Chapter two: judging by appearances
The five of us trade glances as we slowly take in what could possibly happen. We all wear similar expressions of fear and anxiety. Beetee is first to speak. "We know from yesterday that there is no way to penetrate the invisible walls that enclose us. All that is left to do is wait out the hour and pray that the beasts bark is worse than its bite."
No one responds but it is clear that we all agree with him as we all slump to the ground and wait. While this occurs, the light around them changes. It is suddenly brighter. Finnick starts to stand pointing at the foliage around them "Look, the plants," drawing everyone's eyes to the scene in front of them. Inching closer he continues "they're changing."
And he is right; the plants around them are having an immediate reaction to the brighter sun rays. Everyone is up on their feet now, trying to get a closer look at the changes that are happening; flowers opening up, and leaves becoming greener. "They've all come to life," Katniss states, pointing to a green exotic looking palm, moving as if it is inhaling and exhaling.
In a preoccupied voice, Beetee says "The plants photosynthesis processes must only be activated when in contact with the 6 am rays..." You can see his mind analysing and absorbing information from the new environment. Continuing he says "they must have genetically modified the plants so that the light at this time of the day causes them to bloom".
Johanna dead pans him, then rolls her eyes, turning back to the scene in front of them.
Colours were erupting around them. Flowers in the softest shades of purple, blue and pink were blooming from vines and branches. Berries and other fruits, in shades of succulent fuchsia and delicious indigo were revealing themselves from within opening leaves. Smells so sweet were creeping into my nose. Plants I had never seen before in my life were slowly dropping from trees.
Finnick was looking at a plant that looks like a pitcher or a goblet of some sort, sitting low beneath the foliage. The pitcher its self was a vibrant green, its rim was a hot pink colour and almost thirty centimetres in diameter. From where I was standing, I could see that inside the pitcher of the plant, there looked to be orange, nectar- like substance that definitely looked enticing.
Over near Katniss and Johanna, there were upside-down trumpet flowers, drooping downwards from a vine. Now these flowers, I had seen somewhere. The way they are dangling and their colour seems so familiar, yet I know they aren't anything like the dull flowers I've from district 12.
It suddenly hits me where I had seen these plants before. Not in the training centre. Not at district 12 or any other district Katniss and I visited on the victory tour. On the video of the previous Quarter Quell.
"Stop! Everyone, Stop!" there was enough alarm in my voice to halt them in their tracks, pausing where they were. I took a deep breath to explain, "This environment seems really similar to what I watched in the 50th Hunger Games. The games Haymitch won." I could see the realisation on Katniss' face and she took a step back towards the invisible wall.
"I remember those games" Beetee replies, "I was a mentor." Johanna and Finnick suddenly look more cautious of their surroundings, taking a step back. "What happened?" Finnick asks him.
"The arena was the most breathtaking place anyone could imagine; Green meadows, deep blue skies with fluffy, billowing white clouds. It was beautiful. But everything in the arena was poisonous; the food, the water in the streams, and even the scent of flowers if you smelled them too closely. Tributes were fooled by its beauty at first. They learnt the hard way just how dangerous the arena was." We all stood, letting his words sink in.
"It is like we have been transported 25 years in the past" Katniss comments, "The colours are too bright. The flowers are too beautiful. Everything we see probably has the ability to kill us" she says, looking around accusingly to the exquisiteness around them.
"Great," Johanna utters, "So not only are we facing the 'thing that goes roar in the day', but everything around us has the potential to knock us off our blocks," making her way back to the wall. "Do you know what I find interesting?" she continues, "The fact that neither Finnick nor I had a clue what you were talking about back there." Beetee and Finnick give her an uneasy glance. "I don't know about you all," she says while placing her index finger on her temple and the other hand on her chin, obviously for dramatic effect, "but I do not even remember it ever being taught in history classes." She pauses for effect, then says sarcastically, "Haymitch must have done something awfully bad for the capitol not to mention it" ending her innocent facade.
Once again, I am in awe. Johanna comes out with a courage, yet dangerous statement that would prove harmful if she makes it out of the arena alive. No doubt the cameras are no longer upon us; heaven forbid they draw Panems attention to Haymitch's actions in the previous Quell. It would look like a sign of rebellion.
"We should all just sit and stay alert," says Finnick pointedly, "if the beast does show, and no doubt it will, we'll have to be ready and armed." We all stand, backs against the invisible wall, waiting for signs that the hour is up. Listening for the subtle changes in the sounds we hear, movements in the trees. The vegetation continues to thrive, slightly moving as if alive. The slightest movement from the trees sends us sky high from our jitters. The anticipation of the beast is almost worse than the actual horrors of the thing. Not knowing what it looks like, how big it is, what dangers it could bring us, is sending the whole group into a anxious state.
Breathe in. Tick. Breathe out. Tock.
Beetee keeps them up to date with the time, pointing out the changes in the sky. "15 minutes to go. We're nearly there." We all give a nervous sigh. By this stage, Katniss is holding my hand and I give it a little squeeze. We look at each other, holding the stare for longer than socially accepted. Her eyes flick quickly down to my lips then back up to my eyes, noticing I was still looking. The gaze is broken, as she looks down at her feet, small smile on her lips, and blush on her cheeks. I give a soft laugh, and kiss her on the temple, then look back at her face.
It has changed. The smile is gone and the blush drained from her cheeks. Her face has dropped and now expresses pure fear. I quickly look around, for a sign what could be causing her distress. The others notice and begin frantically searching the jungle. I see where Katniss' line of vision is directed, far off into the jungle, but see nothing.
Tick. Breathe in. Tock-
Something comes darting out of the forest, so fast that I my eyes don't have time to adjust to its movements. It lands close to Johanna, but she quickly springs out of its path, "RUN!" she yells, and the others follow.
Breathe out.
I am frozen in my tracks, mesmerised by the beast four or five meters in front of me.
Tick. Breathe in.
From first glance, it seems to be some kind of lizard. From its head to the tip of its tale it is about 5 metres long and at least a metre wide metallic scaled body. Along the back of the beast, it is covered in thousands of deep green, vicious spikes, roughly thirty centimetres long. It has a thick flat head in the shape of a clubs of spade with slitted bright yellow eyes, the size of my fist. Its tale is nearly the same shape and size as the head, differentiated by a thorny angular looking violet flower, similar to the ones they observed blooming at the beginning of the hour. With its bright yellow eyes focussed on my blue ones, we continue our standoff.
Tock. Breathe out.
It starts making a deep, walloping, roaring noise, the sound we heard the other day on the beach, the sound resonating from within its chest. Each time it makes the noise, glands around the creatures throat expand then deflate like a balloon. Eyes still on mine, the beast stands on its hind legs, balancing back on its thick tale. Throwing its head back, a low screech erupts from its razor toothed mouth.
I feel a tug at my side, bringing me out of my state of bewilderment. Katniss! I look and see she is still with me, rather than fleeing like the others. Her eyes move between the creature and me as she urgently pleas, "Peeta! Come on, we have got to move!"
Suddenly the beast returns to all fours, curving its tale over its back so the flower on the tip of it is pointed in our direction. Before it has time to spring towards I grab her hand and turn to run. Finally, my brain send signals to my legs again, telling me to sprint as fast as I can, get her out of here. We follow the path the others made, seeing that they have at least a 10 metre head start.
Behind me, the beast cries out, almost in aguish, crashing through the jungle as it hunts its prey.