Beyond the Wasteland 2

Beyond the Wasteland

Chapter 2: Grand Tour

As Effie let the way through the massive structure called Lunar, Haymitch tried to make mental notes of its layout. They were in what could only be described as a mobile building. It moved on belts styled like the tanks of the ancient wars before Panem was established. It was made of a rusty bronze metal and the higher the floor, the more corroded the metal was. The structure moved slowly and heavily, though at least the temperature inside was much more convenient than the merciless heat outside.

"Lunar is our home," Effie had explained. "We share the same surname because those of the same caravan are family, regardless of blood. We run a fruit farm here."

The unsteady elevator led them to the top floor, there were five in all. The place held a vast multitude of potted plants,  four to five feet tall. Their roots sunk beyond the pots that were part of the floor itself and in some areas the strange green mush that flowed below oozed out in the cracks. The branches were pulled down by the weight of oversized fruits, strange but certainly convenient mutations.

"My job is to pick the fruits," Effie explained with little enthusiasm. "It's what I've been doing my whole life." That was what she was made to believe. "You've already met Mercurio. I bet Celeste, Athmos and Galaxor are probably drunk, since it'll be a while until we meet up with the next traders," she frowned in disapproval.

Haymitch couldn't help it but to grin. Those three sounded like his kind of crowd and it was good to know that monstrosity of a vehicle was equipped with a bar, or at least a supply of alcohol. Though his relief was short lived as he recalled this was no time to get drunk. He had gotten a feeling of familiarity from Effie dragging him on tour, as if he was mentoring before Katniss' first games.

Effie had continued rambling bits of information as they walked through the structure. "Galaxor is the one with short brown hair, he's generally polite, but keeps to himself. Celeste and Athmos are the twins, long blond hair, nearly identical, Athmos is the one with the eye patch. The twins are nice guys, but they lack Mercurio's dedication. Gaia is Mercurio's sister, she has lovely long black curls, not frizzy at all. She's a good friend. That's all of us."

"That's all?" Haymitch was taken by surprise. Their walk had been spent alone, but he thought that maybe the crew was in a different area for some reason. "This is a big place for such a small crew."

"The top three floors are the farm, I showed you the top one because it's in season, the floors below it are not ready for harvesting. We couldn't afford enough seedlings after the attack and the trees die shortly after they produce the fruits. The fruits need to be picked as soon as they're ripe, or the trees will try to survive off them at the end of their lifespan and ruin them. The second floor is living quarters and the first is for cargo storage," Effie explained.

Maybe the trees were not such a convenient mutation after all, but it was the mention of an attack that Haymitch immediately focused on. "Attack?"

Effie nodded, "sand serpents, they killed most of my family." She sounded numb and Haymitch waited for her to add something more. "I don't remember," she admitted. "I hit my head during the chaos and when I woke up it was over. I actually don't remember anything from my past, I only know of the last few months after waking up."

"Then your name and job was something they told you," Haymitch concluded.

"Yes, these people nursed me back to health, that's how I know they must be my family, as they say. It's reassuring , but I'm still adapting, still feeling like a stranger..." She sighed hopelessly.

"Could it be that you're not this Alicia at all? That you're someone else?" Haymitch suggested.

"That's silly, the people who saved me, who shelter me and feed me, wouldn't lie to me," she disregarded it as nothing short of ridiculous.

Haymitch could hardly argue with her logic, it didn't make sense to him either. She held no signs of violent treatment, she didn't seem to be a prisoner, but then why bother lying to her at all?

Heavy footsteps were heard and Haymitch went on guard. He had no weapons, the gun he was given for the mission and the knife he usually carried were gone, no doubt confiscated by Mercurio or someone from his crew. It was the leader himself who showed up at the end of the hall. "I see you're doing much better," he observed. "Alicia, you should go ahead and do your chores, I need to talk business with our guest."

Effie frowned, but didn't protest, "alright," she let out a bored breath and left.

Mercurio waited for her footsteps to fade before speaking. "Who are you really?"

"Haymitch Abernathy," he replied simply.

Mercurio gave him a look of little patience. "You're an outsider, what is your intension? Alicia is one of us now. She will not return to Snow and I will not change my neutrality."

"Good, because I'm not on Snow's side," Haymitch ventured to say. He assumed that 'Snow' referred to his followers more so than his granddaughter, who would be too young to lead.

"Panem then?" Mercurio questioned, he didn't seem hostile about it.

"Yes..." Haymitch replied.

Mercurio looked at him for a long moment, then decided to trust him. "In that case, I apologize for my hostility, unless you intend to take Alicia away." Before the apology fully turned into a threat, an explanation spilled out. "She was the young heir's caretaker, a mere babysitter, a servant at best, she's not a threat to Panem."

"I have no intentions of harming her," Haymitch emphasized, "or arresting her," he clarified. "It's obvious you know who she is. If you're so concerned about her well being, why do you lie to her?"

"Her so called allies deserted her. They knew I needed crew members so they proposed a trade. I overheard something about being too soft with the heir, though I was under the impression that the heir was still a child. To see someone treated like that, her memories stolen, traded like an object... It's best if she doesn't remember," Mercurio concluded.

Haymitch took it all in. So Effie showed kindness to Snow's granddaughter, a child who had no say into what family she was born in, and she paid the price. He wanted to argue that not all of Effie's life was tragic and that it should be her choice if she left the past behind or not, but he didn't. Maybe Mercurio had a point, Effie was too closely tied to the Hunger Games. Even if she meant no harm, having been taught to act in certain ways from a young age, people would see her as a symbol of the Capitol and it would be hard to change that. Maybe it was best if she didn't return to Panem, if Snow's followers wanted no business with her anymore, then she should be safe, forgotten by Snow, declared dead by Panem. "She'll have a hard time adapting to work, but if this is the best place for her, I won't interfere. You said you were neutral, I can respect that, but I need to ask, what about those who aren't?"

"They are gaining followers if that's what you're asking, but that is no business of mine. They want Panem, they don't care about our territory or our way of life." There was a certain sense of bitter pride in Mercurio's voice.

Haymitch concluded that Mercurio was the kind of man who would refuse riches in favor of maintaining his way of life. He'd take this desert over the fertile lands of Panem. It was inconvenient, foolish even, but value was in the eye of the beholder and if it was the familiarity of his way of life that Mercurio treasured, Haymitch would let him be. "I'll respect your position, but I need to defend the innocents of Panem."

"You don't need to explain it, I don't want to hear it," Mercurio interrupted. "Alicia is one of us now, it's true that she doesn't have too much endurance and struggles with her chores, but she gets then done on time. She's optimistic and cheerful, Lunar needs her."

"I understand," Haymitch voiced, unsure of what to say.

"As soon as we reach the trading hub up north, you're getting off. I won't abandon you to die, but I won't get involved with your cause," Mercurio paused, considering his next offer. "You'll have to work while you're here either way, but if you change your mind and decide to forget Panem, you may join Lunar."

"I'll keep that in mind," Haymitch replied, though he wasn't seriously considering it. He had to return to Panem and warn them about the people who inhabited the wasteland, that Snow's followers were recruiting them, most likely with the promise of an easy life in a fertile land.

Moving on, Mercurio decided, "if you're well enough to walk around, you can start working now." He began walking. "No heavy lifting today, since you just woke up and we don't have much cargo to move around anyway. Help Alicia, but if she comes to me confused because you've said too much..."

"I won't," Haymitch assured, and at that moment he meant for it to be the truth, though destiny might have other ideas.

xoxox xox xoxox

Haymitch spent the next few days helping Effie harvest as the fruits became ripe. Picking fruits, they were placed in a cart as they went, then moved into crates. She was happy to have some company and ready to chat Haymitch's ears off. When she asked him about his past, he was vague yet truthful. "The vehicle I was traveling in malfunctioned. My traveling companions and I became stranded, some died, others ran off chasing mirages. I doubt any of them are still alive." It wasn't impossible, maybe some of the others got lucky and were picked up by other caravans, but their chances were not too great.

Effie decided not to push Haymitch for the details of his life beyond what he disclosed, she imagined that it would be another story like the one she was told when she woke up without memories. His life, she thought, was the same as the life she was convinced she lived, a mundane repetition ending in a tragedy. "Let's tell stories to pass the time," Effie suggested. "Fairy tales," because when their existence was so boring, only fantasy was entertaining to talk about.

"Fairy tales?" Haymitch had grown tired of the chat, he preferred to continue in the comfortable silence he knew Effie was capable of if she wanted to be. Following Katniss and Peeta's victory something changed. Maybe she had blamed Haymitch for the lack of victors before, but that time, he did his job well enough as far as she could tell given the double victory, so Effie didn't find herself feeling terribly annoyed at him anymore. Their silence was no longer one that told of two people who didn't want to speak to each other, it was a silence that told they didn't need to say anything to relax around each other.

"I'll start," Effie took a deep breath. "Once upon a time, in the magical land of Panem, there was a prosperous kingdom where twelve princesses and princes lived. To decide who would inherit the throne, the king declared that there would be a grand tournament. Each princess and prince chose a man and woman to represent them, though there could only be one victor. The warriors chosen by the twelfth princess were victorious, but not only that, they both won. Though there was only supposed to be one victor, the two warriors fell in love and their love turned them both into winners. The princess was very happy and proud of her victors, so she invited them to live in the royal palace and they all live happily ever after."

Haymitch had been uninterested at first, until the unmistakable similarities began to appear. Effie spoke of Panem as nothing but a fairy tale legend, but her story had too many parallels to reality. "Sounds like the odds were in their favor..."

Effie was pleased that he was paying attention to the story and didn't tell her she was being silly. "Oh yes..." A sudden headache overtook her. She blinked, trying to ease the pain in her head. "Butterflies..." she breathe.

"Butterflies?" Haymitch inquired.

Effie shook her head, "nothing... Oh look, we're done. How about we go have a snack with Gaia. She usually bakes a fruit pie around this time.

To be Continued

The caravans, such as Lunar, were modeled after the Jawa Sandcrawlers from Star Wars. As for why the hovercraft Haymitch was in failed and why these traders have not stumbled upon Panem, that will be explained very soon. If anyone has any questions about the setting or anything going on in the story, leave them in a comment and I will do my best to clarify, but I won't give out any spoilers. For reference purposes, Panem is in what once was the United States and the wasteland is what once was Canada, but it's a hot desert now, due to the extreme and erratic climate changes the planet went through. We'll also later learn about the creatures called sand serpents and the significance of butterflies as the connection between Haymitch and Effie grows... The next chapter will have some action!