Chapter 2: Any Moment, We Could Be Crushed
When you're a miner, one day bleeds into the next with its drudgery until sometimes, you can't tell what day, week or month it is anymore.
My days working down the shafts with Peeta as my partner pass in much the same way, the days all blending together, but not because of drudgery. On the contrary, my days pass all the quicker than for most of my colleagues.
Once we open up about what Peeta termed 'the deep stuff,' I find myself more verbose than with anyone I've met, except for my sister. We talk about our home lives.
"I can't believe your mother would kick you out," I tell him quietly. "My own mother might be neglectful, but she wouldn't cast me out onto the street."
Peeta chuffs bitterly. "Better to have a neglectful Mother than an abusive one." He turns to face me, and by the glow of his headlamp, I can see a blooming red welt on his left cheek. I can only stare, gawping in disgust for him, my heart going out to him.
I dare to touch his hand. "I'm sorry," I mumble.
He merely shrugs, turning back to our work. "It's not your fault."
Peeta and I make a great team, equitable in the sharing of the tasks. We cycle off between chipping away as lead point and spotting while holding the canary cage. I carefully instructed Peeta on how to handle the little bird the first time I let him hold it.
"What is it supposed to do?" my handsome mining partner had frowned.
"If you hear it sing, that means the air is safe to breathe and we can venture on. But if it ever stops singing, it's a good sign that either the air is bad, or a collapse is imminent. Either way, you stop hearing that bird, that usually means it's dead. And if you don't get out, so will you."
Peeta cradles the canary cage in both hands, using his powerful leg muscles to propel him forward as we both press on through this narrow tunnel. A larger, more open cavern is just ahead. Between my whacks with the pickaxe, I hear Peeta chatting behind me:
"I remember the first time I ever heard you sing."
I freeze mid-swing, frowning, and I shift all the way around to peer back at him in bemusement.
"It was the first day of school; we were five. You were wearing a little red dress and your hair was in two braids instead of one." He points to the single braid of my chestnut hair, peeking out from under my headlamp. "In Music Assembly, our teacher asked who knew the Valley Song and your hand shot straight up. She sat you on a stool to sing it for us, and by the end, every single bird outside the window fell silent."
I'm gaping at him now, and only the soot is concealing how my face is bright pink. "I didn't think you... noticed or... remembered anything like that." I think back, of course, to the look we had shared outside the Bakery that day in the rain, before he had turned aside.
I lift my head again to capture, by the light of my headlamp, how Peeta is gazing at me in a way that is positively smoldering. "I remember everything about you," he murmurs. "You just weren't paying attention."
I stare at him, speechless. Finally, with a huff, I have to turn away and commando crawl the last few feet until we emerge out of this tunnel and into a larger cavern. I hop down to the earth, then turn back to help Peeta wriggle through the space. I get him under his shoulders (secretly marveling at what broad shoulders they are) and give a heave. He half-tumbles through the opening after me. When he straightens into a standing position, I realize just how close we are standing together. How I am still holding him, my hands gliding up his firm biceps.
I step away, blushing in spite of myself. "Let's... Let's start over here."
I cross to the far wall of this cavern and begin hacking away at the ore, separating it from the rock. Peeta swings the heavy pack off his back, his other hand still gripping the canary cage.
"Wish we didn't have to schlepp everything back in our packs."
"A mining cart would never reach this far deep," I remind him flatly, grunting as I follow through with another heavy swing. "Besides, I..." My voice trails off suddenly, as I focus in on the echo of my own voice.
That's when I realize: our canary has stopped singing.
Peeta and I lock gazes at the same moment.
"PEETA... -!"
KABOOM.
A great thunderous, roaring sound suddenly causes the mine to shake, rocks and dust dislodged to fall upon our helmets. Peeta dashes forward and shields us both up against the far wall of this cavern. We can hear the roar of rocks and other debris crashing down from above.
When the dust settles, Peeta and I rise out of a crouch, coughing, only to find the entry point into our little tunnel has been sealed off. I hear the rattle of Peeta dropping the cage holding our dead canary as I dash forward, pawing at the wall of rock that has now entombed us.
"Oh, no..."I breathe. I fall into a slight coughing fit again as I realize just how deep in shit my partner and I really are. I knew we shouldn't have gone this far deep! I don't even think the rest of our crew even realizes we're down here. If the collapse was as dangerous as it sounded, any and all survivors will be heading for the lifts at this moment.
We're trapped.
"HELP!" I scream, trying to find any little crack in the edifice through which to holler. Maybe someday, anybody – Bristel, Ripper, the foreman Gale or Thom – might hear our cries and attempt a rescue.
I remember painfully how, when I was little, several digging teams attempted to rescue my father and a handful of other men when they were buried in a horrible collapse. By the time they dug far enough, it was too late: the crews only found their bodies.
I stumble away from the wall of rock, my voice choking off not from the lingering dust and soot, but from tears. Oh no... Oh, no, no, no... I don't wanna die. I can't die! If I do, my sister and mother will be doomed. I can't let either of them down, especially not Prim.
I begin to pace about our cavernous prison frenetically; it's the only way I can think to expend all the pent-up energy I have. My brain is fritzing, I can't think of how we can possibly alert anyone that we're down here. Except, of course, screaming our heads off. I begin banging on the rocks and yelling at the top of my voice. Of course, I don't get any answer. It is as silent as the grave in which we have now been entombed.
I begin to hyperventilate, my every breath a struggle, and I start to pace frenetically in hopes that it can help me deal with the stress.
"We're gonna die... We're gonna die down here..."
From where he is leaning against one of the cavern walls, I can feel Peeta watching me. "Katty..."
"Don't!" I squeak, trembling.
"Katty, listen..."
"We're gonna DIE down here! Don't you get it?!" I round on him, screaming.
Peeta nods grimly. "Yeah. We probably will."
I blink at him, realizing I was hoping he might have a way for us to get out of here, or might at least provide some comfort. I feel Peeta step into me, closer.
"Katniss... just in case these are our final moments, I... I really want to..."
I blink at him dolefully. "Yes...?"
"Can I kiss you?"
I gape at him. "What?"
He looks impossibly hopeful. "Can I...?"
"May I kiss you?" I correct his grammar. He is much too close to me now, I can feel the heat from his toned body. My face flushes bright red and I am stammering, stuttering out something that might be at least the formulation of an answer, when I feel Peeta take me in his arms.
"Ssssh..." He rests a finger against my mouth to quiet me. "Any moment, we could be crushed..."
I let out a shuddering breath, somehow unable to tear my gaze away from peering deep into his impossibly blue eyes. "Well... that's a comforting thought..."
He doesn't respond to my sarcastic quip. "Don't feel rushed."
Then his lips seal over mine in a firm, heated kiss.
I am astonished with myself at how, almost instantly, my limbs go water-soft as they reach up to loop lazily about his neck. I kiss him back languorously, my fingers weaving themselves into his blonde hair peeking out from under his headlamp. In fact, I sink my nails into his curls, hard enough to pinch and enough that the mining helmet gets shifted off his head, clattering to the ground behind us, the bulb winking out. By the light of my own headlamp, Peeta and I continue to embrace, and we deepen the kiss. His mouth is warm, soft and heavy against mine, eventually working it open so that his tongue can ease through the split. With a plaintive moan, I let him in, and when our tongues touch and twine to dance with each other, I let out a gasp.
"Mmmmmmhmmmmmmm..."
We break apart, gasping to get air, our arms still wound about each other. My eyelids have grown heavy, my lashes fluttering, and I can feel my breasts straining like a bellows under my coveralls.
"You... you kiss by the book," I state breathlessly, quoting a play we read once in Literature in school, before Peeta dives back in for another kiss and I return it wholeheartedly.
We knees grow weak until they collapse out from under me. Hands gliding to my waist, Peeta holds me gently, supporting me against him. I shiver when I feel his calloused, strong hands dare to grope lower, cupping my arse cheeks through my pants, first gripping one glute and then the other. I suck in a sharp breath, and when Peeta's palm brushes the inside of my thigh, I don't hesitate to help him raise my leg up, and I hook it about his torso.
We're making out now, and I swoon with a whimper as this man in my arms slowly lowers me to the cavern floor. My one leg still curled about him, I allow him to settle on top of me and I spread my legs wide for him, so that I now cradle his hips.
My hands are shaking as I fumble for the button at Peeta's trousers, then the zipper. I feel my palm brush something warm and stiff, and once I free him, Peetra begins jerking his pelvis into my thigh in a crude imitation of... of... Sucking on his bottom lip, I let out a growl as I grab his glutes in my fist, furiously rocking my hips back.
I abruptly feel cool air tickle my skin as Peeta manages to undo the straps of my coveralls enough that he can throw my own pants down. I splay my thighs wider, enough until the fabric of my jeans grows taut, and I lift my knees to better grip him, hold him against me. By now, Peeta's lips have moved on to blazing a trail down the soft curve of my neck, working his way down to my collarbone. I feel my nipples peak hard with arousal, pebbling and straining under my work shirt, as Peeta seals his mouth over one and suck.
"Mmmmmmmm... P-Peeta," I rasp, squirming beneath him. I inhale the musky scent of my own arousal, and I feel dampness slick along my panties that are now very, very wet. "I... I've never..."
Peeta raises his head from where he has been slathering my clothed boob to gaze at me smolderingly. "I won't hurt you, Katniss..." I feel him begin to grind against me, his erection stiff and throbbing. "I... I love you..."
Curling a hand around the back of his neck, I pull his lips down to mine and kiss him hungrily. As I work his mouth open in a hot, messy rhythm, I sense Peeta line up our entrances. I once thought I would never want to lie down with any boy and make love, but if my partner and I are truly doomed and are fated to die, at least we'll be together.
And at least I can say I didn't die a virgin.
Even so, I feel incredibly nervous at the thought of us joining so physically, so intimately. "Peeta... I've never done this before..."
Peeta merely grunts and presses down on me.
"I've never in my entire life made love. Ohhhh – Ohhhhh... But I want to. I – I want you to make love to me! I want you to fuck me! I want us to make lo – Ahhhhh... Ahhhhhhh! AHHHHHHHHH! AHHHHHHHHHHH!"
My cries sharply rise in both volume and pitch as Peeta takes me with one thrust and begins to pound into me. His palms groping me along my buttocks and along the small of my back, I eagerly help him sharply lift my hips up so that his cock can sink deeper into my wet folds, hitting me in the spot where I sometimes, late at night in bed, like to pleasure myself. I let out a happy scream and writhe beneath him, and within moments, I feel my entire body seize and my toes curl with pleasure as I feel my orgasm rip through me with the speed of a tribute train. Peeta hums into my willing mouth and begins to speed up his strokes, even as I dazedly loop my arms about his broad shoulders and dig my nails into the strong shoulder blades. The moment Peeta's lips leave mine to plant open-mouthed kisses along my face, I begin to dreamily sing:
"Ahhhhh, sweet mystery of life, at last I've found you! ... Ahhhhh, at last I know the secret of it all! ..."
"When did you first fall in love with me?"
We are lying under a simple blanket Peeta found in his pack, our arms wound about each other, my chestnut curls forming a halo around my head which is now resting against my lover's firm chest.
I can feel Peeta grinning down at me. "It was the first day of school. My father pointed you out while we were waiting to line up."
I lift my head off his chest to peer down at him. "Your father? Why?"
"He said, 'See that little girl? I wanted to marry her mother, but she ran off with a coal miner.'"
"What? You're making that up!" I insist, and I almost want to laugh.
"No, it's true. And I said, 'A coal miner? Why did she want a coal miner if she could have had you?'And he replied, 'Because when he sings... even the birds stop to listen.'"
I sigh. "That's true. They do. I mean, they did." Sighing, I settle back down into my lover's arms. "Our canary certainly stopped singing."
"Hey,"and Peeta nudges me until I'm gazing up into his beaming smile. "However long we have, I'm just glad I finally worked up the nerve to kiss you."
"Hmm," I demure, smirking. "And a lot more, as it turns out. You certainly know how to deflower a woman..."
"Trust me... you're the only woman I want to be with."
Giggling, he and I lean in and kiss lightly, holding each other as we wait for the end, whatever end is to come.
Later, we wake up to spotlights streaming in our faces, and the sounds of voices.
"WE FOUND THEM!" someone shouts. And Peeta and I are liberated from our stony prison and brought up in the lifts into the light.
