Snow On Top || Coriolanus Snow

Part 8: Donations

Coriolanus

I wake up suddenly, breathing hard, sweat beading on my face. I try sitting up but wince in pain from the sudden movements. "Hey you are okay, you are safe" Tigris reassures. I look around to find myself in the capitol hospital. "Y/n? Is she okay?" I whisper. "She is okay" Tigris replies. "There were rebel bombers who planted the bombs. It must've been planned for months. Four Tributes died, and one escaped" she pauses. "Marcus ran after the explosion. He is being hunted by Peacekeepers''. I look down at my hands in guilt, though I had no part in this.

My racing thoughts are interrupted by the sound of the TV. The Capitol logo flashes across the screen, followed by Lepidus introducing as the first official host for the Hunger Games.

The interviews. I see y/n appear on the screen, striding across the screen in her signature rainbow dress. "Don't worry, I got her the guitar", Tigris puts a hand on my arm, sensing my concern. Sure enough, before I know it y/n pulls the guitar strap over her head and starts to sing. Other than the anthem, music wasn't common in the Capitol. Occasionally before the war my grandmother would play a song on the piano, but this–

I had never before heard anything like y/n singing.

"When I was a babe I fell down in the holler.

When I was a girl I fell into your arms.

We fell on hard times and we lost our bright color.

You went to the dogs and I lived by my charms–"

...

Nurses had stopped to watch her performance, and when it concluded they all congratulated me on "my" girl. My girl. I should've been happy. This is what I wanted, after all, for the people to love her. To be the best mentor. But their words only felt like a mockery because they served as a nagging reminder of the undeniable fact that she wasn't, in fact, my girl.

She waves to the crowd one final time, then turns and waves to the camera, staring right at me through the screen. I feel like just one more member of the audience, watching no more than a performance.

...

"Take me to Dr. Gaul," I demand of the Peacekeeper guarding the entrance to the Citadel, Gaul's lab. As soon as the doctor's cleared me to leave the hospital, I set out to find her and demand the Games be canceled. With Marcus on the loose, several others dead from the bombs, and the arena being a mess of shrapnel and debris, I don't see how they can continue.

The Peacekeeper reluctantly guides me to the far side of her lab, where she is perched on a tall step ladder, peering into a cageful of rainbow snakes. They must be another one of her mutts–the lab is full of them. Animals, sometimes even humans, who have been experimented on by Gaul herself. Class cages containing these mutts line the Citadel's walls making it impossible to avoid their grotesque faces no matter where I look.

"Dr. Gaul, you can't expect the games to continue with all that's going on" I argue.

"Let me ask you, Coriolanus, what is the purpose of the Hunger Games?" She asks, not glancing up from the snakes. Her response annoys me, but it's not unexpected. Gaul always seems to be in her own world, oblivious to those around her. I suppose that's the only type of person who could conduct such horrid experiments unfazed.

"They are here to punish the districts," I answer.

"And how are we to punish them, if no one watches?"

"We need to view the tributes as humans, not animals. Let people get close to the tributes so they care about which ones die. I understand why we have the Games, but how do you expect viewers to watch if four tributes are dead and one is loose?" I try to reason with her.

"What do you think of my latest project?" She finally looks up at me and begins making her way down the ladder, giving no mind to my statement. "They're harmless really," Gaul continues. "As long as they recognize your scent". When I don't answer, she sighs.

"Control. That's what the Games are about. Yes, they punish the Districts, but if that was it, why not just round up 24 of them each year and execute them all at once?" She now stands right in front of me. "You are right, Coriolanus. We get people to watch by giving them hope. Hope that someone will win. But while they're hoping for a victor, we are the ones in control." I look her in the eyes–one of which is blue, the other brown, adding to her intimidating appearance. "If we cancel the Games, we lose control. So I suggest instead of pleading with me, you go visit your little songbird one last time."

Before I can respond, she turns back to her snakes. The Peacekeeper who let me in returns to escort me out.

...

I stand outside of the arena. It seems more imposing in the dark. I force myself forward, towards the entrance. I push through the metal turnstile. "Enjoy the show!" the speakers announce. I wince at the noise, which seems louder in the emptiness of the night. Debris is still scattered across the arena, the scene frozen in time from the explosion.

I survey the area, searching for anything to give y/n an advantage. The walls have crumbled from the bombs, giving a possible way for her to climb into the stand for cover. I then observe the floor to find a hole, exposing an underground passage. Thinking the passage could work as a hiding spot for y/n, I go to investigate and find that an entire labyrinth lies hidden beneath the arena. I find myself nearly lost in these empty walls, lined with cobble. I wander back up to the main arena, taking in the vast space. I imagine y/n standing in this same spot tomorrow, surrounded not only by the towering walls of the arena but also enemies seeking to kill her. I think back to my promise, that I would do everything to keep her alive. I intend to keep that promise. This arena is just another cage, and I cannot allow her to die here.

...

"Y/n," I whisper through the metal bars of the zoo. I hear a few shuffles before I see y/n's face, illuminated by the orange glow of the street light. "Snow?" she questions. It catches me off guard, hearing her call me Snow. It's almost as if I'm someone else around her.

"The explosion exposed a tunnel. When the Games start, you run for that tunnel and hide. Do not look back or let anyone see you, not even Jessup". Y/n looks at me. In her eyes I see a reflection of my own fear. "Hey, I'll be looking out for you until you win. And remember I need that compact back once–" she places a hand on my cheek, putting my mind elsewhere. She gently brings my face closer to her before I back away.

"Y/n, is this real? I can't risk it all if this isn't real," I feel my voice break, shaken by her touch. She stays silent. "We all do things we aren't proud of to survive. We will win this together" I reassure her, and myself, before standing to leave.

I was supposed to make Panem fall in love with her, not me.

"Goodnight, y/n."