L.

Sorry for the late update, my laptop charger broke.

Trapped In A Bubble Made Of Air

Chapter 2

Maybe free wasn't the right word.

I climbed out and rolled onto my shoulder while Peeta pulled himself up.

It's been so long we've been trapped down in the darkness the dim light of the afternoon sun setting that shone through the break in the drapes actually blinded me. I gasped and covered my eyes, furiously rubbing them to try and stop the burning.

"Don't look-too bright Katniss!" I heard Peeta hiss behind me a little too late.

From the small glimpse that I got we were in a small circular room crowded with boxes and old furniture. Clearly it hasn't been in use. After a few seconds I heard Peeta begin to move around clumsily. "Here. Put this on its sunglasses." I felt him tilt my head up and slip on the fames over my nose. "We've been in the dark too long."

I let out a wry chuckle. "Poetic."

He grinned down at me and gave me a quick peck on the lips. "Perhaps we should look around?"

"Carefully." I warned, a bad feeling creeping over me. Something wasn't right, the air felt stale and it was too quiet. He helped me up onto my feet and I looked around; I was right. It was a circular room with one door leading out into a long hallway.

"Kat-"

"Shhh…" I squinted through the dark sunglasses into the hallway, hoping to catch a glimpse of a moving shadow or hear some form of life. Unfortunately there was nothing but silence. Nervously I turned around to face Peeta. "There's…I hear nothing."

Gently he cupped my face and rubbed my cheekbones, soothing me. "We'll take it slow alright? Let's just go see if there's anyone in the house. Gather…information as you say." He offered me a grin and I resisted the urge to bury myself in his arms.

"Alright." I slid my hand into his large, warm, secure one and took a deep breath before making a beeline to the open door, Peeta right behind me.

We made it to the end of the hallway which broke off into another hallway or lead into the kitchen. It was there we parted ways. Something wasn't right, scattered all around were-what were those? Goggles? Gas masks? I walked over to white accent table in the main hallway while Peeta ducked into the kitchen; sitting on the table was a small gas mask attached to a miniature air tank on the ground. It seemed like it was custom built for a small child.

"Katniss whatever you do don't open a window or door!" Peeta's sharp, urgent voice cut through the silence.

Just as I was about to ask why he jumped into the hallway, his face pale.

"Peeta?" Oh God what's wrong? What's he found that would make him panic like that?

"Katniss…" He just opened his arms and held them out for me to walk into his embrace, which I immediately did. "I'm so sorry for scaring you honey, so sorry." He whispered and kissed the top of my head. Was I that scared that it shown so plainly on my face? Well to be honest Peeta never yells or demands anything of me like that; he's always so gentle and calm that hearing him shouting at me from another room really did make my heart stop for a few seconds.

"Peeta what did you find?"

He kissed my temple one last time before pulling back to look me in the eye. "Katniss I found something in the kitchen…there was...an airborne uh…disease." He stated slowly.

"Airborne disease?"

"Yeah…it-if you inhale it you…well die."

I just stared up at him, completely not understanding what he was saying.

Airborne?

Dead?

Disease?

What?

"Katniss breathe!" Was I not breathing? How do I breathe? Holy crap I've forgotten how to breathe! "Katniss honey!" And then he touched my face and I gasped and suddenly my chest no longer hurt.

I looked up at him and took deep, steadying breaths as he gently caressed my face.

"Are you alright now?"

I nodded, ashamed that I forgot how to fucking breathe!

How incompetent did I seem?

"What do you mean there-there's an airborne illness?" I managed to ask with my voice relatively calm.

Peeta stared at me for a few seconds before pulling me into the kitchen then handed me a paper. "Read this-don't take of the glasses!" He grabbed my hand as I moved to remove the dark frames. I felt my face heat up at my stupidity but began to read the paper.

Emergency!

Confirmed airborne disease that will kill if inhaled!

Please do not leave your home unless necessary! Emergency packs will be issued and delivered to each home. Packs contain gas masks, air tanks, food, water and more specialized equipment.

Wait for further notice.

"Oh my God." I breathed out completely shocked and frankly a little ill.

I felt Peeta move up beside me and wrap one arm around my waist. "My words exactly. How are you feeling?"

"Ill?" I closed my eyes for a second. "How long has it been?"

"Since this announcement? About a week."

"As long as…the contact with us had stopped." I mumbled, trying to piece together whatever clues we had to make some sort of sense of the situation.

"Yeah." He rubbed my stomach, trying to keep me calm. "Relax. We need to make a plan." He kissed my shoulder.

"We need to find out what's going on." I sighed and re-read the paper. "What are the chances that this has all blown over?" I asked, trying to make a little light of the situation. After all, things were tough enough as it is without us being completely depressed.

Peeta snickered and released me before wandering back into the hallway. "Slim to none? Come on let's check out the rest of the house."

Trapped In A Bubble Made Of Air Trapped In A Bubble Made Of Air

L.

Any thoughts on Peeta calling Katniss honey?

Continue?

All constructive and unconstructive criticism welcome.