Prologue
I was running out of time, and with her trailing me I had to think fast. I hurdle over a fallen log, coming down awkwardly and tripping over an exposed root. I crash hard onto the ground, yelping as my ankle twists.
The fall took all the drive out of me, and I lay there groaning in pain. This is it, this is where I lose. I should've known it was just being prolonged, but for some reason I fooled myself into believing I could win.
I flip myself over in time to see her jump up onto the log and smile down at me. Her hand is glistening with blood, dripping down the long blade of a knife.
Bows and Snares
By: Legkicker
Chapter 1: Final Preparations
The city is buzzing below the tower, filled with drunken citizens waiting for tomorrow to come. They pretend they care about us, but the truth is they only care about how we die. Will it satisfy their hunger for blood? It's sickening to look at, the way they celebrate and cheer. Meanwhile, back home, the districts are surely mourning loses still to come.
I look over at Gale, his thick, dark-black hair unaffected by the wind. His tender grey eyes look out across the city, and I can tell he is thinking about tomorrow. I wonder whether or not he is worrying more for himself or for me. Possibly, he is thinking about his family back home. Although Peeta Mellark, the baker's son, promised me he would keep our families fed, there was no guarantee.
"Gale, what do think tomorrow will be like?" I ask quietly, tracing the lines across his shirt up to his shoulders.
His eyes meet mine, and he thinks for a second longer before answering, "I don't know Katniss, you've watched the games more than I have…but I think we'll do fine."
There isn't enough doubt in his voice that I can question if he believes the last statement. 'We'll do fine' could mean we might make it far, but not far enough. It tears a hole in my heart to think about the end of the games. Whether I'm there or not, one of us won't be. I know he tried to plan this whole thing out in order to keep me alive, why else would he volunteer?
Now though, he realizes that coming here with me has a major downside. One of us has to die. I'll admit that I overlooked this when he first volunteered, but it crossed my mind a lot earlier. It makes me so depressed, wishing that Effie Trinket had just pulled a different tribute's name when she picked Prim. If that were the case, Gale and I wouldn't be sitting in the capitol right now. Rather, we would be in the meadow, looking out at the dark forest and talking about life.
Tears come on when I think like that, and I usually try to suppress the thoughts. How could our lives have changed so fast? How could they end like this?
Gale no longer feels that we should team up, telling me that we would have to kill each other in the end. Why though, he won't just stick with me for a little while, makes no sense. I need him; I need a friend in this arena. I don't expect to make it very far, but with Gale and me together our chances increase tenfold. I have to persuade him…
"Haymitch says if we just stick together-" I begin, but his eyes lock back onto mine and he shakes his head. My heart sinks as my attempt fails miserably again. I can see the hurt in his eyes, and I feel horrible for bringing the topic up again.
"One of us has to die, and it isn't going to be you. I don't want you to have to be the one to make that decision," he answers solemnly. Time and time again it has been proven we both think so much alike. I should've known he was mulling that idea over in his head as I was. It was almost annoying at times, like he could read my mine too well.
Suddenly I feel a bit agitated, "It's not fair that you get to make the call on who lives. I want you to win just as bad as you want me to win!" my voice falters a bit at the end. No matter how many times I try to keep strong, it seems I always fall short.
"Katniss…" he puts his face in his hands, "don't you get it? It's cliché but I can't live without you."
Something like that is supposed to make a person feel good inside. Knowing how badly somebody needs you is a great feeling, but in this context it only makes matters worse. The empty pit in my stomach returns, and I pull my knees into my chest and tuck my chin behind them.
Gale acts like I don't love him, but I guess I do try my hardest to hide it. Sometimes I wish I could just tell him everything that I think, but I assure myself he would probably just consider me to be insane.
I look out at the city, "Same for me. Why don't we just both hand ourselves over to the careers? Regardless of what you want, that is what I'm doing. I'm running straight for the cornucopia…"
He sighs, staring at me. I refuse to meet his eyes, knowing that if I do my stance will surely change and I will give in. I wish I had thought of this earlier. Gale can't handle that ultimatum, and he has to go with me.
He knows this too, "Alright, we work together, run into the woods. At the end-"
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," I cut him off. He nods, to my relief. I don't suppose every tribute thinks this hard about another tribute's life. Usually they only think about their own, or at least that is what I presume. It was such a mistake for Gale to volunteer over Peeta. At first, I thought I would never forgive him, but now it seems that I needed him here with me. The way he holds me when I cry, the ways he reminds me of home, the way he loves me. Such a desperate life I live, where I find peace in a time of war.
After a few moments of sitting in each other's company, Gale helps me onto my feet and hugs me tight into his chest.
He whispers through my hair, "Get some sleep catnip, tomorrow we take on the games."
Tomorrow we take on the world.
Early the next morning I wake up and take a hot shower. I'm not sure how long I'm in there, but it feels like an hour or so before I step out. I scarf down a few rolls, realizing I'm going to have trouble keeping my breakfast. Cinna greets me around dawn, supplying me with an average set of clothing and taking me up to the roof. A hovercraft appears in the sky, dropping down a ladder and pulling me up. Inside is another impressive sight, as most things in the capitol are. It has a sleek metallic design, with lights flashing and windows showing a bird's eye view of the tower and city below.
A woman with glasses and a lab coat approaches me as I stay stuck to the ladder, "This is your tracker Katniss, stay still and it will go easier."
As if I could move anyway…
She injects a sharp needle into my forearm, causing me to cringe as she pulls it back out. The woman disappears again and the ladder releases its hold on me. I'm happy to see Cinna walk out of a doorway and direct me down a hallway into our quarters.
There's another table filled with food, but I don't feel much like eating. Something inside my stomach keeps churning, and I doubt that food will help it. Eventually though, Cinna coaxes me into downing a few bowls of lamb stew, persuading me by stating that the food is hard to come by in the arena. I stare out the windows, watching the capitol disappear and give away to a lush forest of wilderness. It's amazing to see, almost like home but even more undeveloped and unsettled.
After a while the windows black out, signaling we have almost reached our destination. When the hovercraft makes touch-down, I follow Cinna down a ladder deep into the ground beneath the arena. It's my own prep room, where I go to ready myself for death.
I shower again and brush my teeth, thinking about Gale. I wonder if he is as scared and nervous as I am. Who am I kidding, it's Gale…
Cinna fixes my hair into my style, with a single braid down my back. When my clothes arrive, I dress up in a green blouse, tan pants, tight brown belt, and a thin black hooded jacket made of a thin material that falls to my thighs.
My boots come too, and I'm pleased to see they are soft, brown leather. Pulling them over my tight knee-high socks, I realize they are fitted perfectly. They have a flexible rubber sole with a great design for traction, allowing me to run easier.
Cinna tops it off by placing my gold mockingjay pin onto my shirt, gesturing for me to keep quiet about it. I silently thank him, and hide it under my jacket. All there is left to do now is wait for the games to begin…
My nervousness has passed, but it is quickly replaced by terror as the glass cylinder closes around me. The sounds from the room are shut out, and I slowly ascend as Cinna nods. The ride doesn't last too long, but for a few seconds I'm in complete darkness. It's one of the most nerve-racking parts, because this is where we finally get to see the arena. The tube finally ends, and the metal plate pushes me up to a blinding sunlight.
The smell of vegetation and pine trees meet my nose, and I breathe a little easier. Gale and I know no place better than the woods, so maybe we do have a chance.
I'm lifted out of the hole and onto a metal platform where a warm breeze meets my skin.
Claudius Templesmith's voice echoes across the arena, "Ladies and gentlemen, let the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games begin!"
After my eyes adjust to the light, I look around at my surroundings. They've got the tributes in a half-circle around the golden cornucopia, all standing on their plates for the next minute. This all sits in the middle of a small clearing, engulfed by tall trees and evergreens. To the right of the opening is a field of tall grass, leading off into another clearing partly hidden behind the trees. Aside from that, there really isn't much to see from here. Except of course the cache of useful items sprawled out in front of the cornucopia.
Haymitch instructed us to run off into the woods, as there is no use for risking our lives for this stuff. Gale and I decided this was a good idea, and since we had no time to devise a new plan, I suspected this was still our current one.
I look around at the other tributes, noticing a few familiar faces, like Cato, until I find Gale. He is about five tributes down the right of the semi-circle, staring back at me. My hands stop shaking so badly, and I tell myself that I'll be fine with him here.
He mouths something to me, "Run", motioning with his head back to the woods. I nod back, clenching my fists as the countdown nears twenty seconds and the voice reading the numbers gives-way to a loud ticking. My heart starts racing, my legs feeling like rubber beneath me. I stare at the cornucopia, almost gasping when I notice a bow. It was pretty close to the mouth, sitting against a crate with a quiver filled with arrows lying on top of it. The bow shines silver in the sunlight, just like the one I used in the training center.
I look back at Gale, and he shakes his head. He knows exactly what I'm looking at. Forget it; I would never make it there anyway. I'm best off-
The gong rings out, shattering my thoughts, and the games begin...
Thanks for reading!
Chapter 2 coming soon!
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- Legkicker
