A songbirds soulmate- hunger games catching fire/mockingjay fanfic

chapter 7

"Rise and shine rats!" Balbus shouts through a white megaphone. A large bucket of water is thrown on each of us and I instantly wake from my sleep along with the others.  

"Get drinking that water boy. It's all you're getting today!" The peacekeeper who drenched me hisses through the bars. I quickly remove what I can from my mouth region using my tongue and undo my shirt, squeezing what liquid I can get out of it into my body. Enobaria, Annie and Lavinia suck on their hair obviously haven done this drill before while Johanna, Avel and Darius mop up what they can from the floor. We're like animals begging for scraps but none of us can help it, no matter how revolting our actions might be we feel the need to survive.  

"We've got a new system lined up we would like you to try out." 

None of us answer, we don't dare. I know the people around me have suffered much greater pains than myself; they all look ill in appearance and twitch every time a sound is heard but I feel as though I should just do what they are doing, treating this as a joke will not be held lightly with Balbus. So yes in other words, I'm a wimp. I don't plan on acting like the hero victor, not today or any other day. 

Imprisonment changes a person.  

"This is the rota." Balbus announces pointing to a large poster another peacekeeper sticks to the wall in front of us. We would be able to hear him without his megaphone; I guess it gives him power. 

We stay silent still. Balbus cups his ear pretending to hear us. "What's that you say?" He questions us. He walks up to Annie's cell and places the megaphone to his lips. "What's that you say?" He roars. This makes Annie cry out and crawl to the far corner of her cell where she curls into a ball and weeps. 

Upon seeing this Balbus grabs the door key for Annie's cell from the collection on his belt and open's her cell. He strolls in, violently grabs Annie by the hair and starts pulling her out of the cell. She screams for him to let go of his grip but he fails to. She kicks her legs out aggressively to try escape yet to no avail. Balbus throws her to the floor and she looks up at him in absolute horror.  

"I said, what's that you say!" He screams so close into her ear his lips almost touch it. Again she tries to flee in fright but as she goes to turn her body Balbus snaps the back of his hand across her face and she falls to the floor. I see nothing that resembles a joke in his eyes, the anger is not one bit fake and that makes him all the more frightening.  

My lips form uncontrollably and I let out what was going to be a 'stop' before my brain realised what I was doing and stopped me. Balbus' head sharply turns to me and his eyes bulge from their sockets.  

"Got anything to say?" 

"N...no." I answer lamely and I look to the floor, disgusted with myself. 

Two peacekeepers march forward and place Annie back in her cell. 

"The rota is our guide to who is getting what punishment and when. Just so we get no favourites." He continues. Great; I can now look forward to my turn of a beating. Yet another sick idea straight from the lips of President Coriolanus Snow. 

Balbus walks towards the elevator and goes up leaving us in peace. I skim the board quickly trying to find my name. I do notice something that makes me feel ill in my stomach. That wasn't even Annie's punishment. I continue to squint my eyes to find my name on the board when my thoughts are interrupted. 

"Hay! Two's name is only up once!" Johanna shouts in frustration. 

"I do have a name you know!" Enobaria barks. "But I guess being the friendliest district with the Capitol, I have the perks." 

"I wouldn't be so sure of yoursel'darlin. You've got the hot one." Avel adds. 

"NO!" She screams in desperation. "No no no no no!" She begins to shake uncontrollably and smashes her hands against the bars till they bleed.  

Darius reaches through the bars of our joining cells and taps me on the shoulder. I turn to him blinded by the brightness his messy red hair gives off from the prison lights. He ushers me to sit down with him and I get to the floor, with my legs crossed like him and we face one another. I feel so guilty that we cannot have a normal conversation, it's not my fault but I just wish I could do something to help. There is nothing. He points to me, makes a love heart with his fingers then pretends to shot an arrow. Do I love Katniss. 

"Yes." 

He points to himself they puts up two fingers. Me too. 

"Well, she is something." I sigh. 

He nods. 

"She... is... great." I pant. A fresh tear drop forms in the corner of my eye but I shake it away. He sticks his hand to his chin indicating he is thinking. I give him time to compose himself and then he begins. What he does is unexpected, but beautiful. He whistles to me. The same tune Rue and Katniss used during the 74th games. I listen, mesmerised. Even when next to death Darius is still happy; this makes me happy. I join his song. His whistle may be flat but it has heart. We whistle together for a while, this seems too drowned out Enobaria's shouting. 

And Acanthus coming from out the lift. 

"What's that racket?" He asks stepping up to our cells. Darius shakes his head and faces away from me. "It's time for interrogation. 

"But... you know everything." I whimper pathetically not wanting to feel the whip on my back. 

"I'm not talking to you. Get the other one out as well!" He orders one of his henchmen. Darius is taken from his cell and Acanthus places him on a chair facing the rest of our cells. 

"But he can't answer!" I plead, He ignores me. 

Acanthus steps to the side of Daruis and the red head is tied down with heavy leather straps. A second peacekeeper steps out from the lift; he is holding what looks like pliers.  

"Right, first off. Where's the money?" Acanthus jokes sickeningly.  

There is no money. It's just a sick excuse to torture them. 

"Where is it?" He asks again, this time more forcefully. 

"But there is none!" I let release as I shake my head aggressively. 

"Shut up or it's you next!!" The second peacekeeper dictates pointing his pliers at me. I stand down. He slips the clamp onto on of Darius' fingers but applies no force. 

"Care to make a comment?" Acanthus whispers to the male Avox. Tears form in Darius' eyes; he knows what's coming. When he does not answer the force is given. 

I never thought I would; in my life time hear an Avox scream. It's not really a scream but more of a gargle. And it's more painful than any of the screams one of the others in cells around me have given. His finger falls loose and drops to the ground. Blood pumps from the wound and in sight of this Annie begins laughing uncontrollably. I know she doesn't find this at all funny, I think it's just how she holds on to the tiny fragment of life that still stays her own. Only one finger is chopped off. I think president Snow wants to take this one slowly. He is slung back into his cell and he forces the stubs of his finger into his sweaty shirt to try stop any more blood being lost. This is when I get the feeling that shakes me to my core. The feeling that I was meant to see that, personally. Of course he could not answer any questions; they knew that. I think President Snow just had Acanthus do it to try and break me.  

Through the screaming, gargling and shouting I look in front of me. Into nothingness. The board blocks my view of a daydream and before me I see something which frightens me more than any nightmare ever could. My name is next on the rota.