My eyes opened slowly. A young girl looked down at me and smiled slightly.

"How are you doing?" she asked.

"Where am I?" I asked.

"My house," the little girl said. "But don't worry; you're safe. My mom healed you. She great at healing people."

I looked over and stared into the eyes of a woman.

"Did you?" I asked her.

"Yes, but really Gale did. If he hadn't gotten you when he did you would probably be dead by now," the woman said.

"Thank you. Where is Gale?" I asked.

"He had to get home to his family," the woman said. "You can probably see him in the morning."

"Who's this?" a voice from the doorway said.

I turned around and looked at a girl who didn't look much older than me. She had a long dark brown braid and a jacket on.

"She's the one that got whipped in the square," the woman said. "What are you doing home so early, Katniss?"

"No reason; just wanted to come home early," the girl, Katniss, said. Katniss walked over to the young girl who had first spoken to me and patter her head.

"How are you doing, Little Duck?" Katniss asked the little girl.

"Katniss!" the little girl giggled, hugging Katniss.

"I guess we should introduce ourselves," the woman said. "I'm Miss Everdeen, Katniss is the one with the braid, and Prim is the young one."

"Nice to meet you all. I'm Melany," I said, sitting up. I let out a moan, not realizing how much sitting up would hurt.

"Take it easy," Miss Everdeen said. "That's gonna hurt for a few days."

"Yeah," I said, slowly turning myself around to face Miss Everdeen. "I have to go now, sadly. My family is waiting for me."

"You sure you don't need any help getting there?" Miss Everdeen asked.

"No," I said, slowly sliding off the table that I had been laying on. I landed on the floor and my back screamed. I gritted my teeth together and tried to show a convincing smile to Miss Everdeen. "I'll be fine."

Miss Everdeen looked at me for a while, then nodded.

"Alright, if you're sure," she said.

"I am. Thank you again for helping me," I said.

I walked over to the door and swung it open. Every move I made hurt. I walked outside and closed the door behind me and started walking toward my house. I suddenly heard footsteps behind me and I whirled around, fists raised.

"Relax," Katniss said. "Just me."

"I said I was fine," I told her, lowering my fists.

"You sure didn't look like it," Katniss said. "And by the looks of it, you're about to fall down face first."

I was silent. It was true; my legs hurt so bad that I was sure I was going to fall at any moment. Katniss held out her hand.

"Come on," she said. "I'll help you get to your house."

I took her hand and said nothing else. Katniss helped me walk down the street and we soon reached my house.

"This is where you live?" Katniss asked.

"Yup," I said, nodding my head at the old battered house. "Nothing special, but it keeps us warm."

Katniss nodded understandingly and helped me to the door. I opened it up and Katniss helped me into my house and I was immediately swarmed with exclamations.

"Where have you been?!" my mother exclaimed.

"We've been worried sick about you!" Elissa exclaimed.

"I missed you, Melany!" Manda exclaimed.

Becky and Lance were crying, Mom, Elissa, and Manda were worried, and I was embarrassed that Katniss was viewing all of it. I turned to her with an apologetic look on my face.

"Sorry," I said. "They're usually like this when I come home late. They're just... worried."

"It's okay," Katniss said. "Can I help with anything else?"

"No, I think I'll be okay from here," I said. "Thanks."

"Anytime," Katniss said, smiling. "Hey, if you ever need anything, just ask."

"Thanks," I said, smiling back at her.

Katniss turned and left and it was then that I realized my family was still shouting at me.

"Calm down!" I exclaimed. They did. And so I told them about what happened. My mom ordered me to show her my back, and she nearly fainted from the sight (which made me feel so much better). Elissa hugged me lightly, not wanting to hurt my back. Becky and Lance were still confused on what happened, and Manda hadn't been paying attention.

"I'm fine, guys," I assured them. Of course, I wasn't really fine. My back had hurt like heck, there was dried blood all over me, and the reaping was only a few days away. Everything was not fine.