AN: I made a small change to the card of the Quarter Quell, Katniss and Peeta had fallen in love during the first games and they didn't have allies. Starts on the day of the Quell card reading and not much is the same, Thread never arrives. So… Catching Fire with a twist. Please review, even bad ones.
I walk along the familiar trail that I used to walk everyday with Gale. I pass the rock that hides the place where Gale and I used to hide and a strange sense of longing passes through my body, I don't see Gale anymore, not now he's started working in the mines everyday. I haven't seen him at all since the Games.
I sigh and decide to go and check the snare line. I don't need to hunt anymore, not with all the money I have, but I hunt for Hazelle. Now that Gale's not got time for it, I have to feed his family. I check the game bag and there's still the same three pigeons in it. Half an hour later, I'm standing in the Hawthorne's house and turning over the animals to Hazelle.
"This fox will make a nice coat for Posy. She's about the right size." Hazelle remarks as she examines the fox.
"I'll be back again tomorrow, hopefully with more." I tell her.
Walking back to the house, I stop in the Seam on the way to drop off my hunting jacket and game bag. I pick up Buttercup who I found sitting on the bed I used to share with Prim. He also hates the new house.
"Katniss! There's a mandatory viewing tonight! Do you think it might be the wedding dresses?" Prim jumps on me as soon as I walk through the door.
"Probably not. They only left yesterday." It turns out Prim is right, as soon as we turn on the TV there I am posing and twirling and walking around on screen. This lasts for about half an hour, with the crowd in the Capitol booing and cheering the whole time.
"And now, to the President for the Reading of The Card." Caesar Flickerman says just as we are about to turn of the TV. After about two minutes of silence, during which the people in the Capitol get very impatient, President Snow pulls out an envelope stored in a box of rows and rows of cards. Whoever invented these Games has prepared for centuries worth.
"On the first Quarter Quell, as a reminder to the districts that the Dark Days were their choice, the districts were made to choose the tributes. On the second Quarter Quell, as a reminder that two rebels died for every Capitol citizen, the amount of tributes was doubled." At this point I tune out, wanting to find out later what my tributes are going to have to suffer through before their probable death. However, when my Mother and Prim start screaming, I listen to Snow in time to hear the last thing he said. "Some Victors will be going back to the Arena."
"What? But, how?" I manage to force the words out of my mouth.
"He said that some Victors have to go back to the Arena and… and," Prim's voice dies out into a sob and my mother finishes for her.
"And survive in the Arena for month. Any amount of Victors may come out."
"Then I'm coming home. Not everyone will want to be killing this time and I can hunt. I'll survive. I'll have Haymitch as, as." I stop speaking realizing what's happening. "Peeta!" I scream, knowing that he will volunteer for Haymitch when his name gets reaped. I know Snow will make it so. I run out of the room and collide with Peeta in the middle of the street. Now the tears come.
"Katniss, Katniss it's just surviving this time. We'll be fine. We'll both come home again. I promise you. We'll come home alive." Peeta tries but fails to calm me down.
"But, your leg. My ear. I'm still part deaf. And we'll be everyone's first target. They won't want to kill their friends." I protest. This makes Peeta pause for thought.
"Then we can say your pregnant. With my child. Get us sponsors and tell Haymitch to save it up for your bow." He tells me before kissing me.
"Let's go tell Haymitch then."
"Tell me what, Sweetheart? That plan you didn't discreetly make? I like the plan, just one teeny weensy problem. You're not actually pregnant and when Snow finds that out you might as well jump off your plates before the gong goes off." Haymitch is sarcastic as usual but not drunk.
"Then what do we do?" Peeta asks.
AN: I know it's short, but I didn't want my first chapter to be really long and then it turns out that I'm a bad writer. I'll update whenever I can, but it's going to be hard as I have loads of tests coming up.
