Your Heaven sure looked like Hell. There was no gate, there was no never ending sky; there was only trees...for miles and miles. You stared up into the foliage, wondering why it was taking so long for you to enter the light that was beaming directly down on you. You didn't want to be here anymore, you just wanted it all to end. But Tributes don't get what they want. Never.
You shut your eyes and the inside of your lids burned orange. It had to be mid afternoon by the way the sun was beating down on you. Tears began to burn your eyes and slide down your cheeks when you heard a bit of rustling beside you. You ignored it. It didn't matter if you were stabbed again or even had your throat cut at this point...when the Capitol wants you to suffer, you'll suffer. There's no quick and painless death for someone who defies the Capitol.
"Why," you muttered to yourself, trying to move your arm but finding that you couldn't. Your eyes flew open and you looked down at your wrist to find it tied to a stake in the ground. The little girl, Lacy, from training emerged from the brush. You glared at her and yanked at your bond. "What the hell is this?" you said and she immediately ran over, untying you.
"I'm sorry," she said, ripping the rope away and dropping it to the ground. You sat up annoyed and began to run your wrist as she said, "I didn't want you to run off before I got back." You looked at her and frowned.
"Where would I go?" you said. She was on her knees and staring sadly at you.
"To find that boy they took," she said and your heart immediately dropped inside your chest. "Peeta." You quickly looked away as the tears came back and you hastily wiped them away with the back of your hand. Lacy slid across the dirt on her knees and put a hand on your shoulder. You jumped at her touch but didn't look at her, you just kept a hand over your eyes so she wouldn't see you crying. "Jacklyn, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," you blurted out too quickly. Lacy moved in front of you and you turned away.
"He's okay, you know," she said. You blinked back the rest of your tears and looked at her, sniffling. You raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"How do you know?"
"Well...you've been out a few hours. I had to move you away from there because they said they were gonna come back and see if you were dead." You remembered the one who stabbed you saying that. As the memory flashed through your mind, you suddenly looked down and ripped your shirt up, looking to see what had become of your wound. It was neatly stitched and cleaned, with a light coatof some kind of jelly covering it. Gratitude surged through you and you looked back at Lacy.
"You got a first aid kit?" you asked, dropping you shirt.
"It was in your pack," she said shyly. "I hope it's okay I used it." You smiled and moved forward, pulling her into a hug. You held on tightly to her and whispered "thank you" in her ear. You felt her become less tense against you. You pulled away. She smiled.
"You're welcome."
"You didn't finish...how do you know he is okay?" Her face went slightly pale.
"Well..." she began, "...like I said, I had to move you. And while I was out gathering some berries for when you woke up, I heard two of them go back to where you were stabbed." Your heart began to pound in your chest. "It was the tall boy, and the girl. The boy asked where you were but she didn't know, and he said 'maybe the Capitol took her' and the girl said 'a cannon didn't go off'." When she paused, you anxiously gestured for her to continue. "Then the boy said, 'well she can't be far. And I'll bet he knows where she went.' Then the girl said, 'how do you figure?' and he said that he remembered Peeta telling you to go where he told you to go." Your blood turned to ice. Your face must have drained of all color as well because Lacy then said, "are you okay? You look like you're going to be sick." You shook your head.
"I'm okay," you whispered, looking away and swallowing hard.
"Where did Peeta mean?" she asked and you shook your head again.
"I have no idea," you said and it was the truth. He had never told you to go anywhere in the event that he was captured. In fact, he had made it quite clear that both of you were going to be safe because he had gone through the Games before. But now there he was, probably being tortured for your whereabouts. And he wouldn't know where you are, because you didn't even know where you were.
"They are near the water," she said and you looked back over at her.
"How do you know?"
"I followed them while you were still unconscious..."
"And you saw Peeta?" Her face saddened slightly.
"Yes," she said quietly. Your heart sank a little again at her reaction, and you almost didn't want to ask about the situation he was in. But you had to know.
"Well...did he look all right?" She picked up a twig and began to snap it into pieces in her hands.
"I- I think he was unconscious." Your heart sank lower.
"No," you said, and she nodded slightly.
"Yeah, he was tied to a tree. With his arms behind it. He didn't look like he had been beaten though...that thing that was in his mouth probably suffocated him and knocked him out." You felt a little better hearing this and you nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, you're probably right." You stood up and she looked up at you, throwing a hand up to block the sun from her eyes. "We should get moving if we want to reach him by sundown." Lacy stood up, brushing the dirt from her pants.
"Shouldn't we wait 'til tomorrow or something..." she said and you stared at her.
"Why?"
"Well, you've been unconscious half the day. And you haven't eaten anything."
"I had a lot of squirrel before I was almost killed," you assured her with a hint of annoyance in your voice. Her cheeks flushed a light pink color and you felt bad for snapping at her. "I'm sorry, I just really need nothing to happen to him." Lacy smiled, her color turning back to normal.
"You like him." Now it was your turn to blush. You shrugged and shook your head.
"No," you lied and she grinned, "even if I did...he belongs to Katniss. Who am I to step in the way of their relationship." Suddenly, a beeping noise erupted from the sky and you whipped around to see another container floating down to you, attached to a white parachute. You ran over to where it was going to land and caught it in your arms. You ripped the chute off the back and opened it quickly, expecting something useful. It was just another note. But this time it was from Cinna.
Red dress. That's all it said. But you understood.
"I lied," you said quietly, thinking back to all the efforts you had made to impress Peeta during the 4 days you had before the Games began. Lacy was silent, waiting for you to continue. "I think...I love him." She walked up beside you with a smile and put a hand to your back. You looked down at her, returning the smile.
"Let's go get him, then." You paused.
"I don't know if he feels the same way." Then you remembered that his life depended on him not loving you. This made you feel disheartened for a moment and then you remembered how he had defied the Capitol last year. He could do it again this year. If he even felt the same way..
"You won't know unless we go get him!" Lacy said and there was more beeping from above you. You both looked up an a second parachuted package landed in your arms. You opened it and immediately the smell of fresh bread and juice filled your nostrils. You shut your eyes, savoring the scent and Lacy said, "Mmm" beside you. You looked at her and took out one of the rolls, handing it to her.
"Eat," you said and she wasted not time obeying. You shut the container and threw it inside one of the packs. You threw it over your shoulder. "Okay, let's go." The two of you walked for about an hour until you made it to the water. You crouched behind a fallen log and moved a tall fern out of the way in front of you to see over to the river. You scanned the trees nearby and, just like Lacy had said, noticed Peeta tied to one with his arms behind it. Your heart constricted at the sight and you desperately wanted to run out and rescue him but the shorter boy Tribute was keeping watch in front of him with a spear in his hand.
"Why don't you just drive that through me?" Peeta â who was now conscious â asked. The Tribute smirked.
"Because we need to know where the girl is. We're more interested in her...and you'll be useful getting out of the arena alive. All of us." Peeta laughed.
"You aren't going to make it out. Don't you know what the other two are planning behind your back?"
"They're not planning anything."
"Really? Cause I've been conscious a lot longer than you all think. When you were out collecting wood and things, I heard their whole conversation about how as soon as they find Jacklyn and kill me, you're next on the list. Two tributes are gonna get out alive this year, but it's not gonna be from District 12 or 5." The boy was silent.
"You're lying."
"Wish I was. I'm not too interested in dying today." The boy began to pace in front of him, clinging to his spear tightly. He quickly moved in front of Peeta and brought the tip of the spear to his cheek.
"I could do it you know," he said angrily.
"Then do it. I'm gonna die anyways. And so are you, especially now that you've killed the one person who knows where Jacklyn is." You watched the boy jumped back and begin to dance excitedly, holding his spear close to his chest.
"I knew it," he said, hopping from one foot to another. He looked ridiculous and you wanted to look away, but you didn't. "I knew that you knew where she was. HE KNOWS!" the Tribute shouted, "he just admitted he KNOWS!" Immediately, the other two Tributes appeared from within the trees, grinning. You weren't sure if they had just been waiting there, or if it was perfect timing. They walked over to Peeta who had his eyebrows furrowed in worry.
"Do you now?" said the older boy Tribute. "You gonna tell us now, or do we need to continue on from before?" Peeta shook his head.
"No." He swallowed. "You don't."
"Where is she, Mellark?" Peeta shook his head.
"I don't know." The Tribute moved forward quickly and Peeta pressed himself back against the tree, trying to get away. "I don't even know what he's talking about. I didn't say I knew where she was!"
"Yes he did-" began the other Tribute but the girl silenced him with a glare.
"We heard the last bit of your conversation," she said as the oldest Tribute began unzipping Peeta's jacket. He began to struggle.
"I don't know where she is!" he shouted, jerking his body so that his jacket flew out of the boy's hands. He grabbed Peeta my his hair and slammed him back against the tree.
"Don't move!" he growled and you shifted uncomfortably. A twig snapped beside you. All heads shot towards you and you immediately held your breath and threw a hand over Lacy's mouth. She was a loud enough breather for the both of you. After a few seconds, they all disregarded the noise and turned back to Peeta who was writhing his hands and trying to get out of the rop. The Tribute who stabbed you finished unzipping his jacket and moved the sides apart, and then moved it off his shoulders so his arms were bare. He swallowed and struggled again.
"I honestly don't-" The boy threw a hand over his throat and held him against the tree.
"I don't want to hear another word from you unless it's where the girl is."
"But I-" The Tribute brought his fist back and then forward into Peeta's stomach. You threw your free hand over your mouth and suppressed a scream as Peeta groaned in pain. Then, he began squeezing just below Peeta's ribs and he yelled out and immediately began laughing.
"NO!" he yelled, pulling at the ropes and trying to get away. "Okay, okay!" he shouted, "okay, I'll tell your where she is! Stop! STOP!" He yelled and he did, waiting for him to catch his breath and reveal your location. It was a good thing you weren't actually hiding, Peeta gave in extremely quickly.
"Where is she?" he demanded, placing his hand back on his side. Peeta jerked away.
"No," he said and the Tribute was silent, "okay, 100 yards from where you stabbed her. There's a cave. That's where I told her to go if we get separated." He moved away from Peeta and looked at the girl.
"Fill the water bottles, we're going for a walk." She ran off to the river and filled the canteens, and then ran back to him while screwing on the tops. He looked at Peeta. "You better be right or when we get back, I'm not gonna stop until you tell us where she is and one of the other 2 comes back with her." Peeta swallowed as he turned on his heel and disappeared into the trees, the other two close behind. You heard the older boy yell at the Tribute from District 5 to go back and keep watch, but he yelled back in refusal that he didn't want to miss out on the discussion of who's gonna get killed when. You smirked at Peeta's cleverness and both you and Lacy sat in silence until the other's footsteps died away and you were sure you were alone. You looked at Lacy.
"Coming or staying?" you said.
"I'm staying," she replied, looking up at you. "I can be a lookout, and lead them away if they find me." Your heart skipped a beat. You shook your head.
"Come with me." She shook her head too.
"No ma'am. Go. Hurry! Before they come back!" She shoved you forward and you broke through the grass, almost falling. You gasped and looked around, making sure no one was lurking and then you darted towards Peeta. He didn't hear or see you coming as he stood limply against the tree, staring at the ground. You put a hand on his arm and he jumped in response, looking at you wildly.
"Jacklyn," he said, surprised, "no, they could come back at any second!"
"The cave is almost an hour's walk from here. Hold still, I'm gonna cut you free."
"Stop!" he said loudly as you began prying at his ropes. You glared at him.
"Shut up and let me get you out!"
"How are you even alive?!" he said, and you could hear that he was choking back a sob. You relaxed your expression a bit as you looked at him.
"Don't worry about it," you said.
"I'M WORRIED," he said loudly, and you jumped.
"Shh, Peeta," you said, "please, just let me get you out and somewhere else...then you can yell at me all you want. Okay?"
"You were stabbed," he said. You ignored him this time and grabbed a rock from the ground and began to rub it against the robe binding his hands. "Jacklyn, get out of here," he said with urgency.
"I'm getting you out."
"I'm not joking, get out of here. They're coming back!" You began to cut faster.
"I'm not leaving you here!" you said, tears leaking from the sides of your eyes. Peeta began to wriggle his hands so that you couldn't cut without accidentally hitting his fingers. "Peeta, stop, let me-"
"Please!" he said exasperatedly, and his voice sounded pleading. You swallowed and dropped the rock, running in front of him.
"But-"
"I'll be fine, GO." You stared at him and he kicked you in the shin. You gasped in surprise and when you heard rustling behind you, quickly darted to the left and hid behind the bushes. You peered out as the 3 Tributes came back out and the tallest walked to Peeta.
"Who're you talking to, buddy?" he asked, punching him across the face. You put a hand over your mouth to silence your gasp and shut your eyes against the abuse. "Hm? We heard you shouting. Who at?" He punched him again.
"Nobody," Peeta lied, spittnig out some blood.
"Check the woods," he barked at the other boy and he walked in the opposite direction of you. You signed in relief. The Tribute got in Peeta's face. "Where is she?"
"I don'tâ" Before Peeta could even finish, the boy had his hand on his side and was squeezing just below his ribs again. Peeta shouted and began laughing hysterically.
"Stahahahop!" he begged, "I d-don't know!"
"I heard you talking to her!" he said, "she's around here somewhere!"
"She's at the c-cave!" he laughed, banging his head back against the tree. The boy kept on squeezing and Peeta screamed for him to stop. You swallowed, hating to see him in any kind of pain and you stood up.
"No she's not," he said angrily, beginning to squeeze his other side as well, "where is she?!"
"I- plehehehease stop! D-don't know!"
"WHERE IS SHE?" he yelled, squeezing harder.
"I DON'Tâ" Peeta began but was cut off by you taking a step out of the brush, unable to handle seeing him tortured any longer for your sake. The Tribute's head snapped over to you and he immediately stopped his attack on Peeta and grinned.
"I'm right here," you said. Peeta, who was breathing deeply, looked over at you longingly.
"Dammit Jacklyn," he gasped and you looked at him sadly.
"I'm sorry, you can't suffer because of me." The boy laughed and marched over to you, grabbing you by the throat as he had done earlier.
"You can both suffer," he said with a grin and shoved you against the tree and against Peeta's hands. You screamed as you smacked your head against the bark and he whipped out a knife. "This time you will die." He brought his arm up and the sun glinted against the metal of the blade. You struggled and shut your eyes, preparing for what was gonna happen next when suddenly, little feet ran across the field and jumped onto the Tribute holding you and knocked him to the ground. You clutched at your throat, gasping for air and then ran forward, ripping the knife from his hand as he struggled against Lacy who was punching him repeatedly in the face. You raised the knife and shoved Lacy into the grass.
"I'm sorry," you said as you grasped the handle with both hands and drove it down angrily into the boy's chest. He gasped in shock as the blade penetrated his skin and bore down deep into his heart tissue. He barely had time to twitch before he died. It was silent for a moment until a scream erupted behind you and the other girl from District 1 began running at you, a spear in her hand.
"Look out!" Lacy screamed, pushing you out of the way.
"No! Move!" you answered, grabbed her wrist and throwing her to the ground. You ducked and blocked the girl's attempt to drive the spear through you and grabbed the knife from his chest, slashing at her throat and watching her stumble back, clinging to it and trying to stop the bleeding.
"No," she gargled through her blood, dropping to her knees behind the dead Tribute. She fell to her stomach and dropped her hands as the blood began to drain into the grass. You breathed deeply in and out as Peeta stared from behind the tree in a mixture of worry and fright.
"Jacklyn," he said quietly. You didn't say anything. "Shit, Jacklyn!" he shouted and this pulled you out of your funk. You looked at him and noticed the other Tribute running from across the field, a bow and arrow in hand. "UNTIE ME," he shouted and you ran to him, slashing the rope apart with the knife. He ripped it from your hands and shoved you aside, narrowly avoiding an arrow in the process. He ran to the Tribute and, just like the first one he had killed, rammed into his stomach head first and knocked him to the ground. Then he began stabbing. And he didn't stop until the light from the boy's eyes had vanished, his skin was pale and he was no longer moving. You and Lacy stared in shock until he turned to you, soaked in blood. For a while he stood there, just staring. You loked down at the dead Tribute and then back at Peeta. if your squirrel hadn't already digested, there was a good chance it would have come back up.
He walked to you, grabbing your hand and pulling you up. You grabbed Lacy's hand and helped her up as well. There was a long, drawn out pause between the two of you when finally you began to speak.
"That's 3," you whispered and after a moment, he smiled slightly. He grabbed the back of your head and held a fistful of your hair in his hand, bringing your forehead forward against his.
"I've got you beat by one," he said quietly and you laughed.
"There's still one left. It could end up being a tie." He grinned and suddenly, without warning, his lips were pressed against yours passionately but the moment didn't last long enough for it to register in your mind or for you to have time to respond. He pulled away and you stared at him in shock as Lacy grinned at the two of you from behind. You looked at her quickly and she blushed slightly, looking away. But she was still smiling. You looked back at Peeta.
"I hope that was okay," he said. You smiled and swallowed back tears.
"That was okay," you said. He grabbed your hand as a container above you parachuted down, beeping. He caught it in his hand and stuffed it in the pack over your shoulder.
"We'll open it later. Let's move before the last one shows up." He looked at Lacy. "Come on, we're gonna need you too." She smiled, running up beside you and you grabbed her hand.
"Thank you," you said to her. "Really. You saved my life back there." You looked at Peeta who was staring off into the distance. You looked back at her. "All our lives." She grinned.
"I know love when I see it," she said, "who am I not to try and preserve it." You were taken aback by her words, the wisdom behind them and how much older than 12 she sounded when she said them. You smiled back at her and squeezed Peeta's hand. He looked at you.
"We really need to move," he said.
The three of you began to walk across the field and to the woods, and all that was running through your mind was the fact that you had just kissed Peeta Mellark. You began to wonder if it had been caught on camera, if Katniss had seen. You wondered if she would be mad, or if she would be punished for the truth being exposed about her and Peeta's relationship. The way he had kissed you, it was clear he had never loved her. You wondered if Cinna was smiling or if Haymitch was cursing you both out. Then you realized something else...
You didn't care.
End of Chapter 13