A/N Apologies for the lack of updating the last few days. I had last week off work so I got loads done but now I'm back at work sometimes it's tricky trying to get a whole chapter done in an evening. (Also I lost one night when I caught up with the MTV Movie Awards. Yay Hunger Games!).
Chapter Thirty-Five- Still A Part Of The Nightmare
Gaia can cover me in make-up to hide the bruise again, but nothing fixes the fact that my eye won't open properly. Lalaney tells me there's a shot that can reduce the swelling, but it will have go directly into my eye socket. That's a big no to the shot so I'm sent home to District 7 with a squinty eye.
This time I take my handshake from the Mayor and return to the Victors' Village to see that Little Joey and Egor have completely decorated the shedding blossom tree outside our house with toilet paper to celebrate my second homecoming.
"There's plenty more where that came from!" cries Egor, clapping his hands with senile glee as Joey dances around underneath the tissue drapes. It reminds me of a willow tree. I touch the locket around my neck.
I think that being home will be like waking at the end of the nightmare.
Instead, a year and a half later, I wake from my nostalgic dream but still a part of the nightmare. My Tributes, Alder and Camellia, are dead and I'm up straight away to see if the Victors I talked to last night have come through on their promises.
I turn on the television in the living area for the first time since we all sat and watched Alder and Camellia's Tribute Interviews. Nearly all the Tributes are still sleeping, all except the patrolling District 1 boy. If my mental map of the arena is correct, he can't be far away from the District 2 pair, with any luck he's stumble upon them and they'll eliminate his threat. He's in the trees, always looking skyward.
The door to the suite opens and Lalaney bustles in carrying shopping bags. Her daughter has been sick so she's been torn between being here and being with her.
"I'm so sorry I wasn't here yesterday when Alder…" she tails off and drops the bags on the floor to give me a hug.
I accept it but shake my head.
"It's going to be fine. He's going to be sorry," I say, not taking my eyes off the television screen.
When she pulls back from the embrace I notice that she's left something in my lap. A red envelope.
"I'm sorry, the Mail Carrier gave me that downstairs to bring up."
I toss it to one side. My Tributes are dead, I much preferred it when I could think that maybe this 'date' could lead to more sponsor money to keep them alive, now there's just sleaze.
Just before midday there's a rain of parachutes in the arena. Some Mentors have sent at least 3 of the silver lifesavers.
Lalaney and I lean forward in our seats. The District 1 boy is obviously confused. He's glaring around the arena furiously. He doesn't know what to do. He heads for the parachutes falling nearest to him. The District 2 parachutes.
There's a scuffle, a few sounds of metal clashing with metal, and then the cry of a wounded animal. The District 2 girl sustains a gash to her face, part of her cheek has been slashed right through, but more importantly the District 1 boy has lost his left arm. He limps off, bleeding heavily. The District 2 boy chases him but loses him in the foliage.
He gets his own parachute, probably sent in panic by Cashmere or Gloss who will know that it's just short wait until he bleeds to death now. The parachute contains a bandage to make a tourniquet. The Loggers in District 7 all too frequently have to deal with suddenly detached limbs so, in school from a young age, we are taught about the lifesaving properties of tourniquets.
He tries to tie the bandage around the bloody stump, stupid idiot.
"He's fading out," Lalaney says softly.
It doesn't bring Alder or Camellia back to life watching this boy die. It doesn't even make me feel better about my Tributes death. If anything it makes me feel worse, like their deaths were a waste.
Then the screen shows Celeste from District 4 applying a pink ointment to her face, and I realise what his death means. She will live, even if it's only a day longer.
She actually lasts 3 more days before she runs into the hulking mass of muscle that appears to be Demetrius from District 11. He cuts her down with no hesitation, it really does Celeste a disservice to die that easily.
Demetrius in turn is killed by the District 2 pair two days after that. The girl from 6 dies of a chest infection from the cold air that same day. Another day later the District 2 pair have a falling out and they decide to split the next day. The District 2 boy beheads the girl in her sleep before the sun rises.
Three boys left, another year without a female winner.
The boys are rounded up by mutts that look like lizards with human hands and are driven together beside a lake. District 3 takes a couple of throwing knives to the back and sinks quickly to the ground as Titan flies past him. He immediately clashes with District 2, who also appears all guns blazing. They fight for twenty minutes and both sustain pretty serious injuries. Titan's has an eye gouged out and District 2 has lost plenty of blood from a slice in his thigh. They are both tiring but battling on. Eventually District 2 cuts through Titan's gut and it's over. It's all over, apart from Titan's knife sticking in District 2's chest. With his last breath, he twists the knife and plucks it out, leaving a visible hole in 2's lungs. Titan's cannon fires and is quickly followed by District 2's. The whole nation frowns, confused. The screens all over Panem show their two prone bodies and then swoop across the lake. Claudius Templesmith announces that Byte Bilson from District 3 is the winner of the 73rd Annual Hunger Games. He is wheezing breath in through damaged lungs but by leaving the knives in, he's stayed alive long enough to outlive Titan and District 2.
I meet him after the showing of his Game Highlights and he seems like a nice enough young man who genuinely can't work out how he managed to win.
At the Victory party I wear a sparkling white one-shoulder dress and am accompanied by my 'date', the son of an old school friend of President Snow's. He's not too bad as far as public appearance 'dates' go, he tells me who people are and even lets me in on why he thinks each person is meeting with the President himself. I learn from him that District 8 had a little trouble last week when a couple of tenements fell down and the survivors stormed the Justice Building to occupy there instead. Extra Peacekeepers have been put in place there.
I'm so enthralled by this gossip that I don't notice the gold-haired woman until she has pushed between us.
"President Snow would like a moment with you Miss Mason."
"Right now?" I ask and she nods. I give my 'date' a genuine apology and follow her.
What can I have done this time? Maybe someone's complained about me. Maybe District 7 has had a mini-uprising, though that's a little much to expect, those people wouldn't uprise if a fire was burning through their chairs.
As well as the smell of roses, there's an additional metallic smell seeping out of Snow's mouth when he smiles his sickening smile at me.
He doesn't say much.
"I know Johanna." He's cleaning his fingers of grease from the finger food being served on a crisp white handkerchief.
"What do you know?" I say, helping myself to a deep-fried chicken wing. I've gotten cocky since I've learnt a few secrets myself.
"That you've been meddling when there was no need." He reaches across and holds my arm away so I can't put the food into my mouth.
How could he have heard about that guy telling me the gossip already? It was only happening three minutes ago.
"I told you I'm the one that makes the plans here Miss Mason." He takes the chicken wing out of my hand and drops it into the nearby trashcan. He then leans closer to me and I can smell that the metallic accent is now a profound scent of blood. "There will be consequences. Your train leaves tomorrow."
I'm a little stunned. What consequences? What have I done?
Two thick, meaty hands clamp down on my shoulders and 'help' me on my way out.
On my way back to my 'date' I pass Finnick, who is following the gold-haired assistant. He looks worried and it clicks in my mind. It was the parachutes. Snow doesn't like that we spoke to the other Mentors and made a plan as a group. The whole existence of the Districts is down to the 'divide and conquer' method of rule.
I don't get much sleep that night. Despite being entertaining at the party, my 'date' is rough and I've got bruises down the sides of my legs, making lying on my side painful. So, I spend the night staring at the ceiling, picking out invisible shapes in the darkness.
I sleep a little on the train but am still exhausted by the time we pull into the District 7 station. Egor and Little Joey meet us in the square. They've become firm friends since I've been taking Egor's place as a Mentor in the Capitol.
Blight is hungover and sick as a dog but if it's possible Egor and Joey look worse than him. My stomach flips.
"What?" I gulp. "What is it?"
Little Joey's eyes fill with tears and he grabs both my hands.
"Uncle Fern's dead Jo-Jo."
I fall to my knees and hold him tightly.
"What happened?" I say to Egor who smiles sadly at me.
"I don't know, he fell I think. He was at the bottom of the stairs in his shop this morning."
An accident when no one else was around.
My mind immediately goes to Mother. She was unstable over Father's death two years ago, I'm afraid of what she'll do now after her brother's mysterious demise.
I pick Joey up, he's getting bigger now and it's a little more straining than it used to be.
"Egor can you get Joey and Blight home on your own? I have to go to Mother."
He nods at me and I give Joey a kiss on the forehead before putting him down at Egor's feet.
"Come on Joey, let's get some chocolate for the way home," Egor says, patting a pocket that jingles with coins.
I run, the whole way. I can hear the phone ringing from the porch but I ignore it.
"Mother?" I call out, running around the house, banging all the doors open to see into the rooms. "Mom?"
I find her in the bathroom. She is sitting in a bath of cold water, shivering in her nightdress.
I approach her slowly.
"Mom? Are you ok?" I kneel down at the tub and rest my chin on the edge.
Her lips move but I can't hear what she's saying, the damn telephone is still ringing.
"What? What did you say?"
"This family's cursed," she whispers.
I offer her my hand and she flinches away from it. She knows that it's my fault.
"Come on you have to get out now. I'll help you."
She refuses to acknowledge me any further. What do I do? There's no one else to help me now. Blight can't look after himself and Egor doesn't know what's going on half the time. It's just me now.
"Mom, come on. You can't let Joey see you like this." I try to put my hands under her arms to pull her out but as soon as I touch her she screams and screams. I recoil like I've been slapped and run out of the bathroom. I can't do it. I can't hold it together. Why won't that damn phone stop ringing?
I snatch it up and snarl into it.
"What do you want?"
"It's Finnick," comes the voice on the other end. He sounds funny, maybe he's sick.
"It's not really a good time…"
"Mason…" his voice cracks.
"What? What is it?" The viciousness has left my voice and now I'm concerned.
"They've killed her. They've killed Finnola."
Definitely still a part of the nightmare.