Chapter 14: A Mutt of a Different Kind

The night, predictably, is full of nightmares, for both of us. By dawn, Peeta is finally asleep. I got in a few hours of sleep after we first went to bed, but by now I've given up any hope of getting more. I just lie there, in the darkness, listening to his breathing. He doesn't seem to have any nightmares now, his respiration is slow and even. It's hard to tell when he has nightmares, sometimes, because he doesn't tend to scream his head off, like I do. Instead, his muscles tense, and his respiration is strained and uneven. If I'm asleep myself, I mostly won't even notice. He says that waking up and finding me there in his arms makes the nightmares go away, but I always feel terrible after one of his bad nights - knowing that I got to sleep, and he was caught in his nightmares without me waking him up to help him, to comfort him.

At least by staying awake, I can watch over him, keep the nightmares at bay. At dawn, the room changes from pitch black to various shades of gray, almost imperceptibly. I just lie there, watching his face, seeing more and more of his features by the minute. He is so beautiful when he's sleeping, his face relaxed. He looks so young. Sometimes, during the day, it's hard to remember that he's only 18 years old.

At sunrise, the first rays of the morning sun kisses his hair with flames.

At seven, I know I must wake him. We need to go down to the victor's control room to relieve Haymitch. Regretfully, I touch his face, whisper loving words in his ear. He opens his eyes, and smiles lazily. I think it takes him a little while to register where we are, why we are here. His smile fades as he remembers that we're not at home in our bedroom. We're not going to be baking or hunting today, we're going to watch over a little girl, with whatever meager resources are available to us.

We allow ourselves a few minutes in bed together first, though - I'm touching his face, stroking his hair, our eyes locked.

Breakfast is served in the Control Room - there is no need to leave it unless you have to go the bathroom, or if you don't feel like sleeping in a chair. I brace myself for bad news, not knowing if Emilia has made it through the night. She seemed to have found a good hiding place last night, but you never know.

Haymitch meets me, his eyes bloodshot and his hair standing on end. His hands are shaking. I know he's made a huge effort to stay sober, to not drink on his watch over Emilia's life, and I'm grateful for his sacrifice. "How's everyone doing?" I ask him.

He shrugs. "Everyone's still alive. I guess the Careers didn't feel like going hunting at night." I nod. I know they will have to be more careful this year than they usually are, because there are only three of them. Plus if I'm right about the well being the only water source, pretty soon they won't have to do anything at all, the other tributes are going to come to them. All they'll have to do is kill them off, one by one. They even have a bow and a very skilled archer, so there is no risk involved for them whatsoever.

I give Haymitch a bottle and send him off to bed. I don't know how much he sleeps, but if he passes out from drinking, I guess it's better than nothing.

Haymitch doesn't have anyone to hold him at night, to help him through the nightmares. I know he has them, too, I've seen it in his eyes. I see it even now, as he hesitates before leaving, how he's dreading going to sleep, even though he desperately needs to.

It's been 26 years, and he is still tormented by the nightmares. Is it going to be the same for Peeta and me, too?

I don't want to think about the answer to that question.

More and more Victors arrive, and in the arena, the tributes are starting to wake up. Emilia must be starting to get really hungry, and opens one of her cans of tomatoes. I think it's a wise move - it will keep her strength up, hydrate her at least somewhat, and she'll start the morning with her brain fresh, unlike most of the other tributes. She can't afford to make any mistakes, and dehydrated brains tend to make just that.

We are starting to learn more about the remaining tributes. Now, in the light of day, we're starting to see who are actual contenders, and who are just targets.

The District 3 boy, Connor, is one of the oldest among the tributes, he's 18. The only other 18-year-olds are Twitch and Mend. He's also used to being in a city, and he looks pretty resourceful. He's working on building his own little fortress inside a building, with hidden traps and and alarm devices. Which is all good, if only he'd had any food or water - which he doesn't. I'm surprised his mentors didn't stress just how important finding a water source is - but with District 3 being the electronics district, most people work in factories, they don't know much about survival. Their food gets shipped in from other districts. Still, I think Beetee should've told him, surely he must know that even if no one can get into the building without being noticed, it won't help him when there's no water inside his little fortress.

The girl from District 5, Zenta, unexpectedly teams up with the girl from District 6, Rhona. They became friends during training, according to Chevy. I hadn't noticed that, but it's not as if either of them attracts much attention, anyway. They are both 13, and they probably won't last long. At the moment they're just huddling in a basement, chasing off rats instead of trying to catch them and eat them, like they should've done. The rats are, aside from those two cans of tomatoes, the only edible things I've seen in the arena so far outside the Cornucopia.

Bendy, the boy from District 6, is adventurous enough to start exploring. He is the only one who looks visibly thirsty, although I'm sure the others must be starting to really feel it by now, too. He's walking through the streets, staying close to the walls, probably trying to find a river or a creek. He doesn't notice how the streets change around him. Houses quietly shift as the Gamemakers touch their holograms, their hands hovering over their screens. I can't see the Gamemakers, they are in a separate control room, behind the catwalk, but I've been there before briefly - I know what it looks like. Ultimately, they hold the lives of these teenagers in their hands. Bendy doesn't see the houses move, but we do, having access to cameras from several angles. Maeve emits a squeaking sound - she must have the same feeling I do, that dull feeling in my stomach that something is very wrong. I decide to make it a point to talk to her later, after this immediate crisis is over.

Bendy is being led in one direction, and even he's starting to see it now, but he doesn't have any choice but to keep walking, because there's nothing to drink where he came from. The sun is shining mercilessly down on him now, he's clearly sweating. He might end up being the first dehydration victim, I think.

But he won't be.

He turns around a corner, and there's a collective gasp going through the Victor group when we see what's waiting for him, before he does himself.

It's a rabid dog.

It's not a pack, because a pack would've torn him apart. It's not even very big, because if it were, it would've killed him.

Instead, it's a small one, a white miniature poodle. It looks deceptively innocent at first glance with its small size and curly fur fashionably groomed, but I've seen rabid dogs before, so I recognize the signs - the abnormal behavior, the alertness, the overt aggression. The broken teeth from chewing on objects. It's starting to foam around the mouth. Yet there is something different about it - it looks somehow crazier, even more vicious, than the other rabid dogs I've seen before. "I think they've tampered with it," I whisper to Peeta, who's staring at it, his eyes wide with fear.

Bendy screams when he sees the dog, which isn't really a good idea, letting the Careers know where he is - not that it matters much, anyway. The problem he is facing now is worse. As soon as the dog sees him, it predictably attacks. I expect it to go after his feet or hands, but strangely it doesn't - it jumps, up, biting him in the neck. Bendy screams in terror now, and somehow finds a rock, pounding at the dog's head. He manages to bash its head in, but it's too late.

He's been bit, the blood is streaming down his neck and side. There is nowhere to clean the wound, to try to get the dog's salive containing the virus out of the wound, however futile the attempt may be. I also know from my mother that if you're bitten near the head, the symptoms will progress faster. The virus doesn't have to travel very far along the nerves to get to the brain when you're bit near the head.

This is surely no coincidence.

"Fuck them all," Johanna says out loud, and I guess that's what we all think inside. We're unfortunately used to seeing children kill other children in the Hunger Games, to die from dehydration and infections, but a rabies bite... It's a terrible way to die, and there is no knowing what he will do first, particularly if the Capitol have tampered with the virus, which I strongly suspect they have. Waiting a few days for the virus to reach his brain is probably too long for the incredibly short attention span of the Capitol residents, so I'm guessing they have modified the virus so something will happen soon.

This will get very, very ugly.

And it does.

It's quickly clear that the most imminent dangers in this arena are the lack of water - and Bendy.

The former does, as expected, make several tributes make bad decisions.

The first victim of the day is Connor. In the afternoon, after more than 24 hours without any water, he's clearly starting to feel the effects of dehydration. He's built himself a fortress, which would've been a good idea if he'd had a water source. He doesn't, so what the building has led to is in effect making the dehydration worse, as his activity level has been higher than many of the others, increasing his fluid loss. Connor is large and strong, and clearly pretty intelligent, but dehydration isn't helping him being rational. After a few hours of searching for water outside his fortress, he seems to come to the realization that there isn't any to be found.

So he tries something else. I'm surprised when he makes a white flag out of a branch from a burned-down tree and some white fabric he found in one of the abandoned houses.

He's approaching the three Careers, wanting to join their alliance.

"No!" Beetee shouts to the screen, to no avail of course, as Connor can't hear him. Enobaria snickers behind him.

"What's in it for us?" Mend asks, as the three Careers stand there side by side in front of the well. Behind them they have what Connor needs so desperately - water. He clearly looks weak, even though he's trying not to show it, and his lips are dry and bleeding.

"It's only the three of you," Connor says. "If you take me on your team, it will be easier to arrange shifts and raiding teams, hunting down the others." He's right, of course, but the question is whether or not the Careers care. Taking Connor on the team would mean having a team member they know they can't trust. Will the benefits of Connor's proposal outweigh the downsides?

The answer turns out to be no.

Twitch, Kora and Mend discuss between themselves, quietly. Connor can't hear what they say, but of course we can, and I can see Beetee becoming progressively paler. The discussion ends with Twitch murmuring "Let's play a little with him first," and the others agree.

Beetee hides his face in his hands, and a tear is rolling down Wiress' cheek.

They know it's too late - even if Connor changes his mind now, there is no way he can get out of there alive. He was doomed as soon as he set foot on the open square in front of the Cornucopia.

"Okay, you're in," Kora says to Connor, and it sickens me to see just how relieved he is. Just how desperately he's looking at the well, it's almost as if he can hardly see the three Careers in front of him. "But you do what we say, and one misstep and you're dead. Are we clear?"

Connor nods eagerly. "Can I have some water now?" He begs.

"Get down on your knees," Mend orders him. This is where I guess Connor should really start to understand that something is very wrong, but he doesn't seem to. It must be the dehydration. He obeys, sinking down on his knees. "Didn't your mother teach you to say please?" Mend continues, and Kora giggles.

"May I have some water please?" Connor asks, there is a desperate undertone in his voice now.

Mend raises an eyebrow. "No."

And with that, Kora and Twitch attack. In seconds they have overpowered him - Connor is strong, but he is outnumbered and dehydrated. A few minutes later, they have him all tied up, ropes are bound to his ankles and wrists, he's tied up to poles so that he's lying with his feet and arms outstretched, completely defenseless.

And then they play.

It takes them all night to kill him. At one point during this seemingly endless night, I think that at least the other tributes won't approach the Cornucopia, because surely they hear his screams. I know Emilia does, she's huddled in a corner, trying to block out the sounds. She doesn't get much sleep that night, and neither do we. Going to bed is pointless.

Beetee loses it at one point, and goes over to the Career Victors, screaming at Enobaria and Cashmere that they have to send their tributes a gift, a weapon of some sort, to signal to them that they just have to kill poor Connor, what they are doing to him is inhumane. Cashmere laughs in his face, but Enobaria actually looks a bit uneasy. Plutarch Heavensbee is there too at one point, I guess he's just visiting our control room when taking a break from the main control room, which is where they control the movement of the buildings, dangers, the flow of the game. I can't read any emotion in his face, but he does say to the District 1 and 2 Victors that what their tributes are doing to Connor right now is at the very limit of what they will allow, for fear of losing viewers. Thankfully it's late, the children should be in bed by now.

Clearly even Capitol inhabitants have feelings, even if they don't care much about the lives of District 3 boys.

As dawn approaches, life ebbs out of Connor's tortured body. I think everyone, even Enobaria and Cashmere, is relieved when he finally dies. By now, my face is swollen from crying. I haven't slept in 24 hours, and I'm absolutely exhausted, but just thinking about going to sleep now is sickening. Peeta is sitting in a corner, hiding his face behind his knees. His hands, his knuckles white, are clutching his legs, one real and one prosthetic. Haymitch, who returned to the control room at around the time Connor was caught, and immediately started drinking when he saw what was going on, is dead drunk, and finally passes out.

He's the lucky one.

Johanna steals his bottle after Haymitch loses consciousness, and gulps down what's left, then complains that he didn't leave her enough.

With Haymitch passed out in his own vomit on the floor, and Peeta sitting unresponsive, frozen, in his corner, going to bed isn't an option now, anyway. I'm the only one who can watch over Emilia.

Emilia isn't in as bad a predicament as a few of the others. She opens her last can of canned tomatoes, and I know it's enough to keep her going for another day. She will have to move today, though, trying to find more sources of water.

The others are getting seriously dehydrated by now. It's only a question of time.

Zenta and Rhona, the two 13-year-old girls who have formed an alliance, have finally realized that they, too, have to move. They've been hiding in a basement until now, but the thirst is forcing them out in the open. They brave the streets, searching every house they deem safe enough to enter for food or water. They find some biscuits, and eagerly eat them, the first thing they've had to eat for two days. It does, however, make their thirst worse.

What they don't see in their dehydrated state, is that the houses are shifting. Again, someone is pulling the strings in the control room. The two girls are being led in one direction. At first I think they're being led to the Cornucopia, but then I realize it's in the opposite direction. Where are they going?

I look at the map with the blinking, color-coded lights with holograms of the tributes' faces that tell us which tribute is where.

Bendy.

We haven't seen him much after he was attacked by the dog. He's been hiding in a back street behind some rubble, all curled up like a wild dog. Only now, quite late in the morning, he has woken up. As he rises, the full extent of what the virus has done to him is clear.

He has been transformed into something of a monster. It's not just rabies, it's something else as well - I was right in that the Capitol must've genetically manipulated the virus somehow, because it's just too fast, too much. He has a mad, rabid light in his eyes, the muscles of his face are twitching, and saliva is running down his chin. Foam is starting to form in the corners of his mouth. He's moving differently, too - almost like an animal, a predator, but less smoothly. His movements are jerky somehow, not quite coordinated.

And he... sniffs the air. Like a dog. Like a monster mutt.

As I see the two lights moving in his direction, I know what he's smelled.

The two girls.

There is a desperate moment in which the District 5 and 6 mentors try to scramble possible sponsor money for gifts for them, only to realize that they don't have enough for any weapons, even if they pool their resources. As they fight about what other and more affordable items they might send to warn them, I know it's too late.

Chevy, the leader of the District 6 Victors, is in the worst position possible - two of his tributes are going up against each other, and it's clear that whatever happens, Bendy won't be the Victor of the 76th Hunger Games. He's just been changed by the vicious virus to become a killing machine for the Capitol, but they will never allow him to win. He will take down as many tributes as the Gamemakers deem necessary or fit, preferably in an entertaining fashion, making for a great TV show. Then they will have him murdered somehow. And Rhona, his other tribute, is completely defenseless against the monster that Bendy has become.

It waits for them behind the door of a house. It somehow knows they are going to go in there, searching in vain for water or food. Instead, what they find, is the rabid, mutant monster. It seems to have grown, it seems larger than Bendy was only yesterday. The lack of water doesn't seem to bother it.

I can hear Peeta whimper from the corner where he's still sitting, and I wish I had the courage or strength to hide, to avert my eyes, as he does. Instead, I'm frozen, unable to move, all I can do is watch the macabre scene that's playing out on the screen. The gamemakers have been helpful enough to play this on full-screen, temporarily making us unable to follow the other remaining tributes. They are far away from each other at this point anyway, so it doesn't matter, all that's taking place right now is the heartbreaking and meaningless murder of two helpless girls.

I wonder what it must feel like for Bendy's parents. Watching what he has become. It must be even worse than for Zenta and Rhona's families.

It - calling it Bendy seems inappropriate now, as there doesn't seem to be much of Bendy left - is as vicious as the Careers were in the night, in its own, sick way.

The boy has been turned into an animal. It's attacking with its nails, which seem longer and more claw-like than they were yesterday, but mostly with his teeth. It goes after Zenta first, it's just a hazy being of gray and red and black as it attacks her, tearing out her throat. It leaves Zenta lying on the floor, convulsing, life pulsing out of her through the mess that used to be her throat and neck. Rhona screams her head off, scrambling upstairs with the monster following right behind her. She's looking for something to defend herself with, anything, but can't find it. The monster is covered in Zenta's blood, snarling, blood mixed with saliva is dribbling down his face and chest.

And then she's trapped. There is nowhere to run, nowhere to go. She tries to open a window, but it turns out to be nailed shut, which may or may not be a coincidence.

Her end is violent, bloody, unfortunately far less efficient than Zenta's, and utterly disgusting to watch. Even Enobaria is silent now, the smile gone from her lips.

Haymitch regains consciousness just in time to see her die, and when he vomits, I'm not sure if it's from the drinking, from what he's seeing on the screen or both. Peeta is the only one who hasn't watched it, he's still sitting in the corner, his body shaking. I know he's heard it all, and it's still not much better for him that it is for the rest of us, although we've seen every gory detail and he hasn't.

"They are serious this year, aren't they?" Enobaria whispers when it's over, but no one answers her.

And then it gets worse still, because it's time for the interviews with the survivors' families and friends. This traditionally takes place when there are eight tributes left, but they lost more than that now in the last few minutes. We know that the remaining tributes will be safe for the next two hours, as the Gamemakers will make sure there are no confrontations or murders while the interviews are being aired.

Some interviews are almost all too familiar, such as the interviews with the Career tributes' parents. They are, predictably, all very proud of their son or daughter, and is confident that he or she will win the 76th Hunger Games. They don't work through the districts chronologically this year, though, bypassing Bendy's parents, and I'm momentarily relieved. Moving on to the other districts, it's soon Emilia's parents' and friends' turn. I recognize her mother from the reaping - she looks pale and drained, undoubtedly she hasn't gotten much sleep lately. She tells stories about her daughter, none of which are particularly interesting, and they certainly don't make Emilia sound like a ruthless killer, or even a survivor. Her father doesn't say much. As I watch him, with his gray, hard eyes, I wonder how he could lay his hands on his little, innocent daughter. I hate him for it.

And just when I think they are done, they go back to District 6 - to Bendy's parents. Beetee and Wiress are holding each other now, trying to comfort each other as they watch the poor, devastated parents. They are being interviewed on live TV, unlike the other parents, who were clearly taped in advance, and there is no doubt the gamemakers have done this just to make sure that they could see the most recent development in their son's behavior since he was attacked by the rabid poodle. It's one of the most heartbreaking things I've ever seen - his mother can't stop crying, it's almost impossible to get a coherent sentence out of her. His father tries, he really does, but all he can say, is that he hopes there is a cure for the virus, that the doctors in the Capitol who know so much and have so many resources can save his son if he wins the Hunger Games.

I know that Bendy will never win the Hunger Games. That he's just a tool for the Gamemakers, they'll dispose of him as soon as he has played his part.

I walk over to Peeta, sitting down next to him, hiding my face against his shoulder. "I hate them. I hate them. I hate them." Peeta whispers, over and over again, and I want to tell him to be silent, that surely someone can hear what he's saying and we should be careful, but I can't bring myself to. Because I feel the same way, and judging from the looks on the faces of the other Victors, we're not alone. I'm beyond caring what the Capitol thinks of us right now.

The interviews are over, and we're back to the regular show. Emilia is back in her safe house, getting ready for yet another long, lonely night. She doesn't have any cans left now, and I know her situation tomorrow will be very, very difficult, although not as bad as that of the few other surviving tributes. Aside from the Careers, of course, who are playing strip poker by the Cornucopia.

Hopefully that will provide enough entertainment for the Gamemakers tonight, without any more killings. They have very few tributes left now, and I'm guessing they'll want to prolong the games with a few more days, if not more - at least I really hope they will, because that would mean that they have to provide some sources of water for the tributes. A few of the other tributes are getting water from their sponsors now, there doesn't seem to be any point in saving the money for later, and I know I'll have to ask Haymitch that we do the same for Emilia tomorrow morning. Right now, water is even more important than weapons.

Haymitch sits down next to us as well, handing me a bottle and some pills.

"Take this," he says. I frown at him. "I'm serious," he says. "You two need to sleep, you look beat. You need your strength for tomorrow. After the show we just saw, there is now way either of you will get any sleep without aid from chemicals - believe me."

I look down at the pills in my hands, and know he's right.

"Don't take more than two pills, Katniss, or you'll be unconscious all day tomorrow. Peeta, you can take three, you're much larger than Katniss. Swallow them down with some liquor, say a quick prayer and hope for a dreamless night."

I close my eyes, and wonder if I will ever have another dreamless night in my life.