Death always seemed to leave Coriolanus feeling funny, a form of emptiness that didn't bring forth tears but a grumbling stomach. He tried to drink as much water as he could on the ride back home, chugging back cups of it in hopes of calming the raging storm brewing inside of his stomach. Food never got to him though, and he was thankful the peacekeepers accompanying them didn't offer him anything. If anything were to touch his lips right now, he'd vomit.
Coriolanus and Olivia sat shoulder to shoulder, jostling in line with the train as it veered back towards the Capitol. The trees seemed to move even slower than on the way there, and he prayed they weren't being secretly sent someplace else other than home. The buzz of the conversation behind them filled his hears, and their current stench filled his nose. They reeked of blood and ash that was Three. Factory smoke clung to their clothes and soot to their skin. And blood. The Mayor's blood. It coated his jacket and slacks, having splattered all over him when the general blew his head off.
A soft hand pulled him out of his thoughts. Olivia offered him a handkerchief, dampened with some of their drinking water and a small smile.
"May I?" She asked, gesturing towards his face. All he could do was nod in response, leaning forward a bit so she'd be able to wipe his face. His stomach gargled at the movement and he willed himself to hold down whatever was left inside of him.
She dabbed his face softly, careful to avoid the part of his jaw still bruised from that night at the club. Once finished, he took the cloth from her and did the same, his fingers lightly tapping against her skin, the blood and ash mixing together to form something horrid. The remnants of District Three.
He so badly wanted to wrap his arms around her, to pull her in close and will the violence of Three from his memory forever. But he couldn't. His arms were weak and his heart beating much too fast to be the person offering comfort. Instead, he slumped back and tried to stretch out his legs, not bothering to close his eyes as sleep would never reach him. Not until he was home.
A small hand reached into his, soft and warm. Squeezing. Offering comfort.
He felt even sicker.
How weak he must look.
Body practically trembling and stomach growling like that little boy he used to be, yearning for cans of paste. Anything to satiate the rumbles.
"Don't push me away. Not now. Not after all of this." Olivia's voice came out quiet, yet stern, yanking his attention away from his own faults and staring right up at her.
"You save me. And I save you. Got it?" Her voice unwavering. Her green eyes leaving no room for disagreement.
"You watched him get shot so I didn't have to. I owe you, alright?" She argued, squeezing his hand again.
All he could do was nod. He squeezed her hand back, letting the adrenaline finally wash out of him.
You save me. I save you. The words repeated in his mind. So simple. Such an easy compromise to make, even for him.
He squeezed her hand again, lacing their fingers together. Hoping his voice didn't stutter and pitch when he spoke next.
"Deal." He managed to get out, sneaking a glance at her to see if she was just lying to appease him. Trying to make him relax so he wouldn't throw up all over her. Olivia's face didn't falter, she didn't look annoyed or repulsed by his show of emotion. She was working hard to mask her own feelings, trying not to shrink back into her seat and tuck her legs against her chest, like when the bombs were falling all around her. They were two of the same. Troubled, but too proud to let it sink it. It would wash away tonight, when they showered and the blood and the soot went down the drain. They would come out clean, anew, and alive. Unlike the rebels.
"We can't pick Three." He said, turning to look over at her again, their hands still locked. She raised a confused, tired eyebrow at him. "They'll make Three pay for that rebel attack in the games. She'll make it happen. Dr. Gaul." He explained. Olivia nodded in response, drinking more of the water.
"That leaves us three others to choose from. All well fed, all strong. We run the risk of getting a kid from the poorer outskirts, but that would be the same for all of them." Olivia shared her thoughts, trying to weigh out the pros and cons of each without using too much energy. Her head was pounding, begging her to try and close her eyes.
"I guess it just depends on how literally we think Dr. Gaul will take to this year's theme." Coriolanus mused, leaning back down against the train seat.
"Maybe we should pay her a visit then." Olivia said, her voice even. Coriolanus nodded, twisting the idea around in his head, wondering if Dr. Gaul would consider it a favor and he'd owe her one.
"I'm sure she'd appreciate a first-hand recollection of the uprising." His voice sweetened, the confident velvet returning as he straightened up. Purpose filled him again. Clarity.
Turning a trauma into an opportunity, his specialty.
Olivia let out a deep breath she didn't realize she was holding, letting her shoulders slink back into the seat, letting her legs stretch out and her jaw unclench.
"Tomorrow morning then, yes?" She asked, her green eyes flaring up at him.
Turning a trauma into an opportunity, a skill she'd been practicing her entire life.
"Tomorrow." He agreed, tugging on her hand, willing her to come closer.
She shifted, her side connecting with his, her head lulling into his shoulder, finally relaxing enough to let her eyes close. His quickly followed suit, his breath even.
-
The train came to a stop, jerking both of them awake, their bodies getting up quick and the blood rushing to their heads. Steadying themselves, they marched off the train, yearning for their feet to touch the safety of the Capitol.
Coriolanus had dreamed that the train didn't head back home – but instead took him back to Twelve where he was to be a peacekeeper for twenty more years, the games and Olivia Lumen a forgotten memory. A life he'd never live again.
Olivia's mind was filled with chattering of teeth. The sound her body made when she huddled under the table during the war, hoping that the ceiling wouldn't fall on top of her. Concrete slabs would fall down, crushing the table and her beneath it. And then the rebels in Three were chasing her. Capturing her and chaining her legs up in that factory, forcing her to build weapons to be used against her own people. She woke with a jolt.
As soon as their feet touched the ground of the station, all restlessness washed away. They were reinvigorated – as the heart of the Panem gave back to them. As the Districts pumped their vile blood into the organ, and it purified it, sending it back out to the people who needed it the most.
"Coriolanus!" A familiar voice shouted above the guzzling train, pushing past the few people waiting to get on until they enveloped him in a hug. Tigris almost knocked him down to the ground with her force, only pulling away to grip his face in her hands, shaking him. Like he had gone mad.
"We were all so worried when we heard." She cried out, tears starting to spill. He hugged his cousin back, hoping he didn't worry her too much.
Another body joined them, Ma Plinth, who stood there shakily,, sobbing fat tears and blotting them away with her cloth. She was wailing too much to speak, so Coriolanus offered to stifle her with a hug, biting back whatever snide comment he'd make about her if the circumstances were different. She thought she'd lost another son today, to the same rebellion that took the last.
"Olivia, are you alright dear?" Victor Lumen's voice cut through the air, engulfing his daughter in a tight hug. He was one of the first people at the Capitol to hear, and the first one to make his way down to the train station, pending their arrival.
"I'm alright father. You should see the other guys." She strangled out, a laugh choking in her throat. Once Victor looked into his daughter's eyes he knew she was trying to be strong. For him, for the crowd, for Coriolanus. He didn't press. He let her have her jokes and in a few week's time when they got together for a late night slice of bread, he'd ask her all of the questions that stirred up inside of him today.
Victor patted his daughter on the shoulder and caught Coriolanus' attention. Closing the distance with the boy, Victor clasped each of his hands onto his shoulders, his grip tightening. He looked Coriolanus dead in the eye's as he said his next words.
"Thank you for bringing her home." Unwavering and grateful, Victor's hands dropped from the boy's shoulders to pull him into a hug, his arms wrapping around Coriolanus the same way he had Olivia.
While close, so no one else could hear, Victor continued. "I know you're the reason you two got out of there. Truly, I thank you. Anything you need, Coriolanus, please let me know. You've put me in a debt that money simply can't repay." Victor's voice hummed pleasantly against his ears.
Not what I was expecting, he thought.
Victor patted him roughly on the back again, and shook his hand once more, clasping both hands around his. Coriolanus followed his lead, too tired to read into anything anymore.
Panem would still need saving tomorrow, he reminded himself.
-
Dr. Gaul's laboratory in the Citadel was oddly empty. Coriolanus assumed there'd be more technicians bustling around, eager to put the final touches on the elements in the games. Or developing a truth serum to use on the rebels that were newly captured. Maybe they'd let him administer the first ever dose.
Olivia waited next to him, the exhaustion of yesterday's events washed away by a warm shower and a comfortable bed. It further justified their recommendations for the game. How easy it was to swallow down the pain and sadness when you had a good meal and a comfortable place to live. The Tributes would indeed fall in line.
They waited together for Dr. Gaul to arrive, a comfortable silence between the two of them. Focused more on taking in any changes to the lab – hoping to catch a glimpse of any kind of animals that would be infiltrating the arena. There weren't any colourful snakes this time. He wondered if the rebels would end up here one day, a part of the games they so wished they could end.
Dr. Gaul entered with the same voracity as she did her classroom, with the clang of a door and a cackle leaving her lips. She wasted no time, making her way to the two, her eyes filled with excitement.
"Please tell me why my two star pupils risked their lives going into the Districts? Which one of you had the brilliant idea?" Her voice was light and airy, non-threatening. She was genuinely baffled by them. What gal, what strength, what delirium.
"I did, Dr. Gaul." Olivia answered. A smile widened across Dr. Gaul's face, her head nodding up and down, reminiscing.
"Your mother had that familiar crazy about her." Dr. Gaul laughed out. "I used to work with her, a long time ago. It served her well." Her voice like honey, if honey turned into a fly trap.
Olivia pursed her lips, waiting for the woman to continue.
"And what did you learn, Olivia? From your little trip to the Districts..." Her voice was tantalizing now, as if she was offering them another secret in exchange for theirs.
"That the world is an arena." She deadpanned back. "And that the show hasn't reached all of the Districts yet." She finished off. Earning another nod from Dr. Gaul.
"Yes... Perhaps Three would have behaved differently if they watched the last one. They'll be watching the next one, I can promise you that." Dr. Gaul answered, still trying to beckon them forward. Wanting more but not wanting to offer anything up.
"And the rebels... what were they like?" She asked, her eyes focusing in on Coriolanus. The newly appointed rebel killer.
"Rebellious." He panned back at her, his voice smooth and confident. A small smile picked up at the corner of her lips, a quiet laugh fulling the room.
"Good work capturing that young rebel – the one who was in the Justice building. The Capitol commends you. She's proven quite useful. Those loose lips of hers." Dr. Gaul proceeded. Every conversation with her was a dance of some kind. Baiting and parrying.
"I only wish to serve the Capitol." He mused back. Waiting. Waiting for her to drop one of those delicious bombs she always seemed to have on hand.
"Have you told her yet?" Dr. Gaul asked, her eyes shifting between Coriolanus and Olivia. A moment passed before she clarified, "about what I showed you in the gamemakers room?" Baiting him. Testing him.
"Yes, I told her. She's my partner after all." He challenged back.
"Not surprising Mr. Snow. The Capitol clings to those who seek to shape the future, the right way. You and Ms. Lumen are no different. Two sides of the same coin." She said aloud, her recognition was all he needed to feel safe in his spot, a weight off his shoulders. She wasn't going to get rid of him just yet. He was still useful. They were still useful.
"What did you think of my little hint, Ms. Lumen?" She asked, her head cocked to the side.
"I think there's only one District well equipped to win. If it's accurate, that is." Olivia teetered back, testing the waters. She was observant between the exchanges, watching how Coriolanus danced around Dr. Gaul. Respectful yet reaching.
Dr. Gaul smiled, wide and promising. Her eyes flickering around the two futures in front of her. Burning bright, lighting the way.
"Every hour the waters shall rise until a Victor is crowned." Dr. Gaul recited, each word even louder than the next. "Humorous, your father was." She shot a pointed look at Coriolanus. "And it's a good idea, nonetheless. A new arena, a new era." She continued, Coriolanus and Olivia hanging onto every word. Her voice tittering.
"If you weren't in Three, I don't know if we'd all still be here today." Her tone different now, the humour lacking, leaving a dryness in the air. She eyed them carefully, leaning in slightly as if she were about to share a ghost story.
"The theme will be honoured." She finished off, her gaze still lingering. Watching for their reactions. Another smile enveloped her face, giving them the last piece of flesh they thought they craved.
"There is one other thing – Mr. Snow and Ms. Lumen. The rebels will be publicly executed in the Capitol, it's to be aired to all of the Districts before the games. And the President wants you two to give a speech."