Chapter 83: Determination

Coriolanus Snow has been watching his granddaughter with interest. She has beaten all the odds and managed to find the exit to the final arena. Perhaps she was a more like him after all, a dogged and determined survivor, and maybe he had been too harsh in his judgements about her. Who knew what control the Stylists had over her during the Tribute Parade and interviews, and how was an innocent child to defy the people holding her captive? It wasn't too late to do something to save her, but he was enjoying the spectacle and would enjoy even more seeing her win the Games, becoming the ultimate Victor and providing the ultimate victory for his cause. It would be another string in his bow, bolstering the illusion of his victimhood, while maintaining his rhetoric about the new Government's hypocrisy. No, he wasn't' ready to rescue his granddaughter yet. There was still too much to gain.

Effie meets Haymitch at the café and tells him that everything has been organized for this evening. She informs him that Gale has been required to bring another Peacekeeper with him, so Haymitch will have to stay out of sight for now. She will let Gale work out how to excuse himself temporarily to meet Haymitch. It will be too risky for Haymitch to meet with Gale in Effie's apartment.

Lorca and Ottilia are making their way towards the tree Lorcan has seen in the forest. Before heading in that direction, they have filled their water bottles after drinking as much as they can by the stream. They had cooked the rabbit and squirrel…Ottilia letting Lorcan do the honours of skinning and gutting them…and are well stocked for the next part of their journey. It is still hot, so they will probably need to take several rest breaks to rest along the way. The heat causes the insects to buzz around them as they walk and Lorcan regrets not thinking to coat their skin in mud before leaving the stream. That would have offered them some protection from the annoying bites that were now becoming irritated by the sun and heat. Ottilia has had to strip out of some of her camouflage gear and is just wearing a vest. rolling up her trousers to try and cope with the soaring temperature. Lorcan is shirtless, his shirt had been clinging to him earlier, but has decided to put it back on as wearing a sweat soaked shirt is preferable to being bitten by the swarming insects. They stop to take a drink of water after an hour or so and Lorcan begins to feel unwell. There is more than an itch coming from his bites and he lifts up his shirt to see the bites beginning to swell, agony registering in every nerve of his body. Ottilia's arms are covered in big welts and she starts to scream.

"We need to go back to the river!" he shouts, grabbing her hand and their backpacks, as he pulls her to her feet and they start to run. It is all he can think of, imagining the coolness of the water and how it will relieve the burning and pain of the insects bites.

"Hurry!" he tells her as she starts to claw at her arms, drawing blood and becoming even more hysterical.

They crash through trees and undergrowth in their haste to reach the water. Lorcan begins to feel his throat closing as the bites take on their full effect. They are not going to make it in time. Ottilia suddenly stops as they reach a bush loaded with berries. Lorcan tries to pull her along, but she remembers something about this bush from the lessons they had been given in training.

"Lorcan, the berries!" she cries.

"What berries?" he asks her in a hoarse voice, trying not to panic at the lack of air reaching his lungs.

"These berries! If we crush them on our skin, the juice will stop the effect of the bites!".

Lorcan can't remember this lesson or anything about berries that can treat an allergic reaction, but he has no other ideas right now and he knows he can't make it back to the stream in time. Ottilia doesn't wait for him to decide and begins to grab handfuls of berries, crushing them in her hands and smearing them over Lorcan's chest. He is in much worse shape than she is, and his whole body is beginning to swell. She doesn't slow down in her efforts to save Lorcan, who had saved her, and soon his body is covered in soothing berry juice as he gasps for air and Ottilia watches him, hoping he doesn't die. As she sits beside him, holding his hand and reassuring him, she takes some berries for herself and begins to treat the wounds on her arms and neck. Lorcan slowly loses consciousness and his breathing becomes shallow, but Ottilia won't let him die. He can't.

The sun is beginning to set and Katniss has been watching the drama unfold before her. She wonders what it is about the bites that have provoked this reaction, and whether the Gamemakers have engineered these creatures like they had the Trackerjackers who had caused her and Peeta so much misery. Maybe Lorcan had an allergy already, but he had been in the forest for nearly a week and the bugs hadn't caused him any problems before. Katniss is convinced it is one of Plutarch's inventions and she wants to kill him right now. He may have rescued her from the arena during the Quarter Quell, but she and the other tributes had been through hell before that and it had all been at his hand. Katniss didn't trust Plutarch, she didn't trust anyone who so capably engineered the misery of others. Gamemakers were unique kinds of people, which is probably the reason they were chosen for the job, and only had their own interests at heart. Even her rescue was to serve another purpose, not one she had chosen and, if Plutarch were here now, she would launch herself at him again.

Gale arrives at Effie's apartment with his Peacekeeper compatriot and they have been allowed to attend in plain clothes which will make Gale's rendezvous with Haymitch much easier. Pulling him aside, Effie quietly informs him that Haymitch is in the Capitol and wants to see him. Gale hopes he can slip away without being noticed, once his "friend" has taken his fill of the refreshments. He knows his fellow Peacekeeper has a penchant for alcohol, a fact which has been kept from his superiors, and Gale plans to take full advantage of that tonight.

Effie is a generous host and the company is lively. Gale hates everything about these Capitol people, but he knows he needs to engage with them in order to meet up with Haymitch. Their thoughts and their speech is so vacuous it makes Gale want to take a drink, too, but he lets his buddy be drawn in by the conversation and the alcohol and decides it won't be long now.

Feigning concern, Effie soon leads Gale's friend to the bedroom telling him he has had too much to drink and needs to lie down for a while. She says she will keep an eye on Gale and pecks him on the cheek just to satisfy him that she means no harm. Effie distracts the other guests by putting the Games on the screen for them to watch and they become engrossed in Lorcan and Ottilia's story as Gale slips out the door to meet Haymitch. It is dark outside and Gale hides himself in the shadows of Effie's apartment complex. Haymitch had seen him exit the building and sidles up to him, tapping him on the arm. Gale jumps and then sees Haymitch's grin in the dim light of the moon.

"Haymitch! How did you manage to get away from 12?" Gale asks him.

"It wasn't hard. They all think I'm a useless drunk and I told them I was coming to see Effie because she wasn't well. I have a note for you from Peeta" Haymitch tells Gale handing him the note.

Gale opens it and reads what Peeta has written.

"How did he get the note to you?" asks Gale.

"He hid it in a loaf of bread" says Haymitch and they both laugh quietly. Peeta is a genius and now they have a way to communicate while the Katniss and Peeta are under House Arrest.

"Can you get a note back to him, then?" Gale asks.

"Sure" says Haymitch. "I won't be able to deliver it in a loaf of bread, but maybe Effie can come up with an idea".

Haymitch has come prepared and gives Gale a piece of paper and a pen so he can write down whatever information is available to him right now. It is a slow and arduous way to communicate, but they have no other choice right now as Gale writes quickly and succinctly about what is happening in the Capitol at the moment. He hands the note back to Haymitch.

"How are they doing?" he asks before letting Haymitch go.

"Ok" Haymitch tells Gale. "Now they know they have a way of contacting you, they will handle it much better. Katniss can't sit still for long, but thankfully she has the children for a distraction and Peeta has been able to go to the bakery, with a Peacekeeper to guard him, during the day".

"As long as they are safe" says Gale. He would much rather be there in 12 with them, but he knows that Paylor keeping him close to her in the Capitol is going to work to their advantage as well. Gale will make sure it does.

Taking their leave of one another, and wishing each other luck, Haymitch goes to prepare for his return to District 12 tomorrow, while Gale collects his drunken friend to bring him back to the barracks. Just before Gale leaves Effie's soiree, he thanks her for being a generous host and a good friend. Effie deserves some recognition. He also gives her a peck on the cheek which he says is from Haymitch, who will see her again soon. Effie tells Gale that she is glad she has been able to help. She only ever wanted to be helpful…even at the time of the first Reaping when Katniss volunteered in Prim's place. She was just doing her job then, but now she is doing so much more. She is doing what she needs to do to help her two favourite Victors and this time she won't let them down.