Catching Fire - Peeta's POV

Chapter 16 - Trains

I refuse to believe that one of us is going to turn out dead after this years' games. I refuse to accept defeat to the corrupt system that has torn hundreds of us down. It's like an obsession, really. I have watched almost all the Hunger Games that have ever taken place. I know almost all the Victors' names and I know from which district they originated from. I know that 1,678 people have died in the arena. And I know exactly who we are up against.

Cashmere and Gloss, from District 1. Both absolute jewels in the eyes of the Capitol. Experienced in the normal type of combat - hand to hand, and throwing knives. They won a frightening name of consecutive winners, both living in the Capitol for the odd ten years they got of peace and luxury. The brothers and sisters of Panem.

Brutus and Enobaria, vicious killers. Enobaria's signature move was ripping out her victims' throat using her newly filed fang-shaped teeth. Brutus is exceptionally strong, muscles protruding his tightly fitted clothes. In my mind, I call them the Pack of Dogs.

Beetee and Wiress, smarter than a lot. They both have some kind of disability; Wiress and her electrocution, leaving her dazed. Beetee and his age, any form of athleticism gone. They both won their Games by electrocuting their opponents. I call them, along with lots of others, Nuts and Volts.

Finnick and Mags, a very diverse duo. Finnick won his Games at age 14, ten years ago. He is very skilled with a trident, I've noticed, and has charms that blind the Capitol. Mags, however won the 11th Hunger Games, the videotape only salvaged with bits and pieces. I'm not sure how she managed to win, but I know that she tried her best to help everyone else do as well as her.

Not much more fascinates me. There are members from other districts who look as if they have been starved, despite the fact that being a victor guarantees an unethical amount of food. Others who look like they're trying to seem tougher than they are. To be honest, the rest bore me. I decided to go to the bathroom, and wash my face with water. My face feels as if it has been dipped in grease - it needs to be washed off.

As I pass through several carts on my way to a bathroom, I catch myself in one with Haymitch and Effie. The latter wears a black dress, her wig nowhere to be found. Haymitch doesn't appear to be drinking. I can tell that something is wrong.

"Why are you both staring at me like that?" I ask, picking up a roll with previously spread butter.

"Like what?" Asks Haymitch, trying his best to mask the emotion that he has bottles up inside of him.

"Like I'm going to collapse in approximately ten seconds."

"Because we're scared that you will!" Effie exclaims dramatically - her eyes widen enough that I can see where the veins in her eyes start, and her mouth starts to quiver.

"I finally had my two victors! My two, perfect victors!" She starts to waffle about how the Capitol can never let anything last, when I pull her into a hug. She is so much smaller than me, the heights of her wig only reaching my nose. Right now, she seems so fragile and sensitive. And I feel like a father, wishing that no harm is to come to my child.

"The fun will last. We will return. Don't let the stupid Capitol make you think anything else." I say to her, stuffing my forehead into her puffy gold wig.

"How are both of you going to come back?" Effie asks through sniffles. I look over to Haymitch, who is looking at both of us with a frown. Like he is mourning for both of us. He takes the bottle in his hand and lifts it to his mouth, looking away to the window to his left.

"We will. We will. One way or another. Look at me Effie," I hold her by her shoulders, and pull her out. I kneel, so that she can look me in the eyes. "I promise you this; I will return. And so will Katniss. When we are in the arena, you must know that you will see us again." Effie carefully wipes her eyes with the back of her glove, as to not smudge her mascara. She places her hand in her pocket, and brings it back out, holding a box about the size of my fist. It's black and plain.

"I had these made when the Quarter Quell was announced. Haymitch already has his, and I'm waiting for the right time to give it to Katniss." She opens the box, and inside is something unexpected - a necklace. It's something I could never afford in District 12.

"Thank you, Effie." I tell her. "You can spot me in the arena wearing this. It'll be my District Token."