Thank you for the reviews and suggestions! Last chapter was kind of like a filler since the others at the capitol had a lot going to on! I DO NOT OWN THE HUNGER GAMES! Now enjoy chapter eleven and please review!
I am walking though the woods with big white snowflakes falling from the sky. Only about two inches has accumulated and I can see boot impressions left from someone walking very fast. I follow the path of foot prints until I come to the spot that Gale and I use to always meet at. The footprints stop and I look around and don't see anyone. Then I hear a muffled crunching sound and turn around bow loaded arrow knocked back ready to fly and I am face to face with Gale. He looks the same excepted his eyes are no longer the seam gray. They are yellow and snake like.
"Hey Catnip," he says with a hiss. Then his face melts away and I take I step back from my melting ex best friend and pump into something else. I jump and turn around to see President Snow holding a gun to my temple.
"Remember when we agreed to not lie to each other Miss. Everdeen," he says and I can smell the blood and poison on his big puffy lips. I don't say anything back and when I even try to yell and scream at him nothing comes out. Snow starts to laugh and then he cocks back the hammer on the gun and pulls the trigger.
I wake up sweating and my throat raw from screaming. I feel strong arms around me and realize that I am in bed with Peeta. He isn't saying anything just holding me tight and rubbing my back. I start to cry and sob uncontrollably. I don't know how long I cry, but Peeta doesn't dare move away from me.
Finally when I have stopped crying and shaking like a leave. Peeta breaks the silence. "Do you want to talk about it?" I don't say anything back for a while. Then the words just spill out of my mouth," I was walking through the woods, and I found some footprints. I followed them until they got to the rock where Gale and I use to meet before hunting. When I didn't see anyone there I heard something behind me and it was Gale, but his eyes where different. Then he melted and I turned to run, but Snow was there and then shot me." I say on verge of breaking down again. "I need to get a shower."
"Okay I will be down stairs," he says and gives me a gentle kiss on the forehead.
'I drag myself off the bed and head to the bathroom. I strip out of the sweaty night shirt and stepped into the warm and inviting shower. As the warm water rolled down my body images of President Snow pulling the trigger flashed through my mind. I could almost feel the cool metal of the gun on my head. I scrubbed down my body trying to wash all the fear down the drain. I get out and dress in some new cargo pants and a black stretchy t-shirt. I braid my hair and feel a little better. I go to the closet and pull out my bow and arrows, and hanging towards the back of the closet is my father's leather hunting jacket. I throw it over my shoulder and walk down stairs.
I enter the kitchen and see Peeta packing up food into the old wicker basket. He looks up and sees that I am in my hunting gear and sighs.
"Are you planning on going hunting?"
"Yes. I haven't been out in a while and I think I need it."
"Great because I was going to take you there anyhow," he says grinning proudly because he was one step ahead of me.
"Fine then lets go," I say and put on the leather jacket and sling my bow over my shoulder. I walk out the front door and hear Peeta scrambling behind me trying to put his boots on. Since I'm not walking very fast he catches up and takes my hand. He leads us through the meadow and as we are nearing the fence I notice that one section is shorter and as we get even closer I see that it's a gate.
"I had Thom put this in while we were at the Capitol," he says and I turn and give him kiss on the cheek. "Thank you Peeta," I say and he mouths your welcome back.
He opens the gate and about fifty feet from the fence we find a clearing and sit down. He pulls out some cheese buns and we start to eat in silence.
"Do you ever miss Gale, Katniss?" Peeta asks.
I am taken back by his question, but after a moment of thinking I answer, "Yes, I miss my friend, but he isn't the same person he was when we were kids." I say and Peeta nods his head. There is another moment of no talking and letting the sounds of the woods fill up the silence.
"Do you blame him for Prim's death?" He asks and I go numb. My mind stops working and I can tell that Peeta regrets that he said anything. "I'm sorry Kat-," he starts to say and I cut him off.
"It's fine. I do blame him. I saw him designing the bomb in district thirteen," I say and try to stand up. Peeta sees my struggle and gives me a hand.
"I'll be back later," I say and stalk off deeper into the woods.
I walk for about thirty minutes before I just start shooting anything in sight. Trees, birds, and of course squirrels. My first couple shots our off by a few inches, but soon I hit my targets every time each one a kill clean. With each shot I take the better I feel and the more distant all my troubles become. When I finally come out of my daze I see that the sky is turning a light orange and it is getting pretty cold. I start to walk back to town when I hear a twig snap and turn to see a mountain lion staring right at me. I stop and freeze the animal tenses and loads all its weight onto its back legs ready to pounce. I slowly raise my bow and move my hand above my head to grab an arrow. As soon as I have the arrow in my hand the animal charges and I shoot but miss its eye by an inch. I turn to run, but trip on a root and catch myself with my hands not smashing my stomach into the ground. I roll onto my back just as the animal sinks its teeth into my thigh. I scream out in pain and kick it off my leg. I scoot back away from it and grab my knife from my belt, and when it jumps at me again I stab the animal right in the neck. I twist the knife out and the thing lays next to me dead.
I gather myself and try to stand up cursing under my breath. With a failed attempt of trying to stand not holding onto anything I grab the tree trunk and hoist myself up. I try to but weight on the leg where I was bit and let out a yelp. I look around and find a long branch to use as a cane. I look down at my wound and thankfully it doesn't go down to the bone, but it is bleeding too much.
I start to limp towards town. It is very slow going and I don't know if I will make it home before dark. I get to the gate and start to get dizzy. I feel like I am about to pass out when I feel I strong kick to the ribs. Then another and then another. I can't stop going now I have to get home for her. If I don't I will surely freeze to death tonight. I continue on limping through the meadow and the pain is continually getting worse. I make it to the edge of town and I know I can't go much farther. I turn and head to my mothers. I get to her door and knock one time before blacking out.
I wake up to blinding white light flickering in my eyes. I close my eyes again and when I open them I am staring into Peeta's bright blue ones.
"She's awake," he says to someone else in the room. He then looks back down at me. "Hey Katniss how you feeling?"
"Hey Peeta I feel alright. Where am I?" I asks confused by waking up in such a strange way.
"You are you at your mom's house. Remember you got hurt in the woods and then I guess you walked to her front door and passed out. I came over once it got pass nine. I knew you would never stay out that late on purpose." I hear footsteps and soon my mom is leaning over me too. "Katniss what bit your thigh?" She asks slightly annoyed.
"It was a mountain lion. I tried to shoot it but it moved to quick, but then I got my knife out and killed it before it could do any more damage." She just shakes her head and eyes Peeta.
"Can I sit up now?" My mother moves behind my head and I feel the bed move up. Once I am in a somewhat sitting position I see the clock on the wall says two o'clock. I look down and see my stomach through the thin sheets. I immediately am hit with worry. "Is she still okay?" I ask my mother desperately.
"She is fine for now. Just stay here for the rest for today. Maybe you can go home after dinner tonight. Just try and get some sleep." She says and leaves the room. On her way out she turns out the ceiling light so just the small lamp in the corner is on. Peeta is changing out of his jeans and into some sweat pants. He sits down on the chair in the corner.
"What do you think you are doing," I ask him in a playful tone.
"Umm… trying to get some sleep like you should be," he deadpans. I scoot over in the bed jus like I did last time I was in the hospital and pat the space. "Oh that's what you mean," he says with a grin.
He climbs up on the bed and I snuggle right up next to him. He lays his arm flat across the mattresses and I move so that I am half laying on him with my head on his chest and he wraps that arm around my shoulders and puts his other hand on my belly. He smells like cinnamon and freshly baked bread. He must have been baking while I was in the woods.
As we enjoy each others company in silence I move my hand done my thigh and feel the rough pattern of stitches going down my leg for about six inches. I can't feel any pain when I touch the stitching. So my leg must be numbed or something. I put my hand back on Peeta's chest. "Remember when you could actually hold me in your arms? Now I'm so fat you can barely hug me without being a foot apart from each other."
He shakes his head, "Maybe if you wouldn't eat so much all the time you wouldn't be so fat," he says poking stomach.
"Well maybe if my husband wouldn't cook so well I wouldn't eat so much," I tease back.
I let out a big yawn. "I'm ready for some sleep Peeta."
"Okay Kat, I love you," he says kissing the top to my head.
"Love you too," I say and eventually drift off into a deep sleep.