A faint rapping in the dead of night causes me to stir. I get out of bed, careful not to rouse Posy, tiny little Posy. My eyes linger on her small and defenseless figure for a moment before I tiptoe to the threshold.
The door of our small house in the Seam squeaks on its rusty hinges as I cautiously open it. Standing in front of me is a girl. I take a deep breath and rub my sleepy eyes to make sure it really is her. Katniss. Something is wrong. Because she is standing there, sobbing. I don't hesitate before pulling her into an embrace, wishing it could last a lifetime. Like that would ever happen. I'm just the hunting partner, nothing more than a friend. She'd never love me. Ever.
As I pull her out of the house the bitter cold air outside chills my bones. I grab a blanket before closing the door behind me, making a mental note to barter with Alice at the Hob for some oil. We hurry off to the one place I know we can talk, safe from being overheard by the Peacekeepers. The woods. As soon as we settle on our usual rock, I wrap the blanket around both of us.
"My mother and Prim want me to stop hunting," She can barely make out the words between her sobs. What? What does she mean? How could she stop hunting? Though she has all the money she needs to buy food, hunting fills her days. I ask her. I'm not surprised by her answer...
"It's the new... the new... the new head peacekeeper. We've had nearly one-hundred people this month... get... well... whipped. If we get caught it's us roped onto that whipping post. Gale you have to understand, I mean..." The look on my face must have made her stop. I feel abandoned. Alone. Betrayed. Hunting something I must do to provide for my family.-Katniss is what made it woods are where I'm at peace with the world. And it's the one place I can freely talk to her.
Ignoring her cries I abruptly get up and start to walk towards home. I break into a run, trying to block out the sound of more crying filling my ears. Ducking under the fence surrounding my crummy home District 12, I think of all the times in the woods with start to fall as I know these will exist no longer. I kick the ground in rage, creating a cloud of dust around me.
About midmorning Prim comes barging through my front door. Considering she is the kindest and gentlest person I know, something is clearly wrong.
"Gale! Is Katniss here?! She left In the middle of the night and never came home!"
A jolt of panic runs through me, but I try to remain calm, forming my words slowly and carefully.
"She was here but then we went to the woods." I pause. "Maybe she stayed there all night. Let's go see." I take her hand and lead the way to the woods. We arrive at the rock Katniss and I were at last night. I feel a twinge of pain as I remember our conversation.
"Gale?" Prim whispers. "Where is she?" But I barely hear Prim's words. Because my eyes are focused on the blanket that we brought with us, still laying on the rock as if carelessly thrown down. Something seems wrong. Then my eye catches on what's on the blanket. Blood. A pool of blood.
Katniss' blood.
One question races through my mind: What happened to Katniss?