Katniss' POV:
As I lie here hopelessly, I drift in and out of consciousness. My mind is disturbingly blank, maybe I am still in shock gripping reality, or maybe it's because I'm still on the edge of hallucinations. Whatever it is it holds me down, like I'm paralyzed, I can't move anywhere or consider dragging myself somewhere safer, I'm stuck here. Just before I'm about to drift off I hear it faintly over the ringing in my ears.
Footsteps. Loud footsteps. Fear and comfort roll in my stomach. They can kill me if I am found. That would mean I'd have to endure more pain, and in the end I'd be gone. I'd leave Prim doing so but I already accepted I wouldn't be going home to her anyways. If they kill me that means I am free from here, from Panem, from Snow.
Whoever takes each step could not be a hunter with such loud tread they'd scare every animal within a ten mile radius. Even with my dull hearing I can hear them with a shocking clarity.
I pray it's not Cato, he'd torture me some more if we cross paths. I just want death. But then I don't want death, because Prim. Sweet, innocent Prim who is being forced to watch me. I hope she turned away when Cato stabbed me.
Closer they approach, useless I am to moving or hiding, I'm left here to be spotted. I roll my head to the side my cheek falls into the plush grass I stare into the forest. In front of me a ladybug takes small steps up a blade of grass, I smile at it. I cannot hear but birds must be chirping over the metallic ringing, they're to quiet to be heard only the loud footsteps break through the sound. The smell of my leg rotting is overpowering to anything else but beyond that I can make out the smell of the woods and fresh air, if I can ignore the disgusting smell of my flesh maybe I can pretend I'm in the woods.
Apart the small green bush breaks open, the one that separated me from the person with loud footsteps.
Peeta appears. He looks bright and healthy unlike I, how did he manage so? Out of all people, it turned out to be him here. I can't help but think this is sick, the boy who saved me will now be the one to kill me. What a grand finale to my miserable life.
Suddenly, he's kneeling next to me.
"Katniss, what happened to you?" He asks carefully, his hand pulls a strand of hair from my face.
I gulp trying to make my throat less dry. Slowly, I turn from the ground and look up to him.
Maybe he's taking in my state first, the tracker jacket stings the bloodied leg, maybe he figures I'll die without his help.
Although he's still momentarily and I'm frustrated with it.
"What are you waiting for?" I utter weakly. In other words, Kill me now, please.
He looks to me ruefully, and shakes his head. "No."
"No I'm not killing you."
How could you expect him to anyways? It's something I'd never imagine him to do no matter the circumstances.
I'm waiting for him to stand up but he doesn't. He stays kneeled next to me, like he's thinking something through.
He reaches out and grips me under my knees with one arm and grabs me around the shoulder with the , I freak out. "What are you doing, " I cry in shock and distressed at his sudden movement.
"I'm not leaving you here," he says thickly his blonde eyebrows scrunched.
Weighing the options I see if I did go with him that I have a better chance rather than lying here, however if I somehow make it to the end I couldn't kill the boy who saved me once-no twice in that matter. If I go with him then I'd be a burden but have a better chance at surviving. But I owe him, I can't be selfish.
He stands up without my consent and takes me with him, at this point I don't even have an option I guess. Instead of fighting I comply, for Prim, she'd urge me to allow him. I need to go home to her, no matter the costs.
Peeta carries me as if I'm weightless this is no surprise to me after I've seen him lift over a hundred pound sacks of flour at the bakery and compete in wrestling at school.
It's odd hanging on your back facing up with a bloodied leg, I watch up and see the sky and his face. The sky is light blue and cloudless, the gamemakers have done that I am sure. I hadn't seen him this close before but now that I had the chance I study him, his face is chiseled, his features are prominent, right on his chin - you can't tell so without the help of the sun is a subtle amount of pale blonde hair. This was the boy with the bread, closer than ever.
My ringing ears have begun to subside partially, therefore I can here the rushing water as we approach it. Suddenly, the incessant rhythm of his legs I had become fond of come to a halt.
"Here you need to get cleaned up," cautiously he lays me on a stone next to the river which isn't blanketed in mud.
"Where'd you get cut?" he asks as his eye roam my body taking in my condition.
My own voice is startling, it's raspy and dry. "Mid-thigh, right leg."
He looks, his hands go to my leg and he finds exactly where the puncture on my leg is located. I notice how his teeth gnaw on his lip at the sight.
"Katniss, I'm going to um-have to take your pants off." He says it straight to the point, however bashful, his cheeks are red, his azure eyes trained at the slab of rock above my head.
What if what he said in his interview held any meaning? I'm suddenly flustered. But right now I'd do anything to have these filthy, spoiled, clothes off. I swallow the lump in my throat which feels like a clump of dry clay. "Okay, go ahead."
He does, his hands inch up and awkwardly unbuckle my brown leather belt that came with my clothes upon the commencing of the games. The cargo pangs wiggle down my legs, I can tell he's trying to be careful not to irritate the cut as well as not dwell on taking my pants off for the sake of the already tense air we both seem to have at the moment.
As he slides it to my ankles I help him, kicking my leg.
The breeze moves to my swollen leg and kisses my now bare skin. It's after a few seconds I'm self concious, I resist the urge to fight my way back into the pants. For the girls panties this year we had lacy black underwear, I think that's purely for the capitol. Those sick freaks must be watching me at the moment, disgusted I try to forget the cameras which must be directly focused on me at this moment. Oh even Gale is watching this, I've never been so embarrassed in my life. This is fine, this is how my mom works on patients all the time, I tell myself. I look over and then there's Peeta, who by the look on his face right now must be the most innocent teenage boy in Panem. His cheeks look like they will permanently be stained red at this point.
"Er I need to wash your shirt too," He mumbles incoherently. I don't miss the way his eyes drift down before he brings them back up.
Wordlessly, I begin to pull my arms in my shirt and slip it over my head, I throw it into the pile my pants are in. To my displeasure I have been dressed in a matching bra.
Peeta picks me up and carries me to the edge of the stream. I'm not sure why he goes through this but he does, maybe he's aching for human contact, after all he was always covered in friends back home.
On the shore of the stream there is mush sand, carefully he lies me down in it before, without warning, fully turning me and putting my legs completely in the water. At first I hiss at the contact of it. My head lifelessly turns to the side and I see swirls of red around my leg. Then, it doesn't feel so bad.
"I'm going to take you in the water now." He tells me before scooping me up again before wading in the water to his knees, not minding that the bottoms of his pants are getting soaked along with his boots in the process.
Leaning over he lowers me in, my back is in water along with the rest if my body. The only thing above is my face the water is to my scalp however, my hair dangles in getting washed as well. I use my hands and run them through my hair untangling the snarls with my fingers and removing dirt. Then I do the same and skim my fingers over my body, it's awkward, especially when your being held above the water by a boy.
Thankfully it's only a two minute task and I'm being took back to the warm rock to rest after.
He shrugs off his jacket and his upper body shifts at the movement, I now understand that he must be popular with girls back home, not that I ever doubted it before.
I blink and his hand is extended with the coat to me, "here." I take it accepting his offer and cover myself. Protecting my body from the breeze, and the eyes of Panem and okay, Peeta's gaze too. For the cameras and gamemakers ;that should be enough to keep them interested and not pull a major twist.
Now I think Peeta's washing my clothes. Still I don't quite understands why he bothers with me.
After he leaves them to dry hanging from a near by limb of a tree. As we wait Peeta hands me a bottle of water and I drink, trying to satisfy my dry, parched throat. I sleep to pass time, it isn't hard with me being clean for the first time in days and being cocooned in a large jacket.
I'm shook awake at dawn, Peeta silently hands me my now dry clothes as I wake up more.
Silently, I put them on as he turns his back, I struggle with the pants however. Unfortunately and embarrassingly I have to ask Peeta for help. I'm beet red as he carefully slips them back up. "Thanks," I say quietly feeling shy and timid.
He smiles in response, I think he gets how strange it'd be to say 'your welcome' too.
I'm in his arms again once he pulls me off the rock. "Where are we going?"
"I've been staying in a cave, we'll go there." He responds factually. With the setting sun the sky slowly becomes dark. We travel under the stars.
