Chapter 46

NARRATOR | Caius Thorntree, Head Gamemaker

TIME | Day 11

TRIBUTES REMAINING | 9

I click impatiently on the controller in my hand, flicking from screen to screen. Nothing is happening in this Arena, and I've learned that the Capitol has a very short attention span.

The attention of the broadcast to the Districts is currently focused on Minna; she's the only tribute actually doing anything, after all. I watch as her fingers hover over the berries of a poisonous plant. After the eruption, those poisonous berries were the only plants to survive when the ash began to block the sun. That was by design - another one of Noctiluna's genius ideas. If the tributes become desperate enough to eat them, they'll have a very important lesson to learn.

"Eat up, darling," Cassius mutters next to me, his eyes trained on the skeletal girl. I let out a chuckle in response.

Minna's been scrawny from the day she was Reaped, but it wasn't until the eruption that she truly started to look like a corpse. The life has drained out of her face; it looks like she has no hope left, nothing left to do but die. And it looks like she's seriously starting to consider it; she has no chance of making it out of the Arena. At this point, she's just prolonging her own suffering.

Minna's fingers waver. In her Individual Assessments, she showed off her knowledge of plants, so she knows what these berries can do. She closes her eyes for a moment, letting out a long exhale. And then she retracts her hands.

The Gamemakers around me let out a sigh of disappointment as Minna turns away from the bush, laying flat against the ground. Her eyes point up at the dark, ash-filled sky, no emotion left to squeeze out.

It's a shame; Minna was a bright girl once, especially when Kylie was still around. Now, she's so defeated that it almost hurts to look at her. Almost. She is a District girl, after all.

A message illuminates the screen in front of me. It's from Acanthus, my advisor.

Met with Snow. We need to talk. My office, 8:30.

Snow's name jumps from the screen, sending a chill down my body. Nothing I do or say here matters unless Snow approves, and he's not an easy man to impress.

I check the clock in the corner of the room - 8:15. Acanthus clearly doesn't want to wait.

"Shut it down," I say, waving my hand at the screen in front of me. "Keep the cameras on Minna, I want to see her reaction."

Night quickly falls over the Arena, and the Capitol anthem plays in its abridged form. Minna's eyes barely register the sound as it begins, but she does manage to sit up midway through as if the music reawakens something inside her. She stares up at the sky to see the Gamemakers' message: NO FALLEN TRIBUTES. At the news, she slumps back to the ground.

"Let me know if I'm needed," I tell Cassius, who's still typing away at his station next to me. He nods mindlessly.

I quickly make my exit, hurrying down the dark hallways of the Hunger Games center. I finally reach one of the elevators, taking it up to the top floor.

"Have a seat," Acanthus calls, turning to face me as I approach his desk. A silver placard sits at the front, right in front of me. Acanthus Sylverthorn, Chief Advisor of the Head Gamemaker.

"Tell me the news is good," I plead, trying not to let my desperation show.

"Well, there is some good news," the older man says, his grey eyes flickering down to the screen in front of him. "But you already know most of it. Viewership is at an all-time high this year, and it's no secret why."

I can't help but smile at that news. Acanthus is right - I've already seen all the statistics - but it's still good to hear them out of his mouth. He's my harshest critic, and it feels like I'm finally starting to win him over.

"You may have learned from your father that the Games used to have viewers inside the Arena," Acanthus says. "Years and years ago, long before the Second Rebellion. A tragedy involving Capitol citizens put an end to that practice. Your sapphire bracelet has brought that level of engagement back into the Games without risking the safety of Capitolites... people watching at home feel like they can have a real impact on the outcome, and that's what has made this year so exciting."

"Thank you, sir," I smile. "But I notice you haven't mentioned President Snow yet. What does he think?"

Acanthus' face darkens ever-so-slightly, and my stomach churns. "Snow has some... concerns," he says, his voice carefully measured. The word slams into me, and I try not to let it show.

"In what way? Have I not given him a show?" I ask, my arms crossing over my chest.

"You've given a show, alright," Acanthus says, his eyebrows rising ever so slightly. "That's what you see, Caius. That's what you think about. Approval ratings, is the Capitol entertained? Are the Games keeping people interested?"

"The Hunger Games are the most culturally important entertainment event of the year," I bite, feeling myself getting defensive. "Is it wrong that I want to entertain?"

"Of course it's important," Acanthus hisses. "Don't waste my time with foolishness. You've seen what happens to Gamemakers who produce boring Games. The worst thing you can be in this city is boring. But this city isn't the only one watching. The Capitol is celebrating, and you don't need me to tell you that. We've gotten more sponsorships this year than in the last four years combined, and there are still nine tributes left."

"So I don't understand why Snow is unimpressed," I say, leaning forward in my chair. "The Capitol is gripped by these Games. The sapphire bracelet is all anyone can talk about. The Assassin's Bow is a revelation of modern design that's never been seen before. And the Districts are reminded every day of the true meaning of these Games: that they're for the Districts to suffer. Did you see the look on Minna's face today? The tributes are starving and completely defeated."

"The message you're sending to the Districts is just fine," Acanthus shrugs. "But let me present you with this scenario."

"Imagine you're President Snow watching these Games for a moment. Here's a tribute - Violet - who has become the most controversial character in the Games. The Capitol loves her for her nerve and her powerful grip on her allies. The Districts despise her - she's bullied and killed the tributes who thought they were closest to her. Violet has all the power, and she has the sapphire bracelet in her possession."

"Now think about what's happened in the Games, Caius. Violet has been tricked, outsmarted by a peasant boy from District Six. He stole her power and escaped with it before she had the chance to kill him. And where are we now? The boy is on the loose with the sapphire bracelet, and Violet is powerless to stop him. What message does that really send?"

My brain is spinning as Acanthus speaks; I have so many things to consider that I never even thought about this. The Games is representative of so many things - the Capitol's relationship to the Districts, the power of the Gamemakers behind it, the entire history of our nation - that Snow's political position was something I never considered.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do," I exhale, throwing my hands up in defeat. "These tributes are people too, and they have the free will to do what they want. I can only control them to a certain degree."

"If you think that's true, Caius, you don't fully understand your own capabilities," my advisor says, his eyes boring into mine. "I suggest you watch some old tapes tonight, maybe some from your father's Games. These tributes are completely powerless... if you want them to do something, they will do it. You just have to make it seem like they have no other choice."

Acanthus sends me home like a dog with its tail between its legs. Every time I think I have this job figured out, he sneaks up behind me to remind me that I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm slowly beginning to realize that my job isn't really to lead the Hunger Games; it is on the surface, sure. The Hunger Games have become a symbolic entity that reflects upon everything around it. It's watched by every person in Panem, and as a result, the political power of the Games is unmatched.

My real job is to mold the Games, to control it in a way that pleases everyone. Only now do I realize that I've already lost control.

A/N - YALL I saw the announcement for the new HG book and it totally motivated me to kickstart this chapter! I've been losing motivation to write recently, and I think it's because of how spaced-out this story is. I want to show every perspective I can to make the best story possible, but I'm learning that if I'm not motivated to write it, people won't be motivated to read it! So I'm gonna be restructuring some of the upcoming chapters so I'm only writing chapters I really care about. Hopefully that'll allow me to drill out the rest of this story :)

~S