Disclaimer: the Hunger Games trilogy belongs to Suzanne Collins
Chap 12
District Nine – grain fields, farmer, harvester. It didn't leave any impression in my mind when I visited it during Victory Tour. The fields are vast but I had seen fields in Eleven before it. District Nine's tributes in my Games didn't last through the blood bath. And for now, as I climb up a tree to have a good view of it, my survival instinct tells me this is not good. Not like in Elevenwhere the fields and orchards mix together, in Nine, the fields spread around the town center and only stop when they meet the mountains and a range of thin woods becomes the border line. And the town center is kept by Peacekeepers. The rebels have been chased to the woods and the mountains. The grain fields turn out protecting the town really well. No one can pass through the fields without notice. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. At day, the hoverplanes watch from the sky. And they shoot flare all night. With losing Eleven into rebellion's hand, the Capitol reinforces strength to protect the grain sources in Nine. If they lose Nine, the Capitol food resources will be in very reduces circumstances and then Capitol invasion will be easy like a piece of cake, I remember what Plutarch had told me in the Command before I took off. But before that piece of cake, we might be choked with grain right here, in Nine.
"Katniss, the meeting is about to begin." I hear Gale calling me from the ground.
I climb down. After the landing, we travelled a little through the woods to meet the camp of rebels. I left the rest to take a climbing. Their camps are scattered everywhere in the woods and in the mountains, just a few of desolate farms left after the reinforcement. Those are the main food resources of the rebels.
"How is it?" Gale asks me while we walk together back to the main tent.
"It's… different." I don't know what to say. "It's… not safe like the woods. It's hard to fight."
"Yeah, I really wonder how they still stand." Gale whispers. I nod, totally agree with him. Rebels in Nine look nothing like soldiers, not like in Eight.
"Ah, here she is. Everyone, Katniss Everdeen is here." A voice excitedly calls out when I walk in the light of the main tent. People are gathering in and outside it. I'm fighting with my mind telling me to run away from the crowd. I did it in Eight and I can do it again. I walk in, let people hug me, touch me, ask me, pat me and try my hardest to smile, even a silly smile, I know it's silly. They tell me that from the center town, Peacekeepers used megaphone to announce my death and how the bombing razed to the ground District 8 for straight three days. Fulvia and the film crew have found a way to come near me. She proudly brags about me.
"No, she's fine and fought really brave. She took down two hoverplanes with her arrow."
I blush while people around me gasp in awe. They were not normal arrows after all. After a while continues like that, the crowd finally dismisses. I sit down on a wood log, tired of keeping my smile face.
"Here, have a drink." A young woman offers me a glass of water. "The crowd loves you but you're afraid of crowd, nothing is sadder than a one-sided love." She jokes but both I and Gale choke on water. People laugh good-heartedly but I can't stop glare at her. The leader, I guess so because when he claps his hand, people quiet down. They find their seat around him.
"Thank you for being here, Miss Everdeen. My name is Rye, the former mayor of District Nine. Your present here means a lot to us." He smiles and holds out his hand. I hesitate a little before shaking hand with him.
"Well, to tell the truth, we haven't fought much in Nine. We hoped that we could harvest first and fight later. Shame on us." He looks around. People of Nine smile timidly. "So, we don't have much weapons or soldiers."
"We know you called Thirteen for help but we didn't think the circumstance has been this serious. So this time we didn't come with much help." Bogg says. A reinforced group includes a former drunk, a mental disorder girl, a film crew and only seven soldiers. I sigh quietly.
"Oh, even if you wanted to send soldiers, it would be difficult to find place for landing. They will notice and I know the Air Force of Thirteen can't fight directly with them on the fields." Commander Rye shakes his head.
"How did you fight in those last months?" Gale asks.
"Because we didn't really fight against the Peacekeepers, they didn't put much effort on us either. The former Peacekeepers haven't been transferred like in other Districts. Some of them gave us information before hand about the reinforcement. And we retreated to the woods. We attacked their reconnaissance three times to collect weapons. That's all."
I see Gale trying to not to let out his groan. How can we fight this time?
"At least, they won't expect we attack directly and we have someone inside. Can I say that about some Peacekeepers giving you information, Commander?" Haymitch's voice surprises me. Well, he's still a Victor of a Quell, who won by his head. Commander Rye doesn't reply right away, he looks back at the young woman who made the joke. She blushes a little.
"We might say that." Rye turns back to us. "What's your plan?"
"I think I want to have a look at the map first." Haymitch nods his head absentmindedly. Bogg observes him then turn to me. "The rest of you should have a rest now."
Rye agrees and motions to his men. But I feel I'm left out again by Haymitch and that makes me angry.
"I want to hear." I say after others already went out.
"I don't guarantee I will have a plan in just a minute, sweetheart." Haymitch says without looking at me.
"Don't call me that!" I snap. "And don't you dare keep secret and lie to me this time."
"Katniss!" Gale calls. I realize I have stood up. Haymitch sighs and steps out of the tent. I follow him.
"Now, spit it out. Once and for all." He folds his arms, waiting. But the words are never my friend. The resentment, the bitterness I feel toward him loses their way from my heart to my mouth. I gulp and say.
"I can't believe you didn't rescue Peeta."
"I know." He replies.
"That's all?" He didn't say sorry, or anything resemble.
"And I can't believe you let him out of your sight that night." Right. We both failed.
"But he's not dead, not yet, Katniss. We still have a chance to save him, if you stop trying to kill me with your eyes anytime you can and start working with me. Our deal is still on and I'm still your mentor. So let the adults talk." With that, he starts walking back to the tent.
"I still want to hear." I say, being stubborn.
"I will tell you my plan right after you leave me peace to think about it, sweetheart." He throws that word at me before going inside. Gale steps out. He doesn't ask me about Haymitch, he must have heard us. He walks to me and silently leads me to a tent they have prepared for Thirteen's group. The film crew is rewatching the scene of me among the crowd and the guards are already sleeping. I don't feel I need to sleep yet so I find for me a tree near the tent and sit on its big root. Gale sits down beside me. Sometimes, the flare from afar shines up the sky.
"How's your arm?" I ask after a while.
"It's alright." He shrugs, then chuckles.
"What?"
"It seems like only when I'm hurt, I will get your attention. For example, the only time you kissed me is when I was whipped." He says and throws away a twig he has broken.
"Oh… you remember?" That's a bad reply. I know it when he turns his head to me. I can't see it clearly but I can guess he's hurt.
"I will never forget it. Because maybe it's the only one." He tells me. "I don't know if I get hurt again, you will give me one more or not."
"Gale, don't say that. It's not like that." The image of Madge and Gale suddenly appears in my mind.
"Katniss." Gale already leaned closer to me. I let him kiss me because I don't want Gale think I'm just pity him. The fresh smell of the woods at night fills up my nose but I don't taste anything. It doesn't feel right at all. I pull away and put my hand on his chest to stop him.
"Madge. What do you feel about Madge?" I gasp for air. The wave of feelings makes my lungs fail me.
"Why do you ask?" Gale hesitates for a moment.
"Just tell me." I feel mad at him and at myself.
"It's not like what I feel about you." Gale tells me but I already stood up.
"Forget about it." I mutter and go back to the tent. I wish I could do what I said, forget about it.
