Chapter 15: A Silver Parachute

When I wake up, the world is spinning. I have to blink several times until the room gets into focus, at least somewhat, and I see Peeta sitting on the edge of the bed. "Peeta?" I whisper hoarsely. He turns around, looking at me. His eyes are glazed over, dull.

"Did you get any sleep, Katniss?" He lies down next to me, stroking my hair.

Did I? I don't know. "I think so."

"Nightmares?"

I close my eyes, and as soon as I do, I see them. Behind my eyelids.

Dead children.

"Yes." I open my eyes again, and meet his blue ones.

"Me too."

"How are we going to get through this, Peeta?"

"I don't know," he whispers, his lips in my hair.

The full truth about why Haymitch is an alcoholic is starting to dawn on me. He's suffered through this 26 times. This is only our second Games as mentors, and we're already cracking.

Peeta takes a shower, but I don't think I can do it. I don't dare to in my semi-drugged state, I'm afraid I'll slip and fall and break something. Or suddenly try to drown myself in the bath tub, who knows. The others just have to overlook my greasy hair, I just hope I don't actually smell bad. It takes us twice as long to get to the control room as usual, I keep stumbling into things, and Peeta still seems distant, like he's not quite able to focus on where we are and where we are going.

"We can't accept any more pills from Haymitch. Ever." I tell Peeta, although a part of me desperately wants to, because after all, I did get some sleep. How am I going to get any sleep tonight without the pills and the alcohol? I'm already dreading it. The pills may be dulling my emotions and everything that I am, but when the feelings I have are all nightmares, whether awake or asleep, having them dulled is perhaps not such a bad thing after all.

"I know," Peeta mumbles next to me.

I'm in a haze the first part of the day. Haymitch mocks me for not being able to hold my drink (or my pills), and I yell terrible things at him. Afterwards, I feel ashamed - ashamed for yelling at Haymitch when he's only trying to help, even if it doesn't do us any good, and ashamed to be losing it in front of all the other Victors. I still have a living, breathing tribute in the arena, I can't afford to show any weakness.

There are only seven tributes left. There are the three Careers - Twitch and Kora from District 1, and Mend from District 2. I wonder what will happen when there is only the three of them left? That's the most likely scenario, after all. Will Twitch and Kora team up against Mend? Or does Mend have an alliance with either Twitch or Kora, to take down one so the other doesn't have to kill anyone from their own district? Only time will tell. Both of these strategies have been used in the past, multiple times.

There is also, of course, poor Bendy. He doesn't look better than he did yesterday, but at least he doesn't seem any worse. Dehydration doesn't seem to bother the monster, the vicious mutt animal that he is now. I wonder if the modified virus has somehow made him immune to it, or if he will just suddenly pass out from the dehydration in the end?

Aton from District 7 has largely gone under the radar so far, but there are so few tributes left now that I know his time will come soon, probably today. The Gamemakers haven't paid him much attention, but he's getting dehydrated, and he'll have to move soon. He's gotten some water from his mentors, but I can tell from the desperation in Johanna's eyes that there's not much money left. I just checked the price list of the day, and the price of water has soared - to a level that will very soon be beyond what we have available, even after the quite sizable donations we got from the other districts.

Sarr from District 10, the demi-god, is looking a lot less god-ish now - he's dirty, sweaty and scared. His looks have earned a lot of sponsor money, so he's gotten both water and a weapon - a long, scary-looking knife. But does he know how to use it? I'm not so sure about that.

And then there's Emilia, our Seam girl and underdog. As soon as the drugs have cleared enough for me to feel capable of thinking a more or less coherent thought, I call for a quick, hushed strategy meeting with Peeta and Haymitch. "We're running out of time," I say, handing them the price list of the day. "If we're going to send her any sponsor gifts, it should be now, today, before it's too late."

"What do you suggest?" Haymitch asks.

"At this point, what she really needs is water, and possibly some food if we can afford it. Unless... Unless there's something we're missing here." I think back at my own Hunger Games, when Haymitch didn't send me water when I was severely dehydrated myself, because he knew there was water nearby.

"Do you think there's water in the arena somewhere? I mean, she did find those cans of tomatoes... It would be a strange coincidence if they are the only sorces of fluid in the entire arena, right?" Peeta says what I've been thinking all along.

I nod. "Yeah. I'm just thinking that if there are really no other sources of fluid in the arena, then it's a bold move of the Gamemakers. Perhaps too bold. Because it would mean that the non-Career tributes get desperate pretty quickly, they are forced to either attack the Careers at the Cornucopia or simply die quietly in a corner of dehydration. Both of which happen pretty quickly, in two or three days, tops, which doesn't make for a good TV show. The Capitol has been looking forward to this for a year, after all, and they must've spent a fortune building that arena. Even if they turn it into a Hunger Games amusement park afterwards, complete with memorial sightseeing tours, I think they'd want to get more entertainment back from their investment than they've gotten so far."

In the background I see that both Aton and Sarr each get a bottle of water from their mentors. I think Johanna must be out of sponsor money now.

Haymitch closes his eyes. "It's a gamble. And Emilia's life is at stake here." We all know that getting through this day is crucial - someone has to die today, possibly more than one, but certainly not all but one. The Games will have to go on for a few more days.

But while we try to agree, unsuccessfully, Emilia takes her destiny into her own hands. She's ventured outside again, and I can see from the dryness of her lips and the dullness in her eyes, deep in her skull now, that she's getting dehydrated. We can't wait much longer.

There is more to Emilia than meets the eye. She locates the District 1 cathedral that is still standing, and carefully climbs up to the very top of the one remaining bell tower to get a good view of the arena. She seems to be looking for something, though I'm not quite sure what. She makes very sure not to be visible to the Careers at the Cornucopia, which is in clear view of the cathedral tower. Twitch and Kora are out hunting for tributes, but she doesn't know that, although I guess she understands that she needs to be very careful, there are hidden dangers lurking everywhere. Finally, she seems satisfied, and runs off. She seems determined, she knows where to go.

At first I'm confused - where is she going? And then it dawns on me.

She's going to the river.

"Smart girl", Haymitch murmurs.

The river is dried out, but she could see that from the cathedral. Why is she still going there?

Emilia spends a good half an hour in a hiding place by the river, observing it closely for any kind of movement. I know from the blips on the map that there aren't any tributes anywhere near her at the moment. Finally, she sneaks down to the river. There is no water, not even a tiny, muddy puddle. She starts digging with her bare hands. Slowly and tentatively at first, then desperately. Her nails are torn, her hands start bleeding. She's not looking around anymore; if the Careers were to show up, she'd be dead.

But she's all alone.

I'm about to open my mouth and say to Haymitch that we have to send her some water NOW, I just can't stand watching this, watch her desperation - when something happens.

From the depth of her hole, a clear, pure stream of water appears. Emilia starts crying, quickly lapping up as much water as she can. She scrambles to fill her two empty cans with water, she drinks as if she never thought she'd see water again.

She probably didn't.

A few Victors are actually applauding her - Beetee, Chaff and Mag. Annie smiles happily. "Well done," she whispers in my ear as she passes me on her way to the lunch table.

"I think it's time for a gift now," Haymitch says to us. His shaking index finger points at a line near the bottom of the page. "Let's put all our eggs in one basket."

A few minutes later, Emilia gets a silver parachute with a knife.

The Careers are on the move. This time it's Twitch and Mend, Kora is staying by the Cornucopia. They end up cornering Aton, and two arrows later, the sound of yet another cannon can be heard over the arena. The number of players is decreasing rapidly, and the Gamemakers are making sure it doesn't go down too rapidly - it's clear that they are steering Bendy away from the two Careers. I don't know if it's to protect the Careers, or if it's to keep their rabid creature safe from Mend's arrows so that he can kill someone else later, but the result is the same, anyway. The gamemakers are in control, they will make sure they get their perfect Victor. The three Careers are all obvious contestants, as well as Sarr - but I'm afraid his good looks won't be enough to save him, because he hasn't made a particularly good figure in the arena. He seems confused and scared, not that I can blame him, but it's not a good overall strategy to win the audience's hearts, even if you do look absolutely fantastic. Bendy obviously won't become a Victor, and I'm sure the Gamemakers never intended Emilia to win, either. She's basically just someone who's left, who's somehow ended up surviving this far.

When are the viewers going to get tired of watching the same thing happen day after day - two Careers going after the other tributes? Something has to happen soon. As we watch recaps of the day, and watch Emilia as she's looking up at the faces of dead children in the sky at night, I wonder if she truly has a chance. I know the Games are probably rigged, but can she manipulate the odds so that they will suddenly be in her favor?

A long, nearly sleepless night later, I'm pleased to see that the fluids must've done Emilia good. She's found some empty bottles, and she's filling them with water, enough for a day or perhaps two. This means she can safely leave the river, and stay away for quite some time.

"Why is she leaving the waterhole?" Peeta asks worriedly, as she starts walking in the opposite direction of where we had expected her to go - she's going towards the Cornucopia, not away from it.

Johanna, pale and with dark rings underneath her eyes, whispers: "She has a plan." Then she winks at me. And I know that Johanna understands Emilia better than any of us. I make a sudden decision.

"I need some fresh air - want to come, Johanna?"

"Sure." She shrugs, trying not to seem too interested.

Haymitch, not having had any sleep in more than 24 hours, is too drunk and tired to notice that we leave, but Peeta looks surprised, to say the least. It's not as if I've ever made an effort to talk privately or even spend time with Johanna alone before. She usually intimidates me too much. But this is no ordinary day.

We go up to the roof, and the fresh breeze is just what I need. I close my eyes and allow myself to enjoy the fresh air and the feel of the sun on my skin, despite the horror of the last few days, even if it's only for a few moments. When I open my eyes again, I half expect Johanna to be naked, but thankfully she's still dressed.

"So why are you talking to me all of a sudden?" she asks, cocking an eyebrow. "Are you after my money again?"

"I would be if I thought you had any left."

She sighs. "And I'd give it to you if I did, now that Aton is... dead." There are actually tears in her eyes now. "But we spent it all on that bottle of water. We should've been as smart as you were - knowing that there would be water in the arena somewhere. But I guess he wouldn't have found it, anyway." I know she's right. Aton never stood a chance, not the way Emilia does. She has something he hadn't.

"She's like you, isn't she?" This is the real reason I wanted to talk to Johanna in private.

Johanna smiles, a sly grin. "Yeah. I knew it as soon as I saw her."

"How?"

"It takes one to know one."

"Do you think the Gamemakers know?" If they do, it could be very dangerous for her.

Johanna shrugs. "Perhaps. I don't know if they have fully noticed her yet, but there aren't that many tributes left now, so I guess it's only a question of time before they turn their rabid mutt on her."

I know Johanna is right. "What can we do to help her? How does she think?"

Johanna is standing very close to me now, her voice barely audible. I can only hope that the wind up here will muffle our words, as the roof is surely tapped. "You can't help her. Not really. This is something she has to do all on her own. I'm quite sure that she has a plan, or that she'll make one, but I'm not sure what she will do. You've given her hope - by sending her that knife. It's a symbol as much as a weapon - by sending it, you've told her that you not only want her to survive, you want her to win, and that you actually think she can do it." I nod, although I'm not really sure if we thought that far when we sent her that knife - we just wanted her to have a means of self-defense, now that she wasn't in immediate danger of dying from dehydration, and a knife was the only weapon we could afford on the list of sponsor gifts. That's what I belived at the time, anyway, but perhaps Haymitch thought of this all along. "I'll talk to the other Victors, try convince them to transfer some money to you. I'm guessing they are all rooting for either Emilia or Sarr anyway, and frankly, Sarr isn't looking quite so hot anymore."

"Thank you," I whisper.

Johanna shakes my hand. "Team?"

"Team," I confirm.

As the evening sun is setting over the arena, it's clear that Bendy's role in the Hunger Games has been played out. As he's half-crawling, half-walking down a street, a house suddenly crumbles and falls over him, crushing his poor, virus-ridden body underneath tons of brick and mortar. I sigh a sigh of relief - for Emilia, but also for himself and his parents. At least his suffering is over.

Haymitch murmurs something about the Capitol viewers finding his viciousness and his killings a bit too much, even for their bloody tastes, and I'm guessing this has prompted them to get rid of him - being in the favor of sponsors is very important, even if you're a Gamemaker.

Emilia has spent the better part of the day just sneaking from building from building. At first I think that she's looking for food, but it turns out she isn't. She's a Seam girl, she can go a few days without food, even though her stomach must be growling by now. Johanna managed to get us some money from Districts 5 and 6, and we consider buying her some food for it, but in the end we settle on saving it for tomorrow. I think we all have a nagging suspicion that tomorrow will be the last day of the Hunger Games - for better or for worse.

We see that Emilia discovers the fallen house, hiding the remains of Bendy. She can't know that he's under there, of course, but she still seems to spend a long time, longer than expected, studying the debris.

In the end, she returns to a dead-end street she inspected earlier in the day, it's more of a back alley, really. It's full of debris and hard to maneuvre, and I mutter: "Get out of there, Emilia!" because I know just how dangerous it is to get caught in a corner with nowhere to run. The facade of one of the buildings is covered by scaffolding - it looks like it's almost about to fall down, it's black from soot like the houses. Still, she climbs the scaffold.

There's a faint smile on Johanna's lips as she watches Emilia on the screen - she's carrying bricks, one by one. Some of them from the street, but most of the bricks she gets from inside the windows, carrying them through the shattered, open windows out onto the scaffold. She works very carefully, so she doesn't make any noise or destabilize the scaffold. She works on this most of the night, aided by the full moon. Several times, the scaffold makes noises, loud and terrible, as it sways when she's walking on it, and every time I think that this is it - she's going to be buried in a huge heap of rubble. This is how she's going to die, and it's at least better than being bitten by a rabid, mutt boy, or being tortured by the Careers.

But it doesn't fall.

Finally, when it's almost morning, she lies down in a corner of the building and falls asleep.

The next morning, neither Haymitch, Peeta, Johanna nor I have gotten any sleep at all. I know we should, that if we keep going much longer, we won't be of any use to Emilia at all. But the Games can't last much longer, and I don't know what scares me more - not being there when Emilia might need me, or facing the nightmares I'm sure will come. I won't accept Haymitch's pills anymore, and I also turn down morphling, which I'm graciously offered by Maeve, one of the District 6 morphlings.

Mend and Twitch are hunting again. They actually do refer to it as hunting, as if the other tributes are only animals to them. Perhaps even less, come to think how they tortured Connor to death - I don't think they'd do that to an animal. They have a fight over who gets to go, and Kora loses - she's furious, because she was, as she put it, "stuck by the Cornucopia like some kind of babysitter" the day before, too, but in the end, she accepts staying behind.

We watch the screen with the small lights - and to my horror, I realize that four of them are almost in the same location. The two hunting Careers, Emilia and Sarr. Cameras that only we and the Gamemakers can see, not available the general Capitol audience, clearly show that houses are moving in order to make this happen. The careers are being steered in Sarr's direction. He has just woken up, and he's clearly dehydrated and very hungry. There's not much left of the hunk that drove the Capitol girls wild just a week ago - he's now starving, scared, dirty and it looks like he's about to give up. He's on the move in the streets, and he's starting to get reckless. He doesn't look around the corners the way he should, he doesn't listen as carefully as he would have done if he'd been able to think clearly.

My hand finds Peeta's as we see that the inevitable happens: Sarr turns around a corner, and finds himself face to face with Mend and Twitch. We watch as they catch him, and crush his skull with some bricks. It takes longer than I thought, but it looks like they aren't really trying all that hard. As we can hear the cannon, they leave him lying there in the dust, his body unharmed but his head an unrecognizable ruin of tissue and broken bone and blood.

"I guess it's just the little girl left now," Cashmere laughs, looking at us as we stand there, hand in hand. United. I can't bring myself to meet her eyes. She didn't see much of what Emilia did last night, they haven't paid much attention to her. I'm sure the Gamemakers know what she's been doing, but I'm guessing she hasn't been on the top of their list of priorities.

And therein lies her only chance.

We see on the screen that she's heard the careers, that she's heard Sarr's wild screams, followed by the wet, horribly muffled thuds of the bricks crushing his skull. They are very close, they are on the street that her blind-end street opens onto, just a few hundred yards away from her.

"Come on," Johanna murmurs under her breath, and I can see that even Haymitch has stopped drinking.

Emilia sneaks down the alley, looks very carefully around a corner - and sees the careers. She doesn't look scared, or upset, or any of the emotions I had perhaps expected from her - she just observes them, calmly. Then she takes a deep breath, and walks out onto the main street.

She turns out to be a terrific actress, because she pretends like it's an accident. That she didn't know they were there. She squeals, loudly, like a terrified child, and seems absolutely frozen, which allows the Careers to get quite close to her. Finally, just when I think it's too late, she turns and runs, still acting like a terrified child, down the blind-end, narrow street. The Careers are laughing behind her, mocking her for her stupidity when they see that there's no escape route. She's pressed against the wall at the back of the street now, she's so tiny and thin. The two huge careers, muscular and well-fed, confident of their victory, walk towards her, almost casually.

"What do you think we should do with her before we kill her, Mend?" Twitch asks his ally, laughing, as they approach her.

"She's my kill. But you can take her first, if you like."

"Deal," Twitch says, to my disgust he's already opening the zipper of his jeans.

"Well, good luck with that," Emilia answers, and all of a sudden, the scared child is gone. She grins at them, and Mend and Twitch look startled for a split second. Then she bends down, and finds the end of a rope, which was hidden in the dust. She tugs it, and then it's as if realization dawns on them - too late. The scaffold falls over them as they scream in terror, but their screams end abruptly.

After the noise dies down, all that can be heard is two cannonshots in the sky.

Emilia wipes away the dust from her face and leaves as if nothing's happened, climbing over the large pile of rubble hiding two broken bodies.