Chapter Three: Into the Arena
He stared at the tube.
Portia had tried to say anything, but nothing was appropriate. She held his hand silently.
"Do you know where Leevy will be?" he whispered.
She shook her head.
"If she's on the other side of the circle-"
"She knows to run to the woods," Portia croaked. "You'll find her."
"I'll find her." He tried to believe himself.
"Ninety seconds to launch."
The voice was cold. Peeta felt Portia's hand shaking. Maybe it was his own.
"Thank you for making me a candle. I bet Prim really liked it."
Portia wiped a tear. "I'd bet on you if I could."
Peeta grinned. "Save your money. Unless the Arena is all frosting," he joked.
She laughed sadly.
"Goodbye, Portia." He walked to the tube and stepped inside. The portal sealed with a heavy suction noise. He could smell fresh air. He sighed. Fresh air would be nice.
"Sixty."
The ground began to rise. He tried to settle his thoughts. He could die in one minute. He could never hold his sister again. Never hear his father tell him how proud he was. Did he thank him? For trying so hard after their mother died? For taking such good care of him?
The sun was blinding. Peeta blinked.
He lowered his eyes to the scene. The Cornucopia was dead in front of him. He looked around.
Cato was three spots to his left. Glimmer was to Cato's right. He was next to the large boy from Eleven. He thought he was called Thresh, but he had stayed very quiet in training. He never had a chance to introduce himself. Peeta could also guess by his size he didn't need an overfed ally from a poor district. He looked to his left. Leevy was nearly on the other side of the Cornucopia.
He concentrated on her.
She found him with her eyes. She was already crying.
He focused on her. He jerked his heads to the woods behind her. Her shoulders started to shake. He shook his head and kept his eyes on her.
It was calming.
"Three. Two. One."
He jumped backwards off the pad while everyone else ran forward to the Cornucopia. His feet began to pump on their own. He circled the empty pads, towards Leevy. Towards the woods.
She was still on her launch pad.
The scrawny boy from Three in front of Leevy fell, a knife protruding from his back. Peeta could see the girl from Two with a pack of knives at the center of the Cornucopia. She began to hurl them with impunity. The boy from Four fell. The girl from Six.
She looked to Leevy and smiled. Clove raised her arm.
"Leevy!" Peeta screamed. Leevy looked over to him.
"Peeta?"
He tackled her as they heard the whiz of the knife fly where her heart had been.
He rolled them over and over until he was sure Clove was frustrated and aiming at easier targets for the time being. He yanked Leevy to her feet roughly and hauled her after him into the woods.
They ran from the bloodshed.
Katniss stared at the screen in the Control Room. This part always made her feel a little bad. She didn't know why. She guessed it was that those children earned no glory for their Districts. That must be it.
"Nine Tributes in three minutes!" Claudius Templesmith announced needlessly. "Now this might be a record."
Snow offered a smile. "Female One and Female and Male Two are...highly trained."
"Well," Claudius coughed. "Not...trained, per se. Maybe...skilled..." he feigned.
"Let's not make it so obvious," Snow cut him off. "It's making it pass too quickly. My constituents need a show. Not a commercial break."
He turned and marched out of the Games Control Room. The attendants fluttered after him like hungry bees after spring flowers.
Katniss watched the boy from Twelve. He had saved the girl from Twelve. She frowned at the screen. He was pulling her into the woods, into safety.
"Miss? Is everything all right?" Claudius asked in terror.
"Why is he helping her? She ranked a three."
"Sorry?"
"Nothing," Katniss muttered. She ran after her father.
"Here," he whispered. "Let's stop here."
Leevy stumbled in exhaustion. "I'm thirsty."
"I know. Me too. But we need to rest and slow our heart rates. We'll dehydrate more slowly."
She nodded.
He pulled aside the hedge and she crawled into the hollowed crater in the earth beneath the bushes he'd stumbled into. He ducked himself low to fit in beside her.
He could feel how damp his shirt was. He was sweating out a lot of water. He sighed.
"Are you all right?" Leevy whispered.
"Yeah, just," he sighed. "I lost of lot of hydration. I shouldn't have eaten so many cookies in the last...few years," he laughed tiredly.
"You're better fed than me," she agreed. "But I think that's helpful."
"Not when I'm losing so much water."
Leevy was quiet. "How do we find water?"
"Wet dirt," Peeta tried to remember. "Um...the instructor said moss needs a lot of water. And mushrooms! We look for moss and mushrooms."
"What if...what if we don't find any?"
Peeta smiled at her. "We're in a beautiful green forest. There's water."
Leevy peered out among the leaves of their hedge curtain.
"It is beautiful, isn't it?"
She fell asleep hanging on to Peeta's jacket.
Sae shuffled into the dark room inside her mistress' apartment. The television was still on, tuned to the Games. The camera cut away from the sleeping Male and Female Twelve and followed Male Two discovering Female Eight building a fire and cutting her throat. Female One laughed at the sound of the cannon.
Sae sighed miserably and shut off the television. She still saw her sister's grandson die in her mind every year the Games started. She learned to be grateful his death was quick.
"Leave it on, please."
"Miss? You're still up!"
Katniss sat up from the dark sofa. "Yes. Please leave the television on."
Sae reluctantly turned the switch. "Now, you read something nice before you go to bed. You know you get bad dreams sometimes."
"I know," Katniss sighed.
"Is everything all right, miss?" Sae frowned at her charge's melancholy.
"Sae? Am I pretty?"
"Why would you ask such a thing? You're a dear!"
"It's just..." Katniss sighed again. "The boy from Twelve didn't like me."
"He liked you just fine," Sae insisted. "He thought you were very pretty."
"He didn't...want to stay over."
Sae smiled and stole over to the sofa. She lowered her tired frame next to Katniss. "Now, now. He had a lot of things on his mind."
"Like the girl from Twelve," Katniss spat. "He's with her."
"You think so?"
"Why else would he help her?"
"Well," Sae thought. "Maybe he feels bad for her. She's very scared."
"She's no good at fighting."
"True. She didn't do very well at training, did she?"
"I bet she can't shoot," she said haughtily.
"No, she probably can't." Sae sighed. "But she's from his home. And I bet he misses home a lot tonight."
Katniss felt a little bit bad again. It confused her.
Sae patted her hand. "Don't stay up too late. Cashmere is coming over tomorrow and you're going to have tea."
Katniss nodded. "Okay."
Sae shuffled towards the door.
"Sae?"
"Yes, miss?"
"Um. Thank you."
Sae was surprised. "You're very welcome, miss."
Katniss watched Peeta shudder in his sleep. She wondered if he was dreaming of home.
Leevy sighed and trudged through the woods. She'd been quiet for a long part of the trek. It was their third day in the woods and Peeta was sure her head ached with dehydration.
"Leevy? Are you feeling all right?"
She nodded.
"We passed some mint leaves, do you want-"
"Why are you helping me?"
"What?"
She looked at him. "It'd be easier to just let me die."
Peeta looked at his boots as he slipped over a rock. "For your brother." Leevy's brow furrowed in confusion. "Because if it were Prim here," he told her. "I'd want someone to look out for her."
She nodded. "I like Prim."
Peeta laughed. "I do too."
"I hope you get to see her again."
He was quiet.
Leevy stilled.
"What is it?" Peeta whispered.
"Do you hear something?"
"What?"
She smiled slowly. "I hear water."
She took off running. He chased her fearfully.
"Leevy, wait! It could be a trap-"
He stopped. She was laughing. A roaring, deep wild river was before them. The rolling water bounded over rocks and rushed against boulders. He started to laugh too.
"Leevy, you're a genius!"
They tumbled down to the water's edge and splashed it over their faces.
"Is it safe to drink?" she called over the pounding current.
He wet his fingertips and tasted it. "It's sweet. I think it's filtered," he said.
"I guess we have to trust it," she breathed. She cupped her fingers and drank from the bowl her hands formed. "It is sweet."
"I wish we had some metal," he said. "You could make fish hooks."
"We have metal," she smiled.
"What?"
She sat down and stretched her boots out in front of her. She reached down and touched the emblem of Panem welded on to all their shoes.
"It's metal filament," she said. "Pliable so the shoes can still stretch. We can hammer it into a hook with some rocks."
He whistled.
"What?"
"You are a genius, Leevy Bancroft."
"I'm just hungry," she blushed. He helped her rip the emblem from her shoe. They searched for a calmer patch of water to throw in a line made of shoes and shirt threads.
Four large fish later, they climbed from the bank and looked for a good place to eat.
"How are we going to cook them?" she asked. "Won't they see the fire?"
"Let's find a place with a dense overhang. It'll take a little longer for the smoke to break through. And we'll cook them, douse the fire, then go eat them somewhere else. How's that?"
"I wish I'd paid as much attention in training as you did," she mourned.
He smiled. "We're together, so I'll share everything I remember. Okay?"
"Okay," she said nervously.
They stayed by the river for two more days, traveling up and down the bank to get their bearings but staying close enough to eat. The third day he knew they had to move on. If they bored the viewers they would meet a gruesome end.
Leevy caught five fish and cleaned them on a clean rock. Peeta wrapped them in large leaves and they carried them away to cook.
They walked for thirty minutes before they felt hidden enough within the forest. Peeta glanced around before setting to work making a fire. He struck up a fire with dry pine needles and flint rocks. He noticed they were scattered throughout the forest. He guessed the audiences had grown bored of kids freezing to death. A few parched sticks piled on top of the needles caught quickly and their tiny fire burned while they balanced the fish over them on green shoots.
Peeta glanced to his left. Then again.
"What?" Leevy panicked. "Are they coming? We should go back to the river."
"No," he smiled. "Rue? Is that you?"
The brown eye he had spied peering at him through the foliage blinked in surprise. Her curly hair emerged from the bush butting up against the thick trunk of the tree. She said nothing, but he could see she was looking at the fish hungrily.
"You've been following us for a few days," he smiled. "I almost saw you once, but you're very good at hiding. It's an Eleven trait, I think!"
She nodded.
"Want some fish?"
Leevy scoffed. Rue nodded and licked her lips.
"C'mon, then. We need to cook these fast and then find a place to eat them where the Careers won't find us. Can you help us find a good hiding spot?"
Rue ducked forward. She moved like a hopping bird. "The trees."
"What?" Leevy asked.
"I climb the trees. That's how I stay hidden."
"I'm not much of a climber," he confessed. "I don't think I can get very high without a harness."
"You've already lost weight," Leevy warned him. "You can climb higher than you think."
Peeta looked down. His pants were starting to slip on his hips. He tightened his belt. He looked at the hollows in Leevy's cheeks and Rue's jutting collarbones.
"Okay, then. The trees it is."
Perched high above the forest floor, Rue nearly swallowed the entire fish whole.
"Watch for the bones," Leevy cautioned her from their spot in the trees.
Peeta smiled up from a few branches below. He'd insisted they go up higher. He told them they were lookouts, but he was just too worried he'd bring them down if he fell.
He looked out to the forest surrounding them.
"Rue, what have you been eating?" he thought out loud.
"I found some plants. With seeds," she called down.
"Are they safe?"
"I guess so," she grinned at him through the branches.
He laughed in spite of himself. "I guess they are."
The cannon fired.
The blast echoed across the forest.
Peeta felt his stomach sink. If he'd counted properly, that made fourteen children dead.
"Who do you think it was?" Rue whispered.
Leevy didn't answer.
"It wasn't either of you," Peeta said firmly. "That's all that matters."
They ate to stave off the hunger pangs, though the little they had could not fully alleviate their hunger. They trekked along the forest floor, keeping close to their water source and looking for a place to fit three fugitives. Leevy sighed. "I'm tired."
"Me too," Rue moaned.
"Me three," Peeta told them. "But we have to find a safe place."
"Are we close to the thicket?" Leevy asked.
"I don't know. I can't tell which way we're going. I was never very good in the woods."
"You've been to the woods?"
Peeta choked on his tongue. He'd forgotten they were on camera. Leevy didn't know Gale had tried to teach him hunting. No one was supposed to know about the poaching that fed their families.
"Oh, um. Just that little patch behind the school yard. Prim and I would play hide and seek and I'd get lost even in there!" he joked weakly.
"Oh, Peeta," Leevy laughed.
The cannon fired. He'd seen what he expected in the sky over the last few days. The sickly children from Three who spent most of their days indoors, hunched over microscopes and textbooks. The girl and boy from Four who were graceful but too delicate. The boy from Five who kept dropping weapons. The pair from Ten. He was missing a few here and there, but he couldn't remember who with the fatigue and headache wearing him down.
It could really be down to the Careers and the fugitives by now. He glanced back and Rue helping Leevy over a fallen tree. Somehow the weakest had made it this far. He wondered if it was fair to have kept them alive. As soon as Cato or Glimmer or Clove killed him the girls didn't stand a chance.
But hope was making Leevy smile. And he'd want someone to make Prim smile.
Leevy spotted the small cave created by an overhang of a fallen tree. The three weary children crawled inside shallow base. Peeta moved to the outmost spot to conceal the girls.
"Peeta?" Rue whispered.
"Yeah?"
"Thank you. For helping me."
"Glad to," he whispered.
"Peeta?"
"Yes Leevy?"
"I'm hungry."
"Me too," he sighed. "Let's get rest and hunt tomorrow."
He stretched an arm over them both. They fell asleep.
They woke up to the world around them burning.
Katniss stared at the television.
"Well, that's it for them," Cashmere laughed. She poured another glass of champagne. "Katniss? Champagne?"
"How will they get out?" she whispered. The fire was inching closer and closer to where Peeta slept with Female Twelve and Female Eleven.
"They won't," snickered Enobaria. She played with the caviar dish studded with rubies on Katniss' side table.
Katniss bristled. "He'll get them out."
Cashmere smirked. "And why do you say that?" She leaned forward with a sarcastic gasp. "Does someone have a little crush on Male Twelve?"
"Shut up," Katniss pouted.
Enobaria scoffed. "He ranked an eight, Katniss. At least have a crush on someone decent. Cato's going to win, go after him."
"He's just...nice is all!" Katniss shouted. "He's going to die anyway, just leave it alone."
She jammed her chin down onto her palms and ignored her so-called friends.
"Wake up!" Peeta yelled. He shook Rue against Leevy and they sputtered to life.
Leevy screamed. Peeta covered her mouth. "Leevy, you have to be quiet okay? We don't know who's out there."
She nodded fearfully.
"I'm going to poke my head out and see where we can run. I'll be right back. You and Rue stay right here, okay?" he spoke over the roaring fire.
They both nodded.
He ducked out.
They waited. They clung to one another.
His blue eyes returned. "We're going to the river!"
He hauled them to their feet and they followed the trail he set. He kicked burning branches away and ducked right and left. He glanced behind to make sure they were close by.
They were not running alone.
The girl from Five, her red hair matching the flames surrounding her, was close behind. She saw him as he saw her.
She stumbled.
He called out. "Come on! Run! Follow us to the river!"
The girls spun around. "Run with us!" they called.
The girl with the face of a fox burst forth with a grateful smile and hurried to join them. Peeta pulled her along with them as they ran.
They reached the water's edge. Peeta waited as they lined up at the edge. He made them all join hands.
"Jump!"
They leapt into the raging water.
They broke the surface sputtering, but Peeta did not release Leevy or Rue's hand. The fox-faced girl clung to Rue. They rushed down the speeding river away from the fire.
Katniss exhaled. Cashmere and Enobaria stared at the screen.
The water grew rougher and rocks began to pop up. Peeta yelped as he was swept into a boulder. "We need to get out of the water," he called to the chain around him.
"Ouch!" Rue cried as she clipped a rock too closely.
The fox-faced girl caught the next rock they floated by. The chain stretched lazily out with the rushing water. Foxface struggled up until her torso was on top of a stone just a few feet from the river bank and she could grip Rue's hand firmly. Peeta pulled Leevy back to him against the current.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
She screamed.
He felt their chain start to move again. He saw the fox-faced girl's limp hand had released Rue. Her damp red hair was splayed out on the rock in the sunshine. Clove's familiar knife was protruding from her severed jugular.
"Lift your feet!" he told Rue and Leevy as they bounced along the water. "We're hitting the rocks; keep your feet up so we can move faster!"
He twisted and saw Clove reach Foxface's body on the shore. She stretched over to the boulder and yanked her knife free. She was holding it up, aiming at him.
Cato and Glimmer ran up behind her.
The knife glanced Peeta's cheek as it streaked past them and into the water.
"Peeta!"
"It's just a cut," he winced at the pain, still trying to calm Leevy. Blood and water splashed over his cheekbone. They picked up speed. They were flying down the river now. The Careers chasing them began to recede. He saw Cato give up and stop running.
"Nooo!" Rue screamed. He looked ahead.
The waterfall drop off was about a mile ahead.
"Okay, now we kick!"
Gripping their hands, they kicked against the water. "I can't swim!" Leevy cried.
"Just keep kicking! It's what the ducks do in the puddles when it floods in Twelve," he told her. "Just kick like the ducks!"
Rue splashed and kicked, gasping and sputtering against the water. Leevy pumped her legs as hard as she could. Peeta kicked and kicked and thought of Prim, watching and cheering and begging him to kick harder.
His head hit the dirt on the shore line. "We're there!"
Only a quarter mile from the drop-off he pulled the girls onto dry land. Rue and Leevy gasped and cried.
"Should we keep moving?" Leevy whispered.
"We moved really fast down the river," Peeta told her. "We can rest a few minutes."
"If the redhead girl hadn't been there..." Leevy went quiet.
"She saved us," Peeta told her. "Be thankful. She saved us."
Leevy nodded. Rue whispered, "I think she was thankful you helped her from the fire."
Peeta nodded. He turned away to try to think of something happier. He crawled his way to the edge of the drop off. "It's not so bad!" he called. He decided not to tell them that the short drop wouldn't have mattered with the jagged rocks below.
He stood and looked out over the valley below. His heartbeat settled while he thought of the first time Gale had showed him the hunting grounds he visited in Twelve. The beautiful hills had made up for how terrible Peeta had been with the bow. He realized he'd never thanked Gale for helping his family after his mother died. He pushed away his regret.
He turned around and peered back. The girls were messing in some bushes. He slogged back to them in his wet shoes.
"What did you find?" he smiled.
"Berries!" Rue smiled. "Things are looking up."
She popped one in her mouth.
The cannon fired.
Peeta didn't understand why Rue fell asleep. "Rue?"
Her eyes were open. "Rue?" he pleaded.
Leevy was frozen. Her fists balled and red juice dripped from her clenched fingers.
Peeta grabbed Leevy's hand. He was crying and trying to breathe and telling her to wash her hands in the water, but everything was coming out in sobs and slurred cries. He fell to his knees and pulled Rue into his arms. He rocked her body back and forth.
"I'm so sorry," he whispered. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry."
Leevy stared.
When he knew if he lingered any longer they would drug him to take the corpse, he carried her limp body to the water's edge. He could feel it growing difficult as he'd lost weight and muscle. He laid her on the bank. He closed her eyes.
He saw she still had a few berries in her frozen hand. He freed one.
He squeezed the skin and watched it break open with rich red juice. He painted a heart on her cheek.
"We love you, Rue," he whispered.
He stepped away and walked back to Leevy. He took her hand and pulled her to the drop-off.
They watched the hovercraft collect Rue and float away. Leevy stared after her for a long time.
Peeta watched her. "Let's rest a while. We moved very far downstream, we have some time before the Careers come," he said gently.
Leevy nodded.
They looked out over the valley below.
Sae thanked Enobaria and Cashmere for coming as she closed the door after them.
"Miss? Miss Katniss? What can I get you for dinner tonight?"
Sae stepped over to the sofa. "Miss?"
"What?" Katniss looked behind her.
"Dinnertime, miss."
Katniss looked back to Peeta and Leevy watching the Valley. Something was falling from the sky on a gossamer parachute.
"I think...I think I'd just like some bread, Sae."
Peeta struggled with the silver canister. "What do you think Haymitch sent us?"
She shrugged mutely. He got the top off. There was no note.
He peered inside. "Leevy."
She looked up.
"Look what Eleven has sent us."
He held up the small loaf of bread; coated in hearty seeds. It smelled wonderful. He looked up to the cameras. "Thank you," he mouthed. "Thank you."
Leevy was silent as he tore off a portion of the seeded bread and handed it to her.
"Leevy?"
She noticed the bread and took it. She bit off a mouthful, tasting nothing.
"It was very kind of them to give us this bread," he tried. "Isn't it delicious?"
She stared and chewed.
He turned to look at the drop-off over the valley. "It really is beautiful, don't you think? The sunset is my favorite."
Her shoes rustled as she stood. She walked away to the waterfall.
He followed her. "Leevy. She's okay now. She's free."
Leevy looked over her shoulder. "I know." She smiled at him. "Thank you, Peeta."
He smiled back sadly. "For what?"
She sighed. "For everything."
She leapt.
"No!" he tried to catch her arm, her foot, any small part of her as she dove over the cliff.
He screamed her name even after the cannon had fired. He fell to his hands and knees and vomited as the hovercraft collected the crushed remains from the rocks below.
He curled into a ball and fell into darkness.
Katniss dropped her glass of milk. Sae ran in at the sound of it shattering.
"Miss?"
"Sae!" she sobbed.
Peeta knew he heard the cannon twice more. He didn't know who it was. He didn't care anyway. There was nothing to survive for here anymore. He stayed, holding vigil at the drop off. He waited for Cato or Clove to find him. Maybe Glimmer if she'd backstabbed Cato like he imagined she wanted to.
He heard the growling from the other side of the river the next afternoon. He finally looked up. A monstrous looking beast with claws like razors and teeth protruding from its bloody lips was pacing the other side. He thought of a bear and a wolf simultaneously. It was the worst of both.
He dragged himself to his feet. "Okay," he told the Gamemakers. "I'm moving."
The monster howled at his unattainable prey. It was only a warning. A message from the Gamemakers. He was interesting enough to keep alive for a little while longer, but if he didn't move they'd make sure his death was horrible. He thought he might as well go find Cato and make it quick.
He was very hungry. It had been over a full day since he'd eaten. He drank from the river but was too frightened to eat from the bushes and too sorrowful to eat Leevy's remaining portion of bread.
His jacket didn't fit his shoulders anymore. He pulled his belt tighter. It would be easy to take him now.
He walked slowly. He listened to the cameras panning to follow him. He missed his family.
"Prim," he smiled. "Remember when I tried to teach you to swim? You must have been six. Gale had just taught me to stay afloat and I decided I would teach you even though I couldn't really swim. You sank straight to the bottom of the water tower. Dad was so mad when I brought you home crying. You felt really bad when I had to go to bed without dessert. You brought me a cookie, but you put it in your back pocket and had sat down, so it was crushed. You tried to put it back together with frosting," he laughed quietly. "Dad found all the sugar out in the workroom and thought we'd had a break in. Then he followed the sugar footsteps up the stairs.
"We thought he was going to be angry, but he laughed and laughed and laughed," Peeta sighed. He walked on.
He could see he was getting close. The ground was leveling out. He must be nearing the Cornucopia.
The cannon fired. Peeta's breath caught in his throat. Was that one Tribute left? Or two?
"Dad, I miss you," he whispered. "I know it wasn't easy without Mom. You worried all the time," he chuckled. "But you were perfect. Our family always felt whole. You took such good care of us.
Just don't give Prim too many sweets. You spoil her. You spoiled us both."
He sighed. "I love you so much."
He reached the clearing. He could see the Cornucopia. He frowned at the sound of the hovercraft.
Something was wrong. The small figure being lifted had to be Clove. He couldn't imagine Cato had killed her easily.
He saw the struggle now. It was Thresh. Cato was battling him with a sword. Thresh had a staff the size of a tree branch he was using to fend him off. Both were bloody and filthy.
Peeta stared. He'd seen the final two tributes battle before, on television. He never thought he'd witness it.
That was when he realized he was still alive. And he wasn't supposed to be. He wasn't supposed to be in the final two. The Gamemakers always weeded out the weaker Tributes before the final battle.
Which meant he was going to be eliminated very quickly.
The cannon sounded. He heard the growl behind him immediately.
Cato pulled the sword from Thresh's heart. Peeta burst from the woods.
"Run!" he screamed. Cato jerked up. The sword was ready in his hand, dripping blood.
"Cato, run! There's a mutt!" Peeta screamed, waving his arms. The expression on Cato's face told him he had seen. Peeta tried to look behind, but when he realized he could smell the animal's fur, he knew it was close. He thought he could feel the foul breath on his neck.
The Cornucopia loomed in front of him. He saw Cato raising the sword over his shoulder.
Peeta ducked as it flew overhead. The animal screamed and roared.
He spun around. The wolfish, bear-life monster had paused to examine its wounded flank. Peeta spun again and ran to the Cornucopia.
"Climb!" he called, but Cato was already next to him. They scrambled away from the snarling until they were both on top of the metal horn, gasping and peering down at the snapping jaws of the wounded animal beneath.
Peeta gasped. "That was-"
Then Cato was on him, trying to cut off his air flow. Peeta kicked and thrashed. Cato bit his hand as he clawed at the arm around his neck. He could feel the skin break.
He saw Prim. He saw Leevy. He saw the silver eyes always watching him. He saw the red-haired girl and fire and his father and mother and fresh bread and a beautiful orange sunset.
He wrenched himself free, pushing hard against Cato and falling forward onto his knees, gasping and coughing.
"Help!"
He looked over his shoulder. Cato had lost his balance. His arms were waving madly and his heels hung over the edge of the Cornucopia.
"No!"
Peeta launched himself off the metal surface and reached out to try to catch Cato's hand. To try to keep him on the Cornucopia. To save him from the monster below.
He caught his fingers. Cato's hand was coated in Thresh's blood. He felt their palms slipping away. Cato's hand passed through his.
Cato fell.
Peeta collapsed into himself, trying to block out the agony of his opponent's final screams.
The cannon blast echoed across the empty arena.
Peeta could smell the blood puddle underneath is face, smeared across the cold metal surface. He tried to remember what fresh bread smelled like. The smell of soap on his skin after he and Prim washed the laundry on Tuesday evenings. The smell of his father's pipe on holidays. The smell of his mother's hair still lingering on the coat his father couldn't bring himself to give away.
All he could find was the smell of blood.
"Ladies and gentlemen. Our Victor!"
Claudius Templesmith's voice radiated out from the sky. Peeta did not move.
The sound of the hovercraft grew loud as it drew closer. He stayed curled into a ball.
It was loud overhead. He heard the clink of the ladder as it dropped down to the Cornucopia. He raised only his eyes. He stared at the bottom rung just inches from his hand.
He focused on the memory of Prim in his mind.
He reached out and reluctantly closed his hand around the rung.
Katniss burst into tears. She ran to the sound of Sae's movements in the dining room.
Sae nearly dropped the tea set. "Miss?"
Katniss smiled through her sobs. "He made it, Sae. He won."