Chapter 12: Orchid Bloom
A/N: Sneaked in another chapter. Pls review and tell me what you think! Cheers:)
Katniss stared at the apple Orchid held. "What's with the apple?"
Peeta shrugged. "I think it's got something to do with her arena. I don't know. If anyone from Eleven survived, we can ask."
"Is she still alive?" Katniss asked.
Peeta shook her head. "I think she died some years back. Heart attack or something."
There wasn't much to say, so they simply had a moment of silence for the witty girl with an even wittier mentor.
Orchid Bloom
District 11
Aged 15
3 Kills
Orchid grimaced as her name was called. She knew her district wouldn't complain. As she walked up to the stage, some of them were even cheering. She bit back a flurry of insults. It wasn't her fault! She never meant to start the fire that killed her family and half her town's population. Heck, she hadn't even started that fire! The peacekeepers had a bunch of flashy tech and determined that the ever-popular Mr Townsend had started it! She had been asleep when it all started! But no, they wouldn't listen to reason. Mr Townsend blamed her, a six-year-old child, and like the idiots they were, the entire district population believed him, even as the peacekeepers had him flogged and beaten to death. "Murderer…" they would hiss at her on the streets. "Murderer…" her district partner, Tomato, whispered to her as they shook hands. "Murderer…" the escort, knowing a lot of Eleven's gossip over the years, snarled as they entered the train. She usually ignored them, but as she caught sight of Reyna Boudicca waiting for her in the dining car, a quizzical expression on her face as Tomato pointed accusingly at Orchid, rapidly slating her, Orchid let the tears fall from her face as she ran to her bedroom. She just hoped her death would be quick.
Reyna shot Tomato a withering glare. She didn't appreciate his blatant slandering. Orchid's reaction just proved her innocence. A true murderer wouldn't cry and scramble away. Besides, she deserved a chance. Reyna had volunteered to mentor Eleven this year. After all, Draco wasn't letting her mentor Two, and she pitied the Elevens, so promising, yet so quick to perish under the blade of a Career. No, not this year. This year, one of them was coming home, she decided. She knocked on Orchid's door. "Orchid?" she called out gently. "It's Reyna."
"Go away!" Orchid sniffled from inside. "I don't want to hear it!" Reyna was taken aback by her words. She wanted to help Orchid! But the girl clearly was in a poor state, exactly like Reyna all those years ago.
"Orchid?" she called out again. "Please, I want to help." The door creaked open slowly. Orchid's eyes were bloodshot red from crying, and her hair was a mess. Reyna tried to give her a warm smile, but she was a mentally unstable victor. Smiles were difficult. Orchid stepped aside, and Reyna entered the room. Orchid slammed the door shut.
"What are you doing?" she hissed. Reyna explained her decision to mentor Eleven this year, to which Orchid gave a humourless laugh. "Well, this isn't our year, so you're wasting your time. Tomato's a twelve-year-old with asthma and me?" She plopped down on her bed, exasperated. "My district hates me. I've got nothing."
Reyna couldn't help but grin. She'd felt hopeless before her Games too. But like Orchid now, she had something useful. "That's where you're wrong. You've got a mentor. Me."
Orchid glanced up. "No offence, but you aren't exactly the best victor around. What advice can you offer?"
Reyna winced, a little hurt by her remark, but she didn't let it show. "You see," she said calmly. "These Games, the trick to winning them is by outsmarting the rest. The Careers won't focus on survival skills, so you've got an advantage there. And remember what Onyx did? That's how you win."
Orchid frowned, seemingly deep in thought. "But my district..."
"They don't matter," Reyna told her flatly. "You have us if you win. All the Victor's, except Draco of course, will be here for you."
Orchid sighed. "Still, there's always going to be those awful stares."
Reyna smiled, patting her shoulder. "I get those stares back in Two too. I wasn't exactly the brute Career they expected. More like wimp Career."
Orchid smiled, and shook Reyna's hand. "We're gonna be a great team, you and I. I can feel it."
Orchid hated her stylist. Salarino was just a stupid idiot who dressed her up as an apple. A freaking APPLE. How was that going to win her any sponsors? And Tomato, was dressed as a tomato. How amusing. The Careers were practically rolling on the floor laughing at our costumes. Even the tiny crying wimps from Twelve were giggling! It wasn't fair. Bronze from One smirked as she walked by. "Nice costume Eleven. Let's see how you look with my spear in your throat!" She was ready to burst into tears there and then if Reyna hadn't arrived with a cross look on her face. The Careers were brutes but they weren't going to mock a Career Victor.
She pulled both Tomato, who was sobbing after the boy from Four spat at him, and Orchid nto a hug. "Don't worry about them. Just, I don't know, joke around or something. Make them love you in a comedic way. At least you'll get sponsors right?"
Reyna was right. Orchid pulled off a few goofy smiles and gestured at her outfit disgustedly, and the Capitol citizens, ever so shallow, loved her. They were cheering when she pointed at Bronze and mouthed, smelly armpit dude! Tomato, on the other hand was giving her the evil eye, as tears flooded down his face. Orchid sighed. One of them was getting out, and it wasn't him.
Reyna was ever so tense when the scores were read out. The Careers, this time allowing the Fours into their pack, all got impressive nines. Classic. Everyone else got between two and six. Tomato's name was read first. He got an abysmal two. He was sobbing and wailing into Reyna's shoulder. She embraced him, but couldn't do much. That's when Orchid pulled out a seven. Not a Career score, but better than the rest. Reyna stared at Orchid, who had a smug look on her face. Clearly, the girl had talent.
Reyna dreaded the interviews. Bartomeus was ever so cheeky, and she personally hated him. She sat beside Ragnar, as usual, and braced herself for what was to come. Ragnar's boy, Bishop, was a loud and proud patriot, just like Draco. Ragnar grimaced as he downplayed the Capitol's brutality and cheered on Ravenstill. Reyna hated him instantly. She slipped her hand in Ragnar's and gave him a quick kiss. "He's nothing like you, but I'm sure you tried your best."
Orchid's interview was purely hilarious. Who knew the girl was such a great comedian. Even Axel, the comedian of comedians, applauded her. "She knows her stuff."
Ragnar laughed. "You told her to do that, didn't you, Reyna?"
Reyna crossed her arms, but her smile betrayed her. "I can be funny if I want to, you know."
Ragnar chuckled, and kissed her forehead. "I'm sure you can."
Somewhere along the aisle, Draco groaned. "Will you two stop being so cuddly and affectionate? It makes me sick."
Mags bopped him on the head. "Go get a life, kid."
Reyna smirked. Mags was truly a national treasure.
President Ravenstill was livid. An ex-Gamemaker had discovered that Oakette had escaped the Tribute Centre disguised as an avox District Thirteen denied any knowledge of her, but he knew better. Surely they were blatantly lying? His officials were furiously checking cameras, records, everything. When they realised she indeed hadn't travelled to Thirteen, he was hopping mad. "Maybe she's dead?" A young minister names Pliny timidly suggested. Ravenstill huffed, snatching the pile of insulting letters Oakette had sent him and slammed them on his desk. "Or maybe not," she shrunk into her seat.
Ravenstill gave each of his ministers a withering glare, rage burning like embers in his eyes. "Find the girl. Dead or alive. I don't care how you do it!" the fat president roared, letting out a small burp at the end of his threat.
"What about the current tributes, sir?" Minister Ray piped up. "What if they escape?"
"Then do some facial recognition or DNA testing shit on them!" Ravenstill ordered, clumsily getting up and stumbling out of the room.
Orchid gulped as her tube rose into the arena. She couldn't think straight. She didn't want to die! Reyna had been brilliant, but Orchid wasn't good enough! "Get a backpack, run," she repeated. "Straight in, straight out. Easier said than done." She looked around. She was placed between two Careers, the boy from Four and the girl from Two. But the weapons lay in the heart of the Cornucopia. Plus, she was fast. "Straight in, straight out." The arena was an apple grove, similar to the one she worked in at home in District Eleven. Town 4's main industry was apple farming, so the area was littered with these groves. The apple farmers were generally more well-to-do. At least compared to the potato farmers in Town 8. But that didn't mean they led good lives. No, life in Eleven was still like living in a was a hellhole. "Focus, Orchid," she scolded herself. "Straight in, straight out." The gong rang, and she sprinted forward, her legs flying in the wind. She scooped up a backpack and a banana, you never know if those apples were poisonous, and bolted away. She made one mistake, though: looking back. She gasped. The Careers were wreaking havoc, smashing and slashing tributes like there was no tomorrow. Her own district partner, Tomato, was lying in a pool of blood after Reef from Four had slashed his legs and throat. Bodies littered the Cornucopia, the ground stained in deep crimson. The bodies were so mangled, Orchid couldn't even recognise a third of them. She gagged and ran off when Reef turned in her direction.
Her running soon slowed to a jog, then a careful stroll. Ten cannons boomed, Ten fewer tributes to worry about. She spied a particularly large tree with branches and leaves that could hide her from the Careers. Perfect. She'd climbed trees before in Eleven, since there were so many of them. Not as many as Seven, but compared to the other dismal, industrial districts, it was a tree haven. Orchid examined the contents of her backpack. A bottle of water, some ropes and a small knife. More than enough for a trap. As she tied the rope around a branch, she heard footsteps. The Careers? "Please not the Careers," she murmured. The boy from Eight, Nylon, stumbled into view. He was badly bruised, and was practically dragging himself along. Orchid felt a pang of sympathy. This is the Games, she told herself. There can be no sympathy. The boy reached into a short tree, and plucked an apple. He took a big bite out of it, and Orchid waited, her heart thumping as she willed herself to watch. At first, nothing happened. Orchid quietly leaned over and plucked an apple for herself. But just as she was about to take a bite, Nylon's body started to twitch. He fell to the ground, gasping for air. Blood spewed out of his mouth. His skin erupted in boils. Orchid let out a small scream, and squeezed her eyes shut, but all she could she was Nylon's terrified face. Then, the cannon boomed. She didn't open her eyes until the hovercraft had scooped his body away. "Oh, gosh..." she whimpered. The sounds, the look on his face, she couldn't get them out of her head. Was this how the other Victors felt, forever traumatised by what they'd seen? She shuddered. Suddenly, death didn't seem so bad.
President Ravenstill could only snicker as District Eleven started jeering their own tribute. Good. The districts could turn on one of their own as much as possible. That would only further their suffering, and further his pleasure. That shrimpy, weak girl from Eleven with that dead look in her eyes was a gonner. He grinned as the towering Careers butchered the tiny girl from Seven, the same way the rebels in Seven butchered his brother. He grimaced at the thought. The Hunger Games was how he vented his fury and grief over Tobias' death, and so far, he'd been enjoying themselves. "This is all in your memory, Tobias," he murmured, smiling at the Seven girl's chopped up and beaten corpse.
Reyna wasn't dumb. She knew the apples weren't poisonous, just the peel. This was especially crucial when a day later, Orchid was out of food. She couldn't tell it to her outright, that was cheating. No, she had to be a lot more subtle. She glanced at the other mentors. None of them had realised this. Of course, none of them had seen the squirrel peeling away the apple skin before eating the apple. Then, it clicked. She had an idea. But first, she needed sponsor funds. Reyna grabbed her phone and dialled a number. "Hello? Henry?"
Orchid was starving. She's finished her small banana, and no animals had wandered into her trap. Sure, she'd experienced starvation before, but after three days, she needed food. She couldn't even eat any scraps or moss. A rat had scurried over an nibbled on some moss. He too was now dead, just like poor little Nylon. Suddenly, a parachute floated towards her. "Food!?" she croaked hopefully. She opened the package, and sighed. Just a peeler. A stupid peeler. Useless. But then, she saw other parachutes floating down. The first contained apple skin. Food, but not much. The second contained a bottle of poison. She frowned. What was Reyna trying to tell her? She racked her brain. "Apple skin, poison. Apple skin is poisonous?" She glanced at the peeler, and her face lit up. "Of course! Reyna, you're a genius!" Orchid giggled with glee as she peeled the skin off the apples in her tree, and munched on one. "Mm, that's nice,." The apples were sweet and juicy, much more so than the ones in Eleven. After all,tthey never got to eat the best ones. Those were for the stupid Capitol. They mostly ate the remaining ones, and for poor orphans like her, the only food available were rotten apple rinds. But at that moment, the best part was, she could count on having the smartest mentor in Panem backing her up.
The followng day, Orchid heard footsteps in the middle of the night. She held her breath. Careers! Orchid could feel her heart racing as six large, muscular kids with swords glistening in the moonlight came into view, holding glowing torches and chattering like bats. She groaned softly as they set camp near her tree, muttering something about floods destroying their supplies. Her eyes widened. So the Careers were without supplies, huh? Her odds just went up! A hungry Career is a useless Career, after all. She recalled that besides herself, eight tributes remained. And six of them were right there before her eyes. She waited until they were all asleep. Could she just kill them there and then? That would be the easy way out, but she only had a small knife with her and the Careers might wake up and slit her throat. Not a good risk to take. Then, the parachutes starting dropping. One by one. Another hidden message from Reyna. This time, it was some apple skin, followed by a bottle of poison, a soup advertisement then a career pamphlet. She figured it out quickly. "Poison the Careers?" she gasped. It wouldn't be pretty, but only one of them was making it out alive, and it wasn't any of the six Careers. The cannon boomed. Someone else had died. This had to be her moment! She crept down the tree, holding her bottles of poison and apple skins. She saw the Careers' soup jar. With a flick of her wrist, she'd opened it, poured the poison in, crushed the apple skins and dropped them inside. Then, she scrambled back up her tree and fell asleep.
She woke to the sound of screaming. The Careers were flailing around, choking like crazy. The boy from Four was already dead and Bronze had accidentally killed his district partner and the boy from Two in his panic. Their screaming nearly deafened Orchid, who gasped in horror at what she'd done. "I'm a murderer..." she whispered quietly as the girl from Two fell into a pit and broke her skull. An arrow flew out of the trees and struck the girl from Four's neck. Bronze, meanwhile, was left flailing around like a madman, until he was no more. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Orchid sobbed into her sleeve. All those years of wild accusations, and she was finally a murderer! She'd only proved her district right. Maybe she deserved to be shot by Ranger from Ten's arrows. Problem was, he'drun out of them and was making a mad charge for her tree. As he ran, Orchid crept up into a ball, and waited for her inevitable death. But it didn't come. Because he'd tripped over a pool of blood and landed right on top of his own arrow, the one he'd shot at the girl from Four. His stomach was pierced by her sword, which was unfortunately pointing upwards. Soon, Orchid heard trumpets. Trumpets of heaven? But no, she looked up and saw Ranger, bloodied and dead. And she was alive and kicking.
Oakette was all smiles. She hated the Careers, and in her cabin in 'District Fourteen', sipping some hot cocoa, she was glad that Orchid won. Ranger, after all, had gone mad since the start of the Games and had killed in the Bloodbath. But for now, she could enjoy Orchid's victory. Henry had sponsored the first hidden message, but the second had been sponsored by her, Oakette Mason, the youngest and best Hunger Games Victor of all time. Soon, she would be calling Orchid about the rebellion plans, but for now, she was happy to kick back and relax.
Katniss and Peeta finished their moment of silence for the 'Apple Girl' and moved on. The next Victor was a scrawny boy with olive skin, black hair and thick glasses. Katniss frowned. "Wait a minute, isn't that..."
"The District 3 male's grandfather?" Peeta finished. "Yup. Say hello to Nikola Johnson."
VICTORS
District 1-Sapphire Huntington(4), Onyx Hibonite(9)
District 2-Ragnar Sveinsson(5), Reyna Boudicca(6), Draco Hadley(10)
District 4-Marina Bluebell(1), Mags Flanagan(11)
District 5-Shocker Crimson(8)
District 7-Hassan Greenwood(2)
District 10-Ringo Alvarez(7)
District 11-Orchid Bloom(12)
District 12-Axel Millar(3)
A/N: So, hope you enjoyed Orchid! I know the Victors are starting to get a bit cliche so I'll switch things up next time. Anyways, as usual, feel free to share your thought and stay tuned for Nikola, District 3's first Victor!