I was right.
Nothing could stop Snow's messed up head.
The games were going to continue.
I was currently up on the rooftop of our living quarters, just chilling and looking out on the view of the Capitol.
It was beautiful.
Although we were very fortunate at district 4, everyone in the districts would give up everything to live in the Capitol. It was just better.
The people however, was not. They were sick and messed up. Brainwashed by Snow. It angered me everytime I thought about all these people who supports and enjoys watching kids rip each other apart meanwhile they got to watch safely here in the Capitol.
There was nothing I wanted more than to host a Capitol's Hunger Games. To let them get a taste of their own medicine. To get them to watch their loved ones die like we tributes have, have them fight and kill each other like we did, then having to live after all of it as a victor.
I just wanted them to suffer as much as they made us.
But a girl could only dream.
Because instead, I was the one being sent back into that nightmare. Having to once again fight for my life.
As I stood thinking about the games tomorrow, I couldn't help but think about Halo.
My district partner. My saviour.
We were never close at first, but him and Finnick had been close friends ever since they were little. In a span of a few hours inside the arena, we grew really close, which only made his death harder to bear.
FLASHBACK
It was the second day of the annual hunger games. I woke up to the sound of shoes hitting the leaves on the floor. Someone was running towards my hiding spot up in the trees.
I quickly grabbed the knife that I stuck to the tree and stood silently, waiting to kill the tribute who came across me.
"Katia! Katia Help!"
W- Huh? I recognised that voice.
It was my district partner, Halo.
He stopped a few feet away from the tree I was hiding in and looked around. I was about to hop down from the tree and reveal myself to him when I heard another voice coming towards us.
I turned to the direction of the voice to see the boy from ten walking towards Halo with a knife in hand.
This boy didn't look like a threat at all. He smirked at Halo, causing him to take a step back but he immediately froze once his back had come into contact with something. Another body. The girl from 8.
The two tributes cornered him into a fallen log. He was on the floor all helpless with nothing but a bow and some arrows. They were saying something to him but I was now too far away to hear a word.
I carefully put my bag on my back as I grabbed another knife from my pack so I had a knife in each hand. I watched as the boy from 10 used his knife to cut into Halo's cheek while the girl continued to taunt him.
Before they could do anything else, I threw the knife on my right hand, hitting the boy from ten on the back of his head, killing him instantly.
BOOM!
The girl from eight didn't have time to react before I aimed my other knife at her head and releasing. Also killing her instantly.
BOOM!
Halo looked scarred as their bodies fell to the ground in front of him. He looked around to see who had saved him before his eyes landed on me hopping down from the tree, my spear in hand just in case.
"Katia!" He says relieved once he recognised my figure approaching him.
"You could've easily killed them with your bow. Could've saved me the trouble." I told him, as I helped him up from the ground.
"Thank you Katia, I-i didn't know there were two of them, I panicked." He answered.
"Well then, guess I better go and find another tree to hide in." I said as I started to walk away.
"Wait-" Halo called out as he grabbed onto my left wrist. Out of pure instinct, I quickly turned around and raised my spear to his throat. He gulped before letting go of my wrist which allowed me to slowly lower my spear.
"Let me come with you Katia. I'm nowhere near as good as you at fighting but I have other skills too. Plus wouldn't it be nice to have some company?" He pleaded.
I thought for a moment about his offer. I never wanted an ally to begin with seeing as how that worked out for Finnick. But Halo seemed desperate and I knew he couldn't kill me even if he tried.
"How do I know I can trust you? And don't say it's because you're my district partner because i've watched enough games prior to know how that worked out for some." I explained.
"You just have to." He replied blandly.
END OF FLASHBACK
I sighed at the memory.
I decided to not think about it anymore and instead focus on the gorgeous view in front of me. This could be the last time I ever look out onto the Capitol, so I wanted to treasure this moment.
That was until I heard the elevator ding, indicating someone was here.
"How did I know you would be here little devil?"
I turned around with a smile as I recognised the voice clearly. "Hey Haymitch" I greeted while pulling him into a hug.
"How you holding up? I'm sorry I haven't been able to check up on you this whole time we've been here."
"It's fine, i'm fine. Well as fine as one can be after processing the fact she'll be back in her worst nightmare tomorrow." I replied coldly.
"See Kat, after all these years I still don't get you. Everyone knows you're this vicious sociopath who enjoys killing people, but here you are telling me that the arena is your 'worst nightmare'." Haymitch asked curiously.
"Because it is! I'm sick of people calling me a heart-less little girl! I'm still a human being. I don't feel any remorse for those I killed but the arena scares me just like all the other tributes. This isn't like last time, this time I'm going in with people I love, people I grew up with, my own blood! Last time I was in there, I lost Halo. Who knows who i'll lose this time." I didn't mean to lash out on Haymitch, but the stress just got to me.
"I get it Katia, I do. I think sometimes people including you, forget i'm a victor too. I also watched my district partner die in my arms." Haymitch grew quieter at the end as he talked about his partner.
"What happened to her?" I asked. Haymitch never talked about his games so I wanted to learn more.
"Well, there's not much to say, it was the second quarter quell so there was double the tributes but there was only me and Maysilee left for district 12. We stayed together until there was 5 of us left, then we decided it was best to go our seperate ways. But not a minute later, I heard her screaming. She was attacked by the birds and I was too late to save her. I felt hopeless just sitting there and holding her." He explained sadly. I stayed silent, not know what to say after that.
"Seeing Halo die in your arms, Rue dying in Katniss', it just brought back bad memories. It's just a never ending cycle. You know how it felt, holding them until their last breath, feeling helpless with no way of saving them. If we don't do anything about it now, more people will have to go through that same exact pain. And that's why i'm here actually." I swallowed a harsh breath at the mention of Halo, but furrowed my eyebrows in confusion at the end of Haymitch's sentence.
"What are you talking about?" I questioned.
"I just have one favour to ask of you. Please Katia, before you refuse, hear me out until the end."
Haymitch nodded at my silence before continuing. "I need you to not kill Katniss and Peeta. I know this is hard for you and you have this whole plan set out on how you want them to suffer but you don't understand, we need them for something more important than this revenge fantasy you have going on in your head and-"
"Absolutely not." I interrupted before Haymitch could continue rambling. "you don't understand Haymitch. They weren't both supposed to live, it's one victor only, not two. I can't do that favour for you, but I can give you my word that I will only kill one of them." I paused to hear Haymitch's reaction but he didn't say a word.
"I only want one of them to suffer like we all did. I want them to feel how we felt hearing the canon go off while we held our district partner's lifeless body. I can't get that by killing them both." I explained further.
"Katia, I know you have suffered greatly, and I know now that I can't do anything to change your mind, but I just want you to remember, we are not the enemy you should be targeting, it's them." He said as he motioned to the Capitol. "Good luck tomorrow little devil, I'll be here for you the entire time." He said before walking away and towards the elevator.
I sighed to myself and brought my hands to cover my face. Now that I was alone again, I was now able to process my plan for tomorrow.
Kill. Kill. Kill. Then Come home with my loved ones.
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1632 words!
A/N: Thank you for 5k reads!!!