Chapter 14:

Beetee's point of view:

We got off the train in District 3 to cheering and applause from my fellow District 3 citizens for my congratulations in bringing home their third Hunger Games Victory in 25 years. The first faces that I saw were my family's. Lori was already short, thin, and emaciated before I left, but now it looked like she had lost yet another ten pounds. This is bad. I need to get a lot of protein into her now. I ran to my sister and threw my arms around her. My parents put both their arms around the both of us. Then there was my friends. And so on and so forth.

We were taken straight to the big wide open ballroom at the Justice Building where there was a party in my honor and a ceremony where I was presented with a number of awards, metals, and plaques while shaking the Mayor's hand.

After the party, me and my family were taken to the Victors Village where I could pick out one of the giant empty mansions, not that it mattered, they were all the same. We entered the front door, and the main foyer was huge. The whole house was fully furnished. Everything was fresh and clean. The refrigerator and pantry were both empty, but I could go grocery shopping tomorrow. I patted Lori on the shoulder and told her that she could have the master-bedroom as I had done all of this for her, but she selflessly gave it to mom and dad. A Capitol official who had come to District 3 with us for the party and followed us into the house then handed me a bag of money and said that the quantity of money was enough money for a family to live on for a year, and that I would receive and identical bag of money on the first of every month for the reminder of my life. And District 3 will also be showered in extravagant gifts of mostly food for the next year.

And me and my family were then left alone in the house. Our new home.

I then turned to my father.

"Dad. I have returned, just as I intended." I said with emotion, not sure how his feelings were for my meaning and reason for leaving. "As I requested of the last thing I said to you when I left, I hope you think better of me?"

My father looked at me with a plain straight face, with no indication of either pride for my return or condemnation for volunteering.

"I am proud of you son." said my father, a hint of tenderness in his voice. "I don't like that you had to kill six people to do it, but for us as a family, if you can get Lori to gain a lot of weight fast, then you and I will be fine."

He smiled and nodded. I was pleased he wasn't upset with me. The bonds of family go deep.

The next day, I took the whole family out to the grocery store in the market. I grabbed a shopping cart and told Lori to go up and down the aisles and fill the cart with whatever she wanted. She took the cart and excitedly pushed it to the aisles and filled it full with her favorites. I turned to mom and dad and told them I wanted to spoil her a little.

We got a lot of groceries. More than we could carry. So I paid some people generously to give us a hand.

I then invited my friends over to see my new house and paid them a small percentile of my winnings.

I went to the optometrist's office to get a prescription on some glasses for my near-sighted eyes.

I set up a private laboratory in the house for my own experiments. Since Hunger Games Victors don't have to go to school or work, they are encouraged by their fans in the Capitol to take up their free time with some form of artistic expression. I decided to study new advanced sciences and become an inventor to challenge my mind, not that I wouldn't have done that anyway without the encouragement of my Capitol fans.

I bought extra potent Health Vitamins for Lori, to go with the large portion, high protein meals that we fed her. And I also checked over the theory of the science, and created in my lab a drug that would induce obesity to counteract her protein deficiency. I would injected it into Lori's arm every now and then. The drug would cause the walls of the inside of her intestines to absorb into her body additional raw materials and then stimulate additional tissue growth.

And it seemed to be working. By the end of the month Lori had gained ten pounds.

Life was looking up. The people had additional food because I won the Games. I spent time with Neil, and Sora. They would have me and my family over for dinner, and we would have them over for dinner.

Then later started the nightmares. They weren't that bad, but I would see Macy Keen die. Or the electrocution of the Careers.

In the District, I saw floggings. The Head Peacekeeper still punished people for small mediocre crimes.

It didn't look like Coriolanus Snow's ascension to President had changed the conditions in the districts much. But what could I do? Nothing. I'll just have to endure it.

Four months after the Games, it was the day of the Visitors Tour. I was working in my lab on a special kind of super conductant material that theoretically could be easily mass manufactured and made out of local materials.

Then I was interrupted.

The doorbell rang. I knew my father would the answer it. Through the wall I heard a few muffled indistinct words. A few moments later the doors to my laboratory opened and President Snow walked into the room flanked by some official looking guards.

"Beetee Latier." said President Snow, addressing me with a smile.

I was shocked. What was the new president doing here in my laboratory?

"President Snow." I acknowledged.

I felt it would be wise to be extra polite to this man.

"What an honor to have you here in my home." I flattered him.

He then waved his hand in an offhand remark as though it was nothing.

"Oh, you flatter me." he said nonchalantly. "The honor, is all mine."

I decided to try and be the good host.

"Pardon me for asking, Mr. President, but is there anything that I might do for you?"

"Oh No. I just wanted to stop by to see you. I wanted to meet the tribute that ended this year's Hunger Games on a rather unusual fashion."

Suddenly I felt worried. Was he upset by the way the Games ended.

"Are you disappointed in the way the Games ended?" I asked. "I suppose it did end a little quick; most years President Carson likes the Games to go on for a little bit longer."

"Well, I am not President Carson. On the contrary young man, I am rather impressed." President Snow complimented me. "I mean, to electrify the entire career pack. To build a makeshift solar generator and capacitor! It is brilliant! And so are you."

He then extended his hand toward his guard. The guard then handed over a file folder of documents. He opened the file folder and started reading off of the papers inside.

"Your aptitude tests in school are off the chart." he said. "IQ of 227. Eidetic memory. Your ability to do math and science in your head is extremely fast. But we had your talents wasted in a factory here in District 3. You are the very brilliant scientist that I would love to have work on my research projects in the Capitol. But you are a Hunger Games Victor now."

He began to look around my laboratory. "Are you working on projects?" he asked.

"Yes I am." I told him, pleased that he was taking an interest in what I was doing. "I'm doing scientific research here in my house in the Victors Village. It was always my dream to become an inventor. I want to see what kinds of things I can come up with with my brilliant mind."

I thought it was a little too arrogant to refer to myself as brilliant. Usually that is something that I should only hear from others, not for myself towards myself.

"Well, then in that case I suppose I have nothing to worry about." said President Snow with a smile. "I have a polite request to make of you."

"Of course." I replied.

"I was wondering if you could share with me your scientific discoveries?"

I felt elated by the honor coming from the President of our country. Though at the same time I could hardly refuse his request even if I wanted to. And he had asked politely, though he might as well have made it a presidential order.

"Absolutely." I told him enthusiastically. "I will give you the blue prints for all of my inventions and discoveries."

"Excellent." he said with a smile. "Well that is all that I wanted to say to you, so I suppose I shall be on my way, and I will see you at my mansion in 2 weeks for a party in the Capitol."

He then snapped his fingers at his guards and they followed him out of the house.

'What a nice man.' I thought to myself. 'More or less.'

It was a short time later that my escort Nelly Electra, entered the room wearing a dress that looked like it was made out of blue roses with hair that had been dyed blue, and blue high heeled shoes, and long fake finger nails. She greeted my sister and parents with hugs and her strange Capitol accent.

Then behind her was my stylist Myra Holmes. She was not naked, but she wore a full-length skin-tight body-suit that was the exact color of her own skin and was made of an ultra soft rubber-like material that felt like real human skin.

She and the prep team fixed me up, though I hadn't allowed myself to fall too much to seed in the last four months.

I told my father to take care of my sister, though telling him so was unnecessary.

I boarded the train with Neil and Sora.

The train took off. We were bound for District 12.

The next morning, I was dressed in a stylish looking suit and tie as we pulled into the train station of District 12. In District 3, some of the factories produce much pollution. But here there seemed to be a light powdering of coal dust on everything. No wonder the District 12 tributes in the Games every year are in such poor health.

Nelly Electra, our escort, handed me some cards.

"It is traditional for you to simply say a few words for the fallen tributes and to thank the citizens of each district for their hospitality while you are here.

"If you had some sort of alliance with one of the tributes you could say something a little extra for them, but you didn't have any alliances with any of the tributes so just stick to the cards."

I glanced at the cards for only half a second and my eidetic memory memorized them. I then handed the cards back to her.

"No." she said pushing the card back to me. "Even if you can memorize them you should still pretend that you're reading from them, it makes a good impression, don't ask why, just do it."

I shrugged my shoulders and decided not to argue.

We were driven to the Justice Building and we met the Mayor. I was asked to stand behind the threshold of the front doors.

I then heard the Mayor's voice addressing the audience on the other side.

"Ladies and gentlemen. My I present to you the Victor of the 35th Hunger Games."

The doors opened and I walked out onto the stage followed first by Sora, and then by Neil.

I looked out onto the crowd. On each side were large pictures of Peter Wolofon and Macy Keen. Under each picture was a family. Under Peter Wolofon's picture was a family of four, a middle aged couple, a girl that looked about twenty, and a younger girl of about seventeen. The whole family looked healthy and strong for a poverty stricken people. The youngest, the seventeen year old, was broad shouldered like a man and was heavily muscled for a girl, and was taller than six feet, and wore a stern face.

Under Macy Keen's picture was a younger couple, maybe in their late twenties or early thirties. There clothes were dirty and tattered, and the man walked with a crutch. The woman was dabbing at her tear streaked face with a handkerchief.

The audience applauded at my presence. I held up the cards.

"Thank you." I said to the crowd gratefully. "I thank you all for having me and my mentor here today. I offer my condolences for the deaths of your fallen tributes who brought honor and dignity for representing District 12; commendation for Peter for making it into the top 9, and Macy for making it into the top 8."

I then looked again at the families of Peter and Macy. And I decided to embellish a little, though I'm sure that Nelly would be disappointed in me for doing so.

"If the Victor had an alliance with a tribute, it is customary for the Victor to say a few things about them." I said into the microphone. "I was not an ally to either Peter, or Macy. I didn't even know them. But I did admire them;" I looked at Peter's family, "Peter for being so strong and brave and nearly defeating the District 2 boy in a one-on-one fight."

Peter's seventeen year-old sister then stood up straighter and smiled and nodded at me.

I then turned my head to who I assumed were Macy's parents.

"Macy was not strong, but she was brave. She saved my life, which then resulted in my victory. I am forever in her dept that she died with. She was much similar to my sister Lori. And I will never forget her sacrifice."

I paused to consider what else to say.

"I wish to forever offer my support, appreciation, and admiration for the courage, and bravery of all future District 12 tributes, no matter what they do, and no matter whomever they will be. I offer that because it is all I have to offer...for my life-dept to Macy."

That was enough. I stepped back from the microphone and gave a hand gesture that I was finished. But apparently at the last thing I had said, with her thumb and pinky finger down and her middle, ring, and index finger up, Peter's seventeen year-old sister touched the three fingers of her left hand to her lips and held them up in the air towards me. Everyone looked at her for a moment to see that she was actually doing it and then one at a time in quick succession everyone in the crowd followed suit until the entire audience was a forest of three fingered left hands all sticking up in the air towards me. I knew what this meant, it was a silent salute of honor and respect? A local custom. We don't do it in District 3, but some other districts do it. I was flattered and overwhelmed.

A man who I knew as the Head Peacekeeper by his uniform placed his hand gently on my back and guided me back inside the Justice building. There was a small little feast with a few people, and then I was put back on the train.

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