Hijacked

The Interview

Caesar settles himself more comfortably in the chair across from me and gives me a long look.

"So...Peeta...welcome back."

I smile slightly thinking of anything common to say.

"I bet you thought you'd done your last interview with me, Caesar." I say laughing a bit.

"I confess, I did," says Caesar.

"The night before the Quarter Quell...well, who ever thought we'd see you again?"

"It wasn't part of my plan, that's for sure," I say with a frown.

Caesar leans into him a little ."I think it was clear to all of us what your plan was.To sacrifice yourself in the arena so that Katniss Everdeen and your child could survive."

"That was it. Clear and simple." My fingers trace the upholstered pattern on the arm of the chair, I am nervous even anxious in the inside but they'll kill me if I show it. "But other people had plans as well."

"Why don't you tell us about that last night in the arena?" suggests Caesar. "Help us sort a few things out."

I nods but taking my time to speak. "That last night...to tell you about that last night...well, first of all,
you have to imagine how it felt in the arena. It was like being an insect trapped under a bowl filled with steaming air. And all around you, jungle...green and alive and ticking. That giant clock ticking away your life. Every hour promising some new horror. You have to imagine that in the past two days, sixteen people have died--some of them defending you. At the rate things are going, the last eight will be dead by morning. Save one. The victor. And your plan is that it won't be you."

"Once you're in the arena, the rest of the world becomes very distant," I continue to say. "All the people and things you loved or cared about almost cease to exist. The pink sky and the monsters in the jungle and the tributes who want your blood become your final reality, the only one that ever mattered. As bad as it makes you feel, you're going to have to do some killing, because in the arena, you only get one wish. And it's very costly."

"It costs your life," says Caesar.

"Oh, no. It costs a lot more than your life. To murder innocent people? "It costs everything you are."

"Everything you are," repeats Caesar quietly.

"So you hold on to your wish. And that last night, yes, my wish was to save Katniss. But even without knowing about the rebels, it didn't feel right. Everything was too complicated. I found myself regretting I hadn't run off with her earlier in the day, as she had suggested. But there was no getting out of it at that point."

"You were too caught up in Beetee's plan to electrify the salt lake," says Caesar.

"No, I was too busy playing allies with the others. I should have never let them separate us!" I bursts out. "That's when I lost her."

"When you stayed at the lightning tree, and she and Johanna Mason took the coil of wire down to the water," Caesar clarifies.

"I didn't want to!!! but I couldn't argue with Beetee without indicating we were about to break away from the alliance. When that wire was cut, everything just went insane. I can only remember bits and pieces. I know she was calling my name. Then the lightning bolt hit the tree, and the force field around the arena...blew out."

"Katniss blew it out, Peeta," says Caesar. "You've seen the footage."

"She didn't know what she was doing. None of us could follow Beetee's plan. You can see her trying to figure out what to do with that wire," I instantly snap back.

"All right. It just looks suspicious," says Caesar. "As if she was part of the rebels' plan all along."

I'm angry now so I lean forward so Caesar can focus on what I'm about to say "Really? And was it part of her plan for Johanna to nearly kill her? For that electric shock to paralyze her? To trigger the bombing?" I'm yelling now. "She didn't know, Caesar! Neither of us knew anything except that we were trying to keep each other alive!"

" Okay, Peeta Mellark, believe you."

"Okay." I snap back at Caesar.

"I was going to ask your thoughts on the war, but if you're too upset..." begins Caesar. I know if I don't make this final announcement the president will be upset.

"Oh, I'm not too upset to answer that." I take a deep breath and then look straight into the camera.

"I want everyone watching to stop for just a moment and think about what this war could mean. For human beings. Is this really what we want to do? Kill ourselves off completely? In the hopes that--what? "

"There won't be enough of us left to keep going. If everybody doesn't lay down their weapons--and I mean, as in very soon--it's all over, anyway."

"So...you're calling for a cease-fire?" Caesar asks.

"Yes. I'm calling for a cease-fire," I say tiredly.

Caesar turns to the camera. "All right Mr. Peeta Mellark everyone, I think that wraps it up"