It's dark now, and slowly, the crowd disperses from the Square. I walk Prim and her mother home, make sure they have enough to eat, and trudge slowly back home. I know Katniss would've done the same. They seem so grateful for the little I am able to do, but yet the one thing that would solve both our problems is beyond my power. No matter how hard I try, no matter how much I beg, I cannot get Katniss Everdeen out of the 74th Hunger Games.
"Gale!" Posy squeals. I smile. Posy seems to be the only person in District 12 who is still happy, still bright, during these times. Then again, District 12 isn't that bright of a place to begin with. "Hey, Posy. How are you?" I reply, picking her up. Posy is yet to turn six. The Capitol and those who work for them are cruel, but not cruel enough to force a five year old to watch the bloody scenes the Hunger Games are made of. I eat a small portion of the food that's laid out before me, then give the rest of my meal to my family. They need the energy more than I do. I hurry up to bed, and as I sleep, I try not to play back the images in my mind. Still, pictures of the young girl from 11 dying, and the male tribute from 12 being stabbed, and Katniss after the tracker jackers, and every little thing that happened today weave in and out of my dreams.
If this is what it is like for me, hundreds of miles from the Capitol, what must it be like for Katniss, who is stuck there, right in the middle of things?
The next day, anybody over the age of ten ambles to the Square, dreading what they will see. For me, today is yet another day full of opportunities. Opportunities for the girl I am in love with to die.
I live that day over and over again in my head. How Katniss volunteered for Prim. How Peeta was chosen. And how I stood by and watches it unfold, helpless. I should have volunteered for Peeta. Katniss would've hated me, but then I could keep her alive, protect her. Now, everything's up to Peeta. And if that guy comes home without her, he will pay for it.
Once we enter the Square, there is a quick recap over the nights events. A new rule had been put into place: Two tributes from the same District can both come home. Katniss has started looking for Peeta. If I was there, I would've never let her out of my sight, would've never have let her reach the Cornucopia, would never let anything -or anybody- hurt her. But I am not there, and I am stuck here, watching the girl I love die.
No. I mustn't say that, I think. Katniss still has a shot. She can still win. I bite my lip as she comes onto the screen. She seems to be talking to a rock. She's gone mental, I think immediately, but suddenly, the rock moves. It's Peeta. She's found him. For some reason, I have never hated a single person with such power, such passion. Which is odd, considering I never said a word to him. She leans down as he whispers something, then pulls away, laughing. Katniss has just enough screen time remaining for us to see that she is attempting to heal Peeta before the cameras switch to the Career pack.
Katniss healing. Now that's a joke. Although her mother is excellent at healing, and Prim is showing promising signs, Katniss inherited her father's blood. THe blood that makes you get excited at a deer, not a bloody wound. Knowing her, Peeta is more likely to die from her healing then to get better. But this is the Hunger Games.
Anything can happen now.