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I do not own the Hunger Games nor its characters.
Chapter Eleven
I slowly wake up to a very clinical looking room. Everything is white or silver and I can hear the continual beeping of a machine that I'm attached to. My head hurts and I'm desperate for a drink but there appears to be no one here to ask.
The last thing I remember was grabbing a ladder from a hovercraft as it came to collect me from the arena, I must have blacked out once it froze my body.
I won the Hunger Games. Me, the boy from 12, won the fiftieth Hunger Games. I should be happy, right? I'm the victor, I should feel victorious! But all I feel is exhausted and thirsty.
I look down at my stomach to find that the skin is almost shiny and perfect; there isn't one mark on my entire body. I know that soon I'll have to be prepped for the highlights and crowning and I won't be allowed to look anything other than amazing by Capitol standards. I'm a victor now and then entails a certain look and persona.
The door opens and Titam walks in, half smiling at me. He looks shattered and seems to have aged about ten years since I last saw him, although, to be honest, I feel exactly the same.
"How are you feeling?" He asks.
"Thirsty," I reply and he chortles before fetching me a glass of water. I gulp it down in seconds. "How long have I been out for?"
"Two days. The highlights are tonight and then the interview is tomorrow morning. There are some things we need to discuss, Haymitch."
"Like what? Which 'happy' face will work best whilst I watch forty-seven children die all over again?"
"Now is not the time for your attitude! You've upset a lot of people by using that force field as a weapon, it was only ever meant to contain the arena. You've made the Capitol look stupid."
I have to stop myself from saying 'So what?' but I know better than that. Angering the Capitol and, even worse, President Snow, can only end badly for those around me, I'm sure.
"Okay," I say, "what do I do?"
"You say that you were in so much pain and that you were so confused that you didn't know what to do. You had no weapon and all you could think about was leading Opal to the edge of the cliff, hoping she might lose her weapon, too. You got it?"
I nod, the urgency in his voice is impossible to ignore and seeing as Titam is usually such a happy man this has to mean something. He tells me that Elerrah and the prep team will arrive soon and then leaves.
Sure enough, all four of them arrive in their Capitol finery with huge grins on their faces and whisk me away to what is essentially a giant wardrobe. The walls are lined with clothes that Elerrah is carefully examining whilst Riosa, Antonia and Marcius pluck and polish my body.
They spend the whole time nattering about how exciting the Games were and, more importantly, how annoyed they are that they didn't bet on me to win. Apparently, despite being the first to grab a rucksack at the cornucopia I wasn't much of a favourite until I allied with Maysilee and then the odds of me winning weren't worth the bet. Oh, how sorry I am for them.
"I knew you were clever, though," says Riosa, "so I suppose I shouldn't have been that surprised."
Eventually, the hellish ordeal is over and after Elerrah has picked out a pale green suit with a black shirt for me to wear I'm pushed underneath the stage where Caesar Flickerman is currently standing.
Titam, Marsella and the prep team soon join me so that we can rise to the stage together. Titam and I are the only ones who are not buzzing with excitement as the plate beneath us begins to rise. This feels all too familiar and suddenly I'm thrust back in to the arena as I face my opponents for the first time.
The audience cheers as we rise to the stage and, thankfully, I'm torn away from the memory. Caesar congratulates us all, shaking every hand that he can before gesturing for us to take our seats. There is an ornate chair placed on the stage for me to sit on whilst I watch the three hours of supposed highlights of the Games.
This must have been one of the shortest Games in its history, it only lasted a week and they usually last for at least three. I guess that the increased amount of tributes and the volcano eruption meant that the deaths were rapidly sped up.
I grin and laugh at the various deaths like a good victor should but they each bring their own horror. Clo was taken out within minutes by one of the Careers and Dinium died running from the hot lava. Even at the end of his life he was trying to protect his alliance by directing them away from the volcano but it was all worthless. A lot of air time is given to Maysilee and I and judging from the cries in the room I think some of them think there were romantic feelings between us. I don't care what they think, I just hope Tilly realises it was a friendship out of necessity not attraction.
Once the highlights are over President Snow takes to the stage with a small golden crown. This would be the perfect time to punch him in the face, which has long been my lifetime ambition, but I sense that doing this on live television may not be the best way to start my life as a victor. Instead, I smile graciously as he places the crown on my head and the over*whelming smell of blood and roses makes me want to vomit all over him.
The interview the next morning takes place in the more intimate setting of the lounge on the twelfth floor of the Training Centre. There's no audience, it's just me and Caesar.
"I have to say Haymitch, it's been a while since a tribute from twelve was triumphant in the Games!"
"Yes, I feel very proud," I lie.
"I'm sure you do. That finale was unlike anything we've ever seen. Why don't you tell us a little about that?" At least he's got to the point quickly.
I tell him exactly what Titam told me to and this seems to satisfy him enough that he moves on to Maysilee and our potential romance. I say that it was purely an alliance but I do feel that she was a close friend, hopefully that will be enough to satisfy the audience at home. I could talk about Tilly but I don't want the cameras following us forever, it's best she's kept a secret.
The interview doesn't last long, I sense that it's only intention was for me to show the Capitol that I don't think they're stupid, and I'm soon back on the high speed train heading towards 12.+
I collapse on to the luxurious bed that I thought I'd never see again and close my eyes. Soon I'll be home with my mum, Layle and Tilly. Only it won't be our home, we'll be in a big fancy house in Victor's Village with Titam as a neighbour. For the first time since I left the Games I think about the life I will now have. I know it won't be perfect but I will have enough money to keep us fed and warm, two things we've never been able to rely on before.
In a few years I'll propose to Tilly and we can grow old just like I imagined. No, it won't be perfect but it will be better.
There's a knock on the door and I groan, "Come in."
Titam enters and sits on the edge of the bed. "You're a clever boy, Haymitch. I hope you know that things are going to be very different from now on."
"Yeah, I know I'm going to have to go the Capitol each year and mentor and-"
"No, Haymitch, I mean really different. Everything you do is going to be watched by Snow and the Capitol. If you don't play the role of the perfect victor, the people around you will suffer."
"Is that why you're so happy all of the time?"
"Partly. It's all an act. You have no idea how agonising it is to watch so many children go to their deaths each year knowing you can't do anything about it, even if you try. The only way I can stop myself from having a break down is by pretending to be okay with it."
"And does that work?"
"Sometimes. Look, I don't want to go on about this but I just want you to be aware." He gets up to leave but I feel that I have more to say.
"Titam, thank you. I mean, for everything. I know you didn't give up on me in the arena even though I told you to."
"Of course. You'll soon learn how difficult it is to give up on a tribute, even if they don't want your help."
He leaves and I pull myself under the covers so that I can fall asleep. Maysilee is in a dark room, crying so much that she can't breathe. She's shouting at me to save her, to help her, but every time I try to move I'm stuck to the spot.
"You killed me, Haymitch!" She yells, "It was all your fault!"
I wake up sweating and panting in equal measure. It was just a dream, it wasn't real. I go to the window and open it so that I can get a blast of fresh air. It doesn't help so I storm out of the room and sit in the lounge by myself. One of the Capitol servants soon appears and stands in the corner, looking slightly scared.
"I need a drink," I snap, shocked at the venom in my voice. "White liquor." He nods and returns with a small glass filled with the white liquid; my father's drink. I knock it back and the stinging sensation in my throat makes me wince, I don't know how my dad drank this every night but it does reignite my senses and remind me that it was only a dream. I didn't kill Maysilee. The Capitol killed Maysilee.
I must fall asleep on the sofa because Marsella is shaking me to wake up for breakfast before we finally reach home. I eat a disgusting amount of food that would usually make me feel sick but after so long of living on dried fruit and crackers the predominant feeling I have is hunger.
Finally, we reach the train station at 12 and the prep team do some last minute adjustments to my outfit before allowing the doors to open. As soon as they do I'm greeted with loud cheers and chants that tell me that 12 has not turned its back on me. I haven't betrayed them.
Of course, the cameras are there to capture everything but it's been so long since 12 had a victor that I doubt every single citizen is putting on an act. After all, they know that they are going to get a decent amount of food every month for a year now because of my victory.
I scan the crowd for my family and I can see them standing just below the platforms, grinning from ear to ear. My mother is crying and Layle is cheering louder than anyone else. Tilly is standing with her family next to mine and is giving me a small smile, the jubilations from the crowd seem to be lost on her and it's almost as if she is annoyed with me. Right now I would do anything in the world to show her that I did all of this for her. For us. If it wasn't for her and my family then I would have given up as soon as that plate lifted in to the arena.