Thank you to my loyal readers/reviewers. Loved hearing your thoughts! Here is the next installment in the story. :)


Chapter 8

My mother wakes me up after having slept in too long. Last night was rough; I'm not sure how much sleep I got, but it definitely wasn't enough. She reminds me of the errand I need to run today: to deliver the cloth she dyed for the family from District 8. It's a long walk, about 7 miles each way. I eat lunch and change my clothes, replacing the locket around my neck. I feel an attachment to it now. It makes me feel that she is with me in some way.

As I walk through the woods, I can't decide whether I enjoy or loathe the solitude out here. The tranquility is nice. The sounds of the forest are peaceful ones. On the other hand, being by myself makes me reflect on things, most dealing with Katniss in some way. I push her from my head by counting the number of footsteps I have taken. When I reach number 376, I'm so far away from reality that I don't realize that I've knocked into someone else on the path. She lets out a gasp and I clutch onto her so she doesn't hurt herself.

"Gale." she says with a sly smile. I find it odd that she'd know my name. I've never seen this girl in my life.

"Careful there." I say.

"You were the one that ran into me." she says with a raised brow.

"Where you off to?" I ask, trying to make small talk.

"To see Rory." she tell me. It makes sense now how she knows my name. I'm sure Rory's told her all about me. "My sister's asked about you. Maybe you could stop by sometime." she blurts out.

"Yeah." I mutter, to appease her.

"Good." she replies before sauntering away from me. I continue towards my destination, not stopping until I reach the Loomis household. I deliver their textiles and stay to eat something at their insistence. Guests are rare occurrences in this part of the woods and they welcome the chance to see a new face. I make conversation with them, telling them about my family and they tell me about what they've been up to. They even show me the loom they managed to hull all this way from District 8. It is quite impressive that they made it here with it still intact. They also show me the small field of cotton where they grow the fibers needed to make the cloth.

I bid them goodbye and begin my journey back to my family. On my way back, my mind drifts back to Katniss. My heart grows heavy when I think of her, miserable in District 12. I pause my walking to sit at the base of a tree. I open the locket and stare at her.

"I'm sorry I left you. I really am." I speak to her as I brush my thumb over her portrait. "You should be here with me." I have no idea why I'm speaking to her picture. Perhaps I'm hoping that she'll say something back, which is impossible. I think back to me waking up next to her in the cabin. It feels like ages ago when it was really only a few days before. I miss her touch and the heat that radiates off her body when she lies close to me. I miss those gray eyes staring back at me, communicating every emotion running through her.

I resolve that I don't want any of the girls that Rory has lined up for me. All I want is her. I rub my chest over my aching heart, hoping it will provide some relief. My hand comes to a rest as I feel it throbbing under my touch, as if it could rupture at any moment.

"Fuck." I croak as I bear this intolerable pain. I'd do anything to make it go away. I pry myself off the ground and continue home down a route that I don't normally take. I have a reason to take this path today. I walk two miles until I reach a small cabin tucked in the woods. I've heard stories about the woman who lives here…that she has mystical powers. I'm not sure whether or not I believe in them, but at this point, I'm desperate for any sort of help.

The smoke lifting from the chimney lets me know she's home. Not that she would be anywhere else. No one has ever seen her venture out into the world. Maybe she's too frail to leave her house or maybe she knows people will show up when the time is right. I lift my arm and knock on the door three times and take a few deep breaths as I wait. The door swings open and a petite woman with silver hair stands in front of me.

"Yes?" she asks with curiosity.

"I heard you can fix things for people…changed what has happened." I say with pleading eyes, hoping she can help. She waves me in and walks away from the door. I follow her, closing the door behind me. She sits at a table and I take a seat beside her. She stares at me with her hazel eyes, waiting for me to speak first.

"I'm not sure I have anything of value to pay you for your services." I tell her. I then realize there is one thing, but I'd rather not give her that. It's the only thing I have to remind me of Katniss. I swallow my pride and realize that if it will help get her back, I can let go of this one keepsake. "Actually, I have this." I tell her as I remove the locket and hold it in my open palm, reaching it across the table. She ignores me and scribbles on a pad of paper, tearing the top sheet when she's done.

"Gather these and then we will talk." she says, covering the locket with the list. "They all grow nearby." she adds. I replace my locket and leave the cabin with the list in hand. As I collect each item, I feel fortunate for Katniss having shown me all these plants. I begin to wonder if the old lady knew about my knowledge of plants. Things get even more strange when I get to the fifth item on the list: katniss tubers. Was this a mere coincidence or was there a purposeful reason for these to be on the list? I start toward the pond to find them. My eyes can't help from misting over when I dig the roots out of the shallow mud. I can only hope that this lady can actually help her bring her to me and is not wasting my time by completing her chores.

I return back a few hours later with every item on the list fulfilled. I group them in piles on the table before taking my seat. She mentally checks each one off the list. When I have her attention, I begin to speak.

"There's this girl—" I begin.

"I don't toy with matters of the heart." she interrupts me.

"No, it's not that!" I say rushed, hoping she doesn't get the wrong idea about me. "I'm not asking you to make anyone fall in love with me. It's something else. It's about a mistake I made five year ago…about a girl I left behind." I tell her, removing my locket and sliding the opened picture towards her.

"Pretty girl." she says. "Tell me more about this girl…Katniss." I'm caught off guard when I hear her mention her name. I never told her the girl in photo was named Katniss. It takes me take a moment to collect myself before I start from the beginning about how we met and how our relationship grew over time. As I do this, she plucks the arrow-head shaped leaves from the roots of the katniss, sorting them into two piles.

"So when did you realize you were in love with her?" she asks me.

"What makes you think I'm in love with her?" I question her. I never mentioned anything about love.

"I can tell about the way you talk about her. It's not hard to see the affection you have for her."

"It happened when I was 17. We were sitting in the Hob eating soup and a Peacekeeper came up and started flirting with her. Something happened inside of me and I realized that it bothered me, the way he looked at her and played with her braid. I was jealous."

"And you've never told her."

"Timing never was right." I mutter as a stare down at the table. "And then I was really too late so I left. At least I thought it was too late. I thought she was in love with someone else so I faked my death and fled to the woods with her family."

"Seems a little extreme." she comments.

"I was young and dumb and heartbroken. My mind wasn't thinking logically. I thought my shot with her was over. I went back a few days ago and reconnected with her. It brought back all those feelings that I tried so hard to suppress over the years."

"What do you want?" she asks.

"To go back to when we were young. To bring her with me." I say as I twirl a katniss leaf between my fingers. "She's just so unhappy now. She deserves to be happy." I finish as my voice wavers and my eyes water up.

"Dandelions!" she exclaims, out of the blue. "I forgot to add them to the list. Would you mind fetching some for me?"

"Sure." I reply, my politeness taking over. She hands me a cloth bag and I venture into the woods again. I can't help but think that this lady is a phony. She hasn't mentioned anything about helping me and now she's sending me on another errand. I should have known better than to listen to those stories but I'm so desperate for Katniss. Now that I'm alone, I let the tears flow and I continue to walk. I let out my anger as I scavenge, kicking up dirt and throwing small stones into the pond. I pick a few dandelion plants before returning to the house. I'm not going to waste anymore of my day on something so hopeless.

"Oh you found them! Thank you!" she says with gratefulness.

"You're welcome. I better start home; my family is expecting me." I tell her.

"Stay a little longer. Hydrate yourself." she says, handing me a cup. Inside it looks like a greenish sludge. I give her an off-putting look. "Drink up, lots of good nutrient in there." she tells me. I put the cup to my mouth and chug the concoction as fast I can. It's hard to get down but I somehow manage to finish it. I place the cup on the table and then walk with her to the door.

"I hope things will get better with your friend." she says with sincerity.

"I don't think they will." I say with grimace.

"Maybe you just need to take a trip back. Maybe that could make all the difference." she says. I give her a nod before starting back.

About a mile in, I think about what she said, about taking a trip back to 12. What good would it do? She's married; she has a kid. She can't escape from her life. Even if I could get that stupid tracker out her, she still wouldn't leave, at least not the way I'd want her to.

I picture a version of us in my head, holding each other's hands as we run towards safety. I stop her and press her back against a tree, taking her face in my hands as a kiss her passionately. My fantasy rips me far away from reality that I don't realize that the ground in front of me is sloping drastically downward. As a result, I tumble forward through the topography of the forest, hitting bushes, and rocks as my body is hurled. I reach for something, anything to break my fall. My hand screams with pain when I grasp onto a handful of holly leaves, their points pricking my skin. When I let go, I find a few leaves still stuck in my hand. I rip them out, grunting to help reduce the pain. Their points are small but enough to draw blood. I curse when I realize that some of the pointy spines are still stuck in my skin. This isn't the only wound I've suffered from the fall. There is also a gash in my side and blood is starting to wet my shirt. I lift the fabric to assess the damage. It's not too deep but it hurts to touch it. I pick myself up and continue home, still a little shaken.

I'm in idiot for letting my mind wander like that. Shows me what good daydream does…it's only trouble. That scene I pictured will never happen, not in a million years. I'm lucky I didn't hurt myself worse. I doubt my brothers would come this was to look for me. We never take this path.

I reach home around late afternoon and find Vick playing with Posy outside. When I catch Posy's attention, her eyes widen with fear.

"Mom!" she calls out as she speeds into the house. I can only imagine how bad I look, covered in dirt and blood. My mother races out of the house and immediately lifts my shirt in a panic.

"Where on Earth have you been?" she says, exasperated.

"Running errands."

"You should have been back hours ago." She grabs my bad hand to lead me inside and I yelp in grief. She quickly lets go and lightly pushes me forward so I start walking. When I'm inside, I see she already has water on the fire. She ladles some into a bowl and drop a cloth into it. I plop onto a chair and remove my shirt after she instructs me to do so. She wipes away the blood around the wound.

"What happened?" she asks.

"I fell in the woods…about a hundred feet." I tell her. She carefully inspects the area to make sure nothing was punctured in the process. She lets out a sigh of relief, which is promising. "There's something else. I grabbed onto some holly when I was trying to stop my fall." I explain as I show her my hand. She takes her index finger and presses against one of the abrasions causing me to groan.

"Still in there. Get washed up and I'll remove them after." she instructs me. I take a towel outside with me and drape it over the door to the rainwater shower I constructed years ago. I pump the handle to get it started and the water washes over me, removing the impurities from my body as I lather soap over every part of me. When I'm finished, I wrap the towel around the torso and head inside. My mother bandages my wound with the first aid kit that Katniss gave us and then I go to my room to get dressed. I meet my mother on the couch, where she is waiting for me with tweezers.

"Where were you?" she asks me as she removes the first spine. I gasp in agony.

"Errands." I answer her.

"You had one errand, to deliver the cloth. You know I don't like you roaming out there without me knowing."

"I know Mom, it's just…" I sigh. My sigh is quickly replaced by a grunt as she removes another spine. I don't want to tell her where I went. It's embarrassing.

"You weren't hunting. You'd have something for us by now." she comments. I man up and decide to tell her the truth.

"I went to see that lady in the woods."

"The witch?" she questions. I nod. "Gale." she mutters as she shakes her head.

"I didn't know what else to do. Doesn't matter though. They're just rumors…what the other people say. She's just an old lady that needs help."

"What were you expecting?" my mom asks, crossing her arms, looking at me with a raised brow.

"Magic…or a miracle. Something to bring her back to me." I say, resting my head against the back of the couch.

"That bad, hmm?" she says rubbing my shoulder.

"I hate feeling like this. Things could have been different if I had waited for her."

"Even if you did take her, Gale, it doesn't mean you would have gotten what you wanted." she says, being brutally honest.

"I would have had a better chance." I say annoyed. "I'm going to lay down. Today has been exhausting."

I give my mother a hug before walking to my room, securing the door behind me. I pull back my covers and replace them over me. I reflect on my day and regret even stopping by that old lady's house. It's doesn't matter though. I'll wake up tomorrow and things will be the same. Eventually I'll forget about this event. I'll go on with my everyday life, in the woods with my family. Same as always.


I think you probably know where this story is going...and I understand that some people might not be down with that. It's what I've planned to do from the beginning though. Let me know your thoughts.

Also, leave a review and you will get to vote on how the beginning of the next chapter starts (I will send you a PM with the two scenarios for you to vote on. FYI: You have to be able to receive messages to get to vote).