The Capitol Games

Chapter 4

I freeze. Isn't he insane? I thought... I thought that he was tortured so that he hated anybody from his district- especially Katniss. Pip whispers to me "he looks pretty normal to me- not how I expected after his torturing."

I face him and mutter "well, if he is mad, we'll find out soon enough."

"I'm not insane. I understand how you might think that, but I'm not." Pip and I both jumped. We turn, ready to take on any enemy. His voice was clear, understanding, but somehow slightly threatening. He looked at us carefully, as though examining our condition. Then he said, as though he was speaking to himself "well, looks like I got a pair of fighters."

We walked over to him, and sat on the sofa opposite him. We were separated only by a table, with scratch marks on it. Peeta tells us what to expect, and what to do to please the audience. There will be sponsors who we have to impress, and the crowds waiting for us wherever we go. Nothing about the arena though. He tells us that we're to have separate tutoring on how to impress the audience, and then we each have a lesson with Effie Trinket on how we present ourselves. I don't know why, but I start thinking about why he rebelled, why he wanted these Games, why he defied the Capitol. All of a sudden, I feel the need to say something.

"Why, Peeta? Why do we have to do this? I thought this was why you rebelled? So there were no more Hunger Games?" I want to ask a million questions, but my throat tightens and I can't say anything at all.

He sighs, and says "That's what I thought. That's why I rebelled, because I didn't want any more of these stupid competitions." He bangs his fist on the table. "I never wanted this!" He's shouting now. "I never wanted any of this! I just wanted to keep Katniss safe... Away from harm..." Ghostly looking tears fill his eyes, and drop onto the table. "I love her, I try to protect her, we protect each other- save each other's lives a million times and this is what we get. I never wanted these games to happen." The last sentence was just a whisper, drowned in his tears. He gets up and leaves.

I sit there, shocked. My mind is racing- if the reason there was a rebellion was because the rebels thought the Hunger Games were wrong, then why are we fighting? Why are we taking part in this? Why is this even happening? Somebody must have decided that these Games were what was needed. But who?

Pip gets up and leaves, leaving me alone in the carriage. I curl up on the velvet sofa, dreading the arena, dreading my death, dreading leaving the rest of my family to defend themselves. I don't want to die. I make a vow to myself to fight until the end.