Chapter Eleven

Angeles the Huntress was sleeping under the stars. That was the best thing about being a Huntress. Sure, you could hunt illegally in the wilderness outside like Katniss, but at the end of the day you were still under the watchful eye of the Capitol and you lived in District 12. Angeles was on the other side of the world, in a place once called Australia. Of course, it was a lot smaller, and the areas that were once called deserts were now inhabited by fishes. You could hardly call it Australia now.

It was strange to think there were other words out there, on the stars. Worlds that could be barren deserts, or a second Earth, with its own dominant race and its own political issues and its own controlling corrupt government, and who knows, maybe even its own gods. Maybe the population there is still innocent, living in caves, and the thought of thievery or the worshipping of a deity hadn't even crossed their minds.

How could you drift off, on a night like this, thought Angeles as she drifted off. She started to dream. She immediately knew it was a prophetic dream. It had the fuzzy, chopped up feeling of an old recording. It was the kind that gave an unspecific overview, rather than the kind that give in great detail about five seconds of one's life.

Angeles had had prophetic dreams before, and she recognized this as post-cognition. It was of a young girl. Angeles realized that it was Katia. She was crying. None of the other Huntresses were around her. Somehow, in the way that only the dreaming mind and the psychic can, she knew that it was during the time Artemis had left. After four years, Katia couldn't take it any more, and went to look for her. Artemis had come back before Katia had, and Katia had never told anybody exactly what happened.

The dream shifted, and Angeles was Katia. She felt a sense of loss, similar to the one she had felt when she lost her parents*. Yet it wasn't the same. Instead of being underlined by anger, as Angeles's had, it was underlined by guilt. Somebody was gone, and it was her fault.

"Can I help you?" The young cashier looked expectantly at the teenager who had wandered into the shop.

"Actually, I was looking for a place to stay. Do you have a back room in the shop?"

"We do, but you would need to pay."

The girl sighed.

"Do you know where I can get transport to one of the districts?"

The cashier was surprised. "Why would anybody want to do that?"

"Uh… I have a school project. I have to, um, pick a district and do a report on it."

"Which district?"

"12."

"Why do you need to actually go to the district to report on it? I'm sure there are tons of paces in the Capitol to gather information."

"Look, I just need to go there, okay?" demanded the girl. She seemed desperate. Why would anybody be desperate to visit district 12?

"Only reporters or people involved in the reaping are allowed passes to visit the districts. Sorry."

"Where can I find a reporter?"

"Here, I'll draw you a map." The cashier took out a piece of paper and drew a map of the Capitol. She circled her shop, then drew an arrow to the station where television was produced.

"Thank you."

The girl started to walk out the door when the cashier stopped her.

"Hold on! How come you didn't know where it was? Don't you live around here? Where are your parents?"

"Actually," said the girl, "I'm just visiting. I thought it would be fun, but it turns out I was wrong." She turned around and walked out the door before the cashier could say anything more.

It was only one in the morning, but any Capitol citizen who was up would have noticed a young boy, no more than seventeen, walk through the city gates. He was looking for a room in a hotel. There were few hotels in the Capitol, since the only reason a Capitol citizen would visit another part of the Capitol would be to visit a relative, who could usually provide room.

One of the people who processed his arrival was a security guard.

"Hey, look at this," he said to his friend. "Some kid just walked into the city."

"Where did he come from?"

"Dunno. He just appeared out of nowhere."

"Run him through al of the citizen's profiles."

"Four matches. One of them recently ran away. Must be him."

"That explains it. What about the other three?"

"All dead. Disappeared under mysterious circumstances, actually. Most of them would be old or dead by now anyway."

"Huh. Call the kid's family. Tell them he's back."

"Will do."

"The Hunger Games is on!" shouted Li's mom from the living room. She and her dad ran in to watch.

"There are two people left," said a reporter. "This could be the end of the Hunger Games."

They watched as Madge approached the Cornucopia, wondering where Three was.

"She's in the Cornucopia," said Li.

Madge also seemed to realize this. She called for her opponent to come out.

Li watched as they fought with knives. When Three's throat was cut, she gasped.

"We have a victor!" cheered her mom.

Suddenly Three stabbed Madge in the stomach.

"Is she dead?" Li asked.

"No, the Capitol will save her," said her mom.

"She ate something," said Li.

"A pill," said her dad. "Probably a painkiller. Don't worry, she'll be fine."

Li hoped so. It would be really disappointing if they didn't have a victor this year.

* She also felt a familiar presence. It was all her own, not Katia's, but she assumed it was part of the vision.