Smoke and ash billowed from the top of the mountain; I could see a cloud of it descending downward toward where I was strapped to the tree.
I hurry to unbelt myself from the tree and stuff away my sleeping bag. I grab hold of a knife and start running away from the glowing tipped mountain. The wildlife in the area is running along side me, passing me and continuing to run down the hill. They are driving us toward the cornucopia.
In the distance, far over to where the swamp is, I see a tornado. There is debris flying all around it, and I keep running.
Who all is left? The boy from One. Both from Two. And me. This is it. And the odds are definitely not in my favor.
I can see the trees opening up, meaning I am getting closer to the cornucopia. Behind me, lava has started to flow down the mountain. In front of me, I am already hearing shouting and rapid footsteps.
I break into the clearing and see why there is shouting. There are bats everywhere. Flocking and swarming the other three tributes. Of course, they stayed together.
Their arms flail as they try to defend themselves from the attack. Then, I hear a loud scream and the boy from two is thrashing around on the ground. He continues to fight, and the bats have started to notice my presence. They are swarming me now too.
I pull out my large knife and start to swing wildly around me, hoping to hit as many bats as I can. I hear a cannon and see out of my peripheral vision that the boy from Two is laying lifeless on the ground, and the bats are retreating from him, going after the rest of us.
I can see around my feet that I am killing some of the bats with my large knife, but they are not thinning. It is hard to see anything. The others are screaming and shouting as they flail about, trying to get away from these beasts.
The air is starting to get thick with ash, and I am sticky with sweat. Is the lava from the volcano already that close? I can't look since I am fighting these bats.
I am tackled to the ground by the girl from Two. "I have to finish you two!" She shouts at me. "Then the bats will leave, and I can go home!" She is straddling me, my arms pinned beneath her legs, and she swings wildly at my face.
I am soaked with sweat and my body feels like it is melting. As I struggle, my head whipping from side to side to avoid her hands, I see light gray rock with swirls of red and orange that is flowing. The lava has cooled on its travel down the mountain but is still extremely hot.
I begin to struggle, lifting my legs and trying to free my arms. The boy from One is still screaming, fighting the bats. I am able to wriggle an arm free and push the girl backwards. She quickly flings herself at me and I am quick to catch her, and I use all of my body weight to throw the both of us toward the flowing rock.
She is on me again, and I can feel the heat of the lava that is so near. I get my arm across her neck and push with all my might. In a stroke of luck, a swarm of bats comes across her, making her flail in the direction I am pushing. Her body falls, pulling my arm with her, and she lands on the flowing rock.
She starts screaming. I scream as my hand is pulled under her into the hot rock. I pull my hand out quickly, cradling my hand to my chest. The burning is mostly in my fingers and spreads up my arm. The fingers of my left hand are blackened. The burning sensation goes up my arm, even though the skin looks unaffected.
The screams from the girl suddenly stop. Her body is charred, and little flames are poking up around her. The cannon sounds. The bats are still swarming. They come back at me full force, and I start wildly swinging my arms around. They are going after my arm now. The rawness of my fingers must be attracting them.
I realize that what the girl from Two said was right. I have to end this. I pull out one of my small throwing knives and focus in on the boy, who is looking tired from fighting the bats. How he went that long, I'm sure I'll never know.
I stop flailing long enough to throw my knife. It embeds itself into his temple, and he falls to the ground, instantly dead.
The cannon sounds. The bats disperse immediately, and the lava seems to harden almost instantaneously. I look around and realize that the immediate danger has passed and then collapse to the ground.
I am on my knees, holding my hand to my chest, sobbing.
"Ladies and Gentlemen!" The announcer's voice booms over head, "Please allow me to introduce you to the winner of the Sixtieth Hunger Games, Raven Copperstone!"
I continue to sob, the pain in my hand excruciating, as the cheers from the capitol are played over the arena. A hovercraft appears overhead, and a ladder is dropped down. I slowly stand and take hold of the ladder and an electric current freezes me in place until I am safely inside.
I am rushed by nurses and doctors. They try to touch my arm and I whip away from them, flinging myself at the nearest doctor. I won't let them hurt me.
I feel a sharp pain in my neck and see a nurse pulling a syringe away from me. Things start to get fuzzy, and I pass out.
~oOo~
I wake to find myself strapped to a bed. There is a strap running across my chest and over my upper arms and another over my legs, just below the knee. I start pulling and my breathing becomes ragged.
"Hey, hey, hey!" Hands are on my arms, shaking me slightly. "You're alright, Darling!" Haymitch's face comes into view.
"Haymitch." Once I see him, I start to cry. "Haymitch, my arm. It hurts so bad."
"I know. They did what they could. They are still doing treatments to help with the pain." He stares at me, and I slowly start to calm. "Well, Darling, you did it." He tells me, no hint of a smile.
"I did." I nod, my eyes still flooded with tears.
"Think it was worth it?" He asks me.
"I don't know." I tell him. "I'm in too much shock right now. I don't know." I shake my head. "What happens now?"
"They will keep you here for another week, at least. You arm still needs to heal." He tells me. "I'll be here when I can."
"Good." I look at him. "Can they take these off?" I wriggle my shoulders, pulling on the restraints.
"I'll talk to them. They were afraid you'd try to kill them when you woke. Guess they were right." He smirks.
I smile back at him. "I want them all- "
Haymitch cuts me off. "Don't finish that sentence."
My eyes widen slightly, and I nod. "I don't want to play the game anymore."
"I know, Darling. But you have to." He tells me. He holds his finger up, signaling to me to wait, and he exits the room. He is gone for a few minutes. I spend the time thinking about all of the terrible things I did. I killed five people. Five kids.
Haymitch returns, a doctor close behind. The doctor smiles at me and undoes my restraints. "Thank you." I tell him. He smiles at me and sends a glance at Haymitch before leaving the room.
I bring my arms up and see that my left arm, while in terrible pain, looks normal. My hand is bandaged from the wrist and all the way up. "There must be a lot of bandages." The bandages make my hand look like a ball at the end of my arm.
"There are." Haymitch agrees.
"I can't really feel anything past my wrist." I tell him.
"They said you probably wouldn't. Nerve damage." He explains, not looking at me.
"What aren't you telling me?" I ask. He only shrugs and doesn't meet my eye. "Look at me!" I yell. His head snaps up and his eyes meet mine. "What don't I know?"
"They had to remove some fingers. The burn was too extensive. They were able to save your thumb, pointer and little fingers. The others had to go." He is still looking at me, gauging my reaction. I stare at the ball at the end of my wrist. "Could have been much worse, Darling." He grabs my right hand and sits in the chair next to my bed.
"Worse?" I ask quietly, still looking at my bandages. "I kill five people, watch the people I wanted to protect die, and now I've lost my fingers because I had to defend myself?"
"You almost lost the whole hand." He explains.
"Oh, much worse." I snort. "You tell them to keep all of their stupid prosthetics to themselves. I want them to be reminded that they did this every time they see me."
"That is your choice. They won't see it that way though." He is still holding my hand, probably trying to keep me calm.
"Oh, fuck them." I snap. "I'm the one laying here crippled and we only talk about them."
"Well, let's talk about something else." He suggests, sighing, grateful for a chance to change conversation.
"Like what? The home that won't have Sky in it? The Capitol that sent me to fight to the death? The fact that I am a murderer?" I ask.
"Hey. Welcome to the club. This is where you fought to be. Face it. Be smart." He says, his voice firm, reprimanding me.
"I'll face it tomorrow. Today, I'm pissed." I look at him. He smiles.
"There you are. Thought I lost you for a minute there." He speaks.
I smirk at him. "You wish. You're stuck with me now."
"Well, it appears you are also stuck with me. We will see who really drew the short straw."
I laugh. "Thank you. I'm glad you're my friend."
"Back at ya." He says.
We are silent for a moment and the door opens. A nurse brings in a tray and sets it in front of me. She smiles and leaves the room.
"I'll let you eat. I have things that I need to do. I'll be back later." Haymitch stands and picks up the jacket he must have worn here. He walks to the door and opens it, then pauses. He turns back and looks at me, "You did well, Darling." With that, he leaves, shutting the door behind him.
I pull the cover off of my food and find a steaming broth. I eat it, thinking of how my family will look at me now that I am a killer.
~oOo~
A few days pass, and I am always in this bed. A nurse will help me to the bathroom, then it's back to bed with me. My skin looks beautiful, and I am putting on some weight. Haymitch says its because they have medicine that helps with that. All of the Victors get this treatment after the games. He tells me that it is also helping my hand heal faster.
Haymitch sits with me for a few hours every day. He helps me prepare for the post-games interview. Shouldn't be that hard. I just have to be thankful to my sponsors since I received so many gifts.
The end of the week comes, and Haymitch is sitting with me. The doctor comes in and tells me that it is time to unwrap my hand. This will not be the first time I have seen the damage since the nurses would clean it once every other day, but this is the first time that it will not be covered again.
He pulls off the bandages, and my skin is completely healed. There is a small scar across where my middle two fingers would be. Other than that, there is no scarring. That medicine really did the trick.
Haymitch had told me that tonight would be the interview. So, I will be released from the hospital and sent to the hands of my prep team and stylist.
"Can't you come with me?" I whined to Haymitch.
"To watch you get ready? No thanks, Darling." He smirks at me.
"I don't want to do this."
"Too bad." He smiles. "Once it's done, it's done. Then you can do it again on the Victory Tour. It's really just practice for that."
"Ugh!" I throw my up. "Fine."
"That's my girl." He laughs as he wraps an arm around me, leading me from the hospital room. I walk with him to a car, and we climb in. Haymitch asks me practice questions on our way back to the Tribute Center. Once there, I am taken away from Haymitch and brought to my old room. In my room, my prep team is waiting.
"Oh! We are so happy you won!"
"Congratulations!"
They are shrieking happy thoughts about my win. All I can think of is that they are congratulating me on becoming a murderer.
I smile when I need to and keep my answers to yes and no. I am not in the mood to talk. That seems simply fine by them. They keep chattering as they yank every hair on my body out of its follicle.
Once they are done with the hair removal, they send me to shower. I take my time but am hurried out and wrapped in a robe. One then begins on my hair while the others work on painting my nails.
"I can't believe they didn't give you a prosthetic!" One complains. "How are we supposed to make this look good?" They turn the hand that is lacking fingers over in their hands.
"I think it shows what I went through in there." I tell them. "I refused the prosthetic."
They are all in stunned silence. "You refused it? Why would you do such a thing?"
"Does it bother you?" I ask them.
"Well of course! We can't make this look as good as your other hand!" They all squeal.
"Well, maybe that should have been thought of before I was sent into the Hunger Games." I tell them.
They all remain quiet for the rest of the session except to tell me to lift an arm or stand or sit. It makes the process much more bearable.
I am finally done, and Clio enters. She smiles softly at me. "Oh, my dear. I knew you had it in you." She gives me a hug. "I'm sorry that you had to prove it though."
"Thanks." I smile. It's nice to hear one of the Capitol people disagree with the Games, even if not very openly.
She pulls out a beautiful dress of royal blue. It is shiny and hangs to the floor. She helps me step into it, and it hugs my body. It has short sleeves and a low neck. The bottom of the dress flows all around my ankles. She also has me slip my feet into some low heels of the same color.
"There. Simple and elegant." She smiles.
We wait for a while, snacking like we did before I went into the arena. She tells me about some of the more gruesome deaths that I didn't see, like all of the ones who died in the bloodbath. I guess One and Two went crazy, gutting the others. That's why there were so many who died right away.
Clio gets up to answer the knock at the door, and Haymitch walks in. He is wearing a tuxedo with a bowtie that is the same color as my dress. "Ready?" He holds out a hand for me.
I take his hand and sigh. "Let's just get this over with."
"Come on, then."
I walk with him in silence to the stage. Once we are backstage, there are people who keep coming up to congratulate me on my win. I smile at them all and laugh at their jokes. Haymitch smiles in approval and nods when I do something right. I guess I am still getting gifts for doing things right.
I hear Caesar Flickerman start the show. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a wonderful show tonight!" He laughs and continues, "I know you all watched the Hunger Games, and I am pleased to say that we have the Victor here with us tonight!" The crowd goes wild. When they calm, he continues, "Let's bring her out! The Victor of the Sixtieth Hunger Games, Raven Copperstone!"
The crowd cheers and goes crazy as I walk out. I smile and wave to the crowd. I walk to Caesar, and he takes my hand, holding it out and looking at my dress. "How lovely you look, my dear!" He looks to the crowd, "Doesn't she look beautiful?"
The crowd picks up in its clapping and cheering. I smile and thank Caesar. He leads me to a chair, and I sit, and he follows my lead.
Once the crowd calms, Caesar begins. "Well, look at you! You had quite the time, didn't you?"
"I did." I smile. "I made some wonderful friends along the way, too." I am talking about Ivy and Barker, but the crowd seems to think I am talking about them. I decide not to correct them.
"Ohh, how sweet!" Caesar smiles. "Lost some too, though." His eyes and face show sadness.
"Yes. Lost some incredibly good friends." I smile sadly at him.
"And what was up with all of those gifts? I have never seen someone receive so many sponsored gifts in the arena before." He smiles again.
"Well, Haymitch told me that if I was smart, I would get a gift. So, anytime I did something that he agreed with, he sent me something." I smile. This time a genuine smile brought on by thoughts of my friend.
"Good strategy!" He laughs. "Haymitch Abernathy, everyone!"
I see on the screen behind the curtains at the back of the stage that the cameras had moved to show Haymitch. He was smiling and waving. He then pointed back to the stage. Of course, that little twerp would want to get the attention off of himself.
Once the crowd quieted again, the interview continued. "Well, would you like to see the clips from your Games?" He asked me.
"I sure would." I smile at him.
I am not ready to see all of these people die. I saw it once. Lived it. I don't want to do it again.
The video shows us all on our pedestals waiting for the gong. Once the gong sounds, the camera zooms in on me running to the bag, then I am tackled. I watch as screen me kills the girl from One and takes the bags and runs.
We watch as I sleep through the first night and get my first gift. I look to the sky, thanking Haymitch. The cameras flick to him, and he is just grinning and nodding, acting like the arrogant young man that he is.
The video shows the next day when I meet up with Ivy, then Barker. It shows me telling him to be quiet, then him struggling to climb the tree and dying.
The next part is me talking to him as he bleeds out and Ivy thanking me. I start to tear up but refuse to let them spill. I look to Haymitch who makes a goofy face at me, helping get my mind off the sadness.
The next gift I get in the video shows me grin up to the sky, smiling, and tell Ivy that I would split whatever was in it. We split the gift and continue on. We eventually find Sky and get him out of the mud. We camp for the night, and everyone seems happy that I am taking care of the two of them.
The next day shows the events of the meadow. The gift of water comes floating down, and I once again thank Haymitch. This makes the crowd laugh. I meet Haymitch's eyes and grin. He does the same.
We watch as Ivy gets bit and subsequently goes mad, killing Sky. I am almost losing my battle of not crying while he dies. They skipped over my care of their bodies. The next thing we see is the girl from Five getting skewered by the giant pink bird.
I am finally camping again when the mountain blows, and then I pack and run.
The next bit is awfully long. It shows the bats, and all of the deaths in grave detail. There is a zoom on the girl from Two when she is thrown onto the hot rock, and when my hand burns.
It shows when my face changed, when I decided to just kill the boy from Two. My wrist flicks, the knife flies, and the cannon booms. It shows me sobbing at the end, then cuts to the celebrations in the Capitol.
The video ends and Caesar looks to me. "Well, what did you think?" He asks.
"Very accurate coverage." I laugh.
The crowd laughs and Caesar throws his head back to laugh. "Yes, yes! And you were always thanking your Mentor for your gifts!"
"Well, he always sent just what I needed when I needed it!" We both laugh and the audience joins in. "I had some very wonderful sponsors, so now I will say thank you to anyone who helped get me those things." I look out at the crowd and see lots of smiles and waves.
"You seem to have had quite a few!" Caesar says.
"I must have." I smile.
"Now, I have a question." he looks at me, face serious. "Were you trying to get Sky or Ivy home?"
"I'm not sure. I just know that I didn't want them to die." I look down at my hands. "They are just kids. Were just kids."
He nods. "Well, I'm sure they would be glad that you made it."
"I know they would be." I nod.
"How is your hand after the terrible burning?" He asks me.
"Oh, it feels fine." I hold up my hand for him to see the lack of two fingers.
"Oh my." His eyes are wide, and the crowd pulls in a collective breath. "They couldn't save the fingers, then?"
"They could not."
"Did they not offer a prosthetic? I am sure that all of your sponsors would help you get one!" He says, and the crowd cheers again.
"Actually, I didn't want one." I respond.
"Didn't want one? Why ever not?" He asks, confused.
"This is me now. The Hunger Games changed me. Psychologically and physically. I can't fix it. Might as well embrace it." I respond, shrugging.
"I suppose so." He laughs awkwardly.
"And, we have someone else to welcome to the stage!" Caesar stands, "President Coriolanus Snow!" The crowd goes wild, and I stand as the President walks out, behind him is a young boy carrying a pillow that is holding the Victory Crown.
President Snow walks up to me and shakes my hand. "Congratulations on your win."
"Thank you, sir." I smile.
He grabs the crown from its pillow and places it on my head. "Beautiful."
"Thank you." I look down. I am extremely uncomfortable with the proximity of this man. He smells of blood, and it is making it hard to be around him without thinking of Sky and Barker.
He turns and takes my hand, lifting it over my head. "The Victor!"
The announcement makes the crowd go wild, and the President takes his leave.
Caesar eventually calls Clio out to showcase her talents, and then signs off, and I am dismissed. Haymitch comes to collect me, and we head back to the Tribute Center.
Once back, I go to my room and shower. Velora knocks on my door, and then comes in. She smiles hugely at me, telling me how wonderful it is to see me again, and how amazing it is that she "pulled a winner!" She tells me that it is almost time for dinner.
I dress and make my way out to the table. Everyone is there, Velora, Clio, my prep team and Haymitch. We are just missing Sky.
Everyone chats about the games and about the interview. Clio is congratulated on her beautiful dress. Haymitch doesn't say much and neither do I. I just want to relax. I don't want to pretend anymore.
Dinner finally ends, and Velora excuses herself, reminding us that we are leaving in the morning.
Once it is just Haymitch and I, we head to the living room. He has a bottle of whiskey in one hand and a glass half-finished in the other.
I sit on the couch where I had sat before the games, and he takes the chair closest to me.
"I heard that you snapped at your prep team earlier." He looks at me before taking a drink.
"I couldn't take it anymore. They were talking about how ugly my hand is, so I told them that disfigurement should have been thought of before I was sent into the arena. They didn't talk anymore."
"That wasn't smart of you." He tells me. "You need these people to like you, even still."
"I know. You're right. I'll do better."
He nods and takes another drink.
We start talking about nothing and everything. Neither of us seems to want to go to bed. I know that I will have nightmares, and I assume that he will too. My dreams consist of screams, the scent of burning, and wet, sticky blood. Who knows what he dreams of?
I take a few drinks of his whiskey, but not nearly as much as he does. We loosen up and laugh and joke. I needed this. I needed a friend to get my mind off of things. He probably does too.
"I have a question, Haymitch." I speak.
"What?" He is smiling at me.
"Will you try to stay somewhat sober? For me?" I ask him. "I need my friend. You are the only one who knows what it's like."
He is staring at me. "I don't know if I can."
"Okay." I look away.
"Look," he turns in his chair and faces me. "I don't know how I will be. I can't sleep without this stuff. I just scream and wake up. But, for you, I will try."
I smile. "Thank you."
He smiles back. "Anything for you."
"I'm going to bed." I say, standing.
"I'll walk with you."
We leave the living room and head down the hall. I stop in front of my door. "Goodnight, Haymitch."
"Goodnight, Raven."
I am about to turn toward my door when his hands grab the sides of my face, and he brings his lips to mine.
He tastes of alcohol and something purely Haymitch. My hands, whole and half, grab his wrists. We kiss for a few moments before he pulls away. His grey eyes stare into mine. He drops his hands to his side before bringing a hand to the side of my face. He touches my cheek lightly before saying "I had to. I haven't felt this close to someone in a long time."
"I understand." I smile. "Goodnight, Haymitch."
I open my door and walk in. He is standing outside as the door starts to shut. "Goodnight, Raven."
The door hisses shut, and I just stand there for a moment. I smile like a fool. I finally hear his footsteps walk away and I get myself ready for bed.
Once in bed, I lay staring at the ceiling. What an eventful evening.