Again I´m really sorry for the eternal cliff-hanger I was just really busy with school and stuff, but finally here is the chapter
Chapter 17
He ran towards us, he was wearing a hospital robe and was shoeless,
"Katniss! They are androids!"
I recognized that voice and finally understood who was talking to me…
It was Gale.
But what did he meant by "they", it was obvious the other Gale was one but who was the other? Was it Paylor or perhaps Peeta?
Maybe Peeta was still alive after all!
Gale ran towards me and to my surprise Paylor and Android Gale stood there, motionless, like nothing happened.
"Katniss, it was never me, the Gale that killed Prim, the Gale that tried to kill you and the one who helped you on the plane was never me, I was taken prisoner because I refused to help bring you back, I was sedated for some time but luckily the effect wore off and here I am now.
"I don´t have too much time, I temporally disconnected all androids, Paylor, Peeta and Gale aren´t the only ones, they are all connected to the blue tower behind the Hospital wing, they won´t move unless someone reactivates the power plant in the power, it make take some time for someone to notice.
I felt some hope after he said all that, good thing I did not kill myself, I felt hope, and I couldn´t contain myself, "Is, he…"
"Alive, sedated on the hospital wing, I saw him"
"We need to go back for him Gale!"
"Katniss…"
"I mean it! He is the only thing I have left! I don´t want to lose another one"
"I-I don´t know Katniss, it will be dangerous"
"I said I meant it!"
Gale just nodded; maybe this was harder for him than it was for me.
"But first let destroy the power plant just to make sure nobody kills us"
We picked up Paylor´s and Gale´s guns and headed toward the tower, the hospital wing was after that so we could go save Peeta after.
We were at the bottom of the tower, "But how..?" I asked, it was at least 12 meters tall
"I climb and cut off the power" said Gale
He started climbing, I could tell he was struggling, his hands were shaking and his face was red, he less than halfway there when he fell, luckily it was a 1 meter fall and he was just embarrassed.
"I climb, you watch" I said, he smiled
It was easier for me to climb, I was much smaller and skinnier than him, and I was almost at the top before I realized I had no idea how to cut the power off.
"What do I do?"
"Cut the purple cable off, I will throw you a knife, just try not to catch it with your face" He laughed
He threw me a small pocket knife, and luckily I caught it with my left hand without cutting myself, I broke open the cable box and searched for a purple cable, I drew my knife and was about to cut it when I heard a loud bang, I looked down and saw a pack of about 15 android soldiers heading at us, one almost got me, apparently someone woke them up again, Gale hadn´t noticed.
"Gale! They are coming!"
He turned around just in time, if he hadn´t moved he could've been shot straight in the face, he picked up the Sargincray Venom Gun and started shooting, he still had better aim than almost the whole squad, in one minute he had shot about 10 of the soldiers.
"Katniss, I won´t be able to hold them for much longer, they are androids, hurry up, they are after you"
I had forgotten, I just stood there watching Gale, immediately I began working I tried to cut the cable but it seemed to be made of steel because that thing was just as firm as ever and to make matters worse my knife had a small blade.
I could see Gale shooting the androids, unluckily they just kept regenerating every time they fell, I knew what was going to happen if I didn´t cut the cable in time.
"It´s not working Gale!" I shouted
"I know…" Said Gale, as firmly as ever
I knew what he was going to say, I couldn´t hold the tears back,
"I-I´ll think of something Gale; just give me some t…"
"Katniss…"
"You won´t, okay!" I said, panicking, I was running my knife so hard into the cable my whole hand was bleeding.
"I´m sorry Girl on Fire, stay Gold Catnip" He said, his voice trembling and his eyes full of tears…
"Nooooooo!" I tried to shout, but it just came as a horrible gasp of horror, Gale stood forward and ran toward the androids, shouting and shooting at them, 13 of them where down, for a moment I thought he would make it but then, one of the 13 fallen stood up and shot him from behind.
I needed to get down and help him, he probably had less than a minute left, Sargincray Venom acted fast and I did not want him to die alone.
Gale dropped to his knees and fell on his face, I dropped my blade, and this was too much. I got an idea, I got my Sargincray Gun out and shot the purple cable, surprisingly it worked, however the impact launched me backward.
I fell at the middle of the tower and half jumped, half climbed down the tower. Towards the spot were Gale was.
All the Androids lay there, dead because of me, and in the very center was Gale, he was still breathing. I stood next to him and placed his body on my knees. He had his eyes closed but the moment he saw me he opened them and gave me a small smile.
I tried to ignore all the blood on his shirt, the place where he was shot was completely infected, I knew he couldn´t be saved.
"I think I never got the time to tell you that I loved you Katniss" he said in a sad tone.
I tried not to cry; crying in front of someone who is going to die is really upsetting for both of them.
I knew if I spoke I was going to burst into tears, so I did something none of us expected.
I kissed him.
He smiled at me, his eyes full of tears he knew his time was drawing near.
"Thanks for granting my biggest wish Katniss…" he said
I could feel how his lungs struggled for air, his pulse was fading.
I grabbed his hand and tried not to cry.
Don´t Cry Katniss… Do it for Gale…. Do it for Gale.
Gale looked at me in the eyes and said "Katniss….."
He gave his last breath and closed his eyes.
I brushed his hair away and started crying, many tears fell on his young good looking face, I placed his body between my arms and hugged him, never wanting to leave my best friend, but I knew better.
I knew he´d like me to live, I looked it his face, he had the same smile he gave me every time I was happy. If you looked at him you´d think he was just sleeping.
I stood up and knew I needed to say some words.
"Dear Gal…." I started, but I was crying so hard I was struggling to bring the words out, "Dear Gale, fantastic friend and fantastic life mate, we met at the highpoint of our lives and we promised to look after each other until the very end, may our souls encounter again. You were not a friend… you were my family. Gale Hawthorn, it is true the magnificent die young, but I would have given anything to make you stay more years by my side. May your spirit live forever in the hearts you touched best friend"
I sobbed so hard my eyes hurt, the only thing that kept me from dying too was the hope of finding Peeta and the fact that Gale did not have to put up with the chaos of this world anymore, he was safe now, in heaven with Rue, my dad, and Primrose, while his body laid here, sleeping forever…
I am so sorry if I made you sad/cry, I did some crying too, but Gale is one of the character I will never forget, (even if in the original series he still survives)