Chapter 2

I have one minute! One minute to tell her the truth, to tell her to survive and to assure her that I will be there to take care of her family. I don't want to mess up by telling her the truth first. I don't want her to die. She needs to know who the real Gale is. Besides, a protector, a hunter, a brother, a friend. Gale is a criminal too.

I have made a promise to her. To tell her everything. She knows all about me but not this. Now, she is the one reaped for the hunger games. She might die. This is a possibility I am trying to digest. If she does die, she won't ever know about her father.

If I tell her now, I won't have to face her. She'll leave. Die.

It's my turn to meet Katniss! I take a deep breath. I keep my breathing steady and calm.

The peacekeeper grips my arm firmly, "You have one minute," He warns and shoves me in.

The sight of her melts my heart. I embrace her.

"Get your hands on the bow."

She stands transfixed! She chooses to remain silent!

After a pause, I resume,

"Katniss Listen to me. It's just hunting. You are the best hunter I know," I continue, "You know how to kill."

"Not people," she replies.

"It won't make a difference," I assure her.

She stares at me unblinkingly.

And the next moment she holds my face into her palms and kisses me softly. Her lips are wet and fleshy. This is our first kiss. I know this kiss is not intended. It's just due to the intensity of the situation. Yet, it gives me a strange sense of hope. The peacekeeper knocks and reminds me, "10 more secs."

I hold her face in my hands. Her skin is smooth and clear.

"Katniss you need to know something"

She is alerted by the seriousness of my voice.

"The mine explosion was not an accident. It was planned. It was me." I struggle to keep my voice steady, tears well up in my eyes. I continue between sobs, "I...I killed your Dad!"

Katniss falls back down on the floor. She shivers. I reach out to her, but she brushes my hand away.

"I am..." the door slams open. I panic. I try to push myself free from the peacekeeper's grip, but they drag me out.

The train starts moving. I run. I run until I am out of breath. I am unable to keep still, so I collapse. I lie under a tree. The shade provides a comfortable cushion. I curl and lie still. A lot has happened in a few hours. It's difficult to process the happenings. Now Katniss knows that the mine explosion was not an accident. Recalling this event overwhelms me. I open my eyes. My eyes are stinging. I rub my eyes to clear the clouded vision. I wonder what Katniss is doing now. Will she ever forgive me? Until now, she has always understood me. I hope she gives me one more chance.

The woods just seem lonelier, everything reminds me of her. I decide to abandon the woods, to never return to them without her. Yet, I'll be forced to choose against this. Since I have to feed 2 families now. I decide I'll only come to the woods to hunt. The idea of hunting alone shrinks me. The other option rather than hunting would be to work in the mines. The thought sends shivers down my spine!

The Capitol is the reason for our division, our starvation and our struggle. I never wanted to become a slave of the Capitol. Therefore, I never participated in anything that would help the Capitol. Like the mines. It is a rule to work in the mines if you are a member of District 12. Opposing such a rule is a revolution in itself. The woods are one source of survival for my family. If the woods are abandoned then, I will have no choice other than to work in the mines. This is exactly what the Capitol does to us. Make sure that we don't have a choice other than to work for them.

I am 10 years old. I learn to create snares. My father has skilled fingers. He makes the most delicate snares. It is difficult to see him beaten when he comes from the mines. He looks weak and unsteady. His nails have cracks that are frequently filled with coal dust. He is only 35 but his posture suggests he is much older. He returns home exhausted. While he sits by the fire, I get ready to listen to the Capitol stories. Stories of betrayal, hunger and the uprising that once defeated all of us. How much he wishes for a free Panem.

I have seen my father suffer and watched my friends die in the hunger games! This triggers me. The anger for the Capitol grows stronger day by day. When my father was blown to ashes in the mine, I decided to hunt. Hunt from the little knowledge I have acquired from my father. When the explosion killed my father, I couldn't stand visiting the mines as this would remind me of the destruction I caused. The destruction almost killed half of district 12.

The sun is below the horizon, the rays diffused in the sky. The soft pink in the sky hints at the time. It's past evening. I start walking towards the seam.

There are no lights in District 12, it's just the lamps that hang from the windows. I watch my breaths as new white-puffed clouds escape my mouth. My heart races as the cold reaches my bone, but the only option is to keep moving. In the stillness, I hear the rustling sounds from nearby huts. They suggest people enclosing each other to shield the heat from their bodies.

Finally, I reach home and everyone is sleeping. I tug them inside the blanket and add one more blanket to guard them. I collapse on the empty quell. Tiredness takes over and I doze off.