Chapter 32
Forest
I scream, you scream, we all scream
'Cause we're terrified of what's around the corner
We stay in place
'Cause we don't wanna lose our lives
So let's think of something better
Haymitch
Haymitch watches in amusement as his Rosie talks about her goat and blushes while doing so. That old, decrepit goat that she nursed to health when all others wouldn't bother to go near it. The things she'll do. He can only wish he had her natural kindness, her penchant for helping people. He only truly loves Rosie, but she loves everyone.
A bleeding heart, she is.
Satisfaction fills him as he watches the number of donations go up on the scoreboard from Cato and Prim's little interaction. Haymitch can't help but admit that the way Cato's smiling at Prim, the way he's looking at her, he could definitely say the boy is probably in love with her.
Finnick is beside him, writing in a little journal while half paying attention to what's on the screen. Haymitch has noticed that Jo and Finnick seem to be rotating shifts... babysitting him. Like he needs to be looked after.
Sure, he's stressed out watching his daughter- for all intents and purposes- fight for survival without him there. And yeah, he's going through sever withdrawal, so he's sweating like a woman going through labor while at the same time cold to the bone with goosebumps running up his arms and legs. So what? That doesn't warrant a babysitter. He doesn't need to be watched.
But he does know that it's probably not because of those things. It's probably because they're his friends and they're worried about him. Because despite what they like others to believe, Jo and Finnick are good people. They care about Haymitch, and they care about his Rosie. But not because she's his Rosie, but because of who she is.
So they've been taking turns keeping him company in the communications slash viewing room, keeping an eye on both him and Prim.
Haymitch's eyes are glued to the screen as he watches Prim walk around and check the snares, but sees Finnick scribbling out of the corner of his eye. Finn is always writing. Stories, essays, journal entries, but mostly poems. Haymitch never asks to read them, but waits for Finn to come to him, which is something he'll do occasionally.
Haymitch sees it for what it is. A sign of trust.
There's multiple screens on the board, but Haymitch can't take his eyes of Cato and Prim. He was terrified during that fire, about to fight off anyone who came near him and almost went to fight the President himself just so he could force him to stop the games and get his girl safe.
But he couldn't do a damn thing but watch as Rosie was caught in the forest fire.
Finnick stops scribbling for a moment to scratch at the rapidly growing stubble on his chin, and he looks up at just the right moment to see something on one of the other screens across the room.
He immediately straightens up and nudges Haymitch a bit too hard in the ribs, but can't help it as he watches the horror unfold.
Finnick hadn't even been paying attention to the other tributes that much, and he knows Haymitch wasn't either, otherwise they would've noticed the way Eli was tied to a tree with Clove next to him.
Their backs are against the trees, their hands bound together and mouths gagged. The binding is so tight that their shoulders look as if they're about to dislocate, and despite their feet being free, the way they're tied they wouldn't be able to move. It looks as if there are leaves stuffed in their mouths.
"Oh, god," Finnick groans, watching in pity.
Eli has a few burns on his face and singed clothing, but is otherwise fine. Clove, however, is unscathed but passed out, her head lolled to the side.
If it weren't for the lack of a cannon, Finnick would think she was dead.
Haymitch stands up when he sees something on another screen. The District 8 girl, Alexus, has an axe in her hand as she creeps alongside her district partner.
Callan.
Haymitch can see it now, see how they're not that far away from Prim and Cato. They're fast but deadly silent.
Haymitch hadn't even considered the girl a threat, since Callan overshadowed her and just about everyone else in the danger department. They're textiles for gods' sakes! But the look in her eyes, and the expert way she's holding that damn axe, Haymitch feels a surge of regret for casting her out. The overwhelming panic is preceding that though, as he watches them get closer. He didn't think they were allies, since they'd been separated this whole time, but yet again Haymitch underestimated Callan and his cunning, ruthless nature. Callan probably could've worked alone, but he didn't. Now he has help.
The expert way Alexus holding that axe, Finnick can't help but think of Jo, and immediately uses his telo to send her a message to hurry up to the viewing room now.
When they get close enough, the two tributes stop, waiting in the brush and observing as Prim and Cato look at the burned animal, courtesy of them.
Haymitch watches with dread, his hands folded together on top of his head as the two from district 8 nod to each other and...
Attack.
Rory
The girl on the grass has blonde hair and blue eyes. But her hair is short and choppy, not long and tied up in a braid. Her face is pinched and trying to look alluring as she kisses him.
She's not a bad kisser, Rory can give her that, but she's not Prim. Prim is in an arena, and he's thousands and thousands of miles away making out with a girl he only picked because if it was dark enough he could somewhat believe it was her. But he had a huge pit of guilt in his stomach, choking him as his hands roved along her shoulders and ribcage. Prim would never do this. Prim wouldn't kiss like this, moaning in a grassy patch of field behind an empty, demolished warehouse.
Just as Rory lightly pushes the girl away, taking a much needed gulp of air, he hears his name being shouted. Looking behind him, Rory can see Gale a bit away, looking disappointed and pissed off but mostly worried as hell.
"Rory! It's Prim! You need to hurry!"
Rory can't remember exactly, but he thinks he pushes off of the girl and darts off without a word. He's sprinting, Gale keeping pace beside him as they run to their mother's house.
"You're an ass," Gale can't help but grunt out as they run alongside each other.
Rory thinks of the girl in the grass, the girl he used all because she looked like Prim. "I know," he pants out, speeding up a bit.
They crash into the house, the wood of the door splintering, but for once their mother doesn't care, too preoccupied staring at the screen.
Rory's heart is racing, his legs burning and his lungs screaming as he pants for air, but he doesn't try to rest. He just searches the screen for Prim, and sees her lying on the ground with an axe embedded in her shoulder.
He thinks he makes a sound, but he can't be sure. His hand is up against his heart, half because of it's fast pace and half because it hurts.
Prim is just lying there, alone and discarded, crying into the dirt.
"It's so deep," Vick whispers. It's only then he notices his whole family in the room, along with the Everdeens. Posy is behind Vick, burying her face into his leg and humming with her eyes squeezed shut.
Rory wants to do something, cradle and comfort her maybe, but he can't help it when his eyes just dart back to the screen.
"Yikes. I don't know if you can recover from a wound like that, eh, Caesar?" Claudius comments from a tiny little box in the corner of the screen where he sits with Caesar at a news desk.
For once, Rory notes with satisfaction, Caesar doesn't have anything to say, looking worriedly at the footage.
Rory tries to drown out Katniss's crying, and can't help but let out a shout when the screen suddenly changes.
He wishes it didn't.
Alexus and Callan from district 8 are dragging a screaming and shouting Cato farther and farther from Prim. He's fighting with all he's got, but the two partners work too efficiently. Callan is dragging him, while Alexus switches between kicking him and hitting him anywhere she can with the giant rock she's got in her hand.
"Don't knock him out," Callan bellows. "Keep him awake for this."
"Ugh," Alexus groans in annoyance. She's appeased when she shoves some leaves into Cato's mouth, quieting him but not completely silencing him.
Rory can still hear that he's trying to shout, and he's saying Prim's name.
And god is he fighting like hell.
Minutes later and he's bound to a tree in the same clearing as Clove and Eli, his hands behind his back.
Unlike Eli, who's given up trying to get free after the first few hours, Cato is tugging and pulling.
Alexus stays behind and keeps watch on the three as Callan goes back in the direction of Prim, a sneer settled on his face.
Boom.
Rory jumps and takes several steps forward as he hears a cannon, and he can vaguely hear Katniss scream and Gale try to quiet her while keeping in his own cries as they all wait to see who died.
The screen cuts from Callan to Amelie, the girl from district 3, lying in the bottom of a river with multiple rocks weighing her down.
Suicide, Rory realizes with shock.
The screen quickly cuts away, since the Capitol does not like suicides in their precious games, but Rory and everybody else saw. That girl killed herself. It looked peaceful, if he was being honest. She was by herself. Maybe she just couldn't take the games anymore and wanted to die her own way.
The footage goes back to Prim, the silver of the axe glinting in the light. Suddenly the screen splits into thirds, showing Prim in the dirt, Callan, making his way through the forest, and the three tributes bound and gagged to the thick trees.
Rory is furious, his chest hurting and his eyes stinging. He watches with disgust as Callan purposely slows as he gets to where Prim is located, quieting his footsteps just enough to terrify her.
"That's a nasty axe in the back, aye Primmy?" Callan sneers, circling her. His eyes are bright, and his fists are clenching and unclenching in excitement, like doing so is distracting him from pouncing on her.
Rory lets out an animalistic growl as Prim lets out another cry as she's trapped to the earth with soil in her mouth and eye, unable to move. The tears probably prevent any from getting in her eye, but she could still have damage to her vision.
Rory watches in revulsion as Callan taunts her and laughs, a sick, twisted sneer on his face with elation in his eyes. Rory doesn't even want to think about the things he could do to her at this point.
"No!" Rory bellows at the screen when Callan leans down towards her, grabs her ankles and starts dragging her.
She screams no over and over, but Callan just drags her through the dirt. Despite the axe in her shoulder, she still grapples for some kind of leverage, something to keep her in place. But the axe is too deep- probable even puncturing her lung- and Callan is too strong.
"No! Stop, PLEASE! Cato!" Rory can feel tears slide down his face as he watches the scene unfold.
"Please," She whimpers more quietly, more defeated.
For a moment, a heart-stopping, horrible moment, Rory thinks she's given up. She's just being dragged, limp and crying. But then she seems to have a new sense of energy, and she starts screaming again. For who, Rory doesn't know. But she screams and she wiggles and she digs her fingers into the earth.
Rory's heart breaks as the girl he loves screams her lungs out, calling out just about every name of every person she knows.
Including his.
A/N: Wow do I suck at updating. I've been preoccupied with college, and then when that ended I had inspiration for new stories so I was writing those and posting those, and I literally just got back from vacation in Mexico today.
But alas, I have not forgotten this story! Nor will I ever.
And I know I always say this, but there will be more frequent updates.
I'm trying to write a lot before fall semester starts up in a few weeks, so I'm going to try to get a few chapters in.
Also, I created a bit of a pic collage for this story, and it's the cover image. It includes my main casting (for this particular story) since I narrowed it down I think, so check it out.
Oh, and if any of you are Gale fans or Gadge fans, my other THG story, 'Seize the Night' is on my page, so you should check it out!
I can't believe I've reached 100 reviews on Cosmic! And the follows and favs and overall views are just insane.
Seriously, I love you guys. You are all amazing, and thank you for sticking with this story! (even though its been three years of sporadic updates lol)
I love your feedback, so please let me know what you guys think of this chapter!
Love always,
M