Note: This first 'chapter' is quite short. It is more of an introduction.

Plutarch and friends belong to Suzanne Collins.

Puzzles

Puzzle #1: The Jigsaw Puzzle

From the very first day he ever received his first puzzle, Plutarch Heavensbee was in absolute love.

To Plutarch, a puzzle was more than just an enigma to be decoded. As he carefully unfolded the wrapping paper of his birthday present and saw the beaming jigsaw puzzle box, he saw an escape from the depression his mother was experiencing. He finished this simple jigsaw puzzle in a few seconds.

A puzzle was reliable. Plutarch could rely on a simple jigsaw puzzle to always have an answer. There was one answer, one explanation. Plutarch never had to fear the unknown with puzzles. Puzzles could always be solved. And this was why Plutarch loved puzzles.

Plutarch began to believe life was just a large puzzle meant to be decoded. Surely life could be solved. And surely he could solve the source as well as a cure for his mother's depression. He was certain he could decode this riddle, just as he could solve every puzzle handed to him. He was genius. And geniuses could solve anything. He was sure of it.

And once he put the pieces together, Plutarch knew that his mother would be fixed. After he solved this puzzle, he and his mother would be a happy family. They would be just like all the other families in the Capitol, and he would never feel scared again.

Life was a puzzle, and Plutarch was going to solve it.

He loved puzzles. Mostly, he loved the feeling he got when he finished them. Because every puzzle solved was proof that life could be cracked. If he could crack this code, his mother would be fine.

And Plutarch couldn't wait until his mother would get better.

After ten years of solving puzzles and decoding the most difficult codes of his time, Plutarch arrived home to see his mother's body dangling from the ceiling.