A Whole New Game- Chapter 12-A Hunger Games Story

Chapter 12: Confession


Athena

As I slip in and out of consciousness, images of the last few minutes in the arena flash through my head.  

The sound of running footsteps woke me up. For a moment I remained unmoving, remaining silent as they approached, slowing to a stop underneath me. I looked down and saw the girl from 12 and her district partner, the little girl from 11 strung across his back. I shifted down to a lower branch to listen in, moving silently among the branches.

The boy from 12 stopped and gently set the girl from 11 down, the girl from 12 in a panic. As I leaned in closer, I saw the reason for her worries. The little girl was bleeding profusely from her shoulder and spilling onto her chest. It almost looked like a bite...

"Rue, Rue! Don't you dare close your eyes! Look at me! Just keep looking at me..."

 "Katniss, I-" the little girls voice faltered.

  "Rue, stop it! You are going to be okay. Peeta, any sign of more?" Katniss asked while looking worriedly in the direction they had come from.

 The boy looked intently into the trees, "No, but I don't think they are finished with us." He walked over to Rue and held her tiny hand in his.

"Rue, why did you do that?" Peeta pleaded." I don't understand why you would do that for me."

  "I thought that you-" Rue gasped for air, "you and Katniss would have a better chance than-than me. Ever since I was picked I knew I was not going home, and I thought; If not me, let it be one of you."

 A low hum began to echo from the trees, Katniss' eyes flying to the sound. The noise got louder as a hovercraft came into view.

  "No," Peeta said, "no..."

 At the point, Katniss went into a complete frenzy. "No! No! She is still alive! She still has a chance! Go! Leave us alone!" she picked up her bow and began firing up at it uselessly.

A small door on the side of the craft was open, and a mysterious, hidden figure stood in it's frame.

"Katniss!" cried the anomaly.

 The hovercraft whirred and moved away.

 Peeta spoke up. "Who was that? What's going on?"

  Before Katniss could reply, the sound of shrieking barks filled the air. Her face paled, "We have to move, now!"

 Peeta scooped up Rue and ran after Katniss. As soon as they left the clearing, I crept down the tree. Just as I had collected myself, I spotted them. One of the most hideous animals I had ever seen stood just on the edge of the clearing.

I had seen some muttations from previous games, but none of them were like this. It had to have been six feet tall and was five times larger than a regular dog. There was something wrong with its eyes...

  I sprint in the direction Katniss and Peeta took, the mutt lagging behind.I stumbled and fell on my back.

 I realized what was wrong with its eyes, they were human. Not only was this monster's eyes human, I realized they were the eyes of my district partner.

  A sudden burst of adrenaline struck me as I threw dirt into it's eyes, then gave it a hard kick in the face. The mutt recoiled, screaming in pain as I scattered up.

 I turned and ran as fast as I have ever run before. As I flew into the clearing out of the clearing to find myself in a field, the field of the Cornucopia. Floating just above, a shiny Capitol hovercraft. I saw the girl from 2 and the boy from 1 running hand in hand, dashing towards the ladder, the boy tribute from 2 at it's base. I looked behind me. Five mutts were behind, my district partner in the lead. I knew if I had any hope of living, I was going to have to get inside that hovercraft.

I ran faster than I thought humanly possible, the troop of mutts hot on my trail. Finally, I reached the base of the ladder. I am just about to take hold of the first rung, when I feel the razor-like teeth of a mutt sink into my arm, and I screamed as I felt it being ripped away from my body.

By a burst of adrenaline, I manage to give the mutt one last kick in the face, sending it into a fit of whines. I only remember looking up and seeing the face of the girl from 2, black hair whipping in the ferocious wind, eyes vivid and bright with fear.

I don't remember climbing, my vision too blurred by pain, my heart too heavy with fear. The last thing I remember was the lanky boy from 1 tugging me in, and the sound of my own screams terrorizing my ears.

 Nightmares of hideous muttations plague me until I am forced to open my eyes. I awaken in a hospital bed with all sorts of electrical equipment. I looked around and find myself faced with a boy a little older than I, talking to a man dressed in white.

 
"Wha-? where-? I-" I can't form a sentence. Some sort of medicine is being pumped into my left arm. Everywhere feels numb; my legs, my middle, my arms...

 Or arm. I look down frantically, but see nothing but one bandaged stump where my right arm usually is.

The boy notices that I am alert, and makes his way over to me.

"Hello," he says, striding over to my side. He looks much like Katniss, grey eyes and dark brown hair, cut short. His tone is serious, and he does not smile.

  "I'm Gale." The boy says. "I know you are very confused right now, but you are completely safe."

  "Bu-the Games, I-" I frown, my voice slurring as drowsiness seeps though my veins "I-"

  "I will explain everything when you get off the morphling," he assures. "Just get some rest."

  With that I slip back into my nightmares, sharp teeth and vicious claws greeting my closed eyes.


Eleanor


I sigh, and begin tapping my foot impatiently. That stupid doctor better hurry up. I don't even need a doctor. Unlike those other worthless tributes, I am capable of climbing a ladder without getting injured, and the tracker didn't even hurt to have taken out. My hand passes over the red cut where my tracker had been just a few hours before, only faint scar left in it's place.

A soft knocking at the door interrupts my thoughts, and my head turns to the sight of a short, plump, man who I assume is the doctor.

"Hello, Eleanor!" the doctor says in an excessively cheery voice. "I'm just here to see how you are doing and have a basic examination. The check up should be over and done with soon enough!"

"You're late," I grumble.

The doctor looks at me slightly flustered, "I, err, I'm sorry. We just have a lot of people to look after and-"

"Would you just get on with it?" I interrupt. "You're wasting my time."

The doctor's face turns a deep shade of red. "Of course."

After an excruciatingly long amount of time of checking my pupils and taking my blood pressure and heart rate, the doctor finally speaks up.

"Well, it looks like you are quite healthy. Apart from a broken nose, you are in pretty good health, and we should have that fixed up soon enough! You probably need to gain a couple pounds back, but nothing too serious. You are much better off than some of your fellow tributes. One poor girl lost an arm, and another has serious-"

"Is there a reason you're still talking?"

His expression becomes defeated, yet his voice remains positive. "I suppose not. Well, I think you are all set now. Feel free to walk around, your friends are in different rooms down this hallway if you want to say hello. There's also…"

"I'm done here," I interrupt yet again, my hands propelling me off the bed and out the door.

I need to find Cato. I make my way over to the room I saw him being dragged into after he had gotten in. He seemed fine when he had tumbled down the hall. He had been calling something, too breathless to form the words.

A tall man stands outside the door blocking entrance. I stop in front of him, his eyes barely glancing up at me.

"I need to see Cato," I demand.

"Too bad. He is going to be with the doctor a few minutes more. No visitors," he says. "I assure you he is fine."

He better be. I give the man a unsatisfied look before deciding there will be no getting past him and turning down the hall.

Fine. There is one other person I need to have a little chat with, anyway.

I scurry down the hallway, my head glancing through the glass of each door. I pass by Athena's room, a nurse taking her temperature and as she drifts slowly into conciousness. In another I spy Marvel, brown eyes scared as a needle enters his arm. Finally, in the room just beyond his, I find her, alone, her usual stupid, serious expression plastered on her freckled face.

I burst through the door, making sure to slam it closed.

"Clove! I am so glad I finally found you, I was so worried," I say, mocking her with as much enthusiasm as I can muster up.

She raises an eyebrow at me as I step into her room. She too has had the tracker removed, a small scar on her right arm glowing a soft pink. I know that somewhere under the sheets of her hospital bed, she hides a new set of stitches on her stomach, a reminder of her incompetence carved into her flesh.

"Listen," I begin, striding up to the side of her bed. "I think we need to talk. You know, girl to girl." Her grey-blue eyes shimmer, twinkling in the low fluorescent lights.

I continue on. "You see, Cato and I have gotten really close lately, and I have been thinking-"

"My God, are you okay? I've heard it can seriously injure first timers," she retorts cleverly.

I give her a mocking chuckle, and stop beside her bed, making sure my face is right up in hers. "Ha-ha. You're hilarious. You just stay the hell out of my way, understood? I want Cato Rofter, and I always get what I want."

"Evidently, you never wanted any self respect or dignity," she hurls. "And I don't care about you and Cato's trivial little relationship. If you haven't noticed, we kind of shouldn't be alive, not to mention that we have no idea what's going on or where we are headed. I believe that that takes precedence over your petty romantic quandaries."

I can feel fury bubbling in my chest. So you think your so smart, huh? Think your big words intimidate me? I push my face closer to hers. "Just stay away from him you little whore. I know how he really feels, and believe me, you are not in the picture."

She gives me a snarl, canine teeth showing out of her crooked smile. "You don't know the first thing about Cato Rofter.  He never sticks with one thing for too long, and you're just the newest shiny object. Give him a week and he'll have moved on. Give him a month, see if he even remembers who you are."

Something about this hits me, but not because of what she's saying, but how she's saying it. No one has ever spoken to me like this. Bold, unafraid.

Her eyes glisten, irritation radiating in her grey-blue irises. "Maybe we can talk some other time, when I actually care, if that ever happens. Because right now, we have much bigger issues to deal with," she chimes. "So I suggest you go find your little boyfriend and leave me to figure out my own personal qualms."

My fists ball up, knuckles to the point that they are turning white with rage.

"Oh, by the way, when you see Cato, tell him I said hi. Tell him his best friend sends her love and sentiments. No need to say names, he'll know who it is," she toys. "Now get out of my room you execrable, vomitous mass."

I back up, stride over to the door, and slam it closed as hard as I can on my way out, the plexiglass window rattling slightly.

Hate is not a word to describe how I feel, antipathy a useless comparison. You better watch your pretty little head Clove, because someday, I'll have it on a platter.


Katniss

When I open my eyes, I find myself in a small, white room. I am sitting in a large chair, and in another corner of the room, several figures are talking, faces hidden in the dim light. They speak in hushed tones, the sound of whispers hissing through the air.

"Hello?" I say, wondering if they know I am there.

All the figures turn and one begins to rush forward. As he comes into the light, I see the joyful yet sorrow-filled expression on a far too familiar face. Gale.

"Katniss!" he cries, flying towards me.

"Gale!" I stand up and fly towards him, the two of us colliding in a hug. The words barely a whisper as embraces me. "What- What is going on?"

"Katniss, everything is all right. This is a ship from District 13, we are in charge of the Rebellion. We saved the all the remaining tributes, except for the guy from 11. We were too late, the mutts got him." Gale says stolidly. At the mention of the other tributes, my thoughts immediately fly to one.

"Peeta-" I mutter as my eyes frantically begin searching the room.

"He's fine," says Gale bitterly. "You should be worrying about yourself. Look at your leg." He says as he gestures to a rather large gash on my left leg, stretching from my knee to mid shin, though it seems to already be scabbing over.

"I'm fine. It's just a little scratched up." I say. As I attempt to pull away, I trip slightly, Gale catching me in his muscled arms. My little fall reopens my wound, a steady stream of blood beginning to trickle out.

"See?" Gale says, "You are not okay. We need to get you fixed up." As he attempts to pull me up, I make eye contact with another figure, blue eyes and blond hair shimmering in the dim light. I cannot stop myself from calling his name as I hobble over to him.

"Peeta!"

"Katniss!" Peeta soothes as he pulls me in for a hug. "You're okay. When we first got on the craft I couldn't find you. I-I thought you didn't make it." I notice the concern in Peeta's eyes and begin to respond when Gale grabs my arm.

"You can have a reunion later, right now, we need to get that cut looked at." Gale snaps at Peeta. He pries me away, thick fingers wrapping around my wrist as Peeta's face reddens.

"I am fine." I say once more, mostly so that Peeta and Gale stop worrying. In reality, my leg is numbing slightly from the blood loss.

"Let's at least get a bandage on it," Peeta insists.

"Fine," I respond.

"I'll get it," Gale says while eyeing Peeta suspiciously. He then looks down at me pleadingly. "Don't go anywhere." After Gale hurries out I turn my attention to Peeta, who helps me back to my chair.

"Who is that guy?" He questions enviously. "You two seem very familiar."

"That's Gale, my hunting partner. He and I help each other out back home," I respond gently.

"I see. So I guess you guys are pretty close," Peeta retorts. After Peeta says this I feel a hand on my shoulder. When I look up I see Gale with a large bandage. He turns me to face him and begins to bandage my cut.

"This is going to sting, but it'll clean it out," Gale says as he pours a foggy liquid in my wound. I wince and let out a yelp, searing pain coursing through the gash in my leg. Peeta comes around from behind me and grabs my hand. I try to stifle my pained expressions as Gale continues to wash it. But I can tell by the expression on Peeta and Gale's faces that I'm not doing very well. Finally, Gale wraps my wound in the bandage and I feel myself relax.

"I'm sorry," Gale says apologetically. "I know, that stuff hurts."

"It's okay." I respond. "It was for my own good." As I sit there looking at Gale and Peeta, an awkward silence emerges between the three of us. So I decide to take this opportunity to introduce them to each other.

"Peeta, this is Gale. Gale, Peeta," I say, gesturing to each of them as I speak. As they make eye contact, I feel a tenseness pass between them.

"Yeah, I know who he is," says Gale seriously. "He did after all confess his love to you over live television."

"I've heard about your hunting partner," replies Peeta agitatedly. "I've heard all about your friend."

Great. I feel the tensions growing, and am about to speak up when another boy strides into the room. His short blond hair makes his forrest green eyes pop, and he strides over to Gale.

"I collected all the tributes, sir. They're in the council room," he says, his tone serious.

"Thank you Alec," Gale replies. "Remain on standby incase we get any word from the Capitol or 13."

"Yes sir." And with that, the boy is gone, vanishing through the doorway.

"Wait, what's going on?" Peeta asks.

Gale gives him one last disapproving look before responding. "We are going to have a meeting. Explain to the surviving tributes what happened and what's going on.

"Then we should go," I say as I stand up. Peeta rushes toward me and loops his arm through mine and Gale strides and does the same with my other arm. I hope it's not going to continue like this. I feel like a sandwich, squished between the two of them.

Gale leads us out into the hall and to a room with a large black door, which I can only assume is the council room. I let go of the two of them as I stride in, the familiar faces boring into me from a long wooden table. Clove sits next to Marvel, hands free of her vicious knives. Cato and the girl from 4 sit next to each other as well, the girl's eyes starstruck as she stares at him. Foxface remains motionless in her seat, eyes dead and weightless as she stares at her new bandaged stub. Then it dawns on me, and I realize one is missing.

"Where is Rue?" I ask as Peeta and Gale both make their way down into chairs. I remain standing, unmoving until my Gale answers my question.

"She is in surgery right now. The mutts caused severe damage to her shoulder, and it will take some time before she is out," he says. "I assure you though, she will be okay. We need to start the meeting."

I take a hesitant seat in between Clove and Gale. My eyes hesitantly fall to all of the tributes, scanning them for weapons. Only a few hours before, we were all in a frenzy to eliminate one another, and my trust for them is not about to change. I calm as Gale begins.

"Hello everyone. My name is Gale. I work as part of the Rebellion against the Capitol. This is a rebellion hovercraft, headed to District 13, which does actually exist and function as a home base to the Rebellion. No weapons are permitted onboard, and unless you give us reason, no harm will come to you on this craft."

I scoff slightly, Clove's gaze falling to me. I meet her eyes, crystal grey-blue like icicles. She was the one that hated me, the one that was out to get me. She tried to kill me.

Her gaze leaves mine, and instead falls to the tabletop as Gale continues.

"Your trackers have been removed, so the gamemakers can no longer find you. We have had no word from the Capitol and know not what they are saying. We do know that the last moments broadcasted were of Katniss and Peeta seeing the hovercraft approaching, so everyone thinks Rue is dead. Also Cato and Eleanor running, Athena in a tree, and Clove and Marvel umm, together."

I see Cato's eyes flicker viciously to Marvel's, the girl gripping onto his arm and batting her eyelashes.

"Wait, who is Athena? And Eleanor?" I ask.

The girl fawning over Cato chimes up. "I'm Eleanor, thank you very much. Eleanor Ruehler."

"And that's Athena," Gale gestures to Foxface. I had almost forgotten that she had a name, and that Foxface was just a clever nickname developed by Peeta and I. She stares down at the table top, eyes open and wide as if she has exited reality.

Gale continues. "Anyway, you were all rescued in an attempt to rebel against the Capitol. Your families are being contacted to let them know that you are safe. At the moment no one outside of the Rebellion knows what has happened to you. Little do they know that this year, the Hunger Games will have no victor," he ends, hidden pride to his tone.

"Clove, what's wrong?" Marvel's voice chimes.

Everyone's attention flies to her, a single tear trickling down her freckled cheek. She barely looks up, icicles watery, but a smile slowly edging onto her face.

"No victor. There will be no victor," she says. We all stare at her, everyone unsure at exactly what she is upset about. Though another tear falls, her smile widens, bearing her canines. "No victor," she says again, a strange sense of happiness creeping into her voice. "I didn't win, it didn't happen."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Eleanor barks.

Clove's gaze flies to her, her eyes lighting up. "I was going to win the Hunger Games. This year, they were fixed, so no matter what happened I would've win. The gamemakers were going to keep me alive, eliminate the competition, never allow me to get seriously hurt. I was going to win, I was going to have to lose my friends, watch them die, but not now. Because I didn't win!" she practically squeals.

"The gamemakers were going to work for you? Are you insane?" Eleanor asks, voice full of mocking skepticism. She moves her hand from Cato's arm to under her chin, in a mock interested pose. "Tell us Clove, why were they going to keep you alive? Why not the rest of us?"

"Because President Snow told them to," she almost whispers.

"Oh of course he did!" Eleanor says exasperatedly.  "And why exactly did he do that?"

Clove's eyes twinkle and she takes a deep sigh before continuing. All of the tributes lean in, now genuinely interested in Clove's little speech.

"Because, I am his granddaughter."