20

I sit with Gale, clutching his hand tighter than I would the wrung-neck of a turkey.

This is the last straw.

Prim saved Marvel's life. She's been the same Prim I've always known and I love it yet hate it with every fiber of my being. "No one's going to sponsor her if she doesn't kill anyone!"

But maybe they will. She's gaining some sympathy since the Capitol is giving her so much screen time.

Gale stays calm and cool beside me, like a glass of winter-chilled water. I hate that he's seeing me panic, but he's the only one I can panic with. If I panic in front of Mother, she comes dangerously close to returning to her half-coma state.

The moment Prim and Rue—who reminds me incredibly of Prim, only with darker skin and an extra swallow of bravery—walk into the forest to collect berries, I know something's wrong. The Capitol commentators start speaking up.

"Take a look here." A small screen pops in the corner of the Games feed, showing Claudius Templesmith's face with his nasty blond half-afro. "The female tribute from District 5 is closing in on Prim and Rue. We haven't seen much violence from her, but maybe this will be when she makes her move."

That stupid red-head girl—Foxface, is what I call her—has been following tributes here and there, snatching up food or belongings—not enough to be noticed, but enough to help her survive. It's sneaky and smart and I wish I could scream loud enough to send information through the screen to my little duck. Get out of there!

But Foxface hovers, using stealth that makes me jealous and elicits a, "She's good," from Gale.

I almost snap at him, but even I have to admit her stealth could surprise a cougar. But as Rue and Prim are heading back to the river, Foxface makes a mistake. Her knee buckles and she falls hard enough to snap a small branch. I don't know why her knee buckled—she must be famished. Starving. Weak.

Good.

That means maybe she won't be able kill my sister.

"They need to get back to Peeta." It slips out before I can catch myself.

Gale stiffens beside me. "He can't do anything."

"He saved her life once." And mine, once, too. I need to defend him. Gale doesn't understand. Right now, with the way Prim is handling things, Peeta's her only hope. Can't Gale see that?

Rue halts Prim and they stand stock still. The camera flashes between them and Foxface, who freezes as though dead. They stand there for a long time. They should be running! Even if they do figure out who's behind them, what good will their slingshots do?

But Foxface doesn't make a move. Finally, Rue and Prim run back to their little camp. Back to Peeta who's up with a spear in his hand the moment they come into view. Everything in me relaxes and I think Gale notices.

"Don't place too much hope in him, Katniss."

"Don't strip me of my hope, Gale." I shove off the musty old couch and stand behind it. Why is he so insistent on stealing away my comfort? "What's wrong with you? Are you jealous of Peeta?"

"Of course not." Jealousy is beneath Gale. Or maybe he just won't admit it. I don't like thinking of him being jealous. It makes him seem…weak. Unstable.

Once Peeta, the girls, and Marvel start moving the view switches to Cato and his gang, piling all the items from the cornucopia. "I'm going to the Hob."

Gale turns to look at me. "What for? We've no game to trade."

"I'm gonna get Prim some sponsor money." Even if it means hunting all day and night, risking my life against the PeaceKeepers, breaking curfew…

But the sponsor money's not really for Prim. It's for Peeta, though I can't tell Gale that. Prim wouldn't know what to do with parachutes from Haymitch. If I want her coming back alive…then I need to make sure that Peeta has everything he needs.

I need to make sure he survives. At least until he and Prim are the last ones standing.

Then he'll need to die.

.

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To be continued...

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How would you live if you knew the day you'd die? Parvin Blackwater believes she has wasted her life. At only seventeen, she has one year left according to the Clock by her bedside. In a last-ditch effort to make a difference, she tries to rescue Radicals from the government's crooked justice system. But when the authorities find out about her illegal activity, they cast her through the Wall - her people's death sentence. What she finds on the other side about the world, about eternity, and about herself changes Parvin forever and might just save her people. But her clock is running out.