focused on me. „Katniss, I know this whole thing with Peeta is terrible for you. But remember, Snow worked on him for weeks, and we’ve only had him for a few days. There’s a chance that the old Peeta, the one who loves you, is still inside. Trying to get back to you. Don’t give up on him.“
I look at my little sister and think how she has inherited the best qualities our family has to offer: my mother’s healing hands, my father’s level head, and my fight. There’s something else there as well, something entirely her own. An ability to look into the confusing mess of life and see things for what they are. Is it possible she could be right? That Peeta could return to me?
„I have to get back to the hospital,“ Prim says, placing Buttercup on the bed beside me. „You two keep each other company, okay?“
Buttercup springs off the bed and follows her to the door, complaining loudly when he’s left behind. We’re about as much company for each other as dirt. After maybe thirty seconds, I know I can’t stand being confined in the subterranean cell, and leave Buttercup to his own devices. I get lost several times, but eventually I make my way down to Special Defense. Everyone I pass stares at the bruises, and I can’t help feeling self-conscious to the point that I tug my collar up to my ears.
Gale must have been released from the hospital this morning as well, because I find him in one of the research rooms with Beetee. They’re immersed, heads bent over a drawing, taking a measurement. Versions of the picture litter the table and floor. Tacked on the corkboard walls and occupying several computer screens are other designs of some sort. In the rough lines of one, I recognize Gale’s twitch-up snare. „What are these?“ I ask hoarsely, pulling their attention from the sheet.
„Ah, Katniss, you’ve found us out,“ says Beetee cheerfully.
„What? Is this a secret?“ I know Gale’s been down here working with Beetee a lot, but I assumed they were messing around with bows and guns.
„Not really. But I’ve felt a little guilty about it. Stealing Gale away from you so much,“ Beetee admits.
Since I’ve spent most of my time in 13 disoriented, worried, angry, being remade, or hospitalized, I can’t say Gale’s absences have inconvenienced me. Things haven’t been exactly harmonious between us, either. But I let Beetee think he owes me. „I hope you’ve been putting his time to good use.“
„Come and see,“ he says, waving me over to a computer screen.
This is what they’ve been doing. Taking the fundamental ideas behind Gale’s traps and adapting them into weapons against humans. Bombs mostly. It’s less about the mechanics of the traps than the psychology behind them. Booby-trapping an area that provides something essential to survival. A water or food supply. Frightening prey so that a large number flee into a greater destruction. Endangering off-spring in order to draw in the actual desired target, the parent. Luring the victim into what appears to be a safe haven—where death awaits it. At some point, Gale and Beetee left the wilderness behind and focused on more human impulses. Like compassion. A bomb explodes. Time is allowed for people to rush to the aid of the wounded. Then a second, more powerful bomb kills them as well.
„That seems to be crossing some kind of line,“ I say. „So anything goes?“ They both stare at me—Beetee with doubt, Gale with hostility. „I guess there isn’t a rule book for what might be unacceptable to do to another human being.“
„Sure there is. Beetee and I have been following the same rule book President Snow used when he hijacked Peeta,“ says Gale.
Cruel, but to the point. I leave without further comment. I feel if I don’t get outside immediately, I’ll just go ballistic, but I’m still in Special Defense when I’m waylaid by Haymitch. „Come on,“ he says. „We need you back up at the hospital.“
„What for?“ I ask.
„They’re going to try something on Peeta,“ he answers. „Send in the most innocuous person from Twelve they can come up with. Find someone Peeta might share childhood memories with, but nothing too close to you. They’re screening people now.“
I know this will be a difficult task, since anyone Peeta shares childhood memories with would most likely be from town, and almost none of those people escaped the flames. But when we reach the hospital room that has been turned into a work space for Peeta’s recovery team, there she sits chatting with Plutarch. Delly Cartwright. As always, she gives me a smile that suggests I’m her best friend in the world. She gives this smile to everyone. „Katniss!“ she calls out.
„Hey, Delly,“ I say. I’d heard she and her younger brother had survived. Her parents, who ran the shoe shop in town, weren’t as lucky. She looks older, wearing the drab 13 clothes that flatter no one, with her long yellow hair in a practical braid instead of curls. Delly’s a bit thinner than I remember, but she was one of the few kids in District 12 with a couple of pounds to spare. The diet here, the stress, the grief of losing her parents have all, no doubt, contributed. „How are you doing?“ I ask.
„Oh, it’s been a lot of changes all at once.“ Her eyes fill with tears. „But everyone’s really nice here in Thirteen, don’t you think?“
Delly means it. She genuinely likes people. All people, not just a select few she’s spent years making up her mind about.
„They’ve made an effort to make us feel welcome,“ I say. I think that’s a fair statement without going overboard. „Are you the one they’ve picked to see Peeta?“
„I guess so. Poor Peeta. Pooryou . I’ll never understand the Capitol,“ she says.
„Better not to, maybe,“ I tell her.
„Delly’s known Peeta for a long time,“ says Plutarch.
„Oh, yes!“ Delly’s face brightens. „We played together from when we were little. I used to tell people he was my brother.“
„What do you think?“ Haymitch asks me. „Anything that might trigger memories of you?“
„We were all in the same class. But we never overlapped much,“ I say.
„Katniss was always so amazing, I never dreamed she would notice me,“ says Delly. „The way she could hunt and go in the Hob and everything. Everyone admired her so.“
Haymitch and I both have to take a hard look at her face to double-check if she’s joking. To hear Delly describe it, I had next to no friends because I intimidated people by being so exceptional. Not true. I had next to no friends because I wasn’t friendly. Leave it to Delly to spin me into something wonderful.
„Delly always thinks the best of everyone,“ I explain. „I don’t think Peeta could have bad memories associated with her.“ Then I remember. „Wait. In the Capitol. When I lied about recognizing the Avox girl. Peeta covered for me and said she looked like Delly.“
„I remember,“ says Haymitch. „But I don’t know. It wasn’t true. Delly wasn’t actually there. I don’t think it can compete with years of childhood memories.“
„Especially with such a pleasant companion as Delly,“ says Plutarch. „Let’s give it a shot.“
Plutarch, Haymitch, and I go to the observation room next to where Peeta’s confined. It’s crowded with ten members of his recovery team armed with pens and clipboards. The one-way glass and audio setup allow us to watch Peeta secretly. He lies on the bed, his arms strapped down. He doesn’t fight the restraints, but his hands fidget continuously. His expression seems more lucid than when he tried to strangle me, but it’s still not one that belongs to him.
When the door quietly opens, his eyes widen in alarm, then become confused. Delly crosses the room tentatively, but as she nears him she naturally breaks into a smile. „Peeta? It’s Delly. From home.“
„Delly?“ Some of the clouds seem to clear. „Delly. It’s you.“
„Yes!“ she says with obvious relief. „How do you feel?“
„Awful. Where are we? What’s happened?“ asks Peeta.
„Here we go,“ says Haymitch.
„I told her to steer clear of any mention of Katniss or the Capitol,“ says Plutarch. „Just see how much of home she could conjure up.“
„Well…we’re in District Thirteen. We live here now,“ says Delly.
„That’s what those people have been saying. But it makes no sense. Why aren’t we home?“ asks Peeta.
Delly bites her lip. „There was…an accident. I miss home badly, too. I was only just thinking about those chalk drawings we used to do on the paving stones. Yours were so wonderful. Remember when you made each
