Chapter 32: Imprisonment
Katniss struggles to waken. Her head is swimming and she is in agony. The pain from the wound in her shoulder is radiating across her back and chest and pain is shooting down her arm. She is lying on her side and, as her eyes begin to focus, she sees she is facing a white wall with no markings. The bed underneath her is rough and the hessian material covering its surface is scratching her skin. Katniss touches her shoulder, which is tender, and feels swelling around the wound. It has not been covered and she is guessing they have not bothered to treat it. The pain is excrutiating.
There is nothing else in the small room except a chair next to her bed. The door has a small window and she eases herself of the bed to look through it. There is a long corridor outside her room, but no one in sight. She doesn't even bother to try and open the door. Katniss knows it is locked. She is feeling very woozy and shakily returns to the bed. A small window high above her allows in some light so she knows it is daytime. She just doesn't know what day. How long has she been here? She remembers being in the woods, the sudden, searing pain of the arrow and the man with the rag in his hand.
Suddenly she hears a key in the lock of the door and it opens. A man in a black uniform stands there and has some food on a tray for her. Katniss doesn't move. He puts the tray on the chair and goes to leave.
"Where am I?" Katniss asks in a rasping voice.
"In prison" he says.
"What prison?!" she demands to know.
"One that has been created especially for you".
"Why are you doing this?" Katniss asks
"There is someone who wants to see you. Someone who has been waiting a long time for this moment".
Katniss has no idea who that someone might be, but they obviously do not care about her condition. Neither does Katniss right now. She just wants to get out of here. She hopes Annie made it back to raise the alarm, and she hopes Prim and Peeta are OK. Peeta. Tears begin to fill her eyes as she realizes what she is putting him through again, and now Prim, too. What will he think of her? What will he do?
The man leaves the room without revealing anything else about the person who wants to meet her. She forgot to ask how long she had been there. There is tea and toast on the tray. Katniss is thirsty, probably due to the amount of blood she has lost, and knows she needs to drink the tea just to stay hydrated. She doesn't know what else it might contain, but has no choice and thinks the toast should be safe enough to eat. She helps herself to the meal her captors have prepared. She hopes she doesn't have to wait long until she meets this mysterious person who obviously wants her dead.
Gale has been in touch with Beetee and asked him to orchestrate a shutdown of the Capitol's communication systems temporarily. He wants the blackout to last until they can ascertain which of the prisoners might be willing to talk and ensure that he has control of communications. Katniss life might depend on it.
In the prison, the population of Capitol rebels are being gathered for the reaping of their family members. They have been kept isolated and, so far, have maintained their silence. Gale thinks they don't really believe the Government would go ahead with the reaping, so the charade of the Games must continue.
The Governor of the prison begins choosing the names.
After several minutes they have 18 Tributes, ranging in age from 12 to 17. The Governor proceeds to call the 19th Tribute's name.
"Rebecca Sully".
"No!" gasps one of the prisoners, stepping out of line.
The Governor places the name aside with the other Tributes and continues. Gale thinks this man might be their best chance of turning one of the rebels to their side. When the reaping is complete, Gale asks for the man to be taken aside and to the interrogation room. The rest of the prisoners accept the fate of their family members, for now. Gale enters the interrogation room with purpose.
"What is your name" he asks the man.
"Atticus Sully" the man replies.
"Is Rebecca Sully your daughter?"
"Yes", the prisoner replies.
"Do you want her to die?" asks Gale.
"No" he replies.
"Have you got something to tell me?" Gale wants to know.
The man doesn't hesitate. "Coriolanus Snow is still alive" he says.
Gale is shocked. How is that possible? Snow is dead. He was killed when Katniss killed Coin. Gale remembers him being charged by the rebels after Katniss had fired her arrow at Coin. It had been hard to see what had happened after that. There is no way he could have survived!
Katniss has fallen back to sleep, but is wakened when she hears the door being opened again. It is the same man who brought her food on the tray. He tells her to get ready. She is being brought to meet the person who has had her captured and imprisoned. Katniss finds it hard to get up off the bed. She is still shaky and is feeling warm and sick. The man comes across and grabs her roughly by her left arm to get her moving more quickly. Her right arm hangs loosely by her side. The swelling is now extending down her arm. Without ceremony the man marches her to a room where she is forced to take a seat. They don't bother to shackle her as she is not likely to put up much of a fight.
Suddenly, a door opens to Katniss' left. First shock, then horror registers on her face. Being wheeled through the door is none other than Coriolanus Snow. A dead man. Still, with a rose in his lapel.