Jabberjay [The Hunger Games]

Chapter Nine

     It takes me a few moments to process what Brutus has proposed. The idea of killing Malo to somehow better my odds at survival seems absurd. Out of all the tributes he is by far the one that I trust the most. Killing him would be a death sentence, eliminating the one person that might have my back in a dire situation. I give Brutus a look of disbelief as I try my best to understand where he is coming from, but I cannot seem to make ends meet.

     "What exactly would that do for me?" I ask in a state of confusion.

     "Listen, I need you to hear me out and trust me because I have been in and out of this system for over twenty years, okay? The starvation, blood, gore, mutts, all of that is background noise. These Games are all about the pleasure of rooting for the people that you want to win. Before the Reaping even happened, people were going to sponsor District Two simply because that is their favorite district. It happens every year, they sponsor the tribute they like best from their preferred district. I can tell you right now that the District Two supporters will be sponsoring Malo over you any day of the week. He's smart, handsome, charming, and lethal. You are outshined by him even when you are at your best. If you go in that arena and slaughter him then they will have no choice but to root for you. I can sell the barbaric mad girl who killed her district partner," Brutus scowls at me with no remorse.

     His words sting as if venom had been injected into my veins. A part of me is extremely offended, the other part is devastated. Is this what the Games have come to? Am I so screwed that the only way I could survive is by morphing into some kind of bloodthirsty animal? I feel that ever since the Reaping I have taken on a new perspective, one that I had never even considered before. The killing of Deco Tali, the murder of the Peacekeeper, my mother being held hostage, President Snow blatantly abusing his power, Silica and Lux laughing at the crying boy from District Eleven on the first day of training, little by little it all adds up and boils inside of me. My mother has been trying to warn me all along without blatantly telling me, probably out of fear that I would repeat her beliefs which could have gotten her killed. In this moment I have finally put together the pieces that my mother had been laying in front of me throughout my entire life. The Hunger Games are wrong.

     "No, I'm not doing that," I tell Brutus with a faint crack in my voice.

     "I'm not asking, I'm telling you how to survive," His words cut through me like an axe, and with that he turns away and walks out of my room. I sit in deep thought thinking about the mess that I have gotten myself into. Brutus wants me to kill Malo because he thinks I stand no chance otherwise. My mother would want me to survive so that I could go back home with her. If I were to win then we could talk about everything, about how my thoughts have shifted. I may not like Brutus, but I know that he is an expert at winning this game. If I were to do this, I would be choosing my mother over Malo, and even myself. I would not want to do it, but I would have to if I wanted to see my mother again. My mind battles itself for what feels like hours without making any progress. You would think that training in the Academy of Warriors my whole life would aid me in making decisions like this, but it has provided no help. I finally give up in debating myself, close my eyes, and force myself to get some sleep.

     The next morning, the squeaky voice of Katrina wakes me up at dawn, "Wake up, dear! Today is an important one."

     I rise from my slumber that only lasted a couple of hours in total. I feel exhausted but I find the energy to get ready for the day, wanting to avoid Katrina marching back in and reminding me to get up again. I quickly shower and then find some casual clothes to wear as I was told that we are not leaving our floor today. The Games begin in two days and I know what I have to do, which is take Brutus' advice from here on out. At the end of the day, Malo will have to die anyway if I want to see my mother again. Whatever it takes to slightly increase my odds, I will do. My final kill in the arena will be me killing myself; the person that I turned into. After I win, I will pick up from where I left off before entering with a completely different understanding of our nation.