"Evelyn Brinley, better known as Lady Red, victor of the 72nd Hunger Games. Won her games at 15."
"Why Lady Red?"
"Because she always wears red. Oh, and she won her games by burning the remaining tributes alive."
✮
"𝑮𝒊𝒓𝒍 𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆? 𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒄...
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THE RIDE DOWN THE ELEVATOR WAS LONG AND AWKWARD, and the night before had been filled with tears. They were mostly Cassandra's tears, of course. It turned out that the escort had grown rather fond of the two tributes, and she had trouble letting them go. Evelyn had trouble holding her tears in when Cassandra kept hugging her, but Jordan just sat there, staring numbly at the wall. The boy had accepted his death already, and nobody in the group could do anything to convince him otherwise.
"Sasha," Evelyn said, turning to her mentor, "Tell my brother that-"
Sasha held up his hand and ran the other one through messy blonde hair, "Don't."
"Sasha please-"
"I promised your brother I'd get you out alive, Lyn. And I don't break my promises."
"You can't guarantee that."
"Yeah, well talking like you're already dead isn't going to help either, so I like my option better."
Evelyn would've jumped at the chance to argue with him, but she was tired and she had to save what little energy she had left for the bloodbath. The two of them had devised a plan for the bloodbath the night before, and they both decided a simple one was better than a complex one for the first day. As soon as the gong rang she'd run toward the Cornucopia, grab a weapon and a backpack if she could see one, and then she'd run to the nearest shelter.
If there would be shelter.
"You also want to find food and water right away," Her mentor added as the elevator came to a stop, "You could start looking when you start getting thirsty, but all the careers are going to be busy at the Cornucopia during the bloodbath, so it would be the safest time to find essentials.
"This one is going to be the hardest. Kill anyone you see. If you don't that gives them a chance to kill you later. This isn't a competition about the moral high ground, Evelyn. This is survival, and to survive, you need to let go of all the values you hold dear."
"And you're going to try and help me right?" Evelyn asked and the anxiety in her tone was clear as they reached the plane.
Sasha rolled his eyes, "Nah, I'm gonna let you handle everything alone, not send you anything, and watch as you struggle. Maybe I'll even bet on the girl from 1. She seems strong."
Evelyn burrowed her eyebrows, but a small smile tugged at the corners of her lips, "You could've just said yes, you'd send me stuff. You don't have to be a smartass."
"Where's the fun in that?" Her mentor smirked, nudging her in the shoulder with his elbow. Then he put both of his hands on her shoulders and turned her body towards him, "Seriously, don't be scared. It's going to make you look weak and pathetic, and no one's going to want to give me the money to send you things, alright? You're more capable than half the people going into that arena. Oh, and you need to win. If you die Evan is going to murder me too."
