The panic rips through Paul like a tidal wave. Behind him, Zoey tuts in disappointment.
"He won't get far with a broken arm." She comments, shaking her head. They're sat in one of the mentors' lounges, just him and her, she with a orange cocktail in one hand and him tapping his fists together anxiously. The lights in here are dimmed and Paul hopes that the glow from the massive screen in front of them, projecting the Bloodbath across the whole room, isn't enough for Zoey to be able to see his face.
"No." Is the only sound Paul can make as his stomach dips through the floor. He needs Pete to hold on for just a few days, just long enough for the plan to come into action - Steph said she'd protect him, she had promised.
"The girl still has a chance though, look at her run!" Zoey grins now, forgetting immediately her earlier chagrin.
She's not wrong - Steph is sprinting towards her district partner with a speed unmatched by the other tributes. She reaches for him and tugs him towards her, and he in return drags her to one side to avoid an axe flying through the air on course for her head. The camera cuts away as they dash towards a set of wide double doors, and Paul remembers to breathe. That Max has been a problem for his tributes from the start; he seems to have targeted them early on in training, though he hasn't a clue why. The guy is a psycho, that much is clear - but so are all the Careers.
He stands on numb legs, muttering some excuse to Zoey, and staggers from the room without waiting for an answer.
A lady with silver tattoos all over her face is prowling the bright corridor - squinting in the change of light, he ploughs straight into her with a dull thud. She cries out, catching him with her talon fingernails digging into his arms. The pain jolts him out of the oncoming panic attack, and he forces a breath.
"My goodness, are you quite alright?" She starts, and Paul can't tell if he's about to be told off or not.
"Yes, I, um, I'm so sorry, its just-" He shakes his head.
"You're the mentor for 3, aren't you?" The woman squints. "And the poor boy, well he isn't having such a strong start now is he?"
Paul is stuck between wondering if this woman ever says anything that isn't a question, and whether he can excuse himself before she starts trying to place bets on Pete's survival. Then a thought, desperate and jagged, strikes him.
"You're a fan of the Games." He says, smiling wide, trying to clear his head and smooth out the anxious frown on his face.
"Well, I come to the concert hall every year to watch the Bloodbath. In fact, I think I remember yours - it is Paul Matthews, isn't it?"
He nods, holding back a flinch.
"Oh, the boy who died! What a miracle they were able to bring you back, after all that blood loss." She laughs like it was lucky. Paul disagrees.
"And now I'm able to counsel the next generation," He says, gesturing vaguely back at the room with the screen he'd been watching Pete and Steph on. "Only, my boy hasn't been quite so lucky as I was."
The woman hums agreeably. It makes Paul want to smack her.
"His brother is a friend of mine actually - tells me he's always getting into fights at school, bouncing back from all sorts of scrapes." Sympathy points for the scrappy underdog; tactics and facades fly through his mind a mile a minute.
"Really?" The lady frowns, unconvinced. Her crimson wig spikes up at the edges like horns.
"Yes, he's quite the contender actually. Top of his year too, very clever." Paul lies and lies through his teeth to make Pete seem like a likely candidate for this year's Victor. He's the cleverest kid he knows, but he's not exactly a fighter. "I've so many stories; shall we?" He links arms with her and motions down the corridor to where he knows a bar and lounge lays. Her hand rests on his, and he tries not to tense.
"Well, I'd love to hear a bit more about the winner of the 61st Games too, of course." She flashes some teeth at him - they look silver too, metallic.
"Ok." He smiles back, and swallows down all his pride in preparation for the ass kissing he's about to have to do to get Pete's first sponsor.