Chapter 34:

I can't sleep much that night. Though Peeta has securely wrapped his arms around me on the sitting room couch, and we had turned the TV off- I am haunted by visions of muttations. The ones from this year doing what they did to Copper, the ones from last year with Cato. These events are quite possibly the most violent thing I witnessed in all of the Games, including the bloodbath at the Cornucopia.

Annella didn't have time to grab her trident before dashing up the tree. Prim already had her knife on her, and she threw it towards the muttations, but it landed harmlessly in the ground, well away from where she was aiming. The mauling continued for a good couple of hours before the cannon finally boomed and the Gamemakers called off the muttations, who disappeared back towards the mountain. What a horrible vision- which I can see clearly even when my eyes are closed. What's the point? I open them again.

Frustrated, I turn the TV back on, though it isn't showing much. The alliance is back at their campsite, Jack still crying in pain, and Prim is attending to his leg. Without much light to go by, she is pretty limited by what she can see. She settles for giving it a once-over, cleaning and bandaging it tightly, and administering something for his pain. While it's kicking in, Jack screams, and his cries resonate in my thoughts for the rest of the night. But whatever it was that Prim gave him was strong- and Jack is eventually knocked out.

I fall back asleep after a while, but nightmares with screaming and muttations pervade my subconscious.

The next morning, the cameras focus on the beginning of Prim's thorough healing efforts toward Jack's leg, far superior to my efforts with Peeta. I watch on in interest, seeing what I can learn- not that I ever hope or anticipate needing to do that again. But before I can take too many mental notes, the camera shifts again- to the Careers heading towards the forest.

I sigh. Great. Is this going to be another confrontation? As the Careers enter the woods, I'm not sure. But they head off in a different direction from the alliance's camp, so at least for the moment, it doesn't seem to be. The lack of food hits bodies like Paavo and Stone first- they look weak and drained, and they appear for the time being to be focused on hunting food, not people. Without Ruby and her spear, though, their hunting efforts are severely compromised- Silk and Nutmeg are fantastic with machetes, but game doesn't typically approach that closely. They decide partially on a two-pronged approach- Stone is a master at throwing rocks, which can temporarily daze or incapacitate the animal, and Silk and Nutmeg then finish them off- the strategy works well with a lingering bobcat. Still, the Careers are somewhat dependent on Paavo now for their hunting.

Paavo claims that he sees an elk and takes off deeper into the woods; however, as soon as he is out of the Career's line of sight he circles back around towards where the alliance is set up. I sit up straight and elbow a sleeping Peeta in the ribs.

"What the hell is he doing?" I ask Peeta, panicked.

Peeta shrugs. "I don't know," he replies groggily, eyes still closed. "You just woke me up. How would I know?"

I shrug now. "Because he's your brother."

Peeta obligatorily opens his eyes, and we turn back to the TV and watch carefully as Paavo breaks into a sprint towards the alliance's camp. He is lucky that Jack is severely injured and knocked out on drugs and that Annella is water-collecting and spear-fishing with her trident at the river- because I am certain that he would otherwise be dead as soon as he entered their camp. As it stands, however, Prim is still tending to Jack's wounds, and only Mouseface is looking on- who is far too meek to attack.

Paavo approaches slowly, whispering, "Prim!"

Prim looks up at Paavo, conflicted. Rage comingles with hurt in her expression. "What do you want, Paavo?" she asks him curtly. "Now that you've killed off two of our alliance members?"

Paavo looks surprised. "No, I didn't," he replies, sounding confused. "I didn't kill that last one. I purposely missed her vital organs. I'm a much better throw than that- I could have killed her if I wanted to. I just needed to show the Careers that I was serious. I could tell she was still alive when I pulled my knife out, though, and I didn't do anything else. I- I- knew that you could heal her."

Prim gives him another dirty look. "Well, I started to, but she died anyway. The Gamemakers have been hitting us every night with something different out here. The first night was an avalanche; last night it was these awful muttations similar to last year's- they finished her off because she couldn't get away. We haven't had enough rest and we're tired. Like I said- what do you want?"

Paavo's eyes widen with surprise at the alliance's struggles against the Gamemakers themselves- the Careers have obviously experienced none of it. But Prim's voice is accusatory- and he goes on the defensive. "Well, you guys didn't exactly leave us the finest selection of supplies in the Cornucopia," Paavo retorts, "No survival or medical supplies, and we're all starving- there was hardly a shred of food left. And let me guess, you guys have been eating well? Plus, I'm tired, too- you can trust the people you are shacked up with. I can't."

Prim looks down, slightly embarrassed. She clears her throat. "You still haven't answered me."

Paavo nods brusquely. "You're right, and I don't have much time. I need something to take out the Careers. I need to be able to kill all of them, at once. My knife won't do it. If I go to kill one, the others will know, and I'll be a goner."

Prim shrugs. "I don't think we have anything for you, Paavo," she says after a moment. "Just a knife and Annella's trident, and I can promise you she won't give that up, especially not to you."

Paavo looks at Prim, thoughts racing. "If you had one more knife, I'd take you up on it, but two total won't work." He sees that Prim doesn't look any calmer, and he changes tone. "Look, I'm sorry about the girl- Copper was her name? The boy was a necessary sacrifice- I would never have been able to align with the Careers otherwise. Please? Just let me look around for a minute and see what you guys have got. I won't take anything. Please?" he asks again.

Prim sighs, looking Paavo in the eye. It is impossible to tell right now what she is thinking, and I would give anything to know. "Fine. I'll go with you. Carrie, can you take over here?" Prim is dabbing at Jack's leg with a wet towel. Mouseface nods- I'm not sure I've heard her speak yet. Prim gets up, and brushing off her pants, walks with Paavo over towards the alliance's supplies.

Paavo gives everything a cursory glance, picking some things up, putting them back down. He has almost looked through it all when he notices the District 3 cattle prod. He holds it up for a minute, curious. It hits me- he was unconscious when Copper used it on him. Stone and Nutmeg would have seen it in action but must not have told him about it. "This is the District 3 weapon, right? The one that just knocks people out? Quickly?" he asks Prim.

She nods. Then, after a few moments hesitation, she adds, shrugging her shoulders, "I guess you could take it if you want. None of us have taken the time to figure it out anyway. But it seems pretty complicated."

Paavo grabs the weapon, hiding it in his snowsuit. "Thanks, I appreciate it. This will get us closer, Prim- if I can get it to work." He winks at her before changing his tone. "Look, I've gotta get back. I'm supposed to be elk hunting right now. I'm going to have to make up a story to tell the Careers. I'll see you later." He charges off back into the woods.

I have mixed emotions as Paavo disappears into the trees. His sullen demeanor vanished; he looks like he is thrilled to be finally playing the Games. And his acting has been so incredible, I can't tell when he's serious. He may be the best player of all. But I still don't trust him. I wonder if Prim does.

Prim heads back across their camp to attend to Jack, and Mouseface, the only one who witnessed any part of the exchange, gives her a curious look.

Prim looks exasperated. "Look, I gave him the District 3 cattle prod. No one has gotten it to work here anyway, and I don't think he'll figure it out," she says, clearly a bit shaken. She continues. "And if by chance he does, and decides to use it on all of us, at least we'll die peacefully, without struggling."

Mouseface nods again without speaking. And they go back to re-cleaning Jack's leg.

Peeta and I watch as the camera cuts away to Paavo, who rejoins the Careers.

"So, where have you been, Paavo? All this time and no elk? We thought we were getting some food." Stone jeers.

"Yeah, I found myself on a detour. At their camp."

"What?" Silk, Stone, and Nutmeg say in unison. Paavo nods nonchalantly.

"And you didn't kill any of them?" Silk chides him.

"No, not this time. One of them is my district partner, remember? Being alone, I figured I could try to use it to our advantage," Paavo gives them all sly glances.

The three Careers practically giggle with delight. "And?" asks Nutmeg. "What type of advantage did you get?"

"Well," Paavo begins, "I took an inventory of their weapons and food- I know exactly what they have now. And we got this," Paavo brandishes the cattle prod in his hand. He turns to the Careers and lowers his voice. "So if we figure out how it works, we can use it when we attack them. This baby will help us to take all of them out at once."