I walked through the barren, steely grey hallways of District 13. I was supposed to be at some training room, but I had no wish to go there. So instead I was wandering through the hallways by myself. I have never been to this part of 13 before, and it almost seemed a bit more… secure? I found it odd that I had never been here, because it was fairly close to my room.
I stepped into a new hallway, but instead of a long one as I expected to find, this one was short with a single, windowless door at the end. I wondered what was behind that door. There was a saying I once heard; curiosity killed the cat. But I am not a cat and Buttercup isn't with me, so I don't think I'm in danger. I walked silently down the hallway and reached the door and turned the doorknob, but it was locked. I sighed and began turning back when I heard a loud bang from the other side of the door. I shot around, frozen in my spot. There was another loud bang, and another and suddenly the door broke open and a man fell out. He was trembling and as he tried to stand up, I saw cuts along his wrists as if he was chained and he twisted out of them. I saw needle marks along his arm and bruises on his face. He looked beaten and broken.
I was still frozen in my spot as he straightened to his full height, and he was considerably taller than me. His cold blue eyes locked on mine and I began to feel scared. He took a step towards me, but my stupid legs wouldn't move.
"Who are you?" he asked me. His voice cracked as he spoke, it sounded like he needed water.
"Katniss Everdeen. Who are you?" I asked him. And then I mentally kicked myself. How could I trust him so easily? He could have been... anything, for all I knew.
"Clin- Hawkeye. Where am I exactly?" he rasped out.
"You're in District 13-"
But I was cut off by him groaning and falling to his knees. Without thinking, I ran to him and dropped to my knees in front of him. He was gasping and clutching his side, his eyes closed and he was biting his lip as if he was trying not to scream. I touched his forehead, which was hot with fever. He looked up at me, his eyes stormy. I knew he was judging me, wondering if he could trust me. I was thinking the same. He was a mysterious man who fell out of a hidden room and beaten to a pulp. He could have been some evil spy from the Capitol… but he just didn't seem like an evil person to me. I just had a feeling that I could trust him. I have never had the feeling before. And should I trust it?
He seemed to feel the same. But then he seemed to make up his mind. His stormy eyes melted into softness and he focused back to the pain in his side. I reached for his hand and carefully pulled it away from his side, and I saw a large blood stain forming on his shirt. I squeezed my lips together to keep from gasping and looked back to Hawkeye.
"You need help, come with me-"
"No. I can't. I need to leave here… they will kill me if I stay here." he said and gasped again, clutching his side. I quickly put my arms around him to keep him from falling on the ground. He didn't seem to care; in fact he even leaned on my shoulder and tried to steady his breath.
"You need to leave," he said again, this time more firmly.
"What? No, no one will hurt you-"
"Katniss, they will. And you need to leave. If they see you with me, bad things will happen to you."
"What? Who are you?" I asked him. He didn't answer me. He was gripping my arm tightly, most likely to keep from falling over. I was terrible at comforting people, always had been… well, besides Prim, who I have been able to protect. I put my hand on his back and he looked up at me, a small, pained smile forming on his lips. I returned it, but suddenly a loud alarm went off. I had no idea what to do, but Hawkeye grabbed me and began shoving me away from the door. He could only push me a bit farther before he grabbed his side and doubled over, clutching his bleeding side.
"What happened to you?" I asked him.
"She got angry… I wouldn't tell her things…Katniss, I was not born here. I… I lived a long time ago. Something happened to me. They said I was frozen. I used to fight with- Oh God. Nat, where is she? Natasha!" he almost screamed and began looking around widely.
"What? Who is Natasha?" I asked him.
"She's gone… she's gone." He said and put his head in his hands.
"Hawkeye, look at me," I said and grasped his face in my hands and forced him to look into my eyes. "You need to tell me who Natasha is. I can maybe help and find her-"
"She used to fight with me. She's dead now," he said and closed his eyes, a tear slipping down his cheek. I chewed on my cheek because I suddenly thought of Cinna… perfect, amazing Cinna who was taken away from me. The pain of him being killed will never leave me. When you lose someone you love, the pain will never leave you.
Hawkeye had turned away from me, and was just staring at the grey walls. His hand had slipped from his side, and the blood was pouring freely from the wound. I didn't realize how bad it was. It looked fatal.
"Hawkeye… you're hurt really badly. We need to get that checked-"
"Haven't you been listening to me, Katniss? I'm supposed to be locked up, I'm supposed to be there for them to experiment on me and figure out how I survived after being frozen for so many years. I can't leave here. They see me, and they will kill me."
"Well, what do you want to do, then?! You are practically bleeding to death and you just want to sit here until they find you, take you back and torture you more or just sit here and die?! Those are not options! Now come with me, I will take you back to my room and then I will find my mother. She can heal you, but dammit, you are not dying while you're with me!" I yelled and I grabbed his hand and yanked him to his feet. He groaned in protest but he didn't resist.
I turned back to the hallway, but to my horror I saw soldiers coming through the hall. They spotted us and they pointed their guns at us. Hawkeye was on top of me before I could move. I fell to the ground, but the only thing I could think of was whether he was shot. His cry answered my question. He rolled off me, and I saw the hole in his chest. I screamed, but then a soldier grabbed me by the shoulders and began hauling me away from Hawkeye. I yanked free and when they tried to pull me back, I turned and punched him as hard as I could. He stumbled back and looked dazed, but then another one grabbed me and pinned me to the wall. Amazingly, Hawkeye had gotten to his feet and he grabbed the soldier who was on me, and then he stuck a knife in his stomach. He must have taken the knife out of the soldier's belt. The others were swarming, and I began looking for a way out. The only thing that caught my eye was a door, only a few metres away. It said storage. I guessed it would be open. But it was only a guess. But I had a good feeling. I grabbed Hawkeye's hand, and we ran to the door and it was open. I threw him in, and then hopped in after him and slammed the door and locked it. Hawkeye was wheezing and clutching his side… he looked terrible. The soldiers outside pounded against the metal door… we were trapped. Then I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to Hawkeye, who was pointing upwards. There was a ventilation shaft. Then I remembered. There is a ventilation shaft in my bedroom. I nodded at Hawkeye, and he put his hands together to give me a leg up. I stepped on his hands and he popped me up, and I yanked myself on to the cold metal. I scrambled around and Hawkeye had stepped up on a shelf and was already pulling himself up. I helped him, as carefully as I could.
I put my fingers to my lips and began crawling through the metal shafts, Hawkeye following me. He was slower, and sometimes he would collapse but I always yanked him back to his knees. It didn't take us long to get to my room. I kicked the vent a few times, and it broke and crashed to the ground. I slipped out of the opening, and then jumped to my feet. I stumbled, but regained my balance. Hawkeye peered down and then jumped down. But he fell to his knees when he landed. He grabbed my hand and I fell when he did. The injury he had sustained was far too bad to heal… my throat tightened when I realized what was going to happen. And then I felt something wet on my face.
"I'm so sorry." I whispered.
"You helped me. I would rather die here, and not strapped to a table. I would rather die here… with you." He said and squeezed my hand.
"No… you're not going to die. You're not…" I could hear the falseness in my voice. I could also hear how I was choking up.
"Katniss, don't lie to me please." He said through gritted teeth.
"Ok… Can I ask you something?" I asked him.
"Yes."
"Is Hawkeye your real name?"
"No. It's Clint."
I smiled at him and he gave me the best one he could muster. And then a wave of pain made him fall to the ground. I gently pulled him closer, so that his head was on my lap. I stroked his hair, and he clung my arm.
"Katniss?"
"Yes?"
"Do you sing?"
Oh God… not again. I can't… memories of Rue came flooding back to me. But Clint told me not to lie to him. "Yes," I tell him.
"Sing… please."
I pressed my lips together and blinked, fresh tears rolling down my cheeks. The words of the song came out of my mouth before I could stop them.
"Deep in the meadow, under the willow
A bed of grass, a soft green pillow
Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes
And when they open, the sun will rise…"
He didn't get past the first verse. I felt him squeeze my arm one last time… and then he let go. His eyes were closed. I closed my eyes… and hatred floods through me. Why do good people have to die? Why!?
Suddenly the door opened and there stood Coin, with a group of soldiers around her. They swarmed in, and had to forcibly haul me away from Clint. I screamed and kicked at them, but one was able to wrap his arm around me and haul me away. The rest take Clint and someone cleans up the blood… now it looks like nothing has happened... any sign of him gone, erased. I looked up to see Coin glaring at me.
"You're never to speak of this again. Katniss, I swear I will hurt you if you do. This is not a joke." She spits at me. I can't believe she just said that. And then she is gone with the rest of her soldiers.
I am left in my room, shaking and crying. I don't know why I felt such a strong connection to Clint, why I felt like I needed to save him. Why I felt like I needed to be with him. I will never know. I will also never know why Coin wanted him… or who killed him. These questions will go unanswered. And this story will go untold. The only one who will know is me. But I will never forget.
Hello :) so this... I don't know where I came up this one :P I just like Clint and Katniss, guys :s please leave a review pretty please :)
