Liberosis - The Hunger Games

07

I startled myself awake in the early hours of the morning, as I checked the time I groaned and rolled to the other side of my bed. I knew sleep wasn't coming, the nightmares of death have become so vivid that sometimes I don't know if dreaming or awake. Instead of lying in a bed that's going to do nothing but taunt me, I find myself in the shower.

After washing myself with some weird mango scrub, I brush my hair and wave it into a single tight braid that goes down to the back of my head. My training clothes sit hanging on the back of my chair, a simple pair of navy-blue leggings, a matching sports bra and a thin navy-blue shirt. I pull off my clothes and fasten a pair of shoes to my feet, deciding to locate the library.

Instead of training myself to the point of exhaustion, I had come up with the idea of familiarizing myself with edible plants and trees. I would save the combat practice and the lighting fires to our scheduled tribute training. Instead, I read up about how to find water, what berries I could eat, what kinds of snakes are venomous, how to warm myself up without lighting a fire. I wanted to prepare myself for anything, I couldn't just rely on the cornucopia for all my supplies.

I sat on one of the comfortable sofas overlooking the city with a book of survivalist skills in hand. The sun had only just risen, highlights the ungodly hour I have woken at. I had just finished the part of the book on tree climbing when I feel the weight of the couch shift. Mags sits beside me holding two mugs of coffee, she passes me the fullest one and greets me with a kind smile.

"You should still be asleep," She points out in a concerned voice, "You have a big day of training ahead of you,"

"I can catch up on sleep when I die," I respond darkly.

Mags chucked and shook her head, "I think you mean if you die, which you won't, Finnick won't let you,"

"But I have to die if I want Thorn to win, he has to go home," I point out determinedly.

"Because you feel like you owe him something?"

"I do owe him something, he saved my brother,"

"He saved your brother so that you had a chance of making it home so that one of you didn't have to kill the other." Mags cut me off, she did have a point but it didn't change the fact that I felt like I owed him something. Mags was clever when it came to people and their feelings, she seemed to know what everyone was thinking before they spoke. It makes me wonder how she won her games and if she used her observational skills to her advantage.

"How did you win your games?" I ask her, crossing my legs and turning to face her properly. I wasn't sure if it was her kind face or her bright smile but Mags has a subtle beauty toward her that I couldn't help but appreciate.

"It was a very long time ago," She taps her chin and pauses for a brief moment, "I did many things that I regret to this day, but you have to understand- the games will hit you where home is, they break you to pieces," She lets out a short sigh, "Aurora you must promise me that you won't linger on what happens in there,"

"You make it sound like I'm going to get out," I chuckle.

"You're going to win, I know you will, I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure you come home to your family," The older woman places a hand on my cheek and I pull her into a hug. I found it hard to fathom how someone as kind as her could have the ability to kill people in the games.

I hear a creak from inside, signalling that somebody else has woken up. Mags and I leave the balcony and make our way indoors where she takes a seat at the dinner table. Finnick greets us from the bathroom door, heavy bags decorating his eyes, he looks bloodshot, like he hadn't slept in months.