All across Panem, screens winked on simultaneously. From the Capitol to District 12 the screens demanded to be viewed. A handsome young man with loose, shoulder length charcoal curls, copper skin, and a clever glint in his golden eyes now occupied the screens. A black electronic collar with a bulky compartment that probably housed the battery was clamped around his neck.
“Hello, Panem,” he said warmly “This is Dexterous Regaro with an announcement from the Capitol.”
In the Capitol’s main square, women stopped to gossip about the young politician’s love life. According to word on the street he was recently single after a lengthy hush-hush entanglement. In the districts some rolled their eyes while others balled their fists in anger at the sight of him.
“The Capitol would like to thank everyone for your continued cooperation since the Great Disruption,” his voice almost held a hypnotic quality “we were nearly sent back to the Dark Days, but the Capitol would never allow our society to fall so far ever again.”
In the Capitol, viewers nodded along in agreement. The districts were silent with everyone doing their best to keep their faces blank. This generation had grown up with the mantra someone is always watching.
“Our current system is infallible,” Regaro continued “It even finds Capitol homes and offers Peacekeeping careers for those orphaned or otherwise harmed by the Great Disruption.”
The crowd gathered in the Capitol square began to clap, some cheered. Denizens in the districts had a hard time keeping their faces from wrinkling in disgust.
“I know because I’m one of them,” Regaro pointed to the collar wrapped around his neck “the Capitol’s medicine and technology made it possible for someone like me to become a pillar of society.”
Viewers everywhere were captivated by this statement even though they’d seen Regaro trotted out for PR purposes thousands of times by now. A good chunk of Panem had grown up alongside him on their screens. Though many years had passed since the time of the Great Disruption the results still felt surreal to most.
“If we all continue to apply the Capitol’s wisdom an even better Panem is inevitable,” Regaro paused with his signature roguish grin plastered across his face “please, stay tuned our producers work hard to bring you, the people, the freshest, most relevant content.”
Regaro smoldered into the camera, then his face was replaced by the Capitol’s logo. Citizens groaned in frustration while a woman’s voice repeated “please stand by.”
In the Capitol the crowd in the square didn’t budge.They were too busy talking amongst themselves, venturing guesses at what may be on next. In the districts the crowds began to break up, the people wanting to get back to their business. That hope was dashed when another face replaced the Capitol logo.
“This is Coy Flickerman reporting to you live from the Capitol.” Another good-looking young man was now gazing out from the screens. He had feminine facial features that complimented his sapphire eyes and cropped golden hair. A single golden hoop with a tiny, diamond-studded heart hanging off it dangled from his nose. His skin was almost luminescent and the nose ring cast a sparkle across his cheek from the studio’s lighting. “It deeply saddens me to report yet another level 5 mutant attack,” he said with a contrite sigh “let’s have a look at the footage before we discuss.”
Stolen story; please report.
Coy’s face vanished and surveillance footage from a smaller village in one of the districts, perhaps 5, began to play. It seemed to be a peaceful day. Then, a house spontaneously combusted. The walls seemed to vanish as a raging fire consumed the structure and the roof caved in. A girl no older than five ran out of the explosion, sobbing and spewing flames in her path. She tried to run into a neighbor’s arms, but the bystander burned before she could even get close enough to take their hand. The girl screamed in horror as the fire burned hotter, creating a river of magma in every direction she tried to run. The sudden magma flow destroyed the entire village in a matter of seconds. The video cut for a few seconds, then footage of the cleanup crew was shown. A mutant Peacekeeper with ice powers was heroically battling the magma. He was able to freeze the burning river into obsidian with what appeared to be little effort. What was previously a village went from resembling a circle of Hell to an icy wasteland. His kind were always easy to spot on the street due to their bright red uniforms. His comrades in traditional white accompanied a second red-suited Peacekeeper to capture the girl. The human Peacekeepers hung back while the mutant pressed on. When he realized he couldn’t get close without provoking another attack from the girl he spread his hands. The girl went flying through the air and landed in a nearby pond that had frozen over. The moment she broke through the ice her flames fizzled out. The peacekeepers in white surrounded her while the telekinetic squeezed a fist closed. The girl struggled against his power but found herself no match for the fully trained mutant. A single brave human soul waded into the icy water and took a bulky collar off his belt. In one fluid motion he had it fastened around her neck. Just in time it seemed, the water was beginning to bubble. If the Peacekeeper had gotten the collar onto her a second later, the pond probably would’ve boiled away and melted him into a puddle of human ooze.
The footage cut and Coy Flickerman occupied every screen in Panem once again. He wore a look of pure anguish on his face and a single tear rolled down his cheek. Rumor had it he could cry on cue yet he held a reputation for being likable and compassionate off-camera. Coy took a deep breath, as if collecting himself to speak on the utter carnage all of Panem had just witnessed.
“I know these attacks are incredibly heartbreaking to watch,” he said in a tone rife with sorrow “personally, I’m very grateful to the Capitol, without their wisdom during the Great Disruption all would’ve been lost. Mutants are here to stay and only the Capitol was capable of devising this system that protects us all.”
The crowds in both the Capitol and districts went silent as a grave while Coy spoke. Level 5 mutant attacks were constantly being reported on these broadcasts but this was the most brutal one of late. Watching a mutant child kill so many without meaning to always rattled the people. Some humans shed tears for those lost in the inferno while mutants hiding in plain sight shed tears for the captured girl. In district 12, the crowd began to hum a tune but all ceased their harmonizing when guns were pointed at them. “Please, people of Panem, allow your peacekeepers to protect you,” Coy pleaded “allow the Capitol to continue to protect you from the mutant threat. Now, stay tuned I have some special guests in the studio that can tell us all how to help the Capitol, and perhaps even provide some insight on this year’s Games.”
Please stand by Please stand by Please stand by