Thank you again for reading, I'm having so much fun writing this! I'm also very grateful for any feedback you may have and just want to say a big thank you to MaudieStirling, your reviews are so sweet!
I do not own the Hunger Games nor its characters.
Chapter Seventeen
It's an early start for all of us today, Alba and Robert have been taken away to the catacombs under the arena and Titam and I are heading in to the Control Room where we will be monitoring the Games and sending in gifts to our tributes.
When I walk in the thing that amazes me most is the amount of television screens that are mounted on the walls. There are two large screens at either end of the room and, at the moment, they are showing various interviews with gamemakers and past victors in the build up to the Games. However, this all seems fairly stupid as no one in the Capitol wakes up until late morning, anyway.
There are twenty four work stations outlining the room and each has a screen displaying what Panem is currently watching, one which shows you your tribute and a third screen that allows you to choose which camera you want to view from so that you can see what the other tributes are up to.
My station has 'Haymitch Abernathy, District 12' hanging above one of the screens and Titam is next to me so it will be easy for us to communicate when the Games finally begin. At the moment the Panem Screen is showing aerial shots of the arena, which is a huge forest based design this year with two small lakes at either end of it. From the looks of it there are lots of places to hide, which means the gamemakers are gearing up for a fairly long Games this year.
"Titam, what's this?" I ask, pointing to a small icon in the corner of the currently blank Tribute Screen.
"If you click on it you can see how much sponsorship money Alba has and select gifts to send her."
"I bet this was complicated for you last year with four of us."
"Oh, yes. I was so happy when you and Maysilee teamed up."
I thought it would get easier to hear her name over time but it hasn't, yet. Every time someone mentions her I just want to leave the room but I can't think like that right now, I need to help Alba.
I click on the icon to find that my efforts with the people of the Capitol have not be fruitless as Alba has a nice little pot of money to start with, I must have more sway here than I thought.
"Thirty minutes until launch," a robotic voice says from a speaker in the corner of the room.
This time last year I was trying not be sick as I waited for the sixty second call and the same feeling is returning. I wonder if I'll ever lose it; will I ever sit at this station and be completely unfazed by the whole experience? Part of me hopes so but then the other part doesn't want to lose with touch how awful the Games are, the moment I accept them is the moment I become as despicable as the Capitol.
The thirty minutes seem to rapidly disappear and suddenly the screens before me burst in to life. The tributes are rising in to the arena, surrounding the golden cornucopia and its vast amount of supplies.
Alba and Robert are separated by seven tributes but I've told Alba to meet up with her alliance as soon as she can and then get the hell out of there. She could do okay if she fought it out at the cornucopia but I don't want her to risk it.
The claxon sounds and they've all jumped off their plates, some heading in to the forest whilst the others brave the imminent bloodbath.
"Damn!" I hear Titam shout and I glance over to where Robert was stood to find a Career pulling a knife out of Robert's back. How did he get that knife so quickly?!
My eyes turn back to Alba, who is shouting out for her alliance but the boy has already been killed and the girl is paying no attention to her. I can see the panic in Alba's eyes and I'm screaming at the screen for her to run before one of the Careers gets to her.
She quickly snaps out of it and grabs one of the small backpacks that lies far away from the cornucopia and sprints in to the forest. She was right, she's really fast, which I only appreciate when I see that the boy from 2 has thrown his spear in her direction.
Titam leaves his station and brings his chair over to mine. He already looks like he's about to have a heart attack and we're only fifteen minutes in to the Games.
"Are you okay?" I ask, although I know how stupid a question that is.
"Yeah, it was bound to happen. It's not the first time."
I look at the Tribute Screen to see that Alba is still sprinting through the forest and, thankfully, is far enough away from the bloodbath that they won't come looking for her, yet. She slows down but only to a jog so that she's constantly moving and it isn't long before she reaches the lake on the far left of the arena.
She sits down and examines the contents of her rucksack; a water bottle with iodine solution, a couple of crackers and a bandage. It's not great by any means but at least she has a water bottle, which she proceeds to fill up.
"She needs a weapon," I say and click on the icon in the corner of the screen.
"Wait, Haymitch! Don't waste your money too early, she may be able to make one."
"With what, Titam? If someone finds her, she's got nothing to defend herself with!"
He purses his lips as if he's trying to stop himself from saying what he really wants to but I don't care, I'm not leaving Alba without a weapon. She told me she was most confident with a knife so I find her a rather menacing looking one and send it in to her. Hopefully, she'll see this as a sign of my faith in her.
She opens the parcel and examines the knife before saying, "Yeah, that'll do, Haymitch!"
I smirk, she's going to get a lot of followers in the Capitol if she keeps coming up with golden lines like that.
She packs up her bag and continues to walk in to the forest, steering clear of the water source is probably the best strategy right now as I can see on the Panem Screen that the other tributes are desperately looking for something to drink.
I spend the whole day fixed to my station and tell Titam to go relax, he has no need to stay here, anymore and he's starting to look a bit ill. Eventually, night falls and the anthem plays before revealing those that died in the bloodbath, which was a total of twelve. Half of them gone in less than an hour.
The night is uneventful as Alba finds an area filled with bushes and trees to sleep among, it's a good job that they're not poisonous this year. I just hope that there are no mutts lurking around.
I find myself nodding off but I wake up as soon as my head starts to drop. I could call Titam and ask to switch but he's done this for years, it doesn't seem fair to change over this early on.
Dawn approaches and my heart starts pounding against my chest. The boy from 5 is nearing Alba and she's still sleeping.
"Wake up! Wake up!" I'm screaming at the screen, praying that she can hear me, somehow.
The boy's step must be loud because her eyes open and once she sees him her hand is instantly on her knife and she's standing up, waiting for the fight. He has an axe in his hand that looks identical to the one that Opal carried. No, I can't think about her now.
The boy launches at Alba but she's too quick and she's dodged out of the way. The only way she can kill him is to get close to him but that means getting close to his axe. She turns around and begins to sprint, leaving her backpack on the ground. The boy is quick off his feet, too, and soon he's chasing her through the forest. When he gets close enough he puts all his force behind his axe and throws it at Alba's back. It finds its target and Alba falls to the ground, the sound of her cannon following.
"No!" I yell, hitting the screen. "No! Wake up! Alba!"
I feel a hand on my shoulder and turn around to see Chaff standing over me. "It's okay, Haymitch. Why don't you go to bed? Get some rest?"
Everyone in the room is staring at me but I don't care, this little scene is just adding to my reputation as being the mess from 12 and it's pretty accurate. "I…I don't even know what to do."
"Go to bed," Chaff repeats and I nod, heading off to my room.
When I get there I ask one of the avoxes to bring me a bottle of white liquor, which he does but its' clear from his expression that he doesn't think he should. Titam is asleep and I feel horrendous so what's the harm? I drink the bottle dry but don't fall asleep until my knife is in my hand.
When I wake up it's late afternoon and Titam is standing over me with a displeased look on his face, he's obviously seen the empty bottle by the side of the bed.
"I don't think this is the best way to handle things, is it?" He says but I simply groan, my head is throbbing. "Come on, the press wants to interview us."
Titam leads me to the Sponsorship Room where a small press conference has been arranged, apparently they're desperate to know how I'm feeling after losing my first tribute.
"It's a shame," I say, "Alba was a very strong tribute but she obviously wasn't strong enough." A deliberately vague answer to avoid any further questions, I didn't quite realise how much coverage they like to get of the victors. In the past I've tried to watch as little of the Hunger Games as possible.
Thankfully, the press conference doesn't last long and I give them a few witty comments to keep them entertained before we leave. All I want to do is crawl in to bed and drink, these flashing cameras are doing nothing for my mood nor my headache.
"Titam! Haymitch!" A voice shouts from across the room and I can see Mags walking towards us. "I thought I might find you here!"
Titam smiles and gives his old friend a hug. "Hi, Mags. How are your tributes doing?"
"Good, I think the girl could do it, you know. I was just wondering if you both wanted to go out and get some dinner…and talk," she raises her eyebrows at this last sentence.
"Can we do that? Just leave?" I ask.
They both chuckle. "Of course, it gives the Capitol a cheap thrill to see their victors out enjoying themselves," says Titam.
If I can get out of this depressing place for a few hours then I'm not going to turn it down, besides, I enjoy spending time with Mags.
We get in a taxi and go to a restaurant called Alfred's which is massive even by Capitol standards. The whole place is decorated in purple and gold and because Haymitch Abernathy has entered the building we're given one of the best tables on the second floor.
"Shall we get some wine?" Says Mags.
"I don't think so," says Titam, "Haymitch can't handle his drink."
"I'm not a child!" I snap, "I'd love some wine, please, Mags."
We scan the menus in silence before finally ordering with a waiter who has purple hair to match the décor. He's overcome with delight at serving three victors, which means that we are given extra bread and side dishes for the meal. I suppose being a victor isn't all bad.
"So, are you still interested in that thing we spoke about?" Asks Mags.
"Of course, is it happening soon?" It's hard not to get excited when the idea of killing Snow is mentioned.
"I'm afraid not, I think it could be decades before anything happens but we need to make sure we have a solid team in place when it does."
"So how long have you been planning this?"
"Too long," says Titam, "Me, Mags and some other victors have been discussing this for decades but it's difficult to plan anything when you're resources are limited and you only see each other once a year."
"Indeed," says Mags, "that's why we need to make sure we can get you young ones on side as soon as possible but it hasn't been easy. Not everyone shares our views."
"The Careers," I say and they both nod. It would be quite a coup to get districts 1, 2 and 4 to turn against Snow.
"Anyway, let's talk about something else shall we?" Mags tilts her head slightly and I can see that some of the gamemakers I encountered last year are now sitting at a table on the other side of the room.
Mags is right, organising a rebellion is going to take a long time. I just hope I don't have to wait until I'm her and Titam's age to see it.