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ACT I, CHAPTER VIII
from one hell to a worse one
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— SIMONE! NO! — a loud, heartbreaking scream tore from Sparks' throat as she watched the body of a twelve-year-old boy fall into the snow, its white turning to crimson. - I WILL KILL YOU!
The fury in his eyes was visible, even to a blind person. In her ears, Hope could hear her blood boiling and her heart beating rapidly. Tears were streaming down her cheeks.
- Don't be ridiculous, little spark. We have the advantage. - the boy laughed, pointing at her with the knife that had Simon's blood on it.
Her Simon's blood. Her best friend's blood. The blood of the boy who promised her to come home, and to whom she promised safety as long as she could protect him.
She failed. She broke her promises.
While the two tributes from the first district were boasting about their miraculous feat and the fact that they were about to cut off her head, she focused on how to free herself from her imprisonment.
In her blood-stained katanas, she noticed that she and the blonde behind her were finishing off, thanks to which she could see that the girl was standing in a way that made it very easy to knock her down if she placed her foot properly.
Hope's head came up with the perfect plan and was able to kill the two pros quite quickly and avenge her friend.
The redhead felt that her grip on the redhead had loosened due to the laughter coming from the throat of one Alison. With a nimble movement, she freed her hands and grabbed the blonde's hand, which held the knife.
Without much effort, she managed to push its paws away from her and turn gracefully towards her. Instead of ecstasy and happiness, fear appeared in the tribute's eyes, seeing the huge psychic smile on Sparks' face, and pure madness could be seen in her irises.
The leg of the girl from number five slipped into the gap between the legs of the teenager from number one and fell perfectly, giving Hope the opportunity to get to her katana, which she grabbed with a quick and efficient movement. She took an appropriate fighting position, ready for attack from all sides.
She saw the girl getting up from the snow, grabbing the sword of the boy from the other two, and furiously she attacked the red-haired girl. The boy stood there in panic and with the intention of running away from that place as quickly as possible.
Hope, seeing the boy's intentions, allowed him to escape, only to make him suffer even more, living in fear that she might come for him at any moment.
When the blonde was about to hit Hope in the stomach, with a quick, graceful turn she escaped from under her blade, finding herself on her left side.
"Well, we're left alone, honey. - said the blue-eyed girl in a sweet voice, informing that Alison's companion had run away to nowhere and left her for dead.
Her relatives watched the entire scene from the Capitol. Haymitch couldn't believe what he saw. He knew his oldest niece was dangerous when she got angry, but he had never seen her like this. She was ready to murder in cold blood to avenge her friend.
When she killed before, you could see the remorse in her eyes, and more than once you could read it from her lips when she whispered to her victims, silently, I'm sorry, but now... Now she had no mercy at all.
The blonde sat next to his best friend in terror, not taking his eyes off the TV screen.
Tristan, sitting next to the man, was also afraid of what was happening in the arena. He saw Hope angry once. It was the moment when everyone tried to comfort her after her father's death. Things that shouldn't have been flying around the rooms. Now he saw pure fury. A lovely, helpful and obliging girl turned into a killing machine. A machine hungry for revenge that will not rest until it completes its vendetta.
"I haven't seen Hope so angry since..." Veronica began numbly, sitting on Tristan's right.
-Since Eric died. - finished Haymitch, resting on the other side of Tris on the couch.
— No one could get close to her without getting hit in the head by something. - added the black-haired man.
It was September 7th, Hope Sparks' fifteenth birthday, but instead of celebrating it, she found herself in a cemetery.
In the center of the entire gathering was the coffin in which Eric Thomas Sparks lay.
His family stood closest, his son, Victor Eric Sparks, nestled in his father's best friend, Tristan Stefan Scott, his youngest daughter, Mercy Faith Sparks, resting in the arms of his father's cousin, Veronica Dominici Styles, oblivious due to her age, and Hope Vittoria Sparks standing with with a straight face next to her late mother's brother, Haymitch Logan Abernathy.
The eldest daughter stood straight as a string, not letting us know that a part of her had just died. Eric and Hope were like one person. Where there was one, there was another.
Eric Sparks wasn't just her father. He was her best friend and a big part of her.
Everything she learned, she learned from him. He was there for her at every moment of her life.
He was the one who promised to always protect her. Be there for her. Stand faithfully by her side. And at that moment he wasn't there.
First her mother, now her father. She was left alone with her two younger siblings.
When the time came, everyone who was close to Eric would place roses on his coffin.
Tristan placed the first white rose first, followed by Victor. Veronica was next, placing two roses, then Haymitch followed, placing two flowers as well, in memory of his deceased sister. Finally, Hope left the family.
She no longer kept a straight face, she gave vent to her emotions. Tears flowed from her cheeks and her hand touched the lid of the coffin.
— You promised you wouldn't leave me and would protect me. - a quiet whisper came from her mouth. - You didn't let me say goodbye. I don't hate you at all, daddy...
The white rose that the others had, however, was not in Hope's hand. My father asked for white roses in his will. No one knew why, but the redhead had red eyes. She knew perfectly well that her father hated those white flowers with all his heart, so she specifically asked for red ones. There was no objection, after all, he was her father and she wanted to commemorate him differently.
Maybe it was also because no one wanted to encounter young Sparks' hysteria, which could have resulted in serious injuries to the other person.
She placed the flower on the coffin as she walked away and ran straight into Haymitch's arms, who wrapped her in a tight hug, letting her cry and soak his black shirt. He held her so close to him, not letting her look at the scene of the coffin being lowered and covering it with sand.
However, every sound of sand hitting the wooden coffin reached her ears. Every sound was like a dagger to her heart.
Finally, the ceremony ended and Erica, the family, went to Veronica's house, because that was where the children were supposed to live. Hope immediately ran to her room, closing the door behind her with a loud bang.
She sat in her room, crying into her pillow, trying to fall asleep without intentionally, but the bed was too soft. Finally, the fifteen-year-old heard a knock on the door.
- GET OUT! - she shouted, but the person behind the door didn't listen and opened the door.
Hope grabbed the glass that was on the table next to the bed and threw it at the wall next to the wooden slab.
- For what the fuck?! - a scream came from Haymitch's throat, who jumped away from the door at the last moment.
— GET OUT OF THIS ROOM! — another scream came from the redhead from her throat.
- Hope... - he didn't finish because he got hit in the face with a shoe.
He left the room with a pain in his heart and head, but he was not the only one who ended up like this. Anyone who tried to get to her was hit in the skull with something.
- True, I almost hit myself with a glass. The blonde said, flinching at what he just saw in the arena.
Hope knocked the blonde down and straddled her, stabbing her in the chest like they had done to Simon earlier.
- See you in hell, honey. - the red-haired woman added as she was leaving and approached her friend's body.
She knelt next to him and placed his head on her lap. The fury disappeared as quickly as it appeared, and in its place came despair and guilt.
"I'm sorry..." she repeated over and over, stroking the dead boy's blond hair. — I'm so sorry.
Tears fell onto the cold body, but she couldn't let him go. Not now.
Then she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. She slightly raised her lowered head and looked at the person next to her. Her blue irises met metallic ones.
"Everett, I'm so sorry. - she sobbed, pulling him into a hug, which he immediately reciprocated and let his tears flow.
-It's not your fault, Hope. - he whispered through tears.
They spent another moment next to the body when the boy practically pulled his friend away from the blonde's body.
They returned to their camp and quickly gathered their things, walking in silence in search of a new, relatively safe place. Eventually they found themselves at a large body of water with cracked sheets of ice on top.
They made a fire and ate some rations that Hope had stolen from the pros earlier.
They sat in silence, which the boy decided to break.
— Simon was like a brother to you, I would probably react the same if someone did something so cruel to one of my sisters. - he said, without taking his eyes off the fire.
These words surprised Hope a little, because Everett rarely talked about himself.
-Do you have sisters? she asked, trying to change the topic of Simon because it was too painful.
- Yes, two. Katniss and Primrose. - he said, a hint of a smile creeping on his lips at the thought of them. —Katniss is eight now and Prim is four.
— If they're like you, they're wonderful people. - she said comfortingly and put her arm around him.
- They're much better. Katniss is very independent and I am sure that in the future she will cope well with any obstacle, while Prim is a lovely girl who would love to help anyone and take in any injured animal.
They talked some more, mainly about family and their previous lives. However, they avoided the topic of Simon because it was a topic that made their hearts ache for both of them.
They both stayed awake, knowing that something might happen soon. It was early morning and the surroundings were calm. Too calm.
It is not known where the last three professionals came from. Two girls and a boy.
Hope and Everett quickly jumped to their feet and grabbed their weapons. The katanas fit perfectly in Hope's hands, and fury filled her eyes again when she met the gaze of the brunette from the first district.
The boy from number twelve shot an arrow at the girl from number four, but unfortunately she managed to dodge it.
-Everett, run! - Hope ordered, but the boy had no intention of listening to her.
The girl from number four attacked the boy with daggers, he alternately dodged andhe let out shots. One grazed the girl's arm, but the blade stuck in the boy's chest.
Hope, busy fighting with the girl from two and the boy from one, didn't notice what happened, but her friend's scream of pain reached her ears.
With a quick movement, she tempted both of her attackers and ran as fast as she could to the boy. She attacked the girl from number four and plunged her katana into her stomach and watched with fury in her eyes as she fell to the ground.
She quickly knelt down next to the boy's body and burst into tears. She didn't care that she might be killed soon. Her eyes were focused on the body in the once white snow that was now a shade of crimson.
"No... Please don't..." she whispered, salty tears flowing into her mouth.
- Please please. — she heard mocking laughter behind her. — Now you're alone and you have nowhere to run.
She quickly turned her head and noticed that there was a large tank of water in the center behind her.
She slowly got to her feet and looked innocently at her captors. A perfect, but also very risky plan was formed in my head.
— This is the end of the great Hope Sparks! — while the two tributes from number one and two were laughing, she started to back away slightly, feeling the ice under her feet.
The unaware professionals were approaching it and before they knew it, they were in the middle of a large pond, and the ice cracked under their weight with a loud bang, causing them to land in the icy water.
Hope opened her eyes underwater, which made her eyes burn, but at least she had half a view of what was happening. Unfortunately for her, the two tributes also knew how to swim, and a fierce fight began underwater.
Hope was hit in the shoulder, causing the water to turn red from her blood and the blood of her opponents.
No one saw what was happening under the water's surface. Haymitch, Ronnie and Tristan sat on tenterhooks with tears in their eyes.
They didn't know what was happening under the water, whose blood it was. Does Hope win?
Haymitch feared he had lost his hope. Her name was never a coincidence. It was he who gave it to her. She was his hope in the arena and after these deadly games. If he dies, so will what little hope he has.
Screams of pain echoed throughout the Sparks home as a new member of their family was born. Eric Sparks and Haymitch Abernathy stood by Annabeth's bed. They both held her hands and say comforting words of encouragement.
Suddenly the screams stopped and were replaced by loud children's cries.
The daughter of Annabeth Abernathy-Sparks and Eric Sparks was born. Their firstborn.
Eric was the first to take her in his arms and looked into her blue irises. At that moment he was gone forever. He promised to protect her until his last breath.
He finally surrendered it to his wife, who cried with happiness.
- She's so beautiful. - the redhead whispered.
-Like her mother. - her brother said, earning her a smile.
- I need a name. said the woman.
- Aria? - asked the husband, but in response he received a grimace on his sibling's face.
There were a few more ideas that were rejected.
— When I was in the arena, she was my hope. - Haymitch whispered as he held her in his arms, mesmerized by her eyes and the smile she gave him.
—Hope. Annabeth said. - Hope Sparks.
The two men looked at her, smiles on their faces that made it clear that this name was perfect.
-Hope Vittoria Sparks. Eric said, earning a sad smile.
Hope from being Haymitch's hope that helped him win and Vittoria from their deceased mother.
— Welcome to the family, Hope Vittorio Spraks, I am your uncle who promises to protect you to the best of his ability. - promised the blonde and placed a kiss on her forehead, to which she giggled,touching everyone in the room.
When tears tried to flow from Haymitch's eyes, at the same moment Hope nimbly pierced the chest of the girl of the two, and then focused on the boy.
She quickly swam to the boy and with one hand grabbed his arm from the hand in which he held the knife. She looked into his eyes and opened her mouth with difficulty.
- This is for Simon. - she said, swallowing some water and thrusting the katana straight into his chest.
Two shots were heard. Nobody knew who won.
Veronica snuggled into Tristan, unable to watch what was about to happen. Haymitch was shaking with fear, and Tristan himself was having trouble breathing.
Suddenly, a red-haired woman emerged from the water and climbed onto the ice floe with difficulty.
Tears were flowing from her eyes.
After all. She won.
And from one hell she went to an even worse one.
— LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I HAVE THE HONOR TO PRESENT TO YOU THE WINNER OF THE SIXTY-SIX HUNGER GAMES, HOPE SPARKS! HERE'S SHE, A TRIBUTE FROM DISTRICT FIVE!
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