52. Fire
Burned Out
Katniss was too close to the flames. A burning sensation crept along her skin. She touched her braid and realized it had been singed. She bore witness to an awful sight in front of her. A young girl was completely engulfed in fire. A human torch. There was nothing that could be done for the girl. Katniss opened her mouth to scream.
oOo
Katniss woke up and sat upright in her bed. She touched her skin, feeling old scars. Her braid was intact. Next to her, Peeta slept soundly. Katniss blinked in the darkness, willing herself to see if what she had just seen—was it real? No, it wasn't real right now. The horror was real years ago, although sometimes it returned in her nightmares, forcing her to relieve it again:
She had seen Prim killed in front of her. And she had literally became "The Girl on Fire" on that fateful day when the Capitol fell.
Katniss willed herself to lay back down again. She curled up into a fetus position and grabbed a pillow to hold onto. Katniss closed her eyes, and tried to make herself go to sleep again. She knew from past experience, she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep for the rest of the night. Instead, she let her mind wander backwards into the past.
Ever since she was given the title of "The Girl on Fire", thanks to Cinna's costumes from her first and second Hunger Games' Opening Ceremony—Katniss had never been able to remove herself from the association with fire. She remembered running through the forest that had turned into a red and furious blaze. She knew the Gamemakers had made the forest fire happen. It was a fake fire, but her terror was real. When they launched fireballs at her, Katniss thought they wanted to burn her alive for all of Panem to see. As a sick and twisted joke to go with her new moniker.
Katniss' burns had healed over time, but the marks on her body always reminded her of the day that she finally burned out. She would always be haunted by the horrible image of Prim burning alive. No matter how much time had passed and what she did to get the visual out of her mind, it remained there forever.
Sometimes she distracted herself by playing with Buttercup. Other times, she and Peeta went to the new Hob so she could sell squirrels and rabbits to Greasy Sae. Earlier, Peeta had taken her up to the roof of their house to watch the sunset after he baked her fresh bread. He did everything he could to make Katniss feel safe and loved. Visiting with Haymitch, talking to her mother on the phone, receiving letters from Annie, seeing Effie from time to time helped Katniss to cope better.
Still, whenever she woke up from a vivid nightmare like the one she just had, she is reminded of her hatred of fire.
