Timber

Chapter Sixteen: Banquet at the Pantheon

Hazel's mind raced as she continued to search frantically. Each passing moment without finding the suture kit intensified her anxiety.

"Can't anything ever be easy?" Hazel muttered under her breath as she stripped the sheets off both of the beds in the small room she shared with Silus. She felt the panic rising within her, making her heart pound and her hands shake. "Why would it be under the sheets?" She questioned herself aloud, but her desperation compelled her to check anyway.

The room quickly transformed into a chaotic mess as Hazel overturned pillows, blankets, and cushions in her desperate search. She crawled on her knees, pushing her emerald gown aside, and began searching under the bed frames.

"Hazel, what is going on?" Indira's voice pulled her out of her frantic search. She froze. Involving Indira could potentially drag her into the trouble or put their entire group at risk if she were to reveal their secret. Hazel couldn't afford to take that risk. She quickly pulled off one of her emerald earrings, holding in between her fingers. Peering over the edge of the bed, a few strands of her red hair fell into her face. Indira stood in the doorway, arms crossed and a deep furrow in her brow, her gaze unwavering, "What did I tell you about your hair?"

"Sorry, Indira," Hazel stammered, feeling increasingly nervous. She slowly rose to her feet, smoothing out her emerald dress.  "I dropped one of my earrings, but I found it," Hazel lied, her voice trembling slightly as she forced herself to meet Indira's gaze. She held up the sparkling earring and began putting it back into her ear while Indira watched.

Indira gave her a puzzled look but didn't press the matter further. "Uh, sure," she replied, clearly not entirely convinced due to the state of the room. "We have to go now; the buses are getting ready to leave."

Nodding in response, Hazel left behind the chaotic disaster that was their room and followed Indira toward the elegant Capitol buses waiting to transport them to the banquet. As she boarded, the faces of the other tributes stared out from their windows.

Hazel's heart continued to race as she slumped into the seat next to Silus on the bus. Silus turned to face her, his concerned eyes searching her face.

"Are you alright?" he asked, a note of worry in his voice.

She glanced around at the other tributes seated nearby, and then lowered her voice, "Silus, did you take the suture kit?" Her eyes boring into his.

Silus inadvertently ran his thumb down the light blue stitches along his palm. A deep frown etched across his brow. "No, I thought you had it."

She shook her head vigorously, "I was supposed to give it back to Leo," she admitted, exhaling shakily and running her hand across her forehead. "But it's gone."

Silus suggested, "Maybe Leo took it back?"

Hazel hesitated, "I don't think so, Silus. He asked me for it this morning, and I completely forgot until now. He never mentioned taking it back."

"We should ask him about it."

"Sure, but we need to be careful. If anyone finds out we had that kind of contraband or that he gave it to us, we could all be dead before the games even begin."

As the bus journey came to an end, Hazel and Silus sat in contemplative silence. The steady rumble of the vehicle ceased, drawing Hazel's attention outside. Her eyes widened as they fell upon an imposing and elegantly crafted building, its grandeur unlike anything she had ever witnessed. The structure stood majestically, its presence commanding attention.The tributes disembarked from the buses, their eyes collectively fixed on the majestic building before them.

Head Peacekeeper, Percy stepped forward to address the group. His voice carried the air of a museum guide. "Well, don't you all look like a bunch of shiny new pennies," he began. "Alright, folks, this lovely building behind me is called the Pantheon. You all are about to experience a privilege that is rare for anyone from the districts."