98 District 11

Katniss stepped off the train and set foot on the ground, expecting to encounter snow. But the air around her was warm and pleasant.

The trees in this place still had green leaves. How far south have they come in one day?

Katniss walked along the track, squinting her eyes against the bright sun, already regretting her words to Effie. Effie is not to blame for her current predicament. She should go back and apologize.

Her outburst was the height of bad manners, and manners matter deeply to her. But her feet kept moving along the track, past the end of the train, leaving it behind. A one-hour delay, which happens to be quite convenient for someone in particular.

She could walk at least twenty minutes in one direction and return with more than enough time. Instead, after a hundred meters, she dropped to the ground and sat there, gazing into the distance.

If she had her bow and arrows, would she just keep moving forward? After a while, Katniss heard footsteps behind her. Could it be Haymitch coming to scold her? Not that she doesn't deserve it, but she still doesn't want to hear it.

"I'm not in the mood for lectures." Katniss announced in an unusually loud voice.

"I'll try to be brief." Jacob looked at her sitting there in silence and walked toward her.

"I thought you were Haymitch..."

"Do you think it was worth it?" Jacob asked, disregarding Katniss's words.

"What are you talking about?" Katniss seemed confused.

"Whether all of this was worth it, surviving at the expense of your freedom as a human being... Katniss, do you think it was worth it?" Jacob didn't wait for an answer and said, "Living is hard, dying is easy..."

"I don't understand you..." Katniss had stopped understanding Jacob since the games ended, so she was equally confused as before.

"Look, Katniss, I knew something like this would happen sooner or later. Even in the early games, we were just children who would eventually become adults, and our marriage is something some people expect... I didn't know you before the games, but I soon found out that there was a Gale in your life, so I would never interfere with your decisions..."

Jacob smiled sincerely and told Katniss, "You truly mean something special to me, sentimental or not. But your opinion is very important. Gale, that guy could have been killed by my hands to avoid all the trouble with President Snow's doubts..."

"You too?" Katniss was surprised, and that prevented her from exploding over Jacob's rhetorical idea of killing Gale. However, the fact that President Snow had visited him was something she didn't expect.

"Every Sunday, you and Gale would leave the safe zone, but I ignored it because it was your decision, and I owe you my life. Now that President Snow has offered me something special, I hope you won't be a bothersome burden in my plans. Both your boyfriend Gale and your family could be killed, so once again, let me protect you."

Katniss stood up and tried to say something: "Jacob, you don't need to protect me from the mistakes I made. You've done enough in the arena, eliminating all our enemies."

"That doesn't matter now, Katniss. You don't understand, and you wouldn't..." Jacob was honest about what he wanted from Katniss, but he knew he could gain little from his somewhat cold request.

"Then explain to me what President Snow asked of you!" Katniss was now annoyed.

But Jacob's response was the opposite of what she expected: "I'm going to free you from everything that imprisons us, cut those chains that bind you, and make you a free woman in a new sunny dawn."

Katniss knew they had no options in the future. President Snow had already made his decisions, so whatever they did wouldn't matter to anyone in particular.

"Since we're nothing special, let's start over as simple friends..." Jacob extended his hand to Katniss, indicating that it didn't matter what she had done at the moment of the presentation since they had both used each other in some way.

A peaceful smile appeared on Katniss's lips. She felt Jacob again, but now it was different, more mature and respectful in all his actions, as if he had nothing to prove.

"I started writing poems..." Jacob said as he walked forward, his hands clasped together.

"That's not very characteristic of you..." Katniss smiled much calmer.

"I have a very good poem for our conference with District Twelve, something very special." Jacob continued smiling.

So when they returned to the dining car, where the others were still eating, Katniss offered Effie an apology that I think is very exaggerated but in her mind probably barely compensates for her breach of etiquette. To her credit, Effie graciously accepts it. She says it's clear that Katniss is under a lot of pressure. And her comments about the need for someone to keep track of the schedule only last five minutes.

Jacob, on the other hand, returned to his room, trying to think if everything he was doing would turn out the way he wanted. But unable to maintain his composure, he walked to the last car, which was quite special.

In the last car of the train, there are chairs and sofas to sit on, but what's extraordinary is that the rear windows retract into the ceiling, so they'll be outdoors, in the open air. Jacob looked at Katniss sitting silently, so he didn't bother her.

Vast open fields with herds of cattle grazing in them. So different from his forest-filled home. The train slows down, and Jacob thinks they'll make another stop when the open gate rises above them.

Rising at least ten meters high and crowned with twisted spirals of barbed wire, it makes their District 12 fence seem childish.

Jacob's eyes inspect the base, which is lined with massive metal plates.

There would be no way to get out from under those, no way to escape for hunting. Then Jacob looked at the watchtowers, placed at regular intervals, occupied by armed guards, so out of place among the surrounding fields of wildflowers.

"They're not fools..." Jacob murmured with a smile.

"What do you mean?" Katniss asked Jacob in a low voice.

"This district is one of the most important for Panem. It's no wonder they have much tighter security. Besides, the events that have unfolded over these months make the situation in this place much more complicated."

Now the crops begin, stretching beyond what the eye can see. Men, women, and children wearing straw hats to protect themselves from the sun stand up, turn towards Jacob, take a moment to stretch their backs as they watch the train pass. He can see orchards in the distance and wonders if that's where Rue would have worked, picking fruit from the thinner branches high in the trees.

Small communities of huts―compared to the houses in the Seam, they're upscale―appear here and there, but they're all deserted. Every hand must be needed for the harvest.

"How many people do you think live here?" Katniss asked, not quite understanding how they conduct the reaping every year. After all, what is shown on camera is only a small fraction of what's here.

"20,000?" A figure that may be small or too large, as official numbers have never been released, and all that is known is that populations vary among districts.

Jacob began to see the possibilities of launching a rebellion in this place, but with all these defenses, he finds it somewhat impossible. But he'll come up with something. At the last minute, Effie arrived to order them to get dressed, without objections. Jacob went to his compartment and let Portia and the prep team fix his hair. Portia comes out in a cool and elegant outfit, with deep tones that greatly enhance Jacob's complexion.

"All ready, darling. You look very masculine, so people will love you." Portia says cheerfully.