HAYMITCH
The Hunger Games start in 30 minutes. I go to the large room that has the training center, where as every year the victors gather to see how children from our districts kill each other. A large screen adorns the central wall of the room. I see some mentors sitting on the sofas, others at the food and drink bar. The atmosphere feels tense. It's not unusual, every year feels the same, each of us wondering if our tributes will perish or not and at whose hands. The mentors from districts one and two are gathered at the far end of the room, talking quietly. It is not a secret that they always form alliances with each other.
"Haymitch, you're late!" Ah, my good friend Chaff welcomes me "I've started without you, although there are still bottles of good whiskey" he approaches me passing me a bottle of whiskey, and he's right, it's the good one. So powerful that a single bottle is enough to knock out a good drinker like me.
"You are always so considerate Chaff " I answer laughing
"How are you doing?" I shrugged, I have no other answer "this year I have two strong kids, maybe I can bring one alive home with me" he ends grimly. Yeah, Chaff has good odds this year, a 17-year-old boy and an 18-year-old girl, both tall and athletic.
"That's the dream, isn't it? Save at least one" I take a drink from my bottle
We sit on the center sofa right next to Woof and Cecilia. Cecelia is nervous, she doesn't try to hide her concern, and that nervous tic in her leg shows it. Woof takes her hand to reassure her. She must be worried about his girl, after all she is her mentor.
Johanna and Finnick appear behind us. Finnick has a rope in his hand, he always starts tying and untying knots, to distract himself. The first day is always the worst. Tomorrow, when there is already a group of fixed survivors, each mentor will bid for their tribute in front of the sponsors. We have a specific time each day to do so. The rest of the day they force us to be here and witness the massacre.
"Do you mind if we join you? I always enjoy being in the front row" oh Johanna and her humor as always lightens the atmosphere.
"Of course, guys, there is space next to me" Cecelia replies.
"Why so tense Cecelia?, worried that the girl can't win with kisses and hugs" yeah, Johanna is tense.
"Johanna!" Woof growls.
"Yeah, well, the girl worries me, but that poor boy, he is so sweet and gentle" Cecelia said in a choked voice.
"The girl has no chance of anything. She didn't listen to any of our advice, she just spent her time chattering and doing what she wanted. According to her she didn't need to train or do anything, the most important thing was to be pretty. She had overwhelmed our district scort with her flattery. It'll be a feat if she's not killed in the first hour. The boy on the other hand, I hope he gets out of this, he has a whole life ahead of him" Woof declares with regret at the end. Yes, all those children have a life ahead of them, but here we are gathered to witness how they are taken from them. On the other hand, I was impressed by the total detachment that the two mentors had towards her tribute, she really managed to earn her dislikes.
One minute for the games to start. On the screen we can see a partial panorama of the arena. A lush green forest with tall trees and thick bushes. From what I can see of the clothing of the tributes it must be a cold climate. I see the tributes around the cornucopia waiting for the canon announcement. There are all kinds of weapons scattered in the center, albeit near the cornucopia. The room has gone completely silent, everyone has approached the screen. I only have one thought in my mind. Run as fast as you can and live.
It has begun. I see the boy has managed to get into the forest and the girl is running as fast as possible. She is almost in the forest. whoosh! a knife stabs into her back killing her instantly. The boy from District Nine runs over to retrieve his knife from her, and runs out of the bloodbath. I do not hear, nor do I see anything else, only the neat floor of this miserable place. In one gulp I drink half the bottle. She is my number 33. 33 children who entrusted their lives to me and I failed them.
"Your boy is still alive, Haymitch" Chaff pats me reassuringly on the back. I don't answer him. I have nothing to say.
Two hours later the bloodbath is over. Seven deaths in total, the girl from district 3, the 2 tributes from district 5, the boys from district 6 and 7, the girl from district 9 and 12. The capitol must be satisfied with the numbers, at least for today if the tributes do not cross each other there will be no more deaths. Suddenly I hear a gasp near me. Cecelia. I turn my eyes to the screen. The two tributes from District 8 are about to cross paths.
"If Leila is smart she will ask Lec to join" says Cecilia "between the two of them maybe they can advance more in the game".
"I doubt very much that he would accept, she would only be a burden to him" Woof answers.
Forming alliances between tributes from the same district was not very common. There was always the possibility that they would end up as finalists and have to kill each other. Something that no one wanted to do. Although Cecelia was right, perhaps the girl would have a better chance being accompanied than she alone, it was already a feat that she was alive and unharmed. Well I should give the girl credit, she had managed to pull out of the cornucopia from what I could see, a spear, a knife and a rope. Nothing bad.
Both kids become aware of each other's presence. A distance of 7 meters separates them, the two look at each other without saying anything for a few seconds. The boy hesitates and squeezes a rock in his hand. I don't know if he's gaining time to run or if he's going to throw it at the girl. But she doesn't hesitate and throws the knife at him right in the middle of the forehead. boom! The canon announcing the boy's death is heard.
"No!" Cecelia gasped. She breaks down crying. Woof is there petrified looking at the screen. Leila, without any expression on her face, approaches Lec, pulls the knife out of his head and continues on her way without once looking back.
In the Hunger Games it has happened that two tributes from the same district try to kill each other. It is quite common in careers tributes since statistically, they are almost always in the final 4. However, it's rare and not very often for something like what we've just seen to happen, and more so in cold blood like the girl did, and so early in the games.
The next few hours the cameras seem to have been mesmerized by Leila ever since she killed her partner. Commentators are intrigued by her strategy. Now she is looking for plants, I guess she will be looking for food. Finally they focus on other tributes and there I see my boy, who is trying to find a source of water. From what the screens show, at the moment there is no danger or tribute nearby that can attack him. The camera focuses again on Leila, who is collecting a ridiculous amount of plants and a fruit that I don't know. The presenters explain that everything she is collecting is inedible and highly poisonous. They are already mourning her death. However, the girl takes off her jacket and puts everything she has collected in it, ties it by the ends of it, thus creating a kind of bag, and continues on her way. This action has commentators intrigued, who continue to speculate about her plan.
In the course of the afternoon we are seeing each one of the surviving tributes, and what each one is doing. I notice that the arena only has one water source. A shallow, crystal-clear stream of stagnant water, barely a kilometer long and 50 centimeters wide. This is going to be the great challenge for tributes and most likely the most expensive asset that mentors must get from sponsors.
The cameras are following the girl who has reached the creek. She examines it, and once she's convinced it's safe, she drinks from it. She then continues walking following the path of the stream. It takes her a short time to get to where it ends and then she returns until its birth. With the rope that she has, she sets up a trap to catch an animal and places it one kilometer away from the stream. She then removes the big "sack", opens it and begins to crush all the contents with a stone. There I understand everything. She's going to poison the arena's only water source.
"That wouldn't be very smart of her, would it? The game can last for weeks and she's going to need water" says Finnick, he has also understood Leila's plan.
"Maybe she thinks she can find more water later"Johanna replies.
The silence of Woof and Cecilia, who is still affected by the boy's death, tells me that they are not interested in the fate of their tribute. Once Finished her work of crushing, Leila throws all the contents of poisonous plants and fruits into the stream. The presenters are amazed at the girl's witty and are wondering, what we are all wondering, if her plan works. The girl doesn't take long to put it into practice, she goes back to the place where she had left the trap. She has caught something, a rabbit still alive trying to free its hind legs. She takes him in her arms, frees him from the rope which she keeps, and heads to the end of the stream. When she arrives, she dips the rabbit's head in for a few seconds and releases it. He runs off but only manages to get a few meters away before falling dead. !It has worked! The commentators revel in the results, and begin to speculate who will be the first victim.
Leila takes the dead rabbit and continues on her way through the forest. Soon it will be dark in the arena. I wonder what the girl's next move will be. I'm beginning to suspect that we've all underestimated her.
Once the anthem plays and they show the fallen tributes, they tally up each remaining tribute and where it is in the arena. My boy is at the top of a tree, preparing to spend the frosty night that awaits him there. He has left several hidden traps, which he created himself with branches, plants and leaves. That's fine, tomorrow hopefully he'll have caught something to eat and I'll take care of convincing the sponsors to give me enough money to buy him water. The transmission has ended. We can now retire to rest. Tomorrow morning I will have to be here again. I hope the meeting with the sponsors is not too late in the day. I have to hold on to the hope that maybe this year I'll make it. Maybe this year I can at least save one.