Peeta and I stood by the cornucopia hand in hand, consumed by deafening, reverberating silence. The Capitol of Panem had earlier proposed a proposition: Two victors, under the condition those two victors originated from the same district. The sun was now rising across the arena. Peeta and I had just defeated the last remaining tribute, Cato. We had survived. By now, the anthem should have been playing, and a Capitol vehicle would have swept across the arena to retrieve the victors, but nothing was happening. The air held calm, motionless. Everything was still, nothing had changed. I felt Peeta tremor as a booming voice stretched across the still arena. "The previous compromise of two remaining tributes has been… revoked. One of you must serve as a sacrifice to the Capitol as a token of your gratitude. Good luck. May the odds be ever in your favor."
Peeta tightened his grip on my hand. My eyes stung with tears I was fighting to hold back. My voice caught in my throat as I fell to my knees in anguish, pulling Peeta with me to the ground. I sobbed, and bitter tears fell from my eyes like smoldering flames. Peeta caught me in a tight embrace, and offered useless consolation and comfort as he stroked my matted, sweat drenched hair. He caressed my face and looked me in the eyes with a severe determination that bored into my eyes. "Katniss. You need to do it." I shook my head defiantly. "Peeta, no, I can't. I'm not doing this. There has to be another way, Peeta. We're both leaving. We can get through this," I protested. This time, Peeta shook his head. "Katniss, no. You have to do it. The Capitol will come after us. We have to let them win. Just do it, Katniss. Do it, now. For Prim. Please, Katniss. You have to do this. Do it for me, Katniss. Please.." I looked at Peeta, I looked into his eyes, I took his face in mine tenderly, and held it for a moment. I gently leaned forward and planted a kiss on Peeta's chapped lips, and let my tears run down his cheeks as we exchanged a final goodbye. I stood up, and wiped the tears from my dirt stained face. "You have to do this, Katniss," I told myself. Peeta gazed up and his eyes caught mine. This would be the last time we gazed at each other like this. Emotions of pain, remorse, and sadness flickered through my head. His emotions, I thought, as his glazed eyes bored into mine. I grimaced as I fought tears back. I swallowed hard, and raised my bow. Peeta closed his eyes. "Please do it quick.", He murmured, in a barely audible tone. I closed my eyes. Taking a deep breath, I pulled back and I let everything go. The next seven seconds droned by slowly. I did not open my eyes. The sound of the arrow making impact hit me in the chest with a painful blow to my heart. The next sound I heard was a heavy thud, the sound of Peeta's body hitting the ground. The anthem of the victors blared. I fell to the ground again, holding my chest and sobbing. I gained composure quickly, and I stood up. I looked to the camera, and raised my three fingers to my lips, and held them out in an infinite salute. I reached down into my pockets, and grasped the Nightlock- the poisonous berries I had held to safekeeping earlier in the games. I held my salute, and before any intervention could happen, I downed them all. The world began to fade, and I fell to the ground. My throat locked, and as I was lying there on the ground, the world slowly drifted away from me. Everything went white, and I closed my eyes.
Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor.