Chapter 2 Chapter 2 I'm going to be a mockingjay

Will the Capitol helicopter suddenly show up and blow us up?As we flew over District 12, I looked around anxiously for surprise attacks, but no planes were following us.A few minutes later, I heard the conversation between Plutarch and the pilot. The pilot reported that everything was normal ahead, and I was slightly relieved. Gail heard the cat meowing in my game bag and said, "Now I see why you have to come back." "As long as there is a glimmer of hope, I will get it back." I threw the game bag on the seat, and the annoying creature let out a low cry. "Oh, shut up." I yelled at the bag as I sat down on a soft seat by the window opposite.

Gale sat next to me and said, "It must be pretty miserable there, right?" "It couldn't be worse," I replied.I stared into his eyes and saw there the same pain as mine.Our hands are held together, and in these tightly held hands, there is the tenacity of District 12 that President Snow failed to destroy.It only took about forty-five minutes to fly to District 13, and we didn't speak for the rest of the journey.It only takes a week to walk from the 13th district.Last winter, I met Bonnie and Turrell, refugees from District 8, not too far from District 13 in the woods.But obviously, they failed to reach the thirteenth district.I've inquired about them when I was in District 13, but no one seems to have heard of them.I think they may have died in the woods.

From the air, the Thirteenth District was as lifeless as the Twelfth District.There are piles of rubble everywhere, and there is not a wisp of smoke.Just as the Capitol showed on television, there were few signs of life on the ground.In the seventy-five years since the "Dark Ages"—by which time District Thirteen was said to have been completely destroyed in the war with the Capitol—nearly all new construction has been built underground.In fact, whole complexes have been built underground for centuries as secret refuges for government officials in times of war, or as subterranean refuges when conditions on the ground are unsuitable for human existence.For the people in District 13, the most important thing is that this is the Capitol Nuclear Weapons Research and Development Center.During the "Dark Times", rebels in District Thirteen wrested control of these facilities from the government and turned their nukes on the Capitol.Afterwards, they made a condition: as long as the Capitol did not attack them, they could pretend to be destroyed.The Capitol also has a nuclear weapon base in the west, but as long as it attacks the thirteenth district, it is impossible not to be hit back. Therefore, the Capitol accepted the conditions of the thirteenth district, destroyed everything on the ground, and cut off the outside world. All connections between them.Perhaps then the Capitol authorities thought that District Thirteen would disappear on its own without outside help.The Thirteenth District also did go through a tough time and almost died out.But by strictly controlling resources, establishing good order, and strengthening defenses against the Capitol, they finally got through the storm.

Now, almost all the citizens of the thirteenth district live underground. Everyone can go outdoors to exercise or enjoy the sun, but it must be within a strictly stipulated time period and must not exceed the time limit.Every morning, people put their right arm into a delicate device, and it will imprint the timetable on the inner side of people's smooth forearm like a tattoo, making everyone's arms full of ugly purple marks.This schedule is: 7:00 - breakfast, 7:30 - clean up the kitchen, 8:30 - room 17, assembly at the education center, etc.The purple mark is indelible and can't be rinsed off until 22:00 - the waterproof coating on it comes off in the shower. At 22:30, a signal to turn off the lights is issued, and everyone except those who work the night shift must go to bed.

At first when I was in the hospital, I didn't have to have a schedule printed on my arm.But after I lived in room 307 with my mother and sister, I also had to follow the routine.But apart from mealtimes, I don't stick to that schedule.The rest of the time I'd either go back to the house, wander around the 13th arrondissement, or find a secluded spot, like a disused air duct, behind a laundry room pipe, or whatever, and just take a nap.There's a big closet in the education center that's a great place to take a nap, and no one ever seems to go there to get anything.People in the thirteenth district are extremely frugal, and waste is a crime.Fortunately, people in District 12 have always been diligent and thrifty in managing their families.But I happened to see Fulvia Cadu crumpling up a piece of paper once he had written a few words on it.She looked as if she had just killed someone, her face was flushed red, and the silver flowers written on her chubby face were even more eye-catching.From her appearance, it can be seen that she lives a life without worrying about food and clothing.One of my pleasures in the 13th district was watching the fat "rebels" wriggle their fat bodies into the cramped seats.

I don't know when I'll be free from the strict time constraints of my hosts, but at least now they leave me alone and I'm considered "tranced" - it's written on my plastic medical wristband - everyone I wandered about to be tolerated.But this situation cannot last forever.Nor could their patience with the Mockingjay project last forever. Gail and I came down from the tarmac, turned left and right and walked up many stairs to room 307.We could also take the elevator, but the elevator always reminds me of the scene before entering the arena. I have always had difficulty adapting to living underground.But for the first time since my unexpected encounter with that rose, I felt safe going deep underground.

At the door of room 307, I hesitated, anticipating that my family must have a lot of questions waiting for me. "What should I tell them about District 12?" I asked Gale. "I don't think they would ask that much detail. They saw the 12th district on fire with their own eyes. Maybe they are more worried about how you will react." Gail stroked my cheek with his hand, "I also talked to them. Same." I leaned my face on his hand, "I want to live." Then I took a deep breath and pushed open the door.Mom and sister are at home at this time, 18:00-thinking time, this is a half-hour break before eating.From the concerned expressions on their faces, it can be seen that they are very worried about my reaction when I come back.Before they could open their mouths, I opened the prey bag, and 18:00 appeared—the time for loving cats.Tears filled Prim's eyes as she stroked the ugly buttercup while the cat purred and occasionally meowed at me.It gave me a smug glance as Prim tied the blue ribbon around its neck.

Mom held the wedding photo tightly to her chest, and then put it on the government-issued chest of drawers together with the plant book.I draped my dad's jacket over the back of the chair.Now, the place does look like home.Well, this trip to the 12th District has yielded something. 18:30——Dinner time, we were about to go to the dining room for dinner, but Gale's wrist carmit beeped.The Wrist Carmit looks like a large wristwatch and can display text messages.This is a special treatment, and only those who are extremely important to the cause of the defiance are entitled to it.Gail received this honor for his service in rescuing the people of District 12.

"Tell us both to go to headquarters," he said. I walked behind Gale, a few steps away from him.I'm going to try to keep my spirits up before throwing myself into yet another "Mockingjay fight" that is bound to be merciless.When I came to the entrance of the command department, I hesitated and didn't go in right away.The headquarters is a high-tech conference center and combat command center. The four walls are covered with electronic screens equipped with a language system. The electronic map above shows the deployment of troops in various districts. There is also a large rectangular table with a control panel in the room. I can't touch the control panel.Nobody paid me any attention when I walked in, they were all gathered in front of the TV at the far end of the room, watching the full-time Capitol TV show.The burly Plutarch just blocked the TV screen with his back to me.I was about to slip away when Plutarch saw me and waved me eagerly to let me pass.So I reluctantly moved forward slowly, thinking what interesting things would happen on TV. Anyway, the Capitol TV programs are the same, the same, the same, war scenes, political propaganda, bombing of the 12th District, President Snow Post bad information.So when Caesar appeared on TV in heavy make-up and a gorgeous gown, preparing for an interview, it was a sight to behold.It was only when the camera pulled back that I saw that he was interviewing Peeta.

I was so shocked that I couldn't speak for a moment, as if I was stuffed under the water, trying to breathe but couldn't breathe, the surrounding oxygen was suddenly evacuated, and my lungs hurt from the suffocation.I hastily pushed away the people around me, squeezed in front of the TV, and stood in front of Peeta on the TV, holding the TV screen with my hand.I searched desperately in his eyes to see if he was hurt, if he was suffering.No.Peeta looked healthy, even strong.His skin was smooth and shiny, as if his entire body had been polished.He had a calm demeanor and a serious expression.I couldn't connect the Peeta in front of me with the beaten, bloodied Peeta that tormented me day and night in my dreams.

Caesar sits in a chair across from Peeta, adjusts to a more comfortable position, looks at Peeta meaningfully, and says, "So... Peeta... welcome back." Peeta smiled slightly, "Caesar, I bet you thought the last interview was the last." "I admit, yes." Caesar said, "That time before the Century Xtreme... yeah, who would have thought that we would meet again?" "It's safe to say that wasn't part of my plan either," Peeta said, frowning. Caesar leaned forward, "I think everyone knew exactly what your plan was at the time. You planned to sacrifice yourself so that Katniss Everdeen and your children would survive." "Exactly. Plain and simple." Peeta kept stroking the sofa cushions as he spoke, "but other people have their plans, too." Yes, others have their plans.I think.Has Peeta figured out that we're being used?Did he guess they planned my rescue from the start?Did he guess that our advisor, Haymitch Abernathur, had betrayed both of us for a so-called cause in which he pretended not to be interested? There's a moment of silence, and I see deep wrinkles in Peeta's furrowed brow.He had guessed it, or someone had told him.But the Capitol didn't kill him, or even punish him.The current situation has far exceeded my imagination.I couldn't be happier that he was unharmed, healthy, and thinking clearly.A strong feeling of relief spread through my body, like the feeling of morphine injected in the hospital, and healed the pain I had been suffering for the past few weeks. "Can you talk to us about what happened on the last night in the arena to help us sort things out?" Caesar suggested. Peeta nodded, but without rushing to answer, he said slowly, "The last night... what happened on the last night... Well, first of all, you have to imagine what it's like to be in the arena. It feels like An insect trapped in a bowl full of steaming steam. All around you is a jungle... green, alive, ticking jungle. A big clock ticking the seconds, life It's also ticking away, and every hour is bound to bring new fears. Mind you, sixteen people have died in the last two days—some of them in your struggle. And the situation is It would go on like this, and by the next morning, all but one of the last seven would be dead. Only the victor would survive, and it wasn't you who survived, as planned." The memory of the arena makes me sweat coldly.My hand slid off the TV screen and fell limply by my side.Peeta can not only paint the scene of the arena with a brush, he can also achieve the same effect with words. "Once you're in the arena, the outside world is so far away," he continued. "Almost everything and everyone you love and care about just doesn't exist. The pink sky, the monsters in the jungle , and those 'tributes' who want your life become everything in your real world, the only thing that can affect you. Worse, you have to kill, because in the arena, people have only one wish, one A desire to pay dearly for it." "It will cost you your life," Caesar said. "Oh no. It's going to cost you more than your life. You're going to kill innocent people, it's going to cost you everything," Peeta said. "Give it all," Caesar repeated Peeta's words softly. The whole room fell into a silence, and I felt that this silence was being transmitted to every corner of the entire Panem country. People in the whole country must be listening quietly in front of the TV, because no one has ever mentioned that in the arena. feelings. Peeta went on: "So, you stand by what you believe in. And that last night, yes, my wish was to save Katniss. But even without knowing anything about the Rebellion, the whole thing feels like It was strange, the situation was so complicated. I regret not listening to her when she suggested we leave in the morning. But then no one could see how things would turn out." "Perhaps you're too preoccupied with the plan to hit the lagoon with Bit Electric," Kaiser said. "I made an alliance with them. I should never have let them separate us!" Peeta raised her voice suddenly. "That's when I lost her." "That's when you stayed by the lightning tree, and she and Johanna Mason walked to the lake with the wires." Caesar further described the situation at the time. "I didn't want that either!" Peeta said, flushing with anger, "but if I had an argument with Pete it would have revealed that we were trying to leave them. When the wires were cut, everything went completely out of control. I'm sorry for that I can only vaguely remember what happened at the time. I managed to find her, I saw Brutal kill Chaff, and I killed Brutal myself. I knew she was calling my name. Then, the lightning struck The big tree, and then the electromagnetic force field around the arena... just exploded." "Katniss blew it up, Peeta. You've seen the tape," Caesar said. "She didn't understand what she was doing. We didn't understand Bit's plan. You could see her trying to figure out what the wires were for," Peeta argued. "Yes, the circumstances were indeed suspicious, as if she had been involved in the rebellion all along." At this point, Peeta stood up. He put his face close to Caesar, put his hands on the arm of Caesar's chair, "Really? Was it her plan that Johanna beat her half to death? It was her plan that the electric shock hurt her." The bombing was her plan too?" By this time he was shouting, "She didn't know, Caesar! We didn't know anything but keeping each other alive!" Caesar quickly raised his hand and placed it on Peeta's chest, on the one hand for self-defense, and on the other hand to comfort Peeta, "Okay, Peeta, I believe in you." "Okay." Peeta backed away from Caesar, raised his hands and ran through his hair, messing up the carefully combed hairstyle.He sat down on his chair like crazy. Caesar paused for a while, watching Peeta carefully.Then, he continued: "So, where is your advisor, Haymitch Abernathur?" The expression on Peeta's face turned serious, "Whether Haymitch knew, I don't know." "Could he have participated in this conspiracy?" Caesar asked. "He never mentioned it," Peeta said. Caesar pressed harder, "Then how do you feel?" "I don't think I should have trusted him before. That's all," Peeta said. I haven't seen him since the fight with Haymitch on the plane, when I gave him a long gouging gash with my nails.I know he's having a hard time here.The production or consumption of any alcoholic beverages is prohibited in the thirteenth district, and even medical alcohol is locked in the cabinet.In the end, Haymitch didn't drink a drop of alcohol, and had no stash or homebrew substitute to tide him over.Since he was not fit to be seen in public, they kept him in isolation until he got over his alcoholism.It must have been excruciatingly painful.But thinking how he has deceived us, I have no sympathy for him.I wish he was watching TV right now, so he'd know that Peeta despised him, too. Caesar tapped Peeta on the shoulder, "We can stop now if you want." "Anything more to discuss?" Peeta asked sarcastically. "I just wanted to ask you about the war, but if you are in a bad mood..." Caesar said. "Oh, I'm not in the mood to answer that." Peeta took a deep breath, then looked straight into the camera, "I want everyone who's watching TV—whether you're standing on the Capitol On one side or on the other side of the rebels, stop the war for a moment and think carefully about what this war means to human beings. Before, we were on the brink of extinction because we waged war on each other. Now, our population numbers are declining and our living conditions are worse. Is that what we want? To kill each other until they become extinct? What do we want to achieve...? To have some higher species take over the smoldering earth?" "I don't quite understand... I don't quite understand what you're saying..." Caesar said. "We can't keep fighting each other, Caesar," Peeta explained, "or the few surviving people won't be able to survive. If people don't lay down their arms... I mean, if they don't lay down their arms soon, everything will go down." It's all over." "So... are you calling for a ceasefire?" Caesar asked. "Yes. I'm calling for a ceasefire," Peeta said wearily. "Why don't the guards come and take me back to my room now so I can build a hundred card rooms." Caesar turned to the camera, "Okay, this is the end of this show, please continue to watch other shows on this station." On the television, after the music blared, a female announcer began reporting on the Capitol's shortage of supplies—fresh fruit, solar cells, soap.I watched the TV absently, knowing that everyone was waiting for my reaction to the interview.But I can't figure it out for a moment—I'm glad Peeta's alive and unharmed; what else?He defended my innocence in the rebellion, and his call for a ceasefire was clearly complicit with the Capitol.Oh, he seemed to be condemning both sides of the war.So far, the rebels have only achieved small victories, and a ceasefire would mean returning to the same situation as before, or even worse than before. Behind me, Peeta has been condemned.Traitor, liar, enemy, the words echoed from the walls to my ears.I could neither join nor oppose the angry denunciations of the rebels, so I thought it best to go now.As soon as he reached the door, Cohen's voice came, "You can't leave yet, Warrior Everdeen." Before the words were finished, one of Cohen's men grabbed my arm with his hand.It's not an offensive move, really.But after everything in the arena, I overreact to anyone who doesn't know me touch me.I broke free from his arm, raised my leg and ran out of the hall.There was a loud noise behind me, but I didn't stop.As I ran, I ran through a series of odd hiding places in my head, and I ended up huddled in a pile of chalk boxes in the big school closet. "You're alive," I whispered, cupping my cheeks with my palms, and I thought I must have looked silly with a huge grin.Peeta is still alive, he is now a traitor.But right now, I don't care.I don't care what he says, or to whom, I care that he can still talk. After a while, the door opened and a man slipped in. It was Gail.He leaned against me, his nose bleeding. "What's going on?" I asked. "I blocked Boggs' path," he said, shrugging.I wiped the blood from his nose with my cuff and said, "Be careful!" I wipe him down as gently as I can, actually dipping the cuff instead of rubbing it. "Who is he?" "Oh, you know him, Cohn's lackey, the guy who tried to stop you." He pushed my hand away, "Stop it, you'll make me bleed to death." At this time, the bleeding was not so strong, and I stopped dipping him in blood. "You got into a fight with Boggs?" "No, I stopped him when you were running outside, and he elbowed me on the nose," Gail said. "They'll definitely punish you," I said. "It's been fined." He raised his wrist, and I was puzzled. "Korn took my Kamit." I bit my lower lip and tried to keep my face serious, but it was all so ridiculous. "Sorry, Soldier Gail Hawthorne." "It's nothing, Soldier Katniss Everdeen." He grinned. "I feel like a fool walking around with that." We both laughed. "Now I can be demoted." I got Gale again, which is one of the few benefits of coming to the thirteenth district.As the stress of the Capitol-planned marriage for me and Peeta melted away, Gail and I began to rekindle our old friendship.He also doesn't push anything from me anymore - like kiss me or make love to me.Maybe I'm tired of it too, or maybe he wants to give me some space, or maybe he thinks it's too cruel for Peeta in the hands of the Capitol.Anyway, I had someone else to confide in. "Who are those people?" I said. "People like us, if we had nukes instead of lumps of coal, we'd be no different than them," he replied. "In that case, I don't think people in District 12 in the 'Dark Ages' would have abandoned the other rebels," I said. "That's right, if that's the case, either surrender or a nuclear war. But to be honest, it's not easy for them to survive." Gail said. Maybe it's because the smoke and dust of District 12 on my body haven't cleared yet, but I still can't forget District 12.But at this time, for the first time, I felt that I should give the thirteenth district an evaluation that I have been unwilling to give, and that is admiration.Admire their ability to survive against all odds.It must have been tough at first, huddled in the tiny bomb defenses underground after the city had been blasted to the ground.Across the country, civilians are being mercilessly slaughtered with no allies and no one to turn to.Over the past seventy-five years they have learned to be self-sufficient, have turned their people into an army, and built a new social system with no one to help them.If the plague hadn't affected their birth rate and forced them to find new sources of population, they would have become stronger.Maybe they are soldiers running the country, maybe they are too rigorous and demanding, maybe sometimes they lack a sense of humor, but they survived tenaciously and resolutely shouldered the heavy responsibility of overthrowing the Capitol. "But it took them a long time to make their presence known," I said. "It's not that simple, they're going to have a rebel group in the Capitol, they're going to have an underground movement in the other districts. And at the end of the day, they need someone to organize the final uprising. They need you," Gale said. "They need Peeta too, but they seem to forget about that," I said. The expression on Gale's face darkened, "Peeta's words tonight may have a damaging effect. Of course, the rebels in most jurisdictions don't care what he says at all, but those jurisdictions that are not so determined to resist are hard to say." .The ceasefire must have been President Snow's idea. But Peeta's words seem to make sense." "Why do you think he said that?" I asked, although I was dreading what Gale was going to say next. "Perhaps he was tortured, or persuaded. I suppose he made some sort of deal with them to protect you. He offered a ceasefire on the condition that Snow would allow him to treat you as an innocent pregnant girl To be presented, you were rescued by the rebels knowing nothing about it. That way, if the rebels in the districts fail and you do the right thing, you have a chance at pardon." I looked certain Still bewildered, Gale's words slowed down significantly, "Katniss...he's still trying to keep you alive." Let me live?Ah, it dawned on me.The game is not over yet.Even though we've left the arena, because Peeta and I are still alive, his promise to keep me alive still stands.His idea is to let me keep a low profile, safely imprisoned in the thirteenth district, and wait for the war to end.That way, neither side has a reason to kill me.And what about Peeta?If the rebels were victorious, he was in dire straits.What if the Capitol wins?God knows.Maybe the Capitol allows both of us to survive - if I'm doing it right - to watch this never-ending Hunger Games go on forever... Horrible scenes emerged before my eyes: Lulu, who was pierced by a spear, Gail, who was tied to a whipping post and beaten to death, and the hometown where corpses were strewn all over the place.Why all this?Why?Memories of the past make my blood boil, and some other details come to my mind. I think of the first time I saw the riots in District 8 on TV, and I remembered the victors holding hands on the eve of the Century Xtreme. situation.The arrow I shot into the electromagnetic field was not accidental, it was the arrow I longed for so long to shoot into the heart of the enemy. I stood up with a bang, and I knocked over a large box full of hundreds of pencils and scattered them everywhere. "What's wrong?" Gail asked. "There can't be a ceasefire," I said, bending over to retrieve the scattered pencils back into the box. "We can't go back in time." "I know." Gail picked up a large handful of pencils that had fallen on the ground, and poked them evenly on the ground. "Whatever the reason, Peeta is wrong to say that." Those damn pencils never fit in the box, and I broke a few in my panic. "I know. Give me the pens, you broke them." He took the box from me and reinserted the pens with quick, precise movements. "Peeta doesn't know how the Capitol treats District 12. If he sees what District 12 is like..." I said. "Katniss, I'm not trying to argue with you. If I could send all the Capitols to heaven with the touch of a button, I would do it too. Without hesitation." He inserted the last pen into the case. , and then close the lid. "The question is, what are you going to do now?" Yeah, there's only one answer to the question that's been terribly disturbing to me all this time, and it's only after hearing Peeta's words that I wake up. What am I going to do? I took a deep breath, raised my arms slightly—it felt like I was plugging in the black and white wings Cinna had designed for me—and lowered them gently. "I'm going to be a mockingjay."