Chapter 3 Chapter 3 Gunpowder Keg

Buttercup was cradled in Prim's arms, its eyes glinting faintly from the light from the security light over the door.It took on its usual duties, protecting Prim in the dark of night.Prim snuggled up to her mother.They were fast asleep, looking exactly the same as they did on the morning of last year's draw, the day I decided to compete in Prim's place.I slept alone in a bed because my body was still recovering and because no one could sleep with me, I had nightmares and kicked and punched. I tossed and turned in bed, couldn't fall asleep for hours, and eventually I didn't either, and couldn't sleep anyway.I got up and tiptoed to the dressing table under the watchful eyes of the buttercup.

The clothes issued by the government are placed in the drawer in the middle.Everyone wears the same gray trousers and shirt, with the shirt tucked into the trousers.Underneath this are a few items I had with me when I was rescued in the arena, the Mockingjay brooch, a souvenir pendant from Peeta with a picture of Mom, Prim and Gale attached to the silver parachute , the cannula for getting water from the tree, and the pearl Peeta gave me hours before the arena exploded.When I was in the hospital, people in the 13th district took away my skin topical ointment for use, and also confiscated my bow and arrows, because only the guards protecting the arsenal can carry weapons.

In the dark, I groped for the parachute, then stuck my finger in and touched the pearl.I went back to the bed, sat there cross-legged, and rubbed the pearl on my lips repeatedly. The surface of the pearl was very smooth and gave off a faint light.Somehow, touching the pearl with my lips felt relief, like the cool kiss of the pearl-giver. "Katniss?" Prim called me softly, she was awake and looking at me in the dark, "what's the matter?" "It's nothing. Had a bad dream. Go to sleep." It was a completely natural reaction, blocking all information from Mom and Prim to keep them safe.

Trying not to wake her up, Prim got out of bed softly, picked up buttercups, and sat down beside me.She touched my hand holding the pearl. "Are you cold?" She pulled another blanket from the head of the bed, wrapped the three of us together, and passed the warmth from her body and the heat from Buttercup to me. "You can tell me if you have something to do. I'm sure I won't tell it, not even my mother." She has really grown up.The little girl with the blouse sticking out like a duck's tail, the little girl who asked for help with enough plates, the little girl who begged to be taken to look at the icing in the pastry shop window has disappeared before our eyes.The past and the successive tragic events in her life have forced her to grow up faster, at least in my eyes.She had grown into a woman, a woman who stitched up bleeding wounds.She knew that her mother could no longer bear too much mental burden.

"I'll agree to be a Mockingjay tomorrow morning," I told her. "Do you want to go, or are you forced to go?" she asked. I smiled helplessly, "I have all of them, I think. Oh, no, I want to go, I must go, as long as doing so can help those rebels defeat Snow." I clenched Pearl even tighter in my palm , "It's just... Peeta. I'm afraid that if we do win, the rebels will take him for a traitor." Prim thought about it seriously, "I guess you don't realize how important you are to the cause of rebellion. Important people usually always get what they want. If you want Peeta to live, you can do it."

I am important, I think.They went to such lengths to save me that they even risked sending me back to District 12. "You mean... I can ask them to exonerate Peeta? And they have to agree?" "I think you can ask them anything, and they will agree." Speaking of this, Prim frowned again, "But, how do you know if they mean what they say?" I thought back to all the lies Haymitch told to get me and Peeta around.How can we prevent those rebels from reneging on their promises?Verbal promises made without anyone knowing, or even agreements on paper, may be lost after the war is over, and no one may recognize its existence.Even if there were people in power as witnesses, it would be of little value. Maybe they were the ones who sentenced Peeta to death.I need better witnesses, anyone who can help me.

"This must be made public," I said, and Buttercup wagged her tail in agreement. "I'm going to have Cohen announce this in front of the entire Thirteenth District." Prim smiled, "Oh, that's great. Although it's not a promise, it's not easy for them to back out." This is a good idea, and I breathed a sigh of relief, "It seems that I have often disturbed your sweet dreams, little duck." "I think so," she said.She kissed me, "Go to sleep, okay?" Now I can sleep. In the morning, I looked at my schedule and arranged 7:00 - breakfast, followed by 7:30 - headquarters.Great, I can start negotiating with them.In the restaurant, I scanned my personal information on the sensor, which contained the ID number, schedule.I pushed the dinner plate and walked along the iron bracket in front of the dining cabinet, and found that the breakfast was the same as always—a bowl of hot rice, a glass of milk, a spoonful of fruits and vegetables.Today, there's also rutabaga puree.These foods all come from underground farms in the thirteenth district.I sat in the dining area set aside for Everdeen, Hawthorne, and a few other refugees, and wolfed down my breakfast.I really want to have another copy, but it is absolutely impossible.The thirteenth district has a strict nutritional ratio, and the calorie intake is enough to support the next meal, not too much, not too little.The number of meals is determined according to each person's age, height, weight, health status and physical labor required according to the schedule.The food rations for the people in District 12 are larger than those in District 13. This is to make everyone gain weight as soon as possible.Probably thin and thin soldiers get tired too easily.It worked.In just one month, we look so much healthier, especially the kids.

Gail pushed the tray and stood next to me.I tried not to stare greedily at his rutabagas, but I really wanted more.Still quick-sighted, Gale scooped a spoonful of rutabagas into my bowl as I unwrapped my napkin. "You can't always be like this." I said on my lips, and the spoon had already scooped up the vegetables, so the words didn't really count. "Really, it's either illegal to do this, or it's against other regulations." The thirteenth district has strict regulations on food.For example, if you don't finish the food for the meal and want to save it for later, you can't take it out.Apparently, people have deliberately hoarded food before.This kind of rule is out of place for someone like Gail and I who has been the breadwinner for many years.We only know what it's like to go hungry, but we've never had to deal with surplus food.In some respects, District Thirteen's rules are stricter than those of the Capitol.

"What else can they do to me? They've already taken my wrist Kamit," Gale said. I was doing the dishes and it hit me like, "Hey, they're asking me to be a Mockingjay, maybe I can make them an offer." "Allow me to feed you rutabaga?" he said. "No, we are allowed to hunt." Hearing this, he was taken aback. "We've got to take everything we've hunted to the kitchen. But even then we can..." I stopped, because he also knew that to hunt we had to go to the ground, in the woods, and then we'd have the free. "Just do it," he said. "Now is the time. If you want the moon, they won't give you the stars."

Little did he know, I was asking them for the moon by asking them to pardon Peeta.Just as I was hesitating whether I should tell him this, the bell rang, which signaled that our meal-time was over.The thought of facing Cohen alone makes me nervous, "What's your schedule like?" Gail checked the timetable on his arm, "It's a history class, the history of nuclear energy development. By the way, you were caught skipping class." "I'm going to Command. Come with me?" I asked. "Well, I called them yesterday, and they probably threw me out as soon as I saw them." As we delivered the trays, Gail said to me again: "I think you'd better throw the buttercups On your terms, people can't have useless pets here."

"Oh, they could get him a job and stamp a timetable on his paws every morning," I said, thinking that I should keep him for Prim's sake. Cohn, Plutarch, and the others were already there when we got to the headquarters.Gale's arrival drew some eyebrows, but no one kicked him out.I've got a bunch of things going on in my head, and it's a bit messy right now, so I've got a pencil, a piece of paper, and I'm going to jot them down.They were amazed by the interest I showed in the conference—the first time since being here.A few people exchanged glances, maybe they have prepared a special speech for me.Instead, Cohen handed me the meeting papers, and the others waited quietly.I sat at the table and jotted down a list on paper: buttercups, hunting, pardoning Peeta, making it public. All right.Perhaps today is the only time I can bargain.Think about it, what more do you want?Gail is standing right behind me, Gail, I'll add to the list.Without him, I certainly wouldn't be able to do this. The headache came back, and my thinking started to get a little confused.I closed my eyes and began to meditate in my mind. My name is Katniss Everdeen.I am seventeen years old.I live in District 12.I participated in the Hunger Games.I survived.Pitt hates me.Peeta is arrested.He is still alive.He is a traitor.But he is still alive.I'm going to try to keep him alive... The conditions listed on this list seem too brief.I should think about more important things. Right now I am the most important person, but in the future it may not matter at all.Shouldn't I be asking for more?For my family?For those who are still alive?My body is covered with the dust of the dead.I can still feel the horrible sensation of that head rolling under my feet.The scent of blood and roses still lingers in my nostrils. The pencil scratched involuntarily on the paper. I opened my eyes and saw a few words written crookedly on it: I killed Snow with my own hands.If I caught him, I demanded to kill him by my own hands. Plutarch coughed cautiously, "Are you ready?" I looked up at the clock, I've been sitting here for twenty minutes.It seems that Finnick is not the only one who can't concentrate. "Yes." I cleared my throat hoarsely, and continued, "Yes, I agree to be your mockingjay." They sighed in relief and patted each other on the shoulder in congratulations, and I waited silently for the moment.Cohen was still watching me with the same cold, expressionless face he always had. "But I still have some conditions." I meditated on the contents of the list again in my heart, and said, "I ask my family to continue to keep that cat." My small request immediately aroused everyone's attention. debate.certainly.Capitol rebels don't think that's a problem—I can keep the cat—but people in District 13 think it's going to be big trouble.In the end it was agreed that we should move to the top floor, where an eight-inch above-ground window would serve as an entrance for the buttercups.It has to forage for itself.If it misses closing time, it will not be allowed inside.If it raises a safety issue, shoot it immediately. That sounds good.Except for the item of shooting, the other conditions are similar to the living conditions after we left it.If he's too thin, I can sneak him some offal, subject to one of my conditions. "I want to hunt, with Gale, in the woods," I said.Upon hearing this, everyone immediately fell silent. "We don't go far, use our own bows and arrows, and send the prey to the kitchen," Gale said. Before they had time to refute, I hurriedly said: "It's too stuffy here...I can't breathe here...If...I can hunt...I will recover faster." Plutarch started to raise some objections—it would be too dangerous, I would have to be given special protection, I might get hurt—but Cohn cut him off, "No, let them go, two hours a day, minus their injuries." During training, the range of motion is no more than a quarter of a mile. Carry communication tools and trackers with you. Next condition?" I thought about the content of the list, "Gail, I need him to do it with me." "How with you? Away from the cameras? With you all the time? You want him in public as your new boyfriend?" Cohen asked. She didn't mean it when she said it—instead, she was telling the truth.But I still opened my mouth in shock, "What?" "I don't think it's going to change the current romance, and dumping Peeta so quickly would lose public sympathy for her. Especially since everyone thinks she's pregnant with his child," Plutarch said. "Agreed, so Gale is still a comrade in public appearances on TV. Is that okay?" Cohen said.I just stared at her blankly.She repeated what she had just said impatiently, and then said, "Is this enough for Gail?" "We can always think of him as your cousin," said Fulvia. "We're not cousins," Gail and I said in unison. "Yes, only in front of the TV cameras. The rest of the time, he's yours. Any other questions?" Plutarch said. The sudden turn in the conversation made me flustered.What they're saying is that I could easily dump Peeta, that I love Gale, that the whole thing is just a show, and I feel hot in the face.To think of me as someone who, in the present situation, only thinks about who is his lover is so despicable.In a fit of anger, I further raised my most important request. "After the war, if we win, Peeta will be pardoned." There was a dead silence.I felt Gale's body tense up too.I should have told him sooner, but I'm not sure how he'd react when Peeta was involved. "He cannot be punished in any way," I went on.A new thought came to me, "The same goes for the other captured 'tributes', Johanna, Inobelli." Frankly speaking, I don't care about the "tribute" Inobelli in the second district.In truth, I didn't like her, but it seemed unfair to leave her behind. "No," Cohen said quietly. "Okay," I retorted. "It's not their fault you left them in the arena. Who knows what the Capitol did to them?" "They will be tried together with other war criminals and sentenced according to the court's judgment," she said. "They should be pardoned!" I stood up from my chair, my voice was loud and powerful. "You must personally make a public commitment in front of all the people of District 13 and the survivors of District 12. As soon as possible, today. It must be recorded for future generations. You and the government you represent must be responsible for their safety, or find another A mockingjay!" My voice echoed in the air for a long time. "That's how she is!" I heard Fulvia whispering to Plutarch. "That's it, a modest look, with powder kegs hidden behind her, and you can only see a little smoke, but her The energy is huge." "Yes, that's exactly what we want," Plutarch said in a low voice. I wanted to give them a glare, but I didn't think it would be good to take my attention away from Cohen at this point.I could tell she was weighing my ultimatum in her mind, wondering if it was worth it for me. "What do you think, Mr. President?" Plutarch said. "You could issue an official pardon under certain conditions, saying that the boy ... is too young." "Okay," Cohn finally said, "but you'd better play your part." "Once you make a statement, I will do my best," I said. "Convene a national security meeting during reflection hours," she ordered. "I issue a statement. Is there anything else on your list, Katniss?" My note has been pinched into a ball in my right hand.I unfolded the note on the table and read out the crooked words, "There is one last thing, I want to kill Snow with my own hands." For the first time, I saw a smile on the president's face, "At that time, I will call you in person." Maybe she's right.I'm not the only one who wants Snow's life, and I still count on her to fulfill this wish, "It's fair." Cohen glanced at her arm, she also had a schedule, "Then, I'll hand her over to you, Plutarch." After finishing speaking, he left with her command staff, leaving only Plutarch Tash, Fulvia, Gail and me. "It's great, it's great." Plutarch sat down on the chair, leaned his elbows on the table, rubbed his eyes with his hands, "You know what I miss here? What do I miss the most? Coffee. I I ask you, what is the most incredible thing to eat with gruel and rutabagas?" "We didn't expect everything to be so strict here." Fulvia said while rubbing Plutarch's shoulder. "At least there shouldn't be so many rules among high-level people." "At least there's some flexibility. I mean, even Twelve has a black market, doesn't it?" Plutarch said. "Yes, Hopper's Black Market. That's where we do our business." "Aha, look! You two look like good law-abiding citizens. How honest and upright." Plutarch sighed. "Oh, yes, wars must end. Well, glad you guys Join the team." He reached out, pointed to a large black sketchbook in Fulvia's hand, and said, "You probably know what we want you to do, Katniss. You have mixed emotions. I hope this helps you." Plutarch pushed the sketchbook in front of me.At first I stared at it blankly, feeling suspicious.However, I couldn't hold back my curiosity and opened it.Inside was a sketch of me, in my black uniform, standing straight and determined.Only one person could have designed such a uniform.At first glance, it looks very functional, but on closer inspection, you will find that it is still a work of art.The helmet with drooping brims, the beautiful curve of the breastplate, and the white folds faintly revealed under the loose sleeves.Under his hands, I became a mockingjay again. "Sina." I said softly. "Yes, he made me promise to give you this book after you volunteered to become a Mockingjay. Believe me, I'll have a struggle," Plutarch said. "Look through it." I slowly flipped through the book, carefully observing every detail of the uniform.Layers of armor are carefully designed, with weapons concealed in boots, belts, and added strength at the heart.Beneath my mockingjay brooch on the last page, there is a line from Cinna: I bet you to win. "When did he..." My voice trailed off. "I see, um, just after the century was announced, maybe a few weeks before it started? These are not just sketches, we've already made the costumes. Oh, and Beetle has something special for you at the Armory too .Oh, I don't want to ruin the surprise with my hint," said Plutarch. "You'll be the most well-dressed resistance fighter ever," Plutarch said with a smile.Suddenly, I realized that he had been patiently waiting for me to make a decision for a long time.Like Cinna, he always wanted me to make this decision. "We're planning to take action during prime time on TV," Plutarch said. You roll it out and broadcast it throughout Panem." "How to do it? The Capitol has complete control over the national television stations," Gale said. "But we have bits. Ten years ago, he basically redesigned the underground network that relayed television shows. He thinks it's totally viable. Of course, we also need content. So, Katniss, the studio is waiting looking forward to your presence." Plutarch turned to his assistant, "Fulvia?" "Plutarch and I have been discussing how to operate this operation. We want to shape you as our resistance leader from appearance to inner temperament. This is the best way. That is to say, we shape the most shocking Mockingjay image, and then experience your character to match your external image!" she said enthusiastically. "Her costume is already there," Gail said. "Yes, but should she still have scars or blood? Should she have a rebel glow all over her? How dirty do we have to make her not turn off the audience? Anyway, we want her to look Unusual. Oh, it's obvious." Fulvia said, walking quickly to me, framing the frame with his hand, and comparing it to my face - "can't edit".I leaned back and turned my head away, but by then she was busy clearing the table. "Well, this is what we have already thought about, and there is another little surprise waiting for you. Come, come." Fulvia waved to us.Gal and I followed her and Plutarch into the hall. "She's well-meaning, but it's insulting," Gail whispered in my ear. "Welcome to the Capitol." I lip-sync Gale.Fulvia's words had no effect on me.I hugged the sketchbook tightly to my chest, feeling warm inside.If Cinna wanted me to do this, it must be the right decision. We got on the elevator, and Plutarch checked his notepad, "Let me see, it's room 3908." He pressed the button marked 39, but the elevator didn't move. "You have to use the key," said Fulvia. Plutarch took from under his shirt a key on a thin chain, and inserted it into a small hole I had never seen before.The elevator doors closed immediately. "Ah, this is the way to go." The elevator started to go down, the tenth floor, the 20th floor, and the 30th floor. I really didn't know that the 13th district was so deep underground.The elevator door finally opened, and a wide white corridor appeared in front of him. Along the corridor was a series of red doors. Compared with the gray rooms on the upper floor, the rooms here looked more beautifully decorated.There are numbers on each door: 3901, 3902, 3903... After stepping out of the elevator, I saw the elevator door behind me slowly closing, and a metal grille slowly slid and stopped outside the elevator door.I turned to see a guard appear at the door of a room at the end of the corridor, striding towards us as a door behind him closed silently. Plutarch raised his hand and stepped forward to greet him, and we followed Plutarch.There is a weird feeling here, the elevator has added a safety barrier, the room is deep underground, and the surrounding is full of the smell of disinfectant, it seems that there are more disturbing things.I glanced at Gale and could tell he felt the same way. "Good morning, we're looking for—" said Plutarch. "You got off the wrong floor." The guard said stiffly. "Really?" Plutarch checked his notepad again, "It's clearly written 3908 here, can you make a call—" "I'm afraid you have to leave immediately. If the address is wrong, you can go to the headquarters to check." The guard said. Room 3908 was right in front of us, just a few steps away.The door - all the doors in fact - didn't appear to be a normal door and had no handle.These doors must be the same as the one when the guard came out just now, and they opened and closed along a hinge. "Where's the headquarters?" Fulvia asked. "The headquarters is on the seventh floor." The guard said, extending his arm to signal us back to the elevator. There was a strange sound from room 3908. It was a weeping sound, like the whine of a puppy who was afraid of being beaten, but it was a human voice, and it was very familiar.Gail and I exchanged a look, and we both understood right away.I slapped Cinna's sketchbook to the guard's feet.When he bent over to pick it up, Gale also bent down and bumped his head on purpose. "Oh, sorry," Gale said with a smile, putting a hand on the guard's arm and turning him away. Taking advantage of the guard's attention being diverted, I rushed forward and pushed open the door of room 3908.Several people were half naked and covered in bruises, and were handcuffed to the wall. They are my makeup artists.