Chapter One - Gale
"What the hell?" Gale said to himself as he looked at the transcript for the upcoming news section he was about to report on. He lifted his head and stared out of the window trying to keep his thoughts and actions measured. Controlling his temper was his biggest weakness. He flicked his eyes away from the window and towards the office door, he had been in there a few times after he had lost it on air, said things he shouldn't have and had therefore suffered the consequences. No doubt she had seen it, she seemed to see all of his failings. He tapped his hand lightly on the desk as he once again looked at the script. He was lucky to have this job, lucky to be alive and breathing. Though he often had a clear train of thought, his abrupt nature had often got in the way of making the right decision. This had already cost him his happiness and Gale wasn't going to allow it to also cost him his job.
Working as a district 4 news anchor had given Gale a life he could never have dreamed of back when he was in district 12 hunting illegally and working in the mines. Since the uprising he had been living in comfort. He had money now, money to buy food whenever he wanted and as much of it as he liked. He had running water and excellent sanitation facilities. Two things he didn't have in district 12. He also had his own apartment looking over the reformed district with enough entertainment facilities in it to keep an entire group of people occupied. Yet, he wasn't happy. Some days he would give anything to be sitting back in the forest of district 12, eating whatever berries Katniss had found on the hunt and sharing their catch of the day. He missed her. She had been his friend his whole life, and suddenly she was gone. She'd left his life as quickly as she had entered it. He'd lost his way in the uprising and consequently lost her too.
He dropped his head into his hands and forcefully rubbed his eyes, hoping to scrub away the memories of his life before. He lifted his head back up and grabbed the script, reading once again what the headline was and wishing he didn't have to do this story. He felt like they were testing him, testing his nature and seeing if he would screw up again. Well he wouldn't, he was going to read the story without any improvisation from him. He hoped Katniss would be watching, the story did involve her after all.
The alarm startled him from his thoughts and he stood slowly, stretching his body wide to try and welcome in some confidence and optimism. He grabbed his water bottle and made his way to the studio. As he walked in, he noticed that there were a lot more people than usual in the room. Gale sat at the news desk, his papers in front of him just in case the autocue didn't work. He wouldn't mess this one up. He started to read through the story one more time, he always did this in the 10 minutes before going on air, it gave him more confidence. A tapping on the desk jolted him from his reading and he looked up into the face of his producer, Tally. "Look Gale, we know this is a hard story for you to read out, but we felt it was best coming from someone that knew him, okay?" She looked at him expectantly, as if waiting for him to thank her for this uncomfortable situation she had put him in. "Erm, yeah its fine. It's all under control." He looked back down at his papers, hoping she'd get the signal that he wanted her to leave him alone now. "Okay then, so you're fine with it. Excellent." Tally beamed at him before walking off towards the control room, winking at one of the camera men as she passed him.
"Right Gale, we start in 5 okay? I'll do my normal finger countdown before the chime goes and you need to start reading. Is that alright?" His personal director, Trixie, looked at him anxiously. She was the closest thing he had to a relative. She was the sister he had never had. They looked out for each other and it was great to have someone like her so close by on occasions like this when he needed all of the support he could get. "That's fine Trix, I know the drill." He smiled directly at her and winked. He wanted to reassure her as much as she was trying to reassure him. Her face relaxed from its previous tense position and she raised her hand in anticipation for the countdown. She nodded at him and started the countdown, he looked up at the camera and as the chime sounded, he started to read. "Good evening, and welcome to the District Four evening news. Today marks the 8th anniversary of the rebellion that saw many routines and traditions come to an end. One such tradition was the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games itself took the innocent lives of many children, including those of the Capitol whose hands eagerly awaited the bombs issued by President Coin to finish the rebellion once and for all and end the reign of terror that Snow had created…" Gale tailed off. Trix looked panicked as she realised what was happening and quickly signalled to go to one of the reporters standing outside of the Presidents house.
Gale took deep breaths, trying to steady himself and stay on track but it was impossible now. He suddenly realised why everyone was here, watching. They knew. They had all known what was going to happen and no one had warned him, not even Trixie. He could feel the sweat seeping through his shirt and his breathing wouldn't slow. He got up to leave, pushing past the cameras to reach the door. He broke through and ran downstairs towards the ground floor, he needed air. He stumbled through the gates at reception and through the front door and then ran. He didn't know where he was going. He just knew he couldn't be here, not with Katniss in the same building.