A/N: Thank for all of the feedback and support! Also, if you guys could check out a poll on my profile about this fic, that would be awesome. Sorry that this is short! :)
Katniss is being torn apart by muttations. The gruesome, huge things have long fangs, and they give eerie screeches and cries as they feast on her tormented body. I don't know what's happening to her, don't even know if she's alive. I try to move, but I can't. I try to call out for help, but my voice is gone. Frantically, I force a scream out of my throat.
"Katniss! Katniss!" I shriek, my voice carrying clearly over the growling of the mutts. The desperation and terror that I feel is obvious in my voice . I can't speak again. I writhe, sweating, feel sick with worry and terror. I feel a furry hand drifting over my face, and I know that it is a muttation, come to kill me, too. But then I open my eyes, not having realized that they were closed, and I see Buttercup's orange tail trailing across my face, back and forth, back and forth. I wipe the sweat out of my eyes and sit up. Something doesn't seem right. The bed feels too big, and suddenly all of the memories from the previous day come crashing down on me, like a giant wave of pain. I don't think I can bear them, but somehow I do. I stand up, shivering, but I'm not cold. I'm terrified.
I shake the thought off and go about my normal morning routine, milking Lady, getting breakfast, brushing my teeth at our sink at the back of my house. Then I try to remember what I usually do with my day before school. What did I do before Katniss was reaped? I can't remember, I don't know. Instead of anything normal, I pack my bag for school and then stare of into space for half an hour before my mother tells me that it's time to start packing for school. Because I already got ready, I have a head start and I meander slowly towards the large brick building, taking at least five minutes longer to arrive than I usually do.
I try to focus during my classes, but I can't. I know what they are about, anyway. It's all about coal, and how wonderful the Capital is, and more about coal, and then how wonderful President Snow is. I just can't take it right now, not when they have taken my sister and are probably going to kill her. So I tune them out and try to think of other things instead.
The rest of the school day passes uneventfully, and then my mother and I head to the viewing in the town square. Huge screens are set up where the stage was yesterday, but there are no chairs. I doubt that District Twelve has enough chairs to seat everyone. Instead, we will all stand, craning our necks and jostling for space, during the opening ceremonies.
Well, most people will, I remind myself. My mother and I, along with the other tribute's family, will stand in a specially reserved area for the families of the tributes that has a wonderful view of the screen. A peacekeeper leads us to this area, and we exchange terse nods with the other family, the Mellarks. We all know that we are hoping for the other family's child/sibling to die. It can't be helped. So instead of talking or trying to comfort each other, as we usually would, we stand stiffly apart, our faces as expressionless as we can make them. I see that my mother has tears running silently down her face, and try to swallow past the knot in my own throat. The terror and anticipation is excruciating. After about half an hour, once everyone is assembled, the screens are turned on and the show begins. I'm searching for Katniss in the crowd, but the tributes go in order, starting with District One, so I can't catch any glimpses of my sister in her chariot yet. I'm hoping that she has a decent costume, I desperately want her to get sponsors. The waiting is so hard it hurts. Finally, after just after District Eleven's chariot has pulled out, I catch a glimpse of fire, and for an absurd moment I think that the building that Katniss is in has caught fire, but then the camera focuses in on two flaming figures. Katniss is in a black bodysuit, with a red and orange cape and a matching headpiece. As the chariot rolls forward, streams of flame fly out behind her and her fellow tribute... Peeta, I think.
For a moment, I'm baffled. It looks like they are on fire, but that isn't possible! The Capital wouldn't let them die before reaching the arena. So what's happening? Then I hear the murmuring of the crowd. I catch the concerned whispers of the citizens of twelve, but then the tone starts to change. Someone shouts out, "The fire is burning coal!" There's a moment of silence while the crowd tries to process it, and then it makes sense. Katniss and Peeta don't look like they are in any pain. In fact, they are smiling. And now I understand. Their stylists have lit them on fire to represent burning coal. The fire is the costume. They are beautiful and powerful. The cheers of the Capital audience are deafening, and I can feel hope blossoming within me. Katniss can get sponsors! So far, she is loved! Dimly, I realize that it isn't only the Capital who is cheering. The entire population of District Twelve is screaming and yelling. It has been so long since our tributes have gotten good costumes, and the cheers are overwhelming. For the first time since the reaping, I feel like Katniss really has a good chance. Maybe she can really come home. My vision is blurring with tears, but for the first time in ages, they are tears of joy. I squeeze my mother's hand, and I feel her hand tighten around my fingers. She looks down at me and smiles, the hope obvious in her eyes. I glance over at Peeta's family, and see that they look pleased, too. Well, everyone except for Mrs. Mellark. She seems to have a perpetual scowl glued to her face.
I look back to the screen, and see that the cameras are still fixated on Katniss and Peeta. Katniss is smiling, blowing kisses to the audience. Peeta smiles and waves. And then I see something that makes me freeze. Katniss is holding Peeta's hand. They are linked together in a small form of rebellion against the Capital and the Games, and it terrifies me, because I know that President Snow will notice, and he will punish them. But the Capital audience loves it. Katniss and Peeta raise their hands high above their heads, openly defying the Capital. Despite the fear that I feel for Katniss, I'm also delighted at this act of rebellion. I love that my sister is brave enough, and stupid enough, to defy the Capital. I'm consumed with love for Katniss and, I realize with a start, for Peeta. My limited interactions with him and his father have revealed that the Mellarks are kind people, and I don't want Peeta to die. And maybe they will be punished for this act in the arena, but holding hands will also possibly get them more sponsors. Maybe it will do more good than bad. So I try to brush my fear away and cheer with the rest of the crowd. Katniss has a chance! is all that I can think, over and over again. She really does. She can come home to me. I know that her chances are still heart wrenchingly slim compared to the career tributes, but still. She can do it. I am confident that if she tries hard enough and gets lucky, she can win. I try not to squeal with delight. Whoever her stylist is, I will thank him or her if I ever get the chance. They may have saved my sister's life.
President Snow gives a short speech, and then the viewing is over. My mother and I hurry back to our home in the Seam, my heart feeling lighter than it has in a long time.
A/N: Buttercup is so fun to write. :) Also, the views on this story are messed up, so if all of my readers could leave a quick review, that would be absolutely amazing (you don't have to have an account to review). Thank you so much!