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KILL FOR YOUR LOVE.

act three.

(chapter fifty-three, the seventy-third reaping)

victor's village / the justice building / capitol train, 73 ADD.

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THE SCREAMS ECHOED THROUGHOUT her head. They tormented her. They abused her. They showed her what she had become. They showed her what she had lost. Juniper could still feel the mud slick over her skin, blood splattered all over her. Her fingertips still itched for the hilt of a sword.

What had she done? 

Eighteen-year-old Juniper Hale was laying in her bed, sheets soaked with water, damp clothes stuck to her flesh. President Snow's words still ran through her head. His stench could still be smelt around the house. Juniper couldn't even walk into the study without gagging. His visit was months ago, his threat was months ago, his demand was months ago, but now, Juniper would have to fulfil them in a few weeks. What had she done?

Sighing, the girl ran a hand through her partly-dried, knotty hair before slowly getting up, heading towards her wardrobe. She ripped the soggy materials she was wearing and redressed in long pants, a sweater, and a coat. In a few hours, two kids will be sent to their deaths. And Juniper would have to mentor them. Could she handle more death? 

Her throat was sore and scratchy, body shaking as Juniper, gingerly, left her bedroom and went down the hall. She could feel her joints and limbs aching with every step she took, ears ringing with every noise that echoed throughout the house. A pounding sensation was in her head, heart thudding as she went down the stairs, turning into the dining room. She wasn't surprised to see her father having his breakfast at the table, knuckles nearly turning white from how hard he gripped his cutlery. 

Orion Hale was perhaps the only person in the entirety of District Ten who did not question her antics. If she threw a fit and destroyed all the plates in the house, the man would quietly clean the shards up and go buy new dishes. If she collapsed in a heap of tears, he would hold her tight. If she ever slept with a knife close to her chest when her paranoia was high, Orion would silently slip into her bedroom and take the blade away, fearing she would accidentally slit her own throat. He would throw away all her liquor and morphling in fear that she would end up like one of those freaks from Six. Orion Hale was the only one who truly cared in Ten. 

"What's that?" Juniper winced at how aggressive her tone sounded. Her father snapped his head up. 

"Eggs..."  Orion said quietly. Wrinkles caressed his skin as grey strands illuminated his hair. Deep, violet patches were etched just under his eyes. The man looked exhausted. "I managed to get some from the Breeders." 

"Hm." Juniper managed to nod as she sat down in the chair opposite of him, but she couldn't dare look him in the eyes. The man was sadder was usual. He knew Juniper Hale was safe from the Reaping, but the sorrow never went away. 

"Would you like some?" Orion asked.

The Hale girl could feel her airways tighten as she managed to croak out, "No, thank you... I have to leave soon, anyway." 

She was required to meet with Lucy Stevens, Brent Higgins, and Nadine Groves at the Justice Building before the Reaping started. The Reaping. It had been a year since Juniper was chosen, since he was chosen. It had been a year since the Seventy-Second Hunger Games. And now, it was the Seventy-Third and twenty-three children were going to die. 

"Well... at least eat something," Orion told her, concern in his eyes. 

"I'll be fine." Juniper shook her head slightly. She didn't want to eat. "Really." 

"Okay..." 

The two living Hale members sat in silence as Juniper stared out of the window, swearing she could smell the putrid sweetness of President Snow's roses. It was months ago. He had visited her months ago, when she first turned eighteen, and yet his presence still lingered. It was like he was watching her every movement, like he was sat at the dinner table, staring at her.

When chills began to creep up and down Juniper's spine as her paranoia began to rise, she suddenly got up as she said, "I should probably be going now..." 

"But the Reaping isn't for hours—" 

"But I need to get there early," Juniper explained as she began to exit the dining room and towards the entrance hall. "I'll see you afterwards?"

"June—" 

The Hale girl didn't let her father finish as she stalked out of the door, slamming it behind her as she wrapped her coat tighter around her. She needed to get out of that house. She needed to get away from Snow. His threat echoed around her ears as she began to walk through the 'greenery' of Victors' Village, heading towards the mud path that went towards the district, the Barn of Death in the distance. 

She was doing this for her father, Juniper kept thinking. Everything she did was for her father, to keep him alive. If he was killed by Snow, the Hale girl wouldn't know what to do. She wouldn't have anyone. She didn't have anyone, but she still had her father. She was doing this for him, so Snow didn't—

The Victor tried to take her mind off of Snow, the threat, and her father as she tried to take in the scenery of District Ten, exiting Victors' Village. She stared at the branches that were overhead, intertwined with the brown leaves and small twigs that the few birds in the district had collected, building nests for their young. She tried to focus on the blue sky overhead that was mixed with the white of the clouds. She looked at the towering, red barn in the distance with the peeling white paint on the fences and gates. 

The Barn of Death. 

(They were headed to the large, red barn that the cows and citizens of Ten knew all too well as the Barn of Death, the barn where the prize was)

(The minute the cow moved, ridding of their hiding spot, the Hale twins launched up, sprinting their hearts out across the rest of the green paddock) 

Juniper felt her heart in her throat, nearly choking on it as she tried to hurry down the muddy path. With every glance, she could see him. With every step, it was like he was still walking beside her. And then she could still smell Snow. She could still smell his roses. Then Juniper swore she could hear her father's voice in her head. 

What had she done?

The eighteen-year-old tried to quicken her pace as she began to enter the district, trying to not look at the Barn of Death. She could hear the mud squelch underneath her boots as she did, the smell of manure wafting up into her nose. There were few people on the paths and some stared at Juniper as she walked by, but others backed off. She was the newest Victor and everyone knew how she won. 

Swallowing a lump in her throat and digging her hands into the pockets of her coat, Juniper managed to pass a strip of housing and the big warehouse that was the Milking Station. And despite being far away, she could still see the vibrant banners being set up on the buildings near the Justice Building, camera crews readying themselves on rooftops to add dramatics. Juniper felt herself nearly puke as she passed The Breeders, cows mooing at her as she passed. 

But she ignored them as she climbed through the houses and when she appeared in-front of the Justice Building, she could feel herself blanch. The sign-in tables were being placed. Five chairs instead of four were settled on the stage. Two glass bowls were already standing. The microphone was being tested. Officials were roping off the sections. 

The Reaping. 

"Ah, Miss Hale." 

Juniper turned her head to see the mayor, who was a short, skinny man with no hair on his body at all, waltzing over to her. He looked dismayed as he stared around at the Reaping being set up, but he tried to force a smile as he stared at the newest Victor. 

"Miss Stevens, Mrs. Groves, and Mr. Higgins are already in the Building," he informed her. "If I may escort you to them?" 

"Of course..." Juniper blinked slightly as she narrowed her eyes at the mayor, but she let him walk her through the roped sections, heading towards the stairs that led to the stage.

(And so, with another push from the girl behind, Juniper slowly started to walk out of the roped section, heading for the runway that led up to the Justice Building steps. Justice)

"You are mentoring this year, aren't you, Miss Hale?" The mayor asked as he wrapped an arm around Juniper's waist, causing her to struggle slightly as she felt his fingernails dig into her flesh. "Aren't you?" 

"Of course." Juniper sneered as she tried to get out of his grasp. She didn't want to be touched by him. She didn't want to be touched by anyone. 

"That's good..." The mayor hummed as he kept ahold of the girl, walking up the steps, onto the stage. But then, before they went through the doors of the Building, he stopped and added, in a low voice, "I want you to bring one of Ten's children back, do you hear? If you won last year, Ten can win again. I want you to bring one of the children back, understood?" 

Before Juniper could even push the man away, before rage could even fill her soul, the mayor let her go and opened the doors into the Justice Building. And, standing in a huddle, was Nadine Groves, Lucy Stevens, and Brent Higgins. All turned to face Juniper and the mayor. 

"Oh, goodie!" Nadine squeaked as she clapped her hands. "She's here." 

The Hale girl hadn't seen the escort ever since she came back from the arena and left the Capitol, being deemed too crazy for a post-Games interview or Victory Tour, but she didn't look any different. She still wore her shades of pink. She still had her lovely blonde wig that had slightly tousled curls. She still had her height. And she still had her ugly heart. 

"It's not like anyone missed her..." Brent Higgins scoffed as he downed a glass of liquor. 

Juniper narrowed her eyes at him, going to say something, but Nadine came over to her and pulled her to the group. Lucy Stevens stared at her and tried to give a slight smile, something Juniper didn't reciprocate. Lucy had changed and no-one knew why. The distant, faint person that was the Victor of the Sixty-First Hunger Games had disappeared. The woman started to smile more, started to crack jokes. And Juniper didn't know whether she liked it or not. But all she knew was that whenever she glanced at Lucy Stevens's non-aging face, she was instantly brought back to last year. And she didn't like it. 

"So, Juniper," Nadine began. She was wearing a strapless dress that had a large bow sewn on the front, dyed an obnoxious shade of pink. "This is, of course, your first Reaping as a Victor. How exciting!" 

"Tell me what to do or I'll rip that bow off and shove it where the sun don't shine." 

Nadine gawked at the girl for a second, jaw dropping, before clearing her throat, saying, "Well, you're in a good mood... the Reaping will start. Me and the mayor will walk out of the Building and sit down. The mayor will recite the Treaty of Treason. Then, he will read the list of all the surviving Victors', which are you three. You will exit this Building in order of who won first. Lucy. Brent. And then you, Juniper. And then I will pick the two lucky children. Got it?" 

"I'm sorry." Brent coughed. "Can you repeat that? I didn't get all of it." 

Nadine flared her nostrils before going to repeat the procedure and as she did, Juniper sat down and dragged a sweaty palm through her hair. She didn't want to be here. She didn't want to do this. She didn't want to go to the Capitol. She didn't want to do what Snow asked of her. 

What had she done?

A few hours passed, resulting in Nadine pacing, Lucy and Brent mumbling something to each other, and Juniper still sitting in the chair, until they heard a whistle run through the air. It was demanding, threatening, deadly. The Hale girl could feel its vibrations run through the fibres of her being as she stood up from the chair, walking over to the window to peer out of it. 

She saw groups of children start to get signed in for the Reaping. Twelve-year-olds' cried when their fingers were pricked whilst the eighteen-year-olds' stared at their blood with a sullen face. The boundaries were slowly being packed with parents and Juniper managed to spot her own father standing with a bunch of men from the Milking Station. Some still had children in the Reaping. 

And as the roped sections were being filled up, eldest in the very first row and youngest at the back, Nadine and the mayor exited the Building. They walked onto the stage and Juniper watched how nearly all the children scowled at the escort as she and the mayor sat down in their two chairs. Three were empty for the Victors'. It used to only be two. 

What had she done? 

The Hale woman tried to shake her thoughts out of her head as she watched all the children become settled, Peacekeepers' keeping guard. And when the clock struck, the mayor got up and walked to the microphone. As he recited the Treaty of Treason and the reason for the creation of the Hunger Games, Juniper could still hear his words ring through her ears. 

(I want you to bring one of Ten's children back, do you hear? If you won last year, Ten can win again. I want you to bring one of the children back, understood?")

How could the mayor ask her that? It was an impossible task. Juniper Hale barely won last year. She didn't want to win last year, she didn't even want to mentor. So how could the small man expect her to bring home a Victor? Yes, her victory inspired many children in District Ten, but it also scared them. And Juniper didn't want them to win. She didn't want them to face the tragedies that followed their survival. She didn't want Snow visiting them in their study, acting like it was his. Juniper wished them a painless death and that was all she could give in her current state. 

The recital of the Treaty of Treason went on for a while before the mayor cleared his throat, bringing out a list of as he began to read, "And now, may I introduce the surviving Victors' of District Ten. Lucy Stevens, Victor of the Sixty-First. Brent Higgins, Victor of the Sixty-Eighth. And Juniper Hale, Victor of the Seventy-Second." 

Lucy left the Building first, and then Brent, and finally, Juniper went through the open doors. And as she did, walking out onto the stage and quickly sitting down next to the only male Victor, she could feel all eyes on her. Every child in the Reaping was staring at her, mumbling, whispering. As Juniper sat in the chair, feeling the wind rustle her slightly wet hair, she studied the crowd. It was a wave of greys, whites, and browns. It was a mass of poverty. Two children plucked from those waves and masses would die.

Once all the Victors' were seated, the mayor introduced Nadine to the crowd, but everyone knew who she was. She was the woman that would send two kids to their deaths. She was a woman with a pretty face, but an ugly heart. Juniper nearly gagged as Nadine reached for the microphone, clearing her throat as she interlocked her manicured nails together. The Hale girl could smell Snow's stench all over the escort as she did his bidding. 

"Hello, hello." Nadine smiled at all of the children. "It is an absolute honour to be here today to represent your darling Capitol in Ten. Is everyone excited?" 

Silence enveloped all of them as they stared up at the escort with blank faces. But Nadine giggled to herself as she began to move to the first glass bowl, which belonged to the girls. Juniper narrowed her eyes and shot daggers at the Capitol woman as she trotted near them, digging her hand into the ball as she shuffled the slips around. She grabbed onto one, stared at the Victors', and then walked back to the microphone. 

"The female tribute to represent District Ten in the Seventy-Third Annual Hunger Games is..." Nadine began to slowly unfold the paper as Juniper clenched her jaw. "Carrie Ford." 

("Juniper Hale.")

The cameras began to zoom around to try find the unlucky girl as some of the children began to whisper to the people surrounding them. Juniper hadn't heard of Carrie Ford and didn't remember even if she did. She certainly didn't recognise her face as a measly, tiny girl began to move out of the third row at the back. She was fourteen. 

"Come on up, Carrie!" Nadine squeaked as she smiled brightly at her. 

Juniper felt herself groan internally as she stared at the mayor and then at Carrie Ford. The girl was fourteen and her bones were nearly on display at how starved she was. The girl was shivering and shaking as tears started to steam down her face. Carrie Ford wouldn't win. She couldn't. She'd probably die during the bloodbath.

Carrie walked slowly down the runway that split off the boys and girls. Whispers were echoing throughout the crowd and Juniper scanned her eyes over the boundary line. She saw a woman sobbing quietly in the arms of a man. They both looked to be a few years younger than Orion Hale. It must have been Carrie Ford's parents. 

"Hello, Carrie, dear!" Nadine giggled. Once Carrie had reached the stage, the escort grabbed the girl and guided her to the microphone. The Ford girl kept looking over her shoulder at Juniper. "How old are you?"

"I'm f-fourteen..." Carrie managed to squeak out, hiccuping slightly from her tears. She was not going to win the Hunger Games. 

"Oh, how wonderful!" Nadine smiled at the crowd. 

The escort said a few more things before walking away to the boy's bowl and Juniper re-clenched her jaw as she did. The saying that District Ten tributes died together had swiftly disappeared after Juniper came home. It hadn't been muttered this year, but it never was when District Ten won. But Lucy Stevens and Brent Higgins hadn't killed their district partners. Juniper did. 

What had she done? 

Nadine finally picked a slip out of the boy's bowl and was trotting back to the microphone. When she arrived at it, she was slowly undoing the paper as she said, "And the male tribute that will represent District Ten in the Seventy-Third Annual Hunger Games is... Raymond Carmine." 

Raymond Carmine? Juniper had not heard of his name before, but the minute she saw his face appear as a bunch of boys backed away from him, she froze. But it couldn't be. He was dead. Why did he look like him? 

Why did Raymond Carmine look like Justice Hale? 

"Raymond, sweetie, come on up!" Nadine laughed whilst Carrie cried harder. 

Juniper felt her blood run cold as her organs stopped working. Why did he look like Justice? How could he look like him? The boy was dead. He was simply dead so why did he look like the boy that was walking down the aisle? Juniper could feel her face morph into one that was a mix between being appalled and being filled with sorrow. Why was Justice Hale following her? Why wouldn't his spirit leave her alone? 

What had she done?

What had she done? 

What had she done?

The minute Raymond walked up the stairs, Nadine took ahold of him just like she had done with Carrie. She trotted back over to the microphone and straightened the boy up. Why did he look so much like Justice Hale? Was Justice Hale's ghost haunting everything? Juniper let out a shaky breath as she felt Lucy Stevens and Brent Higgins look at her with a weird expression. 

"And Raymond, sweetheart, how old are you?" Nadine asked.

"Sixteen," the boy said. 

Juniper continued to stare at him. He didn't sound like Justice. He wasn't Justice's age. But his eyes. His eyes looked too much like the boy's. Why did he look like him? But as Juniper studied him more, it came as a relief when she saw that the boy's face was much longer than Justice's. And his voice was deeper. And he was taller. And had more muscle on his arms.

"Sixteen and fourteen!" Nadine chortled. "Well, District Ten, give a loud round of applause for your tributes! Raymond Carmine and Carrie Ford." 

No-one clapped and the two tributes were quickly whisked away into the Building. As they were, Lucy Stevens disappeared with an encouraging pat on Juniper's shoulder as she and Brent were escorted by Peacekeepers' into a car that was at the back of the Building. They would head to the train station and wait for the tributes there. 

"Well, that girl is going to die." Brent coughed. "That boy... I don't know."

"Nice to know that you care." Juniper sneered as the car started moving. 

"Oh, and you do?" Brent laughed. "They're not going to win. District Ten never wins two times in a row." 

"Of course not." Juniper scoffed as she shook her head. It was impossible, but the mayor's words still echoed around her mind. "But the mayor was very adamant on another District Ten Victor." 

"Yeah, he was with me." Brent nodded as he closed his eyes. "And probably was with Loony Lucy. But yet, the kids never make it past the bloodbath the year after." 

Juniper felt herself swallow a lump in her throat as she tried to look out of the window. They reached the station in a matter of minutes and it was already filled with reporters and journalists from the Capitol, all readying their cameras and questions. When the two Victors' exited the car and made way for the train, there was little commotion. 

That was until the two tributes arrived. When Raymond Carmine and Carrie Ford stepped out of a car with Nadine Groves an hour later, flashes of light went off as questions were shouted. Some people tried to push their way through the crowd to get to the children, but with a stern shove from the Peacekeepers', the tributes disappeared from sight. Juniper was watching them from the window as Brent poured himself a drink. 

"And this is the dining cart..." Nadine's hushed voice told the tributes as the door jolted shut and the train started to move. When they entered the room, she caught sight of the two Victors'. "And here are your mentors! Brent Higgins was the Sixty-Eighth, of course. And Juniper Hale, the Victor of last year!" 

"How come you aren't that excited when you talk about me?" Brent scoffed as he knocked back his drink. Raymond Carmine wrinkled his nose.

"Did you win last year? No, you didn't, Brent," Nadine quickly snapped. "Take a seat, sweeties. I just need to check something with the driver..." 

The escort soon left and the two Victors' were alone with the tributes. Juniper did a quick study of them as she tried to clear her mind of any lingering thoughts. The boy, Raymond, looked to be strong enough and had good posture. He didn't seem too emotional about the Reaping and Juniper figured he at least had a shot. She also saw both his shoelaces were undone. 

And then Carrie. She was a crying mess. Tears and snot ran down her face, nose red with her eyes puffy. She was fourteen and underweight. Dirt caressed her skin. She wouldn't survive the Games and Juniper knew Brent was right. She was going to die. 

"Your shoelace is undone, kid." Brent slurred his words as he tried to point at Raymond. He had chugged another glass of alcohol like it was water. 

"What?" Raymond questioned and as he looked down, he let out a groan. "Stupid shoes... falling apart." 

"Yeah, yeah." Brent waved him away. "Now, how does dying sound?" 

"What?" Carrie squeaked. Tears were still rolling down her cheeks as she attempted to wipe them away. "What do you mean?" 

"Well, you're not going to win this thing—" 

"Brent!" Juniper snapped loudly. "Shut up. Don't tell them that." 

"Not my fault you cursed them by winning last year..." 

The Hale girl furrowed her brows intensely as she felt anger begin to bubble up. She tried to discard it as she watched Brent swagger away, instead looking at Raymond finish tying his shoes. But as she looked at them, she realised something. 

He only double-knotted one pair of his laces.