Author's Note: I do not own The Hunger Games. Thanks to: Return readers! Everyone who reviewed! And of course, The RPGenius for editing!


Chapter Four: Editing is Everything

"The cruelest lies are often told in silence."

- Robert Louis Stevenson, Virginibus Puerisque and Other Papers

Katniss strode to the Hob in fury later that morning. It was doubtful the person she sought would be there this early, but she wasn't leaving anything to chance. She was getting answers.

There'd been no indication that anyone witnessed last night's happenings. If they had, they were keeping tight-lipped about it. Instead, the topic of everyone's conversation was Gale's shocking interview. There was a strange energy behind everyone's discussions. They were hushed, but their words were animated. Fear was discernible on people's faces, but she could also see excitement when they remembered his speech.

Katniss could hardly believe it had less than twenty-four hours since the interview. With everything that had happened since, it felt like days ago.

She sat down on a bench where people usually ate Greasy Sae's stew and turned to watch one of the dilapidated television sets that had been set up. Vendors might be illegally gathering, and Peacekeepers may be illegally buying, but mandatory viewing infractions couldn't be ignored, even in the Hob.

Katniss was counting on one of those Peacekeepers to show up today. Until then, she planned to study the pre-Game coverage and see if she could figure anything out about what had happened to Rory or Gale.

Mostly there were recaps of the interviews and opening ceremony. Nothing was mentioned about Gale's interview, and certainly nothing was replayed from it. Katniss didn't see evidence of...anything. Would they make an announcement about the replacement soon? Or would they wait until the Games started?

Katniss couldn't imagine either of those scenarios coming to pass. It would look extremely bad for the Gamemakers to switch a tribute, and such a thing was unheard of. But she knew she had distinctly heard that Peacekeeper call Rory a replacement.

Katniss tried to focus on the ongoing commentary. Mentors and escorts were always called upon to weigh in on their tributes during the games. Having reported to the Game Headquarters this morning as their tributes were shuttled to the arena, Haymitch and Effie would probably be appearing on the pre-Game coverage any time now. Perhaps their segments would provide a hint about recent developments.

Finally, a feature of the best all-time arena garb ended, and the host of the show started speaking to some mentors and escorts. By the time they reached District 12, Katniss was ready to pull her hair out. When Haymitch came on, he looked grim and intense. More so than usual.

Surprisingly, when he talked about the tributes, he lumped them together. No mentions of Gale or Rory by name, but none of Delly specifically either. When the host tried to probe about Gale's stunning behavior the night before, Haymitch deftly deflected the question, emphasizing that both tributes would take their fiery tenacity into the arena.

The biggest indication that something was amiss came in the form of Effie. Known for her devotion to poise and composure, it was a shock to see her in such a state. She looked completely disheveled. Her ridiculous bouffant, which was supposed to resemble some exotic cat's mane, looked sadly deflated. Her eyes were the most telling, though.

Katniss knew that expression well. Effie Trinket looked like cornered prey, paralyzed with the knowledge that the end was quickly approaching.

Every time she was asked about Gale, who was far and away the hottest topic from the previous night, Effie would give a nervous giggle that was closer to a whimper, and insist that she was much more taken with sweet, polite, Delly.

Katniss shifted her attention to Ripper's table when she saw Darius saunter up. He was early. All the Peacekeepers had to patrol the streets in preparation for the countdown at noon. She wasn't surprised to see him buying liquor so early. He'd looked almost as horrified as her last night. While he finished the transaction, Katniss stole up behind him.

Darius turned away from Ripper's wares and jumped when he found Katniss' scowling form practically on top of him. She pulled him over to the table near Sae's and pushed him down on a bench, sitting down opposite.

"Answers," she growled. "Now."

"Katniss, you know I can't disclose any official-"

She had anticipated reluctance. Reaching into her boot, Katniss pulled out Gale's hunting knife and slammed it down into the table.

Darius just stared in shock at the scant inches between his fingers and the blade, which was vibrating slightly from the force of the impact.

"This was Gale's," she intoned with deadly quiet, her voice trembling with anger and devastation."For four years, he kept four other people alive with this knife and his brains."

Revealing a contraband weapon to a Peacekeeper was never a good idea, but the Hob was a rough place, and Darius was looking at her so guiltily that she doubted there would be repercussions.

"Eight days ago, Gale gave this to me so I could protect his loved ones in his stead. And last night, you helped send one those people to the Capitol. Today, I'm going to find out why."

Darius, an armed, Capitol-trained Peacekeeper, looked back at her with a haunted look in his eyes. Katniss suspected he was grappling with his inherent decency and the complicity demanded of him when it came to the Capitol's barbarism. The words started tumbling out of him in relief, and she marveled at the effect she could have with just a simple hunting knife and some impassioned words.

"I hardly know anything. I just know that a few hours after the interview last night, we were informed that a hovercraft was on its way. When it got here, the Lead Peacekeeper on board ordered we assist them in securing the next eldest Hawthorne boy.

"There were only two of us not already on patrol, so Purnia stayed and I was chosen to show them where they could find the Hawthornes. After his initial identification of the target, the Lead Peacekeepers referred to Rory only as 'the replacement,' not by name."

Katniss sat back, taking it in. Darius hadn't said anything she hadn't already assumed, but listening to a detailed account of it brought back all the feelings of fear and dread from last night.

"There's one other development, but it might be nothing. There was a Panem-wide directive from the Capitol this morning to look out for two fugitives. We're instructed to be on the lookout for suspicious people traveling by train or on foot. They haven't released photos yet, but I swear there was no mention of them before last night."

"That could definitely be related," Katniss encouraged, as both fear and hope settled in the pit of her stomach. "But I need to know more. There must be something else you can tell me."

Darius shook his head. "They only tell us what we absolutely need to know. That mostly involves orders to blindly follow. They don't explain reasons for things to us Katniss, we're just supposed to obey.

"And if they were releasing sensitive information to law enforcement, we'd be the last ones to get it. An assignment here is considered a joke, Katniss, a career killer. District Twelve has never been a threat, so they don't see a need for much intelligence or a strong presence here. I mean, look at the fence. It's practically never on. The only thing keeping people here is fear of the Capitol and fear of the unknown."

She nodded in acknowledgement of what he was saying. Katniss had noticed that as well. "Thank you, Darius. I won't repeat what you told me," she swore solemnly.

Darius looked a little nauseous with worry. "I sure hope not. But...Rory was a funny kid. And I liked Gale. And I like you. I'm sorry."

"Will you let me know if you get visuals of the fugitives?" she asked.

Darius got up stiffly and shook his head. "I can't talk to you again, Katniss. The only person in Twelve with better information is the mayor himself. He's got a direct feed to Capitol intel in his house. You'd have to ask him."

Darius ran his hand distractedly through his hair, and grabbed his purchase from Ripper. "Better partake while I still can," he joked darkly, before growing serious. "I wish I'd never been on duty last night." He left the Hob shortly after, looking nervous and hunted.

So, Katniss thought. The mayor.


All things considered, Katniss had very little time. It was probably the riskiest thing she'd ever done, but she had to know. The world was falling apart around her and she was expected to just submit and accept it when the wool was pulled over her eyes and the people she loved were systematically stolen away.

She couldn't do that.

Katniss had to get in the mayor's house and find the communication device Darius had been talking about. Her options were very limited. She could make an heartfelt plea to the mayor for information. She knew he was a good man – Madge was one of the few people Katniss tolerated and even admired, after all, and he had raised her. But he was still a puppet to the strictures and whims of the Capitol. Especially during the Games. And Katniss didn't feel like being the next person to be seized by Peacekeepers.

She could ask Madge, but it was doubtful she knew anything about the situation. If Katniss had to guess, she'd say Madge kept her head out of Capitol matters – the less you knew, the safer and saner you were in Panem. And Madge usually had so little to say as it was, Katniss doubted she was a font of classified government information. If the mayor's daughter had managed to keep a distance from her father's politics thus far, Katniss couldn't drag her into this precarious situation.

That left two options: walking away, which Katniss couldn't do, or sneaking into the Mayor's house, which was pretty much the worst idea she'd ever had.

But, if she was going to do it, the best time would be during the bloodbath at the Cornucopia. It was mandatory viewing and sadly, it was the part of the Games that was watched most avidly. Almost no one would be looking anywhere but at their screens. The countdown and its aftermath was something a person just couldn't look away from or ignore, even though they desperately wanted to.

A little while later, Katniss sat in the branches of a flowering tree in front of the Mayor's residence, scouring the streets for any stragglers. She'd scrambled up the tree not five minutes before a pair of Peacekeepers walked by, discussing who they expected to win this year.

The best way to get in without detection looked to be one of the windows on the upper story. Then it would just be a matter of sneaking through the rooms and not disrupting anyone in the house. Yes. And if she could grow wings, she could fly.

Some of the branches on the tree she sat in extended toward the roof of the wrap-around porch. The second-story windows would be accessible from there. It was just a matter of waiting for the countdown to start.

Katniss hoped there weren't any Peacekeepers who were familiar with her family doing viewing checks in the Seam. They were known to enter houses randomly, and if someone noticed she wasn't there, she'd need to find someone to say they'd seen her watching in the Square. The minutes ticked slowly away, until she could hear the sound of Claudius Templesmith's voice begin the countdown, from the screen in the square. There was no time to lose.

Checking that the street was deserted, she hoisted herself further up, careful not to shake the branches more than necessary. With a last glance around, she stepped out onto the porch roof. From up there, Katniss could see the televisions in the windows of merchant houses and businesses below. There were snippets of green on the screens that were visible. It looked like the Arena was wooded this year, or maybe a jungle. Gale would have done well there.

But the whole point of this hasty and potentially ruinous plan was to be the only person in Twelve not watching the Games, so she turned away and scrambled over to the closest window with as little sound as possible.

Miraculously, the first window she tried was unlocked, and gave at the cautious pressure she applied. Slipping noiselessly inside, Katniss found herself in a room with warm tones, soft carpeting, and feminine décor. She couldn't believe she was doing this.

It was likely Madge's room. As she crept away from the window and further into the room, Claudius's grave countdown faded into the background. She'd made it out of the tree and into the house in under sixty seconds.

Peeking her head out into the hallway, Katniss could make out the sound of Templesmith finishing up his count, this time issuing from a room several doors down. That was undoubtedly where the Undersees were watching. Veering in the opposite direction, Katniss quietly tried some of the other doors in the stately hallway.

It was quickly becoming apparent that she was particularly suited to this endeavor. Breaking and entering required stealth, agility, and speed. Katniss abounded in all. Even climbing the tree had been right up her alley. She had never considered it before, but she'd probably make a decent burglar. Katniss was proud she'd never resorted to stealing, but if things got desperate again, she'd do it to survive.

After a linen closet, a bathroom, and a darkened bedroom, Katniss stumbled upon the mayor's study. This had to be her destination. As she slipped inside and closed the heavy door behind her, she could hear the soft crackle of static.

There was a television in the room, but it had no buttons or adjustments on it. Getting information out of the stupid thing seemed impossible if there were no dials, no channels, and only static. But this was undoubtedly the key to Capitol information.

After a few minutes of inspecting the television set and looking around for a remote of some sort, a bright white background suddenly blinked on, and words started moving across the bottom of the screen rapidly. It was a news bulletin.

FUGITIVES STILL AT LARGE, ALL-DISTRICT NOTIFICATION: PAIR LAST SEEN IN VICINITY OF CAPITOL TRAINING CENTER LATE MONDAY/EARLY TUESDAY…

Footage flashed onscreen above the words, and Katniss saw some sort of surveillance camera catching two retreating forms. One she recognized instantly – Gale. He was following someone smaller, a girl, and they were running past the camera from one obscured corridor to another.

The area in the foreground was sumptuously laid out and brightly lit. Katniss would not have even noticed the darkened corridors in the background had her eyes not been drawn to movement, as a hunter.

Katniss's stomach roiled. Gale had run away. No wonder Effie had been in a shambles. She was responsible for getting her tributes from the district to the arena in one piece. It couldn't bode well for her, and Katniss wondered if she'd ever see Effie Trinket again. Public figures had a way of fading into nonexistence rather rapidly in Panem.

And who was the person Gale was running away with? Had he planned this with another tribute? She tried to think back if any of the other escorts had seemed perturbed in the coverage she's seen.

The footage of the escape looped once on repeat, and was then replaced by two pictures. One was a photo of Gale, the one they'd used when announcing his score from the session with the Gamemakers. But the other picture made Katniss's mouth fall open.

She couldn't believe what she was seeing. It was the same woman from the forest, the one who'd called out for their help. Katniss was immediately brought back to that day. The murdered boy, this captured girl. The hovercraft that chased them. Her own cowardice and inaction. She'd relived the memory not twelve hours ago, when talking to Vick.

She'd assumed that woman died years ago. Now her picture was staring back at Katniss - red hair, porcelain skin, and a deadened look to the eyes. All in conjunction with Gale.

Katniss was almost too shocked to read the next set of words racing across the screen:

ENEMIES OF STATE GALE HAWTHORNE AND AVOX2765 ARE TO BE CONSIDERED ARMED AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. PAIR IS TO BE DETAINED IMMEDIATELY, WITH LETHAL FORCE IF NECESSARY.

Her mind raced with too many questions to track. How had Gale found her? Being from the Capitol, she had to be involved with the Games somehow, or Gale probably wouldn't have met her. What was her name, and what was an avox? How had they managed to form a plan of escape in the few days he'd been in the Capitol? Most importantly, where were they now?

Katniss certainly hoped they were armed as the newsfeed had claimed, so they'd have a fighting chance. But it was hard to believe they were particularly dangerous when they looked like two scared people fleeing for their lives.

The Capitol was keeping this information away from the general public, yet the notification sent to select people was district-wide. They must have no idea where Gale and the woman were headed.

But surely, seeing Rory fighting for his life at the Cornucopia at this very moment, everyone must wonder where Gale was. Did most people assume his punishment was so severe he'd expired before the Games had even begun?

Katniss couldn't even begin to address how she felt about the fact that Gale was alive, free, and running, not in some detention facility. Her heart was soaring one moment, then plummeting the next, as she thought about how Rory was most likely standing in for him at the bloodbath, perhaps dead already.

Katniss didn't know what to feel, as relief, elation and grief swept through her simultaneously, warring for dominance. The only thing she did know was that she couldn't stay in this house much longer.

Sneaking back into Madge's room, Katniss made her way back to the window. She paused as the view through a side window caught her eye.

From her room, Madge could look down into several backyards in the Merchant quarter. One, notably familiar to Katniss, gave her pause. Seeing the pig pen and apple tree from a bird's eye view, she could imagine what she must have looked like huddled in the rain over four years ago. Looking down from above made it feel like she was staring directly through the years, and the remembrance hit her more acutely now than all the times she'd traded squirrels at the backdoor.

Katniss shook off her reverie just as the backdoor in question flew open. Peeta stumbled down the steps into his backyard, rubbing his hand over his face as he made his way towards the tree. Once he'd reached it, he dropped down heavily, huddling in on himself. He buried his face in his arms as his shoulders shook convulsively.

He was sobbing. Katniss didn't want to think of what that meant for Delly. She raised her hand and laid her fingertips on the cool glass as she watched, wishing there was a way to alleviate his grief, hating Panem. Too caught up in the scene before her, she didn't hear the door behind her open in time.

"Katniss?"

Whirling around in panic, she saw Madge standing in the doorway, eyes brimming with unshed tears and less shock than the situation warranted.

"Delly's gone," Madge said dully. Katniss didn't say anything. She'd expected as much, seeing Peeta's pain. "The remaining tributes are pretty much fleeing to opposite ends of the arena or dividing up the spoils. There won't be much of anything happening until tonight, most likely."

Katniss waited for Madge to pronounce her guilty of burglary. It didn't come.

"I- I wasn't stealing-"

"I know, Katniss. I can figure out why you're here. I watch my father's newsfeed too." They regarded each other for a minute.

"I gave Gale a pin in the Justice building. I wanted him to wear it in the arena. Maybe you saw it on his lapel during the interview."

Katniss hadn't known Madge visited Gale after the reaping, nor had she noticed what pin he wore during the interview.

"Guess I should have given it to someone else instead," Madge continued. "Is that- is that Rory, in there? Did Gale tell you he was going to…" she trailed off, shaking her head and sounding broken as she looked to Katniss for answers.

What could she say? She swore to Hazelle she wouldn't tell anyone.

"It wasn't planned," Katniss assured her earnestly. "At least not before he left."

Madge nodded and looked sadly thoughtful. "I wanted him to win. To live. But not at the cost of his brother's life." The tears were back, pooling in her eyes brilliantly.

Katniss had never imagined that Madge thought much of Gale, but looking at her expression now, hearing the pain in her voice, Katniss thought maybe she'd missed something pretty significant.

The idea was more than Katniss could deal with right now. Her mind was already swimming with confusion and new information.

"I wonder who that woman was. The avox," Madge mused.

"What's an avox?" Katniss asked, eager to avoid reliving the day that connected her to that woman yet again.

Madge sighed. "It's a person who has displeased the Capitol. Supposedly they're criminals, but I'm sure you realize that's a very fluid term in Panem. Their tongues are cut out and they're turned into slaves as punishment for their actions." Katniss was horrified.

"Dad says there haven't been any people from Twelve sent off to be Avoxes for a while. But clearly the practice hasn't stopped in the meantime."

"I have to get home and catch the next recap. Just in case I get asked what happened."

Madge nodded. "I'll let you know if I can find out anything else." Katniss started to swing her foot over the windowsill, but Madge stopped her.

"Let me walk you downstairs to the front door. It's easier. And a little less suspicious."

Katniss shifted away from the window sheepishly. "Right."


When Katniss arrived home, Prim ambushed her at the doorway.

"Where were you? We were so worried!"

"There was somewhere I had to be, Little Duck. I promise it was important."

"You could get in so much trouble for missing the countdown!"

Katniss nodded in acknowledgement. "I know, trust me. That's why I've got to watch the next recap, and catch up." She was very eager to see how the Capitol had addressed switching the tributes.

"Something's wrong with Gale," Prim fretted.

"What?" Katniss's full attention was back on her sister. "What do you mean?"

"He wasn't acting like himself at all. We barely got to see him, but he didn't seem to know what he was doing or where to go when he reached the forest."

Katniss sat back as Prim's words settled in. She'd assumed that Madge's confusion over whether it was Rory in the arena was because she was unfamiliar with which of the younger Hawthorne boys was named Rory.

But Prim thought it was still Gale in there - Prim, who'd known all three Hawthorne boys since she was eight years old. Madge had realized it was Rory only because she knew it wasn't Gale, and the next eldest brother was the most logical conclusion.

How could the Capitol possibly pass a fifteen year old off as his older eighteen year old brother? Sure, they were both tall and slender, with the same coloring and similar features, but one was practically an adult, and one was still a child.

Newscasters and television personalities had been gushing about Gale's good looks and his popularity among Capitolites for days. Surely they'd notice if the most talked-about tribute was missing.

Katniss had been expecting everyone in Twelve to be questioning how Rory appeared in the arena overnight. Now, with a sense of sickening dread, she wondered if anyone had noticed at all.

The hour changed and a replay of the events at noon began. The platforms slowly ascended into the arena. She could barely catch a glimpse of the one reserved for the male from District Twelve. The little girl from Eleven was there, peering into the woods behind her, and camera cut to Delly visibly trembling, but each camera angle just managed to cut the second tribute from Twelve out.

Finally, as the camera zoomed out to show all the tributes at once, her suspicions were confirmed. It was Rory's outline and not Gale's on the platform. The shot was a distance away, but since she knew to look, Katniss could differentiate his build from Gale's. Then the countdown was over and the frenzy began.

Katniss caught a glimpse of Delly jumping off her platform. Sunny curls bouncing, she turned in Rory's direction and blew an overstated kiss, her arm flung out to him. Then she turned and ran straight into the melee. Once she neared the brutish male from Two, Cato, Delly stopped, her eyes clenched shut and her arms open in supplication.

With an amused quirk of his lips and a noncommittal shrug of his shoulder, the Career obligingly felled her before turning to the next unlucky child.

Katniss cried out in denial, even though she already knew Delly hadn't made it through. She'd had no idea her end would be so abrupt and hopeless. She crumpled down onto the grass and was still, save for the breeze batting the tips of her curls. As screams continued to issue from the television, Katniss tried to comfort herself with the thought that it had been quick, and that Delly clearly chose death over the torment of the arena.

There were brief snatches of Rory running toward the forest from different angles as the coverage continued. There were backpacks and supplies nearby as he passed, but he missed the opportunity to grab any. Still, he'd made it through the bloodbath. As clips show the surviving tributes played on, Katniss was disconcerted to see that every shot of Rory showed him from the back, running away from the cameras and further into the woods. There were no close-ups or facial shots like with the other tributes. No pausing to focus on what he did throughout the remaining day in the arena. By now, Katniss had a sick realization of just how good the Gamemakers were at what they did. She'd never understood how effective editing could be at perpetuating a lie.

Anyone unfamiliar with Gale would easily mistake them with this coverage. If the footage continued in this vein, Katniss bet the majority of people in District Twelve, let alone the rest of Panem, would never even notice the difference.

All of Panem would be fooled. No one would know a tribute had managed to escape the Hunger Games. No one would know that another child had been sacrificed in their place, an injustice that violated the rules set forth in the Treaty of Treason. She felt like screaming in frustration, but she just sat frozen in front of the screen.

Sure enough, as pictures of the remaining tributes cycled on the screen, Gale's name and face showed up last, not Rory's. Claudius Templesmith came onscreen for a synopsis, which ended with, "And for all his heated words last night, the District Twelve's Gale Hawthorne made a tepid showing this afternoon, running into the woods immediately and putting distance between himself and the Cornucopia."

Katniss was disgusted. The only loose end that remained in this duplicity was an accounting of Rory's whereabouts to those that knew him. The Capitol would be expecting Hazelle to come up with some explanation for why he was gone. In District Twelve, coming up with a story like that would be too easy: there was the electric fence, the dangerous beasts beyond it, mine shafts, sickness, and that old stand-by, starvation. To save her remaining children, Katniss had no doubt Hazelle would do it.

She had to tell Hazelle what she knew, and support them through the night's primetime viewing. Then she'd decide what to tell Prim and her mother. She stood up, understanding exactly how limited the Districts were in their knowledge and how powerless that made them all. Their jailers could seamlessly hide someone's entire identity, at the drop of a hat, even when every citizen's eyes were glued to the screen. Everyone was too ignorant to question anything, too used to swallowing the Capitol's tripe to resist doing it one more time. People believed what you showed them.

And if it was this easy for the Capitol to lie to the districts, what else were they keeping from them?


Hope you liked the chapter! Let me know what you think, I have been loving all your thoughts and reactions so far! Chapter Five will be up next Sunday! :)

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