Catching Fire in Peeta's Point of View
Chapter Eleven
The sun is bright and hot, almost blinding. I have to squint in order to try and figure out where I even am. I squint around me, noticing that I'm in the middle of a large body of water. I start panicking. I don't know how to swim. I've never learnt, nobody's ever taught me. This isn't something we had prepared for in our training. This isn't something we'd anticipated. I concentrating on my breathing, to calm myself and try to take in my surroundings.
There's the Cornucopia, shining golden in the sun, on a strip of land. I have to shade my eyes, and notice the strip of land reaches out further. I look around at the other Tributes, but can't see Katniss anywhere. She must be on the other side of the Cornucopia.
The gong sounds, and I'm stranded. I stare out towards the Cornucopia, willing myself to be over there, on the land. Some of the other Tributes dotted around me have dove into the water and are swimming confidently. I watch them, trying to figure out how they move their limbs to stay afloat. They just look like they're flailing in the water, in a more streamlined and organised manner. It's not too far, and I'm sure swimming isn't really as hard as my brain is trying to make it out to be. Maybe I can make it across. I place my foot forward, trying to find the ground, but it's not there. I almost fall forward, but catch myself in time and draw back onto the metal plate.
Deep water. Quite a way to go. I have no chance. It's embarrassing, but I know that I'll have to wait for Katniss to come and rescue me. Just this once. Then the rest of the time in the arena shall be me looking after and protecting her. I keep my eyes on the area around the Cornucopia, only relaxing a little when Katniss comes into view. She has a bow in her hands, looking poised and dangerous. I need to get across to her, but I also need not to drown. I silently curse my dry District, where there was never any reason to learn to swim. It occurs to me to wonder how Katniss can swim. She's fighting someone, and I keep my eyes trained on her. All I can do it watch, and hope that she survives. I should be over there, I should be fighting at her side, protecting her. I curse loudly. Someone else is at Katniss' side, and I only have to glance to know that it's Finnick.
I panic again, for a brief moment. But they're not fighting, they're both walking towards the water. Finnick stops Katniss and says something to her, placing his hand on her stomach. Most likely something about her supposedly being pregnant. Finnick is suddenly diving into the water and swimming in my direction. I groan inwardly. So I'm going to be rescued by Finnick. Just wonderful. His head bobs up again in front of me, and I glare down at him.
"Hello, Peeta." He floats a little, seeming somewhat taunting. "I'm here to rescue you." He stops swimming, wading in front of me, a serious look on his face.
"That's okay Finnick, I think I'll just risk drowning." I answer him, wondering if there's any chance I can make it. Don't people float naturally? Perhaps I could just float across, with a few arm movements to help me... Finnick sighs and shakes his head. "Look, Peeta. We need you across there, so we can come up with a game plan. You're of no use stranded out here, or at the bottom of this water. Your pregnant fiancée would be so devastated." I glance down at him, and across the water to where Katniss waits. I don't trust him not to drown me, but I certainly don't trust him with Katniss.
"And what's to stop you from just dragging me under?" I ask him, accusingly. He lifts his arms out of the water and there's a flash of gold on his wrist. He places his hands behind his head, so that I can see the dangling bracelet clearly, with its pattern of flames. A message from Haymitch, of who to trust.
"I'm offended, Peeta. We're allies now, you should really learn to trust me." I lower myself into the water, tensing my jaw as Finnick's arm snakes around my chest. He starts swimming, pulling me through the water with him. I stay as still as possible, not wanting to distract him from his swimming. It's quite strange, but I feel like I'm gliding. I remind myself that this is not the time. We reach the shallow water, and Katniss grabs my hand, pulling me up to my feet and the dry land.
"Hello, again," I kiss her. "We've got allies."
"Yes. Just as Haymitch intended," she replies.
"Remind me, did we make deals with anyone else?" It would be nice to know ahead, so I'm not caught by surprise.
"Only Mags, I think." Katniss nods out to the water, where the old woman is making her way towards us. I feel even worse, knowing that even this old woman can swim across to the land, even if she is from District Four.
"Well, I can't leave Mags behind. She's one of the few people who actually likes me," Finnick interjects.
"I've got no problem with Mags. Especially now that I see the arena. Her fishooks are probably our best chance of getting a meal." She has a point. Now that I'm on land, I look around closer at the land we have. The beach leads up the a jungle, and the rest of the arena seems to be water.
"Katniss wanted her on the first day," I say.
"Katniss has remarkably good judgement." Finnick says, pulling Mags up out of the water. Mags says something that I don't quite catch, patting the belt around her waist. "Look, she's right. Someone figured it out," he says, pointing out to the water where I think I see Beetee bobbing through the water.
"What?" Katniss asks.
"The belts. They're flotation devices. I mean, you have to propel yourself, but they'll keep you from drowning." Finnick explains. Well, that information could have come in handy beforehand. We don't waste any time standing around the Cornucopia. Katniss hands me some weapons, then handing one to Mags, who wouldn't stop pestering her. Finnick then picks Mags up onto his back and we start running. The trees are thick and the ground seems rather spongy, but there are tangles of vines all over, ready to trip us. Somehow, I end up taking the lead of the group, with Finnick behind me and Katniss taking the rear.
I'm glad I pushed the training on Katniss and I, because with the heat and the incline of the land, I would have been near ready to drop a year ago. We make it up quite a way before Finnick asks for us to have a rest, although I don't think the rest is for him. Katniss scales a tree whilst the three of us sit down, catching our breath. Finnick has his trident in his hand, and holds it a bit too defensively to be casual. Katniss jumps down to the ground, and I notice her eye him up quickly.
"What's going on down there, Katniss? Have they all joined hands? Taken a vow of non-violence? Tossed the weapons in the sea in defiance of the Capitol?" Finnick asks her, in what seems to be more taunting.
"No," Katniss answers flatly.
"No. Because whatever happened in the past is in the past. And no one in this arena was a victor by chance," his eyes flicker to me for a few moments. "Except maybe Peeta." I'm not sure whether to feel insulted. The moment is tense, as Finnick and Katniss eye one another up and the other's weapons. My guess, calculating their chances of killing each other. I glance down at the bracelet on Finnick's wrist. There's a reason for that. A reason why Haymitch decided to trust this man, and Haymitch is hardly ever wrong when it comes to the Games. I step between the two of them.
"So how many are dead?" I ask Katniss.
"Hard to say. At least six, I think. And they're still fighting."
"Let's keep moving. We need water." I say, thinking it best to give them an objective, something to focus on.
"Better find some soon," Finnick adds. "We need to be undercover when the others come hunting us tonight." So we continue our trek, and Katniss and Finnick seem to relax a little. I stay at the front of our small line, carrying on up the hill for what I estimate to be about a kilometre. The knife is constantly in my hand, because there are vines criss-crossing over the path we take, that I have to slash at. The vines aren't very tough, and the blade slashes straight through them. I keep my eyes open for any underlying dangers, still no idea what the Gamemakers have planned for us. I wonder if there's anything particularly frightful or dangerous we should be expecting. It's just as I'm wondering this, that a sharp, intense current jolts through my body. I hear an odd zapping sound, and the pain is sharp through every limb. And then, nothing.
My heart thumps hard, as if making up for lost time. I cough, to let out the air in my lungs. My limbs feel heavy, but after a few seconds of my pumping heart, they lighten a little. "Peeta?" her voice helps to bring me back. Trekking up the hill, slashing at the vines... what happened? Her fingers push hair away from my forehead, fluttering to my neck. I remember a jolt of electricity, through my entire body. I open my eyes slowly, searching out for the grey ones above me.
"Careful," I croak. "There's a force field up ahead." Katniss laughs, but her cheeks are wet. "Must be a lot stronger than the one on the Training Centre roof. I'm all right, through. Just a little shaken." I try to reassure her.
"You were dead! Your heart stopped!" Katniss bursts out, her hand then shooting up to cover her mouth.
"Well, it seems to be working now. It's all right, Katniss." She seems to be sobbing into her hand. She nods, but the sobs don't stop. "Katniss?" I ask, attempting to reach out to her, but my arms aren't ready to rise.
"It's okay. It's just her hormones. From the baby." Finnick tells me.
"No. It's not-" Katniss starts, but then another sob escapes her mouth. There's a moment of silence, as Katniss tries to get a hold of herself. After a moment of glances between Katniss and Finnick, he speaks up.
"How are you?" his eyes flicker to me. "Do you think you can move on?"
"No, he has to rest." Katniss chimes in before I have a chance. She snivels a little, but Mags hands her some moss from a tree, which Katniss uses to blow her nose. A slight frown burrows in her expression, her eyes on my chest. She reaches down and picks up the lock that hangs around my neck.
"Is this your token?"Katniss asks. It isn't the time to reveal what's inside, not just yet.
"Yes. Do you mind that I used your mockingjay? I wanted us to match."
"No, of course I don't mind," she smiles at me, but it doesn't seem such a true expression.
"So you want to make camp here, then?" Finnick interrupts.
"I don't think that's an option, staying here. With no water. No protection. I feel all right, really. If we could just go slowly." My body is working again, enough to move on a little.
"Slowly would be better than not at all." Finnick has to help me to my feet, because a large portion of my body still aches.
"I'll take the lead," Katniss announces, and I turn to her in order to argue the point.
"No, let her do it." Finnick cuts me off, gracing a frown in Katniss' direction. "You knew that force field was there, didn't you? Right at the last second? You started to give a warning. How did you know?" She hesitates.
"I don't know. It's almost as if I could hear it. Listen." We all become still, trying to hear what Katniss claims to. I can hear the leaves rustling in the breeze, and insects in the brush, but I can't hear anything that sounds like a force field.
"I don't hear anything," I say.
"Yes. It's like when the fence around District Twelve is on, only much, much quieter." We listen again, but there still isn't anything.
"There! Can't you hear it? It's coming from right where Peeta got shocked."
"I don't hear it, either," Finnick says. "But if you do, by all means, take the lead."
"That's weird," Katniss frowns, turning her head side to side, as if listening. "I can only hear it out of my left ear."
"The one that the doctors reconstructed?" I ask her.
"Yeah," she shrugs. "Maybe they did a better job than they thought. You know, sometimes I do hear funny things on that side. Things you wouldn't ordinarily think have a sound. Like insect wings. Or snow hitting the ground." Strange, how she had never mentioned any of this before. Although, it's not entirely impossible that the surgeons could have made her hearing in that ear even better, as they have the means to do a lot of things surgery-wise. I have a feeling that a few surgeons will be paid a visit very soon.
"You." Mags mumbles, pointing at Katniss. Finnick makes two walking sticks, one for Mags and one for me. I feel so tired, and sleep is all I really want to do, but I force my legs forward. I manage to hobble on behind Katniss. This isn't the worst I've endured, and my body has been in much more pain before, so I'm sure I can handle this walk. We hobble along, and Katniss seems to be throwing nuts ahead of her, some of which Mags pops into her mouth. I'm still too tired to concentrate on them, only thinking of each step. It seems like a lifetime before Katniss finally stops.
"Let's take a break. I need to get another look from above." Katniss says, much to my relief. I slump against a tree whilst Katniss clambers up a taller one to scout the area. It takes a few minutes for me to catch my breath and finally stop panting. It turns out a long walk is very tiring after just dying. Katniss appears on the ground again, just as I'm able to breathe properly.
"The force field has us trapped in a circle. A dome, really. I don't know how high it goes. There's the Cornucopia, the sea, and then the jungle all around. Very exact. Very symmetrical. And not very large." Katniss tells us.
"Did you see any water?" Water would be good, and tasty. My lips are starting to feel dry.
"Only the salt water where we started the Games." That doesn't sound good.
"There must be some other source," I frown. "Or we'll all be dead in a matter of days."
"Well, the foliage is thick. Maybe there are ponds or springs somewhere. At any rate, there's no point in trying to find out what's over the edge of this hill, because the answer is nothing."
"There must be drinkable water between the force field and the wheel," I say. Or hope, at least. Thirst doesn't seem like a great way to die. We move down the slope a while, with the sun beating on our heads, my real leg starting to ache, feeling like I'm going to collapse on the way down. I remind myself I have been through worse, that I'm just a little tired. We make camp finally. Mags and Finnick start weaving grass to make mats for us to sleep on, and I start cooking some nuts using the force field. I peel off the shells, finding it methodical and calming, with something to concentrate on.
"Finnick, why don't you stand guard and I'll hunt around some more for water," Katniss suddenly says.
"No, you can't go out alone. The others are probably out hunting." I protest.
"Don't worry, I won't go far."
"I'll go, too." I try to reason.
"No, I'm going to do some hunting if I can," she tells me. Of course, I'm too loud to accompany her and she wouldn't be able to get any game. Not to mention, if there are any tributes around hunting, I'd alert them to our presence. "I won't be long." Katniss adds. I nod, and she disappears into the trees. I start to drop off, leaning against a tree with my legs splayed in front of me, but the first canon jolts me awake. Seven more follow. I wonder which of my eight almost friends are being sent home. I lean my head back against the bark and sigh. It seems such a heavy number when you know their names.
Finnick and Mags are quiet, but working on our camp. I go back to roasting and skinning the nuts, ignoring the dryness steadily growing in my mouth and throat. Mags makes some unintelligible noise and places some bowls in front of me, plaited from grass. I dump the roasted nuts into the bowls, wondering how Mags and Finnick can make such things out of grass. They have a full shelter with three walls, a floor and a roof, with mats to sleep on set up by the time Katniss returns. All eyes flicker to her, in hope, but she shakes her head.
"No. No water. It's out there, though. He knew where it was," Katniss throws some skinned animal down for us to see. "He'd been drinking recently when I shot him out of a tree, but I couldn't find his source. I swear, I covered every centimetre of ground in thirty-metre radius."
"Can we eat him?" I ask, eyeing up the meat.
"I don't know for sure. But his meat doesn't look that different from a squirrel's. He ought to be cooked..." Katniss hesitates, wondering if a fire would be the best idea. I think of all the nuts I've been roasting and get up to find a stick with a sharp point. I take the meat from Katniss and skewer it onto the stick, allowing it to fall into the force field. A sizzle, and the stick flies back at us. It's well cooked, and the others applaud, but quickly quieten down.
The dreaded moment arrives, the sky lighting up with the seal of the Capitol and the anthem playing over the arena. We all watch in silence at the faces that look down over us, remembering the moments we'd shared with them. At that moment, I really wish Haymitch hadn't encouraged us to make friends. Even after the anthem plays again and the sky darkens, none of us say anything. The parachute sails to the ground between us, all our attention falling upon it. Nobody picks it up.
"Whose is it, do you think?" Katniss breaks our silence.
"No telling. Why don't we let Peeta claim it, since he died today?" Finnick suggests. Nobody protests so I untie the cord and reveal the small metal inside. I frown in puzzlement, not sure what it could be.
"What is it?" Katniss voices my question. None of us can give an answer. We all pass it between us, turning it over in our hands and examining the contraption for clues. I blow on one end, thinking it might make a sound like some sort of whistle, but no luck. Finnick tries it as a weapon, but that doesn't work. We think maybe Mags can use it for fishing, but she grunts and shakes her head.
Katniss takes a long time examining it, but eventually she groans in frustration and slams it down into the ground, so that one end embeds into the dirt. "I give up. Maybe if we hook up with Beetee or Wiress they can figure it out." She lies down on a grass matt, glaring at the metal object. I lean over to rub the tension from between her shoulders, and she seems to relax somewhat under my hands. There's a small while of silence, but Katniss suddenly bolts up from where she lays, startling me into sitting back. "A spile!" She gasps.
"What?" Finnick asks. Katniss tugs the metal from the ground and wipes the dirt, examining the thing closer.
"It's a spile," she explains to the rest of us. "Sort of like a tap. You put it in a tree and sap comes out. Well, the right sort of tree." She glances at the trees surrounding our small camp.
"Sap?" Finnick has no idea what she's talking about.
"To make syrup," I say, remembering a lesson from my father. "But there must be something else inside these trees." Everybody jumps up at the same time, seeming to have a similar idea. Finnick and I make a hole in a nearby tree, and Katniss wedges the spile into the bark, and after some adjustments, we get a small stream of water. We all take a large drink, realise afterwards how exhausted we are. I want to offer to take first watch, but I know I won't last and so do the others. Finnick ends up doing so, and I lie down on the surprisingly comfortable grass mat. An upgrade from my bed of mud the year before. It's not long before I fall asleep.