Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games. It belongs to Suzanne Collins. I do, however, own some of the characters I made up. This is just a freakin' fanfic.

Frostbite

Chapter Two – Final Words

No. No. No, please, no. Not me.

I hear Cadence's gasp loud in my ear. Her grin is now replaced with a shocked, petite 'o'. She's shaking my shoulder, muttering something to me but I can't hear it. I won't hear it.

Not me. This is my last year. My last year. I'm supposed to be free. I'm supposed to be done with this.

"No," I manage to choke out. I finally gain control of myself and I start shaking my head.

"The Peacekeepers are coming," I finally hear Cadence's hasty mutters as she continues shaking my shoulder as hard as she can.

My head snaps up and I see two men slowly making their way to me, thinking that I don't want to go, to force me up there. How long have I been standing, frozen in disbelief? Long enough to make the Peacekeepers think I'm refusing to go up, I guess. Well, I really don't want to go but I don't want to cause any trouble. I give Cadence a quick hug before making my way up to the stage.

"Well, now, welcome Miss Morgan!" says Ginger, clapping her hands. "Come on, now, let's give our young tribute a row of applause."

I swear to God I will slap that woman. Standing so close to Ginger Von Dane right now, it makes me so angry. I feel like I could just cry, but no. I won't make myself look like a weakling. I won't humiliate myself in front of Cadence, my mother – my mother!

My eyes hastily search through the people lining the perimeter and finally, finally, I found her. She's looking away from me and even from where I'm standing I can see her tears falling.

Please, look at me. Mom, I love you.

My poor, poor mother. If I die, she'll be left childless and who'll be able to take care of her? Who is going to bring food to her? Who?!

A lump in my throat. That's bad. I won't cry, I won't cry, I won't cry.

"Now, let's move on to the young men," says Ginger, walking past me towards the boys' glass ball. She pulls out a paper slip and says, "Donovan Parker!"

I close my eyes. Good. It's someone I don't know. It's not one of the boys who hunt with me, not Cadence's brother, not anyone from my class. No wait – Donovan Parker? Parker? It couldn't be…

I look towards the line of seventeen-year-old boys and I spot Jake easily. He's looking at me with intense eyes. I don't know if he's angry, worried or just tensed. But I think I know what's flashing through his mind; I might kill his brother or he might kill me.

Well, I doubt it's the second one. Why would Jake care about me? He doesn't even know me that well. Yeah, sure, maybe we usually meet in the woods to hunt but that's just it.

"Any volunteers?"

Don't. Please, don't. If Jake volunteers then we would have to kill each other. As I said before, we're not close but still it'll be hard. Ugh. I hate ironies.

Silence. No one steps forward, not even Jake. Does he know? Does he understand how I would feel if he volunteers? Does he know how hard it will be? But Donovan is his own brother…

I turn to look at the boy next to me. He looks young. Younger than Jake. I would guess about fourteen or fifteen. This makes me panic. I can't kill a boy younger than me. A boy who's related to my friend – err, well a friend who isn't close but –

"No? Well, then it's settled!"

Sighing in relief, I close my eyes and let my shoulders droop. This is not the time to relax. There shouldn't be a time to relax, but I can't help but feel relieved as two thoughts come across my mind; one, I wouldn't have to kill Jake or Jake wouldn't have to kill me and two, I wouldn't have to kill his brother either because I'm sure someone else will try to.

The mayor then starts the long Treaty of Treason. I force my eyes open and the first ones that catch me are Jake's. His eyes are angry, but not accusing. I suppose he knows this isn't my fault, that his brother is chosen. We both hold each other's gazes for a while, my confused eyes into his angry ones.

I force my eyes away from his turn to my mother. Again, her face is turned away and stained with pouring tears. I guess I'll have to wait to talk to her. I know that they let the tributes say goodbye to their family and friends before leaving. Slowly, I turn towards Cadence. Her eyes hold the mixture of sadness, disappointment, disbelief and grief. I try to comfort her with a small smile but that just makes her start to cry.

I look down at my feet. This is my last year. I shouldn't be on the stage right now. I shouldn't be a tribute. The odds are against me for the reaping, but I hope they'll work with me during the Hunger Games.

The mayor finally finishes the Treaty of Treason and Donovan and I have to shake hands. It isn't really an actual, firm shake. Our palms just touched and that is it. We turn back to sing the anthem, but I'm only mouthing the words. My mind wanders somewhere else.

How long will I be able to last? I've been watching the Hunger Games on television for a long time now and I know what to do when I reach the Cornucopia; run. I suppose I'm a fast runner. My body is just the right size for speed. But even if I can't run, I'll climb. I climb trees all the time while hunting, so I get a better shot at game. Speaking of "shots", what weapon will I manage to take from the Cornucopia if I have time? I usually hunt with a bow and arrow, but I'm flexible; I sometimes use blades or daggers.

As soon as the anthem stops, two Peacekeepers are standing both side of me and another pair with Donovan. We're ushered into the Justice Building and then separated. I'm left alone in a room full of velvet all by myself. It's the grandest thing I've ever been in (if you don't count the Capitol) but this could not distract me.

A hundred things are going through my mind. I find myself pacing up and down, up and down, thinking about what I'm going to say to my mother and Cadence in the next hour. Not many people are going to say goodbye to me; I don't have much friends and my mother is the only family member I have left. I try sitting myself down on the sofa but only to find myself back up again.

The doors burst open and my mother comes rushing in, hands outstretched to hug me and face stained with fresh tears. I run to her arms and hug her hard. I never want to let go. I never want to go.

She pulls away from the hug and places her palm on my cheek. "Bliss, I need you to be strong. I need you to fight. Don't give up. Please, don't ever give up."

"Mom, I promised you ever since my first reaping. I'll fight. I'll win! I'll come home!"

But now, those words are meaningless. Even I know I can't win. I know I'll fight, but there's no guarantee I'll succeed. I won't come home. My mother will be alone. She'll die out of hunger.

I clutch her hands in panic. "Stay alive, please. If I die, or whatever it is you'll watch, please, just stay alive! You don't give up! You keep fighting!"

"A mother never wants to outlive her child,"

I shake my head. "I have some extra money I've been saving. They're hidden behind my closet. It's not much, but it'll buy you food for a month. Buy a goat; make money by selling the cheese or milk. Do anything to feed yourself."

But then she said something unpredictable. "I wish Blair was here."

Blair. My mother hasn't once opened her mouth about Blair ever since that autumn's day. When I kept trying to talk about her, she'd change the subject immediately and I became used to keeping quiet about it. And now, I almost forgot Blair was ever alive.

"Blair," she continues, "would've known what to say now. She would be doing a better job at comforting you than me. I just know it. She's taken care of you better than I have."

And after that, we spent our time talking about Blair. About how we both miss her, about the memories when she was young, about everything. My mother admits she was wrong for hitting Blair the night she ran away. She says she'd give anything to turn back time.

"She would have volunteered in your place, Bliss, because she loves you so much. She could never see her little sister fight to death."

I shake my head. "I wouldn't have wanted her to."

I look at my feet and think. What if Blair really was here? What if she really did volunteer in my place? Well, that's impossible. She's twenty-five now; she's way past eligibility. But say she was the same age as me, and if she volunteered, I can imagine the scene being that my mother and I saying goodbye to her.

"You didn't have to volunteer, you fool," I would have said to her.

"I love you, Bliss. I won't lose you," I imagine her saying, because that's just the way she was. Blair was always so, so protective of me when I was young.

"And you think I'd lose you?!"

"I love you so much, Bliss. Come home to me," my mother whispers, pulling me into a hug.

I nod. "I love you, too, mom."

As soon as we said those words, the doors burst open and the Peacekeepers are saying that the time is up and telling my mother to leave. I start to panic, my heart beating as fast as ever. I clutch her hand tightly and hug her as hard as I can. It reminds me of when I was in kindergarten.

"Please don't go, mom. I love you, please don't go!" I cry out, but unlike when I was in kindergarten, I hold my tears back. I keep repeating, "Don't go, don't go, don't go" over and over again while she keeps reminding me that she loves me. The Peacekeepers pull as apart, I try holding on to her hand but her hand slips from mine and she is dragged out of the room. The doors close, leaving me in silence.

Don't cry, don't cry, Bliss. Please, don't cry.

I sit myself back on the sofa, hands clutched on both sides of my shivering body. I need to get myself together. I can't break down. Not now.

The doors open again and I stand up to hug Cadence. She's not crying but I can tell by the water streaks on her face, she was. We both sit down on the sofa, clutching each other's hands as tightly as we can.

"I can't believe it," Cadence whispers, her voice cracking. "This was your last year."

"I know," I reply, my voice as cold as ever. There's no use repeating it again. It won't bring me back home

"I'm so sorry, Bliss. I couldn't volunteer. I just didn't have the guts."

"Cadence, I didn't want you to volunteer. You're my best friend and I would never ask that of you. Please, just take care of my mother for me. I won't be there anymore. She's sick, Cady."

"I don't want you to go. This isn't fair!"

"This is as fair as it's ever going to get."

Something flashes in her eyes. I know she wants to shout all types of bad things about the Capitol, like she always does when we're by ourselves, but not here where the Peacekeepers are probably eavesdropping. She hates the Capitol. I hate the Capitol. We both blame them for everything, and we're right to do so.

"I know this might be a lot to ask of you," she whispers, "but can you please come home? Can you win, please, for your mother, for me, for everyone that loves you?"

Never make promises you can't keep, Bliss.

"I'll try." I say.

"Don't eat the berries there."

"What? Why?"

"Red berries – they're poisonous. I've seen so many tributes fall for the berries and just die as soon as they swallow them. There's always poisonous berries may it be in the desert or the forest or some type of wasteland – just don't eat the berries."

"Yeah, thanks."

"And, Bliss, don't be afraid to kill anyone."

I blink, surprised.

"We won't think of you as a monster for killing anyone. We understand you have to. We know you need to."

"I… I don't know what to say. Cadence, I'm going to miss you so much. And if I die-"

"No!" she snaps. "You are not going to die, Bliss Morgan. You're going to live! You're going to come back and live an easier live in the Victor's Village. You'll be District 9's new victor."

"Be realistic, Cadence," I say sadly. "To be honest, I can promise I'll try my hardest but I can't promise you I'll win. Come on, what are the chances? The career tributes have trained all their lives for this. There will be stronger tributes. Tributes who know everything there is to know about survival and… killing. You know I don't stand a chance, even I do."

"Bliss, I have so much faith in you. It's time you have faith in yourself."

The door opens and again, the Peacekeepers say that time is up and are telling Cadence to leave the room. She stands up and places something in my palms. "I'll need this back. So you'll have to come back home and give it to me. I love you and I'll miss you."

"I love you, Cadence,"

I watch as she walks out of the room and the doors close. I sit back down on the sofa and open my hand to reveal a long strip of blue ribbon. At first, I'm confused. Why does Cadence need this back? It's just an ordinary ribbon. But then do I pick it up and observe it in the light do I really understand why. In the light, the ribbon casts off some sort of glittery glow and on the ribbon are beautiful, intricate designs.

"I'll try," I whisper, tying the ribbon around my wrist since there's no pocket on my dress.

That's it. No one else is going to come. But I find I'm wrong when the door opens again and in comes Jake Parker. I stand up immediately, shocked to find him here. He must have just gotten back from saying goodbye to his brother. We stand in silence, just facing each other.

I bite my lip and say, "Um,"

Just "um" and he starts pacing. He stomps his foot at every step and rubs his forehead so hard I think his skin might peel off. His eyes show a glint of controversial emotions waging inside and I just stand there and wait.

"Why did you come here?" I ask silently.

He stops pacing and glares at me. "I came here to ask if you could take care of my brother, but then I realized you were probably planning to kill him. So now, I'm trying to think if I should beg you not to kill him."

I stare at him in disbelief. Before I could even utter a single word, he storms out, leaving me to feel completely confused and shocked.

I know I just posted the first chapter like twenty minutes ago, but who cares?