Games? Anger grew in the pit of my stomach and I balled my fists at my side as I continued to stare up at the patch of sky where the face had been. This was just a game put on by someone for an "audience's" amusement? Exactly how were we selected for these Games? Did we sign up? Were we forced here against our will?
The clearing suddenly burst into shouting and unanswerable questions.
"What did he mean by Games?"
"Are we being punished for something?"
"Are they planning on feeding us during these Games?"
"Do we get to go home if we win?"
"Look enough of this," Cato shouted, frustrated. "We aren't getting anything accomplished yelling at the sky. Let's get to explore the area and see if we can find these clues that pudgy bastard was referencing. One and three- you're with me and Clove. We'll go see what's inside that house. 4,5,6- you're another team. Head toward the woods and see if you can find anything useful. 7,8,9- check along the wall and see if you can find a break or anything interesting. 10,11,12- you guys take the barn and fields."
Cato sighed and ran a hand through his blonde hair. "We'll meet back here in 2 hours and go from there. Agreed?"
Not knowing what else to do, everybody mumbled their assent and set off to their assignments.
"So what are your special skills?" Rue asked, peering up at us shyly as we trudged toward the barn.
"What do you mean?" Peeta asked, puzzled.
"Well Thresh and I both found that we can recognize the types of trees over there in the orchard and some of the crops growing in the field behind the barn," Rue replied, a bright light entering her eyes as she pointed. "So I guess I just assumed that everyone here had a special skill that would help us survive in this square."
"Actually Becca and I are pretty familiar with the care and breed of the livestock by the barn," Glenn from 11 said. "That's odd that it's pretty much all we know."
"What about you and Peeta?" Rue asked, peeking up at me.
"Well, I know how to bake bread and cakes, so there's that I guess," Peeta joked. "A lot of good that'll do us unless we find that the cows produce flour."
"And you Katniss?" Rue asked.
I thought as we approached a group of black and white cows, who greeted us with melancholy moos.
"I don't know, Rue," I replied, my stomach sinking. "Maybe I don't have something to offer the group."
"Sure you do, Katniss!" she chirped brightly. "You just haven't found out what it is yet. You'll see."
I gave her a smile to thank her for her confidence but my hopes weren't raised. I didn't feel any innate skill resting inside of me like the others seemed to have. It had me wondering again- why me? I didn't appear to have any particular use. To be honest, some of the others who were trapped in here with us gave off a particularly useless feel as well.
"Well, looks like they gave us 4 milk cows, 3 heifers, 2 calves, and a pretty mean bull," Glenn noted, leaning against the corral where the cows were being kept. "How does it look in that chicken coop?"
"There are 20 laying hens and a couple of roosters," Becca replied, sticking her head out of the wooden coop. "There's enough eggs in here for a couple of days for all of us too and even some in an incubator."
"It's almost as if whoever sent us here expected us to live here long term," Peeta mumbled.
The barn was surprisingly empty and clean with a fresh layer of hay covering the floor. We stopped by the orchards long enough for Rue to grab an apple for everyone in our group and Thresh plucked a couple of large oranges. My mouth watered at the sight of them. I vaguely remembered their sour-sweet flavor.
"Wait until we get back with the rest of the group," Rue laughed, noticing my hungry expression.
I returned her laugh easily and hoisted her on my shoulders, piggybacking her back to the clearing.
Most of the other groups had already returned and I could see Cato and Clove's group returning from the house.
"Those look amazing!" Vivian cried as Rue laid out the fruit.
"There's plenty of food and dried goods in the fridge and pantry in the house," Clove said as they approached. "Anyone know how to cook?"
"I think I do," Peeta volunteered. "You want to come help me?"
I turned to him, surprised that he would ask me of all people to help.
"I don't think I'm any good in the kitchen," I muttered.
"Don't worry, it's easy," he reassured me with a grin. "Did the rest of you find anything else?"
"There is no entrance or exit in the wall," said the boy with a 8 on his jacket. "We circled the entire perimeter and even tried to climb up. There were a couple of metallic bugs that drove us back though. It was almost as if they didn't want us to see over the wall."
"That's very strange," Cato muttered, rubbing his chin. I was glad to see that he was calmer now that the shock of landing in a foreign environment had waned. He looked strong enough to snap my head off without a single thought.
"Well, let's dwell on it over a nice warm meal," Peeta said, rubbing his hands together. "Did you see a dining room or tables and chairs inside?"
"Yeah there was a large room that looks like it can hold all of us with enough seating," Clove replied. "If you guys will make lunch, the rest of us can set the table and get drinks and such."
Having our tasks, we split up again. I was rather surprised by how well everything was falling into place as far as order went; nobody had questioned the instructions given so far.
I followed Peeta into the house and stopped at the doorway, stunned by what I saw inside. The interior was furnished with bright and sparkling clean furniture that curved and swirled. Most of the chairs in the living room seemed to serve more form than function and a large, sparkling chandelier hung from the ceiling in each room. I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable in the immaculate, white-walled house.
"This is some place, huh," Peeta muttered, as awed as I was.
"Well are you going to get to lunch or are you just going to gawk?" Cato snorted, coming up behind us and gently pushing Peeta and I forward toward the kitchen. "There are bedrooms upstairs so we can find where we're supposed to sleep later."
"Holy cow!" Peeta exclaimed as we walked into the kitchen. "I may not remember where I come from but I am 100% positive I've never cooked in anything like this."
Grinning from ear to ear, he started pulling ingredients and utensils from the fridge, pantry, and drawers, eagerly rifling through each before reluctantly closing each after finding what he needed. He rapidly gave me instructions for what he wanted me to do and the room quickly filled with the aroma of baking bread.
"See, I told you it was easy," he said as we pulled half a dozen loaves of bread from the expansive oven. "You were a great helper."
Blushing, I turned away while I placed the steaming loaves onto the cooling racks. I snuck a quicky look back at Peeta, who was scooping scrambled eggs and sausages onto a serving dish. He seemed oddly familiar to me, as if he had a special significance to me previously. Could it be…
"Is the food ready to go?" a voice interrupted us. It was the boy from 7 and several of the other children, standing in the doorway with starved looks in their eyes.
"Yeah why don't you guys come and grab the food. We'll meet you in the dining room," Peeta replied, piling the dirty pots and dishes into the wide sink.
"Don't worry about those," the boy from 9 said, nodding his head at the sink. "You cooked, Vanessa and I will do the dishes. We all have to figure out a way for us to be useful after all."
"Wow, all this looks incredibly guys," Rue whispered as we sat down.
"I agree," Marvel said, spooning a large helping of syrup onto his pancakes. "I don't know about the rest of you, but this is probably the best meal I've had in my entire life. I vote that Peeta and Katniss take care of the cooking from now on."
"It was mostly Peeta," I mumbled. "I just helped."
"Yes but a chef is only as good as his help," Peeta said kindly.
The table grew quiet after that, interrupted only by the sounds of forks against porcelain and the occasional burp.
"Why do you think we're here?" Newton, the boy from 3, mumbled into this plate, as if unable to contain it further. He seemed almost hesitant to receive an answer.
"Maybe we all volunteered or something," Vivian stated confidently.
"Yeah but then why did they wipe out our memories and stick a 40 foot, unclimbable wall around us?" retorted Clove.
"Does it matter why we're here?" Cato snorted, giving Newton a rough pat on the back that sent him tumbling forward into his eggs. "Let's just make the best of things now. I have a feeling that none of us have seen conditions this good before and probably won't once we leave."
"IF we leave," someone to my right muttered darkly.
"I'd agree with that," Peeta said to Cato, either not hearing or ignoring the previous comment. "I say we enjoy this life as long as we can get it."
"Well you guys enjoy yourselves here," Becca said, rising from the table. "Glenn and I are going to go look after our livestock. How are the bedrooms set up?"
"From what we could tell, it was girls on the 2nd floor and guys on the 3rd floor," Cato replied. "They've put our numbers on the doors and we're all sharing rooms. The good news is that we aren't sharing beds."
The guys sighed in relief while the girls simply rolled their eyes.
After lunch, Peeta and I took inventory of everything in the kitchen. He calculated we had enough dried and fresh food for about a week just in the kitchen stores alone. We probably could have an infinite supply if we were able to efficiently manage the animals and vegetables growing outside.
When Glenn and Becca brought back 3 chickens for our dinner that night, Peeta simply stared at them.
"Am I supposed to cook the feathers, too?" he asked, eyeing the dead birds.
"Don't be silly," I retorted, grabbing each by their legs and taking them outside. "I'll take care of the carcasses and bring them back in."
It was surprisingly easy work for me to pluck and pull the entrails out of the birds. Maybe this was my skill- butchering.
"Well I'm glad you knew what to do with them," Becca sighed, sitting beside me on the front step and mimicking my actions with another bird. "Glenn and I were arguing how we should bring them back to you. We knew how to kill them but not how to prep them to be cooked."
"Don't worry about it," I replied, laughing slightly. "We're all here to help each other."
But as I said that, an unsettling knot grew in my stomach; as if I knew that wasn't altogether true.
I grew quiet after that, not being able to rid myself of the foreboding feeling. I was quiet preparing dinner and through it. Peeta seemed worried and frequently peeked over at me. While the cleaners cleared the table, he pulled me outside.
"What's wrong?" he asked, worry lining his forehead.
"What makes you think something is wrong?" I shot back, instantly defensive without really knowing why. "You don't know me. Maybe this is just the way I normally act."
"Katniss," he said simply, raising his eyebrow.
"Fine," I relented with a small sigh. "Do you ever get the feeling that we're not supposed to be working together so well? I mean, we've been in here for less than 12 hours and we've already got jobs set up and everything."
"Well, what would have us do instead?" he asked. "Try to kill each other for resources and the Victor can then stand on top of our bodies and proclaim him or herself to be the king of the country?"
I smiled, embarrassed.
"Yeah, I know you're right," I relented. "I just have the feeling that this is not all that it seems. I just think we should be careful."
"I agree, and I think everyone would agree with that," Cato's voice interrupted us. "Sorry to break up this little lovefest but it's getting late. I think-"
He was suddenly cut off by the sound of whirring motors and an odd sucking sound that emanated from beyond the wall. I tensed and turned to face the sound, feeling as if my previous concerns were being realized- there was something on the other side of the wall and it didn't sound friendly. We couldn't see the source of the noise but it sounded very close, as if just on the other side of the ivy covered concrete.
"Let's get inside," Cato muttered as a chilling, shrill squeal was heard. "Come on."
Rattled, I followed the boys back into the house where the rest of our party was gathered in the living room, sprawled on the soft, purple couches.
"Did you guys hear that?" Cato demanded.
"Hear what?" Vivian replied slowly. "Glenn let out a fart earlier that-"
"Not that!" Cato hissed. "There's something out there beyond the wall. It sounded big and-"
He shook his head, unable to vocalize what we had heard.
"Whatever it was, I doubt it'll get over that fence," I replied, uncertainty clear in my voice.
"Regardless, we'll need to set up a watch for tonight just in case," Cato replied. "It looks like you were right, Katniss. We still need to be careful."
Cato, Clove, Marvel, and Glimmer volunteered for and agreed to split watch duties for the night. The rest of us went upstairs to our assigned rooms. The last door in the girls' floor had my and Rue's number burned into the wood door.
Inside , two beds were arranged side by side with a small table in between them, on which rested a lamp and a glowing clock displaying the current time- 9:49 PM. On the walls opposite the door and the beds were two wide windows framed by leaf green curtains. The bedspreads were a brown and tan pattern and completed the look that we were surrounded by the forest.
"Wow!" Rue exclaimed, staring wide eyed at our room.
I was just as astonished as her and hesitated to enter the room. Rue, however, had no such reservations and jumped onto the nearest bed, scattering the tidy bedspread and pillows all over the floor.
"This is incredible!" she shouted, happily jumping on her bed.
"I guess I should be glad we're on the third floor above you guys, huh?" a voice laughed from the hall.
"It's incredible," I murmured, moving to stand next to Peeta as he leaned against the doorframe. "Who would have done all this for us?"
"Either someone who really likes us or really hates us," he replied with a shrug, still watching Rue jump on her bed with a smile. "Just like whatever's on the other side of the wall could be there to kill us if we tried to escape or could be there to keep out intruders."
"You think we'll ever know?" I asked him quietly.
"Katniss, we've been in here for one day," he repeated. "Let's leave the mystery solving at least until after we've gotten a good night's sleep. Don't worry about whatever's out there. I have a feeling Cato can take on one of those by himself with no problem."
Smiling up at him quickly, I quickly reigned in Rue's enthusiasm, knowing that if she got herself too worked up she'd never get to sleep. She walked over to the dresser and pulled out the top drawer.
"There are pajamas and spare clothes in here," she exclaimed, surprised. "Looks like this one is mine and the one below it is yours."
"That's my cue to leave," Peeta said, backing out and closing the door behind him. "Good night girls."
Laughing, I helped Rue change into very soft pajamas and tucked her into bed.
"Goodnight, Rue," I whispered, tucking a stray hair back under her ear.
Yawning, she bid me goodnight and promptly fell asleep. All of this, the bedtime ritual and the sense of comfort of having someone her age near, felt incredibly familiar to me. Shaking my head, I turned out the light and stared at the tree swaying through the window until sleep found me.
I was in a dark shaft going deep into the earth inside an elevator that rattled on chains and scraped against a wall of rock. Deeper and deeper, the rumbling continuing. Deeper still and all light disappeared; the pressure around my chest tightened. I couldn't breathe. As I began to panic and claw at the walls of the elevator, I suddenly heard someone calling my name.
"Katniss. Katniss. Katniss!"
I jerked awake with a gasp and realized that the rumbling wasn't just in my dream. The entire house was shaking while the sound of metal on stone could be heard through the walls of the house.
"Katniss, geez you can sleep through anything," Peeta's face was suddenly in my view.
"What's going on?" I asked, still dazed from sleep.
"You know as much as I do," he replied, staring out the window.
"You guys should get out here," Marvel said, sticking his head into the room before sprinting back down the hallway.
Peeta and I followed him outside after we told Rue to stay put. Once we were outside the confines of the house, the noise became incredibly overbearing. Even with my hands clamped over my ears, I could feel the grinding and rumbling in my very bones.
Staring around the yard, there was nothing that would suggest itself to be the source of the noise. Suddenly, stillness and calm surrounded us again. I cautiously lowered my arms.
"What was that?" Rue asked, having followed us despite my orders.
"I don't know," Cato murmured, still staring out at the wall. "It sounded like it was coming from everywhere though."
"You think it was those things we heard earlier?" Peeta asked.
"I doubt it," Newton replied. "That sounded mechanical. It had a definite start time and a definite stop time. It wasn't coming from something within the wall so I doubt we'll ever find out what it was."
"Think it'll happen every night?" Glimmer asked, her eyes wide.
"We'll find out tomorrow," Cato replied, his voice hardening. "Let's get back to sleep. We don't know what tomorrow will bring and I'd rather us be in top form in case we need to meet something."
Sleep did not come as easily this time. Questions and worries swirled in my mind until it was just a jumble of thoughts and images.
"Are you asleep?" Rue whispered.
"No," I replied, turning to face her bed.
"Can I come sleep with you?" she asked hesitantly.
"Of course," I replied, lifting my blankets and giggling when she snuggled close against me.
Reveling in the warmth and familiarity of having a smaller body next to mine, sleep came easier and more peacefully.
I was shaken awake just as light was peeking through the windows by Peeta. I quickly shushed him when I realized Rue was still asleep. I slid out of bed as quietly as possible and led Peeta into the hallway.
"Is something wrong?" I whispered.
"Cato said he has something to show us," he replied as he led me down the stairs.
"Good morning, sunshine," Cato greeted with a grim smile. "Sleep well?"
"Well enough, which is more I can say to you," I replied, noticing the dark shadows under his eyes. "What's up?"
"The walls have opened," he replied pointing to the right of the house. "Just as the sky started lighting, the rumbling and grinding started up again, but quieter and shorter. Gaps in the wall appeared in the middle of each side of the wall."
"What's on the other side?" Peeta asked, staring into the gap closest to us.
"As far as we can tell," Cato said, "a Maze."
Author's Note: Thanks so much for reading! Reviews are very much appreciated!
As a side note, I am looking for a beta for this story, hopefully someone that is familiar with the Hunger Games as well as the Maze Runner (but I understand if they've never read MR since it's not as well known). If you'd like to give up a few hours a week emailing back and forth with me, please let me know through PM!