For five painfully long days, I was alternated between a hospital bed and a gigantic tub of water. In my previous Panem experience, my family hadn't exactly been my main concern. But now, as time ticked away, I hoped that they weren't on the brink of a heart attack. How many days had I been in the arena before? I knew that it was probably somewhere around a week. But at this rate, it might take me several more days just to get the time machine back.
Whenever I wasn't being dunked in water, I was stuck in an uncomfortable bed drinking water that may have had charcoal in it. On my first day I had tried to escape my room to find Josh. Unfortunately, I was caught by a nurse, and now had a chain holding my right ankle to the end of the bed. Lovely.
My injured hand had healed completely- well, except for the diagonal scar that was left. It was strange to think that I'd been able to take a piece of Finnick's shirt back with me before, and would now have a permanent reminder of this trip. How exactly was I going to explain that to everyone that asked? Maybe I could ask a Capitol surgeon if they could erase the mark.
When I really took time to ponder what life would be like when I went home, I wondered if I could in fact tell people where I had been. I would destroy the machine this time- crushing any hopes of ever going back again. But what would happen to me? And Josh, for that matter? Word would get out that we were time travelers somehow… No one would believe us, would they? If they did, our lives would change in an instant.
At last, I saw a familiar face. It was on the sixth day of my hospital imprisonment that Gale came into the room with a fabric tote bag in his hands. Without a word, he unlocked the chain that bound me and put the bag in my lap.
"Am I free?" I asked.
He gave me an amused look. "Yes. I have strict orders to make you drink clean water everyday, though." He nodded toward the bag. "My daughter is letting you borrow some clothes, since yours got the Magnopolium on them. There are also some other things from her in there. I'll let you change, and then we'll go to my house."
"Is Josh going to?"
"Of course. I think he misses you."
I smiled. Gale left and I went into the restroom. Based on what I'd overheard here and there, every room in the hospital had its own restroom. For some reason, it seemed nice to see a government spending money on hospitals.
The first thing I saw in the bathroom was my reflection in the mirror looking back at me. But what I saw just about made me drop the tote bag.
My hair was no longer a neutral dishwater shade, but had become an undeniable light blonde. I felt it, just to ensure that I wasn't imagining things. Yep, it was real alright. But how? The only logical explanation that I could think of would be that the Magnopolium did it. When I thought about it, I realized that it could have happened the instant I went under the poisonous water. I knew this because, through this entire experience in the future, I hadn't looked in a mirror until now.
I couldn't waste time, though. I somehow managed to take my eyes away from the mirror and instead focused them on what was inside the bag. Gale had told me his daughter's name on the hovercraft, but I didn't remember it at the time. Well, whoever she was, her wardrobe obviously consisted of solid-colored shirts and jeans. There was one thing I noticed about the clothing, though- there were no brand names. I guess that made sense. If the only real clothing factories after the rebellion were in District 8, then naturally they wouldn't have brand names, right?
After I slid on the clothing items, which, somehow, were all my exact size, I discovered a hairbrush in the bottom of the bag. And with it there was also a new toothbrush, futuristic-looking toothpaste, a ponytail, and a pair of black tennis shoes.
I used everything in the tote bag and eventually emerged from my hospital room to discover Gale and Josh waiting outside the door. Without a word, Josh and I immediately came together in an unbreakable hug. I was so glad to finally see my friend, and he seemed equally as happy.
"Are you ok?" He asked, without letting me go.
"Yes. Are you?"
"I'm fine."
The sight of Gale still waiting made me pull away from Josh. He then motioned for us to follow him out of the building and onto a wide dirt road.
"My house is less than a mile from here," he said. "Are you two up to walking?"
"I think so," I replied. "Do you walk every day?"
Gale nodded. "District 2 has quite a few means of transportation, but I like walking. Besides, this is the hospital; I usually only have to walk to headquarters, which is closer to my house."
It was as if Josh had just noticed my hair when he spoke up. "Wow, that's an interesting shade."
"Yeah, about that," I said to Gale, "Do you think it's from the Magnopolium?"
"Probably."
"Well why didn't you tell me before I almost fainted at the sight of myself?"
"I didn't tell you about the harmless side effects," he said. "You could also lose hair; so really, you got the better part of the deal."
"So, what does that mean for me?" Josh asked nervously.
I laughed. "You'll be fine."
"Oh really?"
"I'm pretty sure you would already be bald by now if it were to happen to you. Besides," I smiled and patted his head, "I would be willing to have a hairless friend."
"That's not funny, Haley…" But he still had the faintest shadow of a smile on his face.
"Anyway," Gale said, "How did you like our hospital?"
"They're very strict when it comes to recovery," I answered. "They chained me to my bed."
"Wow, you got off luckier than I did," Josh said. "Evidently you got the last bed. They locked me in a room with about six billion bottles of water and a couch."
"Oh, I'm sorry, Josh," I said. "I would've let you have the bed if I would have known."
He shrugged. "It doesn't really matter now. We'll be able to go home soon."
I elbowed him. Really, he had to be more careful about what he let slip out of his mouth. My worry started to decrease after a few seconds, but then, Gale asked, "So where are you from?"
"We're…" My mind went blank. What could I say?
"We're from District 1," Josh cut in for me. It was a good thing he did, or else I might've exploded.
"That's good," Gale said. "Then we'll be able to get you home soon."
Unfortunately, he didn't even know how long it would probably take.
I thought of bringing up a question I initially asked myself but had forgotten to mention. "So, when you rescued us, why did you shoot Philo?"
"He was wanted in six districts for associating with our most elusive criminal," Gale answered. "He was too dangerous to be left alive for questioning."
"Who is your most elusive criminal?" I asked.
"He goes by the name Heat- obviously that isn't his real name. He, on the other hand, is wanted in all thirteen districts and the Capitol."
"What does he do?"
"That's what is so confusing about him," he said. "He captures people randomly and tortures them. Philo's part of the deal was to break them out and trick them into answering political questions. We're guessing Heat's trying to find out more about the districts." Gale paused for a minute. "I don't tell many people this, but I think he's trying to get a political foothold."
My meeting with 'Formend' came back to me. He was Heat, wasn't he? There was no other logical explanation. He couldn't have been so ignorant as to let the girl from the past go. If he was who Gale was looking for, he had something truly devious in mind.
We walked in silence for the rest of the way. There were so many questions I wanted to ask Gale. I couldn't ask Finnick many, since he was twenty-four when his participation in the book plot actually started. But Gale was there through it all. He knew Katniss. He survived the rebellion. I wished I could bring some of it up.
When we arrived at the Hawthorne house, I was actually surprised at how large it was. I suppose I shouldn't have been, since he had an important and most likely well-paying job, but still… For some reason I'd expected a house resembling one that could be in District 12. Gale led us up the path to the front door. He inserted a strange looking key and opened the door.
Upon entering the house, I was flooded with a feeling of warmth. It was then that I realized how warm it had been outside for this time of the year. I would have to ask about that later. But what really got to me was the smell of fresh bread completely saturating the air. This wasn't where Peeta lived- so who was the amazing cook?
A woman emerged from a doorway. Her hair was dark brown and flowed in a bouncy way just past her shoulders. She was a fair height- probably only an inch taller than me. I knew that her glowing and kind face would be engraved into my mind forever.
"Oh, Gale, they're perfect!" She said, coming towards us. Gale tried to wrap his arms around her waist, but her hospitable nature overrode it and she instead focused on me and Josh.
"I'm Haley Green," I said, holding out my hand for her to shake. But to my surprise, she put her arms around me in a friendly hug.
"I'm so glad you're finally here! Gale told me that we'd have you two soon. You're my first teenage guests ever, so I got extremely excited." She hugged Josh just as warmly. "What's your name?"
"Josh Andrews," he replied. "Thank you for letting us stay here."
"Oh Josh, it's a pleasure more than anything," she said, never letting the smile leave her face. She suddenly put her hands to her cheeks in mild shock. "How rude! I forgot to mention that I'm Camilla. Just Camilla, though. None of this 'Mrs. Hawthorne' business."
I matched her warm smile. "Well, thank you for such a nice welcome, Camilla."
"Would you like to go to your rooms now?" Gale cut in kindly. "Lucius is around here somewhere, but you can meet the other two after they get home from school."
"Thanks… Uh…" I trailed off. I hadn't called Gale by name yet. Would he be alright with that, or would he prefer something like 'Mr. Hawthorne'?
"Just call me Gale," he finished for me. "It's easier that way."
"Ok, thanks, Gale."
Gale led Josh to his room, and Camilla took me up the stairs to mine. Even the guest bedrooms in their modern-looking house were spacious and nice. I loved that there was a large canopy bed against the wall.
"I hope this room is clean enough," Camilla said. "I told Julia to dust yesterday."
"This room is better than perfect," I said happily. "I can't thank you enough for all you've done."
She sat on the bed, which had a plush blue comforter, and patted the spot beside her. Once I was sitting with her, she said, "I'm so excited that you're finally here. The first day that you were in the hospital Gale told me that you'd be staying here later. I instantly fell in love with you two, even though I hadn't met you."
"You're so kind," I said.
Camilla smiled. "Trust me, I wasn't always. I'm lucky to have ended up with Gale."
The stars in her eyes when she said the last sentence led me to believe that she and Gale were absolutely perfect for each other. If I remembered correctly, Gale told me on the hovercraft that she was strong-willed. She seemed happy to me, but maybe it had come with maturity. After all, Gale didn't seem as severe as he did in the books either. Maybe he'd gone to District 2 and found himself a better Katniss.
Maybe even Katniss was a happier person by this time.
Camilla left the room and, soon after, Josh came in. He shut the door behind him and sat on the bed beside me. "When are you planning to tell them?"
"I haven't thought it out too carefully yet," I confessed. "I was assuming bringing it up when we're well enough to go home. After all, I'm assuming doctors from our time don't know how to treat Magnopolium."
"What's going to happen when you do say it?" He asked. "Do you think the government will raid a random spot in the middle of nowhere just to get two confused kids home?" He shook his head. "They're going to ask us more questions than we can answer, you know."
"Let's just take it one day at a time," I said calmly. "If things get really bad, we'll just change our names and ask if we can join District 13 underground."
Josh actually smiled. "I didn't know it was possible for Haley Green to be irrational."
"I built a time machine- that's more irrational than everything in your life combined."
We sat there silently. I ran a finger across the new scar on my hand. Reality here seemed so virtual, when in truth, it was very real and very dangerous. Josh saw me and carefully took me by the wrist. He stared at the mark. I sighed and put my forehead on his shoulder.
"Do you really think things will get terrible?" He asked, taking his eyes off the scar but still clasping my hand in his.
I lifted my head and looked him in the eyes. "Maybe. But I guess we'll just have to keep the odds in our favor."
He smiled again.
An hour later, I sat in the kitchen, eating some of the perfect bread that Camilla had made. And with it I was obligated to drink as much water as I could possibly hold. Josh sat beside me, trying to entertain himself with a Panem history book.
Suddenly, I heard the door open. I heard a female voice. "We're home, mom!"
Camilla rushed out of the kitchen and almost immediately returned with two teenagers behind her. Josh and I stood up to meet them.
"These are my younger and youngest," Camilla said, gesturing to each person. "Marcus and Julia."
Julia hugged me, just like her mother had. Somehow it didn't surprise me, since she looked like an exact copy of Camilla, only slightly shorter. Her smile was also the same. "It's amazing to finally meet you, Haley! My dad told me about you."
"It's great to meet you too," I replied with a smile. "Thank you for the clothes."
"No trouble at all! It's a good thing you're about as big as I am."
She focused her attention on Josh for a moment after that. Marcus now held out his hand to me. "I'm Marcus."
I shook his hand, and his firm grip was strange for a seventeen year-old. "It's nice to meet you Marcus," I said.
The Hawthorne family must've had strong genetics. Julia looked like her mom, and Marcus was exactly what I had expected Gale to look like in the books- yes, I'm not even going to lie when I say that he was undeniably attractive. I wondered what Lucius looked like. I hadn't seen him around yet.
"Hopefully my mother hasn't… Overwhelmed you," he said with a mischievous smile. "Sometimes her joy is a little too much."
I laughed. "No, she's wonderful."
For a while it was all small talk. In my time, Julia would be a sophomore and Marcus would be a senior. I learned that the reason Lucius wasn't home some of the time was because he was out with a girl. Julia showed me some of her math homework, and my mind instantly began to come up with the answers. I didn't say them out loud, though. I never really found out whether forms of algebra and geometry were easier in Panem, or if I was just used to advanced math because of my former science obsession. Josh and Marcus also seemed to be getting along. They reminded me of each other a little. Both had their friendly moments, and could also maintain a quiet and kind personality.
When Lucius arrived home, I barely had time to meet him before dinner began. The Hawthorne family was very talkative at the table (especially Camilla), but Josh and I were quieter than usual. We answered questions politely and laughed at the occasional humor, but we didn't particularly bring anything up. I don't know why Josh didn't, but I knew my reason.
Soon, I would have to tell these people the truth. They might never treat me the same way again, and strangely, I would miss it. The apprehension and sadness of the situation was enough to make me worry myself to sleep that night.
So what do you think of Gale's family? Reviews are extremely appreciated- they help me decide where to take the story next, in a way. So I love reading them :D
