Capitol Hunger Games~Part 1 The Invasion

Chapter 1

It all starts the day the other family moves in.
My siblings and I had listened in the other room as our parents argued with the Peacemakers, but there was nothing they could do. So now we have four other people living in our basement that we have to feed and let use the bathroom.
This is so not okay with me.
It frustrates me that I can’t do anything about it. It wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t his family. But of course, it is. It’s Blaire who’s living with us, the boy who tormented me throughout school and doesn’t stop now.
“I can’t believe you left this,” I point at the dead mouse sitting on the desk, “in my room.” My face is red in anger and he smirks.
“You look like the old American Flag,” he snickers.
I feel my cheeks burn more as he refers to that. I just had to make my hair blue with sparkles, didn’t I? I refuse to give him any prize though.
“And you look like a mime,” I shot back.
It’s the truth. His hair is pitch black and his skin looks deathly pale. He even added the dark makeup around the eyes and has the dopey expression most of the time. He scowls at me and I stick out my tongue. He storms out of my room, mumbling as if it’s my fault he’s here.
“Don’t forget your little friend,” I call after him. I pick up the mouse by its tail, determined to show I can do anything he can, and toss it at him.
He dodges it and yells in a whiney voice, “Mom, Shine is throwing dead mice at me.”
Blaire’s mother poked her fat face out of a doorway down the hall. “What is this entire ruckus about?” she asks angrily, “Your father is trying to watch the television.”
Blaire seems to forget all about his little present to me. “What’s on? Anything good?”
I understand his question. Nothing has been airing except for President Snow explaining how everyone was completely safe and how they had everything under control. To be honest, I could care less. Before Blaire’s mom could answer my mom comes walking around the corner.
“Mom,” I say, running to her, “Look at what Blaire put in my room.”
I point at the dead rodent lying at Blaire’s feet. I expect my mother to start yelling at him, but she just sighs.
“Blaire, talk to your mother,” she says, giving his mom a meaningful look, “And Shine come with me.”
Blaire looks at me smugly as we part. I give him a look that says this isn’t over. He makes a face as the door closes that he thinks looks cool but I think makes him look ridiculous with his mime makeup. I follow my mom to the front room and we sit on the couches.
“Do we have to have them live with us?” I blurt out, “I can’t stand Blaire anymore.”
“I know, Shine,” she says, “but remember what I told you about houses not being livable anymore?”
I know where this is going. “Cut me the little kid crap, Mom. I’m fourteen. Tell me what’s really going on.”
My mom studies me and sighs, “You’re right, I can’t keep trying to protect you. Do you know that broadcast we watched as a family?”
How could I forget it? The broadcast has been burning in my memory ever since Katniss Everdeen said the words: If we burn, you burn with us. I don’t know what it means exactly, but I know it’s bad.
“Yes,” I say.
“The Rebels, those are the people Katniss Everdeen represents, have taken over some blocks.” She looks…different than usual, less confident than she normally is. It scares me.
“They invaded the Capitol?” I ask.
She nods, “And they continue taking it bit by bit.”
My breath catches, “Isn’t the President doing anything?”
She shrugs, “Everything he can. But Shine, please try to make nice with Blaire, they can’t go anywhere else.”
I’m sure that won’t last long, but I nod anyways, “Okay Mom, thanks for telling me.”
She smiles sadly as I stand. I walk out of the room and to the nearest television. I turn it on and start paying attention to President Snow’s words.
“We ask you to kindly let people into your homes,” he’s saying, his big lips moving smoothly, “We need everyone to help if we’re going to beat the Rebels.”
The scene changes to Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, and their gang. They’re running down the street, pursued by Peacemakers.
“Mr. Flenn, Gasty,” I call down the hall, knowing they’re the ones that are most interested, “Come see what’s on.”
Even though I only called two names both of the families walk in. Everyone sits around the television, some on the floor and some on the couch. My siblings don’t even argue about who gets which, they’re too distracted by what’s showing on the screen.
Katniss is, of course, shooting arrows into the Peacemakers, who are shooting at her. The Flenn family gasps as they see their house. Just then something shoots out the window and strikes one of the Katniss’s party members. He drops to the ground. The others keep running. I glance at Blaire, who seems shocked that something that came out of his house had just killed someone. I look back at the screen and see that the Peacemakers are gone. But something else is coming. The camera backs up and shows a giant black wave coming for Katniss’s group. It zooms back in when Peeta garbs Katniss’s neck. He’s about to finish her when another team member tackles him. The others scram as Peeta kicks the other off, sending him straight into another trap. A net comes over the other member and he stops moving. Other party members handcuff Peeta and they make their way into a house. The one I think is Gale stays outside, trying to get the net open. Finally he gives up and follows everyone inside the house. Moments after the door closes behind him the black wave arrives, smothering everything in its path. Everything is covered in a thick, oozing layer. If the man in the net wasn’t already dead, he’s now.
The room is completely silent as we all hold our breaths. We don’t see anything moving inside the house. Time slowly ticks by. Then the house collapses on itself. We all stare as the house crumbles to pieces. If anyone was in there they were dead now.
A reporter appears on the screen. “We will do a search for their bodies.” She was grinning triumphantly. “We will broadcast it as soon as we have the evidence.”
My siblings cheer and even the parents look relieved. Mrs. Flenn takes little Jain in her arms and kisses his forehead. The only one that isn’t celebrating is Blaire. When he turns I see his eyes are shining with held back tears.
He sees me looking and quickly walks out of the room. I follow him into the living room. He curls up in a corner, wrapping his arms around his legs and facing away from me. I stand behind him, not quite sure why I pursued him.
“Hey,” I say, “Why are you crying? This is good right?”
He didn’t look at me, “Why is it good?”
He has to be pulling my leg. “We just beat Katniss Everdeen! That has to be good.”
“I’m not so sure,” he replies.
“What do you mean?” I ask.
He shakes his head, “You won’t understand. Just like everyone else.”
I don’t think I was supposed to hear that last part. “Well how can I if you won’t tell me?”
He spins around, dark eyes blazing, “Fine, you want to know? I think all this killing is pointless.”
His anger surprises me. I take a step back. “But without it The Rebels-”
“Oh cause what they’re doing is so bad,” Blaire says sarcastically.
“If it weren’t for them then you’d still have your home,” I point out.
“Well the Capitol has done much worse things to them.”
“What are you talking about?”
He took something out of his pocket. Papers, it looked like. “I’ve been doing some research ever since we had to move out.” He holds the papers in front of my face, waving them around. “They torture them and let them starve! And, just while they’re at it, they send their kids off to kill each other.”
“That’s to teach them a lesson,” I object.
“And what good did that do?” he shouts back, “It just fed the fire of the next rebellion.”
I had nothing to say to that. Why was Blaire defending The Rebels? The people who had caused us so much trouble? He had a point, but the capitol was our home! But…but…
He stares at me, waiting to see how I’ll react. I turn away from his burrowing gaze, feeling confused.
“Where did you get this information?” I ask, changing the subject slightly.
He brushes it off like it’s not important. “I have my ways, but let’s just say my dad’s work helped.”
His dad works for a bodyguard at the capitol. He would have information about the capitol. How did Blaire mange to break in to the system? I’ve been giving him too little credit. But still…he’s defending The Rebels! The very enemy his father was protecting the Capitol from.
Before either of us could say more my brother, Gasty, calls out to us.
“You two come back in here,” he says, “Something’s happening.”
We walk back in the room and sit at opposite ends. On the screen the fallen building is being picked through by machines and Peacemakers together. After a moment of looking the women announcer is back on the screen, looking more upset than before.
“We have not found any evidence of the bodies,” she announces grimly, “It appears the Katniss Everdeen has escaped.”
As a note of defeat settles around the room, I can’t help but notice Blaire’s smile.