Disclaimer: I do not own Hunger Games I just love the story. All credit for the characters goes to Suzanne Collins. This is just my scenario that I was inspired to write after watching Catching Fire which was beautiful. Ok so the name comes from the song 'We Remain' from the Catching Fire Soundtrack and the final line belongs to Suzanne Collins. One-shot set after Mockingjay but before the Epilogue MP16
We Remain
Somewhere in-between sleep and waking Katniss Everdeen tossed restlessly in a dream from which she couldn't escape. The memories that during the day Katniss so frequently repressed from creeping into her present thoughts had had their restraints loosened by sleep, and now rattled angrily in their cage. Suddenly the small amount of sleep she had had was invaded by the flashes of haunting images as a nightmare began. A flash of a blonde hair braided into two perfect plaits and a blouse untucked from the back of a skirt made her lips part and she took in a sharp breath as Prim stood in front of her, her big brown eyes pleading in desperation in the same way they had done the day of the reaping. Her loving little sister, the woman she had grown to be in the battle everything about Prim was perfect and the nightmare could have been purely based on the fact that when she awoke Katniss knew that Prim would not be there to comfort her. But Prim's perfect image didn't remain unscathed for long as thick, red blood ran down like rain blocking out her little sisters image from her subconscious view. Crying out for Prim Katniss was suddenly flashed into another scene where Prim now lay on the floor, her pretty body mangled as the culprit stood above her. A knife in each hand Clove looked manically into Katniss' vision, her skull dented grotesquely from Thresh's rock. Curling up into a foetal position as a defence against the tribute Katniss saw with horror as Prim turn into Rue and her stomach suddenly ached with pain, as if the spear protruding from Rue also stabbed through her own stomach.
Whimpering to herself Katniss tossed again as finally the mutts where upon her, and she was running out of breath as she sprinted away with Peeta at her side. "Katniss go! What are you doing get out of here, go!" Peeta's familiar words sounded in her dream before he was cruelly plucked from her side by a wrinkled hand. Following his retreating body Katniss saw the face of Snow above her, his mouth full with blood that trickled through his lips and down his chin as Peeta vanished from her sight and his hand extended to her a single white rose.
The mixture of haunting images crowded Katniss' subconscious for a total of ten minutes as she tossed from side to side crying out for the people she loved. As Snow lifted Peeta higher into the air Katniss reached around to the other side of bed feeling for another body but when all she felt was a cold mattress and duvet her subconscious woke her with a shriek and she flung her arms free of the duvet that had enclosed her and she became aware that she was sitting in bed. But she was alone.
She didn't need to feel her chest to know that her heart was already rebating too fast and her baggy t-shirt and bottoms had twisted themselves uncomfortably around her body, stuck to her by sweat. Looking frantically around the room she pushed the duvet off the bed as if expecting to see Peeta hidden under the mass of cloth, but was only met by the crumpled sheets that had come untucked from the mattress by her frantic tossing. Stumbling out of bed Katniss tried to reason with herself, that everything was ok. But the nightmare had been so vivid and the memories were unleashed now. She couldn't seem to shake the feeling that Snow was still leering above her and her hands felt uncomfortably warm, as if they were soaked in the blood of the people she had just watched die.
Stumbling out into the corridor Katniss croaked out Peeta's name hoping that he would come and hold her and tell her everything was alright. Her feeble attempt was met with silence and panic at the whereabouts of Peeta made her instantly dizzy, mixing the real and not real images into a spiral of confusion. Steadying herself along the corridor wall Katniss felt her stomach grow sick with dread with every second that past.
"Peeta!" Katniss shouted this time as her shaking legs led her down the stairs and into the spacious hall. Shaking uncontrollably Katniss entered the kitchen and was met with the harsh metal counters and the faint smell of bread, but no Peeta. As she looked around a familiar feeling of loneliness crept into her mind, an emotion that she hadn't felt this strongly since Rue and Prim's death.
At the familiar feeling of isolation the memories came flooding back again and Katniss felt her airways begin to close off. Needing to get some air she ran towards the front door hoping to find Peeta stood there. The door was unlocked which only added to her nervousness, and she stumbled out into the cold air, the snow blinded her feet with sharp stabs of cold. The biting air did little to alleviate her shortness of breath and the closing of her throat was no longer just a reaction of her panic but Clove's strong hands pressing down and denting her windpipe.
Falling to the floor Katniss knelt on all fours in the snow and murmured to herself, "It's not real, it's just a panic attack". But when these reassurances alleviated nothing she began whispering over and over to herself "Not real, not real, not real, not real." Just as she did when Peeta was having a flashback.
The crunch of snowy footsteps could not be heard by Katniss through the massacre of the battle of the Cornucopia that ran through her brain. As the feet made out the form on the ground the crunching became more frequent as someone ran towards her and knelt down beside her. The person pulled her onto her knees, where she placed her hands over her face, trying to stop the tears from flowing.
"Katniss, you're ok, it's me, you're ok." The voices familiarity broke through her memories and she heard the urgency in the normally calm voice of Peeta.
Although she hadn't removed her hands from her eyes she knew that he was taking his coat off and felt its warm weight on her shoulders as he bundled her towards his chest and shielded her from the cold and from her own mind.
"It's just a panic attack Katniss, you're ok" Peeta soothed her running his hand over her plaited hair. "Just breathe for me, just breathe." The simplicity in his commands made sense to her and slowly Clove released her grip around her neck and ran away back into the recesses of Katniss' mind allowing her breath to slowly come back to her. Peeta's strong arms rocked her slightly, and crushed her with their tight hold; this is what safety felt like.
Breathing in his floury scent she finally opened her eyes and relaxed the grimace of pain that was on her face. Above her wasn't Snow but Peeta, his beautiful eyes shimmering with moisture as if there was a possibility that he was going to cry. His loving lips were formed into a small sympathetic smile as he saw her begin to relax.
"You're ok?" Katniss croaked out her voice cracking from the lack of moisture in her throat which seemed to have been focussed all towards her eyes where silent tears thundered down her face, bouncing over the ridges of small scars.
"Yes, I'm fine." Peeta said wiping the tears off her face and sniffing himself, trying to hold back the tears that threatened him too. "You're at home. No one's going to hurt you. We are both ok, and I love you."
Smiling at his words he cupped her face in his stong hands and she lent up towards him and received a delicate but passionate kiss from Peeta. The last of whisps of panic escaped her and her heart started to reduce its speed. Peeta was safe, she wasn't alone and neither Clove nor Snow could hurt anyone else.
"I'm sorry I left you, you were asleep and I went to give Haymitch some bread." Peeta said the guilty tone making his voice waver with emotion once more. "I'm so sorry; do you want to tell me about it?"
Releasing the memories again would only bring on another attack and considering that was the worse one she had ever experienced the idea of experiencing it again was something she didn't ever think she would be able to face. Burying her head back into his shirt she shook her head in reply and just sat their enjoying the feel of his arms around her, the only warmth outside in this cold January morning.
"No, it's nothing that you haven't seen already." Katniss said with a sigh, wishing that he hadn't suffered like she had. Slowly she pulled away from him and began to stand up on shaking legs, Peeta's grip on her arm steading her from falling back into the freezing snow. Wobbling slightly on his prosthetic leg due to the slippy ground Peeta stepped forward and scooped her into his arms so that her bare feet wouldn't grow any colder.
"I love you." Katniss said, her heart welling with the notion that they were safe, and finally had a home. There would never be a time when they were removed of the mental scares of what they had experienced but Katniss knew that they would blaze on through the game of life. As after all there were worse games to play.