Chapter 10
The first thing that hit me when the doors opened was the smell of alcohol. Haymitch. I had to take a step back with that smell not use to it anymore. Jason just rolled his eyes and walked in. I followed behind him into the living room where Effie, and Haymitch sat watching the recap of the parade. Effie saw us and immediately stood up and came over.
"Oh Katniss" she sighed as she came over a pulled me into a hug. I just smiled and let her hug me.
" Oh how I was so happy to see you alive." She said as she pulled back, to look at me. She looked over to Jason and pulled him also into a hug.
"Sweetheart oh how Happy you are alive" Haymitch sacristy said well taking a swig of his drink.
"Why thank you Haymitch" I said as I walked out of the room to my bedroom to get changed. Once I was finished I went back out and found everyone in the dining room for dinner. Unfortunately the only seat left was beside Haymitch.
"So Katniss how was Forks" asked Effie something during dinner. I looked up not really knowing how to answer.
"Forks is to die for" I say as Jason started to laugh. This was the joke between all the graveyard tributes seeing as we all died to get there. Haymitch started to chuckle to understanding the joke. Effie just looked confused and I think it was the best was to leave her.
"Okay then, time for a game plan" said Haymitch. Jason and I both looked confused. It took a knife in the table and Roy getting punch to get him to help us last year. And I'm sure he gave no help to Jason.
"Okay what may that be" asked Jason looking perplexed.
"These games are going to be different. There are only 9 of you graveyard people, and the rest of them have won the games, and have been friends for many years. The first thing there are going to do is come after you. So I want you to make an alliance with some of them." Say Haymitch.
"Okay then…" Jason started.
"You're not the issue" Haymitch informed well pointing to me I shook my head.
"No absolutely not" I said I wanted to go in these games by myself. If I got attached then there might be a chance I don't go home.
"Well you are if you want to go home to see your boyfriend." he said I huffed and crossed my arms knowing exactly who he was talking about.
"Wait what boyfriend, you have a boyfriend?" asked Jason completely confused.
"No I don't have a boyfriend" I started
"But you wished he was your boyfriend, I mean come on we all saw your little goodbye to him did we not." said Haymitch.
"Yes and you also heard me say a couple of weeks ago talk about how I wanted him to move on"
"Which he didn't" Haymitch mumbled under his breath. I just looked at him and shook my head and got up.
"No alliance" I say as I walk out of the room.
"Yes alliance" he yells back. That night I thought it all through and I came to the conclusion that I would try to make one. Which most likely won't work seeing as I can't make friends to save my life. Which might happen.
The next morning I head into the dining room to see that Haymitch and Jason are both there talking about who we should align with. Jason was in almost the same training gear I was in. They both saw me come in.
"Ah Sweetheart you ready for a day of making friends." Haymitch says taking a sip of coffee which I could assume had liquor in it. I just glared at him sitting down.
"Well you too have fun today, oh and Katniss please brush up on your Archery Skills" in other words make sure they others know what I can do. I nod as Jason and I head down.
Once we got down there and into the room I knew that this was definitely going to be a different game. The Career tributes were all doing there best weaponry, the others were all just hanging around going from different stations. Jason and I looked at each other and we both set off to look at our opinions. I saw Johanna throwing her axes around she saw me looking and smiled. Finnick was over with Dale a graveyard tribute from his year and the two of them were talking up a storm. I saw Beetee and Wiress over by the fire starter station. Beetee was trying to make a fire by rubbing the wood on a log. I went over to see if I could help.
"Try putting your hand further down on the stick and faster" I say sitting down in front of them. Beetee gives me a questioning look but does as I say and next thing I knew smoke started. Beetee looks at me.
"Thank you" He say and I just smile.
"Look over by the table" say Wiress pointing to the gamemakers who were overlooking us. Plutarch Heavensbee was standing in the front he was the head gamemaker this year. I had no clue what happened to Seneca Crane who was the gamemaker last year.
"Plutarch?" I question.
"No what surrounding them, over there top left" Beetee said, I looked but I could see nothing. Beetee tilted my head upwards a bit then a saw it the simmering shield.
"A forcefield that separates them from us" said Wiress.
"Thats probably my fault I shot an arrow at them last year" I say recalling my private training with them.
"No electro magnetic, but nice job on the shot. But have you noticed the lights they flicker, why and the holograms?" he said teaching me.
"Because the forcefield is taking too much power" I say more like a question then a statement.
"There is always a flaw in the system" he says with a smile. I smile back, I looked over to the fishing station and saw Mages there working on a finishing hook. I get up and leave Beetee and Wiress and head over to her. I saw that she had done up an impressive fishing hook.
"Thats nice, wish I knew how to do that" I say to her, she looks up and smiles. I know that Mages had lost her voice years ago.
"It was very brave of you to volunteer for that girl." I say wanting her to know that I commend her braveness. She smiles and points to me. I knew she was saying the same for myself as well, and I nodded.
"Melina has a little girl and I didn't want her to become orphaned." I say she nodded and makes a hand movement that motioned the past. I knew she meant last year.
"Roy was my best friend brother, it was something I had to do" I say. She put her hands up and symbols a heart with them.
"Did I love him, Roy?" I asked knowing that wasn't how she was talking about. She shook her head.
"Gale, I do love him, I just wish I could have let him know in person" I said she just smiled and went back to her work.
"Hey if you could teach me that, I could teach you how to hunt" I offer. She looked at me and smiled nodding. Later on I took Mages to the Archery station and put a sheaf of Arrows on my back, and held out a bow to her, while grabbing my own.
"You want to try" I asked and she just shook her head no, and motioned me to go first. I nodded and went in. I went up to the control panel and and pressed in what I wanted to do. I stepped up to the podium and knotted my first arrow and waited for the simulation to begin. I realized now that this was the first time since I killed Cato that I've held a bow and arrow. I quietly got over the initial shock and waited for the holograms to start.
Green beams started to swirl around me and I knew it was starting. Next thing I knew I was shooting without seeing what coming at me first. My initial reflexes kicked in and all the holograms how were meant to kill/ harm me had arrows that I shot in them. My hands knew what to do before my brain did. Next thing I knew the simulations was over and the lights turned back on. I turned to look at Mages through the glass and everyone of the other tributes were also there. One of the tributes from district 6 who Haymitch called the Morphlings was clapping and the Careers all looked weary of me.
It was now lunch and all the tributes were required to each lunch together in a mess hall. This was the only room that didn't have peacekeepers in them but they stood outside the door in case anything happens. The room only had one camera in it but no listening devices. Jason and I sat down at one of the tables that only the year before I sat down with Roy. As soon as everyone was sitting with their food and the doors closed from the peacekeeper, that was when Cashmere from district 1 spoke from his table.
"Okay everyone listen up. Everyone continue eating and looking grim while I talk, if you want to talk look across to your partner and pretend to speak to them." he said while it looked like he was speaking his sister, Gloss.
"These games are going to be different, we all here have either won the games or died in them and I'm sure no one wants to die again. So I don't know about any of you but I don't want to either die or kill. So this is what I'm offering. No one this year is dyeing. There will be no Killing. Everyone will make it out of this alive." he said. A game where everyone comes out.
"Then how do we get out. I'm sure even if none of us kill each other the gamemaker will get bored and kill us of themselves. Beside they won't let us out of the games if no one dies they have to have there Victor." Johanna said.
"We all know how the games work. Theres a forcefield around the arena, Beetee if you can figure out someway to bring down that forcefield then we can get out." Cashmere said. I had to agree that could work.
"How do we know that you are just saying this and once the gong goes you won't just kill us all off."I say looking up to Jason.
"I have a sister in these games and I want us to both to get out. That will only happen if all of us get out. Besides I done with the killing. Even you girl on fire I'm sure know of the guilt that comes from it." he said. The nightmares, seeing everyone I killed faces, the guilt. I nodded to him.
"So do we all agree that no one dies." he asked everyone nodded.
"Okay then we need to come up with a plan. Everyone go about your training normally and tomorrow at lunch we'll come up with one. No one say anything about this to your Mentors. Whatever plan they give you follow it and tomorrow we'll talk." Finnick said. Everyone nodded and two minutes later the peacekeepers came back in to take us back to the training centre.
Please Read and Review!
I don't own anything of Suszan Colins