Everyone is hiding in the trees, way far into the forest that they can't see what's actually going on. I'm tossing the grenade around in my hand.
I want him to come for me. I stare at my shotgun and put it in my pocket. I hear his evil laugh and look up. He's standing right in front of me. I'm surprised I didn't hear him walk up. He didn't see me put the gun away though. I know the family is probably trying to get to me.
He shoots me though; twice in the left arm and once in the leg.
"Get up." he hisses. "I'm going to make sure you go through hell for this."
I struggle, but manage to get on my feet. My fists clench and unclench.
"You're alone. You have no chance of someone saving you. I'm going to make sure it's slow." He laughs. "If I'm lucky, you'll bleed to death." He pulls out a pocket knife and grabs my wrist. I'm losing way too much blood right now, and every drip seems to take energy from me. He slits them. It's not deep enough to be fatal, but still, I'm losing blood again.
I can't let him cut me again. "I'm actually going to rape you, because you've got nice tits. I know." He grins. "I've seen them." He laughs softly. "You remember that, don't you?" I don't answer him. He pins me so I can't move.
God, I have no way of getting out of this one.
I should have taken Gale's advice. I should have listened to my family.
I don't want him inside of me. I don't want him inside of me.
Think Katniss, think!
"If you think you're going to rape me, you're out of your damn mind!" I shout at him.
"Shut up!" he slaps me, and my anger rises and I slap him back. Adrenaline pours through my entire body, and I heave in a deep breath and flip and dig my gun out of my pocket.
"You want me dead? You killed my step-dad, you fucking cunt!"
"So? He wouldn't tell me where you are!" he snaps. I rip the knife from his hand.
"I'm going to kill you. I'm going to make you pay for all the shit you've put me through." I hiss. "But I'm a better person than you are, so I'm going to make it quick."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he shouts. I grab the grenade and remove the pin, and then I drop it at my feet. The handle falls off like it's supposed to and shoot him in the stomach so he falls, and then I run.
It explodes and the impact sends me in the air. I land on my stomach with a thumb, and my hands cover my head as debris fly all over the place, showering me with rocks and dirt and grass. I don't move for a long time, one, because I'm afraid that he's still somehow alive, and two, because I don't know how much longer I'm going to last without medical attention.
I'm not even sure if I'm alive anymore.
I hear my name being shouted, and what sounds like crying, and then I hear the sound of running feet.
"Fuck, you exploded him?" Johanna asks. "Kat?" she nudges me. "He shot her. Three times. We need to get her to the hospital."
"He slit her wrist too."
"I'm awake." I groan. "I'm not going to the hospital.
"Yes you are."
"No I'm not! Can someone help me up please?"
"Well what do you expect to do?" Mom snaps. I look at Cato's knife. It's still perfectly intact. It flew five feet from me.
Peeta helps me sit against a tree.
"What are you going to do without a hospital? Bleed out?" He asks angrily.
"No. Give me my bag and that knife please." I point lazily at Cato's knife. Peeta picks up the knife and hands it to me, and hands me my bag.
I use the matches to start a fire.
"God, are you going to brand it so it stops bleeding?" Mom asks.
"That's exactly what I'm going to do. Can someone take the girls elsewhere?"
Brandon and Katie do it. I get one of my old T-Shirts and put it on my lap to be ready.
I use my right hand, and chomp down hard on the inside of my cheek, and then I stick my fingers in the oozing bullet hole and fight back a scream as I search to see if there's a bullet. I do it twice to my arm and once to my leg.
There's not a bullet in any of them. I'm breathing heavily.
"You need to go to the hospital." Annie says, probably not wanting to watch.
"I'd rather die than go to the hospital."
"Why won't you go to the hospital?" Peeta demands.
Johanna sighs in anger. "If she goes to the hospital, the whole event of her killing Cato will go public and she will have people at her doorstep 24/7. If she doesn't go, they can say Cato killed himself. It's as simple as that."
"Well I'm not going to help you press a red hot knife to a bullet hole." Mom says to me.
"I can do it myself." I hiss.
"I'll help then." Johanna says. She sticks the knife in the flame, wrapping the handle in the shirt, so she doesn't burn herself. "Ready?"
"Just do it when I don't expect it." I hiss. "If you ask if I'm ready-" she does it, and I scream and stuff the hem of my shirt in my mouth. "Fuck."
"You were saying?" Johanna asks.
"I said if you ask when I'm ready, I'm going to-" she does the second bullet hole and I scream again. "Fuck!"
"Okay, now finish your sentence." She says.
"I said," and my voice is weaker, "That if you ask when I'm ready I'm going to expect it, and if and I expect it, it's going to be a million times worse."
"Oh, yeah, I bet." She does my wrist next, and it's so painful that the world starts spinning.
"God, that really fucking hurts."
"I bet it does." She laughs.
"I would not be able to do that." Rye says. "How is a chick tougher than I am?"
"It's excruciating."
"Hanna, come back!" Katie screams. I hear her running feet, and she comes running through the trees hysterical.
"Stop it you're hurting her! Don't hurt my Mommy! I'll hurt you!"
"She isn't hurting me Hanna." I say.
"You look sad!" she stomps her foot. "Daddy, make them stop!" she sits down and starts crying harder. Peeta picks her up and starts talking to her, and walks away.
Johanna does my leg, and this one has to be the worst.
I scream to loud, for like, five minutes, and I try to stop but I can't. "God, oh my fucking god, please tell me we're done." I whimper.
"We're done." Johanna says. She stomps the fire out. "Okay?"
"Been better, but okay, now let's get the hell out of here. I need a real bed and warm food and a fucking shower. And I need a warm bath and a fuzzy blanket."
"You're making my mouth water and you aren't even talking about food." Mom chuckles.
I hear Hanna screaming somewhere in the forest, and then I hear her running. She's crying harder than I've ever seen. She crawls into my lap, being very careful of my bad leg. "Mommy." She whimpers.
"I'm okay." I run my hand attached to my good arm, my right one, through her hair.
She starts feeling my chest. "Where's your heart. I want to feel it's still there!" she cries. I take her hand and move it to the right side of my chest.
"See? It's still there. I'm okay."
"Do you promise you won't die on me?"
"I promise." I whisper.