Project 010, Chapter 5
So sorry this is late, I completely forgot I had to write it😭😭
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It had been just over a week since the Games’ conclusion, and Persephone Price was still grieving. She hadn’t expected to have such a connection with Mizzen in just a few days, but seeing him die was one of the worst experiences she could think of. Coriolanus and Sejanus had disappeared from the Academy just a day after Lucy Gray won, and rumors had spread fast. Some people said that they had run away with her to live outside of Panem. Others said that the two mentors were forced into peacekeeping for one reason or another. Not that Persephone really cared much about the rumors. During the games, she’d built a friendship with Festus as they discussed strategy. He kept stopping by her house to drop off trinkets or flowers, claiming he was trying to ‘help her through the grief.’ Mostly, it just made them both sadder.
Persephone sat in her room, trying to read a book. She couldn’t focus on the words and nothing was sticking. She huffed and slammed the book closed, frustrated. She’d known Mizzen for two days, it was silly to be so affected by his death. But he’d been nothing like what her parents had told her about the Districts. He’d always go on and on about the ocean, and climbing masts and rigging, and how he wanted to be a real sailor and not some net weaver. There had never been any trace of the vicious malice the other Capitol citizens described. Persephone’s eyes strayed to the stuffed seabird on her bed. The fabric had once been a pristine white, but had now grayed with age and wear. She’d had the bird since she was little, and it had survived the Dark Days with her. She grabbed it and ran her hands down the seam on its back. Someone knocked on her door.
“Persephone? That boy is here to see you.”
It was her father. He’d never liked it when boys came to visit, and especially disliked Festus for his occasional reckless behavior. He insisted that Festus was a bad influence. Persephone set the seabird back onto her bed and made her way downstairs where Festus was waiting. He didn’t say anything, but she could see in his eyes that they needed to talk privately. Persephone turned to her father.
“We’ll be back soon. He promised yesterday to take me for a walk in the park.”
Her father didn’t look pleased but nodded. The two of them hurried out the door and started down the sidewalk. The heat was almost unbearable, but it meant that almost no one was around to eavesdrop. Festus cleared his throat.
“Have you heard?”
He wasn’t his usual outgoing self today. His expression was somber and serious.
“Heard what? Oh wait, don’t tell me. Did Vipsania and Pup finally get into that fight?”
“No,” Festus said with an eyeroll. “Although they’re taking a long time. I heard that the dead tributes weren’t taken back to their Districts.”
“What?? Why?? Where are they??”
“Keep it down! No one’s supposed to know. I don’t know anything else about it. The lady wouldn’t say anything else no matter how much I pestered her.”
Persephone sighed, disappointed. She didn’t know why the Capitol would keep the tributes’ bodies. The outrage in the districts would be massive and could even threaten a rebellion. Persephone shuddered at the thought of another war, only 10 years after the last. No one needed that right now.
“Who did you hear this from??”
“Some lady. She was coming out of the hospital when I overheard it.”
“The hospital? Do you think Lysistrata might know something? Her parents are physicians, after all.”
Festus’s eyes lit up.
“I hadn’t thought of that. Maybe…it’d be best if you ask her about it. I don’t think she likes me very much.”
Persephone sighed again, but nodded. She knew Lysistrata was also grieving, and she didn’t know how much she’d want to talk. After about 15 more minutes of walking, Festus and Persephone had circled back to her house. Festus bade farewell and Persephone stepped inside, trying to think of the best way to talk to Lysistrata.
· · ─ ·𖥸· ─ · ·
Lysistrata had started to write down almost everything her parents said. They’d been acting strangely since the games had ended and their conversations just kept getting stranger. Lysistrata was sitting at the table staring at her notebook of conversations. Her parents were both at work, giving her plenty of time to think. A knock on the front door roused her from her thoughts. She opened it and was greeted by Persephone.
“Hello? Why are you here?”
Lysistrata stood aside to let Persephone in. She wore a short sleeved burgundy top with a white skirt that fell just above her knees. Compared to Lysistrata’s old house clothes, she looked very dressed up.
“We need to talk.”
Lysistrata’s heart dropped. From Persephone’s tone, this would be a conversation about the games. Or at least Jessup.
“About…? If this is about Jessup—“
“It is. Sort of,” she interrupted. “Festus told me that the tribute’s bodies weren’t sent back to the districts. He heard it from someone at the hospital, and since your parents are physicians…”
Lysistrata barely processed what she’d said, already grabbing her open notebook. She practically shoved it into Persephone’s hands.
“What’s this??”
Persephone flipped through the pages as Lysistrata explained her parents’ strange conversations when they thought she wasn’t listening. Persephone’s expression shifted at least 7 times as she spoke, half the emotions unreadable. She’d stopped on a page and was reading through it. Lysistrata tried craning her neck to see which page she had stopped at.
July 8th.
Did they get the subjects?
Yes, but there were some complications. Three of them were really gone.
Which ones?
Boys from 7 and 12, and the girl from 11. They didn’t bother with the boy from 12, they didn’t want to risk contracting the Rabies.
This had been the most important thing Lysistrata had heard. It confirmed that something was happening with the tributes. She wasn’t sure what her father had meant by ‘really gone,’ but it was something bad enough to keep him in the hospital overnight. Persephone looked up at her.
“The doctors took the tributes?? ‘Really gone’?? ‘Subjects’?”
Lysistrata sighed.
“I haven’t heard anything like this since then. That was the night the games ended, and they haven’t said any more about it.”
Persephone turned pages until she reached the end of the written conversations. She closed the notebook and put it back on the table.
“Can you meet me and Festus in the park tomorrow night? We really need to figure this out. If the Capitol kept the tributes’ bodies, I want to know why.”
Lysistrata hesitated. If her father came home and found her missing, she was certain to be grounded for at least a month. But if she wanted to get to the bottom of this, it might be her best chance. Reluctantly, she nodded.
“I’ll be there at midnight.”
· · ─ ·𖥸· ─ · ·
They’d been trapped in the windowless room for days, maybe even weeks. No one knew the exact amount of time that passed, and none of the white coats would tell them. Brandy was getting antsy. The white coats kept taking two or three of the tributes a day and they’d only come back the next morning, exhausted. So far, it had been Circ and his district partner, the guy from 2, and Reaper. They wouldn’t say much about what happened but all of the others could see the spot on their necks where a syringe had entered. The white coats hadn’t come in today, possibly forgetting about them. That had happened once, and none of them had gotten fed for a day and a half. With every day that passed, the girl from 7— Lamina— got quieter and quieter. Reaper usually stayed by her side and she barely spoke unless asked a direct question. Clearly, she was losing hope that the white coats could perform a miracle on her district partner. Brandy remembered them being practically glued at the hip when they were in the zoo. Lamina’s district partner had seemed kind enough. He’d been willing to hold a conversation with a little Capitol girl who’d shared some food with him. They’d clearly known each other before the games, obviously good friends and possibly more. Brandy hated herself for wishing she’d had a good friend in the zoo with her. She’d only known Tanner in passing, but it was better that way. Going into the games with someone you love knowing only one of you can come out must be awful. The lack of beeping heart monitors made every moment agonizingly silent, even during conversation. The boy from 2 sighed.
“We should do more than just sit around waiting for them to get us. They didn’t take me anywhere useful, and I didn’t see any kind of exit, but this place can’t be that big.”
The other tributes exchanged looks. They’d all been thinking about escape, but the thought seemed like a distant fantasy. The girl from 5 spoke first.
“We don’t even know where we are. Even if we do manage to get out of here, there’s nowhere for us to go.”
Reaper— the guy from 11– nodded.
“Besides, we can’t leave them,” He said, gesturing to the ever crowded room where his and Lamina’s district partners were. Lamina nodded. Marcus sighed and scratched at the stitches on his neck.
“It was just a thought…”
The girl from 5 spoke again.
“Don’t worry about it. We’ve all been thinking the same thing. It’s just not realistic right now.”
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