Suzanne Collins owns these characters!
*Prologue*
I run through the streets, mum's words echoing in my mind.
"There's been an accident at your fathers work." My legs burn as I throw them randomly in front of me. I can't get enough oxygen to my lungs.
"Your father might've been in it." Not far now, I can hear the sirens. As I approach, more people line the streets, slowing me down.
"The risk of another explosion has slowed rescue efforts." I trip over someone's foot and stumble, regaining my balance shortly after. I round the corner of the street of my fathers coal mine.
"Katniss, you have to stay here. There's nothing we can do." Police tape prevents me from running down the last part of the road. I mutter apologies to people in the crowd, trying to get to the front. I'm too small to see over everyone's heads, but the smoke is thick in the air. I duck under the tape and manage to run a little bit further down the road before I'm picked up by a policeman.
"I'm sorry kid, but you can't be here." He carries me back towards the crowd.
"But, my father. He's in there." I yell. "You have to save him!" I thrash and squirm and try to get out of his vice like grip. He puts me on the ground and crouches down to my level.
"We're doing everything we can. He'll be out before you know it." Tears drip from my eyes and I make no move to wipe them.
"But, I want him now!" Now I really struggle to breathe. My breaths come short and quick, I can feel myself shaking in an effort the calm down. I try to scream in frustration, but all I manage is a gargled moan. The officer motions for someone but I cannot see beyond my tears. I sense someone come next to me, tries to sooth me, but I can only hear my heartbeat. Boom-boom-boom-boom. It's really fast. I feel a needle go into my neck. Boom-boom boom-boom boom. It slows. My eyes drop. Boom boom boom. The sound fades. My eyes close and my body slumps. I go willingly into the darkness that looms ahead.
My eyes are stiff to open. My throat is dry and my breathing comes out like coughs. My head hurts when I try to move. I hear an unclear noise from somewhere. My senses come back with a rush. I'm lying on something soft, cocooned in a blanket of warmth. The same noise sounds again, only this time, clearer. Slowly, the glue over my eyes fades and I open my eyes to a bright, white light.
"Katniss?" I know that voice. It's my little sister, Prim.
"Prim?" I croak. I feel her sit on my bed more than I see. My eyes haven't adjusted to the light yet.
"That's right, Katniss. I'm here and I'm not leaving." That sounds like her seven year old self .
"Prim, where's mum?" I ask. She doesn't answer right away. "Prim?"
"At home. She hasn't spoken since you ran off." She replies. I sit up sharply, ignoring the thumping pain in my head.
"How did you get here? You shouldn't be out by yourself." She softly guides me back down into the bed.
"But I didn't. Gale took me." Of course he did. But, his father worked in those mines, too. Why didn't I think to find him first. Stupid!
"Is he here?" I ask, looking around the room. That's when I see a dark figure by the door.
"Gale?" The figure smiles and walks into the light. "Gale!"
"Hey Catnip." He walks over to me. "How're you feeling?" His eyes are missing their spark.
"How am I feeling? What about you?" I ask him, a smile plays on his lips.
"You're the one who's been in hospital for two days." Two days! Two whole days! I take a shaky breath.
"Your father?" He looks away.
"He was in there." He looks back. "There was a lot of people in the mine. It's all over the news. They're yet to confirm the dead but." He pauses. "There's a huge fire at the entrance. It was sparked after the second explosion."
"There were two?" My hopes of my father being alive are slipping away.
"Four in total. I'm sorry, Katniss, but we have to keep hope." Prim just sits there throughout the conversation. Her head is hung low, and there's a dark cloud covering her eyes.
"It's okay, Prim. Come on, let's get you home." I sit up and swing my legs over the bed. My vision swirls and my head pounds.
"Woah there. You can't leave." Gale rushes around the bed but I shake him off. I stand, but I have to lean on the wall for support. I'm wearing a hospital gown and find my clothes on a chair by the bathroom door. I slowly make my way to the chair, only stopping once to let a wave of dizziness pass. I change into dark brown, tight pants, a black T-shirt with a brown jacket and brown hunting boots. I braid my hair to the side and open the door. Gale leans on the wall by the exit and Prim sits on the chair I found my clothes on. She snaps her head towards me and jumps off the chair. I take her hand and we walk out only to be stopped five seconds later by a nurse asking where we're going.
"Katniss Everdeen. I'm fine now. We were just leaving." She seems to accept that and we stroll out of the hospital without a single eyebrow raised. We walk home, considering none of us are old enough to drive, not that our family could afford a car. It's not that far away, we reach our street, we say goodbye to Gale and continue our house, on the very edge of the city. The front door is open so we walk through. Prim runs to her room and I find mum, sitting on the sofa, staring off into space.
"Mum?" I say, but she doesn't move. "Mum!" She slowly moves her head and locks her eyes on mine. But only for a second before they look to the ground and she turns again, staring back out the window. I look at her lap and find the newspaper. She never reads the newspaper. I walk over and take it out of her hand. She takes a sharp intake of breath and breathes out once I move away. I read the main headline.
GAS LEAK LEADS TO FOUR EXPLOSIONS AT THE COUNTRIES LARGEST COAL MINE.
59 men have been confirmed dead today after four massive explosions tore apart the largest coal mine in the country. This brings back memories of the file brought against the court last year about the safety of the mine. The owner of the mine has refused all questions and has been said to have gone into hiding. The families of the men killed want answers.
The biggest of the four explosions sparked a massive fire at the main entrance, slowing down rescue attempts to enter the blazing mine. The smoke from the fire is extremely toxic and is pouring out of the main holes supplying air to the men inside.
The street has been roped off with offices warning locals to stay inside when possible and close all windows and gates. Scientist believe... blah blah blah.
I shift my eyes down to the bottom of the paper and scan my eyes to all the men inside the mine at the time. I pause over Gale's father but keep going until I see my dad. His miner ID with a suppressed smile. Something wet drops on his face. I realise I'm crying. I drop the paper and run out the living room and into the room I share with Prim. I open the door and find her fast asleep. I silently open the window between our beds and climb out and into the woods beyond our little cottage.