Chapter 44: The Hunger Games
The next day, Jake changed into faded jeans and a white t-shirt.
He looked very ordinary.
This was Reaping Day; the Capitol would send special envoys to each district to select "lucky" tributes to participate in the Hunger Games. Boys and girls aged 12 to 18 who met the requirements had to appear clean and present for the drawing.
Jake was undoubtedly over 18, but his youthful appearance made him look younger. Coupled with his specially styled hair, he looked even younger than some actual 18-year-olds.
Hundreds of people stood in the huge square, undergoing blood tests, identification checks, and a series of other procedures.
Some saw Jake and were puzzled by his unfamiliar face, but no one wanted to approach him to say hello.
They all extended their right index, middle, and ring fingers, touching their lips and then raising them to the sky—the three-finger salute, a gesture said to mean respect, admiration, and goodbye to someone you love.
Katniss comforted her sister, telling her that the finger prick wasn't very painful and there was no need to be afraid; the real fear was yet to come, but she didn't voice it.
When she saw a somewhat familiar figure, she froze for a moment.
It was the guy she had met yesterday; she could still taste the unusual protein bar he had given her.
Why was he here? Had he really settled down here?
To settle down and already face the possibility of being selected for the Hunger Games—how unlucky!
Katniss wanted to go up and greet him, to thank him for the food and the candy he had given her yesterday. Although she disliked how he'd stared at her, Katniss was someone who clearly distinguished between debts owed and paid.
The assembly whistle blew, and she and her sister were forced to line up for testing by guards completely covered in white uniforms.
She glanced helplessly in Jake's direction twice before turning away.
This series of checks was similar to a hospital procedure, but in District Twelve, where even basic needs were difficult to meet, you couldn't expect them to know such things.
Looking at the escort on the high platform in the square, her face made up like a circus performer...
"I'm really worried her makeup will crack," Jake said to the person standing next to him. The other person looked honest and unassuming, grunted in response, and didn't say anything.
Life is truly full of coincidences; this person was none other than the male lead in the movie!
The people around him wore blank and fearful expressions; who cared about anything else?
"Welcome, welcome, welcome..." The woman on the platform wore a bright purple dress, her hair dyed platinum blonde, and her face was painted the same bright white.
When she smiled, her makeup seemed about to crack.
Jake felt he might not be able to accept this futuristic aesthetic.
"Happy Hunger Games," she smiled, looking at the terrified and blank-faced teenagers below, like a smiling demon. "And may the odds be ever in your favor."
In fact, in the eyes of everyone present, this woman was a demon.
"Now, before we begin, we have a very special film brought to you all the way from the Capitol."
A large holographic screen, over ten feet high, stood erect under the blazing sun.
It played propaganda films, from the Dark Days rebellion to the present... This nation existed because of war, and therefore feared rebellion.
But Jake saw much more than that: the advanced technology of this world.
"If I liberated a country like this, I probably wouldn't have any moral qualms," Jake muttered to himself.
The scene was unusually quiet. The male lead, Peeta, standing next to Jake, seemed to hear him and turned to look at him with a puzzled expression.
Jake had no interest in absorbing the film's propaganda; he'd seen similar rhetoric countless times. He knew the horrors of war, but he also knew that human progress was inseparable from struggle.
The film ended quickly, and the crucial moment of the Reaping began.
"As usual, ladies first," the escort said gracefully, raising her index and middle fingers to pick up the top slip of paper from a massive glass bowl.
"Ahem," she coughed slightly, cleared her throat, opened the slip, and paused dramatically.
Jake clearly felt the tension and pressure in the surrounding atmosphere.
"Primrose Everdeen!"
Just like in the original plot, Katniss's sister, Prim, was unfortunately chosen as the tribute. She looked very small; Jake even thought she couldn't lift a hunting rifle.
As the female tribute was announced, he clearly felt the atmosphere around him pause for a moment, then ease, and many girls breathed a sigh of relief.
"Well, come on up, sweetheart!" The escort, Effie, looked at Prim, who was slowly being surrounded by the crowd. "Don't be shy."
Jake watched the small girl walk blankly toward the platform; she must be terrified.
This gave Jake another motivation—a reason to help overthrow the rule of this corrupt Capitol.
"I volunteer! I volunteer!" Katniss rushed out from the crowd, wanting to run up and protect her sister, but she was stopped by the Peacekeepers before she could take a full step.
Jake was confident he could take care of the guards dressed in their white armor in an instant, but the untrained Katniss clearly couldn't.
Her voice sounded hoarse. "I volunteer as tribute!" she shouted at the woman on the platform, her cry filled with desperation.
Upon hearing Katniss's declaration, the two Peacekeepers didn't stop her, allowing her to continue forward. "I volunteer as tribute."
"As expected, the plot is proceeding according to plan." Watching Katniss embrace her sister, Jake couldn't describe his feelings. He admired Katniss's character very much—resilient, brave, and compassionate; sometimes she seemed larger than life.
If a team needed a leader, she would undoubtedly be an excellent choice, even though she was still quite inexperienced.
But it was precisely because of this that Jake's feelings were complicated, because with his presence, Katniss might not survive if she entered the Hunger Games.
While he was lost in thought, the boys' selection was also being made, and the flamboyant woman named Effie had already picked up a slip and was about to read it aloud!
Jake immediately raised his right hand and waved vigorously at her, shouting, "I want to volunteer! I volunteer as tribute!"
"Wow!" Effie clutched her chest, her face, covered in bright makeup, contorted with excitement. "We...we actually have two volunteers! What an honor for District Twelve!!"
"Come on up, handsome young man," she beckoned to Jake. "However, we also have to say something unfortunate to Mr. Peeta Mellark; he missed an opportunity to represent his district."
Standing next to Jake, Peeta froze for a moment, looked at Jake, opened his mouth, and finally uttered, "Thank you."
Jake smiled easily, patting the stocky guy on the shoulder. Actually, he really liked the male lead. If it weren't for him, Katniss might have died. In the movie, the ending was happy; he and Katniss married and had children.
However, now, because of Jake, it seemed Peeta was destined to be separated from his story with Katniss. "I really did volunteer," he said, turning and walking onto the platform.
He stopped beside Katniss.
Despite the intense stares of the crowd below, he showed no fear, even smiling in response, as if no one in this world posed a threat to his life.
Even if a bomb dropped, he could instantly return to the real world; without the threat to his life, he was naturally relaxed.
Standing beside Katniss, Jake could even hear her heavy breathing. This was definitely the first time she had stood so high, under the gaze of countless eyes. She understood that she was standing here not because of any achievement, but because she was about to board a train to hell.
"Can you tell us your name, handsome young man?" Effie asked, looking at Jake.
"Lance King," he said, smiling at the nervous Katniss, as if he weren't answering Effie's question but introducing himself to her.
After only a few encounters, Jake found this girl to be exactly his type, and if given the chance, he wouldn't mind helping her escape from her misery.
Katniss turned her head, clearly flustered by such an obvious gesture under everyone's gaze.
"Come on, you two can shake hands now," Effie said, taking their hands and making them clasp.
Holding Katniss's cold, limp fingers, Jake shook them and said, "We meet again, what a coincidence."
His nonchalant expression puzzled Katniss, even making her grit her teeth in frustration. Didn't he know she was about to embark on a path to death?
Then, Katniss seemed to understand. He had just arrived in District 12; how could he know that the "Hunger Games" weren't a glorious competition, but a gladiatorial slaughter, only for the entertainment of the Capitol elite?
Should she tell him the truth?
Before she could even think, she and Jake were escorted off the platform. They were to prepare to head to the Capitol, to their nation's capital city.
Now, they each had three minutes to say goodbye to their families...
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