The death threats weren't necessary, were they? Although I did enjoy them. Hee, hee. Read along, little children! When you're finished, the gift shop can be found on the left and an ATM on the right. Thank you, and please come again.
I'm such a weirdo.
DISCLAIMER: I'm wearing shorts today, and I don't own the Hunger Games.
"If Haymitch doesn't get to the hospital for blood in thirty-six hours, he'll die."
My stomach insides seem to have vanished. "W—what?" I stammer.
She repeats the information, and my stomach insides come back and turn into lead.
"B-but." I say, feeling my eyes slowly start to fill with tears.
My mother gently pats my shoulder. "I'm sorry, Katniss. We're doing all we can."
"Um….okay," I say quietly. "I should, um, go get dressed now."
She releases me with a sad, far away look in her eyes.
In the bathroom, I meet Mags, who's next in line to me. She babbles away, something about "Finnick" and "angel" and "water". Since I don't understand a word she's saying, I just tune her out and nod absently every so often.
I get back to my bunk, where Prim is cuddling with Buttercup. "Katniss?" she asks, lifting her head up. "I don't know if you've thought of this, but each person has a kind of blood type. For example, I'm type B-."
I nod. "Where are you going with this?" I ask, but she pretends not to hear me.
"So Haymitch needs that type of blood that he has, right?"
"Yeah…" I say.
"So why don't you ask the man at the desk to make an announcement, looking for blood that's his type?"
"That's a great idea Prim," I tell her, "but how will you know what his blood type is? And how will you know what type the people's are?"
She giggles. "That's easy. We already tested Haymitch. We have the right tools to do that at least. Mum wanted to know what blood type he would need when—if we got back to the hospital. And besides, the man at the desk has a computer, which probably has all the people's information on it. Like their blood type."
"Prim!" I gasp. "That's genius! Thank you!"
She nods, a blush appearing on her cheeks. "It was the least I could do. Besides, he's become almost like a grandfather to me. You know?"
I nod. "I do know. Thank you." I give her a quick hug, and hurry off to the man at the desk.
The man turns out to be Boggs, who I always thought of as one of Coin's robots, but when I see him my mind brings up a memory of him, in the dining hall, supporting a little girl, littler than Posy; on his lap.
I quickly explain my predicament, and once I finish, he understands quickly. He makes the announcement, and each person who'd be willing to donate blood lines up at the counter.
It seems Haymitch has more friends then he knew. At least half the cavern's inhabitants line up, and Boggs looks through all their records.
After forty-two people have been deemed the wrong match, we get a stroke of luck. A girl named Lizbeth matches Haymitch's blood type, and Prim pulls her over to where Haymitch lies, to donate her blood straightaway; right after giving Boggs strict instructions to keep looking.
Three hours later, four people are quietly resting. Lizbeth, an old man named Tom, a middle-aged woman named Bess, and her brother Isaac.
Those four people matched Boggs' blood test, and another little boy named Joey, but his mother refused to let him give too much. He was pretty stubborn for a nine-year-old though, and his mother finally let him donate a tiny amount of blood. Only two cups full. But every bit matters when it comes to Haymitch's life.
The four adults donated two pints initially, and said they could give more, but my mother shooed them away and told them to rest, eat, and drink a lot.
My mother and Prim are busy with Haymitch and the blood. Since I don't care for blood, I'm back in my square with Buttercup, his royal ugliness, for company.
He hisses, and I resist the temptation to hiss back; because I know I would only look like an idiot.
Hours pass. The bombs have been spread out now, from the initial first bombs that rained fast and hard, they're coming so that just when you think it's finally over, another hits, taking your breath away with the whoosh and impact.
My mother stays in her square except for a few two-minute breaks when she leaves to use the restroom, but not before leaving Prim with very strict instructions.
We stay in the cavern for days. Nobody knows except Boggs. You seem to lose all sense of time in here. On the third night, I lie still under the covers with Prim.
My mind drifts to other things. Peeta. Is he alright? I don't know. He must be in a different shelter. But that's alright, because every time I see him I get this pang in my chest. It hurts, really, to even look at him. Poor Peeta. He's torn between life and death, because he told me once that life without me would be as bad as death. And there's no improvement.
Finnick and Annie. Are they alright? I hope they're not separated. I don't think either could get over it. Annie is nearly six months pregnant now. Finnick's probably holding her hand and telling her stories in their square. I hope they don't mind that the wedding was called off.
How could we hold it? It was supposed to be today, but we're all trapped in caverns and there's no way to get together. We can reschedule it, I'm sure.
Suddenly in the dark a figure crouches next to my bed. I suck in my breath; the alternative being to scream and whap his sorry face into the next district. I still have my Hunger Games reflexes.
A hand reaches out and touches my cheek, disappearing as quickly as it came. I can't tell who it is. Peeta, maybe? But then I must be dreaming. Or hallucinating.
Gale? I doubt it. I'm still amazed to think he helped with Haymitch.
So I lie in my bed and let Prim's soft breathing pull me to sleep.
It seems only a few minutes later, I'm shaken awake to find Prim's face very, very close to mine. "Prim!" I say sleepily. "What?"
She places her finger on my lips. "Listen!"
So I do. President Coin is speaking over the intercom system. "—believe the threat to be over," she's saying. "Luckily, we have had no casualties. We believe everyone to be accounted for. Your bunker assistant will let the people in your square know when you may return to your compartments."
Prim smiles at me and I feel a smile on my face too. "I have to get Haymitch a stretcher," she explains, scurrying off.
Prim and a guard return with a pristine stretcher, which the guard and some other citizen help get Haymitch loaded up. My mother tells Boggs something, which makes him open the doors and Prim, my mother, and the guard all dash through and I guess, hurry up to the hospital.
I feel the smile getting bigger. Everything's going to be fine.
Overconfident much, Katniss?
See, I just couldn't let our favorite drunken mentor die just yet! Seriously, guys, how mean would I have to be?
Don't forget to leave a review (just one thing you guys liked, come on! I haven't heard from some of you in a while.) and check the Alone Forum!
~~FuzzySocksAndWriting