**Review and tell me what you think! The next chapter is going to be intense! Just giving you a fair warning. What did you think of the Haymitch section? I'm thinking of doing the beginning of each chapter through a different mentor, so review and give me input people! Thanks for reading!**
Choices and Hallucinations
Haymitch Abernathy shot up from the couch he'd fallen asleep on; sweat was dripping down his face, and he was breathing hard as if he'd just been running for his life. Haymitch, help me! He blinked and looked around wildly for her. Haymitch, please! HAYMITCH! He squeezed his eyes shut and focused on taking deep breaths. Gorgeous, emerald eyes stared at him desperately, wide with fear. He pressed his fingers to his temple and tried to will the images away. Melody! Where are you taking her! Get off of her! MELODY! He groped around almost blindly for the alcohol. Melody? What's happening? A smaller, frightened child's voice was now asking. His fingers finally wrapped around the smooth glass, and he raised it to his lips. The drink was ripped out of his hands. He blinked in surprise, looking up at the person that stood above him with her hands on her hips.
"And what do you think you're doing?" The annoyingly high-pitched voice of Effie snapped at him. "Katniss and Peeta need you!" He ignored her, grabbing the remote and turning on the screen hurriedly. It had been three days since the Games had started and so far nothing had happened to Katniss or Celeste, who had formed an alliance. The girl from 4 had been killed by Thresh the day earlier, so that was one less tribute for them to deal with. He remembered when she died, screaming for help as Thresh sliced her neck open with the scythe he'd managed to get from the Cornucopia. He had been with Finnick, Annie, Mags, and Whip when it had happened, and he almost felt bad for Finnick as he turned away in a guilty relief. Haymitch knew there were only a select few people Finnick really loved and would trust with his life. Annie, Mags, and Celeste. It was killing him. If she died, Haymitch wasn't so sure Finnick would stay sane. He was only twenty-two, after all. Haymitch gazed at the image of Celeste and Katniss walking through the thick forest.
"So, tell me about your sister," Celeste broke the silence between them causing Katniss to glance around cautiously.
"She is almost the exact opposite of me," Katniss finally started speaking in a low voice, in case another tribute was near. "She looks like my mom, has the same blonde hair. She has this cat that she rescued, and she calls it Buttercup. It's a ferocious, sorry excuse for a cat,"
"I gather it doesn't like you then," Celeste deduced with a grin, which Katniss reluctantly returned.
"Not very much, no. I tried to drown it when she first brought it home." Celeste laughed genuinely at that. "She also has a goat that she named Lady. At least she's useful," Katniss' grin dropped as she spoke and refocused on the arena. "My sister is a healer like my mother. She's going to grow up to be one of the best in 12." There was a small silence and then, "I taught her how to hunt once. Or tried to." Celeste gave a small laugh at her tone.
"What happened?" She questioned.
"She broke down in tears and tried to beg me to help the dying doe." Celeste laughed quietly at that. Then there was more silence and the screen changed to the Careers, who were currently hunting for food and setting up camp. Glimmer hadn't brought up Celeste to Cato anymore since that first night when Celeste had listened to them arguing about her. Haymitch felt uneasy about the boy. He didn't know what to think. On one hand, he could see that the boy was starting to develop feelings for her, but on the other hand, his training was making it hard for him to accept the feelings. When the canon went off for the 4 girl, Haymitch hadn't missed the way both Celeste's and Cato's heads had shot up or the look of worry in their eyes.
The hours passed quickly as Haymitch talked to Capital men and woman, trying to gain sponsors. It was sometime in the middle of the night now, approaching morning. The sponsors were there twenty four hours a day. The Capital never sleeps. There were four screens set up on the walls, each showing a different set of tributes. One showed the Careers and Peeta sleeping safely in their makeshift camp. The other showed Celeste and Katniss, each tied to a different tree, and both sleeping soundly. The one to Haymitch's right showed the boy from 10 keeping watch while the girl from 11 slept next to him. They had formed an alliance earlier that morning. The third screen was flicking through different solo tributes: Thresh, girl from 3, boy from 3, and the girl from 5. He had only bothered to learn the names of the lethal looking tributes. He glanced across the room and glimpsed a tired Whip talking to two rich looking men. Finnick, he knew, would be off sleeping with some high paying Capital woman, who he would probably try to convince to sponsor -
"CELESTE!" The scream caused everyone to jump in their seats. The volume had been cranked louder, so the soft noises of the night could be heard, which meant Katniss' scream was extra piercing. Haymitch's eyes snapped to the screen to see Celeste desperately untying herself and shoving her supplies into the the pack, shouldering it and beginning to climb down. His jaw clenched as her foot slipped, and she fell the rest of the way down. He winced as she let out a hiss of pain when her hand landed forcefully on a burning mushroom. Katniss pulled her to her feet by her jacket, and they were running through the forest. Haymitch's breath hitched as Katniss had to dive out of the way to avoid getting fried by a fireball. Celeste ran past her as she scrambled do her feet.
Haymitch stopped breathing entirely as Celeste skidded to a stop so abruptly that she fell backward, and a fireball shot so close to her face that, for a moment, Haymitch thought it had hit her. She sat there a bit stunned for a split second before shaking her head and jumping to her feet, running in another direction. Katniss and Celeste were separated now, but still close enough to meet up again. This alliance could be over before it really even started. Haymitch dismissed the thought almost as soon as he thought it; both the girls were too smart to let that happen. One screen showed Katniss jumping backwards as a tree fell in front of her while the other screen covered Celeste as she switched directions and shot toward where Katniss was running.
"Go!" Celeste's painful, hoarse cry tore at Haymitch's heart as he watched her follow Katniss, who was running parallel to the tree. Katniss was hit in the leg with a fireball, and the force of it threw her to the ground. She crawled backwards into the shelter of some boulders, trying to protect herself as Celeste ran towards her. Then, Celeste hesitated, glancing past Katniss and then back at her. Haymitch could see the internal struggle playing out across her face as she debated whether or not to leave Katniss. Her eyes caught something in the distance, and she screamed, "Katniss!" Grabbing Katniss' jacket and hauling her out of the way of the second fireball. They fell backward down a hill and almost as soon as they landed they were helping each other up and running again. Haymitch let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding as they made it safely to the water.
Then he heard the Careers. No, no, no. That couldn't be happening right now. The gamemakers had been pushing them right into the Careers. Celeste caught on first and had reached the bank when the Careers spotted them. She turned back to look at them, well, at him to be exact. Cato. The camera angle made sure to make their eye contact obvious, zooming in on Cato's shocked and horrified expression before zooming in on Celeste's scared, almost sad expression. Then, the moment was over, and Celeste pulled herself out of the water and was running faster than Haymitch had ever seen her run. She saw the tree and leapt onto it, scaling nimbly and reaching a branch near the top as Katniss started to climb. Katniss reached a branch a bit below her as the Careers reached the tree.
They hooted and hollered insults, and Cato attempted to climb the tree only to fall back down. Cato and Celeste made eye contact again as Glimmer shot an arrow…and missed. Haymitch's shoulders sagged with relief.
"Nice shot, but you just missed that squirrel," Celeste called down to them with a laugh of bravado. A couple capital people laughed and headed over to Whip. Haymitch's lips twitched at her jibe; she always did have spunk. Cato grabbed the bow and arrow in annoyance and shot at Katniss. Not Celeste, Haymitch couldn't help but notice.
"Maybe you should throw the sword," Katniss suggested; both girls grinning in relief.
"Let's just wait them out," Peeta's words froze Haymitch's blood. Damn boy, what are you doing? He reasoned with the Careers, and Cato finally agreed, leaving to make a camp. Two screens now showed the girls, one showed Katniss caring to her leg, and the other showed Celeste tending to her arm. Haymitch winced as Celeste jerked a particularly large splinter out of the raw flesh of her palm. She bit her lip and leaned her head back with a clear expression of pain. They had no iodine left, but they did have their water bottles. Celeste tied herself to the tree, and unscrewed the lid of her water bottle. She hissed in pain as she poured the water on. Her hand shook so much that she almost couldn't pour it. She took deep breaths in and out, mumbling to herself quietly as well as to Katniss, who was near tears with pain.
"You're okay. You're okay," She kept repeating, the pain all to evident in her voice. She screwed on the water bottle lid and shoved it in her bag. "You're alive. You're fine. You're okay," Haymitch's heart throbbed as she leaned her head back and squeezed her eyes shut. "You'll be okay. You'll be okay. You're okay,"
-Hunger Games-
An angry buzzing filled the air, and I winced as I felt one sting me in the shoulder, sending a sharp pain through my body. We needed to get out of the tree now. I started climbing down the tree hurriedly as Katniss fell past me, hitting the ground with a painful thud. She was scrambling up when I reached the ground. Glimmer's screams had filled the air as soon as the nest had been dropped on them. She was still running around screaming as the jackers stung her repeatedly. The rest of the Career tributes had split up and run off, all of them seeking water of some kind. I snatched up my water bottle and ran into the woods.
I'd run a good fifty yards before I realized Katniss wasn't behind me. In fact, no one was. I was alone. That's when the cannon sounded. I turned and sprinted back the way I'd come, but I didn't enter the clearing for fear of there being tracker jackers still waiting there. Instead, I stayed in the safety of the forest while I took in the scene in front of me. Katniss was leaning over Glimmer's dead body, struggling to pry her dead fingers off the bow. My stomach churned when I saw the once beautiful girl now grossly disfigured. I had never liked Glimmer, but no one deserved that. Katniss got the bow free and ripped the arrows off of her. She fingered the arrows feathers in surprise and vague wonder like she'd never seen something like them before. She was hallucinating, I realized. Or just disoriented. She'd gotten stung a good many times.
"Katniss!" Peeta's yell stopped me from running over to her. Instead, I took a step back and let the dagger drop out of my jacket sleeve and into my hand. I would kill him if he tried to kill Katniss. He was running out of the forest with his staff, but he looked so frightened that I lowered the knife I'd raised. "Katniss, what are you doing? Go! Katniss, run!" He yanked her to his feet and shoved her towards the safety of the forest. He wasn't lying about the crush thing then. Cato came running out of the forest behind Peeta, looking murderous. I involuntarily took a step back further into the shelter of the trees. Katniss ran off, well, really more like stumbled off into the woods as Peeta turned to face Cato, his jaw set in determination. He was going to die. Cato would kill him. Cato seemed to be feeling the affect of the sting's as well, but he was still deadly with a sword. His swing was sloppy but powerful. Peeta managed to block it with his staff.
I raised the knife again but stopped, breathing hard. I needed to kill him. I needed to kill Cato. This is what I've been doing right? I have been getting close to him, so he would spare me. So he would hesitate to kill me. And then I'd kill him. I tightened my grip on the knife, hearing Johanna's voice in my head telling me to end it now. Kill him, and I'd have a real shot at winning. Kill him, and I had a real shot at going home. Going back to Finnick and Haymitch and Johanna and Whip and all the others. An image of Finnick's haunted face after he'd been rescued from the arena flashed before my eyes. Annie's broken screams as she was rescued echoed in my ears. I lowered the knife, taking one step backward and then another. I couldn't do it. I just…I couldn't. My feet suddenly felt rooted to the spot. I couldn't leave either. What if Peeta killed him? I took a step forward when I heard Peeta's cry of pain. Cato had slashed him in the thigh, and Peeta was on the ground, unable to get up.
Instead of finishing him off, like I thought he would do, Cato stumbled backward. The full affects of the venom are starting to get to him, I realized and took another step forward. He caught my eye then. His eyes held confusion as he tilted his head sideways, looking at me with a certain longing mixed with fear. He took a unsteady step forward, and the sword fell from his loosened grip. His eyes became unfocused, and he fell to his knees. It was when his eyes rolled back in his head, and he passed out that I knew it was bad. However many times he was stung, it was bad. He could die if he didn't get the proper treatment, and I very much doubted the Careers knew what that was. A sudden dizziness came over me, and I leaned against a tree for support.
"You know, Celeste," My eyes snapped around to find the source of the voice. There, my dad was stepping over Cato's limp body and heading for me. "Sometimes the Careers kill off their own," He gave a mocking laugh as he nudged Cato with his foot, looking down at him in disgust. I remembered this conversation. I had been eight at the time and he had been drunk, sitting in a chair by the fire telling me horrific stories about the Games, but not allowing me to excuse myself from his presence.
"Why?" I found myself saying, everything was blurring in and out of focus except him like I was looking through a magnifying glass and putting it closer and farther away from my father.
"Because healing the tribute would slow them down and waste their time, of course! Use your head, you stupid girl!" He let out another mocking laugh. His dark hair and light eyes making him look almost at home in the forest. He was wearing his peacekeeper outfit that he had used to work in. "The Careers call it a pity kill. The tributes dead anyway, so why not slash his, or her," He added with a withering look at me, "throat and hurry it along?" He kicked the unresponsive Cato a bit harshly, making me take a step forward and hold out my hand as if to stop him. He let out a third mocking laugh, and this one was harsher than the other two. "You always did have a horrendous taste in men, Celeste. You and Melody both. Haymitch," His face twisted into a sinister sneer that made his usually handsome face gruesome. "Good luck, Celeste," His fourth laugh was devoid of all emotion and send a shudder through me. "And may the odds be ever in your favor," He added with an ominous grin that contorted his face and made me quake in fear.
He was gone. I blinked rapidly and looked around to see Cato and I were alone. No ghostly pale image of my father laughing cruelly at me. No criticisms being flung into my face. The next thing I became aware of was I was on my hands and knees and had somehow crawled over to Cato. I lifted his shirt, and my stomach flipped sickeningly as I saw the purplish stings on his abdomen and chest. There must have been at least five if not more. He would definitely die if I didn't do something. I grabbed one of his arms and slung it over my shoulder, while wrapping one of my arms around his waist and dragging him into the woods.
With a sense of relief, I remembered the cave Katniss and I had passed not to long ago by the rocks. I needed to go to the rocks anyways to avoid leaving the obvious drag marks in the dirt. Cato groaned and mumbled something to distorted for me to hear, but he didn't wake. It was hard work, considering he was probably somewhere near one hundred eighty pounds of pure muscle. Judging by his abdomen and chest. I mentally stomped on that thought. No. I was just doing this…
Why was I doing this? If I really didn't have feelings for him, why was I dragging him along, desperately trying to save his life? He would be a useful ally in the future. If he owed me his life, that would be key in helping me win. That was it. That was all. I staggered onto the rocks, careful to avoid the slippery surfaces nearer to the water's edge. Finally, after thirty minutes of struggling, I reached the cave. The entrance was covered in vines and thick bushes, making it almost impossible to spot unless you knew what you were looking for. I peeked inside, making sure no one got here before me. No one had. I half dragged, half carried Cato inside and set him down near the back. He groaned again and shifted, his breath hitching in fear. I knew he was having nightmares due to the venom, and I found myself wanting to help him.
Knowing there was nothing I could do but heal the stings and hope he gets better, I exited the caves, drawing the vines and brush around the entrance to conceal the injured Career. I jogged back to where Katniss dropped the hive on the Careers. The jog only took ten minutes and along the way I stopped every so often to brush away the drag marks on the dirt. Peeta was gone when I got there. All that was left was his staff, Cato's sword, and a couple knives that Clove had dropped while they ran. I picked up the knives hurriedly; I was good with knives, and they'd be helpful, even if there were only five. Next, I picked up Cato's sword and Peeta's staff and walked back as stealthily as I could through the forest back to the caves.
When I reached the caves, Cato was shivering and pale. I dropped the stuff and slipped the knives through my belt so I would have them later. I left my pack by Cato's sword and knelt beside him, slipping off his jacket and lifting his shirt over his head, discarding both to the side. Oh. I tried not to stare at his perfectly sculpted chest and abs. Okay, focus, Celeste. You have to take out the stingers. I pulled out the stingers one by one until they were all out, including the one in my shoulder.
"Come on, Cel," My head jerked up to see my mom kneeling by my side. Her dark hair was tied up in a ponytail like she used to when she was working. "Think. What do we put on stings?" I racked my brain for the answer. I'd been seven when this had happened. She'd been healing someone from the District we were staying in, 5, I think it had been. They'd been stung by a bee and had had an abnormal reaction to the sting. "You can do it, come on. Think."
"Parsley," I whispered, knowing Panem must think I'm crazy right about now. I looked at her and she nodded, smiling at me with her dark green eyes shining with pride before disappearing just like my father.
I ran out of the cave and came back with ten leaves of the stuff. I chewed it, making a face at the bitter taste and then rubbed them on his stings. I was rewarded by his sigh of relief, even if he didn't wake. Did I even want him to wake? He'd probably kill me when he did. I rubbed the last of the chewed leaves onto my sting and my shoulders slumped with relief as the pain was relieved. I propped his chin up and checked his pulse to make sure it was steady, which to my relief it was. He was still shivering and pale, so I replaced his shirt and jacket on and managed to get him into my sleeping bag. I began to move away when his hand wrapped around my wrist, making me jump and grab one of the knives in my belt.
"Celeste," He mumbled my name, and I realized he was still sleeping. His grip relaxed as I slid it down so I was gripping his hand in mine. I felt the all too familiar flutter of my heart before I shook my head and got up. What was I doing? I was going to get myself killed. I glanced back at Cato and shook my head again.
"Way to go, Celeste. Save the guy who's trying to kill you," I muttered to myself, turning and leaving the cave. Cato would wake in a day or so, and, in the meantime, I needed to find Katniss.