Jeopardy: The Fourth Quarter Quell

Earthquake - Venus

Venus

"Shut up, we're trying to listen," Chase grunts. I'm not sure what I was talking about anyway, only that, as usual, Luxury is giving me evils. She'd get along well with the girls back home. Diamond is still in the Cornucopia, guarded by Adrienne and Crispin, as effective as any prison. Not that I know what it's like in a prison, but I can imagine. The one in Two is in a mountain. So are a lot of things in Two.

I tune back in just in time to hear what is probably the important bit: "...exactly midnight, the Cornucopia will be restocked. For half an hour, you will be able to claim any useful things you might find there. After that, all remaining items will be dissolved. This is a once-in-a-lifetime offer and your last chance at getting any food or water. It will not rain again."

We have food and water. The feast is always a good chance to take out some of the opposition, but if they’re starving and thirsty then they’re hardly any opposition to start with. And –

What is that?

 The Cornucopia is glowing. The whole shining surface appears to be bathed in a kind of rosy red colour, though there's no sign of where it's coming from. It seems to almost be coming from inside. The others, still listening to the Gamemaker, haven't noticed.

"Erm...Luxury? Adrienne? I think..."

"Zip it."

Just because I'm practically the same size as a child does not mean they can treat me like one. I stand taller and make my voice much more insistent, trying to copy Luxury herself's tone. "Luxury, Adrienne, I really think you should see this."

Adrienne turns and her mouth goes wide, just in time to see the Cornucopia raise its curving point smoothly into the sky.

Everybody tries to talk at once. The only voice I can pick out is Chase; "Let's get out of here." I couldn't agree more. There's something deeply eerie about this, the glowing, the fact that it moves. It's almost as though it's some great creature. It's midmorning, getting on to midday, but somehow it feels like night. Strange things only happen at night.

A bright red spear of light zips out of the tip and into the sky, where it stays as if it's holding the sky up. Diamond yelps and scurries out of the now slightly amber horn, limping badly where Luxury cut her leg, and Luxury herself jumps a little, shouting "What in Snow's name is that?"

I know. "It's a marker," I explain, "So the other tributes can get back here. Wouldn't want them getting lost, really, and if it's all the same out there that would be quite easy to, I guess, and -"

Ade cuts straight across me, of course. "The Gamemaker mentioned guidance. This must be it. Now..."

"Venus, can you hear that?" Chase grumbles just above my head. He's gripping his machete in something almost like a 'ready' stance, his eyes flickering about even though he's listening. And if he's listening, me talking won't help. So I shake my head instead.

"Rumbling..."

Now I hear it. Except it's not really hearing; it seems to be vibrating up my feet, through my chest and out into my ears. Like thunder, only not coming from the sky. So the ground...

Just as it hits me, the ground lurches underfoot.

In an instant, everybody is running. Luxury sprints away with a cry - it sounds like she could be swearing - and Adrienne has hold of Crispin and is pulling him in the opposite direction, and I'm just stood still, thinking fast.

They are trying to get us away from the Cornucopia for the feast. But the feast means risking death, although if you don't go then you risk death if the Games goes on too long, which means that we are not going to the feast and we are going to need to take things from here.