Chapter Eighteen – The Broken Window

With the sound of the cannon echoing in his ears, Hamish tore his eyes from the District 2 girl in the flooded street and continued to climb the outside of the rain-drenched skyscraper like a spider. The windows that he passed offered views on anonymous, rotting offices that had long since been deserted.

The idea of clinging to the outside of this building as a long-term solution was not an appealing one for Hamish. Quite apart from the ominous vertigo that worsened with every floor he ascended, Hamish noticed that his gloves were starting to slip on the wet glass. He had to get inside somehow.

He positioned himself on one of the window ledges and peered through the glass. Unfortunately, there was a camera inside. Judging by the way it angled itself to focus on him, it was the only sign of life in the room.

Hamish thought quickly. Lowering his right arm towards his feet, he gave the glass a good kick. He knew there was no chance it would break so easily. So on the third kick, he made sure his wand was pointing at the same spot on the glass, and when he kicked a fourth time, he whispered 'Diffindo'.

The glass shattered. Hamish used his foot now to brush away any shards of glass in the pane, before carefully swinging his legs inside the room. A few more cuts were the least of his worries. He brushed the debris off his body and playfully shook his head at the camera, as if to say Look what you're making me do.

In the brightly-lit Gamemakers Room, Tarky Ubodrown had watched Hamish's entrance into the building in silence. There had been something not quite right about it. Ignoring the other three remaining tributes for now, Tarky descended the white steps and approached the girl operating Hamish's live feed.

'Bella,' he muttered. 'Can I get a rewind on there? The part where 12 breaks the window and enters the room.'

'Sure thing, boss,' said Bella. Her nimble fingers toyed with the controls. The live feed was transferred to another screen, where Hamish was now peering back out through the square hole where the window had been. On Bella's screen, she operated a slider so that the camera's footage was reversed: Hamish appeared to climb backwards out the window, and the first in a series of kicks resulted in the glass flying back into the pane.

'And play,' said Tarky.

He watched closely as Hamish kicked the glass a few times.

'Slow it right down,' he ordered Bella, who obeyed. She was frowning slightly, clearly wondering what it was her boss was looking for.

On the fourth kick, Tarky noticed that the glass cracked a split second before Hamish's foot made contact with it. He was also aware of Hamish's right arm dangling unnaturally downwards.

'Is there … a problem, boss?' asked Bella curiously. She twisted around in her chair, but Tarky had already walked away.

Hamish looked back out the smashed window. The water level was gently rising, carrying all manner of debris with it. The river was nowhere to be seen, of course. Raucous thunder and flashes of lightning now accompanied the everlasting rainfall. By now, only half a dozen towers remained standing in the whole city.

Hamish could see the coastline from this high vantage point, and saw that a second gigantic wave was bearing down on the city. This was surely the finale. There could only been a handful of tributes remaining.

Hamish moved away from the window and passed through the door at the end of the room. The dingy hall consisted of an elevator which was undoubtedly out of action, and flights of steps heading up and down. Hamish set about climbing the concrete stairs, kicking off his boots so that his socked feet would make no sound. There was every chance that he was sharing this building with another tribute.

On every floor, he poked his head inside the offices before ascending the next flight of stairs. His heart was starting to beat a little faster, and he had to fight the urge to grip his wand properly in his hand.

Every floor he looked at was empty, and he started to relax a little. Eventually, on the topmost floor, he came across a ladder, which surely opened onto the rooftop. He climbed the ladder slowly, and stopped when his head emerged through the man-hole. His heart missed a beat.

There were three Career tributes pacing around the rooftop, their lean bodies looking somewhat impressive against the driving rain and thunderous skies. Metrus and Zoe, from District 1, were accompanied by Feral, the buck-toothed boy from 2. They seemed to be arguing, and Hamish strained to catch their conversation over the hammering rain.

'… must be in one of those other towers,' Metrus was saying, jabbing his finger in frustration at the city, where now only three skyscrapers stood resolute against the hellish weather. 'How the hell are we supposed to get over there?'

'We're on the highest tower, Metrus!' Zoe shouted. 'All we have to do is wait – he's going to drown well before we do.'

Hamish was experiencing a rush of adrenaline. He adjusted the wand through his right sleeve, though he kept hidden beneath the man-hole. Now, surely, was the time to use the Unforgivable Curse that Aberforth had taught him?

'And what if he's in our building, huh?' piped up Feral.

'Well, how could he be?' said Zoe, throwing her arms out. 'We checked every floor before the flood came. We know for a fact that, if he was dead, those towers would have collapsed by now –'

But Zoe broke off, and Hamish saw why. The three remaining towers had come crashing down in perfect synchronisation. This tower, hosting the last four tributes, was the last one standing.

It was now or never. There was no point checking for cameras watching him. If Hamish didn't do this now, the Careers would know he was somewhere in the building below them. Against three Careers, he would stand no chance.

Taking a deep breath, he pointed his arm at Feral, the largest of the Career tributes and whispered, 'Imperio.'

At first, Hamish wasn't sure whether it had worked. He did not experience the flowing sense of control through his arm that Aberforth had described when telling Hamish the theory.

But then, Feral moved in one brisk motion towards Zoe and gave her one almighty shove. She flew across the rooftop and off the edge of the tower. A cannon sounded.

Realising a second too late what had happened, Metrus turned on Feral and the two began to throw fists.

'You son of a bitch!' shouted Metrus. 'We agreed to wait until Hamish was dead! You animal –!'

Feral said nothing, but continued to box Metrus without mercy. Hamish kept his wand aimed at Feral. Was the Imperius Curse working? Or had Feral abandoned his own humanity of his own accord?

His sleeve slipped as he climbed onto the rooftop, and the wand was exposed for the Gamemakers, for the nation, to see.