A/N: Okay so this is a little story that was written by one of my best friends, Jessica. It started as a narrative for our humanities class where we had to do this huge project for the Hunger Games and relate it to segregation and civil disobedience. I asked her if I could publish it here and she told me sure so here it is. Let me know what you think, maybe more than positive feedback on her writing from more people than just her friends will convince her to get into writing.
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE HUNGER GAMES!
She's gone. I can't believe Katniss is gone. Gale pondered the idea trying to grasp it as reality.
It's the first day of the games. Earlier today, Gale watched Katniss rise into the arena and disappear into the woods after almost being killed. He couldn't let himself be led by his emotions because if he did, he would be completely lost. Instead, he took care of one of his responsibilities- Prim.
Prim had just gotten home from school and appeared to be very lost. This must be when Katniss gives her lunch. Gale pulls some bread out of the basket he brought and gave it to her.
"How about we take a walk in the meadow?" Gale suggests, "Grab a bucket."
Gale and Prim walk along the fence picking dandelions. Gale is eager to hunt but he knows he can't just leave Prim here. There's not enough time to make two separate trips for hunting and gathering. He comes up on his only option the same time he thinks of it. The hole in the fence that he goes through to hunt is right in front of them.
"Have you ever held a bow before, Prim?" Gale asks.
"No…" Prim replies questioning the purpose of Gale's question.
"Well it's time you learn" Gale replies. It was a good idea but what pushed him to say it aloud was the fear he had of what might happen to him if he got too focused on the Games and worrying for Katniss.
"Katniss roots are so beautiful," Prim said.
Of course, they don't look like much on the exterior but they were very delicious and Prim was good at seeing the good inside of things. Prim stood ankle deep in the now muddy water. She was fairly sure that she had gotten the last of the roots.
"We're in luck, quite a big catch today." Gale was walking towards Prim with a handful of squirrels and a small doe over his shoulder. Although Prim now knew how to hunt, she didn't like it and there wasn't a need to make her do it- yet.
"We should head back," Gale suggested. "We don't want to miss watching the Hunger Games."
Back in town, everyone was quieting down to watch the games.
"We shouldn't have to do this." Gale growled as he dreaded seeing Katniss get closer to Peeta.
"Good. They finally found some decent shelter." Prim said obviously lacking sincerity. She learned very quickly not to get too excited for small victories because something always goes wrong. Prim has hardened to avoid becoming an emotional wreck. On screen, Katniss curled up close to Peeta in the sleeping bag to stay warm against the rain.
Gale tried to stare through the screen to the hills beyond and found his thoughts drifting toward the day he and Katniss brought down the deer which they later used to buy Prim's goat. He then realized why his thought had drifted so far away when he heard Katniss say his name.
Instinctively, he looked over, expecting her to be beside him. In an instant, reality flashed back. Katniss was in a cave with Peeta telling him about "her best friend". Gale gazed awestruck at the screen as the girl he loved rambled on about him, then kissed another boy.
Rage boiled up inside of Gale and he couldn't speak for all the vile thoughts racing through his head. Anger towards the Capitol. Anger towards the boy– Peeta. Feelings of betrayal and jealousy all struck Gale at once – and he cracked.
Before Prim even realized Gale had seen what happened on screen, Gale was screaming and a knife penetrated the giant TV screen. The glass cracked and the picture went fuzzy then disappeared.
"No!" Gale screamed loud enough for even folks in the seam to hear.
If you didn't know how Gale felt about Katniss before, you did now. People stared at him in disbelief. The Goat Man pulled Prim a little farther from Gale because he knew the Capitol's guards would be coming soon and he didn't want her in their line of sight.
It took some longer than others but everyone began to realize that fact and quit staring at Gale. The crowd seemed to condense as people filled the gap that had formed between Gale and Prim. Everyone followed suit. Just to protect Gale, and maybe Prim.
But why, Gale wondered. Don't they realize how much trouble they're getting themselves into? What I did was wrong. Or – was it? According to the Capitol it was. It's what they drill into us every year at the reaping. If the Capitol wants us to believe it, it must be wrong. Have I gone soft? Have I begun to believe their lies? No. Of course not. That's why I wasn't scared when I did what I did. And – that must be why the crowd of people wasn't scared when they protected me. They agree with me that everything that was put in place after the revolution is wrong. This is their way – our way – of taking a stand against it.
Just as Gale was finishing his thoughts, a group of Capitol Guards showed up in front of the crowd. They saw the knife in the screen and all the people staring, stiffly, straight ahead. At first, they were confused because they were so used to targeting out the person who looked scared out of their mind but this was different. Did they all do it? Did the culprit already escape? They questioned each other's qualifications and ability to do the job. The guards stopped when they saw a hand go up in the crowd.
It was Gale.
He'd had a plan but as soon as the guards' eyes zeroed in on him, he forgot what it was. All he remembered was 'do not put down your hand!' So he didn't. The guards looked pleased.
Come on, someone. Help me out here. Gale pleaded inside his head.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Prim's tiny hand go up and he just had the sense not to tackle her. This was bad enough but he knew any sudden movements would cause the guards to panic and it would be dangerous for everyone.
If something doesn't happen in 5 seconds, I'm going to charge the guards, Gale decided. 5, 4, 3, 2…
The Goat Man's Hand went up, then the butcher's. As more and more hands went up, the smirks melted off the guards' faces. Everyone's hand was up and the guards consulted each other. While they did, people came to fix the screen. The guards quieted and watched the crowd.
No one blinked. No one put down their hand. This went on for about 30 minutes until the TV was fixed and all the Capitol's people left.
Gale was the first to move. He pushed through the crowd to the stage, grabbed his knife that they had left, and held it up towards the crowd. Everyone's open hand turned into the three fingers that were held up to people of high respect. Gale knew this was not for him – it was for all of them, for what just happened. He continued to hold the knife with his thump and little finger out held his other three fingers up together like everyone else's.
Even though this was a serious moment a knowing smile spread across Gale's face. "So the revolution begins."
A/N: Okay, that's it for now. Let Jess know what you think by leaving a review.