Katniss POV;
I woke up at dawn, before the sun has fully rose. I was awakened by the sound of a canon, declaring the death of yet another tribute. The canon reminded me of just how intense this game is, that I cannot let my guard down no matter what time of the day it is. I wondered if it could have been Gale, being apart from him was slowly tearing me up inside; where could he possibly be?
I gathered up all of my stuff, taking a small sip from my water supply. I slithered down the tree, setting out to accomplish the few things that I've decided was essential. I was going to find a water source, make myself some arrows, figure out the tricks in this arena, and if luck is on my side, find Gale.
I slowly started walking, listening carefully for voices and footsteps. This side of the arena was a forest, much like the one last year; I kept walking in the opposite direction of the cornucopia, hoping to see where the arena ends. I was surprised to find that I hadn't been far from the boundaries separating me and the rest of the world. No more than an hour of walking, I came to wide river that stretches far each side. It went on for what seems like forever. I picked up a pebble from the ground, throwing it towards the sky hovering above the water. Sure enough, a few metres in, an invisible wall seemed to burn into the rock, shooting it back towards me. The force field confirmed my suspicions, and I decided to follow it to discover more of the arena.
Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something that made my heart leap. Right there, strategically placed was something that was something familiar, something that other might not even see, it was one of Gale's traps.
I ran over to it, feeling his presence around it. Gale was alive, and he had to be close here somewhere.
I checked the surroundings, looking for any signs of his presence, footprints, bits of rope, anything.
Without any luck, I decided to just settle down beside it, taking cover beside a large tree trunk and a tent-like thing I fashioned out of leaves. I waited for him,knowing that he would go around to all of his traps, checking for the caught prey before the day came to a close.
As the day went on, i watched curiously as small innocent animals came across the snare. Some were able to dodge it, while others got caught, helplessly struggling before finally surrendering. It was a simple thing, me having set up so many snares with Gale while hunting, but I never saw the process this closely.
It can't be that different from hunting.
I remember those words from coming from Gale when he visited me before my first game. I wasn't sure what I felt about that. Ever since that day where I set those tracker jackers on Glimmer, I had changed. Sure I have killed hundreds of animals during my hunting, but this was different. That day, I killed someone just for the sake of killing them, and now that I think about it-
I didn't want to think about it, these games were making my mind threatening to explode at any second.
So I continues sitting there, rain started to pour making everything even fuzzier in my head. I just sat there away from the rest of the world. Trying to stay sane from all the mess that this game has brought me. I thought more about the tributes last year, I thought about the capitol people who were probably watching me, I thought about Peeta, and I thought about what's going to happen this time, to me and to the love of my life.
In the late afternoon, after me being there for at least 2 hours, I heard the sound that I was waiting for. I saw Gale appear between the woods opposite of me, approaching his snares with caution. My heart seemed to be beating out of my chest, I ran out as quiet as I could, tackling him from behind.
"Gale," I whispered softly, scared that my voice will be carried to the ears of the others. He seemed to have been stunned, as his hand went straight to a knife that he carried on his belt. But upon hearing my voice, he relaxed, turning around.
"Katniss?"
He pulled me into a tight embrace, when he pulled back I kissed him, trying to tell him all those things that I couldn't put into words.
"I was so worried about you!" we both said to each other when we finally pulled away for breath.
Smiling slightly at saying the same thing, I looked into his eyes with seriousness. "You have no idea what these two days have been like, not knowing where you were. Every time I heard a canon, I could only pray that it wasn't you. And today when I saw your snare, you don't know how happy I was."
"Have you been waiting for me all day?" he said, a bit concerned.
"Not really, just the afternoon. I got a lot of time to think, and try to clear my head." I smiled briefly.
"What can I say, I think might have worried more than you though."
"You get a good look around this place yet?"
"Yeah, I've been out all day, this place is split into 4 sections, all in a circle I think, with the cornucopia in the middle. Our section is deciduous forests, There's a desert part, a rain forest part and then there's a section that is just water, and as you probably realised the whole thing is also surrounded by water. My guess is that most of the tributes are in either of the two forests, which means that we are not far from them"
I nodded to this, soaking up the info. I looked over at the animals, hanging idly on the snares. Gale grinned, moving me closer to him. "What do you say we try and forget about the games for now, and just celebrate our reunion?"
That night, me and Gale took cover under the mat that I had made earlier, cooking our meat slowly in a small fire that should be hard to see from a distance. We ate, we kissed and we took the most out of each others company. Four faces lit up the sky that day after the an them played, leaving the total number of tributes remaining in the arena as 9. Seven more innocent people who will have to die, if we ever want a shot at making it out alive. I hoped that the others will battle it out between them, because I really didn't want to be responsible for anyone losing their lives ever again; even though I knew when the time came I would have to, if not for my then for the boy who was sound asleep beside me as I took the second shift in keeping guard.
Hey guys, I've been trying to finish this all week, but I kinda got writers block. I thought I knew where I was going with this, but I kind of don't anymore. Anyhow, I kinda just did the best I could with this chapter, but I don't like it that much, so I'm sorry. But please R&R anyways so I can get some inspiration for next time.
xoxo
sweetmelodies52
