Chapter 9

Katniss' POV

The train rattles back and forth as I sit still watching the clouds. Beside me is the last person I want to see, before I encounter my death in the Hunger Games. None other the Gale Hawthorne. I don't challenge myself to look at him. Seeing his face would make everything worst, let alone sitting beside him, knowing that were both going to die.

'Why are you here?' I ask him.

His silence was more unbearable then I thought.

I just shake my head in response to my own question, looking back at the window.

Just like my mother.

Why should I waste my breathe? For all I know, he could be planning my death right here, right now. Because in this sick minded game, there are no such things as an 'Ally' even though you've known that person you whole life. Even if that person is your best friend. Or was …

'I already told you.'

'Yes, I know ….. But w-why you ….' I say, my voice cracking a little.

'Would you rather it be Vick or Rory?' Gale asks, a slight amusement hinting in his tone.

'Of course not, why would you think that?'

Silence makes reappearance.

'But WHY are you here? I mean, on this hovercraft? I thought tributes are supposed to ride separately. Not together.'

'Ms. Everdeen, I think I have the explanation you are looking for,' A Capitol attendant says in a delightful

Ugh, the same annoying women from when I said my goodbyes. Aren't there any other attendants on this hovercraft?

'The Capitol has found that you are very …. Um, how can I say this in a nice way...? You are very High Maintained. And we had thought that if you had a friend with you on your way to the Capitol, it would be a more peaceful ride there, yes? And it was quite serendipitous that Mr. Hawthrone was reaped, also.'

'So, what you're saying is that Gale is here to … babysit me?' I ask, with pure disgust in my voice.

Gale silently chuckles to himself.

'Oh, no. More like …. Keeping you calm. Because we know of how you seem to be angered very easily.'

'First I'm high maintenance and now I have a hot temper …. Wow, you Capitol people assume one too many things….'

'Well, they're not wrong,' Gale implies.

The Capitol attendant walks away with a slight smile revealing on her face.

'So, everything is joke to you now? Having this attitude when going in the games is not a very good strategy. Especially if you're planning on staying alive in the end.'

Gale's smile drops.

'Who said anything about winning the games?'

'I didn't say anything about "winning" I said "living". They're 2 completely different things. In these games, it's not really about winning, it's about surviving. And YOU of all people should know that!'

We are quiet for a moment.

'I never wanted this …..' Gale whispers.

I furrow my eyebrows.

'What? I heard you say that you DID want this, last week! YOU wanted to be in the games. You told me yourself!'

'You know that's not what I MEANT, Katniss. I just said that to get you off my back about the ring.'

'SO, were back to that again, huh? Than why did you bother lying to me about going into the games when you know that when you say things like that, I take it personally. Because when you say something, like "Maybe I want to be in the games" people in this town will start to think that you really mean it. And just to cover up that damn ring? I get that it's important to you, but you should realize that what you say could bite you in the ass one day. And that day is today, if you didn't know. LOOK WHERE WE ARE NOW!'

'I know where we are now. Stop asking me about it, when you know that you're going to get the same answer every time. All I'm going to say is that it's just important to me, okay? You have no idea …..'

'Yeah, your right. I DO have no idea. But let me just say this …. If it's that important to you, shouldn't it be important to let your best friend know why it is?'

Gale is avoiding eye contact with me now, just like before.

'I thought we were better friends then this, but I guess I was wrong. And just so you know, I'm not apologizing AGAIN.'

'What do you want from me?' Gale asks.

I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out.

What do I want from him?

'I don't want anything from you, but your friendship right now. Because you're all I have.'

'How am I supposed to be your be your friend, when I have to either love you or kill you?'

'So that's the catch phrase now?'

'Yes, only because it's true …'

I stay quiet.

'Depends on you, do you want to love me or kill me? Or want not a thing to do with me? It's up to, because you're the chosen one,' Gale says.

'I-I don't know …'

'But what I KNOW, is that we are all here because of them. The CAPITOL.'

'What you think I didn't know that?' I ask.

Somehow, I always seem to get the last word in before we start our routine again.

I look up at the ceiling, dilating my pupils.

I need to say something to keep this conversation going …. We can't end on terms like this.

I scratch my head.

Come on, Katniss! Think! What else is there to talk about? We talked about the games, already. Too much, actually….

'How's your family?' I ask in a softer tone.

'I don't know, since I didn't say goodbye to them …. Unlike you,' He manages to say those last words under his breathe.

'It's not my fault I had the chance to. If you were me, you would take that opportunity, even if it was at least a minute. So you shouldn't wonder why I did.'

'I do wonder sometimes about, Catnip …. But do you have any idea how much 5 minutes with my mother would do? It would mean the world to me, because I know that it was worth it.'

I think about to my conversation with my mother.

All I ever did to her was yell at her. But I had important issues to go over with her, at a time like this, there are no need for goodbyes.

My eyes scroll to the floor.

'How's your family?' I ask again, but in a whisper tone.

'Fine …. They know how to take care of themselves,' He says, completely forgetting that I had just asked him the same question.

'But you know how our mothers are. And what about Prim-'

'She's fine. Vick and Rory know what to do. I've taught them everything I know.'

'But you just can't rely on a two 11 year old boys to take care of both of our families.'

'First of all, Vick is 10 and Rory is 12. And you don't trust them? You don't trust MY judgement?'

We're fighting over every little thing … It's like I don't know him anymore. Like I don't know US anymore. We were never like this ….

'You know I do. But what about Prim'

I seem to repeat things a lot lately.

'Like I told you, my brothers know what to do. They know how to hunt game and set up snares. By tomorrow they'll be eating like kings with the traps we set this morning. They're probably better at snares then I am, but not at Hunting. That's my forte. They can challenge me all they want, but they'll never be as good as me. You can never beat the master, but only learn from him,' Gale says, lost in his own world of memories.

I remember when he used to babble on and on about how he taught Posy how to tie her first knot.

'But will they take care of Prim?'

'Yes, they will. But you wouldn't really be having this problem right now, if you only taught Prim how to hunt…'

'You know I can't. Prim would never hurt a fly, let alone kill another animal. We even kept that damn Buttercup for her.

'Besides, how DO YOU KNOW that your brothers will provide food for MY family?'

Gale smiles.

'I know Rory will, but I don't know about Vick.'

'What are you saying?'

'I'm saying that Rory has had a little crush on Prim for a long time now, and now he'll have the chance to spend some time with her. Other than having small talk with each other, while I swing by your house and get you for our morning hunt. He always used to ask me to come along.'

I smile a little.

No I can't!

'We can't be talking about things like this, when we know that we'll never see them again. So, please … just stop …. Remembering.'

'I can't, Katniss. Because all we'll have left is our memories when we go into that arena. And we can't be friends when we do, Katniss …. I can't be friends with you anymore, because that is our best chance at surviving. I want you to know Catnip that I don't want to kill you in there.'

He's right, we can't be friends. And I don't want to kill him either. He's right …

'I hate them. I hate them, because I know that I'm losing my best friend in the process. I mean, I thought that I'd lose you when you die in that arena, but I'm losing you now. I never thought I'd lose you like this.'

I never wanted him to be so right … I need to get out of here.

'STOP THIS HOVERCRAFT! STOP IT NOW!' I say banging at the glass doors that lead to the pilot.

'KATNISS, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?' Gale asks.

I stumble backward as we come to a stop.

My fingers fumble with the doorway of the hovercraft.

Gale tries to grab me but I pull from his grasp.

'MS. EVERDEEN! WHAT IN GODS NAME ARE YOU DOING?' The Capitol Attendant asks.

'I need fresh air! I need to get out of here, NOW!'

And with that, I jump out of the doorway.

AUTHORS NOTE: This is part one, of chapter 9 I know that hint I said before didn't match, but it will in the part 2! I'll post part 2 as soon as I can! I know that this is a late update, but I had writers block all day! So please don't blame my poor writing, because I know that this isn't my best. I only rushed to keep my promise and sorry I didn't include that shout out for reviews, but I will next chapter, because right now, it's getting late and I have school tomorrow. Until then, ta-ta for now!