act one. fuel the flames
one ┈➤ the odds are against us
"gem of panem
heart of justice
wisdom crowns your marble brow
you give us light
you reunite
to you we make our vow"
➥ GEM OF PANEM, SUZANNE COLLINS
Venus Faraday stared across the lake's surface, her shoulders heavy, and her chest feeling constricted. Something about the slight breeze that skated across the surface and blew at her hair was a little comforting, but still, it couldn't ease the tension in the air.
The lake was a solace for her, just like that little clearing in the woods. A little pocket in time and space where she could go to ignore all else, just for her, her brother and sister, and her friend.
She was lucky enough that nobody was around, save for the twins. She could be relatively on her own, left to her thoughts. If only her mind wasn't swarming with horrors now.
She'd woken last night screaming, her body crawling in a cold sweat. It wasn't uncommon. Nightmares plagued by empty, soulless eyes, splattered blood, the gleam of crimson on the edge of a blade. They'd been much more frequent after the games, occurring nightly, and even making their appearances during the day.
A grey sky loomed over her, varying shades of the colour twisting around each other like snakes and accompanying one another. It was probably one of the reasons that nobody was around. Work had finished for the day, and often there'd be people walking around, doing other things, sometimes children would be playing, but today there was nobody. Like the weather had scared them into their homes.
That probably wasn't what had convinced people to stay inside, given the day, but it may have been a push to keep them in.
This year marked eight years since Venus' games.
Eight years, and still the horrors pursued her, hunted her like rabid animals. And though she didn't wake up screaming and thrashing every night anymore, the guilt that settled in her chest was something she thought she'd never let go.
Survivor's guilt, her father had told her once, was irrational. It was a curse of undeserved blame, another way for you to give yourself responsibility, because people will always find ways to blame themselves for something. It was another way for death and loss to rob you, of your joy instead of simply stealing your loved ones.
Twenty three others, children, had died so that she could live. But with all of them gone, how could she live, truly? She wished she could've remembered them better, so that their deaths hadn't been for nothing. But she barely knew most of them, all she could do was know their names.
This year also marked the seventy fifth Hunger Games.
Every twenty five years, a Quarter Quell was held. The Hunger Games ran still, with a twist. The last one, the fiftieth games, had double the tributes. The one before that forced the districts to elect their own tributes for the games. In the first Quell, the districts had to select their own tributes, in place of the regular reaping.
The Victor of the second Quarter Quell was one of the tributes from Twelve, Haymitch Abernathy. Venus knew him fairly well by now. She saw him each year, talked to him sometimes too. Mentors tended to become friends, or at least acquaintances, and he'd sat with her and a couple of others when they'd watched the games in the Capitol a few times. Venus was quite certain she'd never known him sober. It was a coping mechanism. Everybody needed one.
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𝐁𝐑𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐍 𝐈𝐃𝐎𝐋| 𝐟.𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐢𝐫
Fanfiction"the odds are NEVER in our favour." it's been eight years since venus faraday's games, and last year seemed to mark a change for all of panem. two victors were declared, and their victory tour seemed to mark the beginnings of rebellion. venus is t...
