Hey guys, I'm sorry this has taken so long, but I've been EXTREMELY busy with school, and I haven't had much inspiration or time to write. So, forgive me for the wait on this chapter. This chapter is pretty intense, but I like it. Hopefully you all will too :) Just a reminder, this is Madge's drabble. I'm not sure who's coming up next, so if you have a preference, just mention it in your review. Thank you for all the great reviews as always, and I hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games.
The sky is on fire.
All around me bombs rain down on District 12, the hum of the airplanes dropping them dropped out by the screams on the ground. On the opposite side of the street from me, a building collapses, crushing whoever was inside. Armed Peacekeepers are chasing after us on foot, their loyalty to the Capitol unwavering even though they're getting cut down by bombs right now, just the same as the 'scum' of District 12.
I know that my only chance of survival is to escape, and as soon as this barrage ends, I will try to run to the only place I can think of.
The woods.
As a group of Peacekeepers run past, I shrink back under the wagon that shelters me, but they don't see me. They have, however, found someone else nearby; In fact, they're so close I can hear a man pleading for mercy. There is no response except a gunshot.
Rage rises up inside me. The man was killed for no crime except having been born in District 12. But these days, that's punishable by death. Just because of the rebellion.
Was it worth it? Was Katniss's act of defiance, the thing that had set this all off, worth these deaths?
No. It wasn't.
Katniss is my closest friend. I care about her, maybe even love her, like I would the sister I never had. But no one-nothing-is worth the kind of suffering that she's brought upon our district. I hate myself for thinking this, but I know that if she had just swallowed those damn berries, and died the way she was supposed to-because it was the Games, there could only be one winner, why did she think she could possibly change that unchanging truth?-none of this would have even happened.
Peeta would have come back, a broken shell of a human being, but still alive, not facing whatever horror the Capitol has cooked up for him in the arena. And otherwise, life would have carried on as usual in our district. True, once a year, two of our citizens would die, but at least there would be families alive to mourn them. I would be with my family right now, reading to my mother or maybe myself. Primose and Mrs. Everdeen would be going about their daily business, sad, of course, but relatively safe, and so would the rest of District 12. Instead, we're all dead or dying or trying to escape the inevitability of the latter two. And even those who survive this will never be the same.
The staggering truth of it all begins to overwhelm me. Doubt sets it. Even if I make it to the woods…what are the chances that I'll survive out there? And even if I do, what is there for me? My family is dead. Practically everyone I have ever known is dead, or soon will be.
If Katniss were here, what would she do? She would at least try. Because maybe someone else has survived. There's always a chance, and that chance is worth fighting for.
The bombs have stopped, and without thinking, I bolt from beneath my wagon, and run.
I've only made it a few steps before what was once the bakery topples. I see it, and I try to dodge it. But I can't.
Suddenly, I've become the girl on fire, but these are not harmless flames that lick at me gently. This is real fire, and it burns.
I fall to the ground, and I know I am defeated. But at least I tried. I surrender myself to the flames, because the deliverance they have provided me with is such a blessing I don't even feel the pain.
Katniss would have survived. That's the difference between us, I realize. I am the girl on fire who is consumed. Katniss is the one reborn out of the flames.
Katniss must survive this, I realize. If she can't stop the madness that she has started, no one can.
With that thought, I let go, and I become yet another sacrifice on the massive funeral pyre that is the rebellion.
I know, I know, this was REALLY dark! I'm sorry! I don't actually think Madge is dead, what do you guys think? And I have a much happier spin-off idea that I plan on writing at some point, so look for that! Anyway, I hope you all liked it, and thank you for reading!