Changing the Game Chapter 17: Hey, I'm Okay, a hunger games fanfic

Changing the Game

Chapter 17 : Hey, I'm Okay

~ Katniss ~

Before I even have the opportunity to panic, a parachute appears in front of my face. In a hurry and with shaky hands, I fumble to open the package, hoping it is something, anything that will bring Peeta back to me.

I open the package to find a tiny syringe in it. On the plunger of the syringe, someone has drawn a tiny heart-shaped symbol. Does this mean I need to inject it into his heart? Deciding there is no time to waste, and hoping my deductions are correct, I stab the needle into Peeta's chest, slightly to the left of his breastbone.

Almost instantly, Peeta sucks in a deep breath and jolts up from…whatever medication was in the syringe. I wrap my arms around him and plant kiss after kiss all over his face. The sheer joy at seeing the life in his eyes, seeing the rise and fall of his chest overwhelms me to the point I think I may combust.

"Hey, hey, I'm okay." He tells me, tucking the loose hairs behind my ear. I meet his eyes and then look him over. He may be alive, but he is far from okay. Even in the darkness his face is white as a ghost. He looks anything but okay. He needs a doctor; he needs more than what this arena can provide. 'Stop it Katniss, stop or you'll make yourself crazy. All he needs to do is outlast Cato, and then—'

"Cato." I say. Why isn't he dead yet? Those mutts have had more than enough time to kill him, so why haven't I heard a canon yet?

Peeta has enough energy to sit up, and we both scan the arena looking for any sign of Cato or the mutts. With squinted eyes, Peeta points toward the forest. "I think…I think those things carried him over there…What are they anyway…and…and where did they…come from?" I scowl at him, noticing that he is still having a difficult time getting his words out.

"They're…they're squirrels." I tell him apprehensively, looking off to where he is pointing, and I can just make out Cato's silhouette. The evil squirrel mutts are attempting to sink their teeth into him but cannot seem to get all the way through his armor. I send an arrow in their direction and they scatter, startled when the arrow flies past them, but then scurry back to their previous position as if nothing even happened.

"Katniss, can you do that again?"

"Why?"

"I just…I want to see something."

"Okay." I send another arrow, causing them to scatter again. "Did you see it?"

"You know how in a normal beehive, there is a queen?"

"No, but okay." I tell him, unsure of where this is going.

"If we can figure out which one of those is the Queen Squirrel and take it out, I…I think it'll kill all of them."

"It's too dark Peeta, and they're so small."

"We'll wait for the sun." He tells me, pulling me closer to him. "Come here." I scoot myself as close as possible to Peeta, but then notice a pool of blood surrounding his leg. The leg that the dog-mutt bit into.

"Peeta, your leg." I pull his pant leg up to inspect the wound to find that it is fairly deep, not quite to the bone, but his blood is still gushing at a steady pace. I reach into my quiver, and my panic sets in when I see there are only three arrows left. There is the golden arrow that Haymitch warned me not to lose and two regular ones. I didn't realize I went through so many or I wouldn't have wasted those two on scaring the squirrels. Realizing it's too late to worry about it now, I reach over to rip the remaining sleeve of my shirt, but Peeta stops me.

"No, use mine. You don't have much left." He's right, I barely have any fabric left on my shirt; there is the shoulder of one arm, a quarter of a sleeve on the other arm, and the torso and back section is all that remains, and somewhere along the way I seemed to have lost my jacket.

I take Peeta's entire sleeve and tie it around his leg and then using one of the regular arrows, I make a tourniquet. Peeta still has his jacket, although holey from the fire, and he wraps it around both of us. It's not much, but anything is better than nothing at this point.

The bleeding stops, or slows down at the very least, but it's better than nothing. I tied it off as tight as I could to stop the bleeding, but I'm worried it's too tight; tight enough to completely block his circulation.

Once again, I am kicking myself for always running out when mom and Prim are nursing the miners back to health. I do not dare even joke about wishing Prim were here instead of me. I promise myself that if Peeta and I make it back home, I promise to pay more attention…in case I am ever in this type of situation ever again, not that it would ever happen. But, I suppose you can never be too prepared, right?

"Peeta, is the tourniquet too tight? If it's too tight it could cut the circulation off in your leg, and you could…you could lose your leg."

"It's fine Katniss, just…stay…keep me warm. And…it's better than…the other…option." I decide to take his word on it and curl into him to keep warm. The gamemaker's are not going easy on us, not only have they sent in these ferocious carnivorous mutts and nearly blinded us in the dark, but they have now turned the temperature to below freezing. Which, I suppose is to our advantage. At the very least, it will slow Peeta's bleeding.

"We're almost there, Peeta." I tell him, trying to give him some hope.

"Kat…niss…If I don't—" I turn to stare Peeta in the eye, cupping his face in both of my hands.

"Don't. No. You are NOT dying. We are going home, together. Just like we promised. Do you understand me, Peeta Mellark? I am not leaving this arena without you."

"Yes…Ma'am." He says with a crooked grin. I return back to his arms, draping Peeta's jacket back over our shoulders.

I have no idea how much time goes by. Minutes or hours, I can't tell. But for the remainder of the night, Peeta and I stay curled into each other. We try to talk, but the chattering of our teeth makes it difficult. We do not let the other fall asleep, that is the number one rule.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0

~ Peeta ~

"Kat…niss." It has become harder and harder to get my words out. Between the frigid temperatures and losing so much blood, I wonder how I am even awake. She is lying in my arms, her head resting on my chest. Her body feels so good next to mine, but I am ready to get out of here. 'Katniss, the sun. It's coming up.' We have tried to steer clear from this method of communication, not wanting our audience to become aware of it. She holds her head up, and then sits up.

"Which one do you think it is?" She means the Queen Squirrel. Throughout the night, there was nothing to do but watch the mutt's chip away at Cato's armor. What a horrendous way to die, so slowly like that. I don't hate Cato, the games made him this way. No, not the games, The Capitol. He is merely a pawn in this despicable game.

"The one…purple…" The one with purple eyes. It's the fattest one.' I tell her when my voice fails me.

"Okay. Will you hold my feet so I can get better aim?"

"Of course." It takes me a few seconds to get up, we have not moved in hours which has resulted in severely stiff limbs. But I finally manage it, and grab on to Katniss' calves, securing her in place. She readies her arrow, and then spends a few seconds adjusting her aim. I really hope I am right about this, especially since Katniss is down to only two arrows.

'Make it count.' She nods just before releasing her arrow. Part of me wants to close my eyes, afraid of what will happen once the arrow meets its target, but then I tell myself not to be a coward and pry my eyes open.

Katniss' arrow goes straight through the Queen's eye, and nothing happens. The squirrel is still chomping away, as if it was never even hit. 'The golden arrow. This must be what Haymitch meant.' I tell her. Using my teeth, since my hands are holding her up, I grab onto the golden arrow and lean over to hand it to her, and she repeats her process. Inhale, exhale, center, aim…and then she lets her arrow fly, straight into the eye of the Queen. And it is just as I suspected; she, along with all the other mutts explode, vanishing into the air. We can hear the painful groans coming from Cato, but he doesn't move a muscle. Katniss comes back up to me, tears in her eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't…—" Her eyes flicker to my leg, then back up to my eyes. "I don't have anymore arrows." I extend my arm towards my leg and Katniss pushes my arm to stop me.

"No Peeta, you'll die."

"I'm already dying Katniss; I think we both know that."

"No." She's being stubborn. It's the only way and she knows it.

"As soon as he dies, they'll send the hovercraft for us. It'll be okay." Her lower lip trembles, but she nods, removing the arrow from the tourniquet.

"Again?" She asks me, and I nod, grabbing onto her calves.

"Shoot straight." I tell her.

Cato's body is encased with that armor, meaning the only kill shot is his face. Katniss takes a few deep breaths, exhaling slowly as she centers her aim. This is her very last arrow, meaning that missing is not an option.

If she can shoot a squirrel while it is running at full speed, straight in the eye every single time without fail, I have no doubt that she can do this; her target unmoving.

I watch as the arrow zooms through the arena; twenty, thirty, forty yards even, impaling Cato in the center of his forehead, followed by the sound of cannon. Katniss comes back up to me with her eyes full of tears. We both feel the same; we want to go home…More than anything we want to get back to Twelve and see our friends and family but taking the life of another person takes its toll on you. It changes you.

The games did this, The Capitol did this. It did the very thing I never wanted; it has changed me, changed us. I must have been an idiot to think otherwise.

I pull her into my arms and rock us both back and forth for a moment. But then, she cocks her head up to look at me. "Why haven't they announced us as the winners yet? It shouldn't take this long." She says shakily. She is worried, as am I.

"Maybe we should climb down. Get off the cornucopia, I mean."

"Are you okay to…I mean, can you walk?"

"Yeah, I'll be okay. You tied me up really well." She helps me stand up and together we climb down and make our way to the lake, which actually isn't that far from us.

I jump and almost trip when the sound of trumpets fills the arena. I grab onto her hand, excited for them to declare us the winners. Excited to get the hell out of this nightmare.

"ATTENTION TRIBUTES, ATTENTION TRIBUTES. YOU HAVE COME SO FAR, AND ALL OF US IN THE CAPITOL ARE SO PROUD OF YOUR EFFORTS. HOWEVER, UPON FURTHER INSPECTION, THE PREVIOUS RULE CHANGE STATING THAT TWO MAY WIN IF FROM THE SAME DISTRICT HAS BEEN REVOKED. ONLY ONE WINNER IS PERMITTED. HAPPY HUNGER GAMES AND MAY THE ODDS BE EVER IN YOUR FAVOR!" My heart drops into my stomach as the realization of Claudius Templesmith's words hit me.

"No." Is all I manage to get out. Katniss runs up to me, wrapping her arms around my neck.

"No. I'm not leaving without you Peeta. 'They'll have to kill me if they want their victor.'

"Katniss…they have to…they have to have their winner. One of us needs to go home, and it's you. We both know it needs to be you. Prim needs you. Madge needs you." 'Don't break your promise to Prim.' With tear filled eyes, she shakes her head vehemently, but then her eyes light up, forming a plan. She looks down to my waist and begins unzipping my pack, pulling out one of the plastic bags. The inverted one inside of a regular one. The one with the berries. The nightlock.

"No, Katniss." I place my hand over the hand of hers that holds the berries.

'We're not actually going to eat them. Just pop one into your mouth.'

I agree to her plan with a simple movement of my eyes.

"Are you sure?" I say.

'But…If they still won't let us BOTH win…Peeta, I'm not—'

"Yes." She says, nodding.

Katniss places a berry in my hand, and one in her own. We stand face to face, interlocking our arms.

"Together?" I ask her.

She nods, kissing my lips and then says, "Together."

We each hold our berry between our thumb and forefinger, we hold it up for 'them' to see for a second or two

"I love you Peeta." Katniss says.

"I have always loved you Katniss. Always." I tell her. "On three?"

"On three." She confirms.

"One" We say together.

"Two."

'Three.' And then we each slip a berry into the others' mouth. With the berry in our mouths, we seal our lips shut, making sure not to crush the berry, or to spill any of its juices.

"WAIT! WAIT! STOP! STOP! CONGRATULATIONS, I GIVE YOU THE WINNERS OF THE 74TH ANNUAL HUNGER GAMES, FROM DISTRICT TWELVE, KATNISS EVERDEEN AND PEETA MELLARK!" We both drop to our knees and expel the poisonous fruit from our mouths, crouching by the water and proceed to use the lake water to rinse our mouths out.

The adrenaline must have kept me going all this time, because once I realize that we are finally safe, I collapse onto my back and see the hovercraft in the sky.

And then, just like in the arena, everything goes black.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0

~ Haymitch ~

I'm thankful my tributes are smart enough and seem to pick up on the most intricate of details. The girl saw the heart symbol inscripted on the syringe and injected the serum into the boy's heart. Had she injected it anywhere else, it would not have worked.

"Hey, hey, I'm okay." The boy says, trying to comfort the girl.

"She's good." Cinna says with an approving nod.

"Yeah, I guess so." I respond nonchalantly.

"Oh, come on Haymitch, you know you like her."

So, what if I do? "Yeah, whatever. Shut up so I can hear."

"They're…they're squirrels." The girl answers his question about the appearance of the new mutts. After shooting Cato off the cornucopia, the hellhound-dog-mutt thing turned into twelve tiny, ferocious, evil squirrels. I inwardly cringe, the squirrels bring images of my own games to the forefront of my mind. Only the gamemaker's would think of something this ignominious.

The boy from Two, Portia said his name is Cato; he received full body armor from the feast, which is preventing the squirrels from killing him. But it does not protect him from the pain of their razor-sharp teeth, or the venom that seeps through the armor. I actually feel sorry for the kid, those damn mutts are dragging his death out. 'What a horrible way to die', I think to myself, shaking my head in disgust.

"Katniss, can you do that again?"

"Why?"

"I just…I want to see something."

"Okay."

"Do you think he figured it out?" Cinna asks. Cinna, who is normally so quiet and reserved seems to have had too much wine, causing him to be a damn chatter box tonight.

"I don't know. Watch." I snap at him, finishing off my drink and slamming it down on the table.

"If we can figure out which squirrel is the 'Queen' and take it out, I…I think it'll kill all of them."

"There you go, he figured it out." I confirm for Cinna.

But there is still one more obstacle for them to get through. Those rodents will not die from anything but that golden arrow. And the girl only has two regular arrows left.

Declaring it is too dark to see, they wait together throughout the remainder of the night, for the light of the sun before making another attempt at the squirrels.

"Peeta, your leg." I suck in a deep breath, wincing back when the girl pulls the boy's pant leg up to inspect the wound.

"That doesn't look good." Cinna says just when Portia walks back in.

Sweetheart tears off the boy's sleeve and ties it around his leg, using one of her arrows to make a tourniquet. The two curl into each other to keep warm for the rest of the night. The gamemaker's have turned the temperatures down to near freezing, which I suppose is a good thing since it will slow the bleeding down if they don't die from hypothermia first.

"We're almost there, Peeta." A tear falls from Portia's eye when the girl tries to give the boy something to hope for.

"Don't. No. You are NOT dying. We are going home, together. Just like we promised. Do you understand me, Peeta Mellark? I am not leaving this arena without you."

'Don't worry sweetheart, you won't have to.' I think to myself. I received a message a few days ago that Coin is just as determined to have the boy as well as the girl.

The three of us take turns napping throughout the remainder of the day and night, leaving at least one set of eyes on them at all times.

~ Effie ~

"Kat…niss." I look up at the screen when I hear the hoarse, croaky voice of my sweet boy for the first time in hours.

"Oh goodie, finally some action!" Standing next to me is Agnes Van Maassen, one of the top sponsors of the past five years. I mask my disgust and offer her my most award-winning smile.

"I know…Finally!" I respond and we turn our attention to the screen. When at first Haymitch asked me to come here, I was appalled by his comment of me being 'one of them', but he was right. Had Haymitch strutted through these doors, I am certain I would not be privy to some of the outrageous comments I have witnessed thus far.

"Which one do you think it is?" Katniss asks my darling boy, referring to the Queen squirrel. I pride myself in knowing that my boy was smart enough to figure this out, let us just see if they realize they need to utilize the golden arrow Haymitch sent them.

"I am so glad I did not sponsor that boy from Two, I mean…so much money would have been wasted, just wasted!" Agnes guffaws.

"The one…purple…" Peeta struggles to get his words out, either from the frigid temperatures, or the serious nature of his injuries, I am uncertain. However, Katniss seems to understand what he means to say.

"Okay. Will you hold my feet so I can get better aim?" It takes Peeta a bit to get his limbs moving, but finally, he does.

"Surely she can't hit that tiny rodent from that distance! It must be at least…thirty yards away! And those creatures, they are so tiny!" Agnes squeals, doubting Katniss' abilities. If only she knew what I knew.

"Oh, I doubt it. A poor lowly girl from Twelve? And did you see how fast those little mice-like creatures can run?" I retort back to Agnes.

Katniss leans over the side of the cornucopia with Peeta anchoring her by her feet and takes a deep breath, concentrating. She blows the air from her lungs and releases the arrow.

"WHAT!" The entirety of the room yells out in unison. People are looking to each other, wondering if their eyes are playing tricks on them.

Peeta must realize the golden arrow is the only thing that can kill the squirrels. Not wanting to release his grip on Katniss, he uses his teeth to grip the golden arrow and leans over, handing it off to Katniss.

Once again, Katniss strings her arrow, inhales a lung full of air, and then slowly exhales before she releases her arrow.

"WHOO HOO!"

"WOW! OH MY GOD!"

"SHE DID IT!"

"HAHA, Fess up Halina. You owe me one-hundred coins!"

"MY HEAVENS, I CAN'T BELIEVE SHE DID IT!"

Everyone in the room is awestruck by Katniss' precision, having landed the golden arrow straight through the eye of the Queen squirrel. I gasp, covering my mouth with my gloved hand, feigning shock. During one of the training days, I overheard Peeta telling Haymitch how Katniss shoots her 'game' at home, always hitting the animal through their eye. Every single time.

The Queen explodes on impact, along with her little worker-squirrels.

"Excuse me Mrs. Van Maassen, might I borrow Miss Trinket for a moment?" It is none other than Raven Kadinski. Raven extends his arm out to me, clearly that was not a request. As I look back, waving to Agnes, she rolls her eyes at Raven.

"Miss Trinket, as usual, you are looking lovelier than ever." Raven offers flatteries, to which I place a hand over my heart.

"Thank you, Mr. Kadinski; you are looking rather dashing yourself."

"Please…call me Raven." He says, leading us through the double doors that lead into the private suite for the most elite sponsors.

"Then you may call me Effie."

"After you, Effie." Raven shows me to a corner booth table toward the back of the room. We take a seat in the booth, sitting opposite of each other.

"Mr.— I mean Raven, I cannot stay long, I must keep an eye on my tributes."

Raven presses some buttons on the table and the table turns into a hologram of the games. It looks exactly like the screen I was just watching from The Green Room.

"Wow! This is incredible! Oh, but I still…I promised Haymitch I would—" Raven places something in my ear, and suddenly, I hear the chatter of the sponsors in The Green Room. He hands me his cellular telephone, and I see a live feed from which the voices are coming from.

"What…How did—" He places his forefinger over his lips, silencing me.

The time it took Raven and I to make it into this room, the tourniquet from Peeta's leg has been removed, and is now impaled tautly in the skull of the District Two boy.

Katniss returns to Peeta with tears in her eyes, most likely from being forced to take the life of another. Peeta holds her, rocking them gently for a moment.

"Why haven't they announced us as the winners yet? It shouldn't take this long." Katniss asks the question going through my head, craning her neck up to look at Peeta. She is right, normally the moment that last tribute's cannon fires, the announcement is made, followed immediately after with hovercrafts to retrieve the victor.

"Maybe we should climb down. Get off the cornucopia, I mean." I look up, meeting Raven's eyes. Does he know something?

"Are you okay to…I mean, can you walk?" Katniss helps Peeta to his feet, and together they head down to the lake. The sound of trumpets fill the air, startling the pair.

My heart is racing, my smile is hurting my face due to the excitement of the upcoming announcement.

However, it is not the announcement I expect.

"No!" It comes out a whisper as a tear falls down my cheek. No, this is not what they said. They can't do this, right? "They can't—"

"Isn't this the best games yet? Who would have ever expected a twist such as this? Two tributes, so in love with each other, believing they can make it out together, only for one of them to kill the other in order to live. I for one, wish I was the mastermind of that!" Raven beams, winking an eye. Oh yes, the cameras, the microphones are all around, listening for any treasonous words.

This must be the reason Raven kidnapped me from the sponsors. I would not have been able to mask the pain from the announcement; I would not have been able to pretend to be excited.

"No. I'm not leaving without you Peeta."

"Katniss…they have to…they have to have their winner. One of us needs to go home, and it's you. We both know it needs to be you. Prim needs you. Madge needs you." The entire time Peeta is talking to her, Katniss is shaking her head forcefully, refusing to play this game any longer.

There is a gleam in her eye and then she reaches for the fanny pack around Peeta's waist. After unzipping it, she pulls out the double bagged packet of berries. I meet Raven's eyes again, a bemused look contorted on my face.

"Why is she—OH!" I say, covering my mouth, realizing what she is planning.

"No!" Raven places a hand on top of mine.

"It's okay Effie. Just enjoy the show." His words are menacing but his face tells a different story. He knows something I do not.

"No, Katniss." Peeta tries to stop her from carrying out her plan.

"Are you sure?" Peeta asks.

"Yes." Katniss says with so much confidence, yet I feel this is not their true conversation.

Katniss places a berry in Peeta's hand, keeping one for herself and they stand facing each other, linking their arms together.

"Together?" Peeta says.

Katniss nods, kissing Peeta's lips. "Together."

They hold their berry up for the world to see; it's clear they want us to know what they are doing. They are making a statement, they are saying "I will not play by your rules, you either save us both, or kill us both."

"I love you Peeta." Katniss says.

"I have always loved you Katniss. Always." Peeta reciprocates. "On three?"

"On three." She confirms.

"One." They say in synchronicity.

"Two."

They don't say 'three', they just slip their berry into the others' mouth. I clench my eyes shut, unable to watch my beautiful children take their own lives. I am waiting to hear the double cannon but jump; startled by the sound of trumpets.

"WAIT! WAIT! STOP! STOP! CONGRATULATIONS, I GIVE YOU THE WINNERS OF THE 74TH ANNUAL HUNGER GAMES, FROM DISTRICT TWELVE, KATNISS EVERDEEN AND PEETA MELLARK!"

Jumping up, I run from the table and out of this room, through The Green Room, down the hallway, up the stairs, all the way to the District Twelve control room and burst through the doors, looking dead straight into Haymitch's glistening eyes.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0

~ Madge ~

The games have been playing nonstop for the last few days. No one is required to stay out here constantly, but those are my best friends in there and I am not leaving the square until I see the hovercraft retrieving both of them up. Katniss' family has remained by my side the entire time, along with Mr. Everdeen. Rye occasionally brings us food to eat and water to drink so that we don't starve. It is also no surprise to me that Gale has remained by our side almost this entire time. He went home once to help his mom with the kids, but he was back within two hours.

Roughly two hours ago, The Capitol made an announcement for mandatory viewing for the entire country; it's the end. It is always this way, but this year is special. We will be bringing both our tributes home this year. For the first time in the history of the games, two victors will be lifted from the arena.

Part of me wonders if I should be spending this time with my parents, I am still terrified that they'll be taken away from me, but…I just can't think about that right now. Katniss and Peeta surviving the night is the only thing that matters right now.

"Prim, here, have some water." I hand Prim her bottle of water.

"Thank you. I hate this Madge; I really hate this! I just want them to be home."

"Soon Prim, they'll be home before you know it! And then you'll be able to say that your sister is a victor!" I grin, playfully poking her shoulder.

"Yeah, I know. But I don't care about that, I just want my sister."

"I know, me too. And Peeta." I pull her close to me, giving her a hug.

"Look guys, the sun is up!" Prim says, pulling back from our embrace.

"Mom, do you think Peeta's leg will be okay?" Prim asks Mrs. Everdeen.

"Katniss stopped the bleeding pretty quickly, so…I hope so." I see the worried look in her eye, the uncertainty.

"Alive is all we care about." I tell her.

"Yes, you're right."

The sun is up and Peeta grabs on to Katniss' legs to hold her up so she can shoot those horrendous squirrel creatures. Just like she does at home, Katniss hits the squirrel right in the eye, but nothing happens. It isn't even fazed by the impact. But then Peeta remembers the golden arrow, and when it plunges into to animal, they all disintegrate into nothing.

When she comes back up to Peeta, her eyes are filled with tears when she realizes that the arrow securing Peeta's wound is her last one left. My heart breaks for them both, but Peeta convinces her to use it, saying once Cato is gone, the hovercraft will come for them.

By now, the nation surely knows about Katniss' impeccable aim, having hit her target dead center three times in a row is no accident. Surely, they have come to the conclusion that she hunts illegally, for no one is that lucky. Gale reaches for my hand when Cato's cannon goes off.

"THEY DID IT, THEY DID IT!" Prim squeals, jumping up and down in excitement. Yes, they did do it, so why isn't anything happening?

"Something's wrong. This isn't right, they should have—" Gale says, squeezing my hand. His words are laced with suspicion; rightfully so.

Katniss refuses to play their twisted game, The Capitol's game, shaking her head and telling Peeta no. And then she unzips the pack around Peeta's waist and pulls out a pack of berries.

Nightlock.

"WHAT THE FUCK? This is BULLSHIT!" Gale screams out, letting go of my hand to pace back and forth.

"GALE!" I go after him, placing a hand on his back.

"Gale—"

"Why would she do that? She made a promise to Prim, how could she—that's not Katniss anymore. My Catnip would never kill herself over a boy!" His words sting, and I turn around to go back to Prim, letting Gale simmer on his own.

"Madge, stop, I'm sorry—I didn't mean…I didn't mean it like that."

I turn, facing him, my face red with rage. "Prim needs me, so I am going to sit with her." I turn on my heels, turning my back on him again.

I am not sure what I missed when I went after Gale, so I stand patiently next to Prim, grabbing onto her hand for security. Katniss and Peeta count to two and place their berry into the others' mouth.

The moment their mouths close, the trumpets fill the arena once more.

"WAIT! WAIT! STOP! STOP! CONGRATULATIONS, I GIVE YOU THE WINNERS OF THE 74TH ANNUAL HUNGER GAMES, FROM DISTRICT TWELVE, KATNISS EVERDEEN AND PEETA MELLARK!"

I release a breath I did not realize I was holding when they drop to their knees and spit the berries out, followed by a thorough rinsing of their mouths.

Prim meets my eyes, slightly frozen in shock. Her face lights up in the most radiant smile and she begins jumping up and down and screaming.

"THEY DID IT! THEY DID IT! THEY DID IT! THEY DID IT! KATNISS AND PEETA DID IT, THEY WON, THEY WON! MY SISTER WON THE HUNGER GAMES!"

She wraps her arms around me and gives me the tightest hug. "You were right Madge, they're coming home!" Prim proceeds to go around our group and do the same to each of them.

"Let's say we celebrate? You guys want to come over?" Mr. Mellark, Rye and the Hawthorne's all agree, thanking Mr. Everdeen for the invitation.

"Rye and I will meet you there, we need to stop by the bakery first."

"Of course, Bing. Let your other son and his wife know they are welcome, and…Esther too, if she would like to come." Mrs. Everdeen extends the invitation.

Mr. Mellark gives her a smile, nodding, but I see the pained look on his face.

"I'm…I need to go home guys but thank you for the invitation." Prim's jubilant mood immediately turns upside down.

"Are you sure, Madge? We really want you there."

"I know, I'm sorry Primmy. It's just…I need to see my mom." She gives me a sad smile and wraps her arms around me.

"Come by later…or tomorrow if you can."

"Okay." I say, offering her a smile before turning to walk away.

"Madge, wait!" Gale comes jogging from behind me, and then steps in front of me to block my path.

"Gale, please move. I need to go home." I say, trying not to sound angry.

"I'm sorry Madge, I didn't mean—"

"I know. I know you 'didn't mean'. But I really need to get home to see my mother, so can we talk tomorrow?" I really don't have the energy for Gale tonight. I just want my mama.

"Okay. Tomorrow." He says, kissing my cheek.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0

~ Haymitch ~

Effie bursts through the door, stopping at the threshold and meets my eyes. I give her a small grin followed by a slight nod of my head. Her eyes light up the entire room, followed with one of the most genuine smiles I have ever seen on her as she runs to me, wrapping her arms around my neck.

"THEY DID IT HAYMITCH! THEY DID IT! THEY WON! THEY WON! WE HAVE VICTORS! OUR KIDS ARE VICTORS!"

I look over Effie's shoulder and see that Cinna and Portia are doing the same. Portia is crying, she is so happy.

"We need to get up to Launch." I tell the stylists.

Cinna cocks an eyebrow in confusion. "The Launch?"

"Yeah, we need to head to the top of the building. We will accompany the medics on the hovercraft to pick our kids up. Effie, I need you to stay here." Her eyes narrow in disappointment.

"I need you to go straight to medical and prepare for our kids. The boy is in bad shape, and I have no idea what shape the girl is in. I need you to block the area off. NO pictures, NO cameras, NO reporters, NO statements. NO exceptions."

Effie nods, turns on her heels to follow through with my demand. Cinna, Portia and I run to the elevators that will bring us to the roof, where a hovercraft will be waiting for us.

"Why are picking them up? I mean, instead of waiting here like Effie?" Portia asks once we get onto the elevator.

I've never done this before, so I only have what other mentors have told me to go on. "I think sometimes when they retrieve the tributes from the arena, sometimes they can be…uh…violent. You know, being in the mindset of killing anyone they come across for the past however long they have been in the arena, I think a familiar face, or faces is helpful. The medics are unsure of our kids' state of mind, so we're there 'in case'."

"You put someone in a cage for three weeks forcing them to kill, what else do you expect?" Portia says under her breath.

We get up to Launch and we're strapped into our seats on the hovercraft. We take off immediately, flying in the air for no longer than two minutes before we come to a halt, hovering in the air. I unbuckle my belt and look out the window and I see my girl. She has the boy in her arms, holding on to him for dear life.

"Don't send the ladder, the boys' unconscious. She's not going to climb up without him." I inform the medics. They heed my advice and lower the lever that will scoop both of them up.

"Haymitch, why do you call them, 'boy' and 'girl', why not call them by their names?" Portia asks me once I sit back down.

"Huh? Oh, uh…habit, I guess. I uh…I never liked to uh…If I didn't remember their names, then their faces wouldn't haunt me when I got back home." Portia seems to understand, and drops the subject.

'Katniss' is pulled into the hovercraft, clutching onto Peeta for dear life. They are coming home with me, so their faces won't haunt me, I suppose I could use their names now. She looks like a caged animal, rabid, her eyes seething suspiciously at the medics.

"Hey sweetheart, it's Haymitch. I'm not going to hurt you, no one here is going to hurt you. You are safe now, you both are." I tell her, trying to make my voice as soft and gentle as I can, showing her there is nothing to fear with me.

Her eyes meet mine, immediately the fire shooting glare is gone, replaced with a softer version of her scowl. "Why are you talking to me like that?"

I hear Cinna and Portia behind me, trying to stifle their giggles.

It's her. Katniss is still in there.

A/N: Whew! I tried very hard not to leave you with another major cliffhanger! So…thoughts? Opinions? Questions? I could never kill Peeta…permanently anyway. He is too important, and there would be no story with K & P.

I'm going to give you a little more than I usually do from Chapter 17…From Portia and Haymitch.

"Do you hear that, Haymitch?" Portia asks me.

"What? Their machines?"

"Listen to them carefully."

I do as I'm told, even closing my eyes trying to listen for whatever it is she hears. "I don't get it, it sounds like a normal heart machine. What am I listening for?"

"Their hearts. They are beating in sync. Perfectly." Portia says with a smile.