Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games
A/N: Thanks for reading. Please review! Constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated!
I lie in bed, thinking about the events of the day. Two of the men have to stay the night tonight. Mr. Avery has to stay because he has no family, and he shouldn't be alone since he has a concussion. Cyrus on the other hand still isn't conscious. Mom said that he might be in a coma and that he won't survive unless he wakes up soon. He is so young. Gale told us that he starting working at the same time as him. They are both only 18. Aside from that, the day has been alright. Rory and I went outside earlier, just to weed the garden. As we finished, we ended up throwing dirt at each other. I guess I accidentally tore a weed up and flung the dirt towards him. He retaliated by throwing a handful at me. Within a matter of minutes, we were chasing each other around, dirt in hand. I couldn't stop laughing. It was the most fun I've had in a while, since the Reaping, I guess.
I look over at the clock, painfully aware that I can't sleep. It's one in the morning. I sigh, I've been lying in bed for three hours. I get up and decide to check on our patients. Mr. Avery is sleeping peacefully. I smile, knowing that I helped him. I walk over to the table to check on Cyrus. He looks asleep, but not very peacefully. His face is creased and he looks to be in pain. I wish I knew how to help him. I quickly change a couple of his dressings, making sure to clean them before I add more salves. Finally, I finish and I make my way to the door. I have never left the house at night before, and I'm not sure I should. I stand at the door for a moment, before quietly turning the handle and fitting through the still mostly closed door. The door usually squeaks, so I make sure to open it as little as possible so I don't wake Mom. I don't have anywhere in mind to go, but I turn right and walk along the empty street. It's a cool night, and the breeze is a welcome change from the heat of the day. I look up and see what must be a million stars. They all look so perfect, surrounding the crescent moon, twinkling and giving more light than it seems possible for such little things so far away. I continue to walk down the cobblestone street. Not one person is out; a rare sight. I don't know where to go, or why I decided to take a walk, but it is better than lying in my bed, trying to go to sleep. I wish I could talk to Katniss, if only for a minute. It doesn't seem real. One minute she's here, tucking me into bed and braiding my hair. The next second she's gone, and nothing I can do will bring her back. I am so alone. I had one person to turn to, one person to trust, and they take her away. I feel a hot tear running down my face. I keep walking. Step after step, all I can think about is how alone I am. This isn't how it was supposed to be. My vision is becoming increasingly blurry from tears, but I keep walking.
I've been walking for a while before something grabs my attention. I am still walking through neighborhoods, and a few houses away I see a dim house light on. I rub the tears from my eyes and make out a figure sitting on the porch. I wonder if I should walk over there. I stand still for a moment before I decide to find out who it is. As I near the house, it becomes obvious where I am. I used to come over here once in a while with Katniss. It was always fun when we came over. Mrs. Hawthorne usually baked cookies, and everyone would play a game. Once I know this is Rory's house, I feel more confident in finding out who is outside. Apart from me, they must be the only person in the District still awake. The figure stands up and walks towards me.
"Hello?" he calls. It's Rory, I realize. For a moment, I wonder what in the world he is doing out this late. Then again, I've just been wandering around for probably an hour.
"Hey, Rory," I say. He's still a few yards away, but he stops.
"Prim?" he asks.
"Yes," I say. I'm finally standing right next to him, and I can see that he looks confused.
"What are you doing here?" he says, "And why are you out so late? Is everything okay?"
"I just decided to take a walk," I say truthfully.
"Couldn't sleep?" he asks. I shake my head.
"Me neither," he says, "Want to sit down?" I nod, and he leads me back towards the porch. We sit in silence for a few minutes, on the steps to his house. It feels nice to just sit here, the cool breeze in our faces, the warm night. After a while, he finally speaks.
"What's bothering you?" he asks. I'm sure he already knows, but it's nice that he asks. I sigh.
"I'm just, well... scared and stressed," I tell him.
"I don't know what to do," I tell him, "I just feel so alone." His eyes have a sad, distant, look in them.
"Well, Prim, I don't know what to say," he says, "But you're not alone." I look up at him.
"I'm here for you," he says quietly. I lean my head on his shoulder.
"Thank you," I whisper. A single tear slowly rolls down my face, and he puts his arm around me. I close my eyes and my breathing steadies.
The sun is rising by the time I wake up. Rory's arm is still around my shoulder, steadying me, keeping me safe. I am resting on his shoulder while his head is gently leaning on my head. I hear footsteps behind us. Rory lifts his head and we both turn around. Standing in the doorway is Gale. He looks down at us. His eyes look tired and his stance is relaxed. He looks slightly confused, but honestly not as much as I would expect. It's as if he's not really surprised.
"Morning Prim," Gale says casually.
"Morning," I say softly. Rory turns to me.
"You okay?" he asks. I nod. I am so grateful for Rory. He is easy to talk to, and can always calm me down.
"You two want to come inside? I'll have breakfast ready in a few minutes." Gale says. Rory nods. Gale steps back inside and closes the door. Rory stands up and reaches out for my hand. I give it to him quickly, and he helps me up.
"Thank you," I whisper. I'm not really thanking him for helping me up, though that may be what it seems like. I'm thanking him for helping me, and for staying with me. He smiles, and I know he understands.
We walk inside and sit at the table. Their house is laid out in the same way as ours: the kitchen when you walk in, a small living room connected to the kitchen, and a bedroom to the right with a bathroom attached. The main difference, is on the left side, opposite the first bedroom, is a second bedroom. All the boys share that one, while their mother and Posy share the first. Gale sets down two plates of food. I take mine, and slowly begin to eat the berries. After eating a couple of the berries, I try the meat.
"Alright, can I ask why you two were on the porch this morning?" Gale says while sitting down with his own breakfast. I turn to Rory as he starts to explain.
"Well," he says, "I couldn't sleep last night so I decided to sit on the porch for a few minutes, you know, just to calm down. Then I saw Prim walking around, and invited her to sit with me. We talked for a bit, then I guess we just fell asleep." Gale nods.
"You alright?" Gale asks, turning to me. His eyebrows bunch up with concern.
"Yeah, I just couldn't sleep," I say quietly.
"Does your mom know your here?" he asks. I shake my head. I was planning on going right back home after a short walk. I defiantly did not mean to spend the whole night here. I hope she isn't worried.
"Well, given how worried I was, waking up to Rory being gone," Gale says, "I run over real quick and let her know you're staying with us today." I look up at him.
"You really don't have to, I was just going to go home," I tell him. He shakes his head.
"I'll just stop by on my way to the mines," he says. He's out the door and on his way within a few minutes. Rory and I finish up breakfast and bring our plates to the sink. Quietly, we begin to wash them.
"Good morning," I hear. We look up to see Mrs. Hawthorne coming out of her bedroom.
"Prim is staying with us today," Rory says quickly.
"Fun!" Mrs. Hawthorne replies cheerily, without thinking. Mrs. Hawthorne is the exact opposite of my mother, in looks and personality. She has the customary looks of the Seam: short dark hair, olive skin, and a determined smile. She has a very fun and welcoming personality for someone who has been through so much hardship.
"Have you had breakfast yet?" she asks.
"Yes," I answer with a smile. She has always been so helpful to us. She is always willing to share what they have, though they have just enough to scrape by.
"When are you kids getting back to school?" she asks. In everything, I forgot about school.
"Uh... I'm not sure. Will we get in trouble?" I ask.
"No," she says, "In these situations, they always let the families have a bit of time. Well, the kids at least." That reassures me. I really don't want to have to face everyone at school. Our conversation is interrupted by the Panem anthem. I suddenly realize with terror, that I didn't see any of last night's games. I only saw the morning. What if... I force myself not to think it, and turn my attention to the TV.
"Good Morning, Panem!" Caesar exclaims, "After the interesting turn of events last night, who knows what today will bring." Interesting. He said interesting. What does that mean? For someone from the Capitol, it could mean anything. Last year, he said it was interesting when a tribute from 11 was tortured by a Career.
"Let's have a quick recap of last night!" he says. The screen flashes scenes of Katniss running from the fire, her sitting in a pond, and the Careers chasing her.
"No," I whisper. I move towards the gray couch. Rory follows me, a hand on my shoulder. It shows Katniss climbing up a tree and taunting the Careers. I shake my head. She climbs higher as Cato follows her with a sword. Suddenly a branch breaks, and he is sent flying to the ground. Next, I see the girl from one attempt to shoot Katniss with a bow. Thankfully, it misses Katniss by about a foot. They cut away to when it is almost fully dark. The girl from 11, Rue, is in a tree near Katniss. She gets Katniss' attention and points up. The last scene they show is a nest of Tracker Jackers falling on the Careers, killing the girl with the bow, and injuring the rest.
"Now, an update of our Girl on Fire!" Caesar announces. Katniss is on the screen now. She is lying down near some rocks, and she appears unconscious. Rue is shown walking towards her. For some reason, I don't think Rue will hurt Katniss. I am proved right when Rue is shown chewing up an herb and placing it on Katniss' stings. After a few moments, the TV cuts out to show the Careers. Cato and Clove are hunting once again, when they find the boy from District 3 kneeling on the ground, trying to start a fire.
"Well, well, well, who do we have here?" Cato smirks. The boy whips in head around, eyes wide with terror. He gets to his feet and turns to run, when Cato steps on his foot, sending him face-first into the ground.
"Can I kill this one," Clove pleads. The boy makes a motion to get up, and Cato kicks his face.
"You got to kill the last one," Clove says, pouting. She looks and sounds so much like a rich toddler crying for candy. I can't believe it. She is in the middle of the Hunger Games, yet she is pouting at who kills who! Has she even realized that each tribute is a human?
"I can help you," the boy chokes out. Blood is dripping from his nose where Cato kicked him. Cato laughs shortly.
"And how would that be?" he says looking down at the boy.
"How could someone like you help someone like us?" Cato asks scornfully.
"I um I could, well, I um could protect your food," he stutters. Cato raises an eyebrow in doubt.
"I could reactivate the mines," the boy blurts out. Cato studies him like he is prey.
"Hm, might be worth a shot," Cato says, "But one wrong move and you're dead."
I turn away from the TV. Isn't that the entire games? One wrong move and you're dead. Isn't that how you get in the games? The wrong slip of paper gets drawn, and the next thing you know, you're getting shipped off to the Capitol. Then again, that's how life is here, too. Breaking the law once and getting shot by a peace keeper. Losing a job and no longer having enough money or food.
I wonder what it would be like in a world where one wrong move didn't cost you your life.