A/n sorry I didn't get a chance to put this ups yesterday, and I am seriously procrastinating typing this right now. But this is another boring chapter (well I find it boring xD) only because it's a bunch of stuff that we already know and such, but this is the last chapter of her watching the hunger games. This chapter came out waaaay longer than I wanted it to…
Mom runs towards a bright orange backpack. A boy reaches the pack at the same time and they fight. Though I know mom will live, I'm nervous. I see the boy spit blood on her face. That's just gross I think. Mom is grossed out too and she flies backwards to the ground. I expect the boy to grab the orange backpack and make a run for it, but instead he slides to the grass, he's got a knife in his back. I cringe at the sight of the boy's bloody back, and his dead body lying on the grass. I see the girl that threw the knife, I think she is from District 2 but I'm not quite sure. The girl charges towards Mom, her next target. Mom is still on the ground, and once mom realizes that she is in danger she quickly jumps up and grabs the backpack and disappears into the trees. It hit me a few moments later that she was without a bow.
The camera immediately flashes to a group of careers ganging up on other tributes, that's what the careers are known for, tormenting kids that don't have any chance to survive. I can't help but think of where my dad is. Was he hurt? The camera flashes to him moments later. Dad is fighting with some boy; he hits the boy hard with his fist, knocking the boy out. I never knew dad had the ability to fight with so much power, I knew my dad was strong, but I never pictured him punching people in the face. Everyone who wasn't a career was dead or fled from the cornucopia, except dad.
One of the careers, the leader it seemed like, noticed dad punching the boy. I remember this career. His name is Cato, from district 2. I remember him because he was the biggest, and the scariest looking.
"Good punch Lover Boy." Cato called towards dad. Dad looked up in fear at Cato who was coming closer to him. Cato raised his arm in which he had a knife. I cupped my hand over my mouth and squinted my eyes, but when Cato threw his arm It pierced the boy dad knocked out in the heart. A cannon fires noting he died.
"Clove." Cato said to the girl from his district, who was standing with the other careers. "I think Lover boy would be a great edition to the careers" Clove nods her head and so do the other careers. Dad looks shocked, but when Cato offers his hand to him to help him up, dad doesn't hesitate.
I don't know how I feel about dad joining the careers; I didn't understand why he would go against mom. The way the careers talked I could tell their very first target was mom. Was dad willing to attack mom to survive? They show a lot of videos of them walking in the pack together. So that was that, dad was with the careers. One by one they picked everyone off.
The cameras mostly follow mom, and if it is not mom, it's the careers. Mom spends most days up in a tree, since no one could climb as high as her. Mom doesn't know dad is with the careers until she hears them under the tree is she was staying in. Dad speaks up, revealing the truth to mom whose eyes widened. She looked like she was offended. I could only guess she felt betrayed by dad, I know I would.
Many deaths later, Mom is once again staying in a tree over the careers camp. Mom is somehow communicating with the small girl from district 11, Rue. Rue is in the tree next to mom and she points at to a nest-looking object hanging on the tree. A wasp nest? I think "Tracker Jackers" Mom whispers softly so the careers don't hear. Mom begins carefully cutting the nest with her knife, planning on attacking the careers, when the nest is free and falling from the tree there are tracker jackers everywhere. Some sting mom but they mostly assault the careers. The careers flee soon as someone yells "to the lake! To the lake!"
Mom looks down making sure they tracker jackers were cleared out. Then she runs down to the camp immediately spotting her bow on the dead body of a blond haired girl. She picks up the bow, and dizzy or not, you can see the power placed on her shoulders because of what she held in her hands. She hesitates for a moment looking around; maybe she was getting dizzy from the stings she got. Then the camera shows a frantic looking dad who is back at the camp looking at mom.
"What are you still doing here? Are you mad! Dad is poking mom with his spear. "Get up! Get up!" The intensity in his eyes burning, mom is looking at dad with panic in her eyes. She looks as though she is trying to figure out if this is a dream or not. "Run!" he screams "Run!" Mom finally gets up and sprints away, bow in her hand. I smile to myself since I know dad is saying this to protect mom. But my smile comes to a short stop when I notice a figure behind him creeping closer. I gasp quietly, wishing I jump in the TV and warn dad.
"I knew you would do this Lover boy." Cato says harshly, he is covered in ugly stings, and I find him more scarier looking then he was before. "It's time we make an edit to the careers." He says as he pulls out his knife. Dad's face is filled with so much fear I'm scared for him. He tries to push Cato away with his strength but he is no match to Cato. Instead of hitting him where he could die Cato slices dad in the upper leg. I cringe, the camera shows up close the blood oozing from the leg. Cato is disappointed that dad succeeded in making Cato miss. There is screaming coming towards the lake and without hesitating, Cato runs towards the lake, leaving dad there to bleed to death. He is laying there so helpless, I start to cry. He is moaning out in pain, he doesn't even care if someone finds him, because he probably rather be dead then how he is now.
Mom decides to team up with the tiny girl Rue. They're a great team. Mom and Rue have an instant connection and they fully trust each other immediately. Then I start thinking about what will happen to poor little Rue, since obviously they both can make it out alive. I expect Cato to come up behind every bush and slice mom's leg like he did to dads, and then he would murder Rue.
Dad is hurt badly and cannot move, he lays in mud, colored up in greatly colored camouflage. He lays there for days, and they don't show him much.
Then comes when Rue has to die, one of the careers sends a spear through her stomach, Rue is crying in pain and in fear. Mom finds her and kills the boy who threw the spear at Rue, without hesitating. Rue asks mom to stay, and she sings to her, a beautiful song I've heard so many times in my life. It's Will's favorite song, the song mom used to sing to us to get us to bed. Now that I know the meaning of her singing it to us, It suddenly is more meaningfully.
The hurt in mom's eyes is unbearable to take, her tears are flowing and I want to run to her and give her a hug. When she is finishes singing, mom covers Rue in flowers because in the middle of the song the cannon fires.
Days pass and the games don't get interesting until the announcer tells the tributes some news. The camera is on mom, and she looks surprised. The announcer says that a new rule change is in the game. If two people from the same district survive, they will both be crowned victors. At that moment I am so happy, and I know how it ends, or I knew how it should end. Mom sitting in the tree in shock, without thinking yells out "Peeta!" she realizes it was stupid and claps her hands over her mouth, cursing herself for being so stupid.
Mom of course begins searching for dad, nothing exciting until mom hears below her feet. "You here to finish me off sweetheart?" Mom finds Him on the floor, still in the mud he caked himself in. She cleans out his leg and they are determined to make it out of the games both alive.
A lot of romantic things happen. Mom kisses dad, totally catching him off guard, seeing dad's face was priceless. I get to hear the story of how my dad and mom met, and it was a true love story. They spend a lot of time in the cave kissing and flirting. Normally watching your parents make out isn't the most pleasant thing, but I felt like I was watching a movie, with fictional characters I never met.
Cato dies last, it was brutal long, and torturing to watch, but I felt so relieved afterwards, it was worth it. I'm waiting for mom and dad to be crowned victors but all they get is a message from the announcer. Mom and dad are sitting together in the cave when the announcer says that he is taking back the rule change, and there can only be one victor. I am almost crying and I am trying to hold in my sobs but they sneak out anyway.
Mom and dad are shocked and looking at each other. They're offering each other's life for each other when a deep voice behind me interrupts my intense staring.
"Good show you're watching" I shriek lowly realizing Haymitch was awake. He is looking at me with his eyebrows raised. I avoid his eyes. I feel guilty that I watched this. "Damn it" I say hugging my legs. I'm missing what is going on in the world of the hunger games. Haymitch is of course sober, how ironic.
He sighs, "I won't tell if you turn it off right now" I look at him. "I saw most of it already." I'm remembering all the deaths the blood and the tears. He sees my worried face.
"Are you ok?" I lie shaking my head yes. Haymitch outs his arms out towards me, a thing he rarely does. I hug him and this time he doesn't smell like liquor and it's nice.
"Thanks Haymitch" he nods.
"I know how it feels, watching two people you care about to fight for their lives." Whoa Haymitch is in rare form, I got a hug and he talked about his feelings in one night. Maybe that's why I like Haymitch so much, because I don't like predictable people.
I turn the TV off, were sitting there in silence to let me think of dad getting cut by Cato, Rue speared in the stomach, and mom's face when the rule changed back
This was scary, but all so real.