C H A P T E R E I G H T


Help! I need somebody, Help! not just anybody,
Help! You know i need someone,

When i was younger so much younger than today,
I never needed anybody's help in the way,
But now these days are gone and I'm not so self assured,
Now I've changed my mind, I've opened up the doors.

Wont you please, please help me?
- Help, The Beatles


The train ride home was awful. Even worse than the arrival. I spent the whole time in my room, unable to bare the Capitol anymore. Even the interior of the train annoyed me. I lay in bed with the quilt over my head, trying desperately to think of anything else. But my conversation with President Snow seemed to be playing on repeat.

"Ah, you must be Miss Abernathy," he said, when I literally bumped into him at the ball.

"Yes sir," I mumbled, figiting with the hem of my dress. I hated the way he was looking at me. It was as though he was assessing me. His cold dark eyes bore through mine but I remained silent, staring back as defiantly as I could. But I was scared and I was sure I looked like a baby deer about to be shot.
"Your a pretty little thing aren't you? I hope to see you here soon." And with that he left.

To anyone else, that would have been a normal conversation. To me at the time it was. But what I didn't realise that Finnick had heard every word. He ran to me and clutched my shoulders, asking if I was ok.

I was confused and asked what was going on. But then he told me four simple words. "Read between the lines." I didn't understand why was he so freaked out. He told Joanna what happened. She swore under her breath and relayed the information to Haymitch. He paled.

"We were right," he mumbled before taking a large gulp of his drink.

This was being completely blown out of proportion. Surely, our conversation was fine, it could have gone a lot worse. But then the stories of victors ran through my mind. How they were tortured, forced to live not the life of ease as portrayed, but one of hell. Haymitch had no one left to hold him down, until now.

Snow's words rang throughout my mind. "I hope to see you here soon." It was then I realised why they were all so frightened. In a few months, the games would take place. And there was little doubt that my name would be pulled from the reaping bowl.

Last week, I hated the Captiol, but now I loathed it; their lack of value for anything, the way they threw up their food because they wanted more, the way they build needless buildings that could home others, the money spent on clothes that could be given to the districts. They had no idea about the world around them.

I knew life in twelve was awful, but I did not realise how bad until now. For years I had made promises to improve and done nothing. But my short time in the Capitol had knocked some courage into me and today was the day to change.

I woke up early the day after we arrived home and dressed warmly. There had been a blizzard last night and the paths were covered in the coal dust tinted snow. I wore my new fur hat and green coat. It was ostentatious, but it so cold I did not care. Everyone hated me anyway, despite what I wore. I needed to see Darius and tell him that the letter delivery had been a success and give him the letter of Cashmere. But this was more important.

I hauled my freebees from the Capitol in a sack and walked to the Seam, my wellingtons splashing in the slush. Thankfully it was early and I met little people on the way. I had no idea where he lived, but I had a rough idea. I went to a familiar house in the Seam and knocked on the door across the street.

A man in his forties answered. He looked gruff and stared at my hat in pure loathing. It was probably worth more than his house. I put on my best smile.
"Hello, I was wondering if you knew where the Hawthorne's live?"

"No," he mumbled harshly, before slamming the door in my face. I groaned in frustration and stomped down the steps. I hadn't said anything offensive, some people were too judgemental.

At the corner of the street, I saw a girl about my age walking with a young boy, presumably her brother. She went to school, she was in my gym class, but I couldn't place her name.

"Excuse me!" She turned around and her face fell. Tough crowd in the Seam. "Hi, do you know where Gale Hawthorne lives?"

She pursed her lips in thought. "He lives in the next street but I don't know the number."

I thanked her awkwardly before following her instruction. The next street was even more run down than my old one. There were gaps in the shackles, and the blizzard had blown the tiles of many of the roofs.

The owner of the first house I tried thankfully knew the Hawthorne's. They lived at 72d. I gave my thanks and walked down the slippery track to 72d. The numbers of the homes didn't really make sense. Over the years, shacks had been knocked down or added wherever there was space. But soon enough I spotted it next to a run down house falling to pieces. It wasn't much, but they had tried to make it look as presentable as possible.

I nervously walked up the wooden steps onto the little porch and rapped on the door. There was rustling on the otherside until it opened slightly, a woman peering through.

"Erm... Hello, is this the Hawthorne house?" I asked, cringing at the superiorly tone of my voice.
"Yes, how may I help you?" the woman said warily. I could hear children asking who was at the door in the background, but she ignored them.

"I'm Emery Abernathy, I was wondering if Gale was home?" if it was any other person, I would have said I was a friend, but I had no idea what was going on between Gale and I.
"Abernathy?" the woman asked, recognition passing over her face. She may not know me, but Haymitch was famous in twelve. "Gale's not awake yet, but you are welcome to wait," she said opening the door.

"Thanks," I smiled brightly, before going inside. It was quite dark inside, but kept neat like the outside. Just a few clothes hung drying in the kitchen that the woman hurriedly dashed away, I pretending not to notice.

"Can I get you a drink?" she asked, rummaging through the cupboards. "Water? Or I'm sure I have tea here somewhere..."
"Waters fine," I said, not wanting her to go through any trouble.

"I'm Hazelle by the way, Gale's mother," she said, handing me a chipped glass.
I smiled at her warmly. "It's nice to meet you."

"And my names Posy," a squeaky voice called from beside the sofa. I jumped up in surprise while Hazelle rolled her eyes in amusement. I looked down and saw a tiny girl squished between the wall. She was different from other Seam kids. Her hair was red and her eyes had a tint of green. I felt a sudden fondness of this girl; I too not having the traditional Seam looks.

"Hello Posy, I am Emery" I said kindly.
"Hello, Emerly," she said sweetly. I didn't have the heart to correct her.

"Posy, come out from the sofa please," Hazelle scolded. She pouted.
"I can't mommy. I'm playing hide and go seek with Wory and Vick."

Hazelle grunted. "Boys!" There was giggled before two mini Gale's burst through the door. "What have I told you about playing hide and seek with Posy and leaving her?"
"Did they forget me?" Posy asked.

"No Posy," my voice thick with fake enthusiasm. "You won, yay!" Being so young, she took it as sincerity. She sprung up and stuck her tongue out at her brothers.
"I win," she cried.

"Did not," the younger boy scoffed.

They broke out into an argument while Hazelle held her head and I tried not to laugh. I really missed the sibling banter; I started to get a bit emotional.

Posy suddenly plonked herself on my lap and stroked my hair. Her mother tried to get her off, but I didn't mind, she was doing no harm. I took off my hat and placed it on her head. It fell over her eyes, but she seemed to like it.
"I'm a bear, Rawww!" she shouted.

"Posy," her mother shushed, pointing to a door which was presumably Gale's room. I hoped he wouldn't be too long. It would ruin my plan if he got up late.
"It's my birthday tomorrow," Posy said, out of the blue. I looked to Hazelle who nodded in confirmation, you never did know with kids.

"Wow, that's so cool. How old are you going to be?" I asked. She held up three fingers. "Three? You seem a lot older than that," I said honestly. It was true. I thought she was at least four, not two.

"And I'm getting a dolly," she said gleefully.
"Posy, remember what mommy said, the dollys at the store have gone on holiday, so you may not be able to get one," Hazelle said. My stomach churned. I waited until Posy had engaged in games with her brothers before going into the kitchen, bringing my sack with me.

I rummaged through and pulled out a newly packaged Capitol doll. She shook her head. "I can't afford that," she whispered.

"No charge." She was about to protest but I held up my hand. "Don't worry, it was free, I payed nothing. Please take it, it would make her day," I guilt tripped.
She took the doll off me and stared at it in shock. "Thank you so much."

I smiled but began to feel uncomfortable, so I sat back down with the kids. I watched them play in peace for a while, learning that Rory was the elder of the two. Hazelle and I gave mindless chatter; about the weather and now nice the holly bushes looked this time of year.

"Who are you anyway?" Vick asked, interrupting our conversation. "Are you Gale's girlfriend?" he and his brother laughed, while Hazelle reprimanded then. Normally, I would have said yes and made a huge joke out of it, but I knew it would annoy Gale and that was the last thing I wanted.

The two began to laugh until loud banging footsteps were heard on the other side of the door.

"Hey! I thought I'd told you two-"
The door swung open to reveal a very tired looking Gale, in his boxers. He stared at me in surprise but all I could look at was his toned stomach. Wow, I had no idea he was so... I averted my gaze, feeling disgusted with myself but he had seen my staring.

"So Emery what are you doing here?" he asked with an annoying smirk on his handsome face. Handsome, ugh what was wrong with me.

"I need to talk to you," I said professionally. I daren't leave my gaze from his face.
"Ok, let me just get dressed. Unless..." he trailed off with an obnoxious grin.

I scoffed. "Just put some clothes on." He saluted to me and went back into the room, shutting the door behind him.

I looked to Hazelle and saw her giving me an amused look. I wanted to scream and protest at her, but it wouldn't be fair since she had been so sweet to me.

Gale took only a few minutes to get ready. He walked to the front door and held it open for me. I thanked Hazelle wholly and followed Gale outside.
"So..." I said awkwardly, desperately trying to think of a way how to start.

"How was the Capitol?" he sneered.
"Awful," I said bluntly. His superior expression dropped. "It was... Disgusting." I noticed I was staring off into the distance. I shook my head and turned back to him. "I'm not here for chit chat. I need your help." He motioned for me to continue.

"Ok, so due to recent events at the Capitol, there is a high probability that I am going to be reaped."
"But your names only in there three times," he interrupted.

I raised my eyebrows. "If the chance to get back at the embarrassment of Panam, Haymitch Abernathy, arose, do you really think they'd care about that? I bet the bastards have put my name in that ball a hundred times more than three." My insides turned when I swore, but I was so angry I didn't care.

"So I know we're not best pals or anything but I really need your help. Will you teach me how to fight and survive?"
He looked a little taken back. Whatever he was expecting me to ask, that was not it. I would rather take help from anyone else, but Gale was the only man for the job. He hunted in the woods, he could fight, word in the Hob was that he made snares, he was also incredibly fit and I was desperately out of shape.

Gale gave me a small apologetic look. "I'm sorry Emery, I don't think I-"
"Please," I begged earnestly.

He looked down on the floor but his eyes landed on my sack. "What's in there?" he asked.

I glanced over my shoulder to see if anyone was looking and then opened the sack. Inside was filled with clothes, toys and other various items from the Capitol. "This was part two of the plan. I was going to give them to Seam families who needed them."

He gave an out of character grin. "This is brilliant," he said, digging deeply in the bag. His eyes were bright like a little boy getting presents for his birthday. "How much did all this cost?"
"It was free."

"Idiots," he scoffed. He handed the sack back and looked at me expectantly. "So how are we going to do this?"

"We?" I asked. I was going to run around giving out what I could. If Gale tagged along there was a high chance we could get caught. When I told him this, he rolled his eyes.

"I'm coming, you think you can do this alone? You can tell me this wonderful action plan while we work." He ran into the house and came back out with two balaclavas and my fur hat that I had left inside.

"It may be small," he said, handing me the balaclava. "It's Rory's, but your so little it doesn't matter."

I scowled but he was putting on his own disguse so could not see. I huffed and put on my own mask. My hair got wrapped up though and spread across my face. Gale laughed and pulled it out the way.

"How are you going to make a simple snare if you can't put a balaclava on?" He took back my hat and plonked it on my head over the balaclava.
"I'll have such a fabulous tutor," I said, checking my reflection in the window. I looked terrible but I was warm, so didn't care.

He tutted. "Flattery will get you nowhere." He hauled the sack over his shoulder and set off down the road. He was walking so fast I had to run to keep up with him.
"So where are we going?" I asked.

"Blank End, it's where the most deprived houses are," he told me.
"I know what Blank End is," I snapped. I used to live just two streets away. Everyday I would see a starving person going door to door begging for food.

We walked in silence until we reached the dark narrow street that was Blank End. It was even more run down than Gales street. The holes in some of the walls were so huge you could clearly see the occupants sitting down to breakfast.

Gale strolled up to the first house and knocked briskly on the door. A young haggard woman answered almost immediately. Her eyes widened at the sight of us.

"Please, I don't have much," she begged, thinking we were here to rob her or something.
"Don't worry, we're here to help," I said kindly. I wanted to take this stupid mask off but if we were caught or someone let slip of what we were doing, I knew it wouldn't end well.

"May we come in?" The woman nodded warily.

We went inside and found three children playing on the floor. No father was around but a picture of a man dressed in a miners uniform sat proudly on the shelf...
Gale opened the sack and showed it to her. "What do you need?"

"I can't afford it," she mumbled.

"It's free. Do you need clothes, food, toys, money... Do we have money?" Gale asked turning to me. I nodded. I didn't have too much with me, but I could spare a bit. The woman was reluctant at first but soon took some bacon and blankets. I also gave her a handful of coins as we left.

Gale and I went from house to house for the next few hours. Some were too proud to accept, some would not let us in, but most were too desperate to care and accepted our donations with open arms. A few children cried at the sight of brand new toys. I had to step outside for a bit of air when that happened; no one could see me tearing up.

"It's good helping people," Gale admitted as we walked along the beaten track to the homes nearer the border of twelve. "Normally I just have enough to feed my family. It hurts to see them starving everyday and being so powerless.

"We're like a Robin Hood team," I said with a small smile.
"A what?" he asked skeptically.

"Robin Hood. Oh please tell me you know the story?" I thought everyone knew it. Gale shook his head. "My momma used to read it to me in a book of fairytales. He could've been real though. It was thousands of years ago. Before Panam, even before America. There was a prince who ruled unfairly. The people suffered so Robin used to steal from the rich and give to the poor."

"How did he do that?" Gale asked with interest.
"He was a skilled archer," I said but then laughed at the irony. "And he also had help from the beautiful and fair Maid Marian. She was 'friends' with the prince."

Gale scoffed. "You're making that up. Its too similar."

"What are you saying I'm fair and beautiful?" I teased. He blushed and began to protest, but I held up my hand. "Anyway, to answer your question, it's true. We used to have a book of fairytales, handed down in the family. He was in there. Robin always stood out to me. He was the savour in the dark. I wonder what happened to that book, it's probably under the rubble of my house..." I'd love to go back to my old house and see if there was anything I could salvage but I didn't think I could face it.

A hand suddenly waved in my face. I turned and saw Gale grinning at me. "You space out a lot, huh?"
I gave him a vague smile. "So, have you thought of my offer?"

His smile dropped. "I don't think it's such a good idea," he mumbled. "It's time consuming and dangerous. Those career kids have been training their entire lives, I don't think it would help."

"Oh, ok," I said quietly, trying to hide this disappointment out my voice. "I probably would have quit after a day anyway. So should we get going?"

I gestured to the huts that had just came into view. An awkward silence fell between us as we walked. I had actually had fun today but now I was forced to watch as my last hope walked away from me.

:-:

The next morning before school I went for a run. Just because Gale wouldn't help it didn't mean I would be a sitting duck. I needed to get into shape. Just five minutes in I was puffing and panting but I wouldn't give up. I slowed down into a walk and then lightly jogged back.
I showered and then walked to school thinking of a survival plan as I went. I could ask Haymitch for help. He did win the games once and wasn't 100% helpless. I could also phone Finnick or Joanna and ask for tips.

I was late for math yet again but Miss Dragg didn't seem to mind.

"How was the Capitol?" she asked with an excited smile.
"Fine," I said vaguely, taking my seat next to Gale, I don't think she would have appreciated the truth.

"I saw photos of you and Finnick Odair in a Capitol magazine my sister in law sent me." A gasp came from the merchant girls as I banged my head on the table. Of course she would have to mention that.

Miss Dragg rummaged through her bag and pulled out a glossy Capitol magazine. A few girls passed it around the class but I snatched it off them.

Across the pages was the headline 'Odair's new woman'. It was fillied with photos of Finnick and I shopping, one of him hugging me after the hunger games fiasco and one of us talking at the ball. I didn't even know these pictures had been taken.
"So what happened?" Amy asked excitedly.

"Nothing. We went shopping with Joanna Mason, that is all," I said, visibly annoyed.
"Is that her?" Gale asked pointing to someone's arm in the corner of a picture.

"Must be," I mumbled. It was amazing how easy the Capitol could manipulate a situation. With just a few words and some clever cropping, I was the Capitol whores new play thing.

"Emily Abernathy, daughter of D12 victor Haymitch, has been spending a lot of time with Mr Odair lately. Looks like our favourite boy has found a new play thing. Let's see how long it lasts..."

They couldn't even get my name right. Miss Dragg settled the class down before beginning the lesson again.

There was no words to describe how angry I was. First the Capitol took away my childhood, then they took away my future and now, with just a few months of my life left, I was being ridiculed in front of everyone. Like always I welcomed the bell for English happily.

"Hey Emery," Gale called as I stormed out. I held back in shock, he never spoke to me in public. "Why did you give my mom the doll?"
"Because it was Posy's birthday." Did he really need to ask me that. It was obvious, wasn't it?

"No but why didn't you give it to her. It was off you?"
I shrugged. "I don't know, I thought it would mean more if it came from her. I'm sorry, but I need to get to class." I gave him a small wave and headed to English.

Gym was fun as usual. I actually tried for once though. We had to climb a rope and I made it half way up. My upper body strength was weak. I needed to work on that. I was quite proud at my progress though. You never knew, maybe rope climbing would come in handy in the arena.

Peeta was a little miffed that I never came to see him yesterday but he understood that I was 'tired.' When I went back to the changing room a small note was left inside my locker. I checked to see if anyone was around before opening it.

Meet me in the meadow at five am on Saturday - Gale.


Thanks so much for all the reviews, sorry i didnt give shout outs before. Thanks to Ravenclaw slytherin, lolmellark123, whistle in the wind, silensflos, keepinthesecret, talee, tswifthg, emmettcullenlover7, magic4ever, bubbleduck123, stayingalive22, crazy-forever, kaitaru Sera Viktoria Hatake and anyone else I may have missed.

Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think : )