The Dark Dreams

After Katniss had staggered off and collapsed into a heap off to the side of a tree, she wasn't worth the camera's attention. For the rest of the night, the only people they showed were the careers. They did show the reactions some of the others had when they saw Glimmer's face in the night sky, and Caesar couldn't stop talking about Peeta. Does that man ever sleep?

When I wake the next morning, I see Caesar still on the screen, yapping away about highlights from last night for anyone who missed what Katniss did. Thankfully, there isn't sound. The smell of kettle boiling water fills my nose and I slide off the Everdeen's couch. My mom and Mrs. Everdeen are pouring oatmeal into bowls when they both see me.

"Good morning, Gale. Breakfast is just finishing," she says with a smile. I look at my mom, hers is more forced, telling me not to question anything. I understand my mom's silent messages more so since my dad's death. Instead, I just sit at the table, in the seat she pulls out for me. I look around the room and see Prim, Rory and Vick running in from outside.

Prim's eyes dart to the screen and mine follow. There is text on the screen that reads: 'Is Katniss really out of the woods? Not yet, not with those stings, experts say." I notice that Mrs. Everdeen deliberately places herself between Prim and the screen, forcing her to move away and sit at the table. It's only when I take my first bite that I realize just how wrong today is.

"Why aren't they at school? Or you at work?"

It is my mom who answers. "School was canceled today. Some of the Capitol team will be here today for interviews and to get a sense of District 12. So I took off work and there's no school."

"Interviews?" I ask with a groggy confusion.

This time, it's Mrs. Everdeen who responds. "You know how at this point they interview the family and friends? Well, we don't often get kids who make it this far and this year there are two. It's become a big to-do. Effie Trinket is already here. Haymitch Abernathy, their mentor, will be around later just before the cameras arrive. Prim and I have to get the house ready. I think the distraction will do us good."

"I don't want to interview," Prim mutters quietly.

"You will probably just be asked a few questions, Love. I'm sure the Reaping will come up. Just be honest and it'll all be over soon and they'll be on their way off." She swallows hard and coughs as it gets stuck in her throat. She holds her hand up to show that she's okay, but anyone can see she isn't. My mom is comforting her and grabs some water.

Then there's a knock on the door.

Mrs. Everdeen's head shoots up so fast that she begins to cough again. I stand up and open it, expecting a blinding flash of camera lights. Instead, I see Madge.

She's in a nice dress, one nice enough to be worn to the Reaping, and I know that means she will be on camera at some point today. In her hands is one large box and a smaller one on top of it. I step aside to let her in and she places the boxes on the table before making craning her neck to make sure Katniss' mom is okay.

"Hello," she whispers tentatively. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your morning. I just wanted to get here before the cameras."

Katniss' mom clears her throat and takes a deep breath, clearly relived it wasn't a camera crew. "Madge, it's good to see you. What can I do for you?" Like a reflex, her head turns to the screen, checking to see if anything has happened to Katniss. When she's satisfied she didn't miss something important, she looks back at Madge, waiting.

Madge looks around the room and spots Prim, smiling at her as she does. "I had some old dresses that don't fit me anymore and I was wondering if you thought Prim might want them? I have no sisters so they'd just go to waste." She hands the larger box to Prim who excitedly takes one of the dresses and holds it in front of her. Then her eyes dart to her mother for approval. I see her nod and Prim thanks Madge before taking the box into her room to change.

For a moment, I find that I'm angry with Madge. Did she think that Prim didn't have anything else nice to wear today? That because she was rich she felt obligated to help Prim? It took some effort to push the thoughts from my mind. I've done all I can to provide a meal every day to both of our families. Sure, a lot of times it's not a President's meal, it might even be stale bread, but I get it to them so Prim doesn't take the tesserae. And I'll be damned if Rory takes any. After the Reaping for these Games, I lost the benefit of taking tesserae, but that doesn't mean I'll let my family take any. Have I not been able to do enough for them?

Madge smiles at Prim and hands the second box to Mrs. Everdeen. When she opens it and starts to protest, Madge interrupts her. "My father said for me to tell you not to argue. He got one for you and one for the Mellark family too. He says you'll have earned it by the time the day's out."

I can't help my curiosity. I creep up behind my mom and peer into the box and my mouth drops. Inside is a large, juicy, slab of meat. I'd never seen anything so amazing in all my life, not even when my dad was around and we had his pay too. The fact that Madge's father could afford two of these astounded me.

"Oh Madge…" was all Mrs. Everdeen could manage as we all stared at the mouth-watering food.

"Whenever you feel stressed out today, just remember that's waiting for you." She smiles and starts to back out of the house. "Good luck today."

"Madge!" Mrs. Everdeen calls out. "Thank you. Thank your father for me as well." When Madge leaves, Mrs. Everdeen shakes her head. "I'm not even sure how to cook this. I might ask someone. Do you know?" She turns to my mom, who only shrugs in response. "Well, then. We'll figure it out tonight. Will you come after the cameras have left?"

My mom looks at me, her mouth open. "Oh, no, Hun, this is for you and Prim. You two deserve it."

Mrs. Everdeen grabs my mom's hand. "You've been with me… with us through this all. Gale deserves this. You deserve this. Your kids do. You're sharing this meal with Prim and I."

My mom looks defeated, like she can't say no without seeming ungrateful (and it's no secret how much we all want a bite out of that meat) and she doesn't want to say yes and take the meat from Prim and her mom. In the end, my mom nods and picks Posy up, ushering Rory and Vick out the door. "I will see you later then."

"Thank you," I say to Mrs. Everdeen before I close the door behind me.

I walk my family home and quickly wash and dress into something that doesn't look like I spent my day hunting in the woods in. I help to get Rory ready while mom tackles Vick and Posy. I go to open the door, my curiosity getting to me twice already. I want to see what this camera team is all about. I hear mom call out to me before I can leave.

"Gale! No woods, and no hob. No trading with the Peacekeepers either. There will be extra security today. If something seems illegal, it probably is, so don't do it."

I turn and see her worried face and I try to grin. "'Why do today what you can do tomorrow?'" I say proudly.

She barks out a laugh. "I won't even correct you today. Be safe, Love."

"You know me."

She shakes her head in amusement. "That's why I said it. Go. Don't worry too much today, there is nothing anyone can do about Katniss. She's strong, she'll fight through this too."

"I know." I close the door behind me and try not to think about her for at least a few minutes and head to the square.

When I get there, there are already a ton of people watching the Games. Apparently something interesting is happening with the Careers. They've finished their mine trap around their food and the boy from District 3, Atlas, is showing the others how to navigate the mine field. It shows Finch watching from a distance, her ears and eyes perked up like a fox who'd caught the scent of something. Her head is bouncing back and forth, watching, memorizing. There is nothing about Katniss right now.

Peacekeepers line the train platform and it seems I'm just in time to see the camera crew and Haymitch step off the train. Or in his case, it was like fumbling off. Even a blind person could have seen Effie as she stepped forward to greet them. Her purple wig is like the sun, it hurts to look at directly. She and Haymitch immediately begin arguing about something and she sniffs dramatically a few times before pushing him in front of her. They head to Victors Village, the nearly deserted row of perfect houses reserved for those who've won the Hunger Games. Only Haymitch lives there.

There are several people who remain behind in the square, setting up an interesting looking tarp with dots all over it. They line up their equipment and get it ready for sit-down interviews. Everyone freezes though when Katniss comes up on the screen. I feel my heart stop as I watch her convulse. She is still asleep, but she begins to mutter to herself. No one understands it, not even me.

"She's having what we call 'Dark Dreams,'" says the doctor who shows up on another screen with Caesar. "After the hallucinations, she is still experiencing very real scenarios in her mind. It is the breakdown the mind faces while the body focuses on healing what the venom damaged. Mostly these are night terrors. The venom attacks the part of the brain that deals with fear."

Katniss comes back on the screen and I watch her lips as they move. She is saying "Prim" again and again. Then she twitches suddenly and I see her mouth repeatedly form the word "no" over and over. Once or twice she stops and a new word takes its place. "Prim" and even "dad" are two of the words, and then I suck in my breath when I see her mouth form my name. She twitches again and is still. Caesar and the doctor try to make out her words in a replay.

I look away and see Effie leading the mayor and Madge to the interview. I look back up at the screen which shows Peeta covering himself in mud and dirt and plants, eerily beginning to blend in with everything around him. He looks white, like a ghost, and overall just awful.

Then Caesar cuts in and talks about Peeta for a while. Madge is talking now, pointing somewhere in the distance. Then I hear Caesar say, "Friends and family of our tributes are being interviewed as we speak. We will see what they have to say later on today, after the interviews are done. I'm so excited, I must admit. It's been some time since we've see inside of District 12, the home of everyone's favorite star-crossed lovers, am I right!"

I begin to head to the Hob, but I remember my mom's warning and decide against it. Instead, I just sit in the square with the others and watch the Games. The boy from 11, Thresh, is racing against a flood in the wheat field. He is so unconcerned though, like he knows that he can beat the ticking clock. He runs with his arms out, holding his things above the water.

They interview Haymitch, and then I see Effie leading Prim and her mom to the seat. I can't hear what they're saying, but I can see Mrs. Everdeen prodding Prim to answer something. She knows that the sooner they talk, the sooner it ends.

Nearly midday when they finally finish answering their questions. Effie takes off again, toward their house with a camera crew. She walks like the Earth will give way beneath her. Or like the more her shoes touch the ground, the more likely she is to get a disease. I look back at Haymitch. He's clearly unhappy being here. His eyes scan the place, empty and haunted, when they meet mine and he pulls a small bottle from his pockets. He raises it up to me in a toast of sorts before chugging it down and walking away.

I don't see where he goes but I am pretty sure he doesn't go far. I have the feeling that if Effie were to find him somewhere else, she'd ream him out in that ridiculous voice of hers.

"Gale Hawthorn."

I can hear the voice so clearly, it's absurd. Then I feel two hands on my shoulder turning me around. It's the Peacekeepers. One of them is Darius. He gives me a death glare, like I did something wrong.

"This is him," he mutters.

Effie appears from behind him and claps her hands together. "Wonderful!" she says, stretching out each syllable. "Come, come, come along."

She grabs my arm and her long nails dig deep into my skin. She nearly forces me into the seat and several crazy looking people run up to me and begin pulling at my hair and my shirt. It's the thing out of childhood nightmares where those clowns with giant red hair pop out and kill you. I've only seen clowns in old movies that we see some years when the cables to the screens work. Still, this is the same exact thing.

I push them away and spring to my feet. "What's going on?"

She looks at me like I asked why the Capitol exists. "My dear, didn't anyone tell you? You're being interviewed. For Katniss. Everyone says you're closest to her besides her sister. Were they wrong?"

I look back and see the clowns holding combs and hair spray. I look down and see they've buttoned up my shirt like ninjas. And then I see Haymitch studying me, looking me over like I was meat.

"No," I mutter, like a small child, "They weren't."

"Wonderful!" she says again. Haymitch heads over to her and the woman behind the cameraman. They whisper among themselves and I strain my ears to hear but I get nothing. Effie and Haymitch stand there with their arms crossed and the director smiles broadly at me.

She turns to the camera man. "Castor, stay on a frontal shot. Amneris, profile please."

I sit, sensing that it's my cue. I think of Mrs. Everdeen's strategy and wait patiently as they set up. The director looks at me again. "Gale, hi there. I'm just going to ask you a few questions and I want you to answer honestly. Okay?" So I nod.

"How long have you known Katniss?"

"I've known her forever, I think. I'm a few years older, but it's a close community in the Seam so I've really always known her."

The woman nods. "And how long have you been friends? How did you become friends?"

I look up at the screen. Katniss isn't there. "I was 14, and she was 12 when our fathers were killed in the same mining accident. We became friends after that."

"Is it hard watching her in the Games?"

"Yeah, it is. But she's strong. She's a fighter."

The woman nods and glances behind her before turning back to me. "Is there anything going on with you and Katniss?"

"What?" I ask, caught off guard.

"Everyone we've spoken to has said that she spends most of her time with you. I just want to make sure that there is nothing we are unaware of. I mean, you're a very handsome young man."

"I-I uh," I look back up and see Haymitch looking at me again. I know now, he sees it. He saw it before I even knew. I take a deep breath. "No, there is nothing going on. She's my best friend."

The woman smiles again. "Good. Cut! That was good. Thank you, Gale."

Effie ushers me up and they begin packing their things. Haymitch, however, runs up to me and pulls me aside. "Tell me something," he says. His voice slurs and he reeks. "Did she ever meet Peeta before the Games? This is off the record."

I shake my head. "I don't think so. We're from the Seam. You know we wouldn't have been around them too often."

"Thanks, Kid."

I nod once before heading back home. I don't want to stay under their scrutiny. I don't know how Katniss does it, knowing that they're always watching, that we're always watching. And later that night, with fresh meat steaming under our noses, we watch the interviews. There are mentors and friends talking about how strong their tribute is. They start with District 1 and work their way up to 12. Peeta's interview comes first. His family talks about him and his painting skills. They talk about how they're not surprised he's in love with a strong woman, but that they wish he would fight harder for his own life. All things that will make people like him more.

Then Caesar comes on with Katniss' picture and he gets all excited. "My Girl on Fire! Let's see what her friends and family think of her journey so far." His face darkens and Haymitch and Effie appear first.

Haymitch speaks first. "She's a very interesting character. If there is any stronger contestant, we haven't seen them yet. This girl volunteered for her sister. There is nothing stronger than that."

"Yes," chimes in Effie, "she's extradenery. And we spoke with her sister today as well."

Prim is there now, her new blue dress from Madge looking great on camera. "When Katniss volunteered for me I was sad. I didn't want her to go. I miss her, but I know she'll come home."

"It's been hard on both of us, but we have the love and support of family and friends," adds her mother.

Madge and her father appear. "Katniss Everdeen is a good, hard working citizen of 12. She's my daughter's age and they've known each other for years now."

"Katniss is my friend," Madge says. "But her closest friend is Gale."

I show up next, and below my name I have to do a double-take. It says I'm her cousin. The room fills with the other's murmurs. "I've known her forever, but we really became friends when our fathers were killed in the same mining accident. But she's strong. She's a fighter. She's my best friend." It fades out and, like all the others, it shows her highlights from the Games so far. Her fight at the cornucopia, her fireball chase, and the tracker jackers are all the featured scenes, but then they begin to talk about her and Peeta again.

I shake my head and sigh. I just want to run, to be in the woods and get this energy out. Seeing his face as he stares at her in the tree, watching him try to save her. I feel this unfamiliar and definitely unwarranted hate bubbling inside me. And I've finally realize why.

A/N: I'm fudging something from the book, for anyone who is really dedicated. Interviews with those at home are when there are 8 contestants left (odd number but okay), but here I am pretty sure I have 10 still because I want to have the focus on what Gale sees in the next chapter, and not the interviews. So if you're keeping an eye out, this is an on-purpose error! If you didn't notice (which I wouldn't have if I wasn't the one writing it)… errr I hope it doesn't bother you now!