"Gale? Gale?" I nervously whispered into the darkness of the woods, our place.
Our get away from the world, where we illegally hunt to keep ourselves and families alive.
I recognize his voice, but I can't tell which direction it is coming from.
"Catnip?" I hear him say, deeper and much louder from my own voice.
We usually don't stray too far from each other in the woods, especially when it gets this late, but this time was different. It was past 8 o'clock, and during the chilly month of November, the sun had set a long time ago.
I hear Gale somewhere behind me, stepping on leaves and twigs on his way towards me. My ankle was throbbing even worse, and it was hard for me to walk around the floor of the woods, with barely any sight of Gale: my hunting partner, my best friend, and confidant.
I limp over to a nearby tree and rest my back against it, continuously calling out my best friend's name. I loose focus off of Gale, and my mind shifts to my hurt ankle. I try to think of anything I remember from how my mother cured others - the countless amount of people who would come into our home for my mothers help - but nothing came to mind. I nervously start thinking about Gale. My ankle was really starting to hurt and some of the pain was spreading to my shin when I moved my foot around.
"Gale's not going to find you. He's not coming for you. He doesn't care about you," I think to myself.
Of course he is going to come. Gale. He would never leave me in the woods. That was our job, we have each other's backs, even though his is almost a foot taller than mine. All the girls at school admire him, with his sparking eyes and tall build.
No, the hunter boy was mine and I was his, I protect him and he protects me. That was just the way it was.
Despite my doubts, Gale finds me shortly after my subconscious debate with myself.
"Gale," I murmur.
"Catnip, what happened to you?!" he says with concern as he crouches down next to me, obviously taking in my injury.
"I couldn't find you, Gale. It started getting dark, and I was gathering the berries and you were hunting by the river, I shouldn't have left, I'm sor-" I try to explain, until he cuts me off.
"Katniss, listen," he says with complete seriousness. He brushes away a few loose hairs from my face and tucks them behind my ear. "I should have never left you, okay? I should be apologizing, not you. Now, come on."
Gale quickly scoops me up in his arms and I put my small arms around his neck. I make sure he grabs my bow and arrows that were resting on the ground. He puts them over his shoulder, along with his game bag, and he starts walking towards the hidden concrete house in the woods.
A gust of November wind shakes the trees and leaves, and I rest my head on Gale's chest. His grip tightens around me, pulling me closer to him. Being in his arms makes the pain in my ankle go numb.
The concrete house that we had found a few years ago is farther out into the woods, and my eyes begin to close during our journey. I never completely fall asleep though, because the air was so chilly and the throbbing in my ankle began to start again.
"Are we almost there yet, Gale?" I question, breaking the silence between us.
He thought I was sleeping, and it was cute watching him look down at me as his little injured Catnip.
"How's your ankle?" he responds, completely ignoring my question.
"It's fine," I lied.
I didn't want Gale to have to worry about me, on top of finding this desolate house in our woods.
"Go back to sleep. We'll be there in a few minutes," he commands.
So, following orders from my hunting partner (like a good hunting partner should do) I retreat my head back to the spot on his chest and surprisingly fall asleep.
