Lily

-

"What made you volunteer?" Liam asked while smiling at the crowd. You could see a couple of girls swooning at the front while I rolled my eyes in disappointment.

"For the fame and fortune, it will be a huge honor to participate as a tribute." I answered with a fake smile while giggling the whole time. I repeated the lines Sydney told me while she was coaching me for the interview.

"So, Lily, a few of us were very curious, why did you leave your family behind to participate?"

"You were trying to kill my sister. She's the only thing I've got left, and I promise her, that I will come back... but I'll never become the monster that past victors have become." I said honestly.

You could hear a pin drop in the huge auditorium as people stared at me, some in disappointment, others in pride. But what confused me the most was the expression of approval on the Head Gamemaker's face.

But it wasn't until I saw Sydney's expression that I knew I had screwed up.

-

All eyes are on me in the elevator. Sydney bites her lip while she mutters quietly under her breath, Mags and Sam are chatting about tomorrow. I freeze. Tomorrow is the day we'll go to the arena, the day I'll have to apply my survival skills in order to live.

"So." I'm broken out of my thoughts by Colin's fake cheerful voice. "That went well." He adds while winking at Sam and I.

Unintentionally, Sam let it slip that he won't kill anyone, 'cause he doesn't want his conscious marked. He's very religious in that way, but you could imagine Liam's reaction to that. I suppose he doesn't like us very much, especially after the events of today.

"Yeah... I could see the gamemakers radiating with joy." Mags snaps back sarcastically.

Sydney is now biting her nails anxiously and staggers out of the elevator as soon as we arrive. Mags and Colin follow quietly behind her, as Sydney bursts into tears and locks herself in her room.

"You did nothing." Colin tells us while glancing at us with pity. His forehead is damp with sweat as he struggles to break free of Mags's tight grasp. "Lily, why don't we take a walk. We have a lot to discuss." He adds while dragging my arm towards the elevator.

"Why do you want to talk to me?" I ask rudely while walking alongside Colin.

"How old do you think I am?" He says randomly. I look at him suspiciously. He's up to something.

"I don't know... Twenty-eight. Why are you asking me this?" I answer in confusion. If he wanted to discuss his age, he could've done it with Mags.

"Matthew Summers." He says, watching me like a hawk. I freeze.

"How do you know that name?" I snap as I feel a wave of anger overcome me.

"He was a good boy, a survivor, even more than that. I used to watch the countless times he used to save you. However, being a survivor wasn't enough, he suffered the same fate as you could right now, with that sharp mouth and those words." He says back while glancing at the peacekeepers around us.

"Shut up!" I snap. "You know nothing about my brother."

"Oh, but I do. You see... he figured me out. He knew the truth, all of it." Colin says mysteriously while measuring his words carefully. "You see.. he figured out my real last name, not my adoptive name. And even if he knew, he managed to keep a secret. I doubt you ever could do that. Listen, Lily, have you ever been told a secret?" He asks.

I raise my hand to slap him but, he easily intercepts it, as he pulls my hand downwards and shakes his head in disappointment.

"I'm trying to help you here. To see the world with your clear eyes. I'm your mentor, but do you see me telling this to Sam?" He says in annoyance.

"Why don't you tell him?" I reply.

"You can't trust him. Even if he's your friend, you can't trust him. I'm telling you this from experience, I don't want you to make the same mistakes as I did." Colin mutters, the pain in his voice is palpable.

"Helena..." I whisper while I remember Colin's partner and best friend. He's right. "You're changing the subject. What about my brother?"

"Your brother was... smart, tenacious, and brave. I met him while he was very young... he had suspicions, I managed to satisfy his curiousity. Years... he became clever, managed to overule me at my own game... and he found out who I was."

"Who are you then?" I ask, losing my patience.

"I told him it wasn't safe for him to reveal it, he didn't listen. I kept thinking maybe the deaf symptom lays down the Summers family, as you all tend to make unwise decisions that get you in trouble, or in that case, killed." His under-eye vein is bulging as he starts to get red in the face.

"That's why they got him killed. I was a mistake, a failure, that had to be corrected. To the world, my name was Colin Marshall, my family was punished and I was kidnapped. Their memories were erased, but in the bottom of my heart, I knew that my parents remembered a boy called Colin Summers, who was kidnapped twenty years ago." He says while looking at the stars.

I hear a ringing in my ears, it's faint, but it's still there. I manage to stumble for a while before I can comprehend what he actually said. Colin Summers. Summers.

"I'm not your brother, Lily, I'm your uncle. I knew you looked familiar on the train. You were my brother's daughter... and most of all, you have Matthew's eyes." He continues, patting my head awkwardly.

My eyes fill with unwanted tears as I understand what he means. I feel my uncle's arm around me, as I lean on his embrace. So, this is what a father's hug feels like, I wondered. I never had a proper father, I wondered what my life would've been like if I knew this before. Maybe, it could've been better, I could've had a better life and home, but that is the past, I have to focus on my future now.

"Let's get going now. You have a long, long day tommorow." Colin says while immitating the Capitol citizens' accent and somehow, I can't help but let a small chuckle leave my lips.

-

"Where the hell were you?" We are greeted at the door with Sydney's loud screeches, as my Uncle Colin covers my ears and winces.

"Walking." Colin answers back simply while brushing past her and entering the living room.

"Lil. Can I show you something?" Sam asks while bursting through the door despite Sydney's loud protests.

"Sure." I answer after Colin gives me a nod of approval.

"Here." Sam says as he holds out a small plant that is struggling under his grasp.

"Stevia..." I whisper. I used to have a stevia plant back home, it was very common for us who lived in District 4. I smelled it, it smelled like home.

"Here. It's yours." He says kindly. "You need it more than I do."

"Thank you." I answer as I grasp the stevia carefully and placed it inside a small plastic bottle surrounded with water. There is an uncomfortable silence until Sam quietly speaks.

"You don't have to be afraid, Lily. You can trust me, you know that. I can't be your ally... I don't want to have to kill you... but if I have to defend you, I will." He says as my eyes fill with tears. He gave up on me, he left me. "Lily." He adds while I walk out the door. "Promise me you'll fight for me. I don't want you to be angry." He adds.

"Please..." I beg. "I've got no one. I'm alone... I need your help, Sam. I'm not sure if i'm even going to live." I add quietly, my eyes are bloodshot red from crying. I see pain when I look into Sam's face. It pains me to say this, but this is the end. We both know that our friendship wouldn't last.

"I'm sorry, Lily. Just... don't do anything stupid." He answers while holding the tears from his eyes. I watch Sam with an expression of betrayal, as he slams the door shut, without a glance.

"Helena Garber." I hear a voice behind me as I walk towards the kitchen. Colin stands there, with a bottle of beer in his hand. Mags gets up and leaves the table. "She was my district partner, my best friend. I never realised she actually had planned to kill me.

"She became insane, as she went far away from her humanity. There was no cure... nothing could be done." Colin explains. "I was too late to save her.

"And maybe, so are you."