The MATRIX: The One
13 - Katniss almost accepts a cupcake
Katniss POV
I stare at the wall, hating this place, hating my memory, hating the sound of the indistinct mumbles echoing softy back to my down the hall. I have nightmares about his voice, and I'll never be able to forget what Haymitch had told me the last time I'd been here. It's branded into my brain for all time.
"Well, if it isn't the Chosen One. I chose you, you know. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you haven't delivered as promised. Six years in Zion in training and two bouncing all over the fucking Matrix hijacking minds, and what do you have to show for it? Jack shit. What the fuck are you waiting for? An embossed invitation?"
It's "engraved invitation." Cultureless clod.
"Well pardon the fuck outta me. So. Looks like you're a cup of sugar short on your Awesome Sauce."
It can stay that way. I like being bitter.
"Hah fucking hah. You think you're funny, sweetheart?"
Not especially.
"Right. Because the only thing you live for is little Miss Primrose."
I don't deny it.
"You know what you're facing, there, so I won't give you a recap, but… Fair warning: hijacking her is gonna cost you."
What more could they take from me?
"The real question is: what could they take back?"
What?
"You're gonna have to be willing to give up two lives in order to free hers, sweetheart. Two for one."
No.
"That's just the way it is."
Doesn't have to be!
"Whatever. Look, if you wanna get your sister out, you're gonna need help: a kid by the name of Peeta Mellark. He's your best shot and your only hope. Have fun attempting the fucking impossible."
It is impossible. All of this is impossible.
The heavy tread of Peeta's booted feet interrupts my reminiscing. I release my lower lip with a wince. It feels raw. I've been gnawing on it again. Peeta turns the corner, scowling at a frosted cupcake in his hand, and I nearly snort with laughter. Haymitch and his damned sweet tooth. It's ridiculous.
"Hey," I say.
"Hey," Peeta rasps.
"Look, let's just not talk about it, okay?"
"Just wipe my ass with his advice and move on?"
"Yup. But first—" I reach out and tweak a bit of frosting and a corner of cake from the pastry in his grasp. I pop it in my mouth and roll it on my tongue. I can usually tell if there's something off about his baked goods from the smell or taste of them. This one is— "All clear. You can eat that."
"What, did you expect it to be poisoned?"
"In a place like this? Whatever gave you that idea?"
It's not quite a smile, but it is a lightening of his frown. I count it as a victory.
A small one… and even though I'm destined to ultimately fail in the end, I do have to admit that for once it's nice to not be facing the future alone.
I wish like hell I didn't believe Haymitch's mumbo jumbo hocus pocus shit, but it's like a colony of termites in my mind. Eating away at me. It makes me want to bite back.
"Have a fun visit?" Jo quips as I slam my way into the backseat of the car. I know there's no point in throwing a fit. I can stomp down stairs and toss myself into seats all I like but it means diddly-squat here.
"Whoo hoo," I deadpan, glaring out the window.
Finnick grins and shakes his head. Johanna laughs screechily as she pulls out into traffic. After two intersections and a left turn, Peeta bumps his knee against mine, but when I look up he's not even turned toward me. He blindly offers the remaining half of his cupcake in an outstretched hand.
"Aw, you shouldn't have."
"Hey, if this is what it takes to get you to swap spit with him, he's all for it," Jo contributes. "FYI: this guy's committed."
Peeta blushes but doesn't take the half of the cupcake back. Clearing his throat, he offers, "I tore it in half. No spit included."
"So just regular boy cooties, then?" I tease.
He laughs, glances over at me and I smile in reply to the sparkle I see in his blue eyes. His blond hair falls over his brow, windblown and sexy. Inviting. God help me when his hair actually does grow out because I want to touch him so badly my entire body thrums with it. I affect a put-upon sigh and reach out to accept the half of the cupcake. His lips soften into a smile sweeter than the frosting. His eyes track my expression. I shyly focus on what I'm reaching for and then—
Peeta sucks in a sharp breath. His fingers twitch around the cupcake. "Jo—!"
And then it's too late.
A blueshifted whoosh.
An ear-numbing crash. A stomach-emptying jolt. A spittle-spray of glass.
And Peeta's arms around me, pulling me toward him as my seat belt slices across my hips and his torso curves over my head.
The car screeches sideways, slows, stops, rocks on its shocks.
What the fuck just happened?
I blink open my eyes and stare at the remains of the cupcake lying on the floor next to my feet. From this angle, I can see that my door has been crushed inward.
As unbelievable as it seems, it must be true: we've just been in a car accident.
NOTES: Yes. A car accident. I have a theory about this. When you hack into the Matrix, you bring a lot of stuff with you - clothing, guns, a car, etc - that are not connected to the system. Which means that the Matrix doesn't take your presence into account with its calculations. And since the Matrix is feeding data into the brains of the people connected to it, it's really dicey whether they'll see you or not. They might see you (because you're standing there) or the Matrix might be telling them that there's no one there so they slam into you. If you've seen the movie, then you know about the Woman in the Red Dress training program. Neo is fighting against a TIDE of pedestrians on a busy sidewalk. It's like they don't even see him until he slams into them. And I thought, "Hey, maybe that's how it really works and that's why Morpheus and Trinity avoid crowds." So, if there's the potential for someone to not see a hacker on the sidewalk, then I think there's the possibility that they wouldn't see a hacker's car, either. Hence the traffic accident.
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