Jeopardy: The Fourth Quarter Quell

Sick - Volt

Volt

I've never seen a fire-bomb before.

Whoever is supervising today will shout if they see me not working, but it's impossible to ignore the whoosing noise of the hovercraft or the sudden bursts flaring up on the horizon. The distance burns. Flames flicker around the lazy turbines, columns of smoke stretching up into the sky like from the old coal-plants.

"Volt! You nearly done up there?"

Cyrus is impatient to get up. Usually it's my turn to man the harness first but today I'm winched up into the air on the dot on the search for bad connections. The Capitol have been suffering blackouts; I guess that's what the bombing is about.

I give the connections a cursory glance. There doesn't seem to be any obvious fault. "All clear!" I shout down.

"Good! Then get your ass down here; there's five more to check!"

The other workers, people I've seen so many times that they're little more than blurred shapes, don't pay us any attention. They must be under different orders. They hang from the harnesses and supports like spiders on a web, swaying gently in the breeze that doesn't seem to touch me. I could be on the ground. At the next pylon, a kid scrambles up unaided, ropes trailing from their back, to attach the harness for the real workers. A cold sweat breaks out over my back just watching. Thank Snow that was always Alec's job, not mine.

Speak of the devil, my big brother has appeared out of nowhere. He claps me on the back as I slip the harness off; usually the loops and tangles are complicated but today they slide off easily. He shouts a little to make himself heard over the distance booming.

"Cyrus! Volt! You two are needed at the Justice Building and you'd best make it snappy!"

Cyrus looks at me; what have you done now, Volt? I wrack my brains but there's nothing in there, so I shrug. "Nothing to do with me. I haven't done anything."

Alec laughs and starts to clip himself into the harness. Clearly he's taking over our duties. "Well, don't just stand there," he laughs, "You should be going. He sounded cross!"

Whoever 'he' is, he's bad news if Alec is worried about him. Not that Alec ever looks anything other than totally chilled, but something in his voice urges us along. In the distance, a tongue of flame shoots up the sky and retreats. It's bright but the sun is nowhere to be seen, probably hiding behind one of the smoke columns. Cyrus tugs me on; Alec crawls up the pylon with nobody winching, whistling to himself.

My stomach bubbles slightly, reminding me that I can't remember when I last ate. And I'm going to need some food in my belly before this big meeting, whatever it's for. So as we climb onto the tram - empty, which is unusual and a relief - I tell Cyrus.

He laughs, swinging from one of the poles as if he's back on a pylon. It's at my shoulder height but he appears to be a foot or two off the floor. "Trust you, eh?" he teases, kicking me in the back, "Don't sweat it, mate. I'll go get you something from your house and meet you there, right?"

And with that, he swings out of the open door and the tram judders to a halt.

Cyrus has already vanished into the maze of houses as I step down from the wonky platform. We're closer to the bombing now, the hovercraft zipping overhead like flies, the booming noises almost constant and sounding vaguely familiar. It takes a moment to work out why; it's like the cannons when you watch the Games. People mill about everywhere, sliding away from my gaze when I turn to see if any of them know why I have to go to the Justice Building. That's a no, then.

I'm not sure where I am but I start walking anyway.

The noise of the fire-bombs get louder the closer I get, but there's no sign of any actual fire. The main road leading to the Justice Building is peppered with potholes, the buildings lining it appearing abandoned. Three hovercraft zoom past, close enough for me to see the Capitol insignia seared to their undersides. A Peacekeeper melts out of the air and frowns at me. I just look back and he strides on, vanishing before he gets around the corner. There's no sign of Cyrus.