Greetings! So, I swore to myself that I would write a Hunger Games fanfic before March 23rd, which is approaching at rapid pace. Well, here it is!
Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games.
A Dandelion in the Spring - Chapter One
The sky is dreary and grey when I leave school, opening my umbrella lazily. Hurriedly, I walk down the sidewalk, sweeping past men and women in business suits, shielding their heads with this morning's copy of different newspapers, heading home from work.
When I get to the train station, I nearly run underground, far away from the noise of the heavy rain and busy streets. The sound of a violin reaches my ears, and I feel my body relax as I swipe my card through a scanner. Once I get to where my train will stop, I open my copy of The Hunger Games, frowning at the lack of effort I have been putting into rereading the series before the movie is released.
Gently, I turn to the third page, the page where an amazing story begun.
When I wake up, the other side of my bed is cold. My fingers stretch out, seeking Prim's warmth but finding only the rough canvas cover of the mattress...
I begin to hear the screech of a train reaching the station, but I am so absorbed in the book that I barely notice. Slowly, I stand and walk towards the dingy yellow platform.
Just as the train reaches the man merely a yard down the platform from myself, a force pushes me forward, straight into the face of the incoming D train.
Pain.
That is the thing that makes me panic. I'm panicking because I don't feel it. When I wake up, all I feel is that odd feeling of falling that you get from dreams.
"Catherine?" A voice asks, the voice belongs to a girl, this girl sounds afraid. Why is she afraid? Is the sight of my mangled body too much to bear?
"Catherine? Are you awake?" She repeats, and I notice that it was not fear, but worry, hiding in the undertone of her voice.
Carefully, I sit up, turning my head to see who the voice belongs to. It is a girl. This girl looks around my age. She has black hair which stands out in the vast white of the room. She has olive skin and her grey eyes look too old to fit into her young body.
"Yes." I say. Squinting slightly because her features seem oh so familiar.
Typical Seam look. I think, quoting The Hunger Games. This is something my friends say about me. My friends who share the same love for The Hunger Games as I do. My friends who want to be the children of merchants in the town in District 12, unlike me. I have the same looks as Katniss and Gale.
"Good." The girl says, scooting her chair a bit closer to my bed.
"You look... familiar. Do I know you?" I ask.
Now the girl is smiling, which in no way looks like it is familiar to her features. "No. No, you don't know me. Or maybe you do. My name is Katniss Everdeen."
"Yes. Of course." I murmur. Oh how I've wished for this. I think, recalling the many times I have wished to live in the world of The Hunger Games. I suppose the odds are in my favor.
"Okay. So, where am I?" I ask.
"Well, it's a bit hard to explain. You're from District 8, right?" Katniss asks.
"Um..." I murmur, thinking. District Eight. Textiles. The first rebellion. I was put there when I signed up for Panem citizenship!
"Yeah, District 8. How did you know?" I ask, knitting my eyebrows together.
"Your citizenship card. It was lying in the snow next to you when we found you in the outskirts of District 12. That's how we found out your name, too." She says.
"We?" I ask, knitting my brows together.
"My film crew and I." She says.
"Hm. And my bag? Where is it now?" I ask.
"It's over there." Katniss says, pointing to something behind me. "We haven't looked through it, don't worry. Although we did notice the Mockingjay on the outside of it."'
Of course! My Mockingjay bag! They know I'm on their side! "Yeah." I say. "I'm completely on your side."
"Great, now, back to what I was saying. You're in District Thirteen." Says Katniss, waiting for my reaction.
I blink.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
"So it does exist?" I ask, barely able to contain my excitement.
"Yes, actually. It does." She says.
Hey, I'm not in a high school of the arts for nothing. You cannot risk any suspicion. Time to be an awesome actress. "I can't believe it! At first, my friend, Bonnie, told me, but I didn't believe her, and then the Capitol bombed our district. She came to my house and told me about some Mockingjay that was always in the corner of the screen when they showed the ruins of District 13, and how she was going to leave to get there! Is she here? Did she make it?" I ask, making my voice a bit higher than usual.
A frown passes over Katniss' features. "You know Bonnie and Twill?" She asks.
I smile. "Yes, Bonnie was- is one of my best friends. Twill, she's my teacher. You know them? I'm not trying to be rude, but can you send for them, please, when you leave?""
Katniss glances down as if she can't bear to look at me. "I'm sorry, Catherine, but, I don't think they made it. There's been no sign of them here. I asked around. No one knows them."
I let the smile melt from my face. "O-oh, um. Okay." I murmur. I always did feel bad, knowing that Bonnie and Twill never made it to District Thirteen. I felt bad, using them as help in lowering anyone's suspicion of me.
"I met them in the outskirts of my district. I helped them a bit. Gave them food, taught Twill how to hunt. I'm sorry." Katniss says, trying to help the fake me.
"Y-you did?" I sniffle a bit. "Bonnie- she always told me about how much she looked up to you. How you were the perfect Mockingjay. The rebellion starter. Katniss Everdeen, the girl on fire." I say, rubbing at my eyes a bit.
Katniss moves her hand and awkwardly pats my shoulder. "I really am sorry." She murmurs, standing up. "Follow me. I'll show you to your quarters." She says, holding her hand out to me.
I latch on to her hand and let her help me off the bed. Then I walk over to the table where my things are. My bag still has the Hunger Games trilogy in it. The other two books are there because I had just gotten them back from a friend. It also contains my sketchbook, notebook, wallet, pencil case, and phone.
My knitted beanie is next to my bag, the faded grey and orange yarn seems dingy next to the white of the table. It is there along with my brown leather jacket. My umbrella is nowhere to be found, but I don't mind. My worn out brown leather combat boots sit neatly next to each other beneath the table. I am still dressed in my dark blue skinny jeans and red and black plaid flannel shirt.
Calmly, I slip into my boots, my bright yellow socks seem too bright, and they hurt my eyes. I stuff my hat into my bag, and sling the army green messenger over my shoulder.
"Ready?" Katniss asks.
I nod. "Ready.
Katniss motions for me to follow her, and I stand behind her, feeling far out of place in this fictional world.