Mayhem.
Absolute mayhem.
The Careers snuck up on our group without detection. How? We have two more people than they do- well, one now because Wiress is good as dead. But still, everyone was too focused on Peeta and his map. My son does have a way of captivating audiences, but that's hardly an excuse. Someone needed to be on watch.
Cashmere and Gloss are dead before they know what hit them. Which, in actuality, was an arrow and an axe blade.
A large, muscle bound tribute with a murderous snarl on his face hurls a spear right at Peeta, but Finnick steps to block it - gaining a knife in the thigh.
Three cannons burst open the afternoon, signaling the official deaths of the siblings from One. At least they went together. But it also means that Wiress is dead. Ingenious Wiress who figured out the arena's secret, which benefited our tributes enormously. I close my eyes for a moment to push back the despair.
The Two tributes are sprinting away from the golden horn now. They were outnumbered in the first place, but now it'd be a joke to continue attacking. Their alliance has been halved. They're lucky that the Gamemakers intervene or our allies may have caught them, too.
It's a much-expected disorientation, true, but I think the Gamemakers know that once the Careers are dead, there's really no fight left except the inter-alliance one. Which will be, if possible, more atrocious than the first. So, in some room far removed, they hit a button and the land around the Cornucopia begins to spin.
So this is how the Gamemakers are switching things up. As the island picks up speed, the victors grit their teeth as they grab for anything, any kind of hold. Several bodies flop into the water, but I'm pretty sure they're corpses. When the land finally slams to an abrupt stop, our entire alliance looks green. They cough and wince, trying to stand without stumbling. But a bigger problem than retrieving their balance arises because they now have no idea which way the clock faces.
Katniss pauses for a moment, then dives out into the water with a "cover me".
She swims out to the body I know to be Wiress. There, clutched in the wax-like hands, is the coil of wire Peeta gave her to wash. The one that meant so much to Beetee, her district partner. The water around Wiress is stained with watery red patterns, stemming from the wound in her neck. Like delicate spider webs, they lace the water; their fraying lines reaching for Katniss.
She fights through the strange calm and prys the coil from the death grip. I think of those final moments. The prickle of incoming danger. The wire digging into flesh before the blackness seeps in. Katniss helplessly surveys the body of her ally. Gently, she closes the woman's unseeing eyes and swims away, unable to do anything else.
Back on the beach, Katniss seems to be a little shaken. Her eyes are wide and even though she keeps an unyielding expression of determination, I know she's suffering. Walking over to Peeta, she wraps her arms around him protectively. She's the only one with a district partner left and must feel the need to keep him away from harm. Peeta's face shows brief surprise before he leans against her, allowing her to hold him.
"I'm not saying I'm glad Three is dead," my wife says. "But she did inhibit the group. Slowed them down. They'll have a better chance without her."
I turn, appalled. "How can you say that? She was one of the smartest victors! Besides, aren't you connecting with these victors? Don't you feel like they're all from Twelve? I didn't want any of them to die, not even Wiress!"
"That's what the Capitol wants!" my wife insists. "Right there. They want you to get attached to these people so that when they die, you'll be torn apart. It's all part of their show of power!"
I bite the inside of my lip so hard it bleeds. She's probably right, but that doesn't change how I feel. I hate that these people have to die. Hate it.
"I need to do some work in the bakery," I say, abruptly standing. "I'll be back in a bit."
She's knows I'm escaping. That I don't want to think about those things right here, right now. And to be honest, I don't care. The bakery is the one place where I can be myself. Feel what I want to feel. Today, though, it's just too close to the Capitol. I can still hear the announcers, feel the eyes of some unknown person watching. I have to get out. So, I gather up a bundle of bread and make for the road. I've been meaning to do this for awhile, but have backed out every time the chance presented itself.
My feet find the road to the Victor's Village just like they have so many times before. But this time, I pass Peeta's house and keep going until I arrive at hers. At Katniss's.
Even if I couldn't let Katniss herself know how grateful I was to her for taking care of Peeta, I should let her mother know. I'll admit, I have no idea what our victor's personal relationship is like. Lovers? Friends? Something in between? There's not really a word for it. Thrown together by survival and death, yet managing to get each other through it. All I know is that Peeta wouldn't have been able to cope with surviving the Games without her presence.
It's been a very long time, over fifteen years, since I last spoke with this woman other than a nod at the bakery or in the square. I wonder how awkward it will be.
I knock before realizing I haven't planned out what I'm going to say. Quickly, I try to come up with a few words. Just "here's some bread, thanks for your daughter" doesn't really sound right. She needs to understand the depth of my gratitude. Peeta would know the perfect thing to say, but I'm not him.
The door opens before I can piece anything together. It's not Katniss's mother, though. It's Primrose. She's really grown up in these last few months. You can see it in the way she holds herself and the sadness in her eyes. The Games affected everyone, not just out victors.
"Hello." She looks puzzled, noticing the bread. "We didn't -"
"I know," I say quietly. "This is just a gift."
"Oh!" She smiles a little, taking me back to the schoolyard. Primrose really does look just like her mother.
Just then, a bloodcurdling scream echoes from the living room. There's a delayed jolt as I realize what it's from.
"That'll be the Quell," Prim says, her eyes wide. She motions me inside and we make for the screen.
Katniss's mother comes in from the kitchen, her face pale. We all heard the scream. We know what it means. Death. Torture. Suffering.
But the odd thing is, the scream seems oddly familiar. Where have I heard that voice?
"Katniss," an unseen voice shrieks from the jungle. "Katniss, help!"
Katniss, who was guarding Finnick while he tapping a tree, takes off. Her face drains of any color as she crashes through the jungle. "Prim!" she screams. "Prim!"
Primrose looks at her mother helplessly. "What's happening? Why's she yelling my name?"
Those screams… they're Prim's! Yet, they can't be because she's standing right here. "It's a trap," I realize. "Gamemaker made."
Only now does her mother realize I'm here. Her eyes are questioning, but Katniss is still screaming. Like when Peeta hit the force field, I know her world is crashing down.
Katniss has entered a clearing now, her eyes searching for the source of the terrible sounds.
"Prim!" She looks up, insanely searching the canopy. "Prim?"
"Katniss!" Prim goes to the screen, pressed her hand up against it. "Katniss, I'm here! I'm safe!"
Her sister has nocked an arrow now and when it flies, I see what's been emitting the sound.
"A jabberjay," Katniss's mother says in a whisper. "They used a jabberjay."
Prim is looking at her sister helplessly. "I'm okay, Katniss. I'm okay."
Katniss is still very, very pale. She's panting, whether from fear or exertion, I don't know. She picks up the limp body of the bird and murder crosses her face. Her fingers wrap around it's neck, wringing it, before she launches it into the jungle.
Finnick, looking incredibly panicked, comes racing to her aid. "Katniss?"
"It's okay," she sighs. "I'm okay. I thought I heard my sister, but -"
The screaming starts up again. But it's not Prim this time.
Finnick loses his comforting demeanor instantly. Just like Katniss, he goes pale.
"Finnick, wait!" Katniss grabs her him, but it's too late. "Finnick!"
"Annie!" the tribute from Four screams. "Annie! Annie!"
She must know that the only way to calm him is to kill the bird because Katniss locates the source and begins to scale a tree. The jabberjay plummets from the branches, standing no chance against her arrows. Finnick makes the connection between the screams and the mutt, but it doesn't seem to make him feel any better.
"It's all right, Finnick," Katniss says. "It's just a jabberjay. They're playing a trick on us. It's not real. It's not your… Annie."
"No," Finnick whispers hoarsely. "It's not Annie. But the voice was hers. Jabberjays mimic what they hear. Where did they get those screams, Katniss?"
"Oh, Finnick, you don't think they…"
"Yes. I do. That's exactly what I think."
For a moment, I'm confused. Then, I realize what they think has happened.
"Do they think that I was tortured to get those sounds?" Prim asks, her voice going high.
"I - I think so," her mother sighs. She steps forward, wrapping her arms around Primrose.
The Gamemakers. How could they? Katniss looks like she might faint because she thinks her little sister was tortured to get the sounds. She sinks to ground, her knuckles white. But Prim is right here. Alive! Not injured in any way!
"Katniss, no," Prim gasps. "Mom, she has to get away! Why doesn't she run?"
The camera switches and we see Peeta, Beetee, and Johanna looking at each other, panicked.
"Where did they go?" Peeta says urgently. "Johanna, where did they go?!"
"Don't look at me, brainless!" she snaps. "You heard the scream. Your fianceé took off and Finnick followed."
"Perhaps they left a trail." Beetee straightens his glasses, moving more slowly than the others.
"Well don't just stand there!" Peeta cries. "There could be anything in there!" He runs forward as if to dash into the jungle, but smacks into some invisible wall.
Johanna curses and smacks the invisible barrier. "They're stuck."
"You mean we can't get to them?" Peeta is starting to panic. "You heard those screams!"
"Nothing we can do," Beetee sighs. "This must be another weapon. Four o'clock."
On the other side of the wall, another bird is starting to scream. It's a lower, more anguished scream than the two previous high ones. Gale. He sounds just like he did when Thread whipped him.
Finnick grabs Katniss and pulls her to her feet. She fights him, trying to reach the screams.
"No," Finnick says through gritted teeth. "It's not him. We're getting out of here! It's not him, Katniss! It's a mutt! Come on!"
She's not listening, her instincts taking over as she struggles to evade his grasp. Finnick has to resort to carrying Katniss, dragging her back the way they'd come. At last, she comes to her senses and begins to run alongside him. They've almost reached the barrier. In fact, they can see the others now. What they don't know is that they're trapped.
The camera splits so we can hear and see what's going on inside both sections. Peeta has his hands pressed up against the wall, screaming for Katniss to stop.
"They can't hear us!" Johanna says. "They're stuck in there until the hour's up."
It's no good. Katniss and Finnick slam into the invisible wall at full speed, which throws Katniss's shoulder and blood gushes from Finnick's nose.
Peeta tries to stab the wall and even Johanna swings her ax into it a few times. Useless. The facts sink in and Katniss puts her palms up to meet Peeta's. Their foreheads touch the wall in the same place. The star-crossed lovers separated by a wall that seems much thicker than it is.
"Katniss," Peeta's muttering. "Katniss, it's okay. It's okay."
She stares at him cravingly, as if he's the only thing keeping her sane. Indeed, there's a wild look in her as that even Peeta can't dissolve.
When the birds arrive, Finnick loses it. He crouches on the ground, his hands covering his ears, trying desperately to block out the heinous sounds coming from the animals. Katniss empties her quiver, firing arrow after arrow into the feathery demons, but eventually gives up, too. Seeing Katniss and Finnick so hopeless, so wounded by sounds alone, is horrifying. But my son's agony on the other side is almost as bad.
"IT'S NOT REAL!" he screams, pounding on the wall. "IT'S NOT REAL, KATNISS! THEY'RE MUTTS!" His face is contorted in such pain. He can't reach her. She can't hear him. All he sees her tormented figure.
Johanna looks worried, but she doesn't bother banging on the wall. She knows that there's nothing to do but wait.
As the hour crawls by, I stand in the Everdeen's living room like a statue. None of us move or speak. The abominable images on the screen have paralyzed us. Time is meaningless now.
"Katniss!" Peeta's voice is hoarse. "Katniss, the hour's almost up. They're just mutts, I promise!"
"If my calculations are correct," Beetee mutters. "Then the wall should disappear in three, two, one…"
My son's been leaning on the wall, letting it support him, so when it melts away, he stumbles forward into the sector. The birds flap away, leaving a few dark feathers to drift lazily to the ground. Peeta beelines for Katniss's rigid body, pulling her onto his lap.
"Shhhh, you're alright," he whispers soothingly, rocking her like a small child. "It's okay. The mutts are gone. I've got you now."
Johanna isn't as touchy-feely with Finnick. She pats his back awkwardly and just sits next to him.
Both Finnick and Katniss take a long time to stir, having been in the same tense position for so long. When Katniss finally regains some mobility, her whole body begins to shiver.
This increases Peeta's pain tenfold. "It's all right, Katniss," he murmurs.
"You didn't hear them," she moans pitifully.
"I heard Prim." My son begins to rub her shoulders, trying to release the tension. "Right at the beginning. But it wasn't her. It was a jabberjay."
"It was her," Katniss insists. "Somewhere. The jabberjay just recorded it."
"No," Prim speaks for the first time in awhile. "No, I'm fine! They didn't take me!"
"No," Peeta echoes steadily. "That's what they want you to think. The same way I wondered if Glimmer's eyes were in the mutt last year. But those weren't Glimmer's eyes. And that wasn't Prim's voice. Or if it was, they took it from an interview or something and distorted the sound. Made it say whatever she was saying."
"No, they were torturing her. She's probably dead." Katniss sounds so hollow, as if those birds killed her spirits. This attack was just as brutal as the fog and the monkeys, just as damaging. Only physical wounds heal.
"Katniss," Peeta is still saying patiently. "Prim isn't dead. How could they kill Prim? We're almost down to the final eight of us. And what happens then?"
"Seven more of us die," Katniss whimpers.
Here in the living room, Prim makes a similar sound. "She'll believe him, right? He'll make her see I'm not hurt?"
No one answers. I certainly hope so.
"… what happens? At the final eight?" my son is saying. We're already almost down to the final eight? Good gracious.
"At the final eight?" Katniss asks. "They interview your family and friends back home."
Oh, right. We have that to look forward to.
"That's right," Peeta lets his hands run down her arm. "They interview your family and friends. And can they do that if they've killed them all?"
"No?" Katniss still sounds so unsteady, like a kid wanting so badly for something to be true.
"No. That's how we know Prim's alive. She'll be the first one they interview, won't she."
Prim is ghostly white, watching her sister suffer at the hands of her phantom torture. She doesn't seem to happy at the thoughts of the interviews either.
So, in answer to Prim's earlier question, yes. Peeta is able to make Katniss realize that it was a trick. Finnick seems to be a bit more reassured, too. Even Beetee contributes by explaining a technique they learn in District Three to distort voices. Johanna Mason starts to say something, but the camera cuts away to a shot of the Career pack, which is really only the Two tributes now.
Katniss's mother approaches me now that the whole thing is over, studying me quizzically.
"Mom, he brought us bread. As a gift," Prim says.
"Thank you." She takes the bread, still looking for further explanation.
"I didn't get a chance to tell Katniss that -" I pause, trying to gather my thoughts. "That I'm so grateful for the comfort she brought to my son." It's all I can manage, but she seems to understand. It's not like we can talk freely here anyway because if the bakery is bugged, this house is without a doubt being monitored.
"Thank you. He helped her, too. More than you know." Her soft voice is just like I remember it, but unlike before, I don't feel a stab of longing. Our paths were never meant to join. "Even now, with those birds," she continues. "No one's been able to comfort her like that since… since her father died."
We stand in silence for awhile before I turn to go.
"Goodbye." She says, pulling Prim in close.
The whole walk home, those birds shrieks ring in my ears.