Within a second I open the door and rash into the corridor. I must go there, I must go near Katniss. I've no idea how she will react with the news of me becoming the Mockingjay but I'm sure it will not be so pretty. Gale has no idea what she has become. He has seen her through glass only, but I faced her, I know what she can do. She is nothing but a killer machine right now. She will tear Gale apart.
All others in the room keep shouting behind me, telling me to stop. But I can't. I can't stop until I reach her.
As I reach near her room, I find Gale arguing with the duty nurse at the door. Possibly he wants to get inside. No, I must stop him.
"Gale." I shout his name behind him. Suddenly I find him handing the nurse something. He has bribed her. Oh no…and she is opening the door.
"Gale." I rush near him, trying to stop him. My hand catches his shoulder. "Don't." I say. "Let me talk…"
"I've nothing to talk with you, Peeta." He brushes my hand away from his shoulder. His eyes are clouded with some unknown emotions that I've never seen before. Is he jealous?
May be. But the jealousy is turning him blind.
"Please, Gale." I try to reason him "Let's talk with her together." With my words his jaw tightens. "I've no business with you." He shoves me hard on shoulder and walks inside. And the door shuts behind him.
I stand outside, helpless. I can't stop him. My eyes catch the girl inside the glass room. It is same as before- Katniss sitting at the edge of her bed, her gaze fixed on the wall before her, but there is no light in them.
"Katniss." Her head shots up with Gale voice as he walks inside. Her eyes clouds with confusion as she sees him.
I stand outside the door, begging the nurse to let me in but she is constant with her words.
"No, Mr. Mellerk. You are not allowed to see her."
He says something and Katniss's eyes lights up for a moment but soon it is gone. I have no idea what he is saying. It is a one way glass. I can just hope he doesn't do something disastrous.
But he does.
Gale walks near her but she doesn't bother to move. Gale looks at her direction; I guess he tries to hide his tears as he rubs his eyes. He kneels beside her and slowly places a hand on her knees. And this time she startles with his touch.
With fear I see her eyes moving towards his direction. Her eyes are turning cloudier than before. I see her lips twitching slightly. Gale looks at her with confusion and says again something but she is not listening. Slowly her arms gather to her chest as if she is cradling a baby. Even her hands are now jerking so much that she can't even keep her arms in position. I find Gale's expression first turning confused and then frightened. Her whole body is jerking so violently now.
"No." I press myself against the glass as I find her shaking like an epileptic person. "Please." I look at the nurse, "Please let me go inside." I'm literally pleading right now. Warm tears rolls down to my cheeks as I beg to her "Please…"
She is still shaking. And I'm just standing here doing nothing.
"If you really want Katniss to get well, then you'll try to help her." Gale's voice echoes inside my head. He said the truth. I'm doing nothing for her.
A coward! Yes, I am. If I really want to get her well then, I will do something. I must. Without a second thought I push the nurse aside and quickly turn the knob. Fortunately it isn't locked from inside.
As soon as I walk into the room a blood curling scream makes my heart stop. My eyes move towards the direction where I find Gale lying on the ground and Katniss is holding a fruit cutter knife, poised high, ready to stab.
"You've murdered my family." She hisses "You mutt."
"Katniss, I…" Gale tries to pull himself up from the ground, "I've not arranged the bombing.."
"You liar.." She leaps towards him, but Gale's swift hunter reflex helps him to escape. He rolls towards the corner, still saying "Trust me, Katniss."
Gale sits on the floor helplessly. A drop of tear is still shining at the corner of his eyes. Slowly he rises his hand and begins saying "Listen, Katniss…"
But she isn't listening. Instead she let out an angry scream and begins walking near him. It really hurts me seeing her like this. But just them Gale's pleading eyes meet me. After Gale's behavior with me few minutes ago, I should leave him here. But I do something that I shouldn't do. But when I see her cloudy eyes and mad face, I can't stop myself doing that.
I know it is nothing but suicide. But without warning, I grab her from behind and quickly tilt her mad face towards me.
"Katniss, Katniss…" I whisper her name. She shivers with the sound of her name. She tilts her head so that her eyes are now looking into mine. Her grey eyes have turned into two black pools. Her body is still shaking. Even her pupils twitch.
"Get off me." She squirms in my arms.
"No." I say, intensely looking into her eyes "Never."
"You mutt." She screams, her eyes flushes with anger "All of you…." Before she can finish her words my I press my lips against hers, silencing her. She tries to free herself from me, her knife cuts into my wrist, but I don't care.
"We are not enemies." I say "Please, trust me."
"I don't trust you." She tries to pull off but once again her words trails with my kiss on her lips. She continues squirming, again slicing my arms with her knife, but I don't care. Tears course down along my cheeks as I continue whispering in her ears.
"Trust me. Trust us, Katniss. We are not enemies."
Meanwhile Gale calls the security, doctors rush in pulling her away from me. "No," I try to rush near her but a pair of strong arms pull me back. I turn my head to my captor- Gale.
"Let her rest, Peeta." He says. I find his eyes shining with gratitude. Then he turns his attention to the doctors saying "He is injured. Help him."
"No, wait…" I try to say from behind but another group of doctors surround me.
"I'm sorry." Gale quickly slips in the crowd and disappears from my sight.
As the doctors complete bandaging my injured hand, they tell me to rest. But I insist. I say that I'll be comfortable in the small room beside Katniss's cabin. I settle myself in a chair beside the window where a one way glass separates me from Katniss. I see her struggling against the restrains on her arms, cursing, screaming. I feel the warm tears running along my cheeks, but I've no intention to wipe them away. I know she can't see me now. I place my palm over the glass window and say "I'm sorry, Katniss."
I've no idea how long I stay there, sitting beside the glass window watching my mad girl slowly falling into sleep.
"You can't help her in this way." suddenly a voice wakes me up from the slumber. A lean slender figure of a woman moves beside me, in the dim light of the fluorescent bulb I recognize the face- Johanna Mason. She is thinner that the last time I've seen her and some unknown reason her head is completely shaved.
"In Capitol, we were neighbors." She takes her seat beside me. "Every night I hear her cry, her scream. At first they just used to hang her upside down, asking for your location. When they failed, they shifted to the tracker-jacker venom. I hear her scream every night, for hours. Do you know what she says?"
"No.." Unknowingly my eyes turn to the girl in the opposite side of the glass window. White gowns, sterile rooms, needles, mad scientists- suddenly flush inside my mind. My heart squeezes with the thought.
"She says your name. She is unwilling to believe all the lies they told about you." Johanna continues "But when they begin planting the false memory of the loss of her baby…"
"She succumbs to their plan." I finish the sentence. I know how much sensitive she is about the baby issue. I see her love for Prim, her nightmares about the death of all the children in the arena, her grief about Rue… I know.
"Can you leave her in this way?" Johanna says, gazing into my eyes.
"No." I answer instantly, slightly impatient "God knows how much I want her to get well. But she doesn't listen to me. all her feelings for me…"
"Still she cares for you." Right then a voice interrupts the conversation. Both of us turn towards the people entering inside- Prim and Gale.
"Hi, handsome." Johanna brightens up at the sight of Gale "Are you following me?"
Surprised, my eyes moves from Johanna to Gale. But Gale ignores her and turns his eyes towards me "Peeta, I've to go to 2 with Beetee right now. Before that I want to tell you something."
I try to read what is really going on inside Gale's mind, but I can't. He quickly lowers his eyes and turns to Prim "You said you've an idea about Katniss's treatment?"
"Yes." Prim brightens up "I have." Then she walks near me and throws something on my lap. "Look, Peeta." She says.
"What?" I raise my eyebrows to find a battered old life sized girl doll on my lap.
"It is a doll!" Johanna rolls her eyes "Don't tell me to pretend that it is Katniss's child. Prim, you should grow up."
"Stop, Johanna." I glare at her and look at Prim "What is with that?"
Prim smiles meaningfully and whispers "This is Katniss's favorite doll, Peeta. Can you pretend with her something?"
"What?" I watch her face, bewildered.
"Pretend that this is her lost child." A wide smile crosses Prim's face "I hope this will make her to trust you."
Gale looks from me to Prim, much more confused than I am.
"So, you want him to pretend him as her child's father while I'm gone? She doesn't trust anyone. Do you think her believing this?" he stands up and throws his chair impatiently across the room. "She doesn't trust me. How can you think she will trust him?" he eyes me, clearly not much fond with the idea.
"That is not her fault, Gale." I say icily. I'm really tired of this so called love triangle.
"But he is…." He tries to say only to be cut off by Prim "Coin made Peeta the Mockingjay. It isn't his fault either."
"Yes." Johanna supports Prim and then turns to me "You should take this chance, Peeta."
"I say this will be a disaster." Gale growls in anger but just in time his comminucate rings reminding him about his flight to district 2.
"What you will do?" Prim asks me.
"I'll do anything for her." I reply, calmly.
His comminucate continues ringing. He must go now. "Whatever you do I like to see my Katniss happy." Gale stands up from his chair and throws me an unhappy glare before leaving the room.
I take a quick glance of Katniss through the glass window. She seems awake right now. I rise from the chair and follow Gale towards the door.
"Where are you going, Peeta?" both Johanna and Prim ask in unison.
"To talk with Katniss." I reply and push the door open and step into the mad girl's room.
REVIEWS? FAVES? ALERTS? Everything will make me happy. Press the lovely buttons below.
How about this? I'm not much happy with this. I'm so busy that I can't think anything better than this.
My exam is knocking at the door, so maybe I can't update regularly. But I'll finish this story for sure. So stay tuned.