Electric Heart (Coriolanus Snow)

9

Sally took her dagger out of the hilt of her pants, and threw it. It was precise and perfect, hitting the dear directly in the stomach. It fell with a thud, and she was pained to hear its cries of agony.

Sally quickly hopped over the rock and began towards it, sullenly putting it out of its misery. She'd never been good at the whole killing thing. Watching it, experiencing it. Even fishing caused her to feel guilty for a time.

It was the main reason she had never watched The Hunger Games. Watching a bunch of children resort to murdering each other ruthlessly until only one stood.

Three months had passed, and the reaping would be arriving sooner rather than later. It made chills run down her spine. Sally, Elizabeth, and Wybie were all eighteen years of age. It meant it was their last year putting their name into the Reaping bowl.

She didn't find herself worrying about it, there were a lot of people taking shelter in district five, meaning there were a lot of people to choose from. It was highly unlikely than any of the three of them would be chosen.

They'd been hunting together once every week, but Sally also preferred to go on her own, it was quiet. She liked quiet.

Friday has finally arrived, and she'd been let off maintenance duty early, only because she was so proficient at her job. The other workers were hardly average, something Sally felt bad for admitting.

She stayed on the edge of the town to avoid being stopped by a peacekeeper. It had happened more times than she cared to remember. The peacekeepers in the district were getting more and more hostile by the day. The last time she'd been stopped it'd left bruises all long the left side of her body.
He'd slammed her into the ground just for walking to the power plant early.

When Sally opened the door to the Winslow's residence, Elizabeth was standing in the front hallway, wearing a frilly white dress.

"What's the occasion?" Sally asked, hoping she didn't smell like dirt and sweat.

"We're going to the box tonight."

Sally nodded in understanding. The box was an underground bar where everyone went to socialize and dance when the sun went down. She'd never been too eager to go, but Wybie and Elizabeth went all the time.

"You should come this time."

Sally looked at her friend reluctantly.

"Oh come on! It'll be fun Sally! You need to get out and meet people. Stop lurking about town alone."

"I do not lurk."

"You do." Elizabeth laughed.

Sally hit her in the arm playfully. "Fine I'll come."

Elizabeth shoved her back.

"Wybie'll be thrilled." She added a wink at the end of the sentence. Sally raised her eyebrows, taking a step backwards.

"Oh come off it Sally. We all see the way he looks at you." Elizabeth was smiling so hard, Sally would bet that her cheeks hurt.

She shook her head in disagreement. "We're friends. He's like a brother."

"He was like a brother, when we were like twelve. Things are different now. He's cuter." Elizabeth giggled like they were schoolgirls. "And you've grown up quite a bit as well." She gestured to Sally's figure, which she'd never paid much mind to.

"If you think he's so attractive, why don't you have a go at him?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "No, it's you he wants. Besides, I've got my eyes set elsewhere."