A/N: Thanks to allonsydney, District4girl, Dragontune172, RealFiction, daydreamer626, Matt Diesel, Flintlightning and Deedledum for reviewing!
I should warn to anyone who is reading this before the original books (for some obscure, unknown reason, or have just clicked on this from the 'just in' section), that this chapter (and all future chapters) contain spoilers to the original series. I'm sure that everyone reading this has already read the trilogy, but I'd rather not have anyone complain that I didn't post a massive THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SPOILERS in the author's notes.
The reviews show that Peeta is the victor that you all want, and so it is Peeta that you shall get :)
For the first time, I've chosen this song, rather than just pressing shuffle on my iPod. Because of what I was listening to when I first read the series, this song reminds me of Peeta. :)
I hope you enjoy today's chapter, about the boy with the bread :)
"Little girl, little girl, why are you crying?
Inside your restless soul, your heart is dying?
Little one, little one, your soul is purging
Of love and razor blades your blood is surging."
- Billie-Joe Armstrong, 2009
The 74th Annual Hunger Games, Pt. I
Peeta Mellark (16), District 12 Male
Green Day - ¿Viva La Gloria? (Little Girl) (2009)
I struggle to keep up with the five Careers as they run through the woods. The large burn on my chest that I sustained earlier makes it both painful and uncomfortable to move, and so I struggle to lumber along behind Clove, the girl from District 2, who is far shorter and thus slower than the rest of the Career Pack. Thankfully we aren't running for long as my allies abruptly stop around the base of a tree, and it takes me a few moments to work out who has taken to the trees to escape us.
I had been trudging along at the back of our group with Marvel, the short-tempered, arrogant boy from District 1, when she had been spotted, and I hadn't saw more than a ghostly figure as the Careers set off in pursuit of the tribute. Now that I can see the tribute in the branches of the tree six or seven metres above me, I find I'm more shocked than I was when we almost literally ran into her back at that pool.
Sitting in the branches of the tree, looking weathered yet defiant, is the slender figure of Katniss Everdeen.
I couldn't tell you whether this is a blessing or a curse. She may have sustained injuries, but we all have so far. I'm worn-out and badly burned after the Gamemakers forced us back to the cornucopia in the morning of the day with their fire traps. All of us suffered, and it's taken us most of the day to regroup, recuperate and revise our efforts. We've only been on the hunt for about an hour this evening, and my allies have just found their greatest prize yet. I'm just glad that I've had another chance to see her, to know that she's still alive.
For now, at least.
"How's everything with you?" Katniss calls down at us cheerfully, with far more courage than I would ever be able to muster in her situation. I don't know why she's trying to taunt us. Maybe just to stall for time. If this is going to be the end for her, I don't want to be here to see it. But I can't distance myself from my current allies. I'm not yet ready to abandon the Careers. From somewhere a thought of escaping the Careers with Katniss enters my head, but I know already that it won't happen. She probably doesn't even trust me enough to consider it herself, anyway. Especially considering who I have allied with.
Looking around, I can see that my other allies are also taken aback by Katniss' pluck, even more so than myself. But I've known her for years; I know what she's like. Maybe I've never had the chance to get to know her in a way that I'd have liked, but eleven years of school with her have let me comprehend her character almost completely. I know the sort of thing that she's likely to do.
"Well enough," replies Sextus Cato, the boy from District 2, attempting to mimic Katniss' tone. But Cato is from a long line of victors, born and bred for the arena. I doubt he could ever be happy if he tried. Not in the way that Katniss or I could be happy. "Yourself?" he asks her.
"It's been a bit warm for myself," Katniss replies, and for a brief moment I have to glance up at her, despite trying to keep my attention elsewhere. The glance becomes a stare as I check over every square inch of her body, looking for injuries. I need to know that she is alright. She seems to have a large burn on her thigh, so I assume that she had to face the fire, too. Whatever the extent of the injury actually is, she seems to be able to cope with it. She's managed to climb twenty feet up in a tree, after all. Hopefully I have nothing to worry about.
"The air's better up here," Katniss adds cheerfully, and I realise that I've been staring at her for far too long. I distract myself by pulling my knife from my pocket and polishing it against the edge of my shirt, making sure not to look up.
"Why don't you come on up?" Katniss taunts, making me feel uneasy. I'm not going to harm her in any way, but even without me, it's five on one. I don't know why she's doing this, but it leaves me with an uneasy feeling in my stomach. I force myself not to watch as Cato replies to her.
"I think I will," he says with his usual confidence, and I can't help but to glance at him as he prepares to climb the tree. I don't know why he's climbing the tree; surely it'd make more sense for one of the smaller tributes to climb the tree after her, such as Clove or Gabriella? However, I don't say anything. This may be because Cato is the leader and I don't want to disagree with him, but also because this way, Katniss' odds of survival might be very slightly raised.
"Here, take this, Cato," the girl from District 1, Glimmer, says eagerly, holding out her silver bow and sheath of arrows to Cato. What Katniss would give for that. Damn, I need to push thoughts of her aside for now. However, Cato rejects Glimmer's offer, annoying the girl from District 1. She's realised from early on that most of the other Careers are stronger or better trained than her, so she's been trying to make sure that she stays friends with Cato, so that they can remain allies after the main pack disintegrates. It's so blatantly obvious what she's doing that Cato almost completely ignores her at times. After all, he's so much closer to his district partner, who seems to be a more potent threat than Glimmer, and a far better ally.
"No," Cato replies to Glimmer, pushing away the bow. "I'll do better with my sword." And with that, he hoists himself up into the tree and begins to climb.
I look up to watch Katniss begin to climb once more with an elegance that distinguishes itself from Cato's clumsy approach. There's almost an art to the way that she scurries up branches that almost anyone would fall from. She's clearly very experienced. It's beautiful to watch; mesmerising, really.
But for the Careers, it is nothing but frustrating. Cato begins to climb faster, but she is already way beyond his reach. She must weigh less than half of his weight; there's no way he'll get to her. Suddenly I watch as a branch snaps and Cato falls fifteen feet to the solid ground, landing hard. It takes him a few moments but Cato gets back to his feet, swearing profusely.
"Someone smaller needs to go up after her," Clove says matter-of-factly once Cato's antics have ceased.
"Glimmer should go up," suggests Gabriella, the girl from District 4.
"Yes," agrees Marvel, ushering his district partner towards the tree. "She'll be able to climb higher than Cato did due to her size, and maybe then she'll get a clear shot with her bow."
It doesn't take long for Glimmer to clamber into the tree after Katniss, and she quickly climbs far higher than Cato did. She's a decent climber, really. Her problem is that Katniss is an exceptional one. Glimmer perches herself ten metres in the air when her confidence begins to wane, but by then Katniss is way over twenty-five metres high, silhouetted by the evening sun.
The glare from the sun may count for some of it, but most of Glimmer's failure can be blamed on her own incompetence with a bow. She only has it because all the swords were taken when she got to the cornucopia. Glimmer's first three shots fly well wide of their target, and the fourth ends up lodged in the branches of the tree near Katniss. I watch as Katniss clambers over to it, retrieving the arrow and waving it above her head, taunting the Careers on the ground ever further. Defeated and humiliated, I see Glimmer slowly climb back down the ground. Katniss has survived this round. I turn away from the Careers to smile for a moment. Maybe there is hope for her yet.
"We need to try a different tactic," Cato says as Glimmer returns to us on the ground. "She's humiliating us."
"Well, what other weapons do we have?" I ask, trying to get involved. I'm still an outsider in the group, but if I appear eager, the Careers won't suspect my alterior motives.
"Both Cato and I have spears," says Marvel, trying to be helpful.
"They'll be useless," Gabriella says. "They'll get caught in the branches."
"Plus it'll be dangerous to throw almost vertically upwards," Clove adds. "They could injure us if they come back down. I'd have the same issue with my knives."
"I only have a knife, so I guess that'll be of no use," I say, and both Gimmer and Cato nod.
Scanning around the Careers, I see that none of our weapons will be able to harm Katniss. The Career's best hope of getting at her, the bow, has proved to be completely ineffective. However, I can see that the Career's don't need to harm Katniss themselves to kill her. If she's stuck in the tree and something happens to the tree, that that may be enough for the Careers. Between us, we have enough blades to had a decent attempt at chopping the tree down ourselves. It'd take a lot of effort, but it'd be possible. But I don't suggest the idea; I'm on Katniss' side, after all. It might not be much, but I try to get my district partner some time when I interrupt the debate that has sprung up between the Careers.
"Oh, let her stay up there," I say, trying to speak with authority. I'm slightly amazed when everyone stops talking and listens to me. "It's not like she's going anywhere," I continue. "We'll deal with her in the morning."
Looking up at the sky, I realise that the sun has almost set. Katniss has already cost my allies a lot of time as it is. I'm amazed when Cato agrees with me. After a long day, I'm sure that we're all very tired. I certainly am.
"Very well," Cato says. "We'll set up camp. Firstly, we need someone to permanently guard her - Marvel, you're going first." Marvel groans but doesn't confront Cato. He knows his place, and understands that guard duty is far more pleasant facing Cato's wrath. "Lover Boy," Cato continues, using an uninventive nickname that he has coined because he can't be bothered to say "Peeta", even though my real name is a syllable shorter. "We'll need a fire for the camp," he says. "Fetch us some firewood."
"Alright," I nod, leaving the Careers behind me as I begin to collect small branches for out fire. For a minute I'm worried that my temporary allies might try to burn down Katniss' tree using the fire, but my allies have already shown a lack of initiative once today, and Cato did specify that the fire would be for the camp, anyway.
But as I go about my job, I feel more relaxed than I have done in a while. It might not all be good news, but I have earnt Katniss some time tonight. Hopefully she'll have long enough to come up with an escape plan. That thought sticks with me for a few moments, causing me to smile once more as I head back towards the Career camp in the twilight, my arms full of firewood. It's a strange thought, but not an entirely new one; a thought that reminds me of a day long ago, during one of the harsh winters of my childhood. It seems strange to be thinking the same thoughts in the arena, where friendship, unity and compassion are alien ideals.
Hopefully my actions have let my love live and fight for another day.
A/N: There won't be any summaries from now on, as you all already know what's going to happen. And, if you don't, I shan't spoil it for you :)
A review for Peeta, anyone? I hope this chapter was ok... As ever, I appreciate constructive criticism. Peeta was my second favourite character from the original series (behind Finnick), and I really want to do him justice in this chapter :)
P.S. I'm sure you all know who's next... ;)
