Disclaimer: I don’t own the Hunger Games or any of its characters. The many OC’s, however, are mine. :-)
Summary: Adya knew the moment his name was picked out of the bowl that he would not be coming back from the 74
th Hunger Games…
WARNINGS: SLASH! (M/M) VIOLENCE! ANGST! CHARACTER DEATH! IMPORTANT AUTHORS NOTE - IN ORDER TO STOP MY STORY FROM BEING PERMANENTLY DELETED I MUST WARN YOU THAT I WILL BE QUOTING FROM THE BOOK & MOVIE (HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins)
No One Knows Who I Am
The Capitol, Day Six “So, Adya…tell me…how did a Tribute who only achieved a training score of 1, the lowest score in the history of the games, manage to make his way to the top of the leader board with odds of 3-1 to win?” “…what?” “Did you not realise that you’re tied for first place on the leader board with Cato of District 2?” “…er…no…no, I didn’t know…” “Makes me think you’ve got something hidden up your sleeve…” Adya chuckled darkly, his fingers coming up to touch the dark glasses that his stylist had added to his interview outfit so as to give the “big reveal” a bit more flare. Getting onto the stage had been an interesting experience, what with Una having to whisper him hurried directions about the layout of the stage before she herself had to appear for her interview with Caesar Flickerman. He’d stubbed his toes on the step but thankfully he hadn’t fallen over. “…um…” Caesar laughed triumphantly. “So there is something! Is it a secret or can you share it with us tonight?” “…um…it’s not really a secret…I’ve only kept quiet about it till because...well…you don’t really need to know why but…” His hands were shaking as he reached up an slowly removed the dark glasses, turning his sightless eyes towards the host of the games. “I’m blind.” Silence. Complete and utter silence. For a moment it was as if no one in the audience even dared to breath as they stared at him. “…come again?” Caesar finally asked, his voice filled with barely hidden confusion. “I could have sworn you just said–” Adya nodded sharply as he interrupted the startled host; “That I’m blind. I am. I cannot see a thing. I’ve only got a vague idea where you are because of what I can hear – your voice, your breathing…” He heard the host of the Hunger Games shift in his chair moments before he felt something moving close to his face. A hand, he would guess. He was probably checking to see how much his eyes reacted to the movement…and judging by the slight hitch in the other mans breath he would guess that, funnily enough, they didn’t. “…I don’t…” Caesar cleared his throat loudly. “I don’t think we’ve ever had a blind Tribute compete in the Games before…” “You know you have a very liberal use of the word compete…” Someone chuckled in the audience. Caesar huffed softly, obviously trying to conceal his annoyance at having his control of the interview tested by a Tribute like him. “But surely someone from your District could have volunteered to enter the games in your place?” “Er…yeah…my friend wanted to but I wouldn’t let him…” “Why not? I would have thought you’d have jumped at the chance…unless you were after the glory for yourself?” “No…I just didn’t see any point in…um…throwing away the life of someone who actually has a future.” “You didn’t have much confidence in him winning then…” “Against the Careers? Come on, everyone knows how this thing works. Better to sacrifice a cripple than someone who can actually be a contribution to society.” Caesar hummed thoughtfully. “Won’t your parent be disappointed in you for throwing away the chance for District 8 to have a Victor?” “Um…I don’t know…?” Annoyingly his answer came out more as a question than a statement. “I’d like to think they’d be a little bit proud of me…” “You’d like to think?” “They’re dead.” Silence. Again. “I’m very sorry to hear that.” Yeah, right…and pigs might fly… “If you don’t mind my asking, Adya, how have you survived with no sight and no parents?” “I lived rough…” Several voices gasped loudly. “I’m sure some of you noticed that I wasn’t…um…the cleanest of Tributes ever to be picked during a Reaping…” “That’s right, you did look a little bit…” “Dirty. I know. So yeah…I slept roughly and sang for food.” “What do you mean you sang for food?” Caesar repeated slowly. “Exactly that. I could hardly offer to do odd jobs in exchange for food so instead I’d usually sit in the square and sang the songs my mother taught me before she died. People were very kind…” A murmur of approval and interest spread through the vast audience he could now hear shifting in their seats. “That’s actually sort of what I did for my final training session,” he supplied without being prompted. “I couldn’t exactly demonstrate my prowess with any of the weapons or anything and…well…they’d seen me fall off pretty much every piece of equipment in there…” Someone chuckled. “So instead I sang them a song called Gethsemane…um…it’s a song from the point of view of a man who knows that he is going to die…” “I’ve never heard of it…” Caesar muttered. “That’s probably because it comes from before the Dark Days like most of the songs I know are. Actually, thinking about it all bar three are from before…” A loud gasp of shock came from the audience this time followed by a low murmur as people discussed the new found information. “I’d sing it for you now but it’s a bit too long…but the basic story behind it is that the man knows that he’s going to die and, while being angry this, he has somehow come to accept his situation…” Another murmur, this time a little bit louder as people discussed the “controversial” subject of the song. “I think the most poignant line for me is when he sings –
God thy will is hard…
But you hold every card…
I will drink your cup of poison…
Nail me to your cross and break me…
Bleed me, beat me, kill me!
Take me now…
Before I change my mind...
Now…before I change my mind!”
Singing those few little lines had a strange effect on the audience - rather than go silent like they had with everything else his strong voice seemed to spur them into a frenzy of excited clapping, murmuring and even the odd cheer… Weird… “That’s quite a voice you’ve got there…” “Er…thanks…” “What do you think folks? Should we ask Adya to give us a quick performance before we draw this interview to a close?” The cheer he received in response was absolutely ridiculous. “Take it away…” Ah. Now what? What should he sing? Getting slowly to his feet he took his time settling into a comfortable pose facing the buzzing audience. And then it hit him.
“Look at me, and tell me who I am.
Why I am, What I am.
Call me a fool, and it’s true I am.
I don’t know who I am.
It’s such a shame, I’m such a sham.
No one knows who I am.
Am I the face of the future?
Am I the face of the past?
Am I the one who must finish last?
Look at me, And tell me who I am,
Why I am, What I am.
Will I survive?
Who will give a damn,
If no one knows who I am?
Nobody knows…
Not even you…
No one knows who I am…”
As the final note trailed off he was met with stunned silence. And then, suddenly and with no warning whatsoever, the audience went completely insane – cheering, screaming, clapping, stamping their feet… He stumbled back a pace in genuine shock. Wow. That…wasn’t the reaction he’d been expecting… Someone grabbed his hand suddenly, pulling his arm up into the air so sharply he fear that his shoulder might have been pulled out of joint. “Ow…” “Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Adya Kaminski of District 8!” A/N Sorry for the delay (and for the pitiful length of the chapter). For those of you not reading my other main story (Of Lions And Lambs) I’ve been slightly distracted lately by real life as my boyfriend proposed to me on Valentine’s Day and, well I’d like to say things are only just starting to calm down but they’re really not. Work. Cadets. Theatre. Choir. Wedding. Luckily I’ve managed to find a little time to squeeze some writing in during this last week. Anyway enough rambling – hope you enjoyed the update. Please let me know what you think and suggestions are always welcome. A/N2 The song (which as you might have guessed was the inspiration for this entire story when it came on my Playlist whilst I was reading the book) is ‘No One Knows Who I Am’ from the musical Jekyll & Hyde.