Jabberjay-A Mockingjay Fanfiction (ON HOLD)

Chapter 3 ~ Interview

I sit in the corner of my cell, rocking back and forth on my heels, my hands over my ears. The Jabberjay has been screaming for what feels like forever, and I don't know how much longer I can take it. I know that I can't do the interview. The District's have to fight. How much would one interview do though? Surely the District's wouldn't give up because of something I say on a interview with Caesar Flickerman. Not with how far they have surely come.

"I'll do the interview!" I yell, as the Jabberjay screams out viciously.

"Just kill me!"

Nothing happens. "I'll do the interview! Just make the bird stop!"

The door glides open and Snow enters, a smile on his face. "Good choice, Mister Mellark. It is in your best interests to cooperate."

Two peacekeepers quickly open my cell and escort me from the room. I see Johanna glaring at me as the door closes behind us.

I take a quick trip up the elevator, and then I am taken to an all too familiar prep room. Three people, who I'm assuming are a prep team, wait for me inside. When they see me their eyes light up and they let out squeals of excitement.

"Let's get to work!"

By the time the team is done with me, I'm wearing a luxurious suit and coated in make-up. The three people look me over, nodding in satisfaction.

"You are camera ready." One woman says, a smile on her tattooed face. "Let's get you out there."

My stomach churns as we walk onto a recording set. I can't believe I'm doing this. Why did I agree to this? I'm a traitor.

I'm drawn from my thoughts as a peacekeeper grabs my arm and sits me down in a chair. Caesar Flickerman appears from behind a curtain and takes his place in a seat across from me. He smiles and extends his hand for a shake. I just look away, not willing to act as if everything is okay, as if everything is normal. It's not.

I glance around the small set, my blood suddenly running cold as my eyes land on President Snow. He's standing off set, watching me. He raises his chin and nods at me, his snake like eyes gleaming in warning. A camera man starts counting down twenty seconds. I take a deep, shaky breath, and formulate what I will say.

Before I know it, lights on the cameras are blinking red.
Caesar gives me a long look. "So...Peeta...welcome back."

I steal one last glance at Snow and smile slightly. Now I want to look as if everything is all right, to shove it in Snow's face that I am not afraid. "I bet you thought you'd done your last interview with me, Caesar."

"I confess, I did," he replies, a serious look on his face. "The night before the Quarter Quell...well, who ever thought we'd see you again?

I frown. "It wasn't part of my plan."

Caesar leans closer to me. "I think it was clear to all of us what your plan was. To sacrifice yourself in the arena so that Katniss Everdeen and your child could survive."

I nod my head, tracing my fingers along the pattern in the arm of my chair. "That was it, clear and simple. But other people had plans as well."

"Why don't you tell us about that last night in the arena?" Caesar asks. "Help us sort a few things out."

I nod, slowly formulating the speech in my mind. "That last night...to tell you about last night...well, first of all, you have to imagine how it felt in the arena. It was like being an insect trapped under a bowl filled with steaming air. And all around you, jungle...green and alive and ticking. That giant clock ticking away your life. Every hour promising some new horror. You have to imagine that in the past two days, sixteen people have died - some of them defending you. At the rate things are going, the last eight will be dead by morning. Save one. The victor. And the plan is that it won't be you."
I take a breath, glancing at Snow. "Once your in the arena, the rest of the world becomes very distant. All the people and things you loved and cared about almost cease to exist. The pink sky and the monsters in the jungle and tributes who want your blood become your final reality, the only one that ever mattered. As bad as it makes you feel, you are going to have to do some killing, because in the arena, you only get one wish. And it's very costly."