❝ it is sometimes an
appropriate response to
reality to go insane ❞
──⭒─⭑─⭒──
In which an innocent girl finds herself
trapped in an arena with monsters and
her only hope is to claw her way out.
──...
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𝔖omehow, my body doesn't freeze.
"Miss Kennedy."
"President Snow. It's wonderful to see you." My voice doesn't sound like my own as I speak, terror and anxiety wrapping around me as my thoughts flash back to the games and the interviews, President Snow's voice echoing through my ears.
"Sir." Cato's hand on my back drags me from my thoughts, and I take strength from his presence beside me. The dogs are hiding under the kitchen table, not daring to come out or move as we let the man into our house.
He slinks in, followed by an attendant as a host of guards take watch outside of our house. We follow him, as if we are guests despite this being our own home. When he sits in the study, we follow too.
We don't use this room much. The living room is warmer, filled with books and photos of family members and the like. The study is only used if one of us has to prep for an interview, or read speeches that we are set to give in the district. It is too cold and formal to be used for much else.
I sit in the chair opposite the desk, but Cato remains standing behind me, a hand on my shoulder as we wait for the man to speak. He doesn't, for a moment, looking around the room, before turning back to us.
"I think we'll make this whole situation a lot simpler by agreeing not to lie to each other," he says. "What do you think?"
"Yes, that would save time." Cato speaks for both of us. He's the more calculating between us, knowing what to say and do in front of people with positions of power. I know how to speak with people like me, Cato knows how to manipulate others.
"My advisors were concerned that the two of you would be difficult, but you're not planning on being difficult, are you?" he asks, eyes flashing.
"No," I answer for the both of us, shaking my head as Cato nods in agreement.
"That's what I told them. I said any two people who go to such lengths to preserve their life aren't going to be interested in throwing it away with both hands. And then there's their families to think of. Her mother, her father, her sister, his parents, his sister, his brothers."
Cato tenses behind me, as I try my best not to tremble with anger. He's threatening us, our families, in our own home?
"I have a problem, Ms Kennedy," says President Snow. "A problem that began the moment you pulled out those painted poisonous berries in the arena."
