Chapter 21: The 73rd Hunger Games
[Spring and summer in the year of the 73rd Hunger Games]
Two weeks later, on Prim՚s 11th birthday, my first action was to look out of my window to check for the weather. A few clouds were visible, but the sun was already peeking through, and it did not look like rain was likely to come down today. On the day before I had wrapped some small cookies in colored tin foil and aluminum foil and I had done some special decorations. I even had managed to bake some small pastries in the shape of animals, like rabbits or sheep, but I had to admit that Peeta had helped. The largest one was a super size pastry goat with a primrose on its back.
When I was done with my preparation and had packed my picnic basket and an additional bag, I took my supplies out to the meadow and got to work. The small wrapped cookies were placed under leaves and flower petals or in the grass, and I took care to find a nice place for all of them. For some of the larger pastries I found some nice hiding spots in low tree branches or bushes, and after a final review I was happy with my work. Happily whistling, I strolled over to the Everdeen house and knocked. Prim had already seen me, and just a couple of seconds later she opened the door and jumped into my arms.
"Good morning and Happy Birthday, my beautiful girl!" I greeted her, and she beamed. After giving me a quick kiss, she yelled: "Let's go over and get Lizzy!"
With her still in my arms we went next door and knocked, and Mrs. Anderson opened the door. She smiled when she saw us together and told us:
"Good morning, you two. Lizzy will be ready in a moment – she has been looking forward to this day for weeks, and I doubt that she slept much last night!"
Lizzy came running down the stairs in their house and looked as happy and excited as Prim. My girlfriend jumped down for my arms and hugged Lizzy, and we were ready to go. Before we went I checked with Lizzy's mother:
"Is it all right to bring Lizzy back around dusk?"
"Are you sure that's not too much trouble for you to have her around for that long?" she was concerned.
"Not at all," I replied, "this is going to be a nice and fun day for all three of us – don't worry."
For the entire time we were walking to the meadow, Prim and Lizzy were babbling and squealing and jumping up and down and around, and I had quite some fun watching them and listening to them. When we arrived, I spread the blanket on the ground and asked the girls if they wanted to have breakfast first or search for the hidden treasures, and they both opted to search first. I leaned against tree and watched them, and I could see their face light up when thy had found another small wrapped cookie. Initially they searched the ground only and thus missed some of the larger parts, and eventually I suggested to look higher up as well. I took them about half an hour to find all of the hidden gifts, and now they were really getting hungry. I had already spread out the food I had brought, and we had breakfast together. Prim was used to my treats, but Lizzy not so much, and her eyes got big when she saw all the food I offered.
After we had eaten, we lied down on the blanket on our backs, and for some time we watched the sky and the white clouds. Prim started to muse:
"Look at this small cloud over there; I think that it looks like a rabbit."
Lizzy picked up: "And this one over there looks like a flower."
I also found one: "And this one, coming up over there, looks like a cookie."
We continued to watch the clouds and have fun with trying to find shapes in them, until the two girls started to yawn. Prim cuddled up to me and rested her head on my chest, and Lizzy cuddled up to Prim՚s other side. Within minutes the two girls had dozed off, and I was left awake to watch them sleep, which I did not mind at all. Butterflies and birds kept me company and entertained me, and an occasional bumble bee showed itself looking for flowers.
Eventually I heard steps coming closer, and I recognized my brother Peeta. I had asked him before to show up and bring his drawing utensils, as I had hoped that me might do some sketches or drawings for Prim. He saw us and smiled, and I put my finger on mouth, asking him to stay silent. He got the point and unpacked his bag, picking a place close to us and starting to do something in a big sketch block.
A couple of hours later both girls woke up from their nap and were happy to see Peeta around. My brother showed them some of the drawings he had done, some with them napping, and some with the trees and flowers around, and they admired his drawing skills. Then we played various games, including myself throwing both girls high into the air and catching them again, some hide and seek, and others.
While Prim and Lizzy were running around chasing each other, I asked Peeta:
"Little brother, what about you and Katniss? Have you made a move yet and talked to her about your feelings?"
"No, I have not." Peeta admitted, looking sad. "Each time I see her at school or when she comes into the bakery for a trade, I lose all of my courage. Everybody knows about her firm conviction to never have a boyfriend and never get married; what kind of a chance do I have?"
Yes, it was sad. I was so lucky to have a loving girlfriend, and Peeta seemed to be in a hopeless situation. Yet I suggested:
"Maybe you could write her a letter telling you about yourself and your feelings?"
"She would be so angry at me!"
"Well, I don't know, but it's certainly your choice. Anytime you want you can talk to Prim about that, and she'd sure be willing to be your ally to at least get closer to Katniss."
"Yes, and then Katniss would blame me for misusing her sister for that purpose; no, thank you."
I really felt sorry for Peeta, but I had to agree that getting closer to Katniss was a difficult task indeed. Meanwhile the two girls were done running around. After we've had our lunch, Peeta went home again, and we spent the afternoon with more games and lots of talking, some of those the silly kind of course, like pretending that Prim and Lizzy were two nice girls collecting berries and I was a bandit trying to kidnap them for my own purposes. While that was a little bit similar to the play at school we had done more than two years ago, it was really funny, and we were both exhausted and totally happy when we finally left the meadow in the evening.
Eventually school closed down for the summer holidays, and this year's Reaping Day was upon us. It was going to be the last year for Prim and Lizzy to be safe, as next year they'd both be 12 and thus eligible. They'd start with one slip each only, but you never knew.
Anyway, we were lucky this year again, as nobody we really knew was reaped, and we were happy when the train with Effie Trinket and the tributes had left. Haymitch Abernathy was on the train as well, of course, as he was the only surviving victor and thus needed to mentor both of the district's tributes. How he managed to do the mentoring properly while almost always being drunk was anybody's guess, though.
At home in the bakery we had a small celebration for Wheat, as this had been the last year he had been eligible for reaping, and he was safe now. One brother to go, though.
Prim and Lizzy now spent a lot of time in the Everdeen garden, mostly working on plants with healing effects, and they alternated doing the rounds with Mrs. Everdeen and getting more training in healing. Sometimes, when I was doing repairs on Seam houses, I could hear people speak with great respect of Mrs. Everdeen and her two capable assistants, and this was good to hear. Now, with the reaping behind us, most citizens focused on work and feeding their families again, using the sunshine for drying their laundry and doing some work in their gardens.
A few days later, though, mandatory game viewing started with the tribute presentations. As always Caesar Flickerman was showing off and tried his best to highlight each tributes special features and, if possible, uncover some secrets, like a boyfriend or girlfriend being left behind. For the start of the games, I went over to the Everdeen home, as I had done in many previous years, and Prim was sitting on my lap, as she also had done for years.
This year's arena turned out to be built like a town, with many buildings around, roads passing along them, open places and lost of spots for hiding. Before the tributes were released, the camera showed some highlights, such as railroad tracks, empty railroad stations, and some underground passages. Except for the Cornucopia, food was probably only available in unattended shops, some of them easily accessible, and some others blocked by locked doors. It looked like the tributes being used to nature rather than urban areas might have a disadvantage. Getting from the tribute elevators to the Cornucopia required usage of empty and wide open streets, but the target held some gleaming weapons and lost of bags and backpacks. A few more backpacks and single items were placed on other streets, mostly in locations not providing any cover.
The environment encouraged Katniss to utter a quick snotty comment: "I am glad not be in an area like this one. No trees, no nature, not much use of sneaking. Just ugly."
The game started, and as every year, the Careers ran towards the Cornucopia. There were some obstacles, though. Next to the Cornucopia, a few vehicles came out of shelters, and they looked like cleaning vehicles or so. While they did not look dangerous, one of the Careers got close to one of them, and some kind of weapon suddenly shot out from the vehicle's side, pushing a spinning blade towards the tribute. The girl was too slow to evade the unexpected attack and was almost cut in half, with blood splashing in all directions. I could feel Prim flinching on my lap and heard her crying; that was certainly not a view for young and sensitive minds.
The other Careers, or at least those who had noticed the incident, got more careful when they noticed what had happened, and they managed to get to the center without further losses. A few other tributes had tried to go the same way, but they were quickly cut down by the Careers who had found weapons. The remaining tributes vanished between the houses, and the cameras had some difficulties keeping track on their locations, as not all of the buildings had been rigged with internal cameras on all floors and in all rooms, obviously. We saw a couple of tributes, both of them from District Five, moving up to the highest floor of one of the tallest houses, and they found some supplies, some of them in a kind of big refrigerator like we used at the bakery. Both of them drank from what looked like cool fruit juices, and a few hours later they could be seen holding their stomachs and being in pain – the juices were apparently poisoned, maybe not lethally, but at least to cause sickness and pain.
Meanwhile, the Careers got themselves organized and sent out foraging parties, searching one building after another, always in pairs at least. This allowed them to gather more supplies and to flush out a few weak and careless tributes. A quick overview completed this day's mandatory viewing session, and we found out that we were somewhat hungry now. Mrs. Everdeen prepared dinner for us, and we tried to talk about various topics in order to not think about the Games too much. Before bedtime came upon us, Prim commented on the high temperatures and said:
"I am not really looking forward to sleeping upstairs in my room. It's getting kind of hot, and I get sweaty all over. We should really sleep outside more at this time of the year, but I'd miss my soft bed, I guess."
I could easily understand her sentiment, and I felt the same. When I walked home later on, I got an idea. In that box of old books and games we had at home, there were also a couple of books on vacation topics, and I recalled that there was a chapter on something which was called 'camping'. As soon as I got home, I picked up that book and started to browse it when I was in my bed. Of course, they started like going into shops and getting all of the equipment, but basically all you needed was some kind of cover, something soft to sleep on, and a few blankets – how hard could that be?
As I didn't have to work during the Games, I checked spare supplies in our shed and found a few wooden poles and a tarp which should be big enough. I dragged that and a few tools over to the Everdeen home and talked to Mrs. Everdeen:
"Good morning Mabel, I guess that Prim is still asleep?"
"Good morning to you, too, and yes, she is. Would you want to go up and kiss her awake?"
I smiled and replied: "No, thank you, not today, as tempting as it is. Actually, I would like to talk to you for a moment."
"Really? What is it?"
"I heard Prim saying yesterday that it would be nice to sleep outside when it is so hot, and I kind of agree. I would like to rig some outdoor sleeping area in your garden, if you agree?"
"You would, really? Sure, feel free to do that – this is a good idea."
With her permission I dragged my stuff to the garden and first identified a small area which was pretty much even and only had grass growing on it. I pounded the poles into the ground to encompass an area of about three meters by three meters and made sure that they were all tight enough. Not without some effort I managed to lift the tarp on the poles, pull it tight and fix it to each pole, so that a kind of roof was formed. Just when I was done with that, Prim came running and jumping out of the house and stopped close to me, asking:
"Rye, what are you doing?"
"Good morning, Prim, I am building something."
"Okay, I think that I can see that. Would you want to tell me what this is going to be?"
"No, I don't want to tell you."
"You don't?"
"No, I don't; do you have a problem with that? Oh, by the way, mandatory viewing is going to start soon, so let's go inside."
I enjoyed looking at her face, which reflected confusion and a little annoyance; my girlfriend was not used to me refusing an explanation, but she let it go for now, and we went inside to start today's session.
Today's Games viewing did not have many surprises. The Careers flushed out a few more of the other tributes, and another one died by one of the cleaning vehicles on the streets. As it was only day two, nobody had died yet from hunger or thirst, and the viewing session was not very long on this day.
Right after the session I went out again and got a scythe from the Everdeen tool shed. I cut down some grass and piled the cut grass under the tarp, so that a soft bedding grew there. Prim was going on a round with her mother and could thus not watch, so that I did not have to evade further explanations.
On the next day, I came early again with some blankets, wooden boards, and other stuff, and I tried my best to create something similar to a large bed. I found that it worked quite well, and the smell of the fresh grass was nice. I attached some star like decorations on the underside of the tarp and place some shelf like construction close to one side, to hold some water bottles and such, and I was done. Right in time, as it turned out, because Prim was awake now and coming out. When she saw what I had built, he jaw dropped down and she was speechless for a minute or two, before she asked:
"Rye, did you really build some outdoor bed for me?"
"No, not quite," I replied, "I did not make it for you, but for us, if you like it to be that way, that is."
Prim jumped up and down excitedly before hopping into my arms and squealing with excitement. I guess that she liked it, and when she jumped down again, she ran to the 'tent' and stretched her body flat on the blanket.
"This smell is great!" she shouted and she asked: "When can we use it?"
"Tonight, if you want" I happily answered.
For this day's viewing Prim was quite antsy all of the time, and even a few more bloody killings could not make her sad as those events usually did. Even before dusk, right after supper, Prim got into her nightgown, brushed her teeth and rushed outside to lie down under the tarp, squealing happily. I went over and teased her:
"I am glad that you like it; sleep well, and I will see you tomorrow."
Once I had said this, I turned around and pretended to leave, but Prim jumped up and grabbed my hand:
"Oh no, you don't. You can do better than this!"
"I can?"
"Of course you can. Don't think that I have not seen your bag with clothes and stuff inside; you are staying here with me!"
"But my bed at home is more comfortable than this!"
"Does your bed at home have somebody in it scratching your back?"
"Hm, I guess not, now that you mention it. Maybe I should indeed stay."
Of course I had asked Mrs. Everdeen before about spending a few nights out here with Prim, and she did not mind. After all, we were just outside of her bedroom window, and I had spent many nights with Prim alone before. I went inside to do my bathroom chores, and ten minutes later I joined Prim in the outdoor bed. The size of this bed was more than plenty for both of us, and the thick grass padding turned out to be reasonably comfortable. The sun was about to go down behind the next house, and the last golden-red glows touched the tree tops and clouds, creating a beautiful atmosphere and mood. We watched that for some time, and then Prim cuddled up to me, with her head on my shoulder and one arm around my chest. I spread our second blanket on top of us, and my girlfriend started to purr from happiness. Some back scratching followed as promised, and eventually we got to sleep in each other's arms.
Mrs. Everdeen՚s voice woke us up on the next morning, and we found ourselves still entangled. Prim՚s mother smiled and bade us good morning, and she told us that breakfast was about ready. When we got up, Prim told me:
"I had a real great sleep and no bad dreams at all. Can we sleep here again next night?"
"Sure we can, and my sleep was very good, too. Of course, I can't really tell if it was more the outdoor sleeping or the person who was cuddling up to me."
"Maybe both?" Prim suggested.
"Maybe, yes," I smiled "and I am thinking that you might want to ask Lizzy if she would like to join us for a night or two, if she wants and her parents allow. The place is big enough, and she could sleep on your other side."
Prim beamed: "This is an excellent idea! I will ask her later on for sure."
Of course the Games also continued on that day, and we had to gather for another mandatory viewing after breakfast. It turned out that the cameras had trouble to show each kill in detail; most of the kills were done in close quarters within the buildings, and the cameras were not plentiful enough to get all of that from close distance. Quite a few times a canon shot went off, as the game makers could tell a tribute's death from the implanted tracker, but the close up later on only showed the corpse, so that it was sometimes unclear who had done the kill.
From a watcher's point if view this was welcome, as less blood and violence was shown, but I had a felling this was not intended, and I wondered if the game makers were about to do something about it. Anyhow, for this day at least, Prim was not getting too worried and did not have to cry, which was good. Once the viewing was done for the day, we went out again, and Lizzy came over. Prim proudly pulled her over to what I had built and told her:
"Lizzy, come here; can you imagine that my boyfriend built that for me? We already slept here together last night, and it was so much more comfortable than sleeping inside when it is is hot, even during the night. And guess what: Rye suggested that you could also sleep with us, if you want. What do you say? You want, don't you?"
Prim shot out those sentences in a rapid way, so that Lizzy was a little dazzled at first, and she did not quite know how to answer. I cut in:
"Lizzy, maybe you would like to get your mother here as well and ask here, if she agrees for you to sleep here for a few nights?"
The young girl nodded and went to get her mother, and as they lived right next door, she was back with her mother a couple of minutes later. Mrs. Anderson looked at my construction, and I explained what it was for. She looked at us and finally replied:
"I do not see a problem with that. Mabel, what do you think? Can you have Lizzy also in your garden for a few nights? It is safe out here, right?"
Mrs. Everdeen smiled and responded: "Well, reasonably safe. Of course, there is this ferocious cat going around, hunting for prey, and you might want to be careful..."
"Mom!" Prim shouted. "Buttercup is not ferocious, at least not for us. Maybe for mice, but that's a good thing."
After some more discussion we were all in agreement, and Lizzy was officially invited to share the bed with us. Prim was totally happy with that and went into her jumping and babbling mode, which made we smile a lot. Both girls were eager to start the sleepover, and they were getting ready for bed right after supper. Mrs. Everdeen smiled at me:
"You know, on normal days, when I tell the kids to go to bed, the usual answer is something like 'I am not tired yet – ten more minutes, please?'. And now, Prim goes by herself hours before she needs to. Maybe I should keep this outdoor bed."
"Maybe you should, but it is probably not so attractive in winter, I should guess."
Mrs. Everdeen and I kept talking until after dusk, and when I decided to go to bed as well, darkness had fully descended on the district. Once I had done my bathroom chores and changed into my nightwear, I decided to play a prank on the girls. I carefully approached from a corner of the garden, crouched down, and started to growl like a bear. The girls had been talking, but when they heard the growl, they stopped immediately, and one of them asked:
"Is somebody there?"
I growled again, a little bit louder this time, and I heard Lizzy saying:
"Prim, this sounds like an animal!"
And Prim replied: "Yes, I heard it, and can you see that shadow over there?"
I took the opportunity to raise my body for a few seconds and get down on all fours again, and growled again.
Prim now said with some agitation in her voice:
"This almost looks like a bear! How did a bear get through the fence? What do we do? Why isn't Rye here yet?"
I growled again and said: "This is the big bad bear, out to catch children unaware. I am hungry, and I need to feed!"
I rightly assumed that the two girls would not immediately make the connection that a real bear could not talk, and indeed I heard Lizzy saying:
"Dear Mr. Bear, please spare us; we are just two poor girls..."
I growled again, and suddenly Prim yelped: "Wait a second – animals cannot talk! Rye, is that you?"
Now I laughed and dropped down into the grass, quite happy with my performance. The two girls realized that they had been had, and they started laughing as well. It took us some time to calm down again, and it was probably almost midnight before we fell asleep, but we had had a lot of fun.
The next few days brought more Games viewing, of course, and the number of tributes being alive had been cut down to eight, so that the usual tribute interviews in the districts were started. Our own two tributes had already perished earlier, and the situation was getting more interesting for the remaining ones. As I had suspected, they now introduced something like giant spiders lurking in some houses, so that what used to be safe places suddenly wasn't any longer. The spiders were not very fast and could easily be evaded outside, but they caught a few unaware tributes in the buildings, so that the number was reduced to five at the end of the day.
On the next day, the three last Careers obviously decided to end their alliance, as they all went in different directions. They were all exhausted from paying attention all of the time, and one of them was caught by a cleaning vehicle, and another one by a spider. The last Career tribute, though, was a tough boy from District Two, and he managed to not only stay alive, but also kill another tribute on that day.
Finally, when the next day started, the last Career also flushed out his last competitor and was soon declared victorious, with only a few minor scratches. The Games were over, and we only had to watch the final victor interview, which was at least not violent and bloody.
[Author's Notes: Only one year remaining until the 74th Hunger Games! I would love to see a few reviews, please!]