Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games
A/N: Thanks for reading and please review. Also if you would let me know, would you rather 1,000 word chapters posted every couple days or 2,000 chapters posted around once a week?
I wake up to the feeling of apprehension and dread. Today is the day. It's Sunday, the first day of the games always is. That means everyone is off work and can see the horror of the bloodbath. A "favor" from the Capital. I get out of bed and stand on the dusty wood floors. I grab the corner of my thin sheet and tuck it into my mattress. We only have a few thin sheets and one quilt, but we make it work. I flatten the sheet before walking out into the kitchen. The games start at ten, I have two more hours. I sigh and decide to make some breakfast. I make my way to the front door, grabbing my garden basket on the way out. I walk out, careful to close the door quietly behind me. The sun is rising above the trees and I shield my eyes. Though most people sleep in on Sundays, everyone is beginning to wake up. I see a few women hanging clothes on a clothesline and tending to gardens. I walk over to my little garden bed. I have two tomato plants, two pepper plants, and four strawberry plants. This year, my garden is doing well, but last year, I only had a few plants survive. I pick all the red strawberries and head to the door. On the right side of the door, I have a blueberry bush. I pick the ripe ones and put them in my basket. Between the blueberries and strawberries, the basket is nearly full. I walk back inside, forgetting my worry for just a few moments. Mom is up, I realize, and she is sweeping the floor. The floor is always swept every Sunday. I'm glad Mom is feeling well enough to do it. With how bad her initial reaction was, I can't imagine what the next few days will be like. If I lose Katniss, I could lose Mom at the same time.
"Good morning," I say, faking a smile, and I watch her do the same. I walk over to her and give her a quick hug. I hear the Panem anthem and see the face of Caesar Flickerman once again.
"It's a great morning, ladies and gentlemen! Today is the big day! The first day of the 74th annual Hunger Games!" he says. The crowd cheers. I'm sure all of them have paid thousands of dollars to watch it, and see Caesar live. Caesar keeps talking for a while, but I'm not listening, even as he starts going over the odds of each tribute. It's nine-thirty, only half an hour until the start. Without realizing it, I guess I have been wishing that the games would be canceled. They have never been canceled before and they probably never will. Still, I can help but wish that they would suddenly realize that this is wrong, and Katniss will be sent home. A knock on the door brings me back to my senses. I walk over to the door, not sure who it is. I open the door and see Rory.
"Hey Prim, I uh well I just wanted to see how you are doing," he stutters, "And I brought these for you." He holds up a turkey and a squirrel. Gale must have been hunting.
"Thank you," I reply softly. I take the game and set it on the table. I know the main reason he came is that the games start soon. I look at my feet. I am so scared.
"Will you stay?" I ask. He looks at me reassuringly.
"Of course," He takes my hand and we walk over to the couch. The TV is already on and there is a countdown until the start of the game. As we sit down, Caesar announces five more minutes.
"Prim," he says, getting my attention, "It's going to be okay," I nod my head slowly, my eyes widening in panic. My breathing becomes shallow and my heart is racing. I feel like I can't breathe.
"Prim, look at me," he commands. He looks into my eyes, gently holding my shoulders.
"Breathe," he says. I nod and attempt to take deeper breaths. Mom is sitting at the table, eyes glued to the TV. Slowly, as Caesar calls out two minutes, Mom walks over to me and sits down. It's comforting to be between them, but when I see the tributes coming into the arena, I once again, cannot breathe. They come out of the ground as usual. Each has their own platform. This year there is a giant cornucopia in the center of a circular clearing. It looks like the rest of the arena is woods. That could help Katniss. She is used to the woods.
"Let the 74th annual Hunger Games begin, and may the odds be ever in your favor," says a robotic sounding voice. The final countdown has begun. In a matter of seconds, people will die. 10, 9, 8, Katniss is looking at the cornucopia, looking at a bow I notice, 7, 6, 5, after zooming in on all the tributes, it shows them all once again, 4, 3, I see Peeta shaking his head at Katniss, motioning for her to run for the woods, not the bow, 2, Katniss turns her body towards the woods, 1, Go!
All the tributes run at once. Predictably most of the Careers head for the cornucopia. Katniss runs for a backpack and is wrestling with another boy for it. Within the next few seconds, the boy is dead. The girl from District Two, Clove I think, threw a knife at him. She throws a knife at Katniss, I flinch and look away. I look back up and realize Katniss had blocked it with her backpack and is now running towards the woods with a knife and the backpack. Katniss is safe, for now. The TV zooms in on the cornucopia. I see at least four bodies. Rory wraps me tightly in his arms and I close my eyes. I can't unsee it. The boy fighting with Katniss, then dropping dead with a knife in his back. I open my eyes to see that most of the surviving tributes running for the woods. The careers stay there though. The TV shows them sorting supplies and hauling it towards the lake. The TV flips through all the tributes once again. It shows all the careers by the lake, sorting food and weapons. Most people are just walking in the woods, not sure what to do. Some are setting up a place to stay for the night. The boy from 11 found a small field and is hiding in it. The girl from 11, Rue, has climbed a tree. As they show her for a few seconds, you can see her jumping from tree to tree. What she said was right, they won't be able to catch her. She's high enough up that it is hard to see her, and her dark hair blends in with the trees. Next, it shows Peeta. He is walking around looking lost. The camera stays on him for a bit longer than the last tributes. Suddenly, leaves crush underfoot. A career has found him. The boy from District One comes up to him and laughs. He is holding a spear, while Peeta is completely unarmed.
"Hello, lover boy, where's your girlfriend," he taunts.
"Hello, Cato," Peeta says cautiously.
"I'm going to kill you, you know," Cato continues, "So feel free to scream or beg for mercy," Cato is grinning maliciously.
"Or you know, you might be able to help us," Cato continues. Him saying us, means there is no doubt in the Career alliance.
"Do you know where she is?" Cato asks, "You help us find her, and we might spare your life," I know that he is referring to Katniss, but I'm not sure why they want to find her. What has she done to make the Careers after her personally? Peeta would never help them get to Katniss, right?
"Alright, I'll help you," Peeta answers. Cato grins. I turn away from the TV, still in Rory's arms.
"No," I whisper. He strokes my hair rhythmically and I struggle to keep my breath steady. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Mom get up and walk toward our room, but I don't lift my head. My eyes feel very heavy, and within minutes, I drift off to sleep in Rory's arms.
When I wake up, I am on the couch and the pillow from my bed is under my head. I worry for a moment that Rory has left. I sit up and look into the kitchen. By the looks of it, Rory is making dinner. The turkey he brought me has been cleaned, and he is throwing some of it on the stove. As sizzles, I see him take out a jar of rosemary and sprinkle some on the turkey. After a moment, he notices I'm awake.
"Hey Prim," he says. I look up at the rusted clock on the wall. It's already five. I slept for hours. It makes sense, though, I barely got any sleep last night.
"You stayed," I state, looking at him.
"Of course," he says like it would be unthinkable not to.
"Katniss?" I say. I forgot for a moment. Did I miss something? Is she okay?
"She's fine," Rory says, "She found water and is sleeping in a tree. I nod, relieved she is okay.
"Dinner should be ready in a few minutes, you should go get your mom." he continues. I know I will find her in her room, so I get up off the couch and slowly walk to her.
"Mom," I call, gently, "Rory made dinner," She is sitting on her bed, facing away from me. She nods slowly.
"I'll be there in a minute," she answers. I turn to leave, but she stops me.
"Is Katniss...?" she asks, not finishing her question.
"She's fine," I answer. She stands up, and I walk back to the kitchen. Rory has gotten out three plates and put a piece of turkey on each. I notice his piece is quite a bit smaller. I walk over to my fruit basket and put some strawberries and blueberries on each plate. I put a couple more strawberries on his plate. They are his favorite. When we were younger, when Gale and Katniss first met, we spent a lot of time in the garden together. We rarely made much progress with strawberries. Our families had thought it was just a bad year. In reality, the strawberries grew great, but when Rory and I went out to pick them, we ate about half of them. Looking back now, Katniss probably knew, but our dads had just days and we had to go without food so often, she probably just didn't mind. That was only four years ago, but it seems like longer. We have grown up a lot since then. We have had to.
We bring the plates to the table and Mom comes in. We sit down and begin to eat. Mom has bags under her eyes and a distant look on her face. Rory is only staying strong for us.
"How is Gale doing?" I ask.
"Well not great," he says, "But better I think."
"That's good," I say as if he's recovering from a cold instead of the pain of seeing his best friend being shipped off to the games. Most of the meal goes by without conversation. After dinner, we bring the dishes to the sink and we wash them together. The TV turns on once again, showing the games.
The Careers are hunting, for tributes. I am shocked when I see Peeta running around with them.
"Well where is she?" one of them yells.
"She ran this way," Peeta says. They are looking for Katniss. I start hyperventilating.
"Primrose!" Rory says, "You have to breathe." On the TV I can see smoke. Please don't tell me that's Katniss. She would know better, right? The TV cuts out to show the girl from District Eight. To my relief, she is the one with the fire and Katniss is nowhere in sight. That is until the TV shows her. She is only a couple of trees away from where the Careers are standing. Once again, I see the girl from Eight. Cato comes up from behind her and she turns around. Cato has a knife and she realizes this is the end. Rory and I walk over to the couch and sit down.
"Please! Please!" she screams, "I'll do anything! I can help you!" She is on her knees and crying. Cato thrusts the knife into her stomach. I turn away expecting a canon, but none go off. I look back thinking I might have seen it wrong. I saw it right. The girl is still screaming, lying on the ground, arms clutching her stomach. Cato takes the knife out of her and walks away. He doesn't have enough mercy even to end it and instead laughs at her screams. After a few minutes of her screams, Cato rolls his eyes.
"You," he says, pointing at Peeta, "Go finish her off" Peeta nods. I can't believe he's sided with them. I think this is the first time someone from 12 allied with the Careers. The screams have turned to gasps for breath by the time Peeta gets to her. Cato had given him the knife, but he sets it on the ground before kneeling next to her.
"I'm so sorry," he says. I realize that he doesn't have the heart to kill her. She is still sobbing as Peeta moves her curly hair out of her eyes and wipes her tears.
"What's your name?" he asks, whispering.
"Lacey" she croaks, barely able to say it.
"Okay Lacey, you're going to be alright. Everything's going to be okay," he says. He knows very well she will not live, but it is a kind gesture. She closes her eyes and a canon sounds. Peeta begins to walk back to the Careers picking up the knife. Right before he reaches the Careers, he looks up. He glances at the exact tree that Katniss is in and smiles weakly. Katniss didn't notice.
"I think she went this way," Peeta says to the Careers, pointing away from Katniss. If he knows where she is then... he's not on their side, and that means he's helping her.
"That's it for tonight, folks," Caesar says. The Panem anthem plays and the faces of the dead tributes flash across the screen. Eleven in total. Then the TV goes dark.
"It's been a long day," Rory says, "You should get some sleep," I nod and Rory heads for the door.
"Goodnight Rory," I call.
"Goodnight Primrose,"