Ember's POV:
As soon as the shuttle stops, we breathlessly hurtle through the front doors and down the hallway to the lab. It is bursting at the seams with nervous energy as if it has been enveloped in the midst of a lightning storm. Everyone is running around in circles, but closer observation reveals coordinated chaos. Researchers frantically voice commands while holographs emit images and information at cyber speed. Geneticists hunch over microscopes feverishly logging their findings and comparing notes. Runners rush samples and supplies back and forth as needed.
It appears that Gale and I are the last ones to arrive. Beetee gestures us toward his desk. His expression casts a sober tone across the room, his countenance reminiscent of my dark days in District 5. I find no glimmer of hope in his eyes and am overcome with a premonition of impending disaster.
I can't stop the icy shivers that careen through my spine covering my skin in a layer of goose bumps or the sudden trepidation that settles heavy in my belly. I am frozen in place by indecision, afraid to hear what he has to say and desperate to know if he has solved the mystery that plagues District 14.
Gale's hand at the small of my back forces me to refocus as he gently nudges me forward and I will myself to walk normally while every nerve in my body screams to turn and run away.
"C'mon. Let's get this over with." Gale mutters.
Gale's POV:
As I guide Ember to the back of the room I glance down and catch the flicker of panic in her eyes before she is able to conceal it beneath a facade of cool composure. I try to imagine what nightmare her mind has dredged up. Our amicable camaraderie from this morning is temporarily forgotten in the madness we find ourselves surrounded in. My instinct is to shield her from the insanity that has assaulted this room, to take her somewhere safe, somewhere far away from here. Before I embarrass myself, reason rears its tiny head and I push the notion to the back of my mind and throw on a coat of polite professionalism.
Looking around the room, I notice several familiar faces. Haymitch, Finnick, Johanna, Peeta, Katniss, Shasta, Plutarch, Dr. Everdeen and Paylor are crammed into Beetee's office. Holy fucking shit. This must be big if Paylor came in the flesh. Ember and I find seats as Beetee begins to speak.
"First let me begin by saying thank you, everyone, for coming at such short notice. I know how precious our weekends are, but I wouldn't have called this meeting if it weren't imperative. Thank you, too, for your patience while my staff and I researched the many samples that have been submitted.
"As you have all been apprised, last week Finnick found a school of dead fish and some odd spots on a few plants in Eden. Haymitch discovered burned bark and dead leaves on several trees in his grove near the same time. There are many more samples that have been gathered from all over the district. Add to that the increasing number of mysteriously ill patients in Dr. Everdeen's care and you can see the magnitude of this crisis."
He sighs and looks at each of us in turn as he continues. "The first order of business was to determine if there was a connection between the discoveries. We have reason to believe that they do, in fact, have a common denominator. The next step was to determine what that common denominator was. I believe that we have uncovered this information, too."
A murmur flows through us as we collectively allow this information to penetrate our finite minds. Haymitch, in all of his famed tact, is the first to speak aloud.
Haymitch's POV:
"Well don't sit there and let us all shit ourselves thinking that the end of the world is near, what the hell is the problem Beetee?"
No answer.
"Seriously, I am about to vomit a rainbow over here and by the look on everyone else's face, we will have stroke victims popping out all over the place if we don't get some answers, NOW!"
Beetee shifts in his chair, stands up, and then sits down again, making me dizzy as hell. When he speaks, he says it so quietly that a mouse fart would have been louder.
"It all points to radiation."
"Um, what? Come again? Did I just hear you say RADIFUCKINGATION?"
"Haymitch, we will figure this out. Unfortunately, time is not on our side. With people all across the district starting to show signs of radiation poisoning, I believe the exposure levels are getting higher."
The roar in the room becomes almost unbearable. I can't hear myself think, which is not saying much to begin with, but still. These damn people are so loud and they all sound as capable of rational though as howling mutt-monkeys with raging sphincter worms. Talk about a bleeding ass, I think I am about to get one.
Finnick pipes in and says "Ok, so the next question is – Where the hell is the radiation coming from and how the fuck can we stop it?"
Finnick's POV:
Beetee looks at me as though I am a turd he just discovered smeared across the bottom of his shoe. He continues on in his calm tone of voice.
"At first we considered that the radiation may have been carried in from other districts. Even though we are excessively cautious to prevent contamination we do not guarantee 100% contaminate free imports. Another hypothesis is that somehow our ports have amassed excessive levels of radiation which have been transported across the district. However, after further consideration, we realize that "second hand" radiation would be reduced to harmless levels before ever leaving port. The damage is district wide and is caused by extremely high, concentrated doses."
It's all I can do to keep from screaming at him, so I take several deep breaths and ask, "Where the hell is it coming from, then?"
"That, Finnick, is a very interesting question. One I asked myself several times. I am happy to say that I have the answer to that, too, although it's discovery was quite an accident, one that you discovered, actually! The only way to get in or out of District 14 other than through a port is to puncture the shield. Does that trigger any memories?"
I feel like I have been pushed off the side of a cliff and wonder how long it will take to hit bottom. Pimples on a pocket rocket! No way! It's not fucking possible! Out loud, I asked "How is that possible? This has something to do with the glimmers I saw in the sky, right?"
"As a matter of fact, it does. We created the shield over District 14 to work like a greenhouse. It's transparent to allow an unimpaired view of the sky and natural light to penetrate, which enables our efforts to mass produce oxygen. When you look into the heavens you see real sky, clouds and light, not manmade. The shield should not be detected by the human eye. The glimmers Finnick found are little rays of sunshine peeping through miniscule holes within the shield.
"These holes have allowed concentrated levels of radiation to directly penetrate small areas resulting in the damages we have discovered. This accounts for the dead school of fish, the burnt trees and the patients in the hospital."
"How the hell did the holes get in the shield?" I asked.
"After utilizing our satellites to inspect the shield, we found similar holes all across the district. Normally a tear occurs in a corner, or in a weak spot, but these holes are not cyber accidents or oversights. These holes were not there 2 weeks ago and we are finding new holes every day.
"That leads us to my conclusion. Many years ago, back when the Hunger Games were thriving, the Capitol hired the best and brightest scientists to create all manner of tortures, including the famed Mockingjays and Tracker Jackers. What you may not know is that they had a large reserve of these hybrids for future games.
"I have been under the impression that these hybrids were destroyed, but it is evident that at least one has been allowed to survive and has been unleashed on District 14's shield. The scientific name for this beast is Locustana Supella, otherwise known as Lo-Hoppers." Beetee sat back and waited for this information to penetrate the room.
Paylor pursed her lips and glared at BeeTee. Gritting her teeth, she said, "Don't make me drag this out of you. I can, as you know, and I will if I have to. I didn't come all the way from the Capitol to beat around the bush or play games. Exactly what kind of monster are we facing? Give it to us straight, Beetee. Now."
"Lo-Hoppers are a hybrid between a locust and the tiniest species of cockroach. It is miniscule in size and will eat anything it's programmed to. It can destroy vast areas in short periods of time. Hence my warning that time is of the essence. We will have to find these monsters and destroy them before they decimate our shield, effectively contaminating our entire air supply. I don't know how much time we have, but based on our observation of the progression of damage so far, I suspect we have 2 weeks max before our shield is too compromised to repair.
"That is why I have called you all in. I need the best of the best to put their heads together and expedite a solution, implementing a plan to exterminate this mutation. At this time, we don't know who brought it, how it got here, or what it's been programmed to accomplish. We can't rule anyone or anything out. For now, everyone is suspect. Unfortunately, I suspect that someone in District 14 is behind this. Those of you in this office are the only ones I trust. Be quick and be careful. Utmost secrecy and security is required here. That's all I have to say. I open the floor to your suggestions and ideas."