𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒏𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝑨𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝑼𝒔

𝑴𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 - 𝑪𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒖𝒔 𝑺𝒏𝒐𝒘

Snow woke up, his hair tousled by the wind. He must have passed out when he hit the floor of the train. Suddenly aware of his surroundings, he looked around the cart.

There was a brown sack sitting in the corner along with newspapers that were flying around in and out of the train as the winds blew in. Snow walked towards the papers, trapping a flapping paper with his foot. He leaned over, picked it up, and read:

"Join the cause, the Armies of One will lead us to a better tomorrow."

The paper continued talking about the latest news in the districts and how the Capitol was coping with the mess of the previous Hunger Games. Snow looked up as the scenery quickly changed, passing through the mountains. He slammed the door close, encapsulating himself in total darkness.

"Lucy Gray," He exclaimed, realizing the distance between them. "LUCY GRAY!" He pounded through the door that connected to the other compartment Lucy Gray was in. "LUCY GRAY! ARE YOU THERE?"

He stopped pounding as he felt the blood on his hands start to drop. Snow fell to the floor. He had lost his only escape from this hellish world.

Snow crawled to the corner with the bag, trying to make a makeshift blanket, knowing it was going to be a long ride home.

He hummed to himself the songs Lucy Gray had taught him, giving him a slight comfort as the train threw him from side to side.

He remembered his grandmother's warmth when she had read him the story books about the meadows she used to play in. The stories books that were now burned by the fire to keep the Snows alive during the war.

One story had stuck out to him though, the story about when the Capitol and districts were one and peaceful. His father had always shut down the idea, telling Coriolanus how the Capitol was needed for power and balance. But the balance in his family had disappeared after his mother passed during childbirth, and his father was set on a secret project, later presented as the Hunger Games. A school project is what he had called it. But now it was so much more, it was playing with a person's life.

It was known in the Snow household how much Crassus had hated Coriolanus, leaving him a widow. Crassus made sure that his son always knew how much he had ruined them and their name, calling him names, throwing things at home, and sometimes even chasing him out of the house. Tigris had always stood up to him and took the beatings but Coriolanus had a sense that she had felt the same way deep down, losing her favorite aunt.

When he started his primary school education, he was very popular, and received much attention, something he did not receive at home. Then, Dean Highbottom was raised to the dean of the academy and things started to go downhill from there. The dean had harbored a great hatred for him, Snow knew it, but he never knew why. Dean Highbottom had always told him that to be remembered, you had to make a legacy. Snow's father had left one. One that would be hard to follow.

The tapping of fingers shook Snow awake from his dreams and thoughts. Little by little, his eyes adjusted to the brightness of the sun and gradually he recognized the person to whom the fingers belonged. 

"Lucy Gray," He said, happily. "Where are we?" Snow sat up, groggy from the long train ride.

"I think we're near the Capitol. Come on, Coryo, we gotta go, we might get caught." Lucy Gray said, tugging at his white t-shirt.

"The Capitol? The Capitol!" Snow stood up. He walked out of the compartment of the train, taking in the view of the Capitol. "Look," he said, placing his hands on Lucy Gray's shoulders as she stood in front of him. Snow pointed at an old building that was at least twelve floors high. underneath the coat of dust lay a building full of bright colors.

Lucy Gray sucked the air through her teeth. "Have you ever thought about going back?"

Snow nodded slightly. "To see my family, maybe. But I have you now and I'm okay with that." He turned around, getting ready to leave the train before it took off again, realizing he had lost his bag. "I must've lost it when they were shooting at us." 

Lucy Gray turned around to follow Snow, bag slung over her back. "It's okay, I still have mine. It's not enough, but it'll last for a few days. You have a plan?"

"Of course," Snow said, giving her a small smirk. "We're going into the Capitol."