The Maze Tributes

Chapter 4

Katniss was overwhelmed with emotions, confusion, grief, and boiling anger. She didn't know how to respond to Haymitch.

Cinna? Dead?

How?

Why?

"Why?" She asked in a hushed voice.

Haymitch let out a grunted sigh, repositioning himself in his chair and placing his glass of bourbon down on the table.

"Peacekeepers found his work, they caught him before he could send it off to a rebellion in a nondisclosed location. Drawings of costumes for you, to fight and lead the rebellion. So they executed him." He said.

Effie wiped her eyes whimpering, her bottom lip trembled, flaky from the multiple layers of lipstick.

"Cinna was a beautiful fool and a very creative one." She said through small hiccups.

"You were his hope, sweetheart," Haymitch said, his eyes locked with Katniss's.

She needed to run and lock herself in her room before she burst into tears at the table. But she was frozen, the air itself felt like a heavy weight on her shoulders. Cinna was always kind, a thoughtful young man with a radical mind. She knew if there was any sign of rebellion Cinna would hop on that train fast, but she had no idea that he would be caught so easily. Tears burst from her eyes, her head slumped forward and she covered her sobs with her hand over her mouth.

"What do we do, Haymitch?" Peeta asked, his voice quivering.

"When you go into those Games they aren't just gonna let you stand against the odds. You're a target to the other tributes and the Capitol. Lucky for you two, you could sit in that Maze for as long as you want until the cannons cease to fire."

"Or until we starve," Katniss interjected with bitterness.

"You'll figure it out. As far as I'm concerned you've got the upper hand. We don't know what the arena looks like but the Maze is something we do know a little about. It's got a bit square of woods and buildings, where you're going, Katniss, they call it the Glade. The doors to the Maze open in the morning and close at night. You've got boys in there who can help you."

"I'm not going in there," Katniss said.

Haymitch looked at her with the softest eyes she'd ever seen him with.

"Sweetheart, they're going to put you in there whether you comply or not. Unless you wanna go in with a broken arm or leg, I'd suggest just following orders and surviving. That's what you do best. This virus has put the Capitol in quite a scrap, they're desperate."

"Oh yes, let's just change everything!" Effie scoffed. "Katniss and Peeta and all the other Victors did their part, this is cruelty!"

"That so?" Haymitch chuckled. "Effie Trinket, did I hear you say something against the Capitol?"

"Yes, Haymitch. You did!" Katniss thought if Effie wasn't wearing pounds of white powder she may have been red with fury, bringing a small chuckle to Katniss.

Then her mind went back to Cinna, was his death quick or did the Capitol take pleasure in torturing him? She wanted to focus on something else, anything else, but she couldn't stop. Her stomach churned, queasiness and the threat of tears overwhelmed her. She stood up and pushed her chair in, her eyes locked with the ground.

"I'm tired," She said shortly, walking away from the table holding back tears as best as she could.

She collapsed on her bed and she couldn't hold back her sobs, tears poured from her eyes as everything that transpired crashed down on her shoulders. She loved Cinna, he never lied to her and he managed to make her more successful than most District 12 tributes could ever dream of. Of course, her success only mattered to her because she had a family to feed. Winning the Games allowed her to get food and money for her mom and sister, she was still haunted by everything that happened and was dreading the Victory Tour, but right before it happened the Capitol announced the cancellation of the Tour to Katniss's delight. It was unprecedented to cancel the Tour but Katniss didn't care what the reason was, she had enough food to care for her family and Gale's, that's all that mattered to her.