During training many of the tributes showed off to scare the others away. Honestly it was intimidating to see the killing techniques I would soon be confronted with. Though I did not plan to give them a chance to use them on me.
Currently Finnick was showing me some useful knots. I got the hang of it quite quickly.
"You are a natural", he complimented me with a bright smile.
"Thanks. Also for your help. You could use your time more efficiently."
"You think so? Helping an ally is a good thing, isn't it?"
I reciprocated his smile.
"Talking about allies. Did anything happen between Johanna and you? You did not say a word to each other since training started", Finnick noticed.
I sighed. "Well. We don't have to pretend being in love anymore." Though it somehow had felt real.
"I don't know", he responded.
"What?"
"Was it seriously just an act? Johanna never bothers to call me, though we are friends", he enlightened me.
"She usually called to tease me or to yell at me", I stated with a chuckle.
"Because she cares", Finnick declared. "It's just her personality. She is blunt, but not the best when it comes to emotions. Everything ends up in rage because she is overwhelmed", he added.
My eyes wandered to Johanna who was training with her axe.
"I will go to the next station now", Finnick announced before leaving.
I tried to ignore the possibility of Johanna liking me. It did not matter now. In a few days we would be fighting on the risk of our lives inside the arena. It would not change anything.
A few days later I was waiting for my interview while watching the tributes of the other districts. All of them tried to make the Capitol cancel the Quarter Quell fruitlessly. Some cried and talked about the time we and the Capitol had had together. Others talked about their loved ones like Finnick.
Now it was Johanna's turn. I could already imagine how her interview was going to end up. "There have been a lot of tears here tonight. But I see no tears in Johanna's eyes. Johanna, you are angry. Tell me why", Caesar noted.
Johanna laughed sarcastically. "Oh, well, yes. I'm angry. I'm getting totally screwed over here. The deal was if I win the Hunger Games, I get to live the rest of my life in peace. But now you wanna kill me again. But you know what? Fuck that! And fuck everybody that had anything to do with it!" Johanna completely ranted which I could completely understand.
"Alright then. One woman's opinion. Who's next?", Caesar intended to distract from Johanna's furious outburst.
Many tributes later, it was my turn.
"So, (f/n). We all know you as a caring person. But right now I'm not sure how to interpret your attitude. What was on your mind when you volunteered for the Quarter Quell?", Caesar wondered.
"Well, Caesar. It's quite complex, to be honest. I connect a lot with the Hunger Games. My little sister, Rue, had just died shortly before the Quarter Quell was announced. I knew that Johanna was the only living female victor of district 7 and could not stand the possibility of watching her death without being able to help her, like it had been with Rue."
Seemed like I had touched the crowd.
"So, it was an act of love?", Caesar concluded.
I did not know how to react to that as Johanna and I had not definitely settled how to deal with our 'relationship' now.
"I can't stand watching people who are precious to me die anymore. But it's complicated as we will be opponents at one point of the games", I explained.
Though I had never wasted a thought on even hurting Johanna. Before it could come to a battle between Johanna and me I would probably be long dead anyway.
"It must be hard to go up against the person you love."
"It's not only that", I interrupted Caesar. "As mentors we know each other. None of the tributes is a stranger to us. Some of this year's tributes are also my friends. Would anyone of you even consider killing a friend? A person who helped you through your hardest times and the other way around?", I addressed the audience.
They started discussing over my question.
"This isn't about the Hunger Games or maintaining peace. It has never been the true purpose to begin with. Yet no one dares to talk about it or rather no one dared to. The citizens of the Capitol are fooled the whole time. Everyone is kept in the dark about the truth. How can you support seeing us kill each other for entertainment? If you think that murder is peace, then you must have lost your mind! Did you ever waste a thought on the people that provide you with all your luxury? The people that have to give everything to the Capitol without getting anything back but more work and torture! President Snow! I don't care! You are going to torture and kill me anyway! I won't play after your rules anymore! It won't end if you kill us! It won't change anything! The citizens of the districts finally realized that they have to stand up for themselves! It won't go back to how it used to be, no matter what you do! Citizens of the Capitol! Did you ever consider how your life would be without the people of the districts? You wouldn't have anything left! Your luxury would vanish, but not just that! Imagine working yourself for everything you want to have! If we didn't exist, you would be the people of the districts! It's up to you to decide, whether to worship the other districts and treat them better or to become those people yourself!"
I had lost my calm demeanor. Shit! Though it was not like I regretted anything I had said.
What had happened with me? Rue's death had definitely changed me and since I did not have to worry about my family, my opinion just broke out freely. Maybe the influence of being the leader of the rebellion in 11.
"Well ...", Caesar for once struggled with his words. "That was unexpected."
The audience was also shocked. They were completely silent.
I looked at the tributes noticing that they tried suppressing their smiles and laughter, except Johanna who was grinning proudly and amused.
If I had had the chance of getting any sponsors, I could forget that now. Joining forces with me in any way would appear rebellious thanks to my idealistic speech.
In the end it was Peeta causing the greatest uproar with the announcement of his and Katniss' baby.
The Capitol did not manage to turn the lights off before we, all tributes, held our hands and moved them up into the air showing our unity like Peeta and Katniss had always done.
When the darkness surrounded us we were pulled apart and back to our apartments.
An uneasy feeling spread inside of me. I had not talked to Johanna since I had 'broken up' with her. What if that had been our last conversation?
My door was locked and knowing the Capitol there was no way out until they opened it again.
Frustrated I intended to get at least some sleep but my mind was thinking of the most absurd things that could await me tomorrow.
So I ended up standing on the platform feeling exhausted and restless.
Three years had passed since my first games, but one thing had not changed. The area of the arena would decide whether I even stood a chance.
The bright light blocked out my vision as I was moved toward the surface.
I immediately noticed the salty smell though. Regardless the direction I looked into, I was surrounded by water. There were different sectors divided by straight lines out of stones, two tributes placed in each sector on a stone platform. In front of us was the cornucopia and behind us a jungle.
Perfect! If I made it to the jungle, the other tributes would have difficulties killing me.
My eyes inspected the tributes near me but I could not make out any of my possible allies. My plan would not have changed anyway.
As soon as the countdown was over, I jumped into the water behind me, heading for the beach in front of the jungle.
Now I was grateful that Johanna had taught me swimming in one of district 7's lakes. Otherwise I would have been way to slow, although the clothes were keeping me over the water somehow.
Behind me I heard the screams of the beginning bloodbath and the following cannon sounds. It was hard to force myself not to look back.
Soon later I was on top of a tree.
I wanted to search for my friends, but only the careers were left at the cornucopia.
Disappointed, I decided to search for water instead. Maybe I would find my friends on the way.
I did not. And I did not have success with water either. The salt water at the cornucopia was the only water in sight. Though there was something that made me feel relieved. Neither Johanna, Finnick nor Katniss appeared at the night sky. They were still alive. Ironically, that fact made me sleep better than yesterday.
Pain filled screams woke me up again. To my horror the voices sounded familiar. I identified them as Katniss, Peeta and Finnick.
As quickly as I could, I jumped through the trees toward the voices but they were far away.
A cannon sound made me panic.
After a while the screams shut down making me insecure.
I continued my way toward them but more carefully. My destination was still a good distance away from me.
After more minutes of jumping I noticed many monkeys in front of me. They did not look exactly harmless. Cautiously I observed them.
Suddenly they rushed toward me revealing their sharp fangs. It was a race through the trees. Sometimes a claw managed to scratch me but this was nothing.
Another cannon sound erupted.
To my surprise at some point the apes did not follow me anymore. They made aggressive sounds but nothing more. I gave myself a short moment to rest until I heard Johanna cry out for help. My body became completely tense as I had never heard such a sound leaving Johanna's lips. I barely noticed that the monkeys had vanished.
My body rushed toward Johanna's voice before my mind could even comprehend anything. But no matter how close she sounded Johanna was not here. That was when I noticed the Jabberjay.
Reluctantly I threw a rock toward it. As the bird moved Johanna's voice moved as well. Several other voices joined. Finnick, Annie, Katniss, Seeder, Mary, Lilie, Seth, March, Taylor, Livia and even Rue.
I ran through the forest desperately trying to escape. But at some point I hit an invisible wall.
I sank to my knees, hands over my ears. The sounds were horrifying.
"Stop it! Stop!"
Even when the screams subsided, I refused to move from my position. After several minutes I shakily climbed onto a tree. It had never taken me that long.
I rested for a while on top of the tree. The sounds inside my head were all mixed up. I did not trust my senses right now and it did not help that I was already suffering from dehydration. I needed to find some water and I definitely did not plan to return to the bloodthirsty monkeys.
So I chose to move to the other side. The smell of blood that encountered me there unsettled me. Hence I jumped even faster.
When I had left the smell behind I noticed that the sun had risen again. Considering where the sun was right now it had to be morning, about seven or eight am. In district 11 we had learned to read the sun instead of the clock as no clock was ever working at our home.
A whistling sound ripped me out of my thoughts. Not eager to find out what it was, I hurried to get away from my current position. But a strong gust of wind hurled me away from the tree. The wind seemed to change direction frequently, hitting me against several trees.
I lost my sense of orientation as I was spun around for a felt eternity until I finally landed on the ground. My whole body ached.
I forced myself back onto my feet, afraid that another tribute might be nearby. The gamemakers had always loved to lure tributes to other ones.
But just as I intended to get onto another tree, I could not manage to lift my feet. Confused, I looked at my legs and noticed that I was sinking into the ground.
What the hell?! Was this my punishment for the riots in district 11 or my outburst during the interview? Or why was I stumbling from one trap of the arena into another without even meeting another tribute once?
I inspected the ground more thoroughly. Seemed like I was sinking into sand.
I tried pushing the sand away from my feet, only to withdraw my hand with a hiss. The sand was burning hot!
I had to suppress a scream as the hot sand started filling my shoes as I sank deeper. Dammit!
I looked around frantically searching for a way to escape while sinking further. I had realized by now that I sank faster the more I moved.
Not too far away I spotted a liana hanging from one of the trees. I gathered all the strength inside of me to move toward it.
As I sank further into the sand, the burning on my body increased.
My hands shakily took a hold of the liana. Luckily my arms were strong enough to pull me out of the sand and onto a branch of the tree. Without the high endurance level I had attained in district 11, I would have probably died due to that sand. The irony of Panem.
-------------------
So what do you think? The outburst of the reader during the interview wasn't planned. It just happened while writing. This actually happens pretty often.
Poor reader stumbling from one trap into another but I couldn't help it. And I really wanted to think of the traps of the other sectors. Please let me know your opinion in the comments!