What I Would Give... [PLOT]

What I Would Give

I write these words today, knowing it may be the last time I ever even get to write. It doesn’t matter that I’m nineteen and Capitol-born; it used to, but now none of us are safe.

The stealing will start tomorrow. They broadcast the date ahead of time to scare us. They want us all looking over our shoulder, suspicious of the people around us. They want us to wonder who seems to be on our side, but really is one of them. They want us to wonder if we will die in the next few weeks, or if our entire country will fall.

They want us scared, and it works.

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The rebellion was already brewing, of course, and had been for a long time. In the end, though, it was the Quell that did it.

In theory, it was a good idea. For every single child in Panem outside the Capitol, every District denizen between the ages of twelve and eighteen, to participate in the Games. An entire generation, decimated. It would be the ultimate reminder to every District that the Capitol was in charge, and could take life where they chose- the final threat to crush the rebellion’s spirit. It was perfect for the hundredth Hunger Games.

The people wouldn’t stand for that, though. The various rebellions joined together and flooded with members, including even some people from the Capitol who couldn’t believe their government would do such a thing. Armed with the passion and desperation of the masses, not to mention weapons of Capitol descent, they stormed the center of Panem and overthrew the tyrant Snow. A new government was set up, and the rebuilding of Panem began. Bit by bit the Districts were cleaned up and the mind-boggling poverty was alleviated. Capitol technology, formerly available to only a select few, was spread throughout Panem, providing everyone with new cosmetic and medical procedures that some could only have dreamed of. The new government had several bobbles, as other rebel sectors wanted control, but they stood and came out of those experiences stronger and more stable. Foreign aid poured into the country as Panem opened its borders, freely allowing people in and out for the first time in a century.

Things are going well for Panem, or at least seem to be at first glance. The democracy is running smoothly, even the poorest of Districts are healing and rebuilding, trade routes are being put to good use, and the citizens are enjoying their freedom- for some of them, more freedom than they ever dreamed of having. You can criticize the government now without being publicly whipped. You can travel to other Districts without the Peacekeepers tracking you and turning you into an avox. You can apply for aid and actually receive it.

There’s a problem, though. A very major problem that scares everyone, even those who avoid talking about it.

The Games live on.

For two years after the old government’s fall, nothing happened- but once a year for the past three years, someone has managed to hack into the satellite systems and broadcast these atrocities to the entire country. It doesn’t matter how often the codes are changed or the satellites switched; the rebels running the new Games hack right past every obstacle thrown at them. They take the television and radio signals and replace them with their own, so that the only thing you can watch or hear during those few weeks is the same thing that was the tool of the government that so many worked so hard to overthrow.

There are no more Careers, no more Reapings, no volunteers- so the children are simply stolen. It’s not just teenagers anymore, either; sometimes the kidnappers can’t get the ideal age range, so they go for whoever they can get. The first year, an eight-year-old boy and a thirty-year-old mayor were put in the Arena. Twelve to eighteen is still the target range, it seems, but that doesn’t mean everyone else is safe- far from it. Only one thing remains constant: one male and one female will be taken from every District, including District Thirteen and the Capitol itself.

It’s a reminder to the people of Panem, and everyone knows it.

The Capitol of before has not died. Within the workings of the new Panem, a cat is toying with its prey, ready to pounce on the moment the fledgling government starts to fall. There’s no way to know who is helping these people and who is innocent, who belongs to the new rebellion and who is desperate to keep things the way they are. War is brewing in the air, and no one knows who’s on what side.

And in the meantime, the Games play on.


I don’t ever want things to go back to the way they were. I may be Capitol-born, but that doesn’t mean I enjoyed seeing what was forced upon the others in my country. I abandoned my home and joined the rebellion for a reason.

In some ways, though, I miss it. I miss the old Games. At least then, you knew if you were safe or if you had a chance to be drug into that travesty of entertainment. Things were horrible then, but you knew what to expect.

What I would give, to make my home safe again...
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