Chapter 21: Eye of the Storm

I awaken to sunlight and conclude that it must be the morning of the fourth day. And there's another surprise awaiting me. A parachute! A gift from a sponsor! I dig it open eagerly and want to cry from joy. Not only is there a full canteen of water, but also a belt of throwing knives! Attached to the belt is a message:

Nice job with those homemade bombs. Gave us quite a show. You can do this, Peeta! ~ H.

I am a little disappointed that the message came from Haymitch and not from Katniss. I wonder how she reacted to my stunt with the Careers. Was she impressed? Surely she had to have been. Or is she still just waiting for the moment when my time runs out and I die? I sigh heavily.

I tell myself that my time might not run out, and I brighten a little. How many are left? I realize that with my kills and the slaying of the District 5 boy, we have blasted right past the Final 8. Six of us left. Maximus….Durian from 7…. both District 9 tributes…. the girl from 10…. and myself.

I could go home! The fear of facing Katniss if I do get out alive washes away as quickly as it appears, replaced by another thought: my father. He has lost the rest of his family to the Games. If he loses me too, he'll fall apart. It is with this reminder that I steel my resolve. I have to win! If not for Katniss, then at least for Dad.

Another alarm pierces my thoughts. Unlike the fire alarm from yesterday or the one that warned of the shooters, this one is long and low. Then, the intercom crackles to life.

"Tornado warning! Get to shelter! Find a desk and cover your heads!"

I am grateful for the alarm's explanation, yet annoyed at the same time. If all but one of us has to die, why give us the heads-up like this?

I know I can't stay in this bathroom if a Gamemaker tornado is coming; we had plenty of tornado drills in school to know not to be close to any windows. Remembering my science classroom upstairs, I stumble out of the restroom and make a sprint for the stairwell, ignoring how the wind is picking up through the building.

I encounter no one as I burst onto the second floor, round the corner beyond the Sophomore locker bay and dash down the hallway beyond. I spy my classroom, and thank my lucky stars that it is still unlocked before I dash inside. It doesn't remain unlocked for long.

I know the layout of the room well enough that I don't bother with the lights; it could attract too much attention. I crouch under one of the lab tables with its resistant black tops. Even though I am still in a room with windows, I can hope that if the tornado bursts them, the lab tables will protect me from falling glass.

That is, if the winds don't carry me away first. They are picking up even more now and are beginning to howl. I suddenly remember the coil of rope still in my green backpack. Yes! I snatch it out and proceed to lash myself against the lab table I am hiding under. For good measure, I throw the yellow canvas from my backpack over my head for protection.

The wind screams, and I feel the lab tables shake even though they are anchored to the floor. Shattering of glass as the windows are blasted open and I feel shards rain down on the canvas above me. I grit me teeth and close my eyes. God, let me live….

After what seems like hours, the wind dies down. I feel late afternoon sunlight pierce through the tarp and I open my eyes, removing the fabric.

The room is utterly destroyed except for the lab tables. Desks overturned, posters ripped partially in half off the walls. Only the lab tables are untouched.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. Three cannons go off. I try not to bother postulating who it might have been, except I know it couldn't have been Maximus. He's too tough. That leaves him, me and one other lucky soul. Though I have the strangest feeling that the Gamemakers know who they want the final fight to be between. Maximus and me.

I begin to weep from exhaustion, hunger and fear. Oh, the injustice of it all! I hate it, these Hunger Games! I cry for Katniss and how my jealousy and pride drove her from me; I even vocally call her name.

Still blubbering, I wipe my eyes of tears to notice something sticking out from the wood of the lab table. Peering closer, I can make out the tiniest of lenses. A camera. I sniffle. I must look pitiful, but I decide to make an appeal to any sponsors still out there.

"I first met Katniss Everdeen, the Girl on Fire, when I was five years old," I begin. "It was the first day of school. She was wearing a little plaid red dress and her hair was in two braids instead of one." I pause for effect, knowing the audience must be hanging onto every word.

"My father pointed her out while we were waiting to line up. 'See that little girl?' he says to me. 'I wanted to marry her mother, but she ran off with a coal miner.' Of course, being a boy of that age who still idolized my dad, I could not fathom how any woman would want a coal miner over him, and I told him so. 'Because when he sings, even the birds stop to listen' was the answer I received. Little did I know just how right he would be."

"Later that day in music assembly, the teacher asked who knew the Valley Song. Katniss's hand shot right up into the air, and she was seated on a stool to sing it for us. Within the first few notes, every mockingjay outside the window fell silent. Right then, I knew - I was a goner. A prisoner of love just as I am a prisoner in this arena." My mention of the arena makes me start to well up again.

"I never did pluck up the courage to talk to her. And by the time of the Reaping two years ago, it was too late. I thought I might never see her again. So, when Katniss won, I made sure I was there with freshly baked bread every morning. Haunted by the arena as she was, I know it lifted her spirits - especially those delicious cheese buns I make."

The audience is surely laughing at that last bit. I sigh sadly, and feel my eyes well up again. But, then, a new emotion takes over: rage.

"I lost my mother and brothers in the Quarter Quell last year. Katniss lost her mom. All I could do was try to comfort her from her nightmares about the first tributes she mentored and couldn't save. We grew closer. Even when I was reaped this year and she mentored me, we grew closer."

The anger is burning in me now. "And then I threw it all away. The night before the arena, Katniss shared with me a secret by accident: she feared for how she would be auctioned off as a prostitute to the highest Capitol bidder. Jealous, yet extremely protective, I propositioned her. Everyone deserves to have their first time be with someone they love. Katniss refused. And what did I do? I forced myself onto her. I raped her! To save her, keep her virginity from some Capitol sleaze." I break down, speaking only to Katniss now. "I ruined any chance I had with you, and I can't even tell you now that I love you! I'm sorry!"

I am unaware of it as I lean against the lab table and sob, but back in the Mentor's Bar, all the victors' eyes are on Katniss. Even a stunned Haymitch. Katniss is blushing furiously at my declaration of love and guilt, tears rolling down her cheeks as she cries.

Back in the arena, I decide to give Katniss a gift to try and replace what I took from her, even if it isn't enough. I sing.

"Deep in the meadow, under the willow, a bed of grass, a soft green pillow. Lay down your head and close your eyes. And when they open, the sun will rise…."

I sing until I fall asleep, exhausted.