Author's Note: This might be what you're expecting, or it might not be! But it's the beginning of the end for the victors.
….
The First to Fall
There was an hour to go before the mentors were due to arrive at the Mentors' Centre to begin their preparations. Before they watched their friends kill each other for the Capitol's entertainment. Haymitch had decided that he had waited long enough alone in the penthouse, so he went to seek Orchard's company, figuring the older man would also benefit from seeing an ally.
He made his way to the lift, almost convincing himself that it would be Chaff he would see once the door opened to allow him in. That he would hear Seeder's calm voice, steadying them all for the inevitable loss of more children from their districts. But instead, he had to force himself to acknowledge that Eleven's floor would be too quiet. That he would not hear Chaff's laughter but Orchard's own brand of calm and quiet fury once he got through the door. Chaff and Seeder were on their way to the arena.
The door to the lift opened and Haymitch could see all the way down to the atrium, which was by now filling with people eager to gain access to the main sponsors' hall, and Gamemakers making a last-minute arrival to the scene of all the action. It was just another Hunger Games beneath the excitement of the Quell. But for Haymitch and his friends, this moment marked the beginning of the end.
He knocked on Eleven's door and was initially not surprised that there was no answer. Orchard was looking increasingly unwell and tired. It would take him a few moments to open the door. But Haymitch realised shortly afterwards that he had been standing outside for far longer than usual. So, he knocked again. No answer. He knocked and shouted for Orchard. Still no answer. He knocked repeatedly, hoping to get someone's attention but to no avail.
By this point, Haymitch was beginning to worry. Orchard could simply be sleeping. It would have been an emotionally exhausting morning following an evening where far too much had been expected of a man of Orchard's age. But he could not shake the worrying feeling that was creeping up inside him.
He returned to Twelve's floor whilst trying to picture Orchard as the days in the Capitol went by. Frail and finally showing his advanced years from the start. But looking increasingly tired and pale as the days drew on, until the interviews where it dawned on Haymitch that Orchard was in fact seriously unwell. The man's days were sure to be limited.
Once he arrived back at the penthouse, Haymitch made straight for the avox entrance and used that to gain access to Eleven's floor. The entire floor was silent. Too quiet. Orchard was not in the living area or the kitchen. Haymitch could not hear water or the shower running either. He glanced inside the rooms once occupied by Chaff and Seeder to see if Orchard was busying himself collecting their possessions, remembering them alive as he knew them until he finally knocked on Orchard's bedroom door but received no reply.
Haymitch steadied himself to open the door, now sure of what he would find. At first, Orchard appeared to be sleeping but upon closer look, Haymitch realised that he was not breathing. He placed a hand on the man's chest and felt no rise and fall. He checked his wrist for a pulse but there was nothing. Orchard was dead.
His face was more relaxed than Haymitch had seen since their arrival. The man had been so exhausted and angry and now he could feel peace, without watching what was about to happen to his victors. Perhaps it was why he left when he did. To free himself before he could watch the worst happen. He knew the limits of a mentor's capabilities and he knew Chaff and Seeder. They would not want him to see this either.
Haymitch was careful to leave Orchard as he found him. He was going to have to notify the Capitol of the death and did not want to be seen to interfere and draw more attention to himself than he needed. Truthfully, this was the last thing he needed to manage right now. He needed to be focused, but Orchard was his friend, one of his own, and he meant the world to Chaff and Seeder. He was important. So Haymitch would do what he had to do.
He smoothed the creases on the bed from where he had sat beside Orchard, doing his best to leave no trace of his presence, before opening the door from the inside and leaving via the front door, leaving it slightly ajar. There was too much activity on the lower floors for anyone to pay too much attention to his movements. If anybody questioned him, they would figure out that after almost a quarter of a century getting to know the Training Centre that he had found a staff entrance and that would be a shock to nobody.
He went to find Maria, not wanting to manage this alone and knowing Maria would do whatever was required. Haymitch knocked on Ten's door and immediately noticed Maria's red eyes and met her with a sad smile, questioning whether he should put the woman through further turmoil. But he figured the news would circulate whatever he did and that as a longstanding ally, Maria deserved to know first.
"Orchard's dead," he announced, not wanting to waste time on small talk.
"Dead. How? Where?" Maria asked, trying not to attract Aloysius's attention as he remained waiting on Ten's floor.
"In his room. Asleep. Can't have been too long ago. Not at the point where you warm up again, so a couple of hours maybe. He would have seen Chaff and Seeder leave, alive."
Maria sighed, "I can't imagine them having to face the arena knowing they had left Orchard behind, if he didn't get to say goodbye before they left. At least they won't know and have this on their shoulders."
"It's for the best, I guess."
"But poor Orchard. He didn't deserve this. He should have been able to go peacefully in Eleven, at home, Chaff and Seeder beside him."
"I hate it," Haymitch said.
"Have you told anyone?"
"No, not yet. I came to you. Thought you should know."
Maria took Haymitch's hands, squeezed them in silent thanks and told Aloysius she was going to walk around the Training Centre with Haymitch before it started. She would meet him later.
Haymitch led Maria to Eleven's floor, and they stopped in front of Orchard's sleeping form. Maria gently took Orchard's hand and held it for a few moments, whispering a few words in Spanish, a blessing, she told Haymitch as he looked on.
Then they both checked the room for signs of interference or that Orchard had taken something to bring on his passing before tidying up after themselves. Then Haymitch decided it was time to make the call.
"I need a doctor," he began as he spoke into the intercom. "No, not for Twelve. Eleven's floor. It's Orchard."
A few seconds passed, Haymitch listening to the voice on the other side, "The problem? He's dead, I think. Well, I'm pretty sure I know that. He's not breathing and there's no pulse. You need to come up here."
….
Whilst Haymitch and Maria accompanied the doctor, answered their questions, and ensured they were cleared of any involvement, the Mentors' Centre started to fill up. The victors from Districts One and Two arrived first, as was tradition.
"Morning," Petran announced, somewhat awkwardly, as if he was unsure how to begin with what was about to unfold.
"Let's just get the job done," Luxor replied.
"Then we can go home and pick up what's left," Petran offered quietly.
The group began searching through the database on the screens to see the available sponsor gifts at the early stages of the Games as they waited for the others to arrive. It was not lost on anyone that there was a scarcity of weapons available. Only a small knife and for an obscene amount of money. The arena would no doubt have all they needed.
They all had enough knowledge of the Games to figure out that water would be a problem. From the clues left in the gifts available, it would be available but potentially difficult to find. But that was a problem for later as they found themselves being joined by Chloe, Coral and Noah.
"So, you're really not one of us this year. I'd have expected you here before now," Luxor chided.
Topaz hit her mentoring partner in his side, chastising him for his comment.
"One year only. Temporary arrangement," Coral reminded him.
"So go on then, we'll find out soon enough. What have Mags and Finnick got planned?"
District Four's mentors ignored Luxor and began searching through the list of potential gifts themselves, silently confirming what they already knew about the arena.
"Oh, so this is how it's going to be?"
"Luxor, stop," Noah interjected. "Even in a normal year, we wouldn't share our tributes' separate plans, just as none of you told us that Gus would desert the alliance on the first night."
"Noah's right, Luxor," Topaz spoke up. "Let it go. It's not helpful. Today is going to be awful enough without your comments."
As they were speaking, Linden and Poppy were coaxing a still tearful Cotton into the Mentors' Centre. Her inexperience meant that an awful lot was unfamiliar to her so the pair had chosen to take the time to distract themselves and try to show Cotton what they could in the time they had left before the Quell began.
They explained how with fifteen minutes to launch, the main screen would activate and begin to show their tributes' vital signs. With ten minutes to go, the first shots of the arena would appear and the main television in the Mentors' Centre would switch to the main feed showing what the rest of Panem would get to see. They also took the time to study the gifts that would be available and explained to Cotton how to gather clues on the arena to mentally prepare themselves for what environment their tributes would face and how they would be able to assist, if at all.
With twenty minutes to go, there was only Haymitch and Maria left to arrive and many of the others were beginning to question the whereabouts of the three lone victors from the outermost districts. They were all fixtures in the Mentors' Centre whenever they visited the Capitol and it was surprising to not see Haymitch with a drink in hand, readying himself for what would often be around five minutes of mentoring and observing his tributes. He was always an early arrival, trying to surround himself with his friends as often as possible before returning to solitude in Twelve.
As he was not an official mentor, Noah offered to return to the Training Centre to determine their whereabouts. He was privately worrying that their activities may have been discovered and it was just adding to his nerves about the morning. Leaving the other victors where tensions were beginning to rise would provide a brief respite. But almost as soon as he reached the door, a grave-faced Haymitch and Maria entered.
"You took your time!" Noah said, although his tone altered as soon as he saw their faces. "What's happened? Where's Orchard?"
"Orchard's dead. I found him about an hour ago. Passed on in his sleep. I think he saw Chaff and Seeder leave and couldn't carry on."
Although quiet, Haymitch's words carried across the room and all the victors fell silent. The oldest of their company, a man they all respected was no longer with them, and this would only set the tone for what was to follow.
It was Chloe who spoke up from the far side of the room at District Four's station, "I'm sorry you found him, that you've both had to deal with this today. I think we're all sorry for Orchard that it ended like this. He was a proud man, a good man and he will be missed."
"Well," Liev started, "Before it all begins, let's have a drink for Orchard." He went to pass around glasses and a selection of drinks he knew Orchard had favoured from the bar behind the desks and each of the victors duly obliged before returning to their stations and an even more uneasy quiet filled the room.
"Who will mentor? It would not be right to leave Chaff and Seeder alone," Lyme said.
"I guess I can. I know them, I'd want to help," Haymitch replied.
"You have two tributes to manage by yourself. The same goes for you Maria. I'm not officially mentoring so I can step in, at least until someone's told the escort," Noah said.
"I'm in the same position, Noah," Linden added. "And Candy Blush won't be of any help. She's hardly a Dora or a Trinket. We can work together. Chaff and Seeder won't be left alone, and they won't have to suspect something has happened to Orchard. They deserve our help."
There was a general consensus that was the best decision and Linden and Noah took up their new places at Eleven's station to begin observing Chaff and Seeder's screens and deciphering what funds they would have to work with. It did not matter that they were Four and Seven and that Orchard was from Eleven. They were survivors, victors, rebels, and friends above all. It was the spirit that the earliest victors had fostered, and they deserved to see their efforts carried forwards even as the relationships they had strived to create were about to be strained and broken in a way they could have never anticipated.
The Quarter Quell was about to begin and already the first of their number had fallen.
