Chapter 27 Chapter 27 Blazing Flames

Everything seemed to explode in that instant.Earth and plant debris were thrown up after the explosion on the ground, the woods were on fire, and even the sky was ablaze with colorful flames.I didn't understand why the sky could explode, until I realized that when the real explosion happened on the ground, the extreme race organizers were setting off fireworks, maybe it was not lively enough to destroy the arena and all the "tributes" in it, maybe it was for Better lighting for our bloody end in the arena. Will they let anyone live?Will there be a winner of the seventy-fifth Hunger Games?Maybe not.Anyway, what is the Extreme Race of the Century... How did President Snow read it?

"...to remind the rebels that not even the strongest of them can defeat the Capitol..." Not even the strongest of the mighty can triumph.Maybe they never intended for anyone to win the game.Perhaps my last act of rebellion prompted them to do so. Sorry, Peeta, I thought, sorry, I can't save you.And said to save him?Lest I take away his last chance of survival, I destroy the electromagnetic field and put a curse on him.If we all play by the rules, maybe they'll let him live. The helicopter appeared silently above my head.If it's quiet, and my mockingjay sits on a nearby branch, the mockingjay will sound the alarm before the helicopter shows up, and I can hear it.However, amidst the bursts of explosions, it was impossible for me to distinguish the faint sound.

Mechanical claws protruded from the belly of the plane and landed directly on top of my body.The metal mechanical claws were inserted under my body. I wanted to shout, run, and smash everything, but I was helpless and unable to move. I wanted to die before I saw the figures in the plane.Instead of letting me go and making me a winner and crowning me, they let me die slowly and expose my death to an audience. My fears were confirmed when I saw that the person in the plane was Plutarch Havensby, the chairman of the race organizing committee.He cleverly designed the arena as a ticking clock, and I turned his beautiful arena upside down. He will pay for his failure, maybe lose his life, but in my life After being punished.He reached out to me, and I thought he was going to hit me, but he did something worse, covered my eyelids, and left me in the dark.They can do anything to me now, and I couldn't even see it coming before.

My heart beat violently, the blood flow accelerated, and blood gushed out of my arms.I've lost consciousness.Maybe I'd bleed to death before they could save me.Before I passed out, I whispered a mental thank you to Johanna Mason for giving me this beautiful wound. When I woke up in a daze again, I found myself lying on a cushioned table.My left arm was being given an injection, and it was aching.They're trying to keep me alive, because if I die quietly, I've won.My physical functions have not fully recovered, I can only open my eyes and raise my head.My right arm has regained some feeling, and it hangs limply over my chest like a fin, no, not that good, like a stick.It can't make coordinated movements, and I can't even feel if I have fingers.But, shaking my arm hard, I finally managed to get the IV out.Afterwards, the alarm bell rang, and I passed out again without seeing whoever it was calling for.

When I woke up again, my arm was tied to the table, and the needle was inserted in the arm again.I can open my eyes and lift my head slightly.I was in a large room with a low ceiling and a silvery white all around.The two rows of beds are facing each other, and I can hear the breathing of my companion, I assume.Across from me, I saw about ten different instruments connected to Bit.Just let us die!I shouted in my heart.I banged my head on the table so hard that I passed out again. When I finally did wake up, I was untied.I raised my hand and found that I had free fingers.I struggled to sit up, holding on to the padded tabletop, until the dizziness passed and everything in the room was clearly visible to me.My left arm has been bandaged, but the IV tube is still hanging on the rack next to my bed.

There was no one else in the room except Bit.He is still lying on the bed opposite me, connected to various machines.So, what about the others?Peeta, Finnick, Inoberry, and… and… one more, right?One of the three, Johanna, Chaff, and Bluto, was still alive when the explosion occurred.I'm sure they want to pick a typical one of us.But where were they taken?Moved them from hospital to prison? "Peta..." I called softly.I still want to protect him, still determined to do so.Since I failed to keep him alive, I must find him and kill him before the Capitol decides to torture him to a painful death.I shuffled off to the ground, looking around for a weapon.On the table next to Beeter's bed, there are several syringes sealed in sterile plastic bags.Great.All I needed was to inject a tube of air into his veins.

I paused to consider whether to kill Bit.But if I did, the monitor would go off and I'd be caught before I found Peeta.I silently promised in my heart that if I can come back, then I will kill him again. I was only wearing a gown, so I tucked the syringe under the bandage on my arm.There were no guards at the gate, and there was no doubt that I was miles underground in the training center or somewhere important in the Capitol.The chances of me escaping are next to zero.It doesn't matter.I don't want to run away, I just want to complete a task. I tiptoed through a narrow corridor and came to a slightly open iron door.There are people inside.I took out the syringe and held it in my hand.I was standing against the wall and heard someone talking inside.

"Communications in Districts 7, 10, and 12 have been interrupted. However, District 11 has already controlled the traffic arteries. So they may still ship some food." It was Plutarch Havensby's voice, I thought, even though I'd only spoken to him once.Another husky voice asked a question. "No, I'm sorry. There's nothing I can do to get you to District Four. But I've given specific orders for them to get her out. That's all I can do, Finnick." Finnick, my mind is spinning fast trying to figure out what the hell is going on, how Plutarch Havensby can talk to Finnick.Could it be that his relationship with the Capitol is so close that he can be exonerated?Or does he really not understand Bit's intentions?He said something else in a hoarse voice, as if desperate.

"Don't be stupid, it's stupid to do this. Let her die, as long as you live, they will definitely use her as bait," Haymitch said. Haymitch!I slammed the door open and stumbled into the house.Haymitch, Plutarch, and a bewildered Finnick sat at a table with food on it, but no one was eating it.Outside light came in through the round windows, and in the distance I could see the treetops of a vast forest.We are on a plane. "You're out of the dizziness, honey?" Haymitch said, clearly annoyed at his voice.But when I had no roots on my feet and moved forward, he stood up, grabbed my wrist, and steadied me.He looks at my hands. "So you're going to fight the Capitol with a syringe? See, that's why no one came to you with a plan." I stared at him puzzled. "Throw it away." He squeezed my right wrist hard, forcing my hand to open and dropped the syringe.He pushed me into the chair next to Finnick.

Plutarch put a bowl of broth and a roll in front of me, and thrust a spoon into my hand. "Eat," he said, in a much softer tone than Haymitch's. Haymitch sat across from me and said, "Katniss, let me explain what happened. Please don't ask any questions until I'm done. Do you understand?" I nodded numbly.Here is what he said to me. From the moment Century Xtreme was announced, they had a plan in place to get us out of the arena.The contestants in the third, fourth, sixth, seventh, and eighth districts had a little knowledge of this matter.Plutarch Havensby was for many years a member of the underground that overthrew the Capitol.He made sure that the metal wire would appear in the arena's weapon list.Bit is responsible for blasting a hole in the arena's electromagnetic force field.The bread rolls we received in the arena are the time code for the rescue.The region where the rolls were produced represents the date of the rescue: the third day.The number of rolls represents the rescue time: twenty-four o'clock.The helicopter was sent by District 13.The two District 8 women I met in the woods—Bonnie and Turrell—were right in guessing that District 13 not only existed but was resistant.We are now on the way to detour to the thirteenth district.In addition, most of the jurisdictions of the Panem Kingdom have set off riots throughout the region.

Haymitch paused to see if I understood.Or, he's done talking now. With so much going on, I couldn't understand for a moment that I was just a pawn in this complex plan, just like I was in The Hunger Games.All this without my consent and without my knowledge.But at least in The Hunger Games, I knew I was being used. The friend in my mind turns out to have so many secrets. "You never told me before." My voice is as husky as Finnick's. "Didn't tell you, and didn't tell Peeta. We can't take that risk. I'm even worried that you'll lift my watch during the game." Plutarch said, taking out his pocket watch, running his thumb across the crystal dial , the lights inside came on, revealing a mockingjay. "Of course, when I showed you this watch, I wanted to give you hints about the arena. You might be an instructor. I think this is the first step in earning your trust. I never dreamed that you would become a 'Tribute'." "I still don't understand why Peeta and I can't be part of the plan," I said. "Because you're the first ones the Capitol will catch once the EMF is blasted. The less you know, the better," Haymitch said. "Caught first? Why?" I said, trying to make sense of it. "We are willing to sacrifice ourselves to save you for the same reason," Finnick said. "No, Johanna wants to kill me," I said. "Johanna knocked you out to get the tracker out of your arm, and to get Brutal and Inoberry away from you," Haymitch said. "What?" My head hurts too much to want them to spin around and say, "I didn't know you—" "We're going to save you because you're a Mockingjay, Katniss. The revolution won't go out if you live," Plutarch said. Birds, brooches, songs, berries, watches, cookies and flaming dresses.I'm a mockingjay.A mockingjay that survived despite the Capitol's careful planning, a symbol of defiance. I suspected this when I found Bonnie and Turrell fleeing in the woods, though I never knew the true meaning of the symbolism.But at the time people didn't want me to understand that.I recall Haymitch scoffing at the idea of ​​my escape from District 12, riots in the District, or even the existence of District 13.excuse, deceit.If he had hidden so much from me behind his mocking, drunken mask, how much else had he lied?What else can I know? "Peeta," I call softly, my heart sinking. "Others protect Peeta because they're afraid that if he dies, you're out of the league, and we can't risk losing your protection," Haymitch said.He told the truth with a calm expression, but he couldn't hide his maturity and treachery. "Where's Peeta?" I ask him hoarsely. "He was taken by the Capitol plane with Johanna and Inoberry," Haymitch said.When he said this, he finally lowered his eyelids. Logically speaking, I have no weapons, but nails are also powerful weapons, especially when the opponent is not prepared at all.I ran across the table and scratched Haymitch's face with my nails, and he bled immediately, and scratched one of his eyes.Afterwards, we were both yelling and cursing at each other, and Finnick dragged me out of the house.I know Haymitch held back his anger to keep from tearing me to pieces.But I'm a mockingjay.Mockingjays are hard to keep. Others also came to help and dragged me back onto the table. My body and wrists were tied up, and I banged my head against the table hard.A needle pierced into my vein, and I had a splitting headache. Instead of struggling, I screamed and cried like a dying beast until I could no longer utter a sound. The drug works by sedation, not sleep.So I was strapped in there, tormented by what seemed like never-ending pain.They gave me another injection and whispered comforting words in my ear, but I couldn't hear anything.All I can think about is Peeta, lying on a similar table elsewhere, being tortured endlessly about things he doesn't even know. "Katniss, Katniss, I'm sorry," Finnick said to me from the bed next to me, pulling me back to reality.Maybe he is suffering from the same pain. "I wanted to go back to Peeta and Johanna, but I couldn't move." I didn't answer.Finnick Odile's kindness meant nothing to me. "He's in a better position than Johanna. The Capitol will soon learn that he doesn't know anything, and they think they can use him against you so they won't kill him," Finnick said. "As bait?" I said to the ceiling, "like they use Anne as bait too?" I can hear Finnick crying, but I don't care.They're not even going to interrogate her, she's freed, she was freed years ago at the end of the Hunger Games.Maybe I'm heading in the same direction, maybe I'm crazy, I'm just not told so.I feel like I've gone crazy. "I wish she was dead. I wish they were dead, and we were dead. It was for the best," he said. Yeah, I have nothing to say.Just now I was holding the syringe trying to find Peeta and kill him.Do I really want him dead?What I want is... want him back, but now I can never get him back.Even if the rebels overthrow the Capitol, President Snow will end up cutting Peeta's throat.No, I'll never get him back.In this case, death is the best choice. But does Peeta know all this?Will he keep fighting?He is strong and a good liar.Did he think he had any chance of surviving?Would he care if he had the chance?Anyway, he had no such plans.He had already given up his life.Perhaps, if he knew that I was saved, he would be happier and feel that he had completed his mission of resuscitating me. I think I hate him more than I hate Haymitch. I gave up hope of life.He stopped talking, didn't respond, and refused to eat or drink.They could inject anything into my arm, but that's not enough when a man loses the will to live.I even had the ridiculous thought that maybe they'd keep Peeta alive if I died.Of course it's not a free man, but Avax or something else, serving other "tributes" in District 12.Then, he might be able to escape, and my death, after all, could save him. If you can't, that's okay.It is enough to die with resentment.It was Haymitch's punishment, and of all the people in the world, he was the one who used me and Peeta as pawns in the Hunger Games.And I have always trusted him, put everything I cherish most into his hands, and he betrayed me. "Look, that's why no one comes to you to make plans," he said. That's right, no normal person would come to me to discuss things.Because apparently I can't tell friend from foe. Many people come to talk to me, but I take their words like the hissing of worms in the jungle.Meaningless and infinitely far away.Dangerous, but only when close.Every time their words became clear, I let out a groan and they gave me more painkillers and the problem was solved instantly. Until one day, a man came to me and I could no longer keep him from my sight.This is a person who doesn't plead, or explain, or think he can plead to change my mind, because he is someone who really understands me. "Gal." I said softly. "Hey, Catnip." He leaned down and pushed a lock of hair out of my eyes.One side of his face had just been burned, and one arm was in a sling, with bandages under his miner's jersey.What happened to him?How did he get here?Something terrible must have happened back home. It's as easy to forget Peeta as it is to remember anyone else.One look at Gale brought all the memories of the past back to him. "Prim?" I gasped. "She's alive, and so is your mother. I just got to the scene and got them out," he said. "They're not in District 12 anymore?" I asked. "After the Hunger Games ended, they sent in planes and dropped a lot of Molotov cocktails." He paused, then continued, "You know, the Hopper Market thing." I know, I watched it catch fire.The old barn was full of soot.The same goes for the entire 12th district.When I think of the Seam being set ablaze by Molotov cocktails, I am filled with new fears. "They're not in District 12?" I repeated, as if saying that was the only way to guarantee it was true. "Katniss," Gale said softly. I recognized his voice, the sound he used when approaching his wounded prey and killing it at last.I instinctively raised my hand, trying to gag him.But he grabbed my hand. "No." I said softly. But Gale won't keep any secrets from me, "Katniss, District 12 doesn't exist anymore." 【End of the second part】