I Volunteer
Chapter Four
Walking into the large room, I collapsed on the bed. Sure the room might have been something I may have wanted to explore, for my grand stay was going to be short-lived after all. But, at the time, all of my thoughts were focused on one thing, sleep. It felt like forever since the train, these days were so long. I tried to stay awake long enough to process all that had happened previously between myself and Katniss, yet I could not, for I was overcome by exhaustion and fell into a slumber.
My sleep was dreamless. Nothing about home or Katniss, and no nightmares either. Not that I have a problem with dreamless sleep, it's just a little unnerving that I didn't have anything that sank into my subconscious over the past few days. In a way though, I suppose I do prefer a dreamless sleep. There are no delusions of grandeur only to be let down, or horrors that leave one panicked. That dreamless sleep I had was cut short.
The noise I woke to was that of a plant falling. I heard the pot hit the ground, shattering. Startled, I sat up fast, my head rushing. Fear ran through me and I stiffened. After the initial shock I relaxed. There was something about the steps I heard the person taking, they seemed so familiar. Of course they did, I would never be able to forget the light sounds of Katniss' hunting tread. One thing I am sure to always remember is her walk. Out in the woods, with no other sounds but rustling leaves it was easy for me to become accustomed to the slight pitter-patter of her walk.
"Catnip?" I called out questioningly, waiting for her to let herself be known. The room was quite bright despite the nighttime; it must have been the lights from various buildings in the capitol. They never did seem to sleep. Slowly Katniss slipped out of her hiding spot from behind another large decorative vase and into view.
"Gale" She said softly. It was short and quick; if not for the silence I wouldn't have heard it. As quiet as it was, I heard the slight quiver in it. "Come here." I said, sitting up slightly. She may be overemotional at the moment in some eyes, but to me she was just my scared love. Not that she had no right to be overemotional. Actually, with our looming horrors of the game, she had every right to panic.
Katniss moved towards me, as if wondering where her exact destination should be. I opened my arms, inviting her to sit with me on the bed. She sat down and I pulled her close to me, even more so then if I would, had we not shared such love over the last few days. I had spent so long loving her in the shadows, and now that I had such little time left I was determined to show it all.
She leaned into me and I put my arms around her. For a moment it was utter bliss, just me and her. In that time the games slipped away and I was so, for lack of a better word, happy. Looking down at her I couldn't wonder why it had taken me so long admit my feelings. What she said on the train was true, we finally are together in love just as we are about to die. But not we, I thought to myself. She is going to live and I will die, it's a simple as that. You would think death may bother me, yet for her, it was worth it. A world without Katniss wasn't one I was ever going to want to live in. My death meaning her safety is all that I can ask for.
Caught up in my thoughts, it was a little while later that I noticed Katniss' sobs. They racked through her body silently, but nonetheless, I wouldn't stand for her to be in pain. "What's wrong?" I asked, all the time rubbing her back in a soothing way. Anything that calmed her down would help at this point.
"I just can't help but think about how they'll live without us. " She stumbled through the sentence, overcome by emotion. I couldn't help but feel for her, after all it wasn't like I hadn't before contemplated how my family would get on without me. "Prim, she'll be crushed, and if mom disappears like that again, she's gonna will starve." The tears started to fall down her cheeks in anvils.
Putting my hands up to her face I wiped them away. Her gaze met mine. In her eyes I saw only pain. It was a great force threatening to crush her. Windows to the soul, that's what some people call them. Right now her soul must've been cowering n terror behind the thunderous wall of her guilt. She was blaming herself for everything and I could no longer stand for it.
"Catnip, don't say that. Prim will be fine. Think, in less than a month you'll be living in victor's village with her and hunger will be a thing of the past. You're going to win, go home, and live happily ever after. Don't worry about anything, this will all be done and said before you know it." I tried to be as comforting as I could, but the tears continued to streak her face. She didn't mention anything after that, and I just stayed there, holding her. Her breathing slowed and the sobs stopped. Katniss fell asleep after a while. I sat there in the silence, unsure of what to do.
Moving her slowly, as not to wake her up, I laid Katniss down on the bed. I lay back down too, watching her. Her soft, steady breathe slowly lulled me to sleep beside her. Everything felt right in that time. It was Katniss and me as we should be. However, as her breathing continued my mind slipped farther away, just before I fell into a dream state.
The next thing I knew, the games had already arrived. 10, 9, 8 7… The 60 second counter was already near its end. Without warning the cannon sounded and all of the tributes left their platforms. Most were heading to the cornucopia, much like myself and Katniss. Checking myself, I saw no immediate threats in my pathway. Time seemed to slow down.
There was a bow very close by. It was bright silver, gleaming in the radiant sun. Katniss would want it, was the only thought that crossed my mind as I lunged. I reached it just as another tribute did, the other being from district 5. I took him down easy, sending a knife into his thigh. I really didn't mean to kill him, but a cannon shot sounded anyway.
The loud boom echoed in my ears. I stood completely now, eyes searching for Katniss. I saw her around 50 feet away. She was launching her own self towards another bow, this one being more so like the one she had at home. She got it, standing triumphantly as the blade pierced her back.
Being so far away, I was able to see what she could not of. The bitchy little girl from district 2 had been chasing her. She was armed with knives and from what I had observed from practice, she wasn't one to miss.
"Catnip!" I screamed frantically, but it was too late. I heard her surprised gasp of pain for what was now more like 20 feet. She fell, the bow falling from her grasp. It rolled a small distance away. I jumped over it towards her and dropped to my knees. There on the grass she lay, sputtering blood. "Ga...Ga… Gal...Gale!" She said, her voice growing louder each time she attempted to say my name. This wasn't right.
I had seen enough people die in my lifetime to know that you get quieter the closer you are to death. For a moment my face contorted in confusion, just before I felt the stinging on my face.
I reached up to where the pain had sprouted from, finally bringing me back to reality. I felt the hot blood coursing under the thin layer of skin on my cheek, trying to remember where I was. I sat up, trying to gauge my surroundings. They were nicer then I was used to, almost too nice. That was when it hit me again. Hunger Games. Volunteer. Dead Katniss. Capitol. The world came rushing back to me, causing my head to spin. I felt like a piece of shit. Tired, groggy, you name it. That was how I felt. I turned to get up, only to be met by a worried Katniss.
"Are you okay?" She asked with a completely serious tone. It was the kind she used only in bad situations. "Yeah, I'm fine." I replied without even having to think. The tone of her voice had me looking for a threat in the room, which after a few seconds of searching, I found a lack thereof.
"What's wrong? Who's trying to hurt us?" I blurted out, feeling the need to keep her safe. I spun to face her direction. Unlike before, the worry was gone, now replaced by anger. She was a torrent of unhappiness, and unlucky as I am, that torrent was aimed at me. "What's wrong?" She screamed in a fit of outrage. "You wake me up from my sleep by having a mighty bad night scare. You were thrashing and calling my name, nothing I did even started to settle you down. And now, after I wake you up, having to slap you, you let me know that you're fine! Stop trying to spare my feelings Gale, tell me what happened."
"Fine." I resigned. "I had a nightmare where the games started and you died. I really don't want to talk about it." I winced at my words, hoping they brought her to a cool. Her face softened a bit. It looked like she was going to say something, but a noise cut her off. She had just opened her mouth when Effie began banging on the door.
"It's time for you two lovebirds to get ready. Practice starts in half an hour. Katniss, Cinna laid out your outfit on your own bed. Gale, I have yours." She called through the door. It was like she didn't care if we died, all she was worried about was costumes and outfits. That woman grinded my gears. Her words didn't affect me that much, yet Katniss was beat red. She moved to the door and I followed, pulling her close to me before she could leave. She was about a head shorter than me, so I rested my chin on the top of her head, her breath coating my neck. I held her there for a second and pulled back, planting a small kiss on her forehead and releasing her. Katniss' eyes were glistening, close to tears. I was unable to tell whether it was because I was gonna die or she thought she was herself.
She didn't make any move to speak with me, so I opened the door. Effie almost fell through the doorway, it was clear she had been leaning against it, eavesdropping. She regained her composure quickly and handed me my clothes, curtly leaving directly afterwards. Katniss followed her out the door, heading to her own room. She stopped as she was closing her door, leaving one trailing gaze back at me. I watched her until the door clicked shut.
Closing my door, I began to get ready. The clothes Effie had given me were a simple pair of black cargo shorts and an orange t-shirt. Even though it was scarcely found throughout District 12, orange always seemed to be the color that represented us in the games. On the topic already, I couldn't help but to think of home. Back in District 12 I would be suiting up [for the woods, preparing myself to see Katniss for the day. If I was correct it was Sunday. On Sundays Katniss and I would hunt from dawn till dusk, killing and capturing our best game of the week. Hers caught with arrows to the eye, mine entrapped in twitch-snares.
Spending more time than I thought reminiscing, a sharp knock on the door brought me out of the thoughts of home. It was Effie, calling me down to breakfast. I left my room, going out into the hallway. As Effie moved directly to the elevator I couldn't help but ask, "Shouldn't we wait for Catnip?" She looked at me oddly for a second and I realized my slip. "Sorry, I mean Katniss." The look on her face let me know that she was not soon to forget my nickname for Katniss. It also told me there would be hell to pay when she told all of the potential sponsors. I resisted the urge to face-palm.
"She went down already." Effie said after smiling slyly at my mistake. "Nice to know you show her chivalry, if I were you I would keep that up." She sounded so happy at our romance, even happier that the forbidden love would leave us to be a large topic of the games. She wasn't even decent enough to concern herself that at least one of us was sure to meet an untimely end. This Trinket woman often drove me to my limits and at this point I had reached the final straw.
"Yes my chivalry matters very much so now that I'm going to die." I spit out sharply. She gasped in either horror, or shock, I may never know. She said nothing else, and to my only shred of luck it seemed today so far, the elevator reached the ground swiftly. I stalked out, still irate by her priorities.
My mind had a slight haze over it. It was one thing that the dim-witted citizens of the capitol, but now even those that handled us didn't give a shit about anything but image. I was fuming mad. So mad in fact that I almost passed up the door to the dining room of District 12. Turning into the room, I lost all thoughts of Effie and rage when I saw Katniss. Her hair pulled back in a braid, she looked almost as she would in the woods. I had just sat down, marveling at her beauty when Effie entered the room. The first thing she did was slap me.
Sorry for the short and somewhat uneventful chapter, I had a hell of a week. After finally getting over my virus/cold I happened to contract strep. Fun. Anyway, this story is now around 850 views. It has about 15 favorites and somewhere near 20 alerts. Thanks to all of you who have read this story. So far it has only 12 reviews. I will take any comments or ideas into consideration. Even if you only cus out my horrible writing, it is still more than nothing.
P.S.- Ms. Collins... rights... her story... you know the rest.