(11)
My mouth opens at the discovery of this. Peeta must know I'm alive, right? Without hesitation, I smack the button signaling Leanore to come to my room. My eyes stay glued to the television as Peeta leaves his chair and Portia takes his place. Leanore runs into the room, out of breath.
"So sorry I'm late. I was… on the other side… of the hovercraft," she says, trying to control her breathing.
I remain silent and continue to stare at the television blankly.
Leanore doubles over and her breathing starts to slow. She walks up to the bed, wiping a drop of sweat off her brow and says, "What can I do for you?"
I purse my lips and drag my eyes off the screen to look at her. "Peeta doesn't know I'm alive." It's more of a statement than a question.
"Well, they talked about this in the meetings. He had to know as little as possible just in case he was tortured. Most importantly, he couldn't know you were still alive, because right now, not even the Capitol knows for sure if you are or aren't. You can bet everything that they would make sure you were dead," Leanore says with conviction.
"I'm supposed to be dead. According to them, I died during the Quell," my voice trails off as I realize something. I'm just like District 13. I'm someone who was supposed to be killed, but ended up staying alive. The Capitol can't let anyone know I'm alive, because if I am, it would showcase their weakness. They cannot destroy me. I just wonder when I'm going to be faced with death again and what I can do to save myself.
Leanore nods slowly.
"Can't you tell him now? Please tell him!" I force out.
"No. It's still too dangerous," she says patting my arm. "You'll see him very soon. It's going to be alright."
Nothing is going to be alright. She knows this, I know it and so does Haymitch. We're all doomed. But I don't say anything to contradict her. Instead, I just look away and lock my eyes on the television again. Leanore grabs my hand and squeezes it tightly. She then walks out of the room without another word.
My sister has the next interview. "Hello there. Everyone give a warm welcome to Primrose Everdeen!" Boplee exclaims.
There is clapping from the crowd. Her smile is award winning. Whoever is coaching her must have told her to play up the likeable angle. She grabs Boplee's hand and says maturely, "Please call me Prim."
Getting a closer look at Prim, I realize that she looks completely different. I watch as my sister smiles at the audience. Her teeth are pearly white and her blond hair is crimped and curled. The shade of blond is brighter than her natural color. She's wearing a black dress with pink polka dots. Getting a close up on her face, I see that her blue eyes are bright as ever with flecks of gray. She's also wearing make-up and this is something new to me. I hate to admit that she looks beautiful with all the altercations. But it's not her. This is just another thing I hate about that Capitol. They can change a person, and they have certainly changed Prim.
They pan her whole body. Starting at her face, the camera slowly moves down so you can see the detail on her dress. Her legs are glowing and she has them crossed in a confident manner. Her shoes are simple black heels. The camera goes back up to her face and zooms out so you can see her whole figure. Her stylists deserve a hand.
"Prim?" I say in disbelief as she starts laughing. It's not her real laugh. Her coach must have taught her how to laugh differently as well.
All of a sudden, I hear a knock on the door. I don't have time to ask who it is before Gale walks in.
His jaw drops. "Katniss?" he runs over to the bed and touches my head. "Katniss, what are you doing here? You can't be here!" I can tell by the way he is reacting that he doesn't know what to think. He holds my hand, he storms across the room, he paces, he hits things and ends his emotion roller coaster by giving me a hug. "This is impossible. Catnip, no…" He says as he buries his face in my hair. "No, no, no…" he climbs into the bed and lies down, letting go of our embrace. He rubs his temples and stares at the ceiling. "The Games start tomorrow," he says rolling over to look at me, "you can't be here." I lie down next to him, our faces inches apart.
All of a sudden, my stomach gets hard and it feels like a shock is running through my body. I feel so much pain that I roll onto my back and yell, "Oh… no!"
Gale leans over me and asks what's wrong. I moan and point warily to my stomach. He rubs it soothingly and I feel a little better. The pain is still there, but Gale is erasing some of it. "Mmmm…" I let out as he strokes my belly. "Don't stop," I say.
"I won't," he comforts me. "So, how far along are you?"
"Thirty nine," I mumble wearily. "Don't tell." He nods. I'm not sure he understands what I mean, but I don't want anyone else on the hovercraft to know I'm here. It is bad enough Gale knows. "How'd you find me?"
"I heard a small voice say 'Prim' as I was walking by this room. Plus the television is pretty loud," he says, grabbing the remote and turning the volume down. Nobody wants to hear Regulus Undersee talk about me.
"Oh," I murmur quietly.
We sit in silence for awhile and he's just staring at me. I'm a little afraid of the look he is giving me. I meet his eyes for a moment and he opens his mouth to say something, but no words come out. I furrow my brow and look away from him. His eyes are completely covered in water. A tear is beginning to form at the bottom of his eye.
"Gale?" I whisper softly, running my fingers through his hair.
"Yes?" he looks at me with so much care and understanding. But I have to do this. I have to tell him. I must deliver the blow.
"Don't love me."
He grabs my hands and places them down on the bed. "Impossible," he swallows his tears. Getting up off the bed, he gives me one final look and leaves, closing the door softly behind him.
I don't sleep very well that night. I have nightmares, all in which I'm in a lot of pain. When I awake, I try to shake them off, but they keep coming back to me, reminding me of all the hurt in this world. Today is a big day. Today some innocent people I know will die.
As the coverage begins, Leanore comes in and lies down with me. There are some announcements and a review of the interviews last night. I have another painful contraction in my stomach. Leanore thinks I'm dying and runs for some pain medication. After I take some, I feel a lot better, but more drowsy.
Before you know it, the camera is in the point of view of a tribute. He rises on a plate up to the arena. It only takes one look to see what the Gamemakers have done to the arena with all the time they had. Surrounding the golden Cornucopia is a tall ring of fire. The camera shows an aerial of the arena. I am shocked. The arena is in the shape of a mockingjay and the whole forest is filled with bushes of nightlock. I am the mockingjay and I will kill them all.
I see each tribute's reaction. There is one common emotion uniting them all. Fear. The voice of the announcer booms, "Ladies and gentlemen, let the Seventy-fifth Hunger Games begin!" The painful minute passes. The gong sounds.
Prim hops off her plate first, running away from the fire and through the bushes of nightlock. Merrow lunges off his plate and darts straight into the fire. What an idiot. Surprisingly though, he comes out the other side unharmed and starts grabbing knives and spears like a mad man. I notice he only reaches for one backpack and empties the contents to make room for his weapons. After he feels his raid is successful, he slings the pack over his shoulder and dashes out of the fire circle, heading for the woods.
Enobaria is the next to get her weapons. It appears like she got some minor burns on her hands, but the tributes' outfit, a simple black outfit similar to the one worn in the chariots, appears to be fireproof in some sort of way. Enobaria spots an ax and grabs it without hesitation. She turns around quickly and spots the little boy Tolliver. The ax is in his side before he can breathe. Tolliver drops to the ground. The first death.
Morrison Mellark comes through the fire and takes careful notice of Enobaria. She retrieves her ax, but Morrison is quick. He grabs two spears, two knives and lots of food and runs out of the fire circle quickly. Poor Darius. He just happened to be right by Morrison as he was entering the woods. Without a thought, Morrison stabs Darius in the heart and the red-headed, good-humored Peacekeeper I once knew falls to the ground, dead.
Enobaria stands ground around the Cornucopia, guarding the supplies, hungry to take more lives. I see Portia holding onto Cinna's hand, clearly afraid for her life as Enobaria spots them on the other side of the horn. I hear Cinna's scream. "Run!" he yells, pulling her away from the danger. But it's too late. Enobaria has expert aim and the dagger hits Portia's chest dead on. She flails her arms in agony, collapsing to the ground and Cinna makes a run for it, not daring to look back. Enobaria waltzes over to Portia, taking care to step on Tolliver's hand in the process. She removes the knife from Portia's chest and there is a sickening moment when Portia is literally choking on her own blood. Then, Enobaria stabs her again and Portia goes still.
No other attempt is made by anyone to get inside the Cornucopia. The camera shows the three Mellark boys. Peeta jogs along side of his brothers, sweat dripping down his face. Morrison hands Peeta a knife and Jamie a spear. Vick and Rory have paired up to, but don't have any supplies or weapons. And of course, my prep team has stuck together. I'm surprised Enobaria hasn't killed them all yet.
Everyone spends the rest of the day getting their bearings. Enobaria sets up camp by the Cornucopia, holding a knife in her hand as she rests. Johanna Mason swings herself into a tree. Cinna buries himself in the thicket of bushes. The cameras show almost every tribute.
They arrive to concentrate on Prim. It's dark out already, but I can see she is crouched in the bushes, exploring her pack. All of a sudden, there is a snap of a stick. She cannot see who it is, but I do, and I'm not sure what to think. Slowly, she slides her back up against the tree, reaching for her small dagger. Another snap. She jumps out to face them. It's the Mellark boys.
"Phew…" she exhales. "It's about time you got here. I've been waiting for hours!" she says with exasperation.
"Sorry Prim," Peeta apologizes, placing his pack down. I find it somewhat amusing that Peeta still makes so much noise when he's trying to be sneaky.
"Put that knife away," Morrison gives her a hard stare. She does as he says. "I got us plenty of food to last a few days. However, we need to start hunting as soon as possible to make sure the supply is never short."
Prim shivers at the thought of killing an animal.
"And Peeta, lighten up on the feet," Morrison orders gruffly. I take it that Morrison is a no nonsense kind of guy. Just the perfect person for the Hunger Games.
The boys put down their packs and sit on the forest floor. Jamie lies on his back, Peeta rests against a tree and Prim is Indian style. Morrison doesn't look content on the ground, so he stands up, rummaging through a pack of supplies.
"Tonight's luxury is crackers," he announces, tossing them to Peeta. He continues to explore the pack, frowning in discontent as he does so.
"Only two sleeping bags," Morrison calls out, as he takes them out.
"That's alright," Peeta says immediately. "I don't mind sleeping without one."
"No," Morrison says loudly as he begins to unroll the bags. "You and Jamie can share and Prim will have her own."
"I don't mind sharing," Prim contradicts, looking at Morrison.
Morrison raises his eyebrows and looks away from her, "No, I prefer to be alone."
"Alright. Well, my offer stands if you get cold," Prim tries to meet his eyes.
This exchange between Morrison and Prim makes everything extremely awkward, and I'm not even there! Thank goodness Jamie thinks of something to say, "So, what's our plan of action?"
Peeta jumps on the chance to change topic and looks over at his brother. "Weed out the weak. Hunt down the strong. Kill brutally like real Careers," Peeta breathes in deeply. At this moment, I register that the Mellark boys and my sister are the Career Pack. I find this realization a little strange because I just could never see Prim as a Career.
"Kill brutally?" Prim quivers, turning her gaze off Morrison. When she says this, I spot the Prim that I know. The little girl who saves an ugly cat, who raises a goat and who assists my mother in healing people. I spot the part of her that will never change, no matter what happens to her in the Games.
"Yes," Peeta says with false confidence.
"I already have a kill," Morrison informs the group without meeting anyone's eyes.
"Who?" Jamie's mouth hangs open slightly and he furrows his brow.
"Darius," he says solemnly. I'd completely forgotten that Darius had never had an interview before the Games. It probably put him at a disadvantage from the start. He couldn't really make alliances either. It doesn't matter anymore though. He's as dead as Tolliver and Portia and all the other tributes who have been brutally slaughtered over the past Games.
"You killed Darius?" Jamie shouts with a look of shock.
"Yes!" Morrison yells right back, "Almost everyone in this arena is going to die. Do you want to die?"
All three heads shake slowly.
"So be happy when I kill someone!" he steams and starts to walk into the woods.
"Where are you going?" Prim calls after him.
"Out," he says without turning around, grabbing a spear as he leaves.
Just then the cannons sound. Three shots signal the end of the bloodbath. This must be the smallest number of fatalities on the first day in the history of the Games.
Morrison stops walking and looks up into the sky, "That's all?"
No one responds, so he continues to walk away.
The cameras follow Morrison into the woods. He takes down branches with his spear, looking around to make sure the coast is clear. There is the sound of chatter and giggles. He snaps around to face my prep team. Flavius stops walking abruptly and meets Morrison's eyes. All three of them are unarmed. I hold my breath as Morrison readies his spear. He aims with precision right at Octavia's chest (which isn't a very small target), but surprises me by lowering the weapon.
He cautiously steps over to the bubble-headed trio. "Hey, are you hungry?" he asks, scratching his head.
"Absolutely famished!" Octavia says with exaggeration and a touch of relief, seeing that the sharp pointy thing in Morrison's hands is no longer threatening to touch her.
"Well," Morrison walks over to them, grabbing a couple berries of nightlock in the process, "you should try these. They're delicious!" He pretends to put one in his mouth. Of course, this convinces all three of them.
"Really?" Flavius asks, grabbing a fistful from the nearest bush.
"Oh! Thank goodness," Venia smiles, taking one of the berries from Flavius.
"You know, I was thinking of dying my hair this color!" Octavia bubbles, grabbing a berry for herself.
Venia rolls her eyes, "Of course you were."
"Everyone have a berry?" Morrison says impatiently.
Three nods.
"Together on the count of three," Morrison raises a berry to his mouth. "One… two… three."
Three swallows. Three cannons. Three still bodies.
Morrison checks to see if they had any supplies, but they didn't. At the last minute, he decides to take their clothes. The hovercraft comes right when he's done and he looks away as their naked bodies are taken away.
I'm grateful Morrison didn't spear them. Instead, I know they died suddenly and without pain. Maybe Morrison knows I'd want their deaths to be this way. He heads back to the camp.
"Thank God!" Jamie exclaims as Morrison trudges back, three pairs of clothes in his hands.
"Who's dead? We saw the hovercraft," Peeta calls out.
"Three shots, I believe," Prim adds.
"Got that stupid prep team to eat nightlock," he explains.
"Smart, considering it wasn't in the edible plants test," Jamie sighs.
"Not that they'd be smart enough to identify it even if it was," says Peeta.
"Why even bother with that station if it wasn't going to be useful in the Games?" Jamie wonders out loud, sitting up suddenly.
"Throw people off?" Prim suggests.
"Nah, that can't be it," Jamie says lying back down.
"Well, it doesn't matter much anymore," Peeta's head hits the back of the tree.
Morrison tosses the clothes into the pile, "Extra clothes."
Peeta and Jamie look at him expectantly, waiting for him to say more.
"And…?" Jamie finally succumbs to his impatience.
"That's all," Morrison's face is stone cold.
I wish that the camera would keep showing Peeta and my sister, but it has to follow the action and right now, nothing exciting is happening around them. As the scene changes from their campsite to the Cornucopia, I feel Leanore's hand slip into my own. I look into her eyes and she gives me a look of understanding. "Thanks," I mumble as my voice cracks. She smiles and I return my gaze to the television.
Johanna crouches just outside the Cornucopia. The ring of fire has long since been extinguished and she appears to be calculating the distance between the center of the horn and where she is standing. She bites her lip and quickly tosses the hair out of her eyes. Then, she runs for it, silently approaching Enobaria and the weapons. I'm surprised by how quietly Johanna moves. She reaches for a pack and slings it over her shoulder. Then she grabs the ax dangerously close to Enobaria. The sleeping tribute's nose twitches and she slowly rolls over. Shaking, Johanna readies her ax and swoops down.
Enobaria is fast though. She rolls over, dropping the knife, and grabs the nearest weapon, a spear. She sends it flying before Johanna can react, but Enobaria's aim is off and the spear misses her head by miles.
Johanna does not throw her ax. She watches as Enobaria scrambles backwards, breaking into a full-fledged run. Then, she raises her arm, takes aim and throws her weapon with all of her might. Enobaria falls to the ground as the ax hits the base of her shoulder.
There is a scuffling in the bushes and Johanna flips around with a wild look in her eye. She doesn't wait to see who it is. Instead, she grabs a small knife from Enobaria's pile and heads back into the woods. No cannon goes off.
Emerging out of the darkness is Rue's sister, Mayla. She slowly creeps over to the Cornucopia and grabs a few backpacks. That's when the moaning begins.
"Ah…" Enobaria rips the ax out of her shoulder and rolls onto her back.
Mayla looks puzzled. She takes a dagger off the ground and slowly walks over to Enobaria, holding onto the blade like her life depended on it. She walks right up to the whimpering Enobaria and stares at her, eyes glazing over.
Enobaria struggles to see Mayla. She tilts her head back a little and seeing the dagger in Mayla's hand, tries to scramble up to her feet. She finds she cannot.
Mayla continues to stare, her eyes opening very wide. Then, she squats down to the ground and Enobaria manages, "No. Don't!"
Mayla doesn't seem to be responsive. Her face remains solid and blank. Making eye contact with Enobaria, she releases the dagger with struggle. It makes a soft noise on the blood-drenched grass. Her black hair billows in her face as she searches through her pack. She carefully takes out a First Aid Kit and bandages Enobaria's wound without a sound. The expression on Enobaria's face changes from terror to gratitude. She closes her eyes as Mayla feeds her and pours water down her parched throat.
Gradually, Enobaria manages to sit up and Mayla takes the small dagger off the ground, grabbing Enobaria's hand. Fear flits through her eyes, but Mayla simply opens Enobaria's hand and places the handle of the dagger inside it, with a reassuring pat. Just like that, Mayla stands up and walks straight into the blackness. No thank you's, no questions asked, and probably nothing expected in return.
I wonder what Mayla's motives for her actions were. But then it hits me. She doesn't need any motives. She's just like her sister: kind, sweet, and caring. I don't think she could kill anyone and she scares me more than any of the other tributes. Her quiet nature is more threatening than Merrow's up-and-in-your-face approach. Her appearance is not of someone who could win, like Morrison. And based on what she's just done, she may care for everyone in this arena more than I do and she doesn't even know any of the other tributes. She doesn't even know me that well and has no reason to care about my friends. If anything, she has a reason to be upset with me. Because I'm alive, Rue is dead.
As she walks into the forest, I rank her at the top of my watch list and recall that she scored a ten on the evaluation on the third day of training for the Games. There is something about her that impressed the Gamemakers, so what is she holding back?