room had an incomplete family, at least those that had families.
Taking that as cue, Wells stumbled forward towards a Peacekeeper. "Sorry about that." He said with a foolish grin, patting the Peacekeeper's shoulder before stumbling back. He fell to the ground and picked himself up again. "Sorry again." He laughed and stumbled straight into a glass table.
"I'll retire for the night." Estelle announced dryly, glaring at Well's foolish self but there was a strange twinkle in her eyes which hadn't gone unmissed by Sera. "Dahlia?" She held out a hand for aunt Dahlia who hesitated, thinking about her niece. Sera had to gently push her to send her away. The mayor followed his wife soon enough, not caring if he was still needed or not.
Porter stood around for a moment or two before getting up and walking out. She appeared suspicious of the other victors yet chose not to draw alarm to their abnormal behavior.
"Seraphine, you should also go rest." Scarus suggested.
His suggestion was anything but a suggestion. It was a thinly veiled command, one Sera wouldn't follow but before he could repeat himself, his communicator started to flash brightly.
"You might want to take that, boy." Plutarch said motioning towards Scarus' communicator.
The young guard clicked his tongue in annoyance and stormed out of the room to pick up the communicator, taking two Peacekeepers with him.
"Well, I suppose I'll leave too since there's nothing for me to do." Plutarch moved his head in Sera's direction and left, taking two more Peacekeepers with him, leaving one behind.
Wells didn't waste a minute before springing into action. He hobbled over to the remaining Peacekeeper and dragged him over to the entrance for something while muttering incoherently. When the Peacekeeper had let his guard down, Wells covered his mouth and Uriel motioned the rest to do the same before he took out a glass vial and opened it.
Smoke covered the entire room, dissipating a few minutes later but when it cleared the Peacekeeper lay motionless on the floor. "...He's not dead." Uriel croaked out, removing the cover from his face. The old man went to the door and picked the lock, holding it open. "Well, are we all stayin' in here? I've got to get my grandchildren from school and my son and daughter-in-law from work."
Sera shared a look with Zephyr and shrugged. She didn't know much about Uriel apart from his win, no one did. He was more like Huxley, quiet and unimportant.
The group left the safehouse as quietly as they could, making sure to grab some protective gear alongside any first aid they could get their hands on. They even grabbed some weapons, for emergency purposes. Though, Sera had a feeling she might end up using her blades soon enough.
When the door locked behind them, Leora started laughing. "Oh we're all gonna be in biig trouble." Giggled Leora with a massive mischievous grin.
Huxley shrugged in response. "We're only getting our families, nothing much." Uriel made an excuse. The old man knew too well that even victors weren't excused from rules set by the Capitol or the Peacekeepers. He was afraid and the way his hand trembled, Sera could easily tell he was hesitating.
Exiting the village, they were all met with a horrifyingly familiar sight. Sera started to tremble. It was like she was a child of only five again, looking out the window as five engulfed into flames, swallowing many including her father and uncle alongside Huxley's parents.
She didn't waste a minute and broke into a run heading straight to Nero. Huxley didn't follow her but Leora and Wells did. Uriel went with Zephyr and Huxley to the school buildings instead but not before asking, no, begging the other party—Sera's party, to look for his son and daughter-in-law.
No one argued and Wells quickly agreed. He was the one leading the others to Nero.
Nero was on Fire.
Bright flames spurted out from the massive plant, waving its fiery tendrils around as smoke followed its path.
"Where...are the people to put out the fire?" Sera breathed, her voice coming out muffled before a strange beeping muffled her speech.
"Turn it off!" Leora hissed at Wells.
"I can't!" Wells retorted as the strange watch-like device that came with his protective suit went crazy beeping wildly. "Wha-Oh no. No. This isn't good."
Sera nervously went up to Wells and grabbed his wrist to turn the thing off but Wells stopped her. "What? You wanted it to stop didn't you?"
"Not anymore." Wells, more sober than he had been ever admitted. He fiddled around with the buttons on the side, the beeping became quieter, replaced by a flashing red light. "This isn't good." He kept muttering. "No good."
"We don't have time for this." Leora tried to drag him inside with Sera but Wells dragged his feet in. "Wells!"
"We can't go that way."
"Why not?" Leora cried out. "There's people in there and there's no one in sight to help them. We have to do something."
"Oh so now you want to play the hero."
Anger bubbled in Sera and she couldn't watch this anymore. Her brother could be dying. "Enough!" Sera pulled the two apart and glared at them. "My brother's in there and I don't have time for this. I'm goin' inside with or without either of you."
"You can't." Wells grabbed her hand and tried to pull her back. "You don't get it—it's not safe. Look at this." He put up the device on his wrist for both Leora and Sera to see. "Look at the numbers." When the two looked confused, Wells panicked even more. "These numbers aren't good."
"What does it mean?" Sera quietly asked, looking for another way in. "Wells..."
Wells hesitated, looking around before he sucked in a breath. "They're numbers used to measure radioactivity."
"Radio...activity." Sera wasn't stupid. She knew what that meant. Her breath was caught in her throat as she started coughing, trying to breathe.
Nero was never just a simple power plant. But what was a plant like Nero doing in Five? She couldn't dwell on those thoughts and she knew there was one person who had the answers.
Plutarch Heavensbee.
He knew from the start what was going on in Five. And Sera suspected that man knew more than he let on. After all, he warned her about this and she should've honestly paid more attention. He didn't do it out of the goodness of his heart, she knew that. He warned her because he saved her life.
An exchange of services. She saved—spared his life and in turn, he warned her about Nero. A warning she ignored.
But she had more pressing things to worry about than regret ignoring Plutarch.
Leora was already on the move, walking away to find another less radioactive entrance with Wells tugging Sera along, keeping a close eye on the device.
"Hey, you three can't be here!" A Peacekeeper yelled out. He was guarding the least radioactive entrance and from Wells' device, Sera could see it. "Identify yourselves."
Wells ignored the Peacekeeper and stood in front of the two. "Why are you blocking the exit? People are in there!"
"No one leaves." Again Peacekeepers were saying that an awful lot. "Get back or you'll be thrown inside.
A red fog clouded Sera's vision as whispers of the fallen filled her ears deafening her. The Peacekeepers weren't there to protect or help the people at Nero—they were there to silence them.
"You should kill him." Eugene's raspy voice whispered so close to her ears. "Remember...your brother's in there..."
Sera drew a blade without anyone noticing and twirled it between her gloved fingers. The Peacekeeper was distracted. She threw the blade straight at the Peacekeeper's neck.
The blade cut through the Peacekeeper's suit with a force and sliced through his flesh with a loud squelching sound as the man fell to his knees, dropping his weapons. He clutched his neck in pain, silently screaming for help, gasping for air but no voice would come out. His vocal cords had been cut.
In a trance, Sera went to retrieve the blade. "I'm going inside." She said to Wells and Leora.
Leora stopped her. The three were all victors but neither considered killing the Peacekeeper. It horrified the older victors how easily Sera killed that man without an ounce of remorse.
But Sera did regret the action as soon as she let go of the blade. She regretted killing him not because she felt bad—she regretted killing him knowing she might attract the President's attention or someone else's. Worse was that her family would be punished because of her actions.
Too late to regret, the blade was already stained with blood and even if she cleaned it off, she had killed someone again.
As if sensing her feelings, Leora pulled her in and closely muttered. "I'll take the blame."
"You don't have to."
"No, I don't. I don't have to be here either but...I want to." And the older woman was adamant about it. She saw something different in Sera, someone who had potential, someone not like her.
"You'll regret it."
"I know...I always do."
Not feeling like arguing Sera said nothing else and watched as Wells dragged the body of Peacekeeper over to the irradiated entrance. He motioned for the two to take a step back before opening the entrance. The device blinked red furiously as he tossed the body inside before shutting it.
The three went back to the other entrance and broke the lock. Inside was the most hellish scene the three had ever seen and it triumphed over everything the three had seen in their games.
Bodies were laid strewn about, half burnt, half melted or half broken.
Some workers clutched their dead colleagues in their embrace, begging them to stay alive with soot and blood covered faces. Some had limbs missing or broken, faces burnt off and skin peeling.
They all looked up at the sound of the doors opening with desperate hungry eyes.
It was fortunate the three wore protective suits. The stench from that room mixed with blood, sweat, burning flesh and more would've made anyone gag and vomit just by stepping into that room.
"Ra...Ramiel..." Sera hoarsely called out, stumbling down the steps to the reception. "Miel!" She screamed his name, running through the rows and rows of the wounded and dead. "Miel!"
Vacant bleak eyes followed her move, some trembled to speak a little but made no noise. Their voices were nearly gone from the smoke. Leora followed Sera while Wells stood near the entrance, too stunned to move.
"Miel!" Sera screamed into the echoing reception of the plant, still running through the living corpses of the plant workers.
She almost ripped her mask and helmet off but Leora rushed to stop her. Tears ran down her face as she let out a loud and ugly sob before crying out for her older brother.
"RAMIEL!"
"Sera!" From the rows of living corpses, Sera saw Oran and Cyrus run in from another entrance. "In here!" He ran over to her and pulled her with him.
Noticing the tired and desperate gaze of the plant workers, Sera pulled free from Oran and turned to the wraiths. "The door...it's open." She wetted her dry lips and tried hard to project her voice. "There's no one guarding that entrance. GO!"
As soon as she was done speaking, the plant workers rose from the dead and started to hurry towards the entrance.
Rushing through the stampede, Sera ran back to Oran and let him lead her to another section of the plant.
"What's going on?" Leora asked with Wells behind them checking the device on his wrist.
"We were called to the plant early from Hadrian 3 and assigned here." Cyrus started, going down some steps and leading them into a tunnel which was wrapped in some white metal and plastic covering.
"Without any official announcements?" Sera questioned.
Wells' device calmed down and he took the lead. "There wasn't any official posting 'bout the openin' of Nero or any transfers." Wells stated, looking at Oran and Cyrus.
"No, there wasn't because Nero wasn't supposed to be running again for at least another year or two." Oran admitted.
"And how do you know that? You don't work for any of the plants, last I remembered you're the errand boy doin' odd jobs to keep his family afloat."
"Errand boy?" Sera furrowed her brows and looked at Oran. He didn't meet her gaze. "I thought you were an apprentice at Hadrian 3."
With a grim look, Wells shook his head. "Not anymore, he's not. They're shutting Hadrian 3 to move staff from Clemensia 2 over, they're gonna turn Clemensia 2 into a solar plant. Though, I think your brother's keeping his job at Clemensia 2. Now, Oran, right? How'd you know so much about Nero?"
Oran's face hardened, his jaws clenched and he tightened his fists. "I...uh...just know." Was all he managed to muster up without giving too much away.
"You just know?" Leora echoed, curiously stared Oran. "No one believes that."
"Cyrus told me about the change this morning and I rushed to tell Sera. Tell him." Oran looked to Sera to back him.
"He did." Sera confirmed, upset that she didn't know about this herself.
Oran did try to warn her.
The small voice in the back of her head nagged her. He did. Not one but multiple times, every time he saw her. It was her who was running from him and any other responsibilities she had. She didn't want any part in anything.
She was too busy trying to be a wallflower, not realizing that it was too late and she'd already caught the attention of many to hide away.
Wells whistled and checked the device on his wrist again. "You were one of those who broke in here, weren't ya?"
Cyrus sighed loudly and stood in front of Oran. "Leave him alone, he did it for a good cause."
"Course he did. That's what they all say and next you know, he's being flayed out in the open in Foxhalo."
A headache was starting to form and the whispering overlapping voices of Eugene, Gaius, Ripley and Amethyst didn't exactly help.
Sera pulled Wells and Oran apart. "He made a mistake and so what? I don't care what either of you have to say, my brother's somewhere in here and I need to find him."
Wells whistled and threw his head back. "Looks like the Flower of Panem's angry. Come to think of it, that's the most I heard you speak."
She glared sharply at Wells and Leora pulled him back. The two had already witnessed what Sera could do when she was angry and desperate, she didn't even hesitate. The last thing either of the two wanted was to be the target of Sera's blades.
"Shh." Cyrus held up a finger to his lips and quietened the group. "I hear footsteps."
Quietening her breathing, Sera took out her blades, much to her party's surprise. She craned her head to the side and counted. Five Peacekeepers. She'd like to get past them without violence or hurting them but it seemed nearly impossible.
"I could distract them." Oran offered, his voice quiet and barely coherent.
Wells and Leora shook their heads. They all waited counting as the skies outside became darker with fumes from Nero. Time was ticking and Sera could faintly hear the soft ticking of the clock back at the safe house they left behind.
"Your brother's dying." Eugene laughed in Sera's face. His ghostly decayed specter hovered close to her face. "Your fault..."
Again, Eugene's voice goaded her into acting and before Sera could stop herself, she'd already taken out three blades. She couldn't miss. She watched the three closest to them walk around and shoot down an innocent plant worker begging for water before continuing their patrol.
These Peacekeepers weren't there to help people. They were really there to silence them.
Sera didn't wait another moment and threw one blade after another. Each landed on the unprotected necks of the Peacekeepers. They clutched their throat as blood spurted out of the wounds, drowning them before they fell to their knees with a soundless scream.
The two other Peacekeepers patrolled unaware of the deaths of their comrades while Sera's party looked on in horror and shock. For the first time ever, Cyrus and Oran couldn't recognize their childhood friend.
This wasn't the Sera they knew.
It couldn't be.
She didn't look back at the two and focused her attention on the remaining two Peacekeepers. There was no point hiding her thorns when her brother's life was on the line and Five was falling apart.
Cyrus nearly let out a yelp of horror but Oran and Wells quickly silenced him as Leora snuck in and retrieved the blades Sera threw. Sera held out her right hand expecting Leora to give the blades back.
Leora had other plans. She, like Sera, had a skill for throwing knives. It was a common skill in Five since there was little to do in their district. That alongside chess.
Crouching under a fallen column, Leora held up the blade, she drew her arm back and carefully aimed at the one closest to her while Sera watched her for a second. Leora's blade flew through the air and landed right on the head of the passing-by Peacekeeper.
A loud cracking noise was heard between the sirens of Nero's walls and the cries of its workers. The Peacekeeper scrambled to get the blade out of his head and signal his comrade but he was losing his sense fast. With one scream, he fell dead though he managed to alert his comrade, much to Sera's anger.
"Should've let me do it!" Sera hissed, drawing her blade fast and aiming it before launching it straight at the neck of the remaining Peacekeeper right before they found her and her party.
"The neck is their weak point, okay!" She marched over to the dead Peacekeepers and slit their throats in case they woke up. "There's a fault in their uniforms in the neck so you," Leora was in her gaze. "Aim for the neck. They die quicker and they can't scream. Their vocal cords are cut immediately if you aim it right."
Leora stumbled back, suddenly nervous around the younger victor but again she felt more alive than she had before. There was a strange sick glint in her eyes and her lips turned upward into a small proud grin. "I'll keep that in mind." She said as Sera tossed her a few blades. "Not bad. Not bad at all."
Laughter was heard and Wells was shaking his head in disbelief. "Not bad?! She just took out four Peacekeepers without alerting the others. That's not bad...that's amazing." Cyrus and Oran didn't share his sentiments and backed away from the trio of victors. "Kid, you, deserved that win. I don't care what those damned career victors like Enobaria and Brutus say—you deserved that win. I'll be damned if anyone forgets."
"Four? You mean three." Cyrus looked between the victors.
They all ignored him and Sera pulled Wells' arm. "I'd like everyone to keep their mouths shut about this entire day."
"You don't have to tell me twice." Wells licked his lips with excitement and Leora felt the same. Sera was not another Porter. The thought reassured them temporarily until they realized she might be even more dangerous than Porter. At least, she was on their side.
"Sera..." Cyrus nervously called out to her, eyes wide with terror.
When Cyrus called her name, she remembered then she and other victors weren't alone. She plastered a hollow smile on her face as if nothing had happened. "Let's find my brother." Was all she could say to him but Wells pulled them back.
"Wait. Wait. We can't leave these bodies here." He motioned to the bodies on the floor. "We have to get rid of them before other Peacekeepers find 'em."
"What do you want us to do?" Oran asked, exasperated and unnerved by the victors.
"We can't...d-dismember them." Cyrus nervously glanced around.
"There's a raging fire in that room." Oran quietly pointed at the room across the hall. "I wouldn't recommend going in there not without protective gear."
"Lucky us that we sto—borrowed these from a bunch of Peacekeepers." Wells stated.
Sera rolled her eyes, annoyed at Wells for telling the two of her childhood friends what they did before pulling him back by his collar and dragging him close to her. "Why don't you tell 'em everything, even the radioactive-stuff. Did you forget? They're not like us! They're civilians! Innocents!" She hissed, keeping her smile on while giving Wells an earful.
Wells muttered some curses under his breath, nodding along.
Sera was obviously right and even if Oran knew more than average civilians, he was still a civilian, a rebellious one too. Cyrus was an innocent.
"You two, wait here. The three of us will be back in a minute."
Leora followed Wells; Sera lingered behind a little, she had so much to say but didn't know how she'd say it so she said nothing and left. Wells dragged two bodies across the hall and up the small steps before kicking the locked door open. He tossed the bodies in and waited for Leora and Sera.
He did the same to the three other bodies and watched as the flames consumed the bodies before shutting the door.
Motioning Oran and Cyrus to carry on their path, Wells came back with Sera and Leora while keeping an eye out for more Peacekeepers. "Lead the way."
Through the winding white metal halls and debris, Oran and Cyrus ran through them to lead the three victors into another set of halls. These halls weren't metal or concrete but they were covered in white plastic.
There was a quiet hum in the air as Oran slowed down and motioned the party to be silent.
"Where are we?" Leora scanned the endless white halls while twirling the borrowed blades between her fingers. Her movements were less graceful than Sera's and occasionally she'd check her motions to mimic her. "Hello? Did you hear me? Where are we?"
"We heard you." Oran snapped. "We're in Zone 5—currently, the designated safe zone. Most of the senior and new apprentices were here...including Ramiel."
Sera pushed Wells and Leora aside. "What was he doing here? I don't remember him being assigned to Nero." She made sure he wouldn't.
"I don't know much. All I remember seeing is his name was on the system when we...b-broke in again."
"Again?" She echoed, tilting her head to the side. "Oran!" She hissed. "Are you insane? You could've died or worse!"
Cyrus jumped to his defense. "He didn't have a choice—none of us did. He just did what was right."
"I don't think either of you understand what they do to rebels."
"Oh we know. We saw it while you were gone." Sera flinched at Cyrus' words and turned away.
"Not like she had a choice." Leora pointed out.
"You three are victors, I'm sure you all have more choices than us." Leora and Wells snickered, shaking their heads. "You do...you have a big home, wealth and food. What more do you want?"
"A lot. The home, wealth and food are just gilded cages." Wells muttered just quiet enough for the rest to hear. "Heck, I'd like a family."
Sera flinched again, being reminded of her own family. She brushed past them and carried on down the hall, ignoring Oran's warnings. The hall ended and led Sera to another reception area.
Unlike the previous one, the one in front of her was much calmer. Clean floors with white stretchers laid out in front of her with little to no Peacekeepers. Medics hovered around the injured who lay calmly on the floor, looking much better than their peers in the hellish reception.
All workers were being treated. Most were bandaged, some were unconscious and were given saline. The rest were carefully brought from other ends of the halls and laid down on the empty stretchers.
"I...don't understand." Sera muttered, walking down the rows of the injured. "Wha..."
Oran caught up to her and grabbed her by her arm. "Zone 5 is...was mostly used by workers—engineers actually from Lux, upper and middle Hollow." He explained, leading her through the maze.
None of the injured paid them any mind and carried on resting or engaging in quiet chatter with the rest. "And the ones trapped in the other zone."
"Zone 2, most were from the Slog and primarily worked closest to the reactors."
"Why were they not brought here?"
"They don't want them to be treated. They're the disposables." Oran looked grimly at the pristine white floors of Zone 5 reception. "The dregs. Nobody cares whether they live or die."
"There's more medics outside." Wells pointed to the tall windows where the medics were buzzing around with medical boxes, dressed up in cream hazard suits with a small red cross on their arms. "Shit, look at that." He pointed outside.
In the distance, there was a cast area covered in white sheets. They all paled when they realized what it was.
A field of corpses.
Sucking in a deep breath, Sera approached the window and placed a hand on it. "...How many people do you think died?" There was a quiet shakiness to her voice and her body trembled as she spoke.
Fear gripped her tightly as the thought of her brother being among them haunted her.