Sorry for the sort-of slow update...I was making a picture for DeviantArt! And I only have an hour on the computer so...I'm rambling. I'll stop :)
OK I'm not promising anything quality for this chapter because I honestly have NO CLUE what to write for this one. Sorry if it rambles! :)
All of the Games for the next week are absolutely brutal. The picturesque landscape soon turns even more deadly; the mountain near which many tributes had gathered explodes into a deathly volcano, burning most tributes and killing a few as well. By the end of that day, the total tribute number is down to twelve. Throughout the week, more and more die by one another's hands. Evanna is the most shocking of the deaths. She had become friendly with one of the Careers and while they were sleeping, he woke up and slit her throat. He later explains to the Careers that that's the only reason why he'd gotten friendly with her, but they don't believe him and he's killed as well.
Haymitch is ambushed while examining an edible plant. Two Careers jump him. I'm watching with the Abernathys again, and Mrs. Abernathy and I scream and huddle together when he whirls around, knife in hand, to take them on.
"Ohmygoodness!" gasps Mrs. Abernathy. We have just seen Haymitch take care of his first victim. The Career from Four lies dead at his feet. While he's staring in shock at the body, the other Career tackles him and has him pinned by the throat to the ground. Then, a dart is lodged in the attacker's neck and Haymitch can shove him off.
"I think we can work better if we work together, don't you?" Maysilee stands on the fringe of the clearing, blowgun in hand. Haymitch wipes blood off his face and nods.
"Yeah, probably." When he bends to take his attackers' weapons, I can see his face.
My Mitchie, the young man I love, has faded. Haymitch has aged a million years in only a matter of weeks. I don't mention it, but I notice that Mrs. Abernathy has seen it too. Her boy is growing up too fast.
I think Hayden notices too. "Oh, man! He looks like them morphling addicts they show on television sometimes! Or that you see hanging around the back of the bars!" I chuck a pillow at him and Mrs. Abernathy hisses at him to stop saying things like that.
I hope the Games haven't changed Haymitch in more than appearance. I hope that his personality is still intact.
Maysilee and Haymitch head out into the wilderness. He explains to her that he thinks there's got to be an end to the place. They don't reach the end of the arena by the end of tonight's Games, and the show ends with a flash back to where the Careers have begun to fight amongst themselves for food.
"That's cruel, to make us wait for tomorrow like that! By tomorrow, there might be a winner, and we won't know unless we're ordered to watch!" Mrs. Abernathy is very upset about today's show.
"Don't worry, Mom. We're almost down to the final eight! Haymitch and the Donner girl are far away from the others and I think they'll last 'til then." Hayden and Haymitch make fun of each other to make people think they don't get along, but I haven't seen a tighter pair of siblings. Not even the twins are as close as the brothers are. Hayden is suffering right along with Haymitch, and both Mrs. Abernathy and I know that his jokes are what keeps him stable.
"Oh, son, imagine if he does make it to the final eight! Those fluffy Capitol people will come here and interview us! We'll get to meet Caeser..." Mrs. Abernathy trails off.
"You'll get to meet your idol, you mean." Hayden puts his arm around his mother and rocks her a little. "Don't worry. He'll be home in a week or so, and everything will be back to normal. Except, of course, we'll get a new member of the family." Hayden winks slyly at me. Apparently, mine and Haymitch's wedding plans aren't as secret as we'd thought.
The next day, Hazelle and Ree have to pry Miana and I away from our televisions. "Come on, get away from the screen for, like, an hour! Let's go to the bakery! We're meeting Jack and Calvin there!" Calvin Hawthorne is Jack Everdeen's best friend, and that's probably why Ree and Hazelle are so excited to go.
"Fine, fine! I'm coming! One second!" I poke my head into the shop. "Daddy! I'm going to the bakery!"
"Back for supper!" he shouts, and I go out to see Hazelle and Ree waiting impatiently.
"Milana gave up waiting and went ahead." We run to the bakery to get into the warmth, and see that we aren't the only ones who've had the idea to go to the warmest building. The place is packed, and Adem and his father are struggling to keep up with orders.
"There they are!" I point to where Calvin stands on a chair, waving his arms. Hazelle slides in next to him and Ree sits next to Jack. Milana and I sit across from Calvin and Hazelle.
"Where's Saicha?" I ask, because she is usually wherever Adem is. Jack snorts.
"Guess where."
"Poor Adem..." We all turn and look at Saicha leaning over the counter, leering at him. "He should just tell her to leave off and stop bothering him."
"Watch, though. I'd bet money that he breaks in and they get married." Calvin leans back and flicks Hazelle's ear. She giggles. "You just watch!"
"Yeah, right! He can't stand her!" I get up. "I'm going to go and rescue him for a little bit. Want to come, Milana? What do you all want?"
"Piece of white bread!"
"Piece of wheat!" Milana and I take Ree and Hazelle's money and go up to the counter, shoving our way through the crowd.
"Why are you all so crowded today? It isn't that cold out!" Milana tells Adem what we want and the baker answers her question.
"Peacekeepers made an announcement yesterday in the square that there's a little grain shortage. Got announced yesterday night whilst the Games were playing in the square, weren't ya there?"
"I watched with Mitchie's family."
"Yeah, I watched at home. Why's there a shortage?" The baker shrugs and Adem comes back with our bread.
"Thanks, Adem! If there's a quiet minute y'should come and join our group for a bit." I pinch of a piece of Hazelle's bread and eat it. I do love bread.
"Maybe. I need to escape from the witch for a while." He leans over the counter and whispers, "She's crazy! For serious!" We laugh and go back to where everyone else is waiting.
"Jeez! About time! I was almost forced to eat Ree! Good thing you're back, eh, Ree?" Jack nudges Ree and she blushes.
"Don't eat me!" She squeals when he pokes her sides, and Milana and I lock eyes. So cute, her eyes say, and I nod.
"Give me the bread!" orders Calvin, and I hand him Hazelle's slice. She breaks it in two and hands him half. "Yumm...Warm..." He scarfs it down and we all laugh.
"Why dontcha try chewing? You eat like a starving person," I say. He looks shocked.
"You're cruel, Allie. I am a starving person. Look at my ribs!" Calvin pulls his shirt up, exposing his stomach. He's right, he's skinny, but jeez! He's all muscle!
"Look at that, Mil. What a waste of good-looking torso. That torso is wasted, seeing as it doesn't match his face at all..." I shake my head regretfully and Calvin sticks his tongue out at me.
"You know you like it..." He turns to Hazelle, shirt still pulled up. "What do you think? Is this wasted on me? Or does it match my dashing good looks?"
"Well...sorry Allie, but I like his torso!" He puts his arm around her and keeps it there, and she glows.
"You all have no taste..."
"I agree with you, Allie. Cal's torso is smokin', but his face..." Jack trails off and shudders. Calvin reaches over the table with his free hand and smacks Jack in the head.
"Stop the violence!" Ree puts her hands out and stops Jack from throwing his bread at Calvin.
"Hey, sorry to cut this all short, but I've got to get back..."Milana grabs her coat and gets up.
"I should go too...Papa said to be home for dinner and I think that'll be soon." We leave. As soon as we're out of their hearing, we break down and laugh.
"Why aren't they just going out yet?" she gasps between laughs. "Ree and Jack would be adorable and Hazelle and Calvin would be precious together!"
"I know, right? And I asked Jack the other day why he doesn't just ask her out and he said he didn't want to be rejected. But it's so obvious that Ree's in love with him!" Milana laughs, then sobers up a little.
"Yeah, and all the good-looking guys are spoken for already." I inwardly sigh. Milana's the only one out of all of us who hasn't had at least one boyfriend yet, and she doesn't let us forget it.
"Don't worry! You'll find someone just for you someday."
"Like when? Those four are going to get together sooner or later, you've had Haymitch for three years, and Saicha and Adem are...well, you know..." She stops walking outside of her house.
"Two and three quarters of a year, actually. But, come on! There's plenty of guys who'd go out with you!"
"Like who?" She sniffs. "And don't say Artie Sames, either, because he's just creepy!"
"Well...What about Lyonel?" He was in school with us and had been on the fringes of our group for awhile.
"He's been with Nia for months, didn't you know?"
"You could always go for Adem..." I can't even finish before Milana is shaking her head violently at me.
"No! You know that Saicha would stab me if I tried!"
"Okay...Well, I'm sure there's someone. Don't worry! I've got to go, though. The monster is emerging." Mama had just come out of our house and was standing in the doorway tapping her foot impatiently.
"'kay. See you later." Milana slams the door of her house and I wince.
Dinner is uneventful, but the Games are not. Are they ever uneventful? I wonder as I settle into the chair to watch.
Two hours later and the final eight has been decided. The Careers had a knock-down, drag-out brawl that most of tonight was focused on, ending with four tributes dying. The final eight are a boy and a girl from One, a giantess from Two, a boy from Five, two girls from Seven, and Haymitch and Maysilee. They didn't show much of anyone else tonight, but even still I jump up and scream when the show ends. Haymitch is in the running for the win. Even Papa has a grin on his face, though his fiery mustache hides it. Mama looks pleased as well, but she mutters something about how the Donners will be so happy when Maysilee comes home.
Across the street, I can see shadows in Milana's house celebrating too. There hasn't been a District Twelve tribute in the final eight since the twelfth Games, when we had our last winner. Edelide Rammsen won that year, and she's a wasted old woman now. I can't imagine she was much of a mentor to anyone this year, or the past thirty or so years. For the first time in two weeks, I go to bed without crying.
Chapter Four is alll done! Sorry for the slowness, I was trying to make Allie seem more than helpless. Hopefully I succeeded! Next chapter; interviews begin ;) Review and keep reading, please! :D