"Katniss!" I yell, trying to escape the net that entangles me. "Katniss!" The net tightens as I thrash around. I hear a rustle from my left and Katniss comes crashing into the clearing and rushes up to me. My heart leaps. Using a knife secured in her belt, she cuts me out and gathers me into her arms.
"You're safe now." She whispers into my ear, hugging me to her tighter. My breathing returns to normal and my heart rate slows. I'm so glad she found me before the Careers did. I try not to imagine a death at the hands of Cato or Clove. I shiver at the thought. Suddenly, I spot Marvel. He readies a spear and it arcs gracefully through the air straight towards me. Katniss throws herself in front of it.
"No Katniss!" But it's too late – the spear has settled deep into her heart. She sinks slowly to her knees. Marvel readies another spear but seeing a hot tear roll down my cheek, he relents. I sink down to the muddy ground next to Katniss. The tears are coming thicker and faster now, pouring down my face. They drop onto the blood encrusted wound. I can't bear to look at it.
"No." I whisper, more to myself than anyone else. I wish that she hadn't sacrificed herself for me. I wish that I had been the one to throw myself in front of her, not the other way round. But I can't change things. I gently pull her eyelids down and close her eyes. She looks like she is sleeping, I wish she was.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." I whisper into her ear, there's no way that she can hear me but I have to say it. My mind flits to her family. I remember the girl she volunteered for; Prim I think she was called. She must be heartbroken. I imagine seeing one of my siblings die – the thought is too horrid to even contemplate.
I don't want to leave Katniss's body but I know I must. The hovercraft will come soon and deliver her back to her home. Home. No, I mustn't think of my family. They will only make me cry again. I plant a light kiss on Katniss's cheek. A tear falls from my eyes and land on her face, slowly sliding down her cheek and onto the mud covered floor. I take a deep breath and stand up shakily. I take one last look at her, the long braid that snakes by her head, her kind brown eyes, the bow and arrow clutched in her hands, poised to shoot. I turn and walk slowly away. I don't look back. I feel the whistle of wind in my hair and know that the hovercraft has come to take her away. Soon the wind has gone and I know that she must have gone with it. I can't take it anymore. What is the point of these games? Why would people want to sit watching innocent children murder each other? The people in the Capitol must have twisted minds to enjoy it; to see it as a form of entertainment. I am brought to my senses when a loud voice booms into the arena.
"Attention tributes. Attention. The regulations acquiring a single victor have been suspended. From now on, two victors may be crowned if both originate from the same district. This will be the only announcement." My mind immediately flits to Thresh. Does he want to team up with me? When I saw him at school, he never seemed to be around friends, not like everyone else. Maybe he prefers to be alone; after all he did turn down an offer to join the Careers. Would he want to team up with a girl like me? There's no new knowledge of plants I could offer him - he knows everything that I know. Maybe seeking him out is a foolish idea. But I yearn for company: someone to fill the gap by my side that Katniss stood in. Someone to take away from the pain of her death. And I make up my mind. I will find Thresh.