I walked through the dry cloak of leaves almost soundlessly except for the soft crunching of the twigs snapping beneath my feet. I knew I should be more stealthy but there wasn't much left for me in this world anyway.
My mind wandered back to the time when the peacekeepers had caught me and I'd wordlessly pleaded for Katniss to shoot me. I'd hoped with all my mite that she would understand but I guess hope doesn't exist in a world like this anymore. In the end I just yelled at her to run, to flee I guess it didn't matter that I would get tortured as long as the mockingjay was alive. That was my job after all wasn't it? To protect my mocking jay, my Katniss.
The dark clouds rolled in on me trapping me under the shelter of a nearby tree. A few seconds after I'd noticed the clouds, cold splatters of rain pelted down onto my frozen skin, stinging it as it poured down my face and hair.
I ignored the rain slightly enjoying the pain as I kept going. I wasn't sure where I was going or how long I'd been running for, maybe minutes? Hours? There was no way to tell.
I'd mostly kept to the forest since the bomb that had killed Prim exploded. That's when my life ended. Well not really my life but everything I cared about in it.
I knew Katniss would never forgive me for the bomb, even if the Capitol had dropped it instead of the Rebels. I remembered my words clearly first we kill them, then the rescuers.
Peeta and Katniss had moved back to district 12, while everybody thought I was living in district 2.
I wondered if anyone had figured out that I had lied about my job there yet, I guess it wouldn't matter. Nobody would come looking for me.
I gasped suddenly as I walked into a small clearing and recognized it at once as my meeting spot with Katniss.
Slow tears rolled there way out of my eyes and down my cheeks, the rain was beginning to ease up into just a light sprinkle as I wiped the tears away with a small corner of my sleeve.
"You care about me, real or not real?" I heard a familiar voice say. Oh how I wanted to hate that voice, but as long as they made Katniss happy how could I?
I peeked through the soft mouldy tree's and out to where the voices were. Peeta and Katniss were walking together through our meadow happily holding hands, well as happy as anyone could be after all we've been through.
"Real." Katniss answered and leaned in to kiss him. I could feel my heart break in two as more salty tears began to work their way out. I turned around before I could see anymore and ran. Ran as fast as I could to get away from it. I took off flying through the trees dodging them as I went. It wasn't as if I had never seen them kiss before, I had, almost everyday in the hunger games but this time it was for real and not just same act to get them out alive.
Pain rocked through my body as I ran numbly through the forest. In the end I ended up tripping over a tree root. My body was sapped of energy so I just lay there, breathing in the sweet smell of pine.
I cracked my eyes open and was blinded by the sunshine. "well I guess it's stopped raining." I said aloud.
I sat up and stretched out my aching stiff muscles. There was a dull ache in my left ankle, the one I'd landed on, I attempted to get up and walk but only managed to stumble a couple of steps before falling back over. A sharp pain shot through my ankle as It began to throb.
I sighed and lay back down on the damp ground and watched the clouds pass until they turned into stars.
******************************************************Katniss POV
I'd been pretty torn up over Prim's death but was starting to get on with my life. I don't think if it wasn't for Peeta that I would be able to move on with my life. I missed my best friend, my hunting partner Gale but I couldn't get over what he did. How he betrayed me.
I woke up screaming from another nightmare, shaking and crying and felt the warm comforting arms of Peeta slide over my cold body.
"Another nightmare?" He asked me rubbing my arm soothingly.
"Yeah" I replied softly.
"You want to talk about it?" He asked me as I stared into his deep blue eyes.
"Nah, I'm alright," I answered as I pulled him tighter and kissed his lips.
I woke up later that day and walked out into the forest. I didn't have to watch out for the electric fence anymore, since the rebellion they never turned it on.
As I walked over the slippery grass in the meadow I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being followed. I jumped at the quick snap of a twig before realizing it was my own foot that had snapped it. Get over it Katniss, I thought to myself shaking my head slightly.
Throughout that walk I'd turned around several times expecting to see someone standing behind me, but there was no one.
I sighed heavily and sat down on me and Gale's rock half expecting he would magically appear there, but no, that was stupid Gale lived in district 2 now with some fancy job and probably a beautiful girlfriend. I couldn't help but feel the jealousy rise up in me even though I was with Peeta.
The rock I sat on felt empty now without Gale's warm body sitting next to me.
*********************************************************************Gale's POV
Where ever Katniss went now I followed, slinking in the shadows behind careful not to let anyone see me. Acouple of times she almost saw me but I guess I was to well hidden.
One day, about a month after I started to follow her I peered in through the dirty windows of her tribute house and saw a sight I wish I had never saw, Peeta kneeling before Katniss with a ring. I saw the expression of shock and delight on Katniss's face before nodding her head eagerly
A slight twinge in my ankle snapped me out of my moment of despair, I guess my ankle still hadn't fully heeled from my fall but that pain was no way close to how I felt now. If someone saw me now I wonder what my expression would be, shock? Hurt? Maybe a mixture of both.
*****************************************************************Katniss's POV
I reached out into my drawer and picked up a delicate piece of yellow parchment. I got the idea from out family's plant book. The place where we recorded those things you cannot trust to memory. The page begins with the person's picture. A photo if we can find it. If not a sketch or painting by Peeta. Then in my most careful handwriting, come all the details it would be a crime to forget, from everything from Lady licking Prim's ear to Rue poised on her toes, arms slightly extended like a bird about to take flight.
On the last page I only wrote a few sentences, ripped out the page and folded it neatly into a square. I walked through the forest and placed the piece of paper gently down on me and Gale's rock.
*******************************************************************Gale's POV
I watched Katniss curiously as I waited for her to leave. Finally when she did I ran over to the piece of paper and picked it up and unfolded it.
My insides turned to ice when I read what it said. In Katniss's neat writing read the words What I needed to survive is not Gale's fire, kindled with rage and hatred. I have plenty of fire myself. What I need is the dandelion in the spring, the bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on no matter how bad our loses. That it can be good again. And only Peeta can give me that. What I need to survive is Peeta.
The day I read that note was also the day of Katniss's wedding. I knew what I had to do so I walked over and watched through the shadow's watching my hunting partner, my best friend, my love say I do as he slid the ring onto her finger.
My word shattered beneath my feet, sending me hurtling into the black bottomless pit that lay bellow. Anything would've been easier then this. I would've taken on a thousand mutts and been ripped to pieces but it wouldn't of hurt as much as this.
For a flittering second I thought Katniss caught my eye but she turned around straight after so I couldn't be sure.
I stepped forward out of the shadows and turned around, not caring who saw me this time and walked away into the darkness of the forest.
I took out my long slender silver hunting knife, the one I used to skin the animals.
I took a deep breath and pressed the tip of the knife to my chest right where what's left remaining of my heart should be.
I took a second to remember all the memories I could of her before plunging the knife deep into my chest. I let out an agonizing scream as I pressed my fingers against the crimson red blood that was pouring from my wound. I fell to the ground in a heap and lay there awaiting my death.
I heard the clear voice of Katniss singing to me, singing me to my death and was content.
Are you are you
Coming to the tree
Where they strung up a man, they say murdered three
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up a midnight in the hanging tree
Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Where the dead man called out for his love to flee
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up a midnight in the hanging tree
Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Where I told you to run so we'd both be free
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up a midnight in the hanging tree
Are you. Are you
Coming to the tree
Wear a necklace of rope side by side with me
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up a midnight in the hanging tree
Her voice trailed off at the end and everything turned black.