Beyond the Wasteland 5

Beyond the Wasteland

Chapter 5: A Source of Strength

As Celeste let himself fall, Haymitch leapt forward. He managed to grab the younger man's hand, but instead of stopping him, he began being dragged over the edge. He struggled to hold his grip, one hand on Celeste's wrist, the other on the rusty roof. His legs were planted as firmly as possible, while his upper body mostly hung over the edge. The hand that was stretched to grip the edge began to slip, when suddenly two smaller hands gripped his wrist.

Haymitch took it as a good sign that Effie was reacting at least. He steadied himself and tried to pull Celeste up, but he was too heavy. "Celeste! Stop being a fool and pull yourself up before you pull us both down!" That seemed to make Celeste wake up, as he didn't want the guilt of their deaths even if his own life was about to end.

He reached up with his other hand and lessened Haymitch's burden. Haymitch backed away, pulling Celeste along. Celeste finished climbing up, "I'm sorry..." He apologized in quiet shame.

Haymitch didn't like how things were going. Celeste was suicidal and Effie just went from hysterical to eerily silent in record breaking time. Furthermore, her grip on his wrist was cutting his circulation. "Effie, you can let go now." He managed to free himself from her grip, rubbing his wrist, then stretching his other arm. His shoulder was sore from Celeste's weight and he certainly hoped the effort wasn't in vain.

Haymitch felt scrutinized, though neither of his companions was looking at him, their gazes on their feet. What was he supposed to tell them? Letting out a stressed breath, he finally voiced, "let's just go to the hub." It could be dangerous, but he saw no other choice.

xoxox xox xoxox

Haymitch got no sleep in the next few days and no liquor. Celeste consumed all the drinks until he was so drunk he might as well be in a coma. Neither he nor Effie had much of an appetite. Effie woke up screaming, sometimes several times during the night, if she slept at all. Haymitch had not seen the bodies and Celeste mumbled something about fire and ashes every now and then. That, along with the odd smell of the incinerator made him think the bodies were cremated, a likely tradition of the nomadic desert traders.

When a group of caravans appeared in the horizon, Haymitch was both weary and relieved. Lunar parked near them, Haymitch had to teach himself the tank's controls to get them so far, at least they were pretty simple. A group of people emerged from a nearby caravan, an older man calling out greetings. Haymitch decided to open the entry hatch and they went in, as if they were familiar with Lunar. Haymitch left the control room and went down to meet them, they seemed harmless enough, but he kept the laser gun hidden just in case.

"Who might you be, stranger?" The man, who looked like an older version of Celeste, gave Haymitch a suspicious look. "Haymitch... Lunar," he finished a bit unsure. "Celeste is at the bar, it's a long story..."

"It's a bad story," the old man frowned, "I can see it in your eyes." His instinct had been right.

xoxox xox xoxox

Aster was Celeste and Athmos' father, leader of the Meteor caravan. Athmos had left the caravan he was born in to chase after Gaia and his brother followed for a change of pace. The old man took his son back into the Meteor caravan, so that was at least one less worry for Haymitch, though he still had plenty.

Lunar was dismantled and sold over the next few days, Haymitch was surprised when Aster handed him a list of goods. He had divided Lunar's revenues in trade among the three of them, even if Haymitch and Effie were recent additions to Lunar. "You may now carry the name of Meteor," Aster had offered. At least with that, Haymitch and Effie could blend in a little better.

Effie was quieter in more recent nights, but les screaming didn't mean more talking. She was alive, but dead inside, refusing to open up. Even so, Haymitch thought there might still be hope for her, that she would one day start to open up again and begin to heal. It was frustrating, but he made himself be patient and held long one sided conversations with Effie every day, telling her anecdotes of the nicer aspects of the past, even if she said nothing in response.

One day, Haymitch and Aster were at Meteor discussing their current situation. "Snow's followers have gone too far, it's time for us caravans to band together and fight back," Aster decided after hearing the whole story. "As for getting across the quicksand... I really can't think of any ways to do that."

"Like I thought, we'll have to steal an aircraft from Snow's followers. It won't be easy, but it looks like it's the only answer," Haymitch concluded. "Panem needs to be warned, they need to join the caravans to end this for good."

The conversation was interrupted by an explosion. The frame of Lunar was up in flames as Haymitch and Aster rushed to Meteor's view port. Haymitch worried that the enemy might catch up with him, but he thought he had lost them at least for the time being. Lunar was impossible to recognize but the name must have been spoken at a bad time, he theorized.

"You are our link to Panem," Aster told Haymitch seriously. "You must live. Go to the northern island and hide there until we come get you when things calm down. With any luck they'll believe you died in the storm." This was a contingency measure that Aster had clearly thought about before hand, though he was hoping it wouldn't be needed.

Haymitch wasn't sure what this was about, but before he had time to protest, Aster's crew was ushering him away. "Effie, where's Effie?" He spotted her running towards him with a big bundle in her arms. She was ushered into a ship in the northern bay and the ship left towards the ocean ahead.

Up ahead a twister towered like a giant pillar of water. The captain, a man who looked like a viking from an olden legend advised, "below deck, it'll be a wild ride!"

The ship shook violently as it zigzagged between the twisting water towers that stretched up to the skies. The vessel use the impulse from one twister to make sure they weren't too close to the next, navigating the pulls of gravity until the ship got through the stormy seas hours later in an impossible feat.

xoxox xox xoxox

The ship finally arrived at the port of an island with climate vastly different from that of the continent. The island was covered in snow as far as the eye could see. It lacked vegetation, save for strange silvery blue flowers that glittered against the snow. They weren't edible, but very aromatic.

The main food sources of the islanders were big mutated sharks and land dwelling animals, white deer with powerful antlers, large speedy snow foxes, strong white panthers and ferocious polar bears. The islanders were strong hunters, as they had to be to survive.

Haymitch pushed a box off him, he had tried to protect Effie as best he could below deck, as there wasn't enough time to tie down all the cargo and it was tossed around along with them. Haymitch could only guess that a shipwreck would be faked, maybe by sending out a vessel carried by the currents uninhabited, so the pieces would wash ashore and the bodies were presumed lost or consumed by the sharks.

Effie had huddled in a corner in fright, her arms clutching the bundle she boarded with. "Looks like we're here." Haymitch managed to focus for the first time during the whole trip and realized the soft yelps and sobs did not originate from Effie, but from the bundle. It was rather large, enough to hold a child of seven years, nearly too big for the woman to carry for more than just a short while. "Effie... What do you have there?"

She had gone out against Haymitch's advice, the hustle and bustle of the hub and the trading of fabrics and the like luring her out of her pained daze if only for a moment. Then she found her, the little girl who had ran away. The girl knew her name and clung to her instantly. Her memories were still incomplete, but she knew she had to protect that child. "Elsa..." Effie softly replied, revealing the girl who looked up at Haymitch with frightened eyes.

"Snow's granddaughter..." Haymitch's thoughts ran faster than ever. The reason Lunar burned wasn't because its name was dropped after all, he should have known Aster would warn about discretion. Lunar burned because Elsa had run away when Snow's followers reached the hub and Lunar's structure was bare, its worn metal panels sold, she couldn't be hiding there, thus it was a safe target to destroy for intimidation.

"You two gonna stay down there?" The captain appeared below deck. "Oh, three," the islanders paid the wasteland nomads little mind and didn't know who was new and who was born there. "Well, it makes no difference, transport two, transport three, one trip is one trip, same payment. Aster's paid up with trades, so my crew will get your cargo out and show you to your hut.

At least the captain wasn't asking questions. Haymitch didn't want to sound clueless, but he only had a couple of days at Meteor and didn't ask the busy Aster as many questions as he wanted to. Very discreetly, Haymitch whispered to Effie, "if anyone asks, she's our daughter," it was the only excuse he could come up with that sounded believable and ordinary.

Effie nodded, "our daughter... Pearl." Her head ached with memories of pearls, coals becoming pearls and a pearl given as a gift on a screen. She pushed the pain away and hurried into the hut they were led into.

The tent was small, but just spacious enough for three or four people to sleep in it with enough room for themselves. The dwelling's walls were made of white fur skins that were surprisingly good at keeping out the cold.  Effie frowned for a moment, realizing this would be her new residence. Then she made herself smile for the sake of reassuring the girl whom she didn't fully remember, but knew she had to protect.

Life on the island was simple. Haymitch soon figured that though Aster was generous, the deals he made wouldn't last forever. As a victor, Haymitch had not worried about money in years and Effie had a comfortable job as an escort that she couldn't recall. There were no fruits for her, or anyone, to pick, so if they were going to make a living, hunting was necessary. Haymitch had gone hunting in his youth, but that was years ago and in a very different environment.

He had the gun that would give him the advantage, but he wanted to keep it charged for an emergency and there were no outlets to plug it into if it ran out. His aim wasn't as impressive as Katniss' and fighting off a beast set on devouring him armed with only a rustic spear, wasn't  an appealing image. Thus the thought of hunting had not yet gone beyond being a thought.

Their days went by slow and uneventful, but at least Effie was making herself be strong for Elsa. The little girl was quiet and obedient, always next to Effie, playing her part as she was told. Haymitch was surprised one afternoon when Effie, who went by Eclair now, returned to the hut one evening. She rarely ventured out.

"Have a nice walk?" Haymitch asked, a bit bored with their cold island life.

"Lovely," Effie smiled. "Except someone asked if I was Dune's wife and I was quite confused."

Haymitch wasn't too fond of the name, but it was common and that's what Aster had been going for when he dispatched them with the hired captain, unaware that Effie's luggage was actually a stowaway. "Getting a divorce, are we?" Haymitch half joked.

"Pearl said we were soul mates rather than simply husband and wife. The prince thought it was quite sweet. Her quick thinking saved us," Effie explained. At least there was no acting involved, though the shared a hut, Haymitch stuck to his corner.

"Prince?" Haymitch didn't recall any royalty being mention, unless... "You mean the chief's son? You spoke to him?"

"Yes, I offered my services as a fashion consultant, maybe even an interior decorator. He offered archery lessons, but I respectfully declined, I don't think I'd be any good. I mentioned you might go by the archery range though. You don't have to, but you can if you want to," Effie explained, displaying the initiative and enthusiasm of a past life.

"I think I will," Haymitch decided. "I might be able to hunt some foxes like that."

"I got a job too," Effie continued as she pulled a brush from her bag in a corner of the hut and brushed Elsa's hair which was tussled in the cold breeze. "We're going to pick flowers and make perfume, the prince referred me to someone who could teach me. A perfume maker does sound like a nice job."

"That's very you," Haymitch agreed. Effie was being strong because she had to be, though he could still see the sadness in her eyes and the longing to reclaim her past. At least she was making progress, though everyday he worried about what the supposed death of Elsa might have done to the dessert nomads, to Aster, Celeste and their family... were they even still alive? That was a worry he couldn't share with anyone, since he didn't want to send Effie over the edge alone. He should be used to carrying his burdens alone by now, Haymitch told himself, but it was hard.

To be Continued

I'm sure you must have noticed right away that this is slightly AU-ish but not all that different, since a lot is about things that were not mentioned in the Hunger Games, thus they could be anything. Other details are slight modifications, though it will all come full circle in the end in a pretty similar way to the official story... With the exception of how this tale will affect Haymitch and Effie, they still have a lot to experience. This isn't the last we'll hear about Celeste, he'll be back later.