Disclaimer: If I owned the Hunger Games, Team Gale would rule, Finnick would be still alive, Annie perfectly sane and my heart in many less pieces. Yeah, I'm your typical over-emotional fan. Please enjoy!

Deep in the Meadow

I raced through the forest, ducking under branches. My lungs burned, and my muscles screamed for me to stop. But I couldn't – the Careers, attracted by my two already lit fires, might be catching up to me right now. The thought that they could burst out of the trees any moment gave me a spurt of energy.

My boots thudded on the ground as I ran, snapping twigs and crushing leaves. Suddenly, a branch smashed into my face, cutting my skin. I cried out in shock and pain, but kept running. Blood trickled down my forehead and cheeks, blinding me.

Then, I tripped on something sticking out of the ground, and the world turned upside down. Pain seared everywhere, and it took me a while to realize I had fallen into a trap. No doubt it was meant for a small animal, instead capturing a small girl. I was caught in a net of some sort – hopelessly tangled so that I could barely move.

"Katniss!" I croaked. Then I called again, louder. My voice sounded shrill and filled with panic. Somewhere in the distance she answered, my name just audible. At least she was safe.

Safe … a feeling that had become only a memory. The only time I had felt truly safe was when I was a baby, cradled in my mother's arms. Then, as I grew up, I experienced the Peacekeepers' harsh standards. Not being allowed to eat any fruit when harvesting, or any other working time. The people who dared – people who were too poor to care, driven mad by starvation or hatred – were killed, or whipped, which meant gradual death.

And the reaping. I had almost fainted when my name was called, so scared that I couldn't stop shaking. No one had volunteered, and I hadn't expected them to. I understood how lives were short enough already.

The bushes rustled, and a boy stepped out. I could only see just him from my peripheral vision. He made a sound of triumph and raised his arm. Let Katniss be okay, I thought, as the spear sank into my stomach. The pain shot through my body before being numbed by my adrenalin. My blood that wasn't pouring out onto the ground ran cold. At the same time, Katniss burst out of the trees. The boy was about to throw another spear, but she was quicker. I heard a dull thump as he fell.

"Are there more? Are there more?" she shouted to me. I had to repeat myself several times before she heard.

Then Katniss knelt down and began cutting away the rope, her eyes dark with dread. When my body was cleared I held out a shaking hand. She took it, squeezing tight.

"You blew up the food?" I whispered.

"Every bit of it," she said, her voice thick.

I felt a rush of love toward my friend, who had become a like big sister.

"You have to win," I croaked.

"I'm going to. Going to win for both of us now." A canon blew in the background, but it didn't matter. The world was just Katniss and me.

"Don't go," I said, tightening my grip.

"'Course not. Staying right here," she murmured, moving closer and putting my head on her lap. The movement sent pain coursing through my body, but I could barely feel it. I felt like I was drifting away from my body - my senses were numb and what should have been an agonising pain was only a dull throb. She tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

"Sing," I said softly. I wanted to hear music before I died. It was so important back in my district, the thing that kept us going.

Katniss hesitated. Then she cleared her throat, and opened her mouth. Her voice started off raspy, but became smooth and sweet as my vision clouded. She was singing about a sunny meadow, about soft grass, the picture that filled my mind as everything else fell away.

The last moments of my life were painless.

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