Thank you all, again, for continuing to read and for all of your lovely comments! I hope you enjoy this chapter, things are starting to get exciting, now!
I do not own the Hunger Games nor its characters.
Chapter Forty-One
Katniss quietly climbs down from her tree and checks her snares, which have trapped a fair amount of food and proceeds to skin, gut and cook her kills. It may not be the wisest thing to do with the others so close but the cameras are locked on her, showing Panem just how resourceful she is.
Her face isn't giving anything away and I, just like the rest of the country, want to know what she thinks of Peeta joining the Careers. I doubt she realises that he's protecting her but I hope she doesn't say something stupid to shatter the star-crossed lovers angle.
The day goes on and while the Careers head back to their base to sleep Katniss continues to walk, searching for water. I can tell she's getting desperate now but I'm reluctant to send her something as simple as water this early on.
As she gets closer to one of the ponds I can see her resolve loosening and eventually she's crying out for me to send her water.
"Come on, Haymitch, she's going to die if you don't send it to her," says Chaff, "You've got plenty of money."
"Look how close she is," I say and point to the pond, "She'll figure it out."
Chaff doesn't seem to agree but within twenty minutes Katniss is on her feet and running towards the pond. That's when I know that she's understood. She may have limited social skills but when it comes to survival her brain is unlike any other.
She spends the next few hours there, filling up her water bottle and gulping it down. At least now she's got some energy back and the audience will have regained their faith in her.
"I thought I'd relieve you of your duties," an irritating voice says in my ear that can only belong to Effie. I look up to find she's head to toe in a dark brown that makes her look like a tree branch.
"That's not your job," I snarl.
"I know but I want to help and you're no good to them without any sleep." She pulls up a chair and stares me down until I agree but I refuse to leave, even if my smell is offending her and just doze off in my chair.
It feels like no time at all has passed when I hear her shouting "Wake up! Haymitch! Katniss is in trouble!"
My eyes spring open and I can see that Katniss is being chased by huge fireballs, no doubt that's a comment by the Gamemakers on Cinna's designs. I just hope this isn't one of Plutarch's ideas.
Katniss is faster than I thought but she has to stop for a moment to tear off her jacket, which has caught fire, and when I look at the Panem Screen I can see that the Careers are also being chased by the wall of fire. The Gamemakers want a show and they're pushing their biggest contenders towards each other.
By the time the Careers have caught up with Katniss she's climbing a tree high above them, despite the huge burn down one of her legs. Peeta's eyes flit between her and the other Careers, it's clear he's worried and unsure what to do.
"How is everything with you?" Katniss yells at them, which gets a laugh from everyone in the room, including myself.
"Well enough," says Cato, "Yourself?"
"It's been a bit warm for my taste," she replies and my heart beat starts to slow. She's got the whole country eating out of the palm of her hands, I'm sure. "The air's better up here. Why don't you come on up?"
"Think I will." Glimmer tries to hand him her bow and arrows but Cato refuses, preferring his sword but he's so muscular and heavy that he has no chance of climbing as high as Katniss and falls flat on his back.
Glimmer aims her arrows at Katniss but hits the tree instead so Katniss gabs the arrow and waves it at her, tauntingly.
"What is she doing?!" Screams Effie.
"Playing the part," I say, "And she's doing brilliantly."
The Careers group together, discussing what they should do next. Clove suggests that she climb up there but Cato quickly vetoes that, it's obvious that he wants to be the one to kill Katniss.
Eventually Peeta chimes in and says, "Oh, let her stay up there. It's not like she's going anywhere. We'll deal with her in the morning." Excellent! He's convinced them to wait it out and given Katniss a chance to form a plan without them realising. I wonder if she's realised what he's doing, yet.
Effie totters off a little while later once she sees that nothing is going on and I slip out for half an hour just to shower and get changed. When I return I can see that Rue has been hiding out in the tree next to Katniss and is pointing to a tracker jacker nest above her head. I shout out in frustration, it's not like Katniss to miss something like that! Those things can kill you as soon as they touch your skin!
I look at her leg and can see that the burn is still horrific, she desperately needs medicine and I'm happy that we've got enough money to send it to her but not yet. I'll wait until the anthem so that the parachute doesn't give her location away to anyone else.
It turns out that Katniss has similar ideas as when the anthem begins she tells Rue to go and begins to saw at the nest, covering the noise. If she cuts it free it will land directly onto the Careers below and possibly kill one or two of them. Maybe even Peeta. As I send in the medicine I try not to think about him, he knows what he's agreed to.
However, she doesn't manage the whole thing before the music ends and has to return to her spot in the tree where her burn medicine is waiting for her. She looks at it and says, "Oh, Haymitch, thank you." No problem, sweetheart, just keep it up.
I allow myself to doze off, again, whilst Katniss and Peeta and sleep but it seems the law now to only wake me up after something major has happened.
Finnick is violently nudging me and screaming something about the tracker jacker nest.
"What?" I groan as I come to.
"She's cut the nest free and it's landed on the Careers, they're all headed for the lake."
I look at the screen to see that most of the Careers are running away but Glimmer is twitching on the floor and her body has become horribly misshapen. Katniss climbs down from the tree, visibly woozy and pulls out the stingers. Even in this state she's smart. So smart that her eyes almost glint at the realisation that Glimmer has her hands wrapped around her previous bow.
As Katniss grapples with the dead girl's body a cannon fires, followed by a hovercraft to take the girl from 4 away who was killed by the tracker jackers.
"That's us out," says Finnick a little too light heartedly, although, I know how jaded we've all become since becoming mentors.
It's painful watching Katniss tear the bow and arrows out of Glimmer's hands but we both know it's her best chance. Finnick asks why she hasn't fled but I just say that all will be revealed, I don't want word getting out about Katniss' talents with so many Careers still alive, despite how much I trust Finnick. Mentors have a nasty habit of eavesdropping.
Peeta comes bounding back in to the clearing to find Katniss clutching the bow and arrows and looking completely dazed.
"What are you still doing here?" He says, much to her surprise. She's probably waiting for him to send that spear through her stomach but instead he just prods her with it in effort to make her move. "Are you mad? Get up! Get up!" She slowly gets to her feet, "Run!" He yells, "Run!"
It's only when an angry Cato reappears that she starts to move and Peeta only has seconds to block his path.
"Move!" Bellows Cato but Peeta blocks his path, again. Cato smirks, "So this was your plan all along, hmm? To protect your little girlfriend?"
"Yes," spits Peeta and all I can think is that this is the moment he's going to die. He could run but Cato would only be seconds behind him and with a thirst for blood.
Cato runs at Peeta, who blocks the former's sword with his spear and pushes him away but the Career is too quick and slices the top of his thigh with his sword. Peeta lets out a chilling scream and throws his spear at Cato but wildly misses. Instead, he begins to run, despite the amount of blood pouring out of his leg. Cato doesn't even flinch, Peeta is no longer worth his time.
I glance over to Katniss' screen to see that she has blacked out in a small hole, clutching the bow and arrows. It's impossible to say how long she'll be out for. Peeta, meanwhile, has paused to wrap up his wound and is now limping in a random direction.
"Are you going to send him anything?" Asks Finnick.
"Let's just see how long he lasts," I say, "It could be a waste."
Finnick nods, knowingly.
Breakfast is soon sent over and we eat in silence, despite me telling him that he should go and rest, he has no reason to stay here but, to be honest, I think he's pinning as much hope on Katniss as I am.
Just as we finish Plutarch walks in and is quickly jumped on by the mentors from 1 who have no qualms when it comes to cosying up to Gamemakers. He graciously talks to them for a moment before walking over towards me and Finnick.
"Haymitch," he says, "I've set up a press conference for you this afternoon; the residents of the Capitol can't get enough of Katniss and Peeta."
"It's been years since I've given an interview," I groan. I'm not excited by the prospect at all, despite the likelihood that it will increase the number of sponsors.
"You'll be fine," says Finnick and then he lowers his voice before adding, "And besides, the more in love the districts are with Katniss, the better."
I have to agree and ask him to man the station whilst I go and get ready, although Effie soon turns up to offer her services but refuses to let Finnick leave. Pathetic.
The press conference takes place outside the Training Centre with plenty of reporters and members of the public making the trip to speak to me. Plutarch has gone back to Gamemaker Headquarters and has basically left me to fend for myself.
There are, of course, lots of questions about the romance between Katniss and Peeta and, although Peeta has done everything to protect Katniss she doesn't seem quite as enamored with him. These questions obviously unsettle me but I just put on my best smile and try to charm the annoying creatures that stand before me.
"Peeta has certainly put his life on the line for Katniss, which only goes to show just how much this young boy loves her," I say and there's a ripple of agreement across the crowd. "However, Katniss is clearly trying to put aside her feelings for Peeta so that she can see her little sister, again. Can you imagine the conflicting emotions that must be going through that poor girl's head? She longs to see her family, again, but if she ever wants to get home she might have to kill the boy she's in love with." This really gets them going and they all move a little closer, screaming their questions at me. For once, they've placed themselves in the shoes of a tribute and are imagining what it would be like to kill someone they love. They may be frivolous and stupid beings but they're still human and we can all relate to love.
I quickly wrap up the interview, worried that I've been away from the Control Room for too long and head back. When I walk over to Effie and Finnick I can see that Katniss is still out cold but I can't find Peeta at all.
"Is he dead?" I ask, my body feeling cold. No, he can't be, otherwise that interview I just gave would have been pointless.
"No, he's just frightfully clever!" Squeals Effie and points to Peeta's Tribute Screen. "Can you see? He's painted himself with mud to blend in with the moss and the rocks." I have to focus for a while as there looks like no one is there at all but the dried blood on a nearby rock indicates his location. This kid is more resourceful than I thought.
I tell Finnick and Effie to go, they've done enough and now it's time for me to get back to my job. Officially, only mentors should be at their stations but one person can't stay at a station forever, especially when there are no other victors from your district.
Neither of them wake for two days but the donations are still pouring in. Peeta keeps whispering Katniss' name in his sleep and from what Finnick has been telling me from his recent dates my little press conference has really tugged on the country's heart strings. No one is happy about these two apparent love birds splitting up.
I'm starting to get agitated, though, as little Rue keeps checking in on a sleeping Katniss. I can tell she's drawn to her and I don't think Katniss has it in her to turn her back on someone who looks so feeble.
Once Katniss is awake, she treats her burns and begins to walk, following a small stream and hunting as she does so. This is great, she's coming in to her own, now and actually stands a chance, especially with all the sponsorship money she's getting.
Just as she's cooking some sort of bird her head whips around, her bow aimed at the trees. I don't know what she's seen until she says, "You know, they're not the only ones who can form alliances," and Rue moves out of the woods and in to view.
Katniss offers her food and Rue knows which leaves to use to heal her tracker jacker stings. They quickly get talking and agree to become allies, which fills me with dread. I know her compassion for those less able than her is one of her nicer qualities but now is not the time for that kind of thinking, she can't die saving Rue.
Chaff must sense my reluctance as he turns in his char towards me. "You know, Rue has a lot of brains, they might do well together."
"I can see that," I say because it's true. She's survived this far without a weapon and just her wits. "You know I don't want Rue to die, it's-"
"I know, Haymitch, I've been here just as long as you have, remember?"
As night falls they both get in to Katniss' sleeping bag and when the anthem plays they both start whispering so no one, including myself can hear. Yes, they're both clever but I can't shake the feeling that Rue will be Katniss' downfall, even more so than Peeta.
"Let's try out these glasses," says Katniss and slips on a pair of night vision glasses that Rue had to explain to her. "I wonder who else got a pair of these."
"The Careers have two pairs. But they've got everything down by the lake," replies Rue, "And they're so strong."
"We're strong, too. Just in a different way."
"You are. You can shoot. What can I do?"
"You can feed yourself. Can they?"
"They don't need to. They have all those supplies."
"Say they didn't. Say the supplies were gone. How long would they last? I mean, it's the Hunger Games, right?" I can sense that something is ticking away in Katniss' brain, a plan is forming that involves action and not hiding, something the audience is getting desperate to see.
"But Katniss, they're not hungry," says Rue.
"No, they're not. That's the problem. I think we're going to have to fix that, Rue."
I turn to Chaff who meets my bemused expression with a look of concern. It's hard to know what they're planning, Katniss has left the whole country on edge with that last comment and is now falling in to a light sleep.
"Drink?" Chaff asks.
"Drink," I reply and we both rise in search of a large bottle of white liquor.