Martin sat silently in the small room that he had been locked into, elbows resting on his knees as he stared at the floor. He supposed that tributes who had been reaped must have tried to run before and he couldn't say that he blamed them. If he thought he stood a chance, he would run like the wind.
But he didn't, so here he was, completely at the mercy of the Capitol. He hated it, hated them for doing this to the districts every year. This was the way things were though. He couldn't change them. The numb feeling was starting to wear off, leaving behind both panic, and resignation. There was nothing for it now. He had made his choice and he was going to have to see it through to the end.
He was so caught up in his thought that he was a bit startled when the door swung open and his family bustled through. "Five minutes." the guard told them sternly and Martin's stomach dropped. That wasn't enough time to say a good and proper farewell. His mother immediately hugged him and he was surprised. She wasn't an overly affectionate woman, more prone to yelling and giving someone a bit of a smack when things weren't done right but when she pulled back, he could see a fierce pride in her face. He could tell that she knew he had acted to save Peeta and if nothing else, she would love him for that alone.
His father's hug was awkward, as were the ones from his older brothers, but Peeta clung to him as though he was life itself. "Why did you do that, Martin?" Peeta whispered as the new tribute returned his brother's embrace. "Why did you volunteer?"
"You're my brother, Peeta." Martin said softly. "And the bakery needs you. Can you imagine if I was put in charge of decorating the cakes?" It was a running joke in their family and even though they only laughed for a few seconds, this was the mental image of his family that he wanted to carry with him into the arena. The image of them laughing at something silly he'd said.
The door began to swing open agaon and Martin let go of Peeta as the Peacekeeper hustled his family out of the room. "I love you Martin!" Peeta called and the door swung shut again.
Sighing, Martin swallowed. "I love you too, little brother." he whispered. He was about to return to his chair when the door opened again and his two best friends, Douglas and Arthur came in. They both hugged Martin wordlessly and stared at him until he joked wryly, "I never thought I'd see you without words, Douglas." His friend was always the one with the jokes or witty comments.
Both Douglas and Arthur laughed a bit, but it sounded forced. "Martin…I…" Douglas trailed off, not sure of what he should say.
"Take care of Peeta." Martin said, deciding to use what little time they had left instead of sitting in silence. He clapped his dearest friend on the shoulder, remembering some of the trouble they had gotten into together, just the two of then and also with Arthur in tow. "Both of you. Make sure people aren't too hard on him."
"We will." Arthur promised, his lower lip wobbling a bit.
"We will." Douglas repeated, giving Martin a weak punch to the arm.
Nodding, Martin hugged them both one last time before the door opened and his friends were taken away as well. He paced the room several times before Effie came to collect him and Katniss in order to take them to the special tribute train that they would be travelling on to the Capitol.
Katniss was rather quiet and Martin couldn't say that he blamed her. His own mind was whirling and trying to accept that he had essentially volunteered to go to the Capitol and die.
But it was for Peeta. How could he stand by and not save his brother? Effie was prattling on about eating something and getting some rest for the "big, big, big day" tomorrow. They were on a train. How big of a day could it really be?
He washed his face and hands in a small sink, marveling at the fact that this train had running water before his face grew sour. All of the districts should have this capability. Not just the Capitol.
Martin met Effie and Katniss outside his door so she could guide them down the hallway to the dining car. As they walked, Katniss murmured quietly, "That was brave, what you did for Peeta."
"I don't feel very brave." Martin said wryly and this won him a small smile from his fellow tribute.
"Still. Not everyone would volunteer. Even for family." she said and he knew it was true. He very much doubted the older two Mellark boys would have offered to go into the arena, even if they had been of age.
"When I was adopted, Peeta was the only one who treated me like a brother and not an interloper." Martin said softly, rather surprised that he was even telling her all of this stuff. "I'm not really a Mellark, but that never mattered to him. I was his new brother and that was it as far as he was concerned. Besides, if I die, my family loses a pair of strong arms to haul flour. If Peeta died…they'd lose the person who makes the cakes. I'm not the important one. He is."
It stung to admit it, but it was true. He was not the important one in the Mellark family.
"I think you're important, Martin." Katniss said after a moment, her grey eyes considering him. "Maybe even more than you know."
As they entered the dining car finally and saw a very drunk Haymitch Abernathy waiting for them, Martin had to admit that, after meeting a very nice and pretty girl that may or may not be killing him in the next week, the odds were not in his favor.
"Happy Hunger Games." he muttered to himself as he took a seat at the heavy wooden table. This was going to be a long week.
