There're so safe. My little darlings. They've never had to fight a day in their lives. We hunt freely in the forests that surround what used to be called district 12. There hasn't been Capitol influence on our lives for some time now.
Boring peaceful solitude that's what the people of Primrose have come to expect these days. The only hunger games our children have come to know is the video of the last hunger games. Deemed The Capital Games, since only Capital children were chosen as tributes.
Every child is required to watch the documentary when they reach a certain year in school. This is the only time this is required. Even though the video plays every year at the time of the start of the reaping, nobody is required to watch and most people don't. It was an especially brutal games and lasted nearly two months. The gamemakers wanted it to leave a lasting impression on the remaining citizens of the Capital.
I quietly close the door and return to Haymitch Abernathy. I haven't seen him since he quit drinking again. From the looks of him hes off the wagon again. "So whats the reason for the long absence?" I say to my former mentor in the hunger games. "I thought you'd finally died already."
"It'll take more than time to kill me." Said the old drunk. " I'm afraid its a bit more serious than I ever would have hoped. Bad stuff ,dark days stuff , Katniss."
I'm not sure to react. Haymitch has been getting a bit crazy in his old age. Talking about the dark days coming back only worse. I see the look in his eyes as I sit down. Across the table from one of my oldest friends and I can just tell he's certain of what he's saying.
"Did your father ever speak of me to you." Said Haymitch, barely slurring the words. "Nothing good if anything I bet." Haymitch stares into the kitchen table waiting for a reply.
I'm taken aback. What does this have to do with the dark days returning. Besides my,
father never would have had bad words to say about anyone. "What? The dark days wha..."
"WHAT DID HE TELL YOU ABOUT ME?" Haymitch bellowed through the house.
"Not much. Just that you were a great champion and he wouldn't wish your fate on any body." I notice a tear in the corner of haymitch's eye and I feel my own eyes begin to well.
"That was the plan if you had known even the smallest detail things may have not worked out as they did." Says Haymitch with a dark undertone.
"What? Your not..." I start but am quickly stopped with a Shh and just listen.
"Your father and I were pals before we could walk. Our families were close until he lost his." Haymich going into a trancelike state. "The power was up on the fence for nearly a month and we couldn't hunt. Both our families were starving and there was nothing we could do but wait.
"Wait for whatever was to come. We were dropping like flies. We were so weak from hunger we couldn't bury or even move the dead." Haymitch paused checking to see if I was paying attention which I was intently. "The hunger games were mere hours away. Your grandmother died in his arms as I ran to them with bread and soup."
I've never heard this story. I trust Haymitch too much to throw it to old age. Haymitch had so many memories of my father my mentoring in the hunger must have been torture.
He begins again."You know I was chosen as tribute later that day." He looks at me with his old toothy smile and says. "I knew before I got to your father with the bread and soup."
I can't believe this there's no possible way he could've known. The reaping is public and shown live throughout panem. "Haymitch. You couldn't have the.."
"The what katniss. The what they wanted you to see." Peeta says placing a hand on my shoulder.
I kiss his hand and say." I thought you were going to sleep in the children's room the entire night."
"How much did you hear".said Haymitch. He looks to be sobering up so peeta grabs a bottle of wine from the icebox.
"Dumb stinking luck. If I'm being honest." He gestures for a refill. Peeta obliges. "Minding my own business grabbing some extra bread from the dumpsters. They're was nothing wrong with it. The Capital always brought extra. I think they threw it away just so they wouldn't have to give more bread away. Bastards." He drains his current glass and looks for another, but the bottles empty.
"I'll get the wine. You just keep on with the story." I stand at the counter as he continues.
"Heard my escort talking to some other Visitors from the capital about the tributes. Not about who was going to be picked but names. I heard Abernathy and put two and two together." He hands out his glass. I fill his to the brim but mine and peetas half as I take my seat and listen to the rest.
"When I told your father he swore he'd volunteer for me. He said he didn't want my family to lose me." I think he's going to take another drink but he just stares at his glass. When he finally starts again he can barely speak "I hit your father square in the jaw as hard as I could. He dropped. Of course if he'd hit me idve dropped too. I told him if he volunteered for me I'd kill him on the spot." He kills the glass.