Chapter 4: Fallen Tribute
Sorry if I've taken some words exactly from the book. I changed it as much as I could. I am not Suzanne Collins and I do not own the Hunger Games.
Katniss stood up to leave but I stopped her.
'Where are you going?' I asked innocently.
'To get you your medicine, what do you think I'm doing?' She replied.
'No, Katniss you're not going. Cato and Clove will be there and I'm not going to let you risk your life for me.' I whimpered.
'Fine, I'm not going ok?' She said firmly
'You are such a bad liar Katniss, never try to gamble you'll lose everything.' I say. I'm not trying to be harsh but I'm worried if she leaves I'll never see her again.
I look into her eyes and I think if looks could kill, I would be a dead man.
'OK. You know what? I am going and you can't stop me!' she exclaimed.
'Then I'm coming with you.'
'You won't make it 100 metres on that leg, Peeta.' She whispered. 'Peeta, what do you want me to do? Sit here and watch you die?'
'Please don't go,' I pleaded. 'If I promise not to die, will you promise not to go?'
'Fine, but only if you listen to me when I tell you to eat or take your medicine. I'm going to go make you some soup.' She said and without another word she was gone before I could stop her.
It seemed an excruciatingly long time before Katniss reappeared. She was carrying the tin the broth had come in. 'I found something better than soup,' she said sweetly.
'What is it?' I asked.
'Some berries, they are called sugar berries.'
She gave me a spoonful of the mash. It certainly was unnaturally sweet.
'I've never heard of them before.' I said.
'Oh, they are pretty rare. I've only seen them a few times.' She said evasively.
'They taste sweet...like syrup!' I exclaimed as it dawned on me what was really in the mash. Sleeping syrup but it was too late I could already feel the drowsiness overcome me despite my efforts to stay awake. Next thing I knew, I was out cold.
*End of Flashback*
'That's all very nice.' Said Gale 'But I want to know about her death, not about the whole 'star-crossed lover' thing'
'You know, you're lucky I had the patience to do this today. I don't care that you're jealous. Those are your issues not mine. Are you going to let me finish or not?'
'You seriously think that I'm jealous of you?' Then biting his lip he said. 'I'm sorry that was harsh I didn't mean it like that it's just that this is hard for me…'
That's when I completely lost it. I slammed my fist on the table. 'YOU DON'T THINK THAT THIS HARD FOR ME ASWELL?' I yelled. 'I was in the Games as well and it's not just the fact that Katniss is…it's also the Games…it does something to a person's soul.'
'I'm sorry,' was all he could say. I didn't know if I could continue the story but I knew I had to, I knew Katniss would have wanted me too.
*Flashback*
That's when I felt his arms close around my throat.
'Katniss!' I gasped.
She didn't take her eyes off me though her arrow was pointed straight at Cato's head.
As it was getting harder and harder to breathe, I had an idea. I looked Katniss directly in the eye and then drew an 'X' on Cato's hand with my finger. She caught on about 2 seconds before Cato luckily and swiftly shot the arrow right through this fist and then we watched as he quickly fell into the arms of the mutts, the one resembling Clove pounced on his face and the rest followed.
I turned to face Katniss and she came into my arms, my leg was in excruciating pain from the bite that one of the mutts had given me.
We waited in silence during the bitter night while the animals devoured Cato, his whimpering was heard throughout the entire night.
Suddenly the mutts all deserted Cato and soon after we heard the boom of the cannon. Cato was dead and Katniss and I would be able to go home, together.
We jumped off the Cornucopia and waited for the hovercraft to come and get us. But no one came. My stomach started to fill with dread, something was off.
Then we heard Claudius Templesmith's booming voice and my suspicions were confirmed.
'We are sorry to announce that the previous rule allowing 2 victors to be crowned has been revoked. Only one tribute may be crowned victor. Good luck and may the odds be forever in your favor.'
I looked at Katniss with desperation. I took out my knife and she suddenly loaded an arrow onto her bow.
But I had only taken my knife out to drop it into the lake. She looked really embarrassed but I only said 'Go ahead, do it. There can only be one victor after all.'
But she dropped her bow, and reached for something in her pack. She took out the little pouch which I already knew the contents of, Nightlock.
'What are you doing?' I asked worriedly.
'Trust me,' she said.
She poured half into my hand, the other half into her own.
'Together,' she said. 'On the count of three.'
'Together.' I repeated.
With that we both tilted our heads back and I watched as the berries rolled down my palm.
'STOP! STOP!' Claudius shouted. I quickly spat out the berries but for Katniss, it was too late. Her eyes swarmed with panic, she reached for my hand before falling down on the floor, dead.
*End of flashback*
Gale was looking at me, awestruck. I wiped away the tears from my eyes and stood up to bring my beer can to the waste bin
'That was way worse than watching it on TV he said,'
I chuckled a little. 'Yeah, I can imagine.' I sniffled.
'I'm sorry. I know you really wanted to forget about everything.'
'No, I would never want to forget about Katniss. I don't know if it was real for her or not. But for me it was, and I don't want to ever forget about her. The Games yes, but not Katniss.' I mumbled while running my fingers through my hair.
'Yeah, I understand' he said. 'Thanks for the beer and the story,'
'Anytime.' I replied.
'So I have to get going but if you ever need anything, you know where to find me.' And with that, he left.
I got up from the table and went back to the bedroom and fell asleep almost immediately after my head hit the pillow.
A/N: I hope this chapter wasn't too long. Please review if you enjoyed, I love reading them. I know I haven't updated in a while. I was making fixes and I've been really busy but I'm trying