"Gale! Wake up!" I yelled and shook him on his shoulder. It took him a while to wake up.
"Honey, what's wrong?", he asked groggily. I pulled him away from the wall. "He, what…?"
"Pull off your shirt!" I had to see the sting.
"Wh…" He didn't have the chance to finish the sentence. All of a sudden he touched his head and every single bit of colour he had on his face seemed to disappear.
"Gale?"
"Go away!"
Gales expression caused me to jump on my feet and with an unpleasant feeling I watched him as he ran out of the cave with big steps. I followed him quickly.
Gale was on his knees, just a couple of metres away from the cave and retched heavily.
"Shit!", I cursed and ran to him. I kneeled down next him and started clumsily drawing circles on his back.
...
After a while Gale sat down in the grass and ran his hand through his hair. "God, I feel sick. What is this?"
"Probably the mosquito sting." Usually there weren't any dangerous mosquitos in Panem, but who knew what the Capitol was able to create.
"Do you feel dizzy?"
Gale nodded. O god, this was getting worse and worse. I desperately tried to remember what my mum was doing wit her patients if they felt dizzy and had a fever. In contrast to Prim I couldn't really cope with helping my mother. Even the thought of illness, wounds and blood made me feel sick.
...
I brought Gale back into the cave, where Rue was already waiting for us.
"What's wrong with Gale? Is he ill?" She looked at him worriedly.
"I think it's the sting. The mosquito must have given something to him."
"Does he have a fever?"
I nodded and Rue stood up. "Wait, I am going to get some cold water."
She disappeared so quickly that I didn't even have the chance to protest. While I was nearly fighting to keep Gale awake I was desperately waiting for Rue to come back. When she came through the entrance I let out a sigh of relieve.
"Here." She pulled a glove out of her backpack, soaked it with water and handed it to me. Gale gritted his teeth as soon as the cold fabric touched his forehead. I took his hand and swallowed. Cold water was definitely not enough, I needed help!
"Please, Haymitch! I need you!", I quietly begged and started to move the glove slowly over Gale's face.
"I need to have a closer look at the sting, okay?" I told him and he slowly turned round so that he was lying on his stomach. I pulled his T-shirt over his head carefully and looked at his back. A small red dot marked the spot where the mosquito had stung Gale. I was already swollen and started to spread.
"Rue? Have you ever seen something like this?", I asked her, because I had no idea what to do. She came closer and had a short look at the sting, then she shook her head.
...
In this moment Gale started shaking. "CCCaaan I-I…?" He pointed on the T-shirt in my hand. I handed it to him and watched him as he put it on and wrapped himself in the blanket. For a while I couldn't get my eyes off him. Seeing him like this hurt so freaking much and I could barely stand to know that he felt so miserable. I wished that I could something to help him. In my whole life I had never felt so helpless.
...
Over and over I silently begged Haymitch to help us. What took him so long? Didn't we have any sponsors? Damn, where was Haymitch if you really needed him? Rue had fallen asleep in the meantime and I sat down next to Gale again. Slowly I touched his cheek. "Please, get better soon, yeah?" I bent down and kissed the sleeping boy on his lips. "I love you!, I quietly added and curled up next to him. Right after I had covered us with the blanket, I heard a strange noise, coming from outside the cave.
...
I stood up slowly, carefully not to wake Gale and got out of the cave. Immediately I was met by the cold air of the night and scanned the surrounding. What was that? The light of the moon fell on an object near me and I got closer. It was a parachute that had gotten stuck in the bush. I opened it quickly and sighed in relieve when I saw the soup. It wasn't a medicine of course, but it was definitely something to start with. Then I notice the small piece of paper that was attached to the parachute.
Well, that wasn't too hard, sweetheart, was it? H.
I couldn't help but scowl at him. This fucking asshole! He had painted something under the H., but I had no idea, what it was. The fact that Haymitch sucked at drawing didn't really made it easier for me to recognize the sketch. I forced myself to mouth "Thank you!" in the direction of the camera and went back into the cave. Gale was still asleep when I lay down next to him again. I thought about waking him, but then I decided to let him sleep. As long as I didn't have any sort of medicine it was definitely not bad if he slept a lot. The soup should stay hot for awhile, I could still give it to him after he had woken up.
...
Not even two hours had passed when Rue started rolling around on the floor, finally waking up with a noise that sounded like choking.
"Everything alright?"
"Nightmare", she answered and nodded in Gale's direction. "How is he doing?"
"Still no change", I told her.
"Shit." Her eyes met the small box with the soup. "What is this?"
"Soup. From Haymitch. I hope it helps him to get better."
Rue looked at me worriedly. "You look pale. Get some sleep, I am taking over your watch."
I shook my head. "Thank you, but it's okay."
"Trust me, you really need some sleep."
I really wanted to stay awake so that I could have a look at Gale from time to time, but as it got heavier and heavier to keep my eyes open I agreed. I cuddled up next to Gale, covered us with the blanket and after a couple of minutes I sank into a deep slumber.