Author's Note: We pick up where we left off as the Games continue.
….
Danger
The air in the Mentors' Centre was one of devastation. The mentors from One and Two were confined to the far corner, talking quietly amongst themselves. Four's victors stood near them, holding hands, whispering their thanks for Mags' and Finnick's good fortune and survival. To Katniss Everdeen's ability to swim, Peeta's good luck and Johanna Mason's heroism that had just saved the entire plan.
Mona stood up furiously, sending her chair flying backwards as Barley moved to kick his chair away. They both left the Centre, leaving the door to slam behind them and their chairs strewn across the floor. Poppy and Halley were sat arm in arm, crying, next to the sofa where Cotton lay sedated with Linden at her feet, sitting with his head in his hands.
Porter continued to sob quietly whilst Max sat motionless and silent, staring at the screen but not truly seeing what was happening. Liev and Sawyer sat closer than usual, both relieved at Blight and Johanna's survival but quietly angry about what they had witnessed. Haymitch approached them to offer their thanks for Johanna's actions and promised to buy Seven's three victors all their drinks for the rest of the Games.
The quiet was punctuated by the sound of Maria's knife. She had taken the entire fruit board from the table at the bar and began angrily chopping into what was available. It was a distraction that allowed her to use a knife in a way that would not get her into trouble.
Pluto continued to mutter his apologies and left to change as Effie Trinket walked into the Mentors' Centre and stopped to survey the room. None of the victors startled at her presence. They were used to seeing her in the Centre as one of the escorts most involved in responding to the needs of her tributes.
She met Linden's eyes as she stared confused at Cotton's unconscious form.
"Sedatives," Linden replied, answering her unspoken question.
"The poor dear," she replied as she approached Haymitch.
"Well! We've had quite the shock, haven't we, Haymitch? Thank Panem that dear Peeta was able to find his strength. I will go and get us a drink."
As she walked past Haymitch towards the bar, she stopped at his shoulder and whispered, "I am so sorry Haymitch. I truly am. We've heard about Orchard too, it's absolutely awful."
Haymitch nodded and sat staring at Twelve's screens before Effie returned with their drinks. Pink cocktails with golden glitter decoration were hardly his choice but he noted they contained rum and tilted his glass towards Effie in thanks and she offered him a soft smile in return. It was her way of showing she understood whilst keeping up appearances.
By now, Noah had returned to Eleven's station and when he noted the gold decoration on Haymitch's drink, pointedly shook his head and repeated his earlier warning, "Sort it out, Haymitch, she's a good one."
Haymitch nodded before turning back to Effie to discuss her first approaches to the waiting sponsors. The alliance with District Four would be a talking point and he reminded her to remind the audience of Peeta's strength and to distract from any concerns about his prosthesis. Effie remained chatting to Haymitch, trying to distract him from the earliest moments of the Games and then finished her drink before leaving to charm the sponsors into providing more money for Haymitch to work with, their eyes meeting again as she walked away.
After she left, Sawyer spoke up, "I hope you won't be buying us those! We don't do pink and glitter!"
Haymitch laughed before going to the bar to buy Liev, Sawyer and Linden the closest the Capitol had to the beers they favoured in Seven.
Poppy had by now returned to sit alongside Max, her hand on his shoulder, trying to coax him into speaking, trying to reassure him that Levi was no longer in any pain. His death had been quick and now they had to help Claudia, who was, by some miracle Poppy believed, still alive.
Halley had left to find Pluto, to try to steady her old friend as he recovered from the shock of Beetee's injury and embarrassment at his reaction. Halley knew none of the other victors minded. He was hardly the first to be physically sick during the Games and with what was to come, she didn't think he would be the last. As she left, her eyes met Lyme's who offered a silent apology and a pained grimace at Beetee's predicament. Halley just nodded, knowing she could not verbalise her response whilst Lyme was surrounded by her peers in One and Two.
Linden returned to Liev and Sawyer's sides, "They're alive. Thank goodness. Blight's right, everything we possibly can to help Johanna. She's just saved us. She gets out alive."
His two fellow victors nodded, signalling their agreement.
"I'm going to go downstairs. Got to deal with Candy Blush. Get her to work for Chaff. I know she doesn't like him but she's going to have to finally grow up and put that aside. Will get whatever I can for Blight and Johanna."
….
"Johanna, we're going to have to stop," Blight said, fast becoming breathless.
"We need to keep going. Find fresh water, and get well away from the damn Twos. What a mess they've made. That we have to deal with, Blight," Johanna snapped.
"I know, I know. But he's hurt and she's upset. We can run off again in a minute."
"We've got no time for upset, hell we're all upset!"
"Johanna," Blight chided, causing his young victor to finally stop. But her anger was evident as soon as she turned to face her former mentor as he continued. "Look, you climb up and see if you can find fresh water. It will be better than carrying on running in this heat. I'll stand guard and help Volts."
Blight was unsure whether in saying fresh water, Johanna was looking for an actual water source or Finnick. She would prioritise both equally. So, he left her to look for either, or both options and to take a moment to hopefully calm down whilst he picked at the moss near the floor and tried to use it to mop up some of the blood down Beetee's back.
It wasn't a deep cut, but it was bleeding heavily, with no sign of stopping and they still had a while to wait before Beetee and his wire were needed. A sponsorship gift expensive enough to repair the damage would not be coming in these early stages and the four of them knew it. They would have to make do and try to ward off infection.
"Hang in there, Volts. We need you. You can do this," Blight whispered.
"Any sign of water?" Blight shouted, forgetting where he was and just how easily he could give away their position.
Johanna appeared in front of him before he had the time to realise she was climbing back down the tree, "No. And thanks to you, stupid, we need to move. Now."
….
Pluto was staring at the screen panicking. Even with all the sponsorship money available to him, he would not have enough to provide what Beetee needed. Blood loss and infection were the primary causes for concern. The cut was not too deep and Enobaria's knife had missed everything vital. But the best he was going to be able to provide was painkillers. So, he made the purchase, rueing having to spend so much at the earliest stages, and waited for the alliance to set up camp so the parachute could deliver the gift.
"I'm going to go downstairs," Halley started. "To join Poppy. She's having to float the idea that Claudia has some master plan to sell to the gullible. So, I can go and help our two, when they do in fact have a plan."
Pluto squeezed her hand, "I'm going to stay and watch for a while longer. I can't not look. I'm so worried."
"I know, Pluto. I am too. But I need to do something. I'll do the talking, set you up some deals. Come down in half an hour."
Chloe turned to the pair and replied," You should do as Halley suggests, Pluto. I'm not going anywhere for a while. Not whilst Coral and Noah are being mobbed by Finnick's fans."
With Chloe's reassurance, Halley nodded towards Pluto, indicating that he should do as suggested and that she would meet him soon. Meanwhile, Pluto continued to sit with his head in his hands, wincing every time Beetee appeared in the slightest discomfort.
….
Chaff wanted to scream. The arena was too hot, he couldn't find any water, he had no weapons and Seeder was dead. He couldn't have imagined this going any worse and he dreaded to think what Orchard must be feeling, watching on alone.
Haymitch and Maria would be beside him, but they had their tributes too, and there was already so much pressure on Haymitch. So, Chaff decided he would have to keep on moving. Slowly, because he did not want to become both exhausted and dehydrated, but he could not stay put defenceless and thirsty.
He couldn't swim, was too slow to enter the water and by the time he had managed to reach dry land, he watched Brutus kill Seeder and could see no route to the Cornucopia for himself. Enobaria was waiting at the mouth, Gloss and Cashmere were on the prowl, going towards those who dared not move and Brutus was about to rejoin Enobaria. There was nothing to do but run away.
That was not the Chaff way, but it had to be the way in the moment. It was the only way he could prolong his life and give himself a better chance of finding the Twelves and their alliance.
So, he would keep on looking out for water and trying to fashion a weapon from his surroundings. He was hoping to create something sharp from the many loose branches strewn across the jungle but was looking for the right tree, branches with the right snap, something he could sharpen until he got his hands on something better.
But the arena was simply too hot to do anything quickly, so Chaff found himself stumbling around both trying to find water and a viable weapon but coming up with neither. He was losing focus so decided to climb part way up one of the taller trees and find somewhere he could rest and look out from for a while before it was time to move again. He had to make sure there was enough distance between himself and the careers. He wanted the chance to join the wider alliance and was not about to ruin it on the first day.
….
"Why can't she just play nice!" Haymitch shouted as Katniss began her latest challenge to Finnick. He had warned her about Hal's attack, helped Peeta and was carrying Mags, all whilst watching their backs and the girl could not be thankful for a minute. "I can add ungrateful to my list of words about that girl."
"She's a year out and from what I know, Finnick didn't exactly endear himself to the girl," Noah said.
"I wouldn't be making excuses for her, Noah. Not when she could get your boy killed."
"She won't. Look, she's figuring him out. Knows what he's doing. Just like Finn hasn't missed what she's doing. He's got his guard up just as much, he's just not as frosty."
"Well, he needs to watch his back. I swear, if she ruins this."
"There are contingencies in place. Peeta seems smart enough to know leaving Finnick and going it alone right now would be a bad idea. Finnick would hold him hostage if he tried to leave too."
"I sure damn hope it doesn't come to that," Haymitch replied. "But Mags, as a hostage taker?"
"You know as well as I do that Mags can be fierce. She'll back Finn to the hilt to make this work."
Haymitch didn't doubt Noah's words so headed to the bar to get another drink. Watching the girl was driving him crazy.
….
Pluto had returned from the sponsorship hall with more funds for Beetee, to make up for what he had lost. The idea that the Sevens and Threes had a combined plan involving both physical strength and intelligence was appealing to many a sponsor. Halley had ventured outside as she was having a particularly successful run with the sponsors and Pluto knew she needed the distraction from Beetee's injury and Wiress' mental state.
He had returned via the bathroom where he was accosted by Plutarch Heavensbee who confirmed that it would be the third day when District Thirteen finally swept in to assist. It took all of Pluto's calm to not shout at the Head Gamemaker in disgust. He knew it would not be straight away and had suspected they would be kept waiting. But Thirteen must be watching, they must know how precarious their situation was, and yet they maintained their resolve. Day three it was. Pluto had no idea how they would make it.
As he re-entered the Mentors' Centre, he passed Haymitch and tapped on his shoulder three times, causing Twelve's man to almost choke on his drink. Pluto did the same as he passed the Sevens and the look Sawyer gave him made him practically run back to his seat to confer with Chloe who simply sighed, resigned to Thirteen's methods by now.
"It is what it is, we will have to make do," she said.
"Hopefully there's no more messages. Running into Heavensbee in the bathroom is not on my list of experiences I'd like to revisit in the time I have left."
Chloe laughed and then squeezed his hand in response, "They're going to be okay. It's going to work. We've just got to get through it. I'll send Noah to meet Heavensbee again if you need," she laughed, before turning back to the screen, fixated on watching Mags cling onto Finnick as they ran through the jungle.
….
The alliance between Twelve's and Four's tributes was approaching the end of the arena as both Caesar Flickerman and Claudius Templesmith began talking about the nature of the forcefield and how the tributes might soon be getting a surprise.
That comment immediately drew Haymitch's attention and Halley and Pluto looked at each other in confusion. This was Beetee's forcefield. What had Heavensbee done with it? Their nervousness increased as the group continued to head straight towards it, Peeta leading, cutting down the foliage in his way and continuing the climb upwards.
Flickerman and Templesmith's excitement increased as they readied the audiences for another moment of excitement in the Games whilst Haymitch pleaded with Peeta to turn away from the approaching forcefield even though he knew he would not hear him. The commentary from the main television in the Mentors' Centre was irritating in such a high-stress moment and Haymitch tried to block out the incessant chatter whilst Katniss froze and screamed out for Peeta to stop.
But it was too late. Peeta carried on cutting his way through the jungle and met the forcefield. His body was flung backwards as if he were weightless, and the girl screamed. Haymitch watched as the screen showing Peeta's vitals flashed red with warnings as the boy's heart rate plummeted dramatically. He slammed his fists on the table and could feel tears start to form as he prepared himself for the screen to turn black, signifying Peeta's death.
He stood up and turned away from the screen to see Chloe and Coral holding hands, Halley clinging onto Pluto, and Max's hand gripping Poppy's shoulder. Maria was watching the main television through her fingers. This moment, his boy and who his victors were meant something to the others, not just him. They all knew how pivotal this moment could be.
"Haymitch! Come on, Haymitch! Focus. Look!"
To Haymitch's shock, Finnick was trying to save Peeta. A tribute in the Hunger Games trying to revive another. This was entirely unheard of, not least because very few regular tributes would know how to do this. But Finnick was an adult, and from District Four too, where lifesaving in the water was taught in the vocational programmes in the Centre.
He found himself willing Finnick along, echoing his calls to Peeta to wake up, to come back, to respond to his efforts. The Mentors' Centre fell almost silent, nobody knowing quite how to react. It was a total unknown, even for those with decades of mentoring experience.
But suddenly, there was life on Haymitch's screen. He could see spikes in Peeta's heart rate that started to become more even. He couldn't believe it had worked, but seconds later, Peeta's eyes had opened, and Katniss was clinging onto him, in tears. Haymitch tried to restore his breathing to a calmer rate. He had not realised how he had begun to work himself into a state, preparing for the loss of his victor.
Without thinking, he pulled Noah into a hug and thanked the younger man for Finnick's efforts and then went straight to Chloe and Coral to thank them too. But as he got closer to District Four's desk, he could hear Luxor muttering about unfairness, opportunities nobody else had, favouritism and Peeta's unbelievable amount of luck.
It just so happened that sheer luck sometimes won a victor the Games, so Haymitch decided he did not care. Peeta was alive and the plan was still in play. The girl wouldn't lose control and she had even less ammunition with which to attack Finnick.
But his mind alerted him to the fact that both central alliances had a key player weakened. Beetee needed to be alive at the end and Peeta needed to be alive to keep the Four and Twelve alliance together and Katniss in check. He needed to be alive because Haymitch had demanded it. Whilst their command wanted to prioritise Katniss, they were both his and he was getting them out of a second arena alive.
He was brought back out of his thoughts for a second time by Coral who whispered," I thought you said the girl didn't love him?"
"I said she was confused," Haymitch replied.
"I don't think she's confused anymore."
"She's realising her feelings at just the wrong time. As I said, always a step behind, that girl."
"Give her some credit, Haymitch. It's a lot to take in."
"Well, I never said she was smart. So, I'll take what I can get."
