AS THE LUNCHEON was finishing up, Satyria gathered the twenty-two active mentors and informed them that not only were the Hunger Games still on, but they were also supposed to be the most visible yet.
The mentors were about to escort their tributes on a tour of the arena that very afternoon. It was going to be aired live to the entire Panem, somehow driving home the resolution Dr. Gaul had made at the funeral.
The Head Gamemaker declared that separating the Capitol kids from the district ones suggested weakness as if they were too afraid of their enemies to be in their presence or so.
The tributes would be handcuffed but not fully shackled. The Peacekeepers's top sharpshooters would be among their guards, but the mentors were to be seen side by side with their charges.
Some of Anemone's classmates's parents had lodged complaints about shoddy security after Arachne's death (including the Cranes), but no one spoke up, none of them wanted to be seen as cowardly.
The mentors piled into a few Academy vans and headed for the Capitol Arena, which had been built across the river to prevent crowds from swamping the downtown.
Professor Sickle, their chaperone for the outing, ordered the mentors to leave their belongings in the vans when they arrived.
"I wish I had a chance to get Mizzen something to eat," said Anemone as she left the van together with Persephone. "I haven't brought food for Tanner either." The Price girl shrugged.
The tributes were standing in a line in handcuffs, heavily guarded by Peacekeepers. The mentors were directed to take their places beside their respective tributes, who'd been lined up numerically, so Anemone found herself and Mizzen standing somewhere in between.
Anemone turned around to scan the tributes and their mentors, and that's when she realized Clemensia wasn't with them.
The immediate feeling of guilt washed over Anemone as she started to feel bad. She hadn't noticed that Clemmie was gone - not even mention about searching for her at the funeral.
Then it was the desperate feeling of wanting to know where was Clemmie. Anemone turned around to face Festus, "Where's Clemensia?" She asked.
"She's not with us?" Festus raised his eyebrows and turned to where Reaper stood. Once he realized Clemensia wasn't placed next to him, he faced Anemone and shrugged his shoulders.
The Peacekeepers removed the heavy bars from the entrance. The massive doors swung open, revealing a huge lobby lined with boarded-up booths and fly-specked posters advertising events from before the war. Holding their formation, the kids followed the soldiers deep within to the far side of the lobby.
A bank of full-height turnstiles, each with three curved metal arms, stood covered in a thick layer of dust. They required a Capitol token for admittance, the same one still used for the price of a trolley fare.
Anemone remembered this place. Before the war, it was meant for the poor people.
The Crane family had entered the arena at another entrance, demarcated by a velvet rope. Their box was near the ones meant for the richest Capitol families.
Peacekeepers posted at two turnstiles pumped tokens into the slots so each tribute and mentor could pass through simultaneously. At each rotation, a cheerful voice piped,
"Enjoy the show!"
"Can't you override the ticket barrier?" asked Professor Sickle. "We could if we had the key, but no one seems to know where it is," said a Peacekeeper.
On the far side of the turnstiles, a squad of Peacekeepers marched into a passageway, guided only by the red glow of emergency lights on the floor.
On either side, smaller arches leading to different seating levels were marked. The line of tributes and mentors fell into step, flanked by tight columns of Peacekeepers. Some of the mentors and tributes gasped at the sheer size of the place and the grandeur that defied even the decay.
Walking past Lepidus Malmsey, Anemone didn't even bother to do something more but send a glance at the camera.
The memory of the circus performers taking the same route, riding elephants and horses, bespangled and brimming with mirth hit Anemone's mind.
With the exception of Sejanus, probably all of her classmates would have been in the audience, too. Arachne would be dressed in a sequined costume and cheering at the top of her lungs, meanwhile, Anemone would just sit quietly and play with all the toys - including Arachne's.
Anemone could feel the sense of nostalgia even in the silence.
"Hm," Mizzen hummed. "The only place I can hide is the stands."
Anemone blinked, scanning the Arena with her eyes. The worst thing was that Mizzen wasn't wrong. "Most of the tributes are thinking about hiding there. If they make it alive, of course."
After a sigh from Mizzen, she turned to him again, "Listen, I'm sorry about the funeral..."
"Yeah... Did you know?" asked Mizzen.
Anemone swallowed a lump in her throat, considering if she should tell him the truth. Eventually, she came to the point when she decided to do it, "Yes."
Mizzen nodded slowly, before walking over to Coral and leaving Anemone to stare at him with a sense of guilt.
"What happened?"
She turned around to see Festus. Again.
"Nothing." She grumbled. "I'm thinking about the strategy." The lies that escaped her mouth were a newfound feeling for Anemone since she never even considered using them. A fresh thought came to her mind.
Maybe the Hunger Games changed not only the victors.
"You're lying," said Festus. "Yeah and how can you tell?" Anemone let out a small scoff (not a true one, though).
"I would see you lie with the lights out."
Anemone looked away as she felt the heat hitting her cheeks, "Since when do you know me so well?" She asked. "Maybe I always paid attention, and you never noticed," Festus suggested.
Maybe I was in love with you and you never noticed?, thought Anemone.
And then, everything exploded.
That piece of the ceiling must have fallen close by, causing a whole cloud of dust to cover Anemone. She fell to the ground. The shock mixed with fear as she coughed harshly, feeling the dust reach her lungs. She felt weak.
But she had to find Mizzen. Anemone Crane wouldn't let this boy die, especially not if he hadn't got a chance to defend himself.
She narrowed her eyes, searching for the boy. Once she spotted him, she managed to stand up a bit and jog a few meters, but fell soon, due to another explosion.
When Anemone was ready to stand up again, not daring to give up, someone's arm wrapped around her waistline. Festus.
"I need to go to Mizzen!" She screeched, a cough escaping her mouth after. "He's with Coral! Look!" Festus snapped his head right where Mizzen was.
Anemone spotted the boy running to a safer place with Coral, who was holding his hand.
Anemone let out a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness."
"Come on," Festus pulled her to himself after another explosion. Anemone didn't even fight to stay on her own.
One - she felt too weak to do it. Her lungs and muscles seemed to work not in her way (Anemone didn't like it), and the dust made her feel fizzy.
Two - he was her crush.
"Let's go find a safe place," said Festus, still supporting Anemone with his arms as they stood up. "There is no safe place here." She shook her head.
"Then let's go to the exit," Festus declared. But right after he said it, four tributes headed to the exit.
The two of them got shot at the place. The rest managed to get out of the Arena, but due to the sounds Anemone could tell one of them was greeted by death too.
"Okay, let's don't go to the exit."
Festus tried to find a new place, turning around every three seconds to check the Arena. Sometimes they almost fell at the explosions. "Is there really no fucking hiding place? Nothing from the circus?"
Anemone couldn't stand on her legs anymore. Even though Festus was holding her, she fell to the ground as her knees felt like cotton candy.
She let out a harsh cough, letting go of Festus as she supported herself with her arms. She could feel dust reaching her respiratory tract, and she could feel a strain of blood run down her arm.
"Ann?" Festus asked as he kneeled next to her, putting a hand on the girl's back. "Hey, Ann. What's wrong?"
But Anemone shook her head, lowering herself to the ground as everything became blurry. Then, she could see only black.
₊• ↳ a/n
So basically I wrote this chapter waiting for the bus and riding home...
Anyway, hope you liked it
Love,
May