Prim's Story Chapter 2, a hunger games fanfic

Prim's Story, Chapter 2

I feel myself go numb and break out in a cold sweat, like when I wake from my nightmares. How could this happen? Everyone said I was safe. Everyone told me that I had nothing to worry about. They lied to me. How could they lie to me? How could I get chosen? This wasn't supposed to happen. I feel my knees go weak and I'm afraid that I'll fall over. I feel light-headed and my vision starts to blur. But then it hits me.

There's nothing I can do to change it. I've already been chosen. No amount of crying, of screaming, of hating everyone who lied to me can change that. I may as well accept it now, or else I'll be forced to accept it by an armed group of Peacekeepers.

So I clench my hands into fists and walk stiffly up towards the stage. It takes all of my willpower not to look at Katniss, my big sister- no, my best friend, as I walk up. I know this could be the last chance I get to see her, but I would surely be reduced to tears at the sight of her. And I can't cry now. I have to show the Capitol that I don't care, that their little games mean nothing to me-

"Prim! Prim!" I hear Katniss shrieking my name from somewhere behind me. And as I am about to mount the steps to the stage, I am roughly shoved out of the way.

"I volunteer!" Katniss cries, and I realize it was her that pushed out of the way. "I volunteer as tribute!"

I freeze. She… volunteers? For some reason I feel an odd sense of euphoria. I'm elated, after all I'm not a tribute anymore! I almost jump with joy, but then I look back at Katniss. I go cold all over again. How could I possibly be happy right now? I feel sick, no, I am sick. How could I ever be anything other than horrified when I know that the person closest to me is most likely going to die in a death tournament, and to top it all of because of me? I want to throw up thinking about what kind of person I must be. Everyone sees me as a sweet little girl, as adorable little Prim, but inside I must be a monster. A selfish, evil, monster. I can't think about that right now, though. I have to leave it for another time, because right now I see Katniss walking toward the stage, willing to die for me, a monster of a little sister. It should be me.

I start crying hysterically and running after Katniss. My arms wrap themselves around her almost of their own accord and even though she tugs at my arms, I refuse to let her go. "No, Katniss! You can't go!" I scream, but to no avail.

"Prim, let go," Katniss says in a stern tone of voice. She's not playing around, and everyone knows it, but still I don't let go. I can't.

But I feel someone tugging at me from behind, gently lifting me away from Katniss. I turn around with murder in my eyes only to see Gale. "Up you go, Catnip," He calls to my sister. I thrash around, but he doesn't let me down until Katniss has reached the stage and he has carried me to the crowd where my mother stands.

The rest of the Reaping was just a blur of tears and screams, and I don't remember much past Gale pulling me away from Katniss so that she could walk onto the stage.

Katniss. As the Peacekeepers walk my mother and me into the room where family and friends can say their goodbyes to the new tributes, all I can think about is Katniss. Katniss who has always taken care of me. Katniss who made sure we were always okay when my mother wasn't able. Katniss who hated my cat, Buttercup, but let me keep him anyway because she saw how happy he made me. Katniss who I love more than anything in the world, even Buttercup, and even my mother. All of this is rushing through my head. But the freshest thought in my mind is Katniss, who saved my life by volunteering to take my place in the Hunger Games.

My mother and I quietly enter the room where Katniss is staying. We don't have long, and Katniss knows it. As soon as I climb onto her lap and wrap my arms around her, she begins lecturing us on what to do when she's gone.

I don't really listen to what she tells us. I almost smile at the fact that here we are, saying goodbye, and Katniss is still lecturing us, still taking care of us just like she always has. She seems so cool and composed, so focused and I wonder how she manages to stay calm, when it dawns on me that she doesn't have to stay calm at all. Katniss isn't perfect, regardless of what I'd like to think. Inside she must be boiling over with all sorts of thoughts and emotions, but you'd never know it by looking at her. I suddenly become aware of Katniss yelling. Maybe her perfect exterior had cracks after all.

"Then take it, And take care of her!" Katniss exclaims. Her and my mother are arguing about something. I don't know what, but I have got to stop them.

"I'll be all right, Katniss," I say, giving her a hug. "But you have to take care, too. You're so fast and brave. Maybe you can win."

"Maybe," she says, and I know that she doesn't believe she has a chance. "Then we'd be rich like Haymitch."

"I don't care if we're rich. I just want you to come home. You will try, won't you? Really, really, try?" I plead with her. And it's true. I couldn't care less if we had all the money in the world, if we could live in the Capitol for crying out loud, if it meant having to lose Katniss.

And then I see that the Peacekeeper who escorted my mother and I in is at the door, signaling that it's time to go. That our time is up, and for some of us that takes on a whole new meaning.

We're all hugging each other, my mother and Katniss and I, and I say "I love you, I love you both," and they say it back before the Peacekeeper interrupts us and orders us away from Katniss.

As we walk away, I know that I'm not simply walking away from a door. I'm walking away from a sister, and I left a piece of myself behind with her. As I exit through hallway and walk into the bright, warm, sunlight, a whole new chapter of my life begins.