Ricochet
Chapter 27: Shockwave
Author: Carla, aka cali-chan
Rating: Most likely PG-13. Nothing worse than what's in the books.
Genre: Adventure/suspense/drama/romance... again, pretty much what's in the books.
Pairings: Peeta/Katniss, Rory/Prim... and probably others. You'll see soon.
Canon/timeline: Same-context AU— this fic still happens in the same world as THG, but the actual events in the books never happened. I'm adding about five years to the characters from the age they were at the beginning of The Hunger Games. Katniss is 21.
Disclaimer: Yeah, just let me go get my transfer laser and switch bodies with Suzanne Collins. Until I find it in the mess that is my room, anything you can recognize belongs to her.
Note: I've never really tried this before (and I'm sure it will eventually come back and bite me in the behind), but each chapter will be from the PoV of a different character. You should be able to tell whose PoV it is fairly easily, though.
Summary: "Primrose Everdeen." This can't be happening, Katniss thought. She desperately pushed through the crowd. I volunteer!, she wanted to scream. I volunteer as tribute! But she couldn't, because she wasn't eligible for the reaping anymore. There was nothing she could do.
.
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"The road to the future leads us smack into the wall. We simply ricochet off the alternatives that destiny offers." —Jacques-Yves Cousteau.
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Madge left the office a little later than usual. Since she found out that her house might be under surveillance, she was trying to spend as much time away from there as possible. This often meant she was late to have dinner with her mother, which made her feel a little guilty; but when she explained that she had a lot of work to do— which wasn't a lie— her mother insisted she didn't mind.
She hadn't been able to have dinner with her mother at all the past few days, in fact. Ever since she began taking food to the Hawthornes, she'd been having dinner with them. Hazelle insisted on it, and she didn't have the heart to refuse; she knew it must be hard for her and the kids to accept help from someone who was practically a stranger.
She walked out of the Justice Building, already making a list in her head of what she could take them that day. She hoped Grethel hadn't forgotten to get those loaves of bread from the bakery. Rory usually brought back bread when he got off work, but she'd come to learn it was usually stale bread. She wanted them to have something fresher for dinner.
Her brisk pace was nothing new, either. Not that she was in a hurry to get home, but she didn't want to witness the horrible spectacle Romulus Thread had set up right in the Town Square. Since he took over Head Peacekeeper, every day they there was someone new in the stocks. That was the worst so far. She could only hope the more deadly contraptions, like the gallows and the whipping post, remained unused in the near future. The sight alone made her stomach revolt, so the sooner she made it to the gates of her house where she didn't have to see it anymore, the better.
She had just reached the last step on the stairs when she heard someone calling for her. "Madge!" She turned around to see Purnia running up to her. She had seen the Peacekeeper just a few hours back, when she went back home for lunch. She had been guarding the side entrance to the building; Madge remembered waving her hi. She wondered what was so important that Purnia would leave her post to come talk to her. "Did you see what's going on over there?" the older woman asked, signaling toward the Town Square.
"I'm trying not to, actually," she admitted, adjusting the folders she was carrying in her arms; a few documents were in danger of falling off. "Is it bad?" She risked a glance in the direction of the Square, noticing the usual group of people surrounding the stocks (probably relatives of the person in question) and a couple of Peacekeepers standing by as guards.
Purnia shook her head almost sadly. "You really want to check out this one," she said, giving her a look that immediately made her grow anxious. Who could it be? Madge didn't have many friends, particularly not many that Purnia would be concerned about. Could it be Gale? Had he gotten caught outside the fence? Oh no...
Purnia went back to her assigned post while Madge's feet started taking her to the center of the Square. She tried to peek in-between people to catch a glimpse of whoever it was that had gotten put in the stocks, but even then she could only see the person from behind. It was a man, with dirt-stained trousers and long legs. She sped up her pace.
When she finally got to see him upfront, she was surprised to find not Gale, but Rory. She pushed her way to the center of the circle, noticing that one of the Peacekeepers she'd seen was actually Head Peacekeeper Thread, who had surely just finished setting up Rory's punishment. "What's going on? What did Rory do?" she asked worriedly, in Thread's general direction.
It was only when she spoke that Rory caught sight of her. "Madge!" He didn't seem injured, she noted, and thankfully the people of Twelve weren't the type to throw food and dirt at the people in the stocks like she heard they did in other districts— in Twelve, they had no goods to spare and nobody was about to waste what little they did have so pointlessly. Still, just being in the stocks was bad enough, as Thread surely meant to have him stand there for a long time, regardless of the blazing sun and likely a chilly night, and all of that without food or water.
He must've been relieved to see a familiar face, she figured. He tried to turn his head to look at Thread; obviously it wasn't easy with the wooden board trapping his neck. "I told you she'd be wondering where I was!" he exclaimed, in a tone he probably shouldn't be using toward the man who was enforcing his punishment.
Before she could ask what he meant, Thread turned to her. "Miss Undersee," he started, with that odd accent of his, the tone of his voice implying that he'd much rather not bother addressing her. The man looked at everyone with disdain, even her father. It was like he simply couldn't hold it in. "This boy missed a mandatory appointment. He was required to be here at five for an interview for the Games, but he never showed up."
"I told him I was running an errand for you, but he wouldn't believe me!" Rory exclaimed on the heels of Thread's pronouncement.
She looked at him, confused. She didn't know anything about any errands (she hadn't seen Rory since the previous night), but his eyes begged her to just go with it. Luckily Thread had his back to the stocks. "That's— that's right," she started, hoping Thread wouldn't notice her moment of hesitation. "My father needed some items, but we were both too busy at the office," she signaled to the stack of folders she carried in her arms, "so I asked Rory to get them for us. That's why he missed his appointment."
"Well, he should've run your errand after he was done with the interview. The Capitol doesn't like to be kept waiting," Thread sentenced, unshaken. Rory shifted his attention from one to the other, like they were playing an interesting sports match. "You'd think that would be his priority, since giving an interview could help his little girlfriend," he added, almost spitting the last word out. Obviously he held no illusion that Prim could ever come out of the Hunger Games.
She saw Rory's jaw clench, and if he was anything like Gale (which, she'd been told repeatedly, he was) she knew he was about to snap at the Head Peacekeeper, which in his situation would do no good. "It was a very urgent matter, I'm sure you understand," she intervened before Rory could open his mouth. "He shouldn't be punished; it's my fault, really."
"Are you offering to take his place in the stocks, Miss Undersee?" he threw out, his beady, dark grey, almost black eyes looking down at her from over his hooked nose. "Because that could be arranged."
She saw Rory's eyes widen, and it was only then that her poor choice of words registered in her mind. She heard the people behind her start muttering among themselves; it wasn't hard to guess what they were saying: Can he do that? Can he put the Mayor's daughter in the stocks? He could. She didn't think he would— if his charges against Rory were already flimsy, any charges against her would be ridiculous— but she wouldn't put anything past this cruel man. Unlike his predecessor, who was content with turning a blind eye on things, Thread seemed to enjoy seeing people suffer, and Madge wouldn't give him the chance to do it to Rory, or her.
"Mr. Thread," she began, attempting to appeal to a diplomatic side she knew this man didn't have, "this is all really quite unnecessary. It's late, and there's nothing that can be done about that interview today. Rory can just do it tomorrow instead." Because Prim will still be alive tomorrow, she thought, but refrained from saying. "And I doubt a night in the stocks is going to leave him fresh and camera-ready."
She moved the folders until she was holding them under one arm, so her other hand was free to push back a lock of hair the wind had blown over her face. "Meanwhile, we still need him to finish that errand I sent him on," she said. She took a deep breath before she continued, readying herself to use her last argument. One she'd rather never use, but one which was always there in the back of her mind, as a last resort. She felt low even as she said the words. "Unless you'd prefer to personally explain to my father why he still hasn't received the items he asked for hours ago."
His eyes narrowed. He knew what she was doing, he obviously did; his stare was still harsh, but she could see a flicker of doubt there. Technically, he didn't report to her father, but directly to the Capitol. He did get paid by the District, though, and for all his loyalty to the government and all his disdain for the inhabitants of Twelve, it still wouldn't be good for him to get on the Mayor's bad side.
He remained quiet, just staring at her in a way that made the hairs on her arms stand on end. For a while there Madge thought he was going to refuse, leaving Rory to his punishment for the entire night. After about a minute, though, he relented. "Fine," he said. He signaled to the other Peacekeeper to unlock the heavy boards from around the boy's neck and wrists. "But if he doesn't show up tomorrow, I'll whip him into shape myself."
Madge couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, before nodding. Her gaze trailed momentarily toward the whipping post that was erected right beside the stocks, and she knew that when he said he would "whip him into shape," it wasn't just a figure of speech. Rory would have to do that interview the next day, for sure.
"Tell that brother of yours the same goes for him," Thread addressed Rory as the other Peacekeeper was freeing him from his entrapment. When he continued speaking she understood he meant Gale. "Would do well to remember the fence is there so people stay inside."
Madge froze for a second, fearing Thread had somehow found out that Gale had left Twelve. But there was no way he could know that, she told herself. He had probably just heard through the grapevine about Gale's poaching and, since he couldn't punish anyone without proof, he had to do with a warning. That was all.
If Rory had a similar moment of doubt, it didn't show. "I'll pass on the message once he comes out of the tunnels," he muttered once he was released, cradling his wrists, as they were starting to chafe. He went with the story they had agreed upon; Gale's family knew he had left the District, but it would be safer for them if Thread still thought Gale was trapped in the mines.
"Well, he better make it out in one piece," Thread continued, and of course Madge knew he wasn't just expressing well-wishes out of the goodness of his heart. "It'd be a pity if he isn't able to go back to work when the mines open, just because your usual healer is... unavailable." He all but spat the words at them. Madge couldn't believe such a vindictive man was given the reins of law enforcement in their district.
She just managed to grab onto Rory's arm before he could lunge at the man, and started pulling him toward her house. "Thank you for understanding, Mr. Thread," she murmured tightly as they passed by him, internally thinking exactly the opposite. As they made their way out of the square, the crowd began to dissipate; she knew, because she could hear Thread yelling at people to go find something else to do, unless they wanted to be next in line for the stocks.
By the time they reached the gate of her house, he had finally stopped huffing enough to talk without letting his frustration seep through. "Hey, thanks for helping me back there," he began, sounding genuinely grateful. "I don't know what would've—"
She cut him off with a shake of her head and a signal of her hand. "It's okay. Can you just wait here for a second? I'll go get the food and then we can head straight to your place." She knew she was being short with him, and she could see he noticed, but she couldn't help it. The encounter with Thread left her feeling all out of sorts.
Despite the awkwardness, he nodded, and she went inside. After dropping all the documents she was carrying on her father's desk, she went down to the kitchen. While Grethel was busy accommodating the newest list of demands their Capitol guests had made before leaving the house that morning, Madge put together enough food for five people (plus those loaves of bread— Grethel had bought them after all), and packed it up in a couple of bags, to take to the Hawthornes'.
Before going back out, she went upstairs to say hello to her mother and let her know she'd be having dinner with friends again. She didn't get much more grief than the usual, though her mother seemed convinced that "having dinner with friends" was just an excuse and instead Madge was meeting a secret boyfriend somewhere. Thinking of Rory, who was still waiting outside, she briefly contemplated responding: "yes, mother. He's a sixteen-year-old boy from the Seam who was recently put in the stocks by the Head Peacekeeper— would you like to meet him?" But she decided against bursting her mother's bubble, now that she could at least pretend her daughter had some semblance of a social life.
She wasn't particularly worried about what her father thought of her unexplained absences. He came home late every day (late enough that Madge was back home by then and her mother would already be asleep), and then he left home early in the morning, so he probably wasn't even aware she had been eating supper somewhere else for the past three days.
She went out the door, letting Grethel know (over her shoulder) that she'd be out late and not to save dinner for her, before walking out of the house. Rory was waiting for her by the gate, and rushed to take the packages from her as she came down the path (well, at least he has better manners than his brother, the thought burst unbidden). "Thanks," she let out as they started walking toward the Seam, taking the backdoor route Gale had shown her the last time he walked her home, in order to avoid the Town Square.
Rory frowned at her— her tone had been abrupt again, even though she didn't mean for it to be. "Look, you didn't have to help me if you didn't want to, okay?" he shot at her, defensive. "If it was such a bother, you could've just left me there. It's not like you have to care," he finished, his tone hard.
She supposed she deserved that, as she hadn't explained to him why she was suddenly so put off. "It's not that, Rory," she started, with a sigh. She crossed her arms around herself as she walked. "It's just... I don't like using my father's position for personal benefit. In fact, I really hate it." She shook her head, disappointed in herself. "I shouldn't get away with things just because I'm the Mayor's daughter; it's not fair. And you sort of... forced my hand there. I mean, I'm glad I could help you, but... right now I just feel like a hypocrite."
Rory's frown softened as she spoke, and by the time she uttered that last sentence, he was looking contrite. "You're not a hypocrite," he assured her sincerely. "I'm sorry, I didn't know. I was just desperate and it was the first thing I could think of."
"It's fine, Rory. Just... don't let it happen again, okay?" she asked him, conciliatory, and he nodded. They walked a few minutes in silence, until she spoke again. "Why did you miss that interview, anyway? That was dumb." She wanted to know if there was some kind of problem. The last thing they needed at the moment was Rory getting into more trouble.
She saw him grimace. "I don't know why they want me to give another interview, anyway. The first one was enough of a disaster! They're just gonna keep asking stupid questions and acting like Prim's going to die any minute and I just... it makes me want to run outside and punch something," he sentenced, shaking his head. "It's just pointless."
She had to admit he had a point. The first day of the Games, a crew of reporters had approached Rory and his family as they left the Town Square, and the interview had aired the morning of the second day. If that could even be called an interview, that is. She could imagine how hard it was for him to try and answer questions about his relationship with Prim after watching her almost die a number of times, but he braved through the first few questions. When they asked him what his last words were to her, however, he couldn't handle it and, pushing the cameras away and taking off toward the Seam at a run.
All was not lost, however. "It wasn't a disaster," she reassured him. "Even if you didn't say much, it was obvious how much you love her and miss her." She raised a hand to his shoulder, trying to be comforting. "That's all they need to know. It can really help her, with the sponsors and everything. You just... make sure that comes across, tomorrow."
"Yeah, sure," he mumbled, and she could tell he just said it to humor her. Of course, there were no words in the world that could comfort him at the moment, not when the girl he loved was fighting for her life in the Hunger Games. She pulled her hand back and a second later, he shook his head. "That's not why I missed the interview, anyway," he admitted, almost grudgingly.
"So why did you?" she asked him, now curious.
Rory shrugged as best he could with his arms full of bags. "Well, you know how they took the Mellarks in for questioning after Peeta appeared on TV?" Madge nodded. The morning after that particular event, the bakery didn't open. Madge had stepped by during lunch hour and saw several people standing outside— some of them meant to buy pastries, most of them were only interested in gossiping about this latest scandal. It wasn't only until the next day, the morning of the day of the interviews, that Crispen turned up to open the bakery again. In less than two hours, everybody in Town knew that they had spent the entire previous day detained by Peacekeepers.
"I heard Crispen mention to a friend of his that they had told the Peacekeepers everything they knew," Rory continued with his story. "I wasn't going to listen in, but he was badmouthing Peeta and it just— it bothered me," he admitted. Not that she blamed him. She recalled vaguely that Peeta and his brothers weren't particularly close, but even then, Crispen should trust that Peeta was doing this for a good reason, right? At least, that's what she thought siblings were supposed to do.
"Mrs. Mellark is still in a lot of pain, so he's been handling everything down at the bakery for days. He was angry Peeta had put them in that position, and he hoped the authorities could see that they didn't know anything about what Peeta's been doing, so they would leave them alone." His expression made it more than obvious she disagreed with Crispen's attitude as much as she did. "Everything went smoothly for the next few days, so I thought maybe he was right and the Peacekeepers decided to leave them be."
"They didn't?" she ventured, figuring from his tone there was a "but" coming up.
"Today Crispen asked me to help him with their shipment of ingredients," he continued, not quite answering her question, but she figured he was getting to the point. "The containers are heavy, so it takes two people to get them to the bakery. Only, when we got there... there was no shipment." Madge felt her heart sink; she thought she knew what was coming. "The Capitol canceled their requisition. They won't be getting baking ingredients or supplies anymore."
"Oh, no..." Madge lamented, saddened. Mrs. Mellark might not be the best person out there, but she and her family had given their whole lives to that bakery. What was going to happen to them now? What about Peeta, when he came back home? (Because he was going to come back home). And what about everybody else in the district? The Mellarks' was the only bakery in town. Regular people couldn't just put in an order to import grain and baking ingredients, not like a bakery could.
She should've known this would happen; she knew very well the government wouldn't let something like this slide. Peeta's appearance on television ended with a very clear message of sedition, a rally for the people to rebel. The Capitol had executed people for less. They would quench that message however way they could, and if they couldn't get to Peeta, then those closest to him would pay the price— become an example— starting with his family. That's just the way they did things. Road blocking people's livelihood was nothing but a slow death sentence.
She felt her fears get a hold of her heart again, the usual dread creeping up on her, but she knew she had no right, because she wasn't the most affected by this... not by a long shot. "Is that why you missed your interview? Because you were at the train station with Crispen?" she asked Rory, remembering that he wasn't finished yet.
He shook his head. "No, that was in the morning. I went to do something else after I got out of school, but the line was too long so I ended up missing the interview..." She frowned at him, not having a clue what else he might've been doing that had anything to do with the bakery. He noticed her confusion, and let out a resigned exhalation. "I was signing up for tesserae."
She didn't think she could feel any worse until she heard him say that last sentence. "Oh, Rory..." she let out. It was the only response she had, really. Wasn't it just the night before she'd heard Hazelle comment, after a passing mention about the mines being closed, how grateful she was at least Rory had a job, so he wouldn't need to sign up for tesserae this year? "Did you talk to your family about this?"
"No," he admitted, his mouth twisting in disgust. "But what's the point? I know what they're gonna say. They won't want me doing it, they never have— but what other choice do I have? The bakery's going to close eventually; they only have enough supplies for a few more weeks. Bad enough that you're helping us now, but we can't depend on that forever, and now Gale's bailed on us..."
"Gale didn't bail on you. He's doing this for you," she was quick to point out. She didn't know what made her defend Gale thus, because his relationship with his brother was none of her business, but she could see the Hawthornes loved each other so much, and it was a pity for such a close-knit family to let situations like these tear them apart.
The excuse she had come up for Gale's absence was that he was hunting and gathering; since he couldn't go out to the forest freely because the electricity on the fence was on, he had decided he would go on an extended hunting trip just this once, taking advantage of the fact that they wouldn't be looking for him because of the cave-in at the mines, and he would stock up on as much game as he could get until Thread's security measures relaxed a little. So technically she had lied to them back then, but she wasn't lying to Rory now: Everything Gale did, deep down, was to secure his family's well-being.
Hazelle had understandably been upset her son hadn't told her any of this himself, and of course she was worried about him, but she'd been gracious enough not to take her feelings out on Madge. She reluctantly accepted Madge's help, only after roping her into having dinner with them every night. They didn't like charity, but sharing was okay.
Vick didn't have much of a problem with it once his mother accepted it, and Posy took to her presence with enthusiasm, apparently glad to have another female around instead of just boys (Madge had laughed at the way her little nose twisted when she said this, like having three older brothers was a true test of her patience). She thought Rory would be the most difficult, but if he was angry, he didn't direct it at her. He simply told her he would find a way to pay her back (which she wouldn't accept, of course, but she wasn't about to argue about that with him). She didn't know why he was so accepting, but you don't look a gift horse in the mouth, or so she told herself.
She reminded herself that it was better to keep him that way, but still she added just the one last thought. "Maybe it would've been better if you had waited until Gale came back to make that decision..." she intoned lightly, not intending for it to be a criticism, just meaning to give him something to think about.
Rory scoffed. "But I don't know when that will be, do I?"
She shook her head, disappointed that he still insisted on being angry with his brother for all the wrong reasons. "He said it would only take a couple weeks—" she started, but was interrupted by the horn loudspeakers located on tall posts along the sides of the road, blasting out a warning sound.
Both of them were momentarily startled. The noise was abrupt, and usually when those speakers came alive, it meant bad news. It was different than the sound they used to alert people of an accident in the mines, though; this one meant a mandatory event was coming up in the Games, and everybody had fifteen minutes to get to their houses or the Town Square in order to watch it.
As they were still just at the edge of Town by that point, they came to the unspoken agreement to stop talking and just head to the Hawthornes' house as quickly as they could. Rory led, walking a few steps ahead of her; she thought she knew the way fairly well after having dinner with them three times, but Rory knew the Seam like the back of his hand and could probably get them there quicker.
Thankfully, the food was mostly greens. Hazelle made them into a salad, with a little bit of berry dressing Madge had found in her fridge (it was her favorite, so their cook made it by bucketfuls— he wouldn't notice if there was a little less than there had been the day before). She also brought a small piece of crumbly, cow's milk cheese that was split between the five of them (Vick declared it the best thing he'd ever eaten), and all the dry beef she had left from two days ago, because Posy's expression of genuine joy at being able to eat real beef had been the highlight of her week.
Just starting to eat, they piled in front of the television to wait for the mandatory event. Madge, Rory and Hazelle sat on the couch, with the boy in the middle, while Posy took up residence on the armrest to Madge's left, and Vick sat down on the floor by his mother's legs. "Hey, where's Buttercup?" he asked as he looked around the room.
Posy leaned forward and threw her brother a glare of doom— which told Madge the girl really was a pro at dealing with three rowdy boys on a daily basis, because she hadn't known it was even possible for a nine-year-old to look that stony. "You're only now noticing that he's missing?" She shook her head, in disbelief. "He took off like two days ago. I don't know where he goes when he disappears, but he'll come back whenever he feels like it."
Vick rolled his eyes. "Lucky cat, he doesn't have to watch the Games," he muttered under his breath. Madge did not comment on the exchange, but she had to admit Vick had a point: lucky cat indeed.
The squabbling between the two of them went on for a few more minutes, and nobody really bothered to call them on about it because the TV was just showing the recap of the day, which was pretty uneventful. The Careers, by this point only the Tributes from Two, got hungry and got sent food from their sponsors. Most of the others had already figured out the use of the spile by then, though most couldn't recognize substances as easily as Prim could.
The girl from Three found a brownish liquid she rubbed on her burns from the acid rain, which apparently helped with the pain, or at least kept them from getting infected. The girl from Ten kept on, only washing her wounds off with water. That girl had some stamina, if she was still on her feet after having being stabbed, beaten and shaken that much. The boy from Four walked the arena non-stop, like he was looking for something.
Most of them were just living off water, and after three days it was taking a toll on their health, so they weren't really hunting for each other at that point. This was good for Prim, who had found a means of sustenance in the trees, as she could keep up her strength as an advantage for when they did decide to come looking for her. She had a quiet day for the most part.
When the entire arena started to shake, a small icon on the top right corner of the screen let them know this was being transmitted live; this was the event the Capitol wanted everybody to see.
Initially the screen just showed the Cornucopia, where the male Tribute from Two was keeping watch as his district partner slept. The shaking woke the girl up, but since she was inside the metal structure, she couldn't see the acid water level start to rise. He did. "Barb, we have to move! We have to go!" He didn't wait to see whether she had heard him before jumping toward the trees.
By the time the girl woke up fully, picked up her supplies pack and ran out of the Cornucopia, the rising water made the distance between her and the tree line too far for her to jump. She switched gears quickly and decided to climb to the top of the Cornucopia for safety, but the water kept rising and it didn't look like it was going to stop. When the water touched the metal, it dissolved in a reaction so strong, it bubbled violently, releasing a thick cloud of gas into the air.
The girl desperately searched through her pack to look for something that might help her; however, her fear was making her drop things and the gas rising up kept throwing her into coughing fits. Back at the Hawthornes' they all watched this quietly, as it felt like they were just waiting for the girl to die— all but Posy, who whimpered every few seconds: "The water's gonna get to her! It's gonna get her!"
The water didn't get her. Instead, when it got high enough it started to dissolve the electric wiring on the inside on the Cornucopia, shorting the circuits and releasing sparks of electricity into the air. It only took seconds for the gas to ignite. There was a huge explosion, which blew up what was left of the sandy island the metal structure that was on it, leaving nothing but debris that got lost in the acid water. The girl disappeared with the blast. Posy hid her face behind Madge's shoulder, crying silently.
The other tributes didn't hear the explosion, or the boom of the cannon that came right after, because they were too busy running for their lives among the trees. When the water level stopped rising, the trees started to get pulled to the bottom of the arena. In an aside, Caesar Flickerman explained the Gamemakers seemed to be drawing the Tributes together. He showed in a map a small area of the arena they would leave standing, just a sliver of the wide space; the Tributes would have to face each other, without a doubt. There was no hiding in such a small place.
They showed flashes of all of them as they ran, notably the boy from Two, who had barely reached a walkable branch when the tree he was standing on got pulled. He managed to jump to safety, but even as he tried to get away, the edge of the tree line disappeared right at his heels. Another tribute featured a lot was the boy from Four, who had just caught sight of Prim and was hot on her heels; the Gamemakers were obviously expecting a confrontation.
Madge was worried about Prim, but she was also worried about Rory. Vick had told her before that through Prim's days of preparation Rory hardly ever paid attention to the television, that it was too hard for him to watch. Since the Games started— or maybe since Gale left— he had not missed any of the mandatory viewings, yet Madge could see there was so much tension he was still keeping to himself, and she didn't think that was good. There he sat, quiet, his eyes fixed on the TV screen, the only sign of his anxiety being the way he kept bouncing his leg up and down reflexively. He was hardly even blinking.
The bouncing became faster and she put a hand on his knee, effectively stopping him. "She's going to be okay," she insisted. It was becoming surprisingly hard for her to stay quiet through this, to remember that she was just a temporary guest in their house, that she was not supposed to be comforting them (certainly not Rory, and not Posy, who was all but draped around her shoulders, like hiding from the images on TV could make them not real). Maybe she shouldn't have said anything, because that was the exact moment the boy from Four caught up to Prim.
The next few minutes were tense. None of them could believe it when the boy appropriated the cattle prod but otherwise left Prim alone. When she managed to dodge the boy from Two who just ran by without noticing her presence, it seemed like she might be able to get away unscathed, for just one moment.
Four was busy with the force field, it was obvious he was trying to use it in some way. "I've heard about that," Hazelle spoke up then. "I was too young to remember watching it, but my brother told me that's how Haymitch Abernathy won. He used the force field to kill his last opponent." Madge's thoughts flew to her aunt and once again, she felt completely out of place— not only in the Seam, but with a family.
And then Ten's rope appeared out of nowhere, and even she couldn't hold back a scream.
It was obvious from Prim's expression that, just as she had with his district partner, she meant to help the boy from Four. Vick expressed under his breath what was in everyone's mind: "Just run away, Prim, just— just leave him, get out of there..." But there was nowhere to run, not after the Gamemakers had removed practically all the trees. So she tried to help him and failed, and was left to face the girl from Ten one-on-one. The odds were completely against her.
But then, just as Ten's blade came down to slice at her shoulder, Prim slammed the cattle prod against the force field. Tendrils of electricity crackled viciously around them for a moment, until the screen went completely white. Then there was just heavy static. About five seconds later, the power in the entire house fizzled out.
Once again, Vick spoke for everyone: "...What just happened?"
None of them had an answer for that.
Madge meant to go home straight away, worried that her mother might be alone in the dark if this blackout extended throughout the entire district, as the last two had. Hazelle wouldn't hear of it, though; there were part of the Seam that weren't safe to walk through after dark, and even more so when the lights were out. Instead, Vick went out to ask around the neighboring houses if anyone knew the extent of the power loss.
While he was out, Hazelle went to the back of the house to get some candles, and then spent some time washing everyone's dishes. Madge initially offered to help her, but Posy was looking so scared, she decided to try and get the girl's mind off the Games for a while. She started telling her stories about back when she was in grade school. Madge was never one to interact with other kids much, but she was very observant, so she got to witness a lot of funny or entertaining moments other people might have missed. Posy particularly enjoyed the story of when a gaggle of baby geese had followed Bobby Gorkin around school for a whole day.
No one even dared talk to Rory. He was still sitting there on the couch, torso completely bent forward so that his face was hidden against his knees, even almost an hour later. That was around the time Vick came back, letting out a breathless "Mom!" as he crossed the threshold.
Hazelle had just walked out of the kitchen when someone else came in right after Vick. "Gale!" she exclaimed, rushing forward to wrap her arms around her wayward son. "Oh, thank goodness you're back!" She squeezed him tightly. "Don't you do that to me, ever again!"
Posy basically threw herself over the back of the couch so she could slam into him, her skinny arms winding themselves around his waist. Rory looked up, for the first time since the lights went out. Even someone as tall as Gale had trouble wrapping his arms about so many people at once. "Sorry, Ma. I'm back now," he assured his mother, with a smile Madge had never really seen before grace his face.
Hazelle pulled back, wiping a couple stray tears from her face. "Well. You must be exhausted from walking so much. Come now, Madge here was kind enough to bring us some dinner. I'll serve you some." She went back into the kitchen again, making small comments about having to use the dishes she'd already washed, but everybody knew she was more than happy to, now that her son had come back home.
At the mention of her name, Gale noticed her presence for the first time and she gave him a little wave, as if saying "yes, that's me." He nodded. "So, how was the extended hunting trip?" she asked him, trying to let him know what his excuse was supposed to be without making it too obvious.
He caught on quickly. "It was good," he said, leaving his satchel— which she could only hope was full of game— on the table. He lightly tapped Posy's head, for she was still hugging him with a death grip, so she would let him walk. She let go, only to run to the kitchen to ask her mother if there was any cheese left, because Gale should get some even though he was late. Madge wanted to ask about his time in the forest, about Thirteen, but before she could, he intervened again. "I came up to the fence and found it was off. So I rushed here and then Vick told me... What exactly happened with Prim?"
"We don't know," Madge admitted as she moved around the couch to stand closer to him. She didn't want to have to talk to him from across the room. She belatedly noticed that Rory was no longer sitting there; he'd probably gone back to their room, so they didn't need to walk on eggshells for the moment. "She hit the force field with electricity and the whole thing went blank. Gale, I'm worried she might be—"
But she couldn't finish the thought, as a shockwave rocked the house all the way down to the floor they were standing on. It was so powerful, it sent Gale sprawling back into one of the chairs by the kitchen table, and Madge straight into his lap. "What was that?" she asked as she quickly got up, worried less about the awkward position they wound up in, and more about the loud boom that accompanied the hard shake.
"No clue," he muttered, standing up as well. "Ma? Pose? You guys okay?"
"We're fine!" Hazelle confirmed as she left the kitchen to go knock on the door of the bedroom. "Rory? Rory, open up! Are you alright?"
Just as Rory came out to assure his mother that he was safe and sound, Vick, who had gone back outside when Gale first came in, appeared on the doorway again, looking pale, his gray eyes wide and very much terrified. "Guys, you have to come out here! There was a huge explosion in Town."
If ever there were words that could get Madge running, it was those. She made it outside in a second, Gale trailing easily behind her with his longer strides. Just as they turned to look in the direction of Town, however, there was another explosion, once again almost knocking them off their feet. She couldn't see an explosion, not really, it was too far away; but she could see light in that direction, much more than there should be during a blackout, the air in the horizon shimmering like it would if there was a fire burning.
And that's when they saw the planes.
.
.
Author's notes!—
Well, I did warn you about the cliffhangers. :P
Chapter 28 is Gale and will start right where this one left off, though, so no need to worry about me leaving you hanging on that horrible note for five chapters. Meanwhile, I'll make Madge and Rory BFFs yet, you'll see. It's all part of the master plan.
Nerdy note of the chapter: District Two girl is named "Barbara" because Saint Barbara is the patron saint of stonemasons. Also, a chemistry note, because I can't not include some chemistry: when a strong acid (such as the caustic water in the arena) comes in contact with a metal (such as the Cornucopia, which I figure is mostly steel or aluminum), the chemical reaction that occurs produces hydrogen gas, which is highly flammable. Thus, large amounts of acid, plus huge Cornucopia, plus sparks, equals humongous boom.
Sorry this one took so long! My classes are pretty demanding and I've been so exhausted, even when I had free time I still felt too burned out to write. The fact that chapter 32 is in Gale's PoV certainly didn't make it any easier. But I figured I should get off my butt and update before 2012 is over. That way if the world does actually end on the 21st, I wouldn't go with all of you mad at me for not updating. That would be very bad karma. ;)
I hope the next one won't take this long— Christmas/New Year's break is coming up in a couple of weeks, so I'll try my hardest to write then, though I can't make any promises since I'll be traveling with my family. In case you don't hear from me before the end of the year, though, I wish you all very happy holidays if you celebrate any during this time, and a very happy new year!
Please let me know what you thought— reviews are always encouraged! And feel free to follow me on tumblr or twitter, I've been known to post random hints or even snippets of future chapters as I write them. I also just posted yesterday the summaries for the two fics I'll be writing when I finish this one, so you might be interested in that! You can find the URLs in my profile. See y'all next time! :)