Allies
Alfie's shouts wake me up the fourth morning of the Quell.
"The mountain is exploding!" he shouts.
I run down the hallway to the television and watch with awe. The top of the mountain bears an enormous crack on the northern end. Molten lava oozes out of the crack and begins a slow descent, leaving ruin in its path. The Career tribute packs are sleeping. Their deaths are unavoidable.
"The Gamemakers designed an erupting volcano? Classic," my father rubs at his eyes.
"Look!" shouts Alfie again directing my attention back to the television.
The lava has reached the other tributes, sleeping under rocks or near trees. One boy does not even get the chance to run before the lava encompasses him. Slowly, they awake sensing trouble. A few point out the oncoming wave with trembling fingers, others abandon their spots altogether. Get out of there! No one wants to see you burned alive.
Running does them no justice. The District 7 female trips on a root and the lava takes her. One boy pushes another tribute in the way of the lava and escapes the mountain. Much to his dismay, however, a Career sends a spear through his neck. The Careers are moving by this time, fearing the lava to a lesser degree than the remaining tributes. On their way down, half of the pack dies, leaving five Careers to continue.
The lava stops as suddenly as it began. Destruction has become the setting for the mountain, the once beautiful snow ruined by charred remnants of trees. Twelve tributes die in the eruption. The remaining earns a life-sentence into the woods. Without the mountain to provide shelter and the meadow offering little protection, the tributes gain distance on one another.
Haymitch appears on screen, struggling to continue on his journey away from the mountain. He finds himself in a maze of sorts with no visible exit. Sub sequentially; he follows the maze into the center of the woods. Where he finds the Careers.
"This is it, Effie," my father states, "He gave it a good run, but he is no match for the Careers."
The camera focuses on the upcoming battle. Haymitch stands his ground and pulls out his knife. The knife shines silver in the harsh sunlight. Suddenly, the Careers rush at him, weapons brandished. I close my eyes tightly, not wanting to see his defeat. Not Haymitch. Please don't die.
"He killed one!" Alfie yells, causing my mother to come into the parlor.
I chance a glance at the screen and hold my breath. Haymitch has slit the throat of a District 1 boy. He lies on the ground, clawing at his throat. Another tribute runs to attack. Haymitch quickly stabs him in the shoulder, disarming the tribute. He follows up with a quick jab to the abdomen, which seals the deal. Two down!
Haymitch turns to face the third Career and meets a block of wood to the head. He falls backward, blood spewing out of his nose. Then the Career jumps him. They roll on the ground, switching positions. Haymitch raises his knife to stab. Instead, he takes another hit to the face.
"He's going to die," I cry out, closing my eyes.
"Here we go!" shouts my father standing up.
Haymitch holds his knife, which the Career has turned onto him. With all his strength, he holds the arm of tribute, preventing a fatal cut to the throat. The knife comes closer to Haymitch. I take a brief second to ponder the position of the camera and the invasion of privacy. Sweat runs off the men like the lava creeping down the mountain.
Instantaneously, a cannon fires. I shut my eyes for a third time, positive that Haymitch is dead.
"I don't believe it," my father comments.
"Is he dead?" my voice is barely audible.
"Look!" whispers Alfie.
Haymitch gets to his feet. He is alive. Haymitch is alive. Curiously, he looks over toward the woods. The camera reveals a dart stuck in the neck of the dead tribute. Maysilee Donner steps out of the woods and I volunteer a responding whoop. She looks dirty from her time in the arena, lacking that cleanly spark she possessed at the reaping.
"We'd live longer with two of us," she says bravely.
Haymitch rubs his neck and wipes away the blood from his nose, "Guess you just proved that. Allies?"
She nods and Haymitch sets off again for the unknown. With Maysilee by his side, he looks invincible. Only one of them can live. This realization causes any newfound joy to turn into sorrow. One will die. Maybe both of them will die.
"An alliance?" my father writes this in his notebook, "I want to see where this leads."
"Are they common? The alliances?" my mother quietly asks.
"Sometimes. They depend on the tributes that make them. This pair is capable of many things."
My father is correct. Throughout the day, the camera shows Maysilee and Haymitch working together. When the rain falls, they take turns collecting it in leaves and drinking. Maysilee offers Haymitch the food from her pack and together they split the Careers' food. At night, Maysilee rests while Haymitch watches over her.
Unconsciously, I notice that I feel a little jealous over their companionship. The thought of Haymitch blowing me a kiss during the chariot rides is fresh in my memory. Of course, the thought is ridiculous.
Come nightfall, the cannon rings out. Fifteen today. Eight left: two Careers, six tributes, Maysilee, and Haymitch. My father explains that interviews of the living tributes' families will be conducted and edited for a special on television.
"Crews will go out to the districts that play home to the remaining eight," he says, "They usually interview close family members, friends, and loved ones."
I remember Haymitch's avoidance at Caesar Flickerman's question of romance and blush. Let her speak, whoever she may be. I do not care. Alfie catches my gaze and snickers.
"Why?" we turn our attention back to the television.
Maysilee Donner has refused to follow Haymitch any further. She repeats her question and leans against a willow.
Haymitch spins around, "Because it has to end somewhere, right? The arena can't go on forever."
I consider this for a moment, picturing the tributes trapped in a snow globe of sorts.
"That's dangerous thinking," my father says with an alarming tone.
"What do you expect to find?" Maysilee questions Haymitch intensely.
"I don't know," Haymitch answers bluntly, "But maybe there's something we can use."