hospital in Eight. There should be another propo in that with the theme ‘Because you know who they are and what they do.’ We’ll focus on Katniss interacting with the patients, particularly the children, the bombing of the hospital, and the wreckage. Messalla’s cutting that together. We’re also thinking about a Mockingjay piece. Highlight some of Katniss’s best moments intercut with scenes of rebel uprisings and war footage. We call that one ‘Fire is catching.’ And then Fulvia came up with a really brilliant idea.»
Fulvia’s mouthful-of-sour-grapes expression is startled right off her face, but she recovers. «Well, I don’t know how brilliant it is, but I was thinking we could do a series of propos called We Remember. In each one, we would feature one of the dead tributes. Little Rue from Eleven or old Mags from Four. The idea being that we could target each district with a very personal piece.»
«A tribute to your tributes, as it were,» says Plutarch.
«Thatis brilliant, Fulvia,» I say sincerely. «It’s the perfect way to remind people why they’re fighting.»
«I think it could work,» she says. «I thought we might use Finnick to intro and narrate the spots. If there was interest in them.»
«Frankly, I don’t see how we could have too manyWe Remember propos,» says Coin. «Can you start producing them today?»
«Of course,» says Fulvia, obviously mollified by the response to her idea.
Cressida has smoothed everything over in the creative department with her gesture. Praised Fulvia for what is, in fact, a really good idea, and cleared the way to continue her own on-air depiction of the Mockingjay. What’s interesting is that Plutarch seems to have no need to share in the credit. All he wants is for the Airtime Assault to work. I remember that Plutarch is a Head Gamemaker, not a member of the crew. Not a piece in the Games. Therefore, his worth is not defined by a single element, but by the overall success of the production. If we win the war, that’s when Plutarch will take his bow. And expect his reward.
The president sends everyone off to get to work, so Gale wheels me back to the hospital. We laugh a little about the cover-up. Gale says no one wanted to look bad by admitting they couldn’t control us. I’m kinder, saying they probably didn’t want to jeopardize the chance of taking us out again now that they’ve gotten some decent footage. Both things are probably true. Gale has to go meet Beetee down in Special Weaponry, so I doze off.
It seems like I’ve only shut my eyes for a few minutes, but when I open them, I flinch at the sight of Haymitch sitting a couple of feet from my bed. Waiting. Possibly for several hours if the clock is right. I think about hollering for a witness, but I’m going to have to face him sooner or later. Haymitch leans forward and dangles something on a thin white wire in front of my nose. It’s hard to focus on, but I’m pretty sure what it is. He drops it to the sheets. «That is your earpiece. I will give you exactly one more chance to wear it. If you remove it from your ear again, I’ll have you fitted with this.» He holds up some sort of metal headgear that I instantly namethe head shackle . «It’s an alternative audio unit that locks around your skull and under your chin until it’s opened with a key. And I’ll have the only key. If for some reason you’re clever enough to disable it»—Haymitch dumps the head shackle on the bed and whips out a tiny silver chip—«I’ll authorize them to surgically implant this transmitter into your ear so that I may speak to you twenty-four hours a day.»
Haymitch in my head full-time. Horrifying. «I’ll keep the earpiece in,» I mutter.
«Excuse me?» he says.
«I’ll keep the earpiece in!» I say, loud enough to wake up half the hospital.
«You sure? Because I’m equally happy with any of the three options,» he tells me.
«I’m sure,» I say. I scrunch up the earpiece wire protectively in my fist and fling the head shackle back in his face with my free hand, but he catches it easily. Probably was expecting me to throw it. «Anything else?»
Haymitch rises to go. «While I was waiting…I ate your lunch.»
My eyes take in the empty stew bowl and tray on my bed table. «I’m going to report you,» I mumble into my pillow.
«You do that, sweetheart.» He goes out, safe in the knowledge that I’m not the reporting kind.
I want to go back to sleep, but I’m restless. Images from yesterday begin to flood into the present. The bombing, the fiery plane crashes, the faces of the wounded who no longer exist. I imagine death from all sides. The last moment before seeing a shell hit the ground, feeling the wing blown from my plane and the dizzying nosedive into oblivion, the warehouse roof falling down at me while I’m pinned helplessly to my cot. Things I saw, in person or on the tape. Things I caused with a pull of my bowstring. Things I will never be able to erase from my memory.
At dinner, Finnick brings his tray to my bed so we can watch the newest propo together on television. He was assigned quarters on my old floor, but he has so many mental relapses, he still basically lives in the hospital. The rebels air the «Because you know who they are and what they do» propo that Messalla edited. The footage is intercut with short studio clips of Gale, Boggs, and Cressida describing the incident. It’s hard to watch my reception in the hospital in 8 since I know what’s coming. When the bombs rain down on the roof, I bury my face in my pillow, looking up again at a brief clip of me at the end, after all the victims are dead.
At least Finnick doesn’t applaud or act all happy when it’s done. He just says, «People should know that happened. And now they do.»
«Let’s turn it off, Finnick, before they run it again,» I urge him. But as Finnick’s hand moves toward the remote control, I cry, «Wait!» The Capitol is introducing a special segment and something about it looks familiar. Yes, it’s Caesar Flickerman. And I can guess who his guest will be.
Peeta’s physical transformation shocks me. The healthy, clear-eyed boy I saw a few days ago has lost at least fifteen pounds and developed a nervous tremor in his hands. They’ve still got him groomed. But underneath the paint that cannot cover the bags under his eyes, and the fine clothes that cannot conceal the pain he feels when he moves, is a person badly damaged.
My mind reels, trying to make sense of it. I just saw him! Four—no, five—I think it was five days ago. How has he deteriorated so rapidly? What could they possibly have done to him in such a short time? Then it hits me. I replay in my mind as much as I can of his first interview with Caesar, searching for anything that would place it in time. There is nothing. They could have taped that interview a day or two after I blew up the arena, then done whatever they wanted to do to him ever since. «Oh, Peeta…» I whisper.
Caesar and Peeta have a few empty exchanges before Caesar asks him about rumors that I’m taping propos for the districts. «They’re using her, obviously,» says Peeta. «To whip up the rebels. I doubt she even really knows what’s going on in the war. What’s at stake.»
«Is there anything you’d like to tell her?» asks Caesar.
«There is,» says Peeta. He looks directly into the camera, right into my eyes. «Don’t be a fool, Katniss. Think for yourself. They’ve turned you into a weapon that could be instrumental in the destruction of humanity. If you’ve got any real influence, use it to put the brakes on this thing. Use it to stop the war before it’s too late. Ask yourself, do you really trust the people you’re working with? Do you really know what’s going on? And if you don’t…find out.»
Black screen. Seal of Panem. Show over.
Finnick presses the button on the remote that kills the power. In a minute, people will be here to do damage control on Peeta’s condition and the words that came out of his mouth. I will need to repudiate them. But the truth is, I don’t trust the rebels or Plutarch or Coin. I’m not confident that they tell me the truth. I won’t be able to conceal this. Footsteps are approaching.
Finnick grips me hard by the arms. «We didn’t see it.»
«What?» I ask.
«We didn’t see Peeta. Only the propo on Eight. Then we turned the set off because the images upset you. Got it?» he asks. I nod. «Finish your dinner.» I pull myself together enough so that when Plutarch and Fulvia enter, I have a mouthful of bread and cabbage. Finnick is talking about how well Gale came across on camera. We congratulate them on the propo. Make it clear it was so powerful, we tuned out right afterward. They look relieved. They believe us.
No one mentions Peeta.
9
