-Haymitch:
But it doesn't sound, what I hear is the sound that every father; biological and adopted, fears the most. The bloodcurdling scream of their daughter, every note of her scream is ringing with pain and sadness and fury. The sound makes me scream too. I feel Chaff and Seier grip me. I hear the same sound as my own being echoed by a different voice, I look over. Finnick Odair is on his knees before the screen. When I look at the screen; I hate what I see.
Rachel is on the ground, tears streaming down her face. Peeta's head in her lap, tears streaming down his face, and the surly fatal stab wound in his stomach.
-Rachel:
I drop to my knees as I see Peeta leap in front of Cato's sword. I scream as the sword goes into Peeta, I scream louder as I see the tip emerge on the other side of the boy I love. And my scream transforms as he lands next to me, his head in my lap. Cato laughs, "I'll let you live, and him die slowly"
I don't respond as Cato runs off. I just stare at Peeta, he is alive, breathing, staring into my eyes. But I can see how much pain he's in, I can see the sword that still goes through him. "Rachel" he whispers. I lean down, I've stopped my, no screaming is not what I was doing; there is no word to describe the sound that came from me. I keep his head in my lap; softly I brush the hair off of his face. He smiles, despite the pain he's in he can manage a smile for me.
"I love you" he says reaching up, I take his hand in mine.
"I love you too" I tell him, I lean down and kiss him. He can't kiss me back though, it would hurt him. So he just squeezes my hand. Then I scoot myself under him more, so that my arms go around him and I can hold him close.
"Rachel, I want you to promise me something" he chokes
"anything"
"that you will move on eventually. That, you'll find someone else to love. Because you're too perfect to just sit and do nothing, you're too perfect to not be loved,"
"Peeta I," I start to object, I know it will be nearly impossible for me to move on.
"Promise me," he asks again. It's his last request, so I nod, "I promise"
His next words surprise me, "Finnick loves you, I could tell, the way he looks at you."
I just nod; Finnick loves me like in his little sister. I can't say anything, because I can barely hear Peeta now.
I can see the bright sunny light in his eyes slowly leaving. I can see the boy I love dying before me. So I close my eyes, and put my forehead softly on his.
"I love you Peeta, forever." I tell him.
"Lovers forever" I can feel his smile.
I can tell he's in a lot of pain, so I know what I have to do; I know I have to do what I swore I would never do. I lift my face off of his and whisper my final words to him:
"Peeta, you can go, be free, live on, and know that I will always be yours, but I'll try to move on,"
He smiles as his eyes close; "thank you" his words are barely audible.
And then, the cannon fires. And I know he's gone. And I collapse under the searing weight that has just been placed on me. I rest my head on Peeta's chest and let the sobs rake my body. And I try to hold on, to the boy who was my savior.
—
-Haymitch:
I, I don't know what to do. But then I feel the object in my pocket, I take it out and look at it.
The small, rope woven necklace rests in my hand. It can be unhooked at one end to be put around the neck. I took it from Rachel earlier before she left. She had made it for Peeta, but, since they could only have one token in there. I had promised to keep it safe. I walk over to the gifts section and check the prices.
Personal Gifts: $2,000
I check the amount of money from our sponsors. $2,300. I sigh and push the button to send personal gift. I put the necklace in a tube that appears, it's sucked away. I go and sit down, I wait for a few minutes as I watch my daughter hold on to that boy.
Then I see the parachute I just sent land on Peeta's lifeless body. Rachel looks up and sees it, she refuses to let go of Peeta's hand so she only uses one to open it.
Tears spill even more when she sees the necklace. Slowly, she puts Peeta's hand on the ground and let's go. Even more slowly, she takes the necklace and puts it around his neck. Then gently, as if not to wake him up, she sets him down on the earth. She bends down one last time and kisses him on the lips. Then turns and takes a few steps away.
What she does next moves every single person in Panem to tears. She puts the three middle fingers of her left hand to her lips, and extends them out to the boy. It's an old tradition rarely seen. It means everlasting love, it means trust, it means goodbye to someone you love. And she does this once, twice, three different times she extends her hand.
Then, with both of their packs, she walks off back to the woods. She doesn't look back, she doesn't turn around, I know if she did she would run to him and never leave. And if she did that Cato would find her and kill her. And I know that now she will kill that son of a bitch, because he hurt her in the worst way anyone ever could.
