Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It started off small. A single observation, just one darkly humorous hypothetical question from a young girl less than a week away from death. 

“Hey Treech?”

“Yeah Lami?”

“You think you could climb those bars?” 

The black-haired boy looked over at the metal poles keeping them stuck in the zoo enclosure with a thoughtful gaze. Every tribute near them, including a fiery redhead, turned their head in interest. Tilting his head, Treech gave the bars a critical look before finally turning to his friend. 

“Probably not, they’re a little too far apart to get a proper grip.” 

“Far apart, huh?” Coral muttered, glancing over at her own district partner. 

“Shame. Would’ve been a real boss move to just climb out and disappear right under the Capitol’s nose.” Lamina shrugged. 

Nobody really pays it any mind. Why should they? Those outside the enclosure didn’t even hear it in the first place. Idle chatter between tributes as they wait for the day to pass isn’t uncommon. Once they’ve obtained their food from the crowd, they wait for the peace of the zoo’s closure. Aside from talking, what can they do? Nothing in the zoo is particularly entertaining for the tributes. 

Nothing came from the conversation anyway, right? Two tributes talked briefly, that’s it. Only one of their mentors showed up that day. The other had to use his charms and tricks to get food, for his district partner wasn’t given enough to share properly. Business as usual in their new reality. And no Capitol citizen worried about district beasts talking, because they had no reason to. These children were so far below them, there was nothing to worry about. 

So everything moves along. The world doesn’t stop because two teenagers talk to each other. There’s 22 others to pay attention to for entertainment. Those two will be more interesting tomorrow, no doubt. When they remember their place and put on a show. As for the tributes… A possible escape plan was just shot down. Demoralizing, but they weren’t expecting anything else. All went back to waiting for the peace of night. 

The next day, two mentors noticed their tributes were no longer in the enclosure. All citizens were escorted out as the peacekeepers frantically began their search for the two missing district children. Not a single camera had caught so much as a glimpse of them. From that day on, nothing that could possibly be turned into a weapon was allowed to be brought into the zoo by anyone other than peacekeepers for fear of possible rebel spies. 

Not even glass bottles. 

“You’re a menace, you know that?” 

“Yep!” 

It had been surprisingly easy to climb the bars. Though the rough, scratchy surface was a little uncomfortable, it gave them both excellent grip. If it wasn’t for the Capitol’s massive structures and pristine buildings slowly becoming visible all around the zoo, he’d have believed he was back home. Despite the less than ideal circumstances, Treech couldn’t help but marvel at the view as they began to reach the top. 

Only a few more feet and they’d be able to get out of this literal cage. To freedom. There was a lot to figure out after this. Lots of maybes and unanswered questions. How would they leave the city? Where would they go to stay out of the Capitol’s clutches? Could they ever go home? But all the worries were outweighed by the sheer excitement Treech felt over the fact that any of it was even a worry at all. An excitement he knew Lamina shared with him. 

“Why are you like this?” 

“Because it’s fun.” Treech smirked smugly. 

Not a single peacekeeper was in sight. No security cameras or anything either, those were all at the entrance of the enclosure. Which was a great decision, in Treech’s opinion. That was the only exit of the zoo and nobody was currently getting out on the other side. Certainly not. They should keep their focus on the gate, because the tributes couldn’t get out any other way. Especially not by climbing. Nothing to see up here! 

“You just wanted someone else to notice the gaps between the bars and were too anxious to tell the others about it.” 

“Shut up.”

“No.” Lamina smiled sweetly. 

Hoisting himself onto the slanted part of the bars at the top of the enclosure, Treech sat down and looked around properly as he swung his legs. The entire zoo was surrounded by buildings, so no matter where they went they’d have to go through the city. It sucked to not know where to go, but at least there was no way for the Capitol to predict where they’d gone. He looked over at Lamina, who looked back. 

For just a moment, they sat in silence, taking in their situation. It finally began to dawn on them. They were sitting on top of the enclosure. Outside the bars. They’d done it. Slowly, delighted grins began to spread over their faces like sunlight in the morning. Below them, a small dot of light moved around the circular space. Only the contrast between it and the surrounding darkness made it visible in the first place. It moved so far beneath them, unaware of the two shadows hovering so many feet above it. 

“So,” Treech whispered, “Where to?” 

“We’ve got a few hours before they realize.”

The peacekeeper was gone. It was the third patrol in a short amount of time. Which meant they had a good half an hour before the next one came. For people claiming to be so much smarter, these Capitol dumbasses sure were terrible at trying to be unpredictable. Treech hoped they never stopped, because they’d just handed him and Lamina a golden window of time to escape without even realizing. 

If this went well, it may inspire the others to try and get out too. At the very least, it would make the Capitol look very dumb. Because they were very dumb. Seriously, who the heck thought dumping two kids whose job involved climbing things without gear into an enclosure with prime climbing surfaces and no roof was a good idea? Treech needed to know so he could figure out whoever lobotomized them and send them a gift basket. Mentally, of course. No way was he spending money he didn’t have on a Capitol person. 

“Find a hiding spot in the city, then?”

“Yup. Let’s see if those fancy food rumors are true.” 

With twin smirks, they slid off their perches and down the bars to freedom. 

The very next day, two more tributes went missing. 

Mentors Persephone Price and Hilarius Heavensbee were interviewed in the wake of the disappearances, as well as Pliny “Pup” Harrington and Vipsania Sickle. Cameras did not notice anything unusual in or around the enclosure, leaving the nature of these disappearances a complete mystery. All mentors were distraught at the news that they were unable to participate in the Hunger Games until their tributes were found. 

Harrington and Price seemed more worried than anything. Heavensbee merely complained about being assigned a tribute “like that”, whereas Sickle lamented the loss of her good chances at winning the Plinth Prize. The interviews were broadcast throughout the entire Capitol, shown on every screen in the city and discussed on every news outlet as soon as it came out. It’s the talk of the town, and for good reason. 

Never before had a tribute escaped without a trace, let alone four. Of course it became big news. Especially because despite managing to break out of what the Capitol claimed to be an entirely secure holding place, there still wasn’t a trace of them. Not even a hint as to where they’d gone. Besides, there wasn’t much else to talk about. News outlets had been grasping for everything that could possibly make for an interesting story. 

All Capitol big names were otherwise preoccupied, leaving a gaping hole in the usual gossip mill of high society. These disappearances were the perfect remedy to this lack of content. What else could news outlets fill their columns with? Nobody cared about a small-scale theft from some mid-tier clothing store when teens dared each other to shoplift on the regular. And who actually tuned in to hear about a few missing fruits and vegetables everyone already knew had just been dropped on the ground and eaten by some street animal. 

So while the peacekeepers dragged the remaining tributes to the academy for the mentors to fill in a questionnaire for their assignment, the Capitol remained focused on this hot news story. From the youngest to the most senior citizens, every soul in the city tried to theorize on what could’ve possibly transpired. How had their dutiful protectors allowed this to happen? 

“You think he knew?” 

“Definitely.” 

If Lumberjack didn’t know about the gap between the bars, he wouldn’t have brought it up. No matter how many times his district partner fondly called him a dumb fuck, Coral knew he wasn’t stupid. Probably. Both of the district 7 tributes came off to her as pretty damn intelligent, as proven by the fact that neither they nor any corpses had been thrown back into the enclosure as of yet. They were still very much on the run, so they must be doing something right. She wasn’t about to let them hog all the glory. 

“You know the plan?”

“Yeah, yeah. Hide in the sewers near the zoo and wait for you to come find me. I got it, Coral, we’ll be fine.”

“You bet your ass we will be.” 

The zoo had closed again, which meant it was prime time for her little brother to get the heck out of here. Security had tightened, but Mizzen was a professional younger sibling, so Coral had no doubts about his ability to escape the zoo and remain an undetected nuisance to the Capitol for however long it would take her to free herself. He could evade her , what chance did the bunch of incompetent buffoons calling themselves ‘peacekeepers’ think they stood? 

“You’re leaving?” 

Whirling around, Coral came face to face with the boy from district 8. Bobbin, if she remembered correctly. And his district partner, who was barely visible where she stood behind him. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say he was standing in front of her. Shielding her. She could relate to his efforts, but that didn’t stop the glare from forming on her face as she snapped at him. 

“You’re not stopping me!” 

“ Stopping you? Please, anything that gets more of us,” he gestured around the zoo, “out of here is a good thing. But what’s your plan here, exactly?”

Something told her he already had a good idea, but she’d indulge him. District solidarity and all that, you know? If things went to plan she’d be out of here in a few days anyway, so it’s not like she had to worry about having to kill these kids anyway. Bobbin was talking to her for a reason. If Coral had to guess, that reason was hidden behind him. Well… District kids had to stick together. 

“Those bars are pretty far apart.” She glanced at Mizzen meaningfully. 

“Take Wovey.”

It wasn’t a question. Not that Coral would’ve answered any differently if it had been. In case she couldn’t find a way out before the games, she’d rather get as many of the younger kids out as possible. Besides, it was Wovey . What sort of monster would ever even consider not helping Wovey ?! Coral was cold, but she wasn’t a fiend or anything. Contrary to popular belief, she did in fact have a heart. Yeah, shocker, a young girl getting ready to fight to the death actually had feelings . Capitol citizens could never. 

Minutes later, the two older tributes sat together in the dead of night, their young partners long gone. As predicted, the heightened peacekeeper presence had done jack shit to hinder Mizzen in his path. While they were a little more alert than yesterday, they were still idiots. No amount of security measures would fix the Capitol’s critical deficit of intelligence. It’s only the lack of sharp objects that had saved that one blond mentor with the ugly makeup from death by Brandy’s hand. Cora would have paid all the money she didn’t have to see that. 

Oh well, here’s to hoping Brandy would get out and track down her mentor’s address for revenge. Stalking was fine if it was for the greater good, and sticking it to Capitol pricks was the greatest good there would ever be. If she found out in time, Coral would gladly help her out. Maybe rope the lumberjacks into it if they ran into them. They could make messing with their mentors a bonding activity! It would probably never happen, but a girl could dream! 

“So…” Bobbin started. 

“So.” 

Both of them were looking at everything that wasn’t each other . Coral’s eyes darted between the hay, the bars of the cage, and the stone the lumberjacks had spend all day before they’d so mysteriously vanished. And really, climbing over the 30-something foot high fence of the enclosure? Without even a hint of a trace left in their wake? It was kind of impressive. 

“Heard we’ll have meetings with our mentors tomorrow.”

“Oh? I thought that would be after the bombing…”

“They’ve moved up the timeline.” 

Code for: The peacekeepers are running around like headless chickens trying to find the two (soon to be four) missing tributes and are using this as an opportunity to get as many hands on deck as possible. 

“That sure is interesting.”

Bobbin hummed. Coral knew he knew she knew what he’d meant. It wasn’t exactly rocket science. Finding the two from 7 was the Capitol’s top priority right now and they clearly hadn’t learned their lesson on underestimating the tributes. Not that those dumbasses would ever find Mr. and Mrs. Climbing Champ even with everyone on the case, but they could try. Coral wouldn’t complain. 

She’d much rather laugh at them instead.

Chapter Text

As the hours creep by, the Capitol grows more and more restless. Still no sighting of the now four missing tributes. Border patrol has increased drastically, making it impossible for the tributes to have escaped the city. 

Starved, desperate children are somewhere on the streets, closeby, and no one knows where. How horrifying. Is there a thing in this world more threatening or scary? No, the citizens of the Capitol know that being found by these animals is the worst fate in the world. 

Truly, there are no greater horrors imaginable! I mean, it’s not like anyone would do something like, say, annually kidnap a bunch of kids and keep them in a zoo enclosure without feeding them until they can be thrown into an arena where they’ll fight to the death with rusty weapons and have it televised for funsies or anything. That would be crazy. A totally insane thing only a lunatic could come up with, let alone actually make happen. 

On an unrelated note, the Sickle household was broken into while all residents were away. None of the staff working realized anyone was inside. The break in was only discovered when the youngest daughter, Vipsania Sickle, entered her room after school and found it in disarray. All furniture was moved an inch, her possessions were switched around the room, and several valuable items were found to have been hidden all throughout the mansion. Two pillows went missing, replaced by notes, the first one reading as follows: 

Thanks for the food you didn’t give me :)  

And a second one:

May the ghosts of your past haunt you until the day you die a miserable, lonely death while you contemplate all the ways in which you suck. Bitch. 

It’s unclear as of yet who the perpetrators were. The Sicke family has alleged something being ‘wrong’ with their wooden furniture, claiming they look different, but were unable to explain how. Possible supernatural explanations are hotly debated, but they’re given more credibility by the second note left in Vipsania Sickle’s room. Could there be a vengeful ghost trying to exact revenge over something? 

Only time will tell.

“Mina! We’re in the news!” 

“Of course we are, we escaped the zoo remember? Pretty big deal.”

“No, I mean- Our heist!” 

Excitedly, Treech waved a newspaper around as he balanced on a metal pipe running along the side of the building roof they were staying on. His curls blew freely in the wind without his trilby to somewhat hold them down. As soon as they’d deemed the distance they’d crossed big enough, they’d gone on an ‘after closing shopping spree’ and ditched their District clothing to blend in better. Their own clothes were folded up, hidden beneath the pipes with the rest of their ‘borrowed’ stuff and kept safe for later, when they’d don them again. After all, there was no way they were wearing these stuffy Capitol costumes for the rest of their lives! 

Lamina would rather face the games than suffer a fate as gruesome as that . These things should be considered torture devices or something with how stiff and ugly they were. It was a far more accurate description of these things than the word “clothing.” 

They’d taken up residence on the roof of a big building, and the hotel next door had been kind enough to lend them their showers. Granted, they weren’t aware of this, but still. Very sweet of them! Without the dirt exposing them as district, not a single Capitol citizen looked at them twice. It was child’s play for Treech to go out rocking his new, fancy black pants and dark blue shirt and rob the Capitol blind. 

Lamina, meanwhile, went sightseeing in her knee-length, flowy emerald green dress, intricately embroidered with pretty flowers. It wasn’t all that difficult to obtain a map so they could start planning their exit. Finding a certain someone’s home address had merely been practice so she was sure she was doing this right. It had nothing to do with information Treech had shared with her about his mentor. Nothing at all. 

Her district partner hopped down from the pipe, sliding over to sit down on the borrowed fluffy blanket next to her and leaning over to see the drawing she was working on. A project to pass the time with while they waited for the buzz around escaped tributes to go down. Whether they were waiting to escape or to help the other tributes escape was up for debate. Depends on how many managed to free themselves before the two of them had a chance to. 

“Let me guess, they don’t realize it was us?”

“Nope!” Treech popped the ‘p’. 

“Wow they’re stupid.”

While her friend devolved into delighted cackles beside her, Lamina laid down the sketchbook and looked over her work. Carving tools and woodsnippers were scattered around on the ground nearby, where Treech had been sitting before going out for groceries. Maybe she could use those snippers as stamps or as details… and then they could throw the remaining ones over the edge of the roof. Lean into the supernatural rumors or something, that could be fun. 

“But uhm… Why exactly did we go after Vipsania again?” Treech asked her. 

“Because you only just now deigned to tell me how terrible your mentor is, and while you may not have the spine to do something about it, I sure as hell do!” 

“Hey! She wasn’t that bad…”

Raising an eyebrow, Lamina looked at him with the most unimpressed stare she could muster. This guy … Taking a handful of wood snippers, she threw them in Treech’s general direction. They fluttered to the ground not even a foot away from her, barely even grazing her friend. A singular snipper flew into his hair. Plucking it out, he looked at her with a confused expression and opened his mouth. Lamina narrowed her eyes. 

“She didn’t feed you. She insulted home. She insulted you ! She-”

“Okay okay okay! I get it, you don’t have to say it like that...” Treech grumbled. 

Rolling her eyes, Lamina focused back on her drawing. Here’s to hoping they’d run into the other two missing tributes, whoever they were. It never hurt to have more partners in crime. 

Despite recent happenings, the president has decided that the in-person interviews between the mentors and their assigned tributes must continue. No amount of heathenry will halt the proceedings as planned out before the reaping ceremony. In the words of our esteemed, beloved, ever-gracious President Ravinstill: “We must not allow our country to succumb to terrorism! We shall not falter!” 

As the Capitol’s so deeply advanced morals shall always win over the cruelty of the district children that dare do something as evil as escape from their zoo enclosure and create city-wide havoc with their mere thought of their existence not being locked behind bars. It’s a truly terrifying concept, certainly not helped by the knowledge of what ended up happening during the interviews. Indeed, there is more bad news. The highly esteemed academy students were horrifically and tragically attacked by their tributes! 

Without provocation, Festus Creed, Juno Phipps, and Arachne Crane were brutally knocked out. By the time their unconscious bodies were found, there was no trace of the tributes. Peacekeeper accounts give conflicting images, likely caused by the sheer shock of the sheer evil of these actions. Doctors speculate both mentors probably had their head smashed into the table, leading to immediate unconsciousness. How utterly appalling of that district scum! As of yet, Capitol Security is investigating who was stationed inside the interview room at the time of these attacks and how the tributes managed to escape the building unspotted.

In a course of events that cannot possibly be related to the previous news, several fires broke out throughout the building where the interviews were held. Nobody knows what caused them, but luckily they were not big enough to cause severe damage aside from a few second degree burns. 

“This was a horrible idea!” Brandy screeched. “Let's do it again!” 

“Lets not!” Bobbin screamed over her cackles.

“Oh don’t pretend you aren’t enjoying this, I can see your grin!” Coral replied. 

“Never said I didn’t!”

In Bobbin’s defense, what was there to dislike about setting the Capitol’s stuff on fire as a distraction? They were currently sprinting away from the last blaze they planned to leave in their wake, and while he wouldn’t speak for the others he was praying to any deity that may listen that they’d make it out before the peacekeepers caught up with their little squad. 

That would be highly inconvenient and possibly a tad bit awkward. You know, with the whole setting several rooms on fire thing? 

Oh well, not his problem. Now on top of the probably massive pressure on the peacekeepers to figure out where Treech, Lamina, Wovey, and Mizzen had gone, they’d have three more disappearances on their record. There was no doubt in Bobbin’s mind that these guys were about to have a horrible time trying to justify this level of incompetence, because there was no way these people would ever even consider the idea that the tributes were just better . 

Not that he was gonna complain about their delusions. They’d worked out quite well for him and his fellow kids so far, after all. As he and the two older girls sped through unfamiliar halls to freedom, he wondered if people were being punished for this. Now that there was actual property damage, would tangible consequences begin raining down? He couldn’t imagine these peacekeepers having a nice future ahead of them after this blunder. 

Ha! Sucks to be them. 

Somehow, the tributes of both Urban Canville and Androcles Anderson managed to disappear into thin air as well! Neither mentors were injured, thankfully, both citing the chaos after the disappearance of the three previous tributes as the culprit. This was corroborated by peacekeeper and war veteran Claudius Vandel, who criticized the guards inside the room for leaving these vulnerable young children alone in a room full of such beasts. 

Vandel himself was stationed on patrol through the hallways far away from the room where these brave students faced the task of interviewing their tributes. Though the incompetence of his comrades left his attempts fruitless, citizens can rest assured that Vandel kept his side of the building safe and tribute-free. 

It is unclear as of yet what will happen now, as tightened security and extensive search parties have not yielded results as of yet. Peacekeepers work restlessly to ensure these renegades are put back in the cage where they belong, but until then the Capitol can do nothing but wait and see how many other horrors will be unleashed this year. 

Claudius considered himself to be a good person. 

His whole job was all about protecting people, of course he was a good person! Even more importantly, he considered himself a good father to his daughters back home, bringing food to the table while still finding time for them after the loss of his wife. It had been hard, especially in the beginning, but he’d say he’s done a fine job raising them on his own.

At first, this had made him cheer on the idea of the Hunger Games. Those rebel monsters should be punished for their crimes! For all the people they’d hurt, all the families they’d torn apart. Every child taken too soon should be avenged, and every teen forced to raise themself and their siblings should be able to look back one day and feel repaid for their suffering! As such, he’d been ecstatic to be assigned to keep this year’s tributes in check. 

But then he’d patrolled the zoo, he’d seen the exact thing that had made him so in favor of the games in the first place. Small, frail bodies shivering with malnourishment, rife with injuries and insect bites in ragged clothing, clearly struggling to keep themselves upright as they hurried around attempting to appease the right people so they could eat. So they could give their food away to other kids when they needed it too!  

It didn’t even take 24 hours for the doubts to set in, and it took even less time for him to do something about it. After all, a dozen people pouring over security footage hadn’t yielded a single result in terms of figuring out what happened to the four missing tributes. These vile, lesser beasts had just… vanished. Without a trace. While every higher up kept screaminig about how much smarter and better they were and look how big their muscles are.

What did that say about them? 

So when the number of escapees jumped from 4 to 7 the second there weren’t any peacekeepers around thanks to an impromptu debrief, Claudius didn’t give chase. Instead, he sprinted towards the room with tributes and mentors. Two young girls, one from 3 and one from 9. Instead of giving himself time to ponder the stupid decision he was about to make, he grabbed the two by the collar and dragged them to the exit before anyone realized it was him. 

Four starved kids managed to escape detection for over a day despite not knowing the first thing about this city, and something told Claudius they weren’t even trying all that hard. 

He’d be fine.

…

He was never going to feel safe in this city ever again. 

As fast as he could, he hurried them down the hall to where he knew a secret system of passageways existed. He’d been there when they’d been built during the siege and had been forced to memorize them over and over again in case the building came under attack. As soon as they were in deep enough for Claudius’ liking, he pulled them to a stop. They looked confused. And scared. Definitely scared, which… Was fair, to be honest. He did just drag them through the academy by the collar and he was part of the group that had been tormenting these kids for weeks, so apprehension was a perfectly valid response. 

Perhaps a little mild given the circumstances, but that was probably just the shock. Besides, the lack of complete and utter panic was undoubtedly a benefit given that they’d have to figure everything out themselves from here, so… Small mercies. Or something. 

“These tunnels will lead you outside. Stick to the blue lining when you can, take green when you can’t. Do you know how digital locks work?”

The girl from 3 looked at him with the most unimpressed stare he’d ever seen a person give. Her gaze held levels of sheer boredom and offence he didn’t think were possible as she looked him up and down with a critical eye before scoffing. Okay, so clearly no shock. Just a genuine lack of reaction to these unexpected events. Though, given the week these kids have had… Yeah, maybe he should’ve expected that. Or maybe the girl was smart enough to predict that this would happen and could essentially see the future. At this point, he wouldn’t put it past a district kid. He’d learned his lesson about underestimating them, thank you very much!

“I make them. For a living.”

“Right… Well in that case I won’t have to waste time explaining how to bypass them!” 

And he wouldn’t have to give them his access card, which was great because if he didn’t have it that would be very suspicious indeed. Now he had an alibi! Perhaps he should try to steal someone else’s keycard and blame all of this on them… Well, he’d never liked General Harrington much for being such a stick in the mud. Or maybe he could go for the guy who was constantly boasting about winning that one PaneMonopoly game last week when Claudius had clearly beat him and he was just a cheating little scumbag whose mother didn’t love him for being such a-

Coming back down to reality for a moment… 

He could live out his revenge fantasy later. Kids on the verge of becoming the President’s next headache first, vengeance against the filthy cheater second. Clapping both girls on the shoulder, he turned them around and gave them a small shove forward. Usually he’d give words of comfort, but something told Claudius that his peacekeeper uniform would probably make all his attempts backfire horribly. 

“Well, off you go! Good luck, steal something from the cabbage guy at the market while you’re at it, he’s a dick.” 

“...What?” 

“The fruit people will do too, little scammers. Bye!”

As he hurried back where he came from to solidify his total and definite innocence in this situation, he could feel the girls’ stares boring into his back. Now, how to make that cheating scumbag look as guilty as possible… As he mentally formulated his plan of attack to pass over the blame, he heard the girl from 9’s voice. 

“What in the world just happened?” 

Yet more tributes have escaped, but finally there is a lead! 

While no traces have been found to help locate the dangerous creatures now roaming the city, a possible explanation for how these disappearances keep happening has been found in light of the most recent breakout. This violent and truly horrific display of barbarism from the tributes might have been orchestrated with the help of our own esteemed citizens! 

Peacekeeper Agaeus Plateus was seen on cameras patrolling areas through which the tributes, according to war veteran Claudius Vandel, were most likely to escape. What’s more, his cardkey giving access to several highly secure buildings has disappeared! The investigation is still ongoing, but we are hopeful to finally find an explanation for all these seemingly implausible events. 

Perhaps it was to be expected, given how literally impossible it would have been for these barbarians to have made it out all on their own without being detected. Outside help and elaborate cover ups would explain so much of what has happened! Doctor Volumnia Gaul, head gamemaker and esteemed scientist, has expressed her confidence that these vile beasts will soon be caught and has reassured us that there will be consequences for their insolence and arrogance. 

“Wow, they're stupid.” Mizzen giggled, reading the article out loud to Wovey. 

She turned out to be wonderful company and he was glad to not be stuck here all alone. That would have sucked . Now he had a partner in crime! It was certainly a lot less boring to wait for Coral this way. And Bobbin too, he supposed. Bobbin was part of the plan too.

“Why do they blame each other?” Wovey asked innocently. “It was our own idea.”

“I know right! Hilarious!” 

Putting down the newspaper, Mizzen got up and stretched his muscles. Originally they’d hidden in the sewers, but the smell was awful ! Nobody could stand that for long periods of time, it wasn’t humanly possible, so they’d set up shop on the side of a river they’d come across. The walls were clearly man-made, but apparently nobody had bothered to fix any of the cave-like nooks at the bottom of it. Or they just hadn’t noticed. 

Whatever the reason, it made them look very stupid. Everything as of recent was making the Capitol look stupid. Which made sense, because they were stupid. Seriously, what kind of business owner deliberately screwed over the health and happiness of their workers? It was just asking for subpar income and a future rebellion! Oh well, all the better for them! He turned to Wovey with a wide, devilish grin. 

“Let's go wreck this place!”

Chapter Text

“You know, out of all the escapes so far…” Otto said, staring at the hole in the floor. “This has to be the most pathetic one.” 

“We literally make these things for a living , did they really think we wouldn’t know how to take them apart?” Ginnee finished. 

Random pieces of metal and screws were strewn across the floor, the sound of metal on metal screeching through the air at every bump in the road. The 15 remaining tributes stared at the newly created exit uncomprehendingly. Or maybe that was just Otto projecting while hallucinating from the starvation. It was 50/50, really. Both were perfectly plausible explanations, though Otto was leaning towards hallucination because, well… 

“In their defense…” Panlo started, before falling silent. He looked around the cattle cart, then back at the hole in the ground, and shrugged. “Nah, I got nothing.” 

Stretching his arms above his head, Otto eyed the hole. They’d all fit easily enough, but they’d be landing on the ground that was moving under them just a little too quickly to be comfortable. Look, he was gonna jump, but he liked these pants okay? What if they got damaged?! He didn’t have that many clothes, especially not nice ones! Of course he didn’t,  he wasn’t Capitol . With a quiet sigh, he prepared himself to be disappointed in the durability of his outfit. 

He really should’ve taken Apollo up on that offer to buy him new clothes… 

If he was gonna rip anything, he’d much rather it be that ugly Capitol crap they dared call “fashion” than actual good clothing. Honestly, at what point did something stop counting as clothing and instead be classified as eyesore? Worst part about it was that it didn’t even look comfortable at all, it was just… Flashy. And impractical. A cry for attention that reminded him of a rebellious teenager desperately screaming into the void that “it’s not a phase , mom!” 

Yes it is. 

If this wasn’t a phase, Otto was officially done with humanity. He was moving into the forest and drinking until he forgot any society outside of himself and his rat friends existed. He would rather walk into that arena and offer himself up as the first kill of the games or somehow take himself out via a collapsing ceiling or something than accept that all these people walked around all day in stuff like that and didn’t know, on some deep instinctual level, that they were absolute clowns for it. 

Otto was all for self-expression but there was a limit and it had been crossed multiple times over . Honestly he was so glad he wasn’t born in 8, he couldn’t imagine how torturous it must be to be forced to make those things all day and have to see them. At least in the zoo he could close his eyes and pretend none of it was real! Literally all Capitol clothing had going for it was the quality of the fabric, which was why Otto was going to steal and upcycle some of that, but how could it be worth it if they looked like that ?! 

“So, you all coming?” Ginnee asked the rest of the remaining tributes. “I’d say a group this big means we risk getting caught but…” She looked at the hole. “Somehow, I don’t think that will be a problem…” 

The group eyed each other hesitantly, weighing their options. Which Otto didn’t blame them for. Sure, staying meant possibly being thrown into the games, but… Without Ginnee and Otto, there would be 13 tributes left. 11 , nearly half of the tributes had found a way to escape so far, and based on the peacekeepers’ increasingly increasingly panicked and disorganized state, there still wasn’t a trace of any of them. 

This was only the third day . 

Not to mention that two of those had happened on the first night , not even 24 hours after their arrival. Then in the span of 12 hours at most , they’d lost 9 tributes. While working with supposedly “airtight” security. Ha! It was about as airtight as the zoo enclosure. Yeah, no, at this point the chances of not finding a different route of escape before the games was significantly smaller than the chances that they would. Whatever weird plot the Capitol had concocted to somehow make the Games “entertaining” was backfiring on them horribly and given how unprepared they clearly were for any setbacks, Otto doubted they’d find a solution for their problems soon. So the answer he and Ginnee got wasn’t really all that surprising or shocking, really. 

“I think I’ll give you two the best shot at staying undetected…” Tanner finally said. 

The other tributes nodded, and Otto couldn’t help but wonder if maybe it was better this way. After all, while they hadn’t gotten too many details about everything while stuck in the zoo, he could imagine the Capitol was absolutely losing its mind. He’d love to see that in real time while actually connected to the outside world, and besides… The more ways they found to escape, the harder it would be for these people to claim they were stupid or lesser somehow for being born in the wrong place. 

How would they claim to be better when the tributes kept finding ways to escape and evade them? They hadn’t even been able to find a single tribute so far, and they’d had a whole day to focus on just Lamina and Treech, who had most definitely stayed together. Besides, they must’ve gathered supplies from somewhere to stay alive, so they had to have shown their faces at some point. The Capitol was just not good enough at existence to notice.

“Alright then!” He said, clapping his hands together. “Pay attention, you’ll have to close this up.” He nodded at the evidence of the prank they were about to pull on their little ‘friends’.

“Oh!” Circ interrupted. “One more thing… If you find Teslee, tell her plan z’s on. I got the supplies for our little DIY project in the arena.” 

“Sure thing! Now, who here works best with screwdrivers?” 

10 minutes later, all evidence had been erased and two more tributes had disappeared. 

Suspicion of foul play continues to rise as evidence ramps up with every second! 

As tributes from district 6 disappear between the start and end of the journey between the Capitol zoo and the arena for the mentors’ tour, several reports of vandalism pop up throughout the Capitol! These spray paintings, broken into homes, misplaced items and general other shows of heathenry cannot possibly be caused by those foul escapees alone! Especially breaking into these elite Capitol homes is simply too complex for them.

Clearly, there are Capitol accomplices involved! Aside from the peacekeeper currently under investigation, there have been no further hints as to who may have had a hand in this chaos. 

On a more positive note, technologically advanced electronics store CapTech has recently had a massive spike in quality products and new innovations, credited by CEO Odysseus Fyorla to their talented, passionate staff being given even better working hours and conditions. A new staff-only cafe was added to the back of the house, protected with staff ID’s in combination with passcode. Fyorla claims this to be an attempt at ensuring staff don’t have to deal with any customers during their breaks, citing incidents of people barging into the breakroom to demand they fix issues in the past. 

Sadly, that’s the only recent positive news. A second breakin has happened in the Sickle household, with rotting eggs having been thrown at the Crane and Creed households. Nobody knows what kind of degenerate could have done this. Mentor Arachne Crane has complained about suspicions of sabotage regarding the mentorship program, first with her assigned tribute and now with the most recent disappearances. Festus Creed has voiced agreement, but had nothing to say about his mentor, in contrast to Crane. 

“It’s truly unfair!” Crane told Capitol Daily. “All she did was glare at me. How rude and unmannered! I’ve done nothing to deserve this!” 

All Creed had to say on the matter is that Crane teased her tribute with food and water, as well as making choice comments her tribute apparently could not appreciate. To be so viciously beaten over the head for such minor things is truly appalling and when the perpetrators are found they will be punished severely! Mentor Vipsania Sickle refused to comment on the latest breakin, stating her family is handling it privately when pressed. We will have to wait and see how this turns out. 

“That’s amazing kid!” Minerva smiled, hugging Teslee close. 

She was a wonderful lady, in Teslee’s opinion. Smart and sweet and kind in a way that made her homesick for her mom. Especially with those hugs. The hugs definitely made her miss home the most, which was okay. Teslee was gonna go home soon. It wouldn’t be much longer and she couldn’t be more exited. Well, except for the figuring things out with CapTech, that was gonna be a hassle. She’d have to arrange a way to travel into the Capitol regularly to keep seeing the team. 

The team filled with Capitol citizens that she actually wanted to see again. What in the world? A District kid finding a squad of actually emotionally intelligent Capitol tech nerds to hang out with regularly? In what world had she found herself existing? Just days before this had been unthinkable, but then a peacekeeper saved her and Sheaf’s lives and she’d gotten a job that built a whole new break room just so they could hang out with her. Did rats fly now? Were they going to get rights too? Was the president going to develop a conscience? 

Wait, no, that was a step too far. 

Anyways

With each improved system and set of updates, Teslee found herself get more respect from the team. Even the ones who’d wanted to sell her out to the peacekeepers had started to warm up to her, and that was great because she’d need a bit of help for her next operation. The slight change of plans after running into Otto and Ginnee wasn’t a big deal, but sneaking into the arena right before the tour wasn’t a difficult task. It was abandoned. An actually populated area would be a slight hassle. 

Oh well, all the more fun for her.

BREAKING NEWS!

To make a horrendous start of the week even more terrible, during the mentors’ tour of the arena with their tributes, several bombs were set off, creating massive damage to the structure and causing absolute chaos! Nobody knows where these explosives could have come from, but luckily no fatalities occurred. All mentors and peacekeepers have come out mostly unscathed save for Gaius Breen and Livia Cardew. 

Even worse, the zoo enclosure the tributes were staying in was blown up as well! Several Capitol citizens have been grievously injured and rushed to hospital. We are awaiting updates and send our deepest condolences to the affected families. Terrifyingly enough, during the chaos, all but 8 of the remaining tributes managed to escape. Speculations of rebel involvement are unconfirmed, but appear more and more likely every second. 

Two bombings in rapid succession? Who else would ever do such a horrible thing? What other monster could attack our dear citizens like this? We of the Capitol News will keep you updated on any new information as it comes out…

“I thought you only had one bomb!” Panlo yelled out over the chaos around them to Circ.

“I do! Those aren’t my or Teslee’s work!” 

Coughing painfully, Panlo tried to see through the clouds of smoke and dust billowing up all around him. Loud creaking above him was the only warning he got before large chunks of debris were raining down on him. He grabbed onto Breen’s fancy academy vest and forcibly dragged him out of the way, sending them both crashing to the ground. The stone mass smashed to pieces where they’d stood seconds before. Scrambling back up, Panlo dragged his frozen, useless mentor closer to the edge of the arena where the air was clearer. Someone else had placed and set off bombs. Hopefuly, no one had gotten injured by the unexpected complication. Or worse...

The entrance was closeby. Just a small sprint and he’d be free… Glancing back over at the chaos they’d just escaped, he saw Circ desperately search the ground with his hands. Without a second thought, he sprinted over, ignoring his stupid mentor’s annoying voice calling out for him with what would’ve sounded like worry if Panlo didn’t know any better. Which he did. He did know better. The guy could go fuck himself, him and his terrible unfunny jokes and his holier than thou attitude. He pulled Circ to his feet, quickly checking him over to make sure he wasn’t seriously injured. 

“My- My glasses! They-”

“We’ll find you new ones!” Panlo interrupted. “Come on, we need to go!”  

Grabbing his friend (were they friends? They were now ), Panlo began to sprint towards the entrance. No time to find those things with all this chaos, they were probably broken anyway. They’d figure something out later, what mattered now was that they got the Hell out of this damned place. Glasses wouldn’t matter if they were too dead to use them! People were screaming around him, but he couldn’t bring himself care. Not when freedom was so close. 

A flash of white made him screech to a halt. Peacekeeper . Circ bumped into him as a bullet whizzed past them, just barely missing his shoulder. The man’s helmet was cracked, a sickening smirk on his face as he pointed his gun at them. Oh the things Panlo would give to punch it right off his ugly mug. They’d see who was smirking when he’d properly reconstructed the guy’s face. It couldn’t get any less sightly anyway. 

“Where do you think you’re going, you pests ?!” The man spat. 

“Catching a breather, sir.” Circ said, clutching at the back of Panlo’s shirt. 

“Oh you little-”

The peacekeeper’s face twisted with rage as he aimed his gun at Circ’s face. Eyes widening, Panlo pushed Circ behind him and closed his eyes as he braced for the impact of the bullet that was sure to come. Pain would drill through his body as it entered through his skin to bury itself deep into his flesh. Would it be fatal? Would it be slow? Was he going to die here? Oh God he was going to die here. He was so close to freedom and why wasn’t he feeling anything yet? Surely it should have-

“Panlo? What’s happening?” 

Opening his eyes slowly, Panlo saw the peacekeeper on the ground. His gun on the floor. A tall silhouette standing over him, clad in red with a large rock in his hand. An expression of shock and disbelief that must’ve mirrored Panlo’s own. Apparently, neither of them had expected this to happen. 

“B-Breen?”

Breen gave him a hesitant smile, panicked eyes glancing beyond the two tributes to the chaos they’d escaped mere moments earlier. He stumbled slightly, and for a moment Panlo worried he’d lose his footing entirely. Had he hit his head? It would explain the behavior, but Panlo wouldn’t have missed something big like that right? He’d pulled his mentor to safety in time, right? 

But no, Breen stepped aside glancing down at the peacekeeper and through the now free entrance of the arena. The bloodied rock dropped from his hand down to the ground. Bloodied, because he’d bashed the peacekeeper’s head in. To save Panlo and Circ. To save two district kids . And now he was trying to… help them? As he stepped aside, he looked Panlo straight in the eyes. He’d never seen the guy look so serious before. 

“There’s a 40 second gap in security near midnight in watchtower E28 on the east side of the city’s border patrol. When they change shifts, they rely solely on the cameras to check the defense systems due to understaffing. Use it.” 

“Br- Gaius , why are you…” 

“You have to run !” 

“I–”

“Come on!” Circ yelled, pushing him forward slightly. “Let's get out of here!” 

With one last look at his mentor, Panlo nodded resolutely and grabbed Circ’s arm, pulling him along as they bolted towards the gate. Towards safety. Towards freedom . They'd have to find the other escaped tributes and figure out the stuff about the watchtower, and there was so much they still had to do. But they were getting out of here. They were out of the Capitol's clutches and one step closer to going home. They were so close. Because of the person Panlo had least expected to be on their side. 

And as they sprinted past, Panlo made eye contact with Gaius Breen for the last time. Maybe he had his own reasons, maybe he wasn't truly on the tributes' side, but maybe he was. It didn't matter in the end. There was no time for words, but Panlo hoped his face conveyed everything he wished he’d had the chance to say. All the I hate you’s, the thoughts he’d kept to himself from the moment they’d first met, his contempt and his fear and his anger. But above all, he hoped Gaius could see the way he wanted to tell him…

Thank you