Blood! Thick and heavy streaks of blood lace themselves over the rocks. My mind panics as I continue to fallow the trail. My mind produces images of Peeta badly injured or worse dead. I push them from my mind and continue on.
I hug the rocks and look for more signs of where he might be. I see more blood with bits of fabric stuck to it. It's been dried from the sun so it's not fresh but this is the direction that he traveled.
"Peeta! Peeta!" I say in a hushed tone but when I hear a Mockingjays pick it up, so I stop. My foot has just cleared the surface of the water when I hear it...a low, pained voice.
"It's about time, sweetheart."
It came from my left, so I can't hear it very well but that word hit me...sweetheart. Only two people have ever called me that, Haymitch and Peeta. My eyes peruse the banks of the water bit there is nothing there but leaves, and mud, and rocks. I take a few more steps. "Peeta?" No answer but I was sure the voice was real. So I take a few steps closer to the bank this time.
"Watch out sweetheart." I jump back because the voice came from right under my feet. I look hard and see nothing until I lean down and then I see them, sky blue and trimmed in midnight. I gasp and I am rewarded with a flash of white.
It's the final word in camouflage. Forget throwing weights around. Peeta should have gone into his sessions will the Gamemakers and painted himself into a tree or a rock or a bank of mud and leaves.
"Close your eyes." He does and his mouth too and he simply disappears into the bank.
What I think is his body is in fact a layer of leaves and mud. His arms and face so artfully done as to make him invisible. I kneel down next to him. "All those hours frosting cakes and cookies paid off."
Peeta smiles. "Yes. Frosting, the last defence of the dying." His voice is ragged.
"You're not going to die. I won't let you." The laugh is small and broken and I can hear the pain.
"Ok sweetheart."
"Where are you hurt?" I ask as I take the water from my pack and make him drink it.
"Left leg, high up. Ran into Cato and that sword." He tries to sit but I realize that the heat has turned the mud to stone and the vines kept him locked to the ground.
I lean down and try to pull him up, it take three tugs to free him. He tries to give me a cocky smile.
"How about a kiss Katniss?" I want to laugh but I need to address the state of his leg first.
"Not with that face Lover Boy." He tries to look hurt but all I can think about is his leg.
It's hard to know where to start, his clothes are so caked in mud and earth. I use the bottle from my pack and run water over his chest until I can see the fabric of his jacket. I carefully unzip it and remove it, along with his shirt and undershirt.
He sits perfectly still while I wash his hair and wipe his face. I've cleaned the last bit of mud from his face and I see him trying to smile through the pain.
"You don't have to keep it..." I look at him in confusion for a moment. "Your promise, I won't..." I put two fingers to his lips.
"I want to keep it Peeta. So you're just going to have to deal with it."
I place a gentle kiss to his lips. "Now let's get these pants off." He raises and eyebrow and I can't help but laugh.
"Yes ma'am Dr. Everdeen." I roll my eyes and slowly undo his pants.
I unlaced his boots and remove this socks.
"Cheese buns." Now I'm the one to raise an eyebrow.
"I'll make them for you every Saturday." I smile as I think about that Saturday breakfast.
"As long as they're hot." He laugh.
"Katniss my buns are always hot." I lean forward to kiss him and that's when I notice how hot his skin is.
I reach into the first aid supplies that I have a find the little white pills that will bring down a fever. My mother will get these and use them when her homemade cures don't work.
"Take these and try to eat something." He takes the pill and only nips at the fruit I hand him.
I get his pants off and I'm not ready for what waits for me. The skin is inflamed, oozing blood and puss and the cut is deep I'm sure but the thing that makes me want to run is the smell.
I can't run, we are not back home in District 12 and mom and Prim are not here to pass this off to. I slip the square of plastic under his leg and take another quick looks at it but I am truly at a loss.
"I'm not good at this, right now Prim would be much better then me. I...hate...ugh...ugh." I hear Peeta laugh and I look up.
"How do you hunt Katniss?" I give him an honest and wish I was a better liar.
"Killing things is the easy part. For all I know I'm killing you right now."
"Can you hurry up then?" He snickers and I playfully smack his arm.
"No I forbid it. No dying on me." He sighs and take a few more bites of food. I start chewing the leaves and I'm not sure they work but after three applications the wound is clear of puss and that's when I want to vomit.
It cut clear to the bone and I don't know what to do for it, not here where I have almost nothing to work with. I decide to wrap it as best I can and hope the sponsors take pitty on Peeta.
"Katniss can I rest now?" I nod my head and he opens his arms out and I smile.
"Can I hold you? I like the way you feel next to me." I settle in on his good side and when his arms wrap around me I let out a sigh.
"I love you Peeta." He kisses my forehead and laughs
"I love you too."
I don't sleep much but I let Peeta get a few hours before I nudge him awake. "We need to move Peeta. Find a place for you to rest until you're healed." His hand cup my face and pulls it up to his and he gives me a gentle kiss.
"There's a cave near by it's where I put the other pack."
"Is it far?" I ask not sure how far he can travel in his current state.
"Maybe fifty yards." He say as I try to help him to his feet. Peeta is the strong one he can loft the hundred pound sack of flour and he had lifted me over his shoulder and carried me a good distance but for me he is heavy and I'm trying not to hurt him.
We make it to the cave and Peeta is paper white, panting and shaking. We make it into the cave and I put down a layer of pine needles before I put down the bags.
"Katniss why can't we have one bag?" I look at him and roll my eyes, his laugh is weak and pained.
"Because you need to heal." I go back to working on the vine cover for the opening, an animal will not question it but a human will know that hands made it.
He stares at me for another minute.
"I can't sleep well without you since the Training Center. I like the way you fit in my arms." I look at him and I want to cry but now can I say no.
"I like it too." I brush sweat drenched stands of hair from his face.
I realize as I help him into the bag that the pills are not working. And for the first time I'm worried that he might die.
"Katniss, if I die..." It's unthinkable and I won't let it happen.
"You can't die Peeta." He looks at me as if trying to decide how to continue the fight.
"If I do..." I can't take this I need to end this.
"You're going to live and...I'll...we'll get...married."
He smiles and I'm sure that I've won. "So you'll allow it?" Allow what? I don't want to know what he's getting at but I ask.
"A family Katniss...our family." Oh God he was talking about that...I can't do that...not with the Games and the chance...but then the image of Rue in his lap comes to me and I know it would be cruel to not give it to him, just one I can do that. Can I?
"Yes, we can have one." Two he says and the look he give me makes me want to cry, because there is so much hope and love and pure happiness in his eyes.
"Fine. You win Mr. Mellark I'll give you two." He smile and reaches his arms out to me. I work my way into the sleeping bag and his lips find my ear.
"Thank you Mrs. Mellark." In that moment I am overcome for the first time with the fear that I will truly lose him.