Chapter 1 It felt as if a crushing weight was posed on my chest as I laid stiffly on the m attress my sister and I usually shared,

my sad attempts to get sleep only to be met by memories of hunting the day before and aggressive worries for today. My f ingers stretched out for what felt like the thousandth time that night, craving my sister's warmth but only succeeding in sweeping themselves through the cold a ir. With a sigh, I lazily forced my eyes to open and drift to the side, fighting the morning sunlight streaming through the tattered curtains and into my family's c ottage. It casted diamond-like patterns over my mother and sister's porcelain fa ces, making my sister glow almost as vividly as primroses, the flower she was na med after. My heart sunk as I remembered that this year, that very name was swimming in the glass balls Effie Trinket used for the reapings, a savage event that would be t aking place in the square today. Of course, she was only entered once, and thous ands of other slips of paper containing other names were competing against hers, but despite this, the plausibility of innocent little Prim being shipped off to the Hunger Games was still shadowing my thoughts. I gripped a handful of the covers strewn across my body in an attempt to calm th e newly awakened anxiety welling up inside my chest, making my throat sore as I tried to swallow it down. Almost as if my mind had wanted to add on to the anxiety, a new name arose in it , making me clench my jaw tightly together and throw my legs over the side of my bed in one rapid movement. Gale. It was almost funny how he had spent a good portion of yesterday's hunting time trying to soothe my worries, when the very fact that a striking forty-two slips of paper with his name scribbled on them was mixed in with the others in one of those deathly glass balls was a sizable part of them. "I don't understand why yo u always get so worked up over the reapings," he had said, "We always end up saf e. It'll be just like last year, and the year before." I bit my lower lip before giving Prim and my mother a hasty, pained glance. Even if the reapings were taking place today, I still had the duty of putting food i n their mouths. A new sense of determination washed over me in a wave as I worke d my feet in the leather boots posed at the side of my bed, the material molding around them in familiarity. Besides, the thought of a little hunting calmed my restless nerves. Or maybe it's the fact that Gale will be waiting for you there. Pursing my lips, I forced this thought to the back of my mind and stood up from my bed. Still slightly weakened from my fatigued state, I swiftly put my hair in a clumsy braid and retrieved my game bag from the corner of the room. I gave my father's hunting jacket a considering glance, but decided against it after anot her look at the sun shining over my district. My feet casually carried themselves towards the door leading to the outside of m y cottage before they came to a halt, the quiet sound of Prim's voice giving me a start and making me turn on my heel to face her. "Katniss, are you going hunting?" Her tone came out still clouded with sleep, ma king a slight feeling of guilt churn inside my stomach at the thought of waking her up.

"Yeah," I murmured. Prim let her head sleepily nod before she gave my hunting bag a thoughtful glanc e. "Be back in time for the reaping, okay?" "Okay," I muttered, a little quieter this time. Attendance to the reaping is man datory unless you are dying, and even then your relatives must leave you to face death's door alone. The punishment for disobeying this rule is imprisonment. "I don't know why I'm worried about that. Gale wouldn't let you be late," Prim m used before letting her lips tighten into a sheepish smile, "I left a gift for y ou and him on the table." I craned my neck to look at the table almost in surprise before being met by an upside-down, wooden bowl laid at the center of it, probably to protect its conte nts from hungry rodents. Under it was a perfect little ball of goat cheese, wrap ped in basil leaves to preserve its taste. I felt the corners of my mouth curl u p into a warm smile before I turned to thank my sister, only to see that she was already well into another slumber next to my mother. A look of distress was evi dent on her angelic features, even in sleep. I swallowed hard before tucking the ball of cheese in my game bag and making my way out the door, taking care to sh ut it as gingerly as I could manage behind me. The part of District 12 that Gale and I lived in was nicknamed The Seam, and it was usually crawling with half-asleep coal miners begrudgingly heading out for t heir morning shifts at this hourtheir shoulders hunched in exhaustion and their kn uckles swelled from overwork, the fingernails adorning them blackened from coal dust. When I had stepped out of my cottage, though, I was only met by empty stre ets. It was probably because the reaping wasn't going to take place until two, a nd most people would try to get an extra few hours of sleep...if they could. I took in a fresh, deep breath of cool air, the feeling of it working its way in to my lungs awakening me from the inside. My legs almost eagerly carried me to t he chain-linked fence leading into the woodsa sad excuse for a security system, ev en though it kept most of the flesh-eaters out and most of the frightened Distri ct 12 individuals in. Crawling under the fence had almost become natural to me with practice, to the p oint where I could swiftly drop to the ground, pull myself under it, and rush in to the trees without being seen. It wouldn't matter if I was caught, though, eve n though hunting was strictly forbidden in the districts. We're all too hungry f or that. The route to the hollowed tree in which I had taken a habit of hiding my father' s bow and sheath in had become so familiar to my legs, getting to it took no tho ught at all. I retrieved my weapons out of it with careful hands before routinel y making my way to a hunting groundour hunting ground. I felt the anxiety that had overtaken me this morning quickly diminish and be replaced with sheer excitemen t, my pace quickening as the strained muscles in my face relaxed. I half-sprinte d through the trees, knowing that my hunting partner was probably waiting behind them. I fought my way to the clearing and found him sitting patiently on our rock, his eyes locked on the valley it overlooked. Responding to the crunch of the leaves beneath my boots, his head instantly whipped around and his piercing ashen eyes met mine. The corners of his mouth tightened into a grin. "Hey, Catnip." I fought to glare at him, but felt a smile play on my lips instead. "My name is

Katniss, Gale." He let out a chuckle, his torso shaking with quiet laughter before he warmly mur mured, "It's not my fault you were so shy when we first met." My thoughts were immediately directed to the first time I had spotted this raven -haired boy, shortly after both of our fathers had died in a mining accident. We weren't exactly friendly towards each other; in fact, he had even thought I was stealing the game away from his intricate snares. He asked my name, and wanting to avoid socializing, I mumbled it and he ended up mishearing it for catnip. Ev en after correcting him dozens of times, he seemed completely fixated on the nic kname, and it didn't help that an insistent lynx had began to follow me around t he woods looking for handouts. I eventually had to kill that lynx because it was scaring off game, and I even regretted it because it made good company. Its pel t sold for a high price at the Hob though, a sort of black market for District 1 2. I was roused from my thoughts by the sound of Gale patting the rock he was sitti ng on, scooting himself over and making room for me. I made my way over to him w ithout hesitation, tossing my game bag onto his lap as I sat myself down. "Prim got us a present." Gale arched a brow in curiosity as he fished around in the game bag, his eyes br ightening after bringing the cheese into view. "Thank you, Prim," he muttered, h is eyes glinting as he locked gazes with me again. "I have a treat, too." He picked up his game bag from the ground and handed it to me, his smile broaden ing as I peeked into the opening. I was immediately struck by the fragrance of f resh-baked bread, causing my mouth to flood with saliva. My eyes must have widen ed too, since I heard Gale try to suppress a fit of laughter. "You're welcome," he chimed, "it didn't cost much. The baker ended up only askin g for a squirrel in the trade. Must be feeling generous today." Today. My face fell as I slowly lowered the game bag onto my lap, thoughts of th e reapings immediately taking control of my mind and making the anxiousness from earlier today pulse against my ribcage. Gale, somehow able to sense mostly all of my emotions, scooted closer to me and put a warm hand over mine. "Prim was on ly entered once. She definitely won't be picked, Katniss." I furrowed my eyebrows, unable to look him in the eye. "What about your family, then? What about you? You're entered forty-two times!" The thought of losing Gal e, the only person I could be myself with, made my pulse go into even more of a frenzy. "I'm not the only one. There are plenty of people in The Seam entering their chi ldren more than that for tesserae. We'll all be safe," Gale said in an unwaverin g tone, knowing exactly what would comfort me, "Calm down that pretty little hea d of yours." I forced a few deep breaths in and out of my lungs, ignoring the protests of my already raw throat as I felt the anxiety rock throughout my body. Gale's grip on my fist grew tighter with each passing second before he finally removed it and placed it below my chin, turning my head and making my gaze meet his. "I promise we'll all be safe." His gray eyes made me melt in my spot. His hands, able to make complicated snare s that were impossible for any animal to escape from, could just as effectively entrap me. My knees began trembling as I felt his warm breath blow across my fac e. I knew that there was no way he could guarantee the safety of everyone we car

ed about, but the absolute determination in his tone somehow made me believe eve ry word. Too bad he wasn't able to do anything the moment that promise was shattered to p ieces. After Gale had gone through the tedious task of calming me down, we had set off with our usual business. If he was as nervous as I was for the reaping, he was d efinitely very good at hiding it. His feet were as swift and noiseless as always , and his aim was even better than mine, which was rare. We ended up filling his entire game bag and half of mine with fresh geese, and on his belt hung a few u nfortunate squirrels. I filled up the remainder of my bag with strawberries, the bush a blessing when we had found it. "I think we're good for today," Gale said with a relieved sigh, plopping himself down next to the strawberry bush before hungrily tearing off a handful of the b erries and popping a few into his mouth, leaves and all. "This is a jackpot for The Hob, after all." I grinned at the thought of getting good trades before seating myself down next to him. "Yeah, and we better get back soon. Don't want to be late for..." I felt my voice trail off. "You know." Gale must have anticipated another one of my episodes, because he shoved a straw berry between my lips before I could continue with my thoughts. "Let's relax a b it before we go," he insisted with a grin before digging through his game bag an d pulling out the bread and cheese, now cold and feathery from the geese, but st ill carrying a scent that made me salivate. He ripped off a piece and spread it with a healthy amount of cheese before handing it to me and chomping into the lo af he gave himself, making me chuckle. I examined the bread he gave me before gasping with mock-horror. "You gave me a smaller piece!" "No, I didmf," Gale said, his mouth still filled with bread. I couldn't stop the laugh that bursted out of my lips afterwards, making him flash me a sheepish, f ood-covered smile. We stuffed ourselves with the rare treats we had collected before making our way to the mayor's house, who had a particular fondness for strawberries and would offer a high price for them. Madge, his daughter, ended up answering the door, much to Gale's dismay. He had always had a particular disliking for the luckier, wealthier people of our distr ict, and he was never afraid to show it. "Did you see her dress?" he had hissed under his breath after she disappeared in to her spacious home to get her father, "I guess she wants to look pretty for th e reaping. Look good for the kids who end up getting swept off to the Capitol to their death." After getting a good amount of money from the mayor, we traded off the rest of o ur game at The Hob and split the spoils equally between us. Gale walked me to my door and swallowed hard before quietly murmuring, "See you at the reaping." "You too," I said, biting my lower lip. I wasn't as sensitive to the topic anymo re, but it still stung.

He sighed before turning away. "Wear something pretty," he said flatly over his shoulder, leaving me stricken as he stiffly walked away. My mother, Prim, and I took turns helping each other get ready. I had to wash th e sweat and dirt that had collected on my skin from hunting away in a tub of luk ewarm water while my mother and Prim promptly started putting on their dress clo thes. My mother looked striking in an old, burgundy apothecary dress, her dark hair ti ed up and revealing her pointed face and deep blue eyes. Prim wore my first reap ing outfit, a frilled white blouse and a skirt that stopped just above her knees . It was hopelessly big for her, so my mother tried to pin it around her tiny, s pritely body before settling in just tucking all the loose cloth in the back of her skirt. It proved almost useless though, since the stubborn blouse kept on pe eking out of the hem of the skirt, forming a tail that looked like a duck's. My mother laid out a beautiful, powder blue dress for me with matching shoes. I dried myself after washing and tentatively dressed, allowing my mother to braid my hair as I clumsily worked my feet into the white shoes, silently thankful tha t they didn't have two-inch heels like hers. We all looked at was that we had mething like the m mumbling, "You ourselves in a cracked mirror, and I realized just how silly it to spend all this time making ourselves look presentable for so reapings. I frowned, only to have my reverie interrupted by Pri look beautiful," in her usual, tremulous voice.

My attention diverted to her blouse, which was stubbornly sticking out the back. With an almost exasperated chuckle, I put it back into place. "Tuck your tail i n, little duck." We all enjoyed a small meal together, trying to ignore the floods of people alre ady heading out into the square. "We all better get going," my mother muttered after a few moments, absently gett ing to her feet and letting her gaze rake over Prim and I once more to check our appearances before sending us out the door. The minute I stepped outside, my gaze was directed to the many camera crews perc hed on top of buildings and around the square. I paced myself towards the crowd, feeling my pulse quicken with each shaking step. My deep breaths were failing t o calm me down, and it didn't help when Prim and I were separatedher having to go with the twelves and me with the sixteens. We were all organized by age, oldest to youngest, and the families had to solemnly frame the perimeter of the area. I gave the stage in front of me a hard stare, a lump forming in my throat as my gaze landed upon the two glass balls positioned side-by-side at the center of it on bronze-plated stands. One contained all the boys' names and one contained al l the girls'. I creased my eyebrows in worry knowing that Gale's forty-two slips of paper were sitting in one of them, and that Prim's single slip was floating around in the other. A cold chill ran down my spine despite the warm afternoon air before I planted m y feet in the organized crowd of sixteens and forced a mask of determination to cover my features. All too soon, Effie Trinket made her appearance on the stage, sporting a ridicul ous bubblegum pink wig. She acted as if she had gotten a huge applause, booming with fake laughter and practically dancing to where her microphone was. "Happy Hunger Games!" she called out, amplified by the microphone posed in front

of her. I felt each body around me tense up. "I will be picking two lucky peopl e today to participate! Ladies first!" She began to giggle madly as she placed h er hand on one of the glass balls, causing the cinematographers to zoom their ca meras hungrily onto the stage in anticipation. "And may the odds," her hand viol ently spun the ball it was on, making it creak unsettlingly on its stand, "be ev er in your favor!" I watched as her palm slapped itself against the hard surface of the glass ball, making it squeak to a sudden stop before she slipped her wrinkled hand into it and pulled out a small, rectangular slip of paper. Effie's eyes, framed with pin k makeup, swept over the name before her smile broadened to reveal her whitened back teeth. There was not one sound from the crowd as she inched herself closer to the microphone, reading the name eagerly into it. "Primrose Everdeen!" It was as if everything in the world ground to a sudden halt. I could hear my ow n frantic breath whistling in and out of my lungs and echoing in my strained ear s. I saw the sullen faces of the crowd, frozen like the cold stone of statues, s imultaneously turn themselves in search of the unlucky girl who just had her fat e sealed. Their movement seemed effortless, and yet my entire being felt like it was nailed to the ground. I slowly became aware of the violent spasms my muscle s began to give in to, the trembles pulsating through my body as I forced my hea d to turn in the direction of the twelves. There she was, her already fair face drained of color, and her arms stiff and cl enched at her sides. Her movements seemed to be robotic and she clumsily made he r way through the crowd, everyone separating to get out of the way as if it was some sick reenactment of Moses parting the Red Sea. No. I can't let this happen. My chest started to burn, scorching my insides and sending my heart into my throat as I watched my sister begin to mount the stage, forcing a look of bravery to twist her sweet, angelic features. Tears gathered in the corners of my eyes, blurring my vision as I tried to make my legs move. T hey stayed limp in their place, my already slightly buckled knees struggling jus t to hold my frame upwards. My gaze became more and more panicked as Prim inched herself closer to the stage . And then I saw it: a bunch of fabric from her blouse, the loose cloth dangling out the back for all to see. Her duck tail. It wasn't even a question; there was no way I was letting my sister get shipped off to the games. I pushed my way through the crowd in front of me, forcing thei r frames away with violent shoves as I raised my hand stiffly towards the sky. I sucked in a sharp breath of air, burning my already sore throat, before yelling out the words already formed on my lips in the most unshaken voice I could mana ge. "I volunteer! I volunteer to take Primrose Everdeen's place!" There was a slight disturbance in the spectators, but I ignored it as I raced in front of Prim and pushed her to the side, as if I was shielding her from an onc oming wave of bullets. "Excellent!" Effie Trinket's voice boomed into her microphone and throughout the square, silencing everyone. "I think this is the first volunteer we've had in D istrict 12! A milestone, indeed!" Prim's desperate cries soon filled the air without a moment's hesitance, interru pting Effie's eager rampage as she dug her petite hands into my sides. "No! Katn iss, no!"

I refused to meet her azure eyes, and instead locked my gaze on the stage in fro nt of us. "Let go, Prim," I said as stiffly as I could manage, but she was unaff ected. Her tears dampened the back of my mother's gown as she gripped me around my torso, holding me back from the steps I needed to take. "Please! No, Katniss! You can't!" I felt her little arms raise off of me in that second, causing me to involuntari ly turn around in surprise. Gale was struggling to contain Prim in his stiff arms, her thrashing limbs hitti ng him occasionally in her reverie. His eyebrows were furrowed violently, and hi s lips were mashed together as if he was holding back from something he desperat ely wanted to do. With a deep breath, he choked out, "Up you go, Catnip." I gave him a forced nod before turning on my heel, trying to hold myself togethe r as I took the stage. Effie pounced over to where I was standing before chiming , "Hi, dearie! What's your name?" She held the microphone insistently under my c hin, and I mustered up what little strength I had left to speak into it. "Katnis s Everdeen." Effie let out a theatrical gasp, her hand flying up to cover her mouth. "Another Everdeen? I bet you're Primrose's sister! Didn't want to let her snatch up all the glory, huh?" I tightened my lips in an attempt to hold back the pained grimace threatening to take over my features, studying the crowd and being slightly surprised by their looks of sorrow. "...Well, good job!" Effie said, a slight note of agitation in her voice in resp onse to my silence, "That's the kind of spirit we need in The Games!" She took b ig strides toward the front of the stage, raising her free hand up in the air as she spiritedly yelled, "Let's give a big round of applause to our newest tribut e, Katniss Everdeen!" I snapped my eyes tightly shut to prepare for the applause that would follow, bu t it never came. My eyes hesitantly slitted open again, only to see that not one individual had made a move to clap. They all just stood there in silence, blank ly staring up at me. Then one person took their left hand and rose their three m iddle fingers to their lips, giving them a light kiss before holding them up in the air...for me. Then another person followed suit, and then another. Soon the entire crowd was holding up their left hands, boldly saying, We do not agree. We do not condone. I spotted Gale in the crowd, stern lines etching his face as he held his up high er than anyone. In his other arm was a very weak Prim, limply holding up her han d, her tearstained eyes never leaving mine. The lump in my throat grew bigger as I felt tears sting my eyes, blurring my vis ion again. I caught sight of one of the many cameras around me, and desperately tried to hold it together. Tears would make the other tributes think that I was weak, and I couldn't allow that. Not waiting for everyone to put down their hands, Effie made her way to the othe r ball, her face flustered as she stammered into the microphone. "Well, uh... Th is is interesting! A lot of firsts in this year's reaping!" The white robes of a group stinctively turned my head unfamiliar. They probably he reaping. My heart began of Peacekeepers caught the corner of my eye, and I in in their direction, only to see that their faces were weren't from this district, and were posed here for t to pulsate more painfully as I darted my attention ba

ck to the crowd, who were all still rebelliously holding their hands up to me. M y chest heaved. "Let's get this over with!" Effie said, her voice struggling to keep its usual e xaggerated timbre as she caught sight of the Peacekeepers. Without missing a bea t, she spun the boys' glass ball before clumsily pulling out another slip of pap er, smoothing out the surface across her lap before moving towards the microphon e. I didn't even have time to hope that it wasn't Gale before her voice boomed a cross the square, announcing the name. "Peeta Mellark!" I stared wide-eyed into the crowd, now biting my tongue for fear of crying in fr ont of all these people and cameras. My eyes swept over his blond head, and a cr ushing thought weighed itself in the pit of my stomach. I know him. A baker, abo ut my age, and the son of the man my mother had rejected in her youth for my fat her. I quickly thought back to the time he gave me bread when I was in my weakes t, hungriest state, but before he could even take two steps, I saw Gale violentl y pushing his way through the crowd. "I, Gale Hawthorne, volunteer for Peeta Mellark!" His gruff voice echoed through out the square, his hand up high and stiff above his head as he sprinted towards the stage, instantly engulfing me in his arms after he had reached it. That was when the crowd got rowdy, pushing each other around and yelling obsceni ties up at Effie, threatening her and the Peacekeepers around us. I heard gunshots pierce the air, slicing through the once determined protests an d turning them into bloodcurdling screams. But all this time, Gale wouldn't let me wiggle out of his strong arms. "Gale...!" I mumbled sharply, trying to push his torso out of my view, but he re mained as still as a statue. I stopped cold after hearing a faint sob waver in his chest. Chapter 2 Stay calm. Stay calm. Stay calm. I tediously repeated this thought in my head in a desperate attempt to soothe my shaking limbs, staring blankly ahead of me with wide eyes but seeing nothing. I was blinded by both the sheer horror coursing through my veins and Gale's rigid torso that I was currently being crushed into, which should have set off my "yo u-should-frantically-run-away-now" sense, but even if his grip had loosened, my legs seemed too stubbornly locked to even move a step. The single faint sob that had sounded in Gale's chest was still echoing in my ea rdrums, quickly spiraling me into what felt like a panic attack. I was only slig htly aware of the now receding screams fading in the distance as his grip around me became so uncomfortably tight that my breaths came out uneven. Stay calm. "Haymitch! Do something, you useless drunk!" I heard Effie Trinket wail from the side, her heeled shoes clacking loudly against the hollowed surface of the stag e in time with my rabid pulse. I heard the two glass balls that were once positi oned neatly at the center of the stage fall on their sides, the shards forming a pool around my feet. "Bah!" A gurgled grunt that was slurred with severe drunkenness gave me a slight

start. "Why don't you, ya old hag? I stopped carin' about the tributes a looong time ago." The already almost entirely unintelligible speech was interrupted by the occasional hiccup, which was followed by the sound of splashes of liquid hi tting the ground. Effie let out a loud screech that was dripping with annoyance. "I know where you get your booze, Abernathy, and I swear to God I'll" "Okay, okay! Sheesh, woman," the man grumbled in a gravelly tone before letting out a loud belch. It felt as if in the next moment his glare was burning into my side, causing me to uncomfortably crane my neck to peer under Gale's arm in the direction of it only to see a drunken, elderly man make his way up the stage wi th a bottle of unidentifiable alcohol in his swelled fist, spilling all over the front of his dress shirt and the stage as he stumbled over his feet. I felt a f lare of recognition at the man's aged appearance. Haymitch Abernathyone of two Dis trict 12 victors that we have had in the past seventy-four years, and the only a live one at that. "C'mere, ya two troublemakers," he hissed under his alcohol-tinged breath before reeling himself toward Gale and I, throwing a hand up in the air and making it land across my shoulders, giving me a start. "Let's get goin' to the Justice Bui lding before ya cause any more..." Haymitch paused, silently thinking for a word . "Mishap!" he finally yelled triumphantly, his arm around my neck shaking me fr om side-to-side in celebration for his small victory. My muscles seemed frozen in place as Gale slowly lifted his head from my hair an d practically snarled in Haymitch's direction. "Get your filthy hands off of her ." The wetness that I felt in my scalp after that indicated the presence of tears i n my hair, and I felt my eyes widen at the thought. I've never seen Gale show ev en a slight sign of weakness, and the moment he does, we just so happen to be br oadcasted all around the country. "Oh?" Haymitch said with a tinge of entertainment in his tone, his eyebrows rais ing as his mouth hung open like a fish out of water, "And here I thought that yo u were..." he let another pause stretch out the already strained conversation, " soft. All blubberin' on national TV." Gale's frame instantly stiffened against mine, but he remained silent. I gave hi m a worried glance before I prepared myself to counter Haymitch's insult, only t o be taken off guard by the sight of his eyes hardening to stone as they swept o ver the scene below the stage, causing me to become overwhelmed with a need to s ee the aftermath of the destruction, too. What if Prim was hurt? This thought burned intensely inside of me, and I immediately began to nudge Gal e away with insistent fists. His grip around me tentatively loosened before I pu shed him aside, not thinking of what damage it could've caused but instead havin g my thoughts shadowed over with concerns of my family's safety. The sight of the square that had met my eyes after that made me go deathly white . I clumsily stumbled over my feet in an attempt to dart into what was once a cr owd obediently attending a reaping. The paved ground was spread with smears of red, and at the end of the messes lai d the occasional bodybodies of the people who were too slow, who were abandoned an d trampled over by the others who wanted desperately to get to the safety of the ir homes. Peacekeepers, their white uniforms now spattered with blood, scooped s everal of these corpses up at a time before tossing them into a single pile, as if they were throwing away bags of garbage.

I felt a scream build up behind the tangled muscles in my throat, my chest heavi ng as I hysterically studied the faces, recognizing only one of them. A tiny figure sprawled out on the ground, looking like he was stopped in his tra cks on a frantic trip back to the cottage with his family, laid out on his stoma ch with his petite arm held outstretched in front of him. Vick, the second young est in the Hawthorne family. I swallowed hard in an attempt to force breaths out of my now tightened chest, strangled by grief. A quiet, pained sound caught in Gale's throat, and I tentatively craned my neck to give him a pained look. His cheeks were burnt with shame and his ashen eyes w ere locked on Vick's lifeless body spread out on the pavement, just mere feet fr om his cottage. I was suddenly overcome by a desire to take his flushed face into my hands and l ug him off into the woods to run away, to forget about the games and the Peaceke epers, but those blissful thoughts were instantly interrupted by a faint flutter of relief I involuntarily felt in the pit of my stomach. It was because my fami lyPrim, my mother, even the blond son of the baker I had reminisced abouthad all esc aped unscathed. And yet Gale, who had done nothing wrong, had to deal with seein g his younger brother strewn across the paved ground. The guilt I felt after thi s realization hit me like a slap to the face, and it didn't help that Gale's eye s swept over and locked on mine with the unyielding trust he always gave to me t hat I never deserved. "Gale..." I choked out, barely audible. My feet had unconsciously carried me clo ser to him, the hurt twisting his features beckoning me forward. "Them," he suddenly hissed, stopping me dead in my tracks, "They did this." His silver eyes raked over to the group of Peacekeepers still busy with their pile o f corpses, pure hatred hardening the irises and making me wince. "Get used to it, fruitcake," Haymitch grumbled, giving me a start, "They take aw ay everything." I felt my features twist into a quizzical grimace at the aged man's words. Almos t on cue, the Peacekeepers filed on stage and grabbed all of us by our forearms, startling Gale and causing him to begin taking blind swings at them with unyiel ding fists, only to have more Peacekeepers restrict him. The blood that soaked c ertain parts of their white uniforms made my nose flare from its gag-inducing sc ent as I was roughly dragged forward, hearing Haymitch's drunken protests as he was hauled behind me. I've seen this happen before in the previous reapings. Not exactly thisthey usuall y just marched the tributes to the Justice Buildingbut I guessed that the circumst ances pushed them to extremes this year. I felt my muscles tense as the image of Vick's corpse filled my thoughts again. A row of Peacekeepers at the front kicked open the door to the Justice Building before hoisting me inside, and the distant sound of Haymitch's slurred babbling made me assume that Gale and him weren't far from joining me. I silently wondere d where Effie had gone off to as I hastily took in my surroundings, the plush ca rpet and cream-colored walls surprisingly different from the intimidating outsid e structure. The stuffed furniture was made entirely with velvet, something usua lly too luxurious and rare for District 12, and on each ceiling hung a sparkling chandelier of great size. "Take the boy into Visiting Room B," one of the Peacekeepers ordered in a stern voice, nodding towards the opposite direction I was heading and making panic ris

e into my throat. I silently watched out the corner of my eye as Gale begrudging ly let himself be led into a spacious hallway and out of my sight. It wasn't until we arrived at a door with a sign that read "Visiting Room A" tha t I was finally let out of the Peacekeepers' iron grips, only to be tossed into the room before they promptly turned on their heels and left in a wave, one stic king behind to guard the entrance. I clumsily steadied myself on my feet after m y harsh entry before whirling my head around to glare at the single Peacekeeper posed at the outside of the door and quickly contemplate if I could outrun him a nd make it to where Gale was before getting caught. I decided against it after a few strained moments; there had been enough rule-breaking and destruction for t oday. With a sharp breath, I let my feet almost unconsciously carry themselves to the opposite end of the room. It was filled with only a red, velvet-covered couch an d three cherrywood chairs. I seated myself onto the cushions of the couch with a plop, the soft texture of the fabric underneath my fingertips giving me a sligh t feeling of comfort and calming my frantic nerves as I tried to swallow down th e emotions that were threatening to take over me. My visitors would be issued in any minute now, as they always were for each tribute before they were shipped o ff to their death. The muscles in my throat contracted together as I swept my fingers through the v elvet more fiercely, shaking my head in an attempt to clear my thoughts. I could n't afford to let myself become undone here; not only would it worry my family, but it would also cause me to greet the cameras waiting at the train station wit h reddened eyes. I tried to trail my thoughts away to a different subject in an attempt to clear my head, and they ended up finding their way to Galehis stricken features on the s tage and that one, choked-down sob that made positively everything fall apart ar ound me. My hand swept through the air and landed on a velvet cushion posed at t he side of the couch, and I immediately clutched it to my chest in an attempt to hold myself together. "Katniss Everdeen, your first visitors have arrived," the Peacekeeper announced in a gruff voice, snapping me out of my reverie. I raised my eyes and tried to d esperately drain the look of pain out of them as I watched my mother and Prim st alk into the room, sporting identically blank masks as their gazes raked over me . "Honey..." my mother choked out, disregarding the chairs in front of me and seat ing herself next to me on the couch, sweeping stray strands of hair out of my ey es. She opened her mouth as if she was going to say more, but snapped it shut an d instead continued to sweep her clammy hands over my face, a pained look becomi ng more apparent over her tired features. I bit my lower lip before nodding in h er direction, determined to not let any sign of emotion show. Prim made her way over to us before climbing onto the cushions and gripping my f orearm comfortingly. "You and Gale are really loved in the district," she announ ced in her tremulous voice, threatening to crack the mask covering my strained g rimace, "That's why everyone started protesting. No one wanted to lose either of you." "...Oh," I responded lamely after a few moments, lowering my eyes and concentrat ing them on individual fluffs protruding from the carpet. My mother let out a pained laugh, making me clutch the velvet cushion tighter in to my chest. "We all know about how you two felt about each other, too," she sta rted, making me shoot her a confused glance, "You both participating in the same

games was just too much of a tragedy for the crowd to bear." I swallowed hard, my already uneven breaths becoming even more shaky. I was sure that their words were meant to comfort me, but they only seemed to make the pai n in my chest even greater, to the point where it was almost unbearable. I neede d to stop it, so I instantly changed the subject to the things they needed to ta ke care of in my absence. I stressed that Prim was not to take any tessarae, no matter the circumstance, a nd that they would need to get by on the spoils from the milk and cheese from Pr im's goat and my mother's small apothecary business instead. I told them read ov er my father's herb book if they could, to study the pictures, and pick any that they could find on the outside borders of the fence. I didn't mention hunting b ecause it didn't seem like an optioneven if Prim had the necessary skills, she wou ldn't be able to bring herself to shoot at a defenseless animal; she would end u p insisting on taking it home as a pet. "...You need to stay in school, Prim. No matter how hard it gets," I continued, locking my eyes on hers and making sure that she understood, "Gale will provide anything you ca" My eyes widened in realization before my tongue instantly became limp in my mouth, making my sentence drift off into gibberish. No, he wouldn't. He'll be off in the arena with me, putting his life on the line instead of staying in District 12 where he was needed to feed our families. Bec ause he volunteered. Every event that took place this afternoon washed over me in a single wave, weig hing down in the pit of my stomach and sending my pulse into a flurry of emotion sremorse, despair, self-pity... But most of all, anger. How could he volunteer, when he knew full-well that it was synonymous with death ? Now not only will I be gone, but him as well! I was only slightly aware of Prim's tiny hands grasping frantically at my cheeks as I felt all the welled up emotions in my chest burst in one fluid motion, sen ding my muscles into spasms as my hands flew to my throat in a struggle for air. "Katniss!" my mother bellowed, her insistent hand grabbing my chin and forcing i t to turn so that I was looking at her. "We. Will. Be. Okay. Do you hear me?" He r sudden determination caught me by surprise, making my eyes widen involuntarily in her direction. "I want you to worry about nothing but surviving from here on out." A strained silence filled the air for a few moments afterwards, my mother's crys tal blue eyes seemingly being dusted from the cobwebs collected over the years a nd revealing the fierce woman my father fell in love with. She let out a sigh be fore letting her hand drop to her lap and mumbling, "Really, Katniss. Have more faith in me. I raised you, after all." I stared blankly in my mother's direction, dumbfounded not only by her sudden ou tburst, but also how it had succeeded in comforting me. My lips pursed together, and before long, words were tumbling out of my mouth without my permission. "I love you. I love you both, and I'll miss you so much." My mother and Prim prepared themselves to say it back, only to be interrupted wh en a Peacekeeper swung into the room and ordered them out, stating that their ti me was up. They begrudgingly got to their feet before heading out of the room an d shutting the door behind them, leaving me to gaze blankly in their direction, still dumbstruck by the fact that my mother had seemed to develop an uncharacter istic backbone in seconds. Maybe the thought of me being sent to my death finall

y awakened her. My fingers dug themselves deeper into the velvet cushion as I let out a pained g roan, my breaths getting increasingly more difficult to force out with each pass ing second. "Katniss Everdeen, your second visitors are here," the Peacekeeper announced, im mediately causing my eyes to dart up in confusion. I had thought that Prim and m y mother were my only visitors. "Who...?" I muttered in a light voice, only to be answered when two men with ide ntical stocky builds from tossing around flour bags hesitantly made their way in to the room. I instantly recognized the older one to be the baker I had heard st ories of my mother rejecting in her youth, and the younger one to be his son tha t had been reaped...before Gale volunteered for him. I winced at my own thoughtsthe word volunteer had begun to stung. "Hi, Katniss. I'm Peeta," the younger one said with an almost sheepish grin, bru shing a hand through his yellow hair before seating himself down on a chair, "Yo u probably don't know me, but we go to school together." "No," I responded immediately, the single-syllable word bursting out of my lips before I could stop it, "I know you." I watched as his azure eyes widened slightly in my direction, as if the news was a cheerful surprise. His father awkwardly sat in the chair beside him before ca tching my attention with a loud grunt. "For you," he mumbled, holding out a neat ly packaged box in my direction. I tentatively reached my hands out and took the box from his grasp before flippi ng the top open and immediately being attacked by the sweet fragrance of cookies , something I usually could never afforda luxury. "Thank you," I said under my bre ath, my eyebrows furrowing. It was still hardly believable that they had even ta ken the time to visit me, let alone give me one of their most expensive goods. We sat in silence for a while, the room only filled with the tapping of Peeta's impatient foot, when suddenly he broke the silence. "I've really wanted to be fr iends with you since the first time I saw you," he mumbled, his deep blue eyes s weeping over my features and making me stiffen, "I just...I didn't want our firs t conversation to be like this." "Really?" I responded quietly, letting my gaze wander to the box of cookies on m y lap, "...when did you first see me?" Peeta let out a quick chuckle, the edge of it pained. "The first day of school. We were five." My eyes darted up to meet his, and I felt my mouth fall open into a slight gawk. He regarded my surprise with an even warmer smile. "And then I heard you sing.. . But that's a totally different story." I saw a flash of hurt shadow across his father's features out of the corner of m y eye, making me direct my attention to him before he quickly mumbled, "We'll lo ok after the girl. Make sure she's fed." I instantly gathered that he was talking about Prim, and I felt the muscles in m y face relax. It reminded me of how the people in my district were particular fo nd of her, and how they would never let her go hungry if they could do something about it. I felt some of my worry lift away.

The Peacekeeper made yet another appearance, much to my dismay, and led Peeta an d his father out of the room before sending in my next visitor, who also took me by surprise. "Madge? What are you" She interrupted me halfway through my sentence by taking bold strides across the room and throwing a golden mockingjay pin in my direction. It landed lightly on the cookie box. "Every tribute needs a token," she mumbled flatly, as if it wou ld explain everything. I gingerly picked up the pin before studying its intricate detailsthe carving of t he feathers in its wings, its thin beak, the curious arrow that framed everythin g togetherbefore shooting Madge a confused look from under my eyelashes. "But why. ..?" She exhaled sharply before kneeling in front of me and forcefully pinning the mo ckingjay onto my dress, taking my face into her insistent palms before looking a t me straight in the eye. "Because I said so," she proclaimed, frowning, "You tr y your absolute best, you understand? You're coming home; you are the only perso n keeping me sane at school." Her blue eyes flared with a strange amount of conf idence as she mashed her lips together, waiting for me to respond with words as equally powerful as hers. I gulped and instead replied weakly with a, "I'll try." She would've been easier to answer if my best friend wasn't participating in the same arena. I creased m y eyebrows together, making it a point to not make any promises. After staring into my eyes for a bit, perhaps studying them to see if my words w ere genuine, she casually walked out the door. The Peacekeeper eyed her confused ly as she took her leave before her time was up, but didn't question it. "Those are all of your visitors, Katniss Everdeen. We'll take you and the other tribute to the train station as soon as he's done with his," the Peacekeeper ann ounced in a droning voice before strolling away from my open door and leaving me in silence. Madge's insistent demands echoed in my ears, lingering in the air around me. It was almost funny how she had meant for her pep talk to make my chances stronger, when in reality, it had only made me silently make an agreement with myself. I won't be coming home. Gale will. Chapter 3 My fingers were gliding themselves so roughly through the velvet fabric of the c ouch that I wouldn't have been surprised if it bursted into flame from the frict ion. I choked out a shaky sigh through the tangled muscles in my throat before s etting aside the box of cookies placed on my lap and burying my head in the velv et cushion, the dense fabric partly suffocating me as I desperately tried to gat her comfort from it. I felt so helpless just sitting there, trying not to think of my family's future and what awaited Gale and I in the arena. I kept on unconsciously replaying the moment Prim's name echoed throughout the square in my mind, how she had to must er all of her strength just to pull her color-drained body towards the stage thr ough the displeasured crowd. The look on Gale's face as he rushed towards me, ho w he had engulfed me in an embrace more powerful than all of our past ones combi ned, his single sob that could still be heard as clear as day in my eardrums. Vi

ck's body, along with the rest, most of them innocent youths from my school with legs too short to get away in time. The genuine look of remorse Peeta's face, M adge's unrelenting faith in my ability to come out as a victor, how my mother an d Prim were still holding onto a foolish thread of hope when I had already decid ed on my fate... A startling scream of frustration escaped my lips as I threw the pillow across t he room, knocking down a cherrywood chair with a muffled thump on the plush carp et. My hands found their way over my mouth as I desperately tried to hold back m y emotions that were now bursting at the seams, suddenly hyperventilating as all of my held back rage and sorrow tumbled out of me at once. My heart began pulsi ng at a frightening rate as all my reasoning slowly began to diminish. All I wan ted was Gale. Despite everything, all I wanted was to have that same warm feelin g in the woods this morning grasp my heart again, telling me that everything was going to be all right, and somehow making me believe it. I felt tears stinging my eyes as I tried desperately to untangle the contracted muscles in my throat. "Gale!" My own shrieking startled me as it echoed througho ut the vast space of the Justice Building. I saw white uniforms hastily flow in my direction outside of the doorframe, and knew instantly that Gale wasn't comin g. I expected to be tranquilized, only to wake up on a train already on my way t o the Capitol. I tightly shut my eyes and frantically tried to calm my breathing , accepting my fate. Only, the tranquilizers never came. "Katniss? !" Gale's gruff voice called down the hallway, his footsteps uncharact eristically loud as he pushed past the Peacekeepers in front of him. He didn't s top until he was right in front of me, grabbing my shoulders and instinctively s earching my now wide open eyes for an explanation. "Are you okay? What did they do?" His ashen eyes were flaring with urgency, the protective sense flickering b ehind his irises already making me begin to feel at ease. Before I could think my actions through, I wrapped my arms around Gale's neck an d roughly pulled him closer, my panicked fingers wildly in search of something w arm and comforting. It seemed as if not even a second passed by before the Peacekeepers were tugging at Gale's shoulders, trying to pull him away. "I guess this means you're done w ith your visitors, Hawthorne," one particularly agitated one mumbled through bar red teeth. Gale thrashed against their demanding grips, his frenzied eyes still quizzically studying my expression. I threw myself at him once again, causing one of the Pe acekeepers to exasperatedly sigh and announce, "Just let them go to the train st ation together." The other Peacekeepers obeyed, dropping Gale without a second thought and coolly heading for the door. "If you two don't follow us quickly enough, we're going to have to use force aga in." This Peacekeeper's voice stood out from the others'. Perhaps it was the pit y evident in ithow he knew that the two tributes in front of him, both not able to be separated for long periods of time, were going to have to deal with the inev itable loss of the other in the near future. I didn't let these thoughts bother me. I was caught in the moment on top of Gale , now releasing all of the cooped up emotions boiling up to this point. I allowe d myself to greedily take in his warm scent of pine and wood, breathing hungrily into the crook of his neck. His embrace grew tighter around my waist as he rest

ed his chin on top of my head. "I know you can't keep your hands off me, Catnip, but we better get going." His teasing tone immediately roused me, all the reason I had lost earlier now fl ooding back into my brain. I rolled off of him, getting to my feet and looking a way in an attempt to hide the blush pooling red in my cheeks. "Awww, I didn't mean for you to get off of me," he mumbled with a pout, getting to his feet as well, "Would you like me to carry you?" I shot Gale a hardened glare, only to see him experimentally inching his face cl oser to mine. His hypnotic eyes had a mischievous look in them that only made me blush deeper, but my silence made his playful expression fall as quickly as it appeared. "Why did you call me? Did they hurt you?" The sincerity in his tone on ly made me feel more guilty about disturbing his time with his visitors. I shook my head, holding my breath and trembling at how close he was. "I really. ..I don't know what happened," I muttered, darting my eyes to the side. Gale's c onfused gaze felt as if it was boring into the side of my head, and I exasperate dly added, "We should go." I turned on my heel and clumsily hurried out the door, my burning cheeks only su cceeding in making me feel even more shattered than I already was. The sound of Gale following suit behind me made an unwelcome feeling of guilt well up in my c hest, causing me to want to hurry back and mend whatever damage I had possibly d one. Instead, I kept my eyes glued in front of me, determined to keep a steady p ace until we reached the Capitol car meant to take us to the train station. My thoughts had never contained anything concerning Gale other than what we hunt ed that day, or if our spoils were as up-to-par as they usually were. Occasional ly, I would allow myself to get caught up in his stupidly perfect features, but it never escalated to me not being able to control myself. The pure need that I felt for Gale in my visitor room frightened me. It only reminded me of the fact that most of the tributes who participate in the games lose themselves, forgetti ng about everything they learned about being humane. Would I lose myself in front of Gale? Would the vast amount of death around me f inally drive me to the edge? I am a naturally hostile and antisocial person, so it's not like I would have a generous demeanor to hold me back. We both silently piled into the Capitol car, the back seat uncomfortably cramped after our bodies had taken up what little space it offered. A couple minutes passed before my eyes unconsciously found their way to Gale's f ace. He was staring out the window, his striking gray eyes watching District 12 fly away behind us. His lips were pushed together into a stern line, making his dimples prominent in his rigid cheeks. Every curve, every freckle, the shape of his entire figure became so familiar to me over the years that we had known each other. The fact that I could confidently say that I knew him the best out of al l the girls he had wrapped around his finger was somehow comforting. I watched as his eyes suddenly darted from the window to me, making me jump slig htly in my seat. I immediately expected him to begin teasing me, like all the ot her times he had caught me staring at him, but his expression just grew more sol emn. "I need to say something," he muttered sternly, turning his head fully in my dir ection before resting it on his hand.

My eyebrows raised in his direction before I let out a strained sigh. "I'm reall y sorry about interrupting your time with your visitors" "No, no, no. Not that," he cut in, locking his silver eyes onto mine before cont inuing, "I really couldn't care less about that." Those words were all it took to send my pulse into a frenzy again. "What, then.. .?" "I want you to know that no matter what happens in the arena," Gale started, his irises suddenly filled with the same unrelenting urgency that I had seen back i n the Justice Building, "I will not let anyone lay a finger on you. You're comin g home, Katniss." "No," I blurted out without thinking, my eyes widening as I slowly took in his s udden assurance, "You can't possibly think that I'd let you." He let out a light groan before chuckling. "Of course not. That's why I'm going to have to try extra hard," he whispered tenderly, reaching a hesitant hand out to stroke my face. I opened my mouth to protest, only to be interrupted by the car suddenly stoppin g. The locks clicked open in the doors before they both flung open, instantly re vealing Gale and I to the cameras. The flashes startled me, making my eyebrows f ly up in surprise. I glanced at the screens around the train station only to see Gale and I looking extra flustered instead of ready to be broadcasted, and it d idn't help that his hand was still gently brushing against my left cheek. This sight made my blush grow to an even deeper red, making me lose my focus. Ga le ended up having to grab my hand and lead me out of the car and down the path to the train, blindly flashing breathtaking smiles in random directions and maki ng all the Capitol women swoon right where they were standing. I silently fumed with a mixture of jealousy and humiliation as I followed him, m y head down to hide the inevitable pout I was sporting. We came to a stop at the doorway of the train, having to allow the cameras to go bble up our images. I let out a silent whine as Gale dragged me to his side and wrapped his arm around my waist, feeling uncharacteristically natural posing for the snapshots. We stood there for a few minutes, Gale looking positively dazzli ng while I stood awkwardly and pigeon-toed beside him. Gratitude flooded into my chest when we were finally allowed inside, the door cl osing mercifully behind us and the train moving without hesitance. The speed sta rtled me at first, but I quickly became accustomed to it. I gave Gale a sideways glance only to see that he was now desperately trying to stifle down fits of laughter. "What?" My voice came out even squeakier than last time, making me blush even mo re vividly. It felt as if I was positively scarlet. His hands flew up to his mouth before he bursted with laughter, making a big sho w by keeling over and grabbing his stomach. "What?" I felt more of a pout form on my face as I realized that my voice came o ut whinier than usual, causing Gale to begin guffawing. I stood there in silence until he exhaled loudly and wiped a tear from his eye. "You did wonderfully, Catnip. I can't wait to see the playbacks," he said with a

playful grin. I was almost relieved when I saw Effie Trinket turn the corner and make her way over to us, her heels clacking against the train floors. "Get ready for supper, you two! Go to your chambers and wash up!" She proceeded to push Gale and I in o pposite directions before grabbing me by the shoulder and mumbling in my ear, "I 'm sure your friend can find his way without any problems, let me lead you to yo urs. It can also be a great opportunity for girl talk!" The last part of her sen tence came out obviously louder than she had meant, causing her to quicken our p ace. I glanced over my shoulder, and my look must have been pleading because it gave Gale another chuckle. Effie and I walked without exchanging any words for a while, the clicking of her heels becoming the only sound filling the expansive halls. She let out a prolon ged sigh, perhaps thinking over her words, before looking me straight in the eye under her bubblegum pink wig. "Katniss dear, you and Gale either have to stop what you're doing or go all out. " Her words were rushed and simple, but it was all I needed to start blushing ag ain. "And what do you mean by that?" I wanted my tone to come out harsh, but it was m ore soft and vulnerable. I was thankful that Effie ignored it. "Haymitch and I were talking. We both noticed that you two have this sort of...b ond," she cleared her throat uncomfortably, directing her attention to smoothing out her button-down shirt, "This will either be very good at getting sponsors, or very bad. It just depends on how you two play things out." I gave her a skeptical glance, finding it hard to believe that Haymitch could ha ve that kind of conversation with anybody. "What are you saying?" Her hand found her forehead before she dramatically groaned, as if I was asking too much of her. "You two either have to act as lovers, or pretend to not be con cerned with each other's presence at all. The former will be very intriguing to the Capitol people, it has never happened before, so I recommend it." I pursed my lips in confusion. "Lovers?" A hint of a smile played on her lips. "Yes, you two are doing very good so far. We would just have to step it up a notch by the time interviews with Caesar come s around, which is still a fair amount of time away. I just wanted to prepare yo u." I found myself getting annoyed. Who was she to tell me that Gale and I weren't e ven free to broadcast our honest relationship? "Would this be a group decision? Or is it between me and Gale?" I asked, almost mockingly. Effie stopped me in my tracks before placing her hand on my shoulder, as if she expected it to offer me comfort. "It's all up to you, dearie. Haymitch and I are confident that Gale will play along magnificently with any decision you make. I t seems that he can be quite a natural in front of cameras if he wants to be." I conjured up the most convincing glare I could. "And how do you know that I won 't tell him about this conversation the moment we're together again?" She faked a smile, obviously beginning to get aggravated by my constant question s. "I really don't care! Haymitch and I are your mentors, and if you don't want

to accept our help, so be it." Effie pointed me in the direction of my chamber, confident that I wouldn't get l ost, and stalked off without another word. I listened to the echo of her pointed shoes as I studied the doors surrounding me. I finally found one marked with a sheet of paper reading "Katniss Everdeen," and wandered into it. The chamber contained a personal bathroom, bedroom, and dressing area. The drawe rs located in the dressing area were luxuriously filled to the brim with clothes , all to my disposal. It was all overwhelming, specifically the hot and cold run ning water in the private bathroom. We didn't have hot water in The Seam unless we boiled it. I lazily kicked off my shoes before peeling off my mother's dress, carefully fol ding it before laying it on top of one of the dressers. I unhooked Madge's mocki ngjay pin from the soft fabric and carried it into the bathroom where I undid my mother's braid, now considerably ruined due to today's past events. The shower made me curious, so I carefully hopped into it and played with the controls, com ing out smelling like a mixture of flowers. After drying myself thoroughly, I dr ifted over to the dressing room and picked out slim-fitting pants and a dark gre en top. My dangling hair bothered me slightly, so I carelessly tied it up before pinning the mockingjay back onto the side of my shirt. I silently hoped that Ma dge could see that I was wearing it back at home. Effie Trinket came to collect me for supper, leading me throughout the narrow co rridors until we reached a dining room with paneled walls. I felt my face bright en at the sight of Gale waiting for us at a table. "Want to bet that the food here is nothing compared to my mom's roasted rabbit?" he asked, giving me a weak grin before patting the empty chair next to him. "Nothing is better than Hazelle's roasted rabbit," I replied in a quiet tone, st ruggling to return his grin before making my way over to the chair and tentative ly seating myself into it. Effie sat across from us before daintily spreading her napkin onto her lap and d arting her bright eyes around the room as if she was looking for something. "Hav e either of you seen Haymitch?" "Yeah. It's almost impressive how drunk he is," Gale said with a light groan, "H e said something about getting some rest before dinner. Ended up taking two step s before he settled on just sleeping out in the hallway." Effie let only a slight look of disgust twist her features before she shrugged t he thought away completely, seeming sincerely relieved at Haymitch's absence, an d I couldn't blame her. Supper was served in coursesthick carrot soup, green salad, lamb chops, mashed pot atoes, cheese and fruit, and a frosted chocolate cake. It was the best thing I h ad ever had the pleasure of tasting, and Gale seemed to almost guiltily devour i t as if he agreed. The memory of insisting that Hazelle's food was better made h is guilt spread to me, but I pushed it to the back of my mind as I attempted to stuff all that I could down my throat. Effie indifferently picked at her food, constantly reminding us that there was m ore to come. Once the meal was over, my stomach felt as if it was bursting at th e seams, and I had to struggle to keep all the food down. Gale was clasping his stomach and resting his head on the table, much to Effie's displeasure, so I was sure that he was having the same problem. Our stomachs weren't used to such ric h fare.

After the table was cleared, we went to another compartment to watch the recaps of the reapings across Panem. I found it difficult to watch as the names were ca lled, how the tributes would hesitantly step forward or, more often, try to hide themselves in the masses. The tributes from Districts 1, 2, and 4 seemed almost eager to take the stage. T hey contained what we called the Careers, the fortunate people from richer distr icts where they trained their children for the games. I studied their faces care fully, noting to stay away from them as much as possible, specifically the more sadistic-looking two from District 2. I silently hoped that they would kill each other off before Gale and I needed to get involved. A girl with a pointed face that looked a lot like a fox's from District 5 seemed to almost slither up to the stage after she was called up. Even in the spotligh t, she seemed wily enough to hide from the cinematographers. This immediately se t me on edge. And most hauntingly, a twelve-year-old from District 11. She acted much like Pri m had, struggling to put on a tough face as she mounted the stage, except when t hey had asked for volunteers, everything fell silent. No one was willing. When they got to District 12, I felt myself tense up in my seat. I watched as Pr im was called, and held my breath when I saw how positively desperate I looked w hen I shoved her behind me and volunteered. I watched as Gale tentatively pulled her off me before Effie energetically yelled my name into the microphone. The c rowd's refusal to applaud caused the commentators to fall into a confused silenc e. I swallowed hard as Peeta's name was drawn, and allowed myself to take a quic k glance at Gale sitting across from me as his voice echoed throughout the squar e on the television screen. His eyebrows were furrowed above his pained gray eye s as he watched himself hysterically climb the steps, engulfing me as soon as he had mounted the stage. I felt relief flood in my chest as I saw that it had cut off at that moment inst ead of lingering and showing the destruction that had taken place afterwards. It was probably because they didn't want the people of Panem knowing about the vio lence that the Peacekeepers were capable of, but even so, their ignorance seemed easier to handle than living through the experience again. The Capitol seal flashed on the screen for a short moment before they cut to cli ps of all the tributes arriving at the train station. The Careers were celebrati ng, even going as far as to skip down the path to the train and boom with laught er. Most of the tributes settled with uncomfortable smiles as they walked past, much like Gale had when he dragged me alongside him. The commentators took a lon g while laughing over how I couldn't even look at the cameras, at how my face wa s painted red and how Gale himself looked a bit flustered as we hurried toward t he train. They cut to the anthem before the screen went black and the program en ded. Effie pursed her lips before directing her attention towards me. "See how they'r e presenting you two? Remember what I told you, Katniss." Gale gave me a confused look, and I ignored it by hastily darting my gaze to the floor. Chapter 4 "Mind filling me in?" Gale asked suspiciously, his ashen eyes gliding over to mi ne.

I opened my mouth to reply, the movement an unconscious reflex, before Effie sho t me a warning look so intense that it felt as if it burnt into the side of my h ead. "Remember our agreement too, dearie," she stressed, making my words catch i n my throat and remain unspoken. Gale stiffened, his eyebrows creasing together as he quietly gathered that I was n't going to answer him. "What, are we keeping secrets now?" he demanded in a to ne edged with skepticism before shooting Effie a piercing glare, only to have it returned to him with equal potency by the pink-haired mentor. I shook my head frantically in response, when in reality that was exactly what I was doingkeeping a secret from him. "I want to tell you, but" "But what? Are you and Effie Trinket pals now? I suppose you'll start talking li ke her too; we've definitely gotten enough practice from our impressions in the woods," he shot back, making me involuntarily wince into the cushions of the cou ch I was sitting in. "Impressions? Care to elaborate?" Effie cut in, making me shoot her a glare as s harp as daggers. It seemed as if she was simply unable of keeping her lipstick-l ined mouth shut. "Why can't we just tell him?" I asked, ignoring Effie's last question completely and earning a scowl from her. She leaned forward in her chair before theatrical ly rubbing at her temples and defeatedly stating, "Because we would want the act to be at least a little convincing. Him knowing would lead to him being less ge nuine." "Act? What are we acting out, precisely?" Gale asked, his gaze raking over to Ef fie and locking on her with hardened irises. "Something complicated, and something that would increase the amount of sponsors you both get dramatically," Effie stated in a matter-of-fact tone, her nose thr eatening to point in the air in her reverie. Gale's features twisted into a look of utter confusion. "Shouldn't I know about it, then?" "Well," Effie started, making me stiffen, "According to Haymich" "What? Haymitch?" Gale didn't even try to suppress the fits of mocking laughter that followed. "That drunk? He can't even hold himself steady on his two legs, f orget about holding up his side of a serious conversation!" Just then, Haymitch staggered into the compartment, still sporting the clothes h e wore to the reaping and reeking with the scent of alcohol and sweat. "I miss s upper?" he asked in a slurred tone, grabbing onto the doorframe for support as h e struggled to stumble over to us. Even if he was far from sober, it was apparen t that he wasn't as drunk as he was when we had last seen him. As soon as this thought left me, he clutched at his stomach and proceeded to vom it all over the expensive carpet, his knees buckling and causing him to fall int o the mess. Effie let out a disgusted shriek, her hands flying up to cover her nose before s he clumsily got to her feet and dashed out of the room, taking care to space her self away from our drunken mentor by several unnecessary feet as she hissed out various insults at him. For a few moments, Gale and I just took in the scene of our mentor hopelessly tr

ying to lift himself up from the vomit, only to succeed in rubbing the vile flui ds all over himself and onto nearby tapestry. "...Well," Gale choked, "I take it that that means Effie was lying to us about H aymitch having a part in the act." He thought for a moment, furrowing his eyebro ws at me. "Whatever it was." The scent of vomit quickly wafted around the compartment, threatening to make my dinner come up. "We might as well do something," I said before exhaling sharply and tentatively covering my nose with my hands, "He's all we've got in the aren a, after all." I had to take a moment to muster up the courage to near Haymitch before begrudgingly getting to my feet and working my way over to him. Gale followed behind me, taking initiative and bravely picking Haymitch up by hi s right arm out of the mess. I took his left before we both brought him to his f eet and half-led half-dragged him to his compartment. He continued to confusedly ask about what happened and why it smelt so bad in a slurred, hardly intelligib le tone as we walked. Gale seemed to have a sense as to where his compartment was, so I just followed. We soon found ourselves hauling our mentor into the bathtub and sitting him dow n underneath the shower head, taking care to make sure that he didn't hit his he ad on anything. I turned on the water, only to startle him for a moment before h e simply fell asleep. Gale took a it all over ll wash him e muttered, im. deep, strained breath before detaching the shower head and spraying the front of Haymitch's clothes, slowly rinsing everything away. "I' up if you promise to tell me about whatever Effie told you later," h gradually turning increasingly more green at the sight in front of h

"I've been planning on telling you about that, anyway," I murmured, turning away from the bathtub and instead letting my eyes focus on the expansive mirror abov e the sinks. Even though I had just showered a few hours ago, my hair had alread y begun to stray out of place. I unconsciously smoothed it back before continuin g, "And we could always just get one of the Capitol people in here to take care of him." "Don't," Gale immediately responded, his tone slightly darkened. I had half-expected him to get a mischievous glint in his eye at the thought of getting a small form of revenge on the Capitol people for sending us here, but h is response didn't exactly surprise me. "I just don't want them anywhere near me right now," he explained, fiddling with the controls on the shower wall and engulfing a still fully-clothed Haymitch in purple bubbles, "The Capitol thinks that they're free to do whatever they want and take away whatever they want, and they don't give a damn who it effects." Th e scent of lavender instantly filled the bathroom. He exhaled sharply before fastening the shower head back where it was, leaving t he water on to rinse Haymitch, and turning to face me. "I've been wanting for us to escape ever since we were reaped," he muttered, his piercing gray eyes cloud ed, "I know we could do it together. I've been looking for chances, but they rea lly do pull out all the stops for these things." I swallowed hard, thinking of the few other times Gale had suggested running awa y with me back when we were hunting. "We wouldn't be able to go back to The Seam , you know that. They would hunt us down. We're important to them now that we're tributes," I responded half-heartedly, feeling a lump lodge itself in my throat

, "We wouldn't stand a chance." Gale's unbroken, determined gaze told me that he had expected that reaction from me. "True," he sighed, "That's why I've been going with my other plan to make s ure that you win the games." I furrowed my eyebrows at him, feeling my body stiffen. "What am I compared to y ou, Gale? If you just look at this with an open mind, you would see that you're so much more valuable than I am," I huffed, words tumbling out of me before I go t a chance to think them over, "I should be the one protecting you! I should be the one helping you become victor! You should just be worrying about yourself. F ending for yourself, hunting for yourself, not worrying about me. I'll just be t here to kill off whoever tries to hurt you, and when the time comes..." Gale undecidedly inched closer to me, gingerly wrapping a firm arm around my wai st. "When the time comes, I won't hesitate to drive a knife into my chest." Gale's gentle hold around me immediately became tight and forceful at my last wo rds. "Don't be stupid," he said through barred teeth, pulling me closer to him. "Do you really think I would let you? Even if I did somehow become victor, do yo u really think I would be able to live normally? Even the thought of you dying j ust...," his sentence drifted off before his hold on me became even tighter, "I really don't know when it happened, or how, but you snuck up on me. Ever since I was fourteen, I" I returned his embrace, just as forceful as his had been. "You would get over it ," I took a deep breath before continuing, "Trust me." Gale began to relax in my arms, his suffocating hold on me slowly becoming loose again. "I wouldn't. Ever," he mumbled under his breath, barely audible. "Hey...you two...!" Haymitch's slurred voice roused us both, causing me to insta ntly bring my arms back to my sides. "I'm drownin' here... You trying to kill yo ur mentor or something?" Gale turned his attention back towards the bath tub and rushed over to turn the water off. Haymitch's body had blocked the drain, and the water level had risen all the way up to his chest. In his drunken state, Haymitch was struggling to ke ep his head above the water, sinking into it occasionally. "Why are my clothes all wet? Are you stupid or something, boy? If you're going t o clean me up, do it right...!" Haymitch began to clumsily unbutton his shirt, r evealing the vomit that had slid under his clothes. I felt myself turning green, and a smile broke through the look of disgust Gale sported once he saw my reaction. "I'll take it from here, Catnip." Without another thought, I hastily turned on my heel and hurried out of the bath room, closing the door behind me with a slam. I aimlessly wandered through the rocking corridors, feeling the guilt of leaving Gale behind to wash Haymitch, before finally stumbling upon my chamber. I flung the door open, only to find that it was too dark to see anything, so I settled with clumsily finding my way to the bed and plopping myself blindly into it. Ignoring the many nightgowns the drawers carried in my dressing area, I slid mys elf under the thick comforter and laid my head on a feather-filled pillow, sever al other cushions spaced out around me. The immediate warmth the comforter gave

was almost suffocating, so I settled with tossing it off fitfully and trying to relax myself in the cool air of my chamber, wrapping my arms around a nearby pil low and letting the train slowly rock me into oblivion. "Wake up! Up, up, up! Don't be lazy!" Effie Trinket's trilling voice echoed throughout the corridors of the train, rou sing me from my sleep. "It's going to be a big, big, big day!" Big day? I let myself stir around, sleep still clouding my thoughts, before it h it me: opening ceremonies. They included each district's stylists completely dic tating how their tributes looked before sending them off to the Training Center on individual chariots in one unnecessarily flashy show that indicated our arriv al to the Capitol, and usually happened the night after the reapingstoday. I felt hardly rested enough to even open my eyes, but despite this, I forced mys elf to sit up with a strained groan, only to find thin green sheets that were ob viously not from my bed spread messily strewn across me. I regarded them quizzic ally before finding that the parts of my body that it had not covered were icy t o the touch, making me grateful that the sheets were there. With a lot of effort, I slid myself off of the bed and begrudgingly padded my wa y over to the bathroom, rubbing my eyes in an attempt to make myself more awake. I splashed my face with water and rinsed out my mouth before deciding to redo m y hair. I quickly tied it up again, not bothered enough to take the time to do m y normal braid, and ambled out the door. Once I had entered the paneled dining room, Effie brushed passed me with a cup o f black coffee, seething under the calm exterior she was desperately trying to m aintain. She had her back turned to Haymitch, who goofily smiled and waved me ov er with a red, swelled face from his alcohol indulgences the night before. Gale was concentrated on the food in front of him, leaning slightly away from the men tor he was sitting next to as he ate. I seated myself in the wooden chair next to Gale, and was immediately served wit h an enormous platter of food containing eggs, ham, and piles of fried potatoes. A bucket of chilled fruit and a basket of bread rolls sat in front of us, and w e all had a cup of juice, coffee, and what I thought to be a thicker, lighter co ffee. I poked at it curiously, causing Gale to explain, "They say it's hot chocolate. Too sweet for me." I hesitantly brought the cup to my lips, and a pleasant shudder ran through me. "It's really good," I whispered enchantedly with widened eyes, taking more sips of the creamy liquid. Gale chuckled before gently pushing his cup towards me. "You can have mine, then ." I drained both of the cups before directing my attention towards the food in fro nt of me. I avoided the rich stuff, wanting to fill myself up with as much as I could, and ate until it felt like my stomach was going to burst. My eyes unconsc iously drifted to my side, only to see that Gale was still shoveling his food do wn and that Haymitch was thinning out his juice with a bottle of clear alcohol. With a groan, I narrowed my eyes at him. He didn't even notice. Part of the reason why people from District 12 hardly ever win the games is beca

use we only have one victor to guide us, and that victor decided long ago to spe nd the rest of his days drunken and useless. It was very often that I had seen h im in The Hob practically throwing his riches away in exchange for bottles of wh ite liquor, completely unconcerned of his future or his health as he chugged the alcohol down. I gave the bottle in Haymitch's hand a glare before deciding that, in order to g et Gale out of the games alive, I was going to have to whip our mentor into shap e somehow. "So, how about some advice for the arena?" I asked Haymitch, trying to act as pa tient as I possibly could. "Advice?" he mused, bringing a hand up to stroke the coat of peppery stubble acr oss his chin, "Okay, here's some advice..." He leaned in closer to both me and G ale, causing the red, tainted juice in his glass to splash droplets onto the whi te tablecloth below us. After a few moments of strained silence, he blurted out, "Stay alive!" Fits of laughter rolled out of his chapped lips as he spilt more of his drink around him, making my eyes narrow into slits in his direction. I exchanged looks with Gale and immediately saw the rigidness that had formed be hind his ashen irises. After a silent agreement passed between us, he stood up f rom his seat and whipped the glass out of Haymitch's hands in one fluid motion, making it shatter onto the floor. Haymitch paused for a moment, taking time to t ake in his drink that was now soaking into the carpet, before swinging a fist at Gale, only to miss and tumble out of his seat. The mentor struggled back onto h is feet and threw himself onto the table in an attempt to swipe away his bottle of liquor, but I had grabbed a knife from the silverware next to my plate and re flexively jammed it into the wood before he could, right between his fingers. Th e knife quivered in its spot from the sudden force. "Oh?" Haymitch squinted at the knife before letting his gaze sway over to me. "D id I actually get a pair of fighters this year?" I felt the corner of the lip quirk up as I watched Gale's once thoroughly agitat ed features twist into a smirk, a glint becoming evident in his silver eyes. "Can you hit anything with that knife besides a table, sweetheart?" Haymitch ask ed, pulling himself off of the table and straightening his back. It was as if hi s once careless demeanor was transformed into a studious one within seconds. I pursed my lips, knowing that a bow was my ideal weapon, but also knowing that in order to get Haymitch's attention, I needed to prove that I was notably skill ful with handling knives as well. Without a second thought, I swiftly yanked the knife from the table and threw it from the blade, hitting a wall across the roo m with force and causing a good stick between two panels. Haymitch raised his eyebrows, possibly impressed with my aim, and proceeded to p ush me to Gale's side. He studied our faces and prodded our muscles, nodding to himself. "You two are in good shape. You do sports?" "Hunting," Gale stated, his tone tinged with pride. Haymitch mumbled to himself under his breath, pausing to inspect Gale's face bef ore proceeding to punch him square in the jaw. Gale took a few steps back from the force, whipping a hand up to his cheek befor e lunging himself at Haymitch and grabbing him by the collar. "What the hell?" H is eyes flared with fury.

"Do you think this is a joke? !" My voice was shrill as Gale and I both prepared ourselves to team up on our mentor, only to be stopped when he raised his hands up in immediate defeat. "Sorry, sorry! Sheesh, you two are touchy," Haymitch said exasperatedly, pushing a now confused Gale off of him. "His face was just too pretty. A nice, fresh br uise would imply that he got into a fight with another tribute. That'll toughen up his image." I felt myself relax, the adrenaline that had suddenly appeared in my veins gradu ally diminishing as I began to see Haymitch's logic. Gale is broad-shouldered an d muscular, and can put on an intimidating face when he wants to, but despite al l this, he was born with good looks that often make people underestimate him. "...Oh," Gale rubbed the cheek that Haymitch assaulted thoughtfully, "This bette r end up being a good-looking bruise, Abernathy." Haymitch gave Gale a skeptical look. "Listen, you still need to look pretty. Cap itol people are shallow and are usually generous to attractive tributes. Otherwi se, I would be busy beating you two senseless right now," he inhaled sharply bef ore studying both of us again briefly, "Okay, I'll make a deal with you both. I' ll stay sober enough to help, but don't interfere with my drinking." He gestured to the red stain and shattered glass on the carpet behind him. "You also need t o do exactly what I say. No questions." "Deal," Gale blurted out impulsively, "So, once we get sent to Cornucopia, what do w-" Haymitch shook his head. "Too soon to be asking about that! For now, just worry about your little makeovers. They're going to do things to you and you won't lik e, but just go with it. Go with whatever they do, no complaints." I immediately had a problem with this. "But" "No buts! No questions! That was the deal!" Haymitch stalked off towards the tab le we were sitting at before grabbing his bottle of white liquor from it and cas ually walking out of the room without another moment's hesitation. I groaned before exchanging a pleading look with Gale, the already yellowing bru ise on his jaw catching my attention. I couldn't help but reach a hesitant hand out to gingerly touch it with my fingertips. He winced at the contact, but eased himself into my hand anyway. "That's a nasty bruise," I mumbled, my hand unmoving. "Good," Gale said, grinning down at me. The light streaming in from the windows of the train suddenly cut off, leaving G ale and I in the dark. "We're probably passing through the mountain range right now," I mumbled, feelin g uneasy about the miles of rock separating us from the sky and encasing us in a n unlit, claustrophobic tunnel. Gale must have sensed my uneven breaths, because he moved closer and wrapped two tentative arms around my torso. I removed my hand from his bruise before he gen tly pulled me closer to his chest, his natural scent of pine prevailing through the fake flowered scents from the soaps of the showers. Then, too soon, light flooded into the room again and the tunnel trailed away be

hind us. I looked to my side, only to see the glistening, rainbow-hued buildings of the C apitol tower outside of the windows. The sky was an azure blue, so deep that it almost looked fake. The cars rolling beside the train were waxed and sparkling, all bright in color and capable of great speeds across the shining, paved roads. All the colors seemed artificial, too bright and vivid to be natural. I instinctively buried myself deeper into Gale's embrace, his familiar figure co mforting against mine. He rested his chin on the top of my head, still gazing ou tside the windows. "I really hope our stylists don't make us go nude." Chapter 5 Capitol people, catching sight of our train rolling into their streets, immediat ely made a fuss and gathered around it. They reached up towards the windows, blo wing us kisses and shouting out greetings in their altered, high-pitched voices. I felt my face twist into a disgusted grimace at their excitement to see us arr ive, knowing that their admiration was only because they couldn't wait to watch us kill each other off. Gale tightened his grip around me. "Don't glare. They might be useful soon," he murmured into my hair. One look at his clenched teeth and creased eyebrows told me that he was battling the same loathing towards these people that I was. I took deep, controlled breaths in an attempt to calm myself as we stood in sile nce, ignoring the calls of delight just outside the windows. Some of the voices stood out from the crowd as they pointed out the two of us in each other's arms inside the room, followed by somewhat scandalized squeals. That just made brushi ng them off all the more difficult. We both seemed to relax as soon as we pulled into the station and out of sight. Gale took a small step back and pulled away before giving me a comforting grin. "Well, at least we didn't start yelling insults at them," he said before jokingl y patting the top of my head. "Probably not going to get us a ton of parachutes in the arena, though," I chort led halfheartedly. I felt the train gradually slow down its speed, causing me to lose my footing a little and grab on to the front of Gale's shirt, who seemed to have a solid stan ce. His comforting tone almost instantly turned into teasing laughter. "You shou ld really stop throwing yourself at me, Catnip. People might get ideas," he said with a toothy smile. I was prepared to shoot him a piercing glare, only to look up and see a flash of realization flicker behind his eyes. "Remember our deal last night? I would cle an up Haymitch if you told me about what Effie told you?" He asked, shooting me a look of urgency. My eyes chest. ? There nd even ght now ena. widened at him before a feeling of uncertainty instantly welled up in my I knew that I had promised to tell him, but was it really that important was a chance that it would do nothing but make him feel uncomfortable, a strain our friendship right before the games. The last thing I needed ri was another thing that would get in the way of our performance in the ar

I hesitantly opened my mouth to answer, only to be interrupted when the train su ddenly stopped completely in its tracks, sending both Gale and I tumbling to the floor. I ended up landing on top of his chest, causing him to let out a quiet "

oomph" in surprise before chuckling breathily. "We really should have been sitti ng down," he murmured before absently reaching a hand out to brush the hair out of my face. I was about to get to my feet when two of the panels at the far side of the room began to slide open, once again revealing us to the flashes of many undesired c ameras. "We really should have been prepared for the cameras, too," Gale sighed, proppin g himself up on his elbows and ignoring the squeals of the Capitol women outside the train. Effie strided into the compartment before stopping in her tracks, slowly taking in the scene of me being photographed on top of Gale. Haymitch followed careless ly behind her before pausing where she had and bursting with laughter. "I leave these kids alone for five minutes, and now look!" The crowd outside seemed to thicken within seconds, causing me to visually tense up before clumsily jumping to my feet and directing my attention to smoothing o ut my shirt in hopes of hiding the inevitable blush pooling in my cheeks. I quic kly snuck a glance down at Gale, silently hoping that he was already up and expl aining the situation. Instead, he was still spread out on the floor, giving me t he same look of urgency that he had been earlier. "What did you and Effie talk about? Tell me really quickly," Gale whispered pres singly to me. Before I could answer, Effie rushed over to my side and grabbed me by the forear m before leading me outside the train and into the crowd of cameras. I heard Gal e let out a loud, exasperated groan behind me. "It was supposed to be a GRAND entrance to the Capitol, Katniss! GRAND!" Effie still had a stiff hold on my forearm even though we had passed the cluster of cameras long ago. Her long, manicured fingernails had begun to dig into the sleeve of my sweater. "Sure, the whole flustered act was likable when we were boarding the train, but this was different! This was you first setting foot in the Capitol!" Her voice g ot increasingly more shrill with each footstep we made towards the Remake Center , where my stylists would begin changing everything about the way I looked. The room Gale was being taken to couldn't be too far from mine. "I'm sure the other Districts' tributes looked absolutely dazzling when the door s opened in their trains!" Effie let out a prolonged sigh, rubbing her right tem ple with her free hand. "I hope you know what this means, dear." I responded with a quizzical look, feeling slightly irked from not being warned about the cameras earlier. Effie pursed her lips, slowing down her pace and lowering her voice to a whisper . "The whole 'lovers act,' you have to go along with it now. You two have alread y been exposed that way across Panem. In order to work this to your advantage in the games, you have to start playing your cards right." I swallowed hard, instantly annoyed by Effie's bold words. "Where did this idea of yours come from, anyway? Gale and I already know you didn't have any help fro m Haymitch." "At first, I didn't," Effie said in a defensive tone, "But it seems like a light

flickered on inside of him since breakfast. He wants to be useful now. When I t old him about what being star-crossed lovers in the games would do for you two i n terms of sponsors, he completely agreed with it." I pursed my lips, responding to her with silence. As much as I hated to admit it to myself, she was right. People from the Capitol were bound to love mushy roma nce stories, and they would absolutely go crazy over one appearing in the games. Once we had neared a carved, wooden door marked "District 12" at the side of the Remake Center, Effie let go of my now sore arm. She gave the door three swift k nocks before it was instantly opened by three animated stylists. "Oh dear God," the plump, green one shrieked, slapping a hand over her mouth, "s o much work needs to be done on this one! Look at that hair!" The two other styl ists, also deeply surgically altered, nodded in agreement. Effie let out a high-pitched giggle before turning on her heel and waving behind her. "See you soon, Katniss dear!" The stylists all quickly introduced themselves as Venia, Octavia, and Flavius. T hey seemed to move in the same spritely way as they dragged me inside the Remake Center, immediately stripping me completely and seating me down in a chair wher e they proceeded to pour hot wax over my right leg. The woman named Venia whipped out a piece of fabric and pressed it down on the w ax before it cooled, ripping it off and tearing the hair out from beneath it. I let out a yelp in surprise. "Sorry, hon! This is going to take a while!" She said in a cheery manner, grinni ng up at me beneath the golden tattoos adorning her face. "Once we're done makin g you look like a human being, you'll get to meet your actual stylist!" So these people were only the prep team. I unconsciously let out an exasperated sigh, repeating Haymitch's command of not complaining in my head tediously as mo re hot wax was poured over my leg. I have never felt more like a plucked bird in my life. I decided on zoning out, quietly wondering if Gale was going through the same th ing, as the three frantically bounced themselves around me. They waxed any stray body hair they found as they went, leaving my skin red and raw. The times that I had paid attention to their random babbling was usually when they started talk ing about a man named Cinna. They said that he was my stylist, and that he had n o interest in seeing me until all of my obvious problems were addressed. Addressing these problems included ridding me of all my body hair, shaping my ey ebrows, filing my nails into uniform shapes, rinsing my hair with a white substa nce that made it unnaturally shiny, and scrubbing my entire body until at least three layers of skin were removed. I kept quiet as they stood me up and began covering me with a clear moisturizer that soothed my tender skin. I felt intensely vulnerable as they encircled me, v iewing me as a piece of meat in need of preparation. After this was done, they armed themselves with metallic sets of tweezers and ch ecked briefly to see if there was any body hair that they had missed before taki ng a deep breath and stepping back to admire their work. "Wonderful!" the stylist named Flavius cheered, daintily clapping his hands toge ther, "You behaved so well this entire time! If there's anything we can't stand,

it's a whiner." I flashed them a forced grin, finally seeing the wisdom behind Haymitch's words. "Thank you...We never really had much cause to look nice in District 12, so thi s is a nice change," I murmured timidly. This made them wild. "Oh, you poor dear!" Octavia whined, looking genuinely dist ressed for me, "Don't you worry! You're going to look gorgeous by the time Cinna is done with you!" "And now that you're not as hairy, you don't even look that bad!" Venia encourag ed, "Let's go call in Cinna!" They proceeded to dart out of the room, leaving me exposed in the middle of it. I fought the urge to go retrieve a robe to cover myself, knowing that Cinna woul d probably just ask for me to take it off again to examine his prep team's work. The door opened quickly, and a surprisingly natural-looking man stepped into the room. His hair was close-cropped and was a natural shade of brown, and he sport ed clothes that were completely black and tasteful. The only concession to selfadjustment that I could see was the thin line of golden eyeliner he had framing his hazel eyes. It brought out the gold flecks in his otherwise pure green irise s, and looked very attractive despite my disgust in Capitol fashions. "Hello Katniss, I'm Cinna, your stylist," he said in a gentle voice, holding out his hand. I hesitantly shook it before mumbling a greeting in response. "Let me just take a look at you." He slowly encircled my body, not touching me b ut examining it very closely. "You have very nice skin. Has anyone ever told you that?" I let out a nervous laugh. "That's probably because of all the work I just had d one to it." He stopped in front of me before giving me a warm smile. "I didn't mean all the adjustments. You're very good-looking, naturally." I pursed my lips in an attempt to smile back. "Go ahead and put on that robe." Cinna pointed at a white one that hung on a hoo k at the far side of the room. I hurried over and retrieved it before wrapping i t around my body, instantly relieved to finally have something to cover myself w ith. "You must be new," I examined, making my way back over to him, "I've never seen you in the games before." "I am," he stated in response, almost absently. "So they gave you District 12," I responded matter-of-factly. We were usually th e most undesirable district, and always given to the newcomers. Cinna raised his eyebrows at me. "I asked for District 12." He didn't give any f urther explanation before wandering around the room, thinking aloud to himself. "It's usually customary to dress you in something that relates to your district' s industry. Coal-mining, is it?" He didn't wait for my answer before continuing, "I'm sure you're used to seeing tributes in the past wearing coal-miner outfits . My partner, Portia, and I think this is very overdone. We want to make Distric t 12 unforgettable this year."

I swallowed hard before feeling myself tense up. Unforgettable? That seemed to g o hand-in-hand with nudity. "So, instead of focusing on coal-mining specifically, we're going to be focusing on the coal itself." Naked and covered in black coal dust. Perfect. "And what does coal do?" He paused, looking back at me and silently laughing at my troubled expression. "It burns." He slowly made his way back over to me. "You and the boy tribute will be in complimentary outfits, of course. Neither of you are afraid of fire, right?" I arched an eyebrow at him, now utterly perplexed. A few hours later, Cinna had me dressed in a shiny black unitard that covered me from my ankles all the way to the top of my neck. My legs were covered with bla ck boots that laced up to my knees, and my back was adorned with a fluttering ca pe, decorated with shredded strips of orange and yellow. It came with a matching headpiece, and Cinna explained that he planned to light it on fire just before the show. Even with him constantly explaining that it would just be a synthetic flame, I still found myself completely skeptical. What if Gale and I ended up be ing barbecued on our chariots? We would still be sent into the arena with the wo unds, and that would be yet another thing getting in the way of us surviving. Cinna gently sat me down in front of a mirror before applying very little make-u p on my face, only highlighting my cheeks and lengthening my eyelashes a bit. My hair was curled into tight ringlets before being very loosely braided down my b ack. He left out a few strands and re-curled them to frame my face. "Your usual style, with a twist. We want everyone to be able to recognize you in the arena," Cinna said with a grin. "Katniss, the girl who was on fire." I unintentionally shot him a incredulous look before hearing distant, unintellig ible voices from outside the room. I recognized only one of them as Gale's. Cinna listened to the same voices before drifting over to the door. "I think tha t's Portia with the prep teams and the boy. The door opened swiftly, almost knocking Cinna right in the face, before a very frustrated looking woman who I assumed to be Portia rushed into the room. "I got him ready, but he's not very happy about the synthetic fire." Cinna watched with pursed lips as Gale stepped into the room, dressed in a simil ar costume to mine. "You're going to light us on fire? Are you insane? Do you Capitol people not kno w that fire is dangerous?" Gale bellowed, and by his agitated tone I could tell that he had trouble enduring all the other parts of the remakes. Cinna took a deep breath before quickly glancing at me. I must have had a simila r look of distrust in my eyes, since he defeatedly sighed, "It can't be helped. I'll test it out on myself in front of you two." He swiftly turned around and ma de his way over to a set of drawers in the corner of the room. I had presumed th at the drawers were filled with cosmetics when I had first seen them, but when t hey were opened up, I was taken aback by the numerous jars of chemicals and torc hes they carried instead. "I would never intentionally hurt anyone wearing my designs," Cinna gingerly rol led up the sleeve covering his right arm, revealing numerous burn scars, "I usua

lly turn the consequences of them on myself. You see, I've tested these flames n umerous times before even thinking of the designs you're wearing right now." "I kept on telling him to just use cellophane and fans, like those faux fireplac es," Portia chimed in, a look of pride in her eyes, "but he just wouldn't give u p. He wanted only the best for District 12." I swallowed hard, feeling guilt well up in my chest, but it didn't change the fa ct that the scars were evident right in front of me. It crossed my mind that thi s stylists' calm and caring demeanor masked a mad man. Everyone in the room watched in silence as Cinna wrapped his arm in a fabric sim ilar to what the capes and headdresses were made of before tentatively picking u p a torch from the drawers and neatly dipping the top of it into one of the jars , coating it in a clear chemical. He carefully reached deep into the back of the drawer before pulling out a small vile filled with a thin, red substance and tr ickling a small amount onto the torch. Almost immediately, the torch was lighted with a flickering, orange flame. No smoke was coming from it, and the crackling I had become so accustomed to hearing whenever seeing a fire was absent complet ely. "This right here, is a synthetic flame. It acts like fire, it illuminates things like fire," Cinna pointed the torch directly at his arm, lighting the fabric up , "but most importantly, it looks like fire." I watched in awe as Cinna handed the torch to Portia while his arm was still abl aze. I felt as if it needed to be put out, but he looked like he was in no pain at all. He grinned at Gale and I, his face now illuminated by the fake flame. "S o, you see, you smell no burning flesh. The fabric isn't even burning up." Portia, almost on cue, extinguished both the torch and Cinna's arm with some sor t of spray from an aluminum bottle, causing him to unwrap his arm and let Gale a nd I inspect the undamaged fabric. "So, you see," Cinna politely drifted over to Gale's side, "It won't hurt you or your special lady." Gale looked almost sheepish as he was led out of the room. We whisked ourselves to the bottom level of the Remake Center where our chariots were waiting. Ours was guided by four ironically fitting coal-black horses. Cin na and Portia led us over to the chariot before seating us inside of it, adjusti ng our bodies in the right positions and draping our capes before aimlessly walk ing away from us to consult each other. I instantly turned to Gale once they had left, shooting him a troubled look. "Ev en after all that, I still kind of have a bad feeling." "Me too," he said, furrowing his eyebrows. "If it starts to hurt, we rip each ot hers' capes off." I nodded my head, sealing the deal. I was comforted by finally having a sense of security with him next to me. "By the way," Gale cleared his throat, "Want to tell me about the whole thing yo u and Effie talked about now? Before something else pops up?" His tone was exasp erated. I swallowed hard, preparing myself with a deep breath before speaking. "She said that we have to act like lovers in the games."

I was almost afraid to look at him after finally confessing it, but I sneaked a peek at his face anyway. His gray eyes had widened in disbelief, and if it weren 't for the makeup, I think his face would've been colorless. Uneasiness immediat ely filled my chest at his silence. I was about to beg him to forget that I ever said anything when the music started, drowning out all sound. Massive doors slo wly opened in front of the chariots, revealing the crowded streets and the carpe ted path we were going to ride across. District 1 appeared first, immediately causing delighted shrieks from the crowd with their jeweled costumes. They were followed by District 2, and in almost no time at all District 10 was making their way onto the street. Gale suddenly grabbed my hand, ng a difficult time making out ely hear what he was saying. I closer and speak right into my causing me to turn to him in surprise. I was havi his expression in the nightlight, and I could bar shook my head confusedly, causing him to move in ear.

"I need to talk to you about that later." My heart immediately leaped into my throat. I shot him a frantic look, but he wa s too concentrated on the street in front of us to notice. Was that his way of t elling me that he didn't want to go through with it? If it was, why was I so bot hered by it? Shouldn't I have been relieved that we didn't have to broadcast a f ake relationship? But, for some reason, my chest began aching tremendously. Suddenly, Cinna appeared at my side with a lighted torch, interrupting my though ts. Before I could react, he lit my cape with it. I could feel Gale jump beside me right before his cape was lit, too. We both raised our hands at each other in preparation to rip the other's cape off, only to be stopped by the lack of pain . I let out a silent sigh of relief before glancing at Cinna, who was already gr inning up at us knowingly. Before long, our chariot was slowly moving towards the door. Cinna briefly looke d over us before shouting something at Gale, gesturing his last idea. Gale nodde d before giving him a weak smile and grabbing my hand once again. And that was w hen we entered the city. The moment our horses had stepped into the view of the crowd, illuminated by the fires set ablaze on our capes, a complete silence fell over the crowd. They see med alarmed for a couple moments, shooting us looks of worry as they tried to se e if the flames were causing any damage, but that immediately turned into them g oing wild with chants of "District Twelve!" The light from the fires provided us with a sort of spotlight, stealing attention from the chariots in front of us a nd making every head in the crowd turn our way. The attention initially made me uncomfortable, but once I caught sight of a big television screen broadcasting u s, I knew just why everyone was going crazy with admiration and delight. In the deepening twilight, both of our faces were absolutely luminescent. The st rategically placed highlights Cinna and Portia had brushed on our cheeks made it seem like we were glowing, and our flowing capes left a trail of disappearing f lames behind us. And through it all, we were both recognizable because of the na tural makeup. Gale and Katniss. The two fires. Even with the people of the Capitol shouting lovingly at us, I still found mysel f distracted by what Gale had said right before our capes were lit. I glanced ov er in his direction, only to see how striking he looked with the flames lighting up his features in the nightlight. I almost fell out of the chariot from the su

rprise, which only made him tighten his grip on my hand. The had wd, is. people of the Capitol were now shouting both of our first names, which they bothered to find in the program. I watched as Gale flashed smiles at the cro and I tried to follow suit, but mine didn't look nearly as breathtaking as h I settled for weakly waving in random directions with my free hand.

Flowers were being flung in our direction, and the ones I managed to catch, I ga ve a gentle kiss. Gale began doing the same thing, and ended up getting a much m ore grand response from the crowd. Even with that bruise on his jaw, he was still attracting a lot of attention fro m the Capitol women. If anything, it just got him more. I watched as they swoone d in their spot if Gale so much as looked in their direction. I pursed my lips a nd continued to wave, trying to take my attention off of him. All of the chariots circled around each other until we came to a halt in front o f President Snow's mansion. The music ended with a flourish and left my ears rin ging. The president appeared on the balcony above us with his arms outstretched at his sides. After he received a polite applause, he made a traditional speech welcom ing the tributes to the Capitol. The cameras were supposed to stay on the presid ent throughout his speech, but I could see on the screens that they kept driftin g towards us. The darker it became, the more difficult it was to ignore the flic kering of our flames. Once the speech was over, all the chariots rode around in one last circle before disappearing into the Training Center. The doors had just closed before our pre p teams engulfed us with shrieks of praise. Cinna and Portia made their way over to us before helping us down from the chariot and carefully removing our capes and headdresses. Portia laid them out on the floor before extinguishing them wit h same spray she had used earlier. I prepared myself for the worse as I approached Gale. "You wanted to talk?" He didn't even hesitate before responding. "I don't want anything fake. Especial ly not with you," he clenched his jaw before continuing, "You're the only one I can be myself with. I know it's selfish, but I don't want that to change." I was instantly filled with relief. "You have a very good point," I mumbled, bea ming up at him unintentionally. "But," I felt unable to me, he started, "if the relationship was real..." His voice drifted off, and myself stiffen. I pursed my lips before my eyes found the marble floors, to respond. "Katniss?" Gale's voice got more urgent as he stepped closer putting his hands on my shoulders.

I looked up at him only to see a look of hurt behind his ashen eyes. I wanted to make it disappear, to make him smile again, but the utter confusion I was feeli ng made me feel absolutely mute. Was he asking for a real relationship? That wou ldn't do well in the games, would it? What would happen when we finally lost the other? I gulped, lowering my eyes again. His hands limply slid off my shoulders before his footsteps drifted away from me . Chapter 6

"But... If the relationship was real..." Gale had been occupying most of my thoughts ever since we entered the Training C enter, making it difficult to concentrate on anything. Even now, when Effie was leading me into a glass-walled elevator, the image of his shadowed eyes drowned in hurt was stuck in my mind. I was thankful that Effie hadn't noticed how distant I was. She was busy gushing over how Gale and I had "made such a splash!" on the chariot ride. Apparently, she's been talking around the Capitol all day about it, trying to win us sponsor s. "I made sure not to appear too desperate though!" She stressed, her eyes squinti ng dramatically before she continued, "Even if it came to that, I would have to act mysterious. Haymitch has yet to tell me about the angles he has prepared for you two." She sighed, pressing the level twelve button on the elevator wall bef ore it rose us into the air. Each district had its own floor in the Training Cen ter, and you would be taken to it by just simply pressing your district number i n the elevator. It was easy enough to remember. "Of course, I think I could make a good guess as to what he has planned," Effie mumbled, her tone getting slightly mischievous, "Two star-crossed lovers just wa nting to get their beloved sweetheart home safely...!" She let out a dreamy sigh , making me stiffen. If only she knew that I had told Gale about our little secr et earlier, and that he had dismissed the idea of a fake relationship completely . Of course, it was me who rejected the idea of a real relationship. Even if I h adn't said it out loud, Gale probably knew what I was thinking. That was the downside of knowing each other so completely. We couldn't keep our darkest thoughts to ourselves. I let out a loud sigh, causing Effie to divert her attention over to me. "Come t o think of it, dearie, you've been quiet this whole time! I bet my buttons you'r e just too shocked about how stunning you looked on that chariot! Cinna did a ma rvelous job. Portia too, but Gale didn't really need much work done on that face of his, anyway..." I pursed my lips, thinking back to when I had snuck a look at Gale's illuminated face on the chariot ride. He must have stolen the whole show. I unintentionally shot Effie a glare, causing her to furrow her pencil-thin eyebrows in confusion . "Hon...?" Effie murmured hesitantly, "Please don't tell me you did something foo lish." I swallowed hard, hoping that she would get bored of my silence and continue to babble about her conversations around the Capitol, but she refused to take her a ttention off of me. Even when the elevator stopped and the doors slid open in fr ont of us, she was still waiting for a response. I exhaled loudly before making my way out of the elevator. Effie was the last pe rson I wanted to talk to about this at the moment. I half-expected her to call m e back, to scold me for being so rude, but she stayed silent behind me. It was a long while before I heard her pointed shoes echo off in the other direction. My quarters ended up standing out from the rest of the District 12 floor, so it wasn't that difficult to find despite not having my pink-haired escort's help. I ts patterned carpet and pastel-colored walls were filled with a ridiculous amoun t of gadgets, and each surface seemed to have a group of multicolored buttons pr

ogrammed to indulge its user. The shower alone had a panel containing at least a hundred of them, providing a vast amount of options you could use to adjust wat er temperature, pressure, soaps, scents, and sponges. I looked at the buttons curiously before simply deciding on just pushing them at random until water started running. I stepped into the shower and stood there i n silence while orange and pink colored soaps spewed themselves over me, only to be lathered by a scratchy sponge and washed off by lukewarm water. I rubbed my face clean of makeup and ran my fingers through my curled hair, undoing all the work that Cinna had slaved over. Once the water had stopped, I stepped onto the mat and was startled by the heate rs that immediately came out to blow-dry my body. A box came down over my head, freeing me of the labor of untangling my wet hair by sending a current through m y scalp, untangling, drying, and parting my hair almost instantly. Once the box lifted up, I felt my hair flow glossily around my shoulders. I walked up to the closet before tentatively pushing the only button on it. It a ctivated a small screen which allowed me to program an outfit to my taste, which was transported into my hands in less than a second. After I was dressed and cleansed of everything from my burning chariot outfit, I settled on wandering outside of my quarters in search of the dining room. I had a feeling Effie wouldn't be picking me up for supper today. The search proved to be easier here than in the train. There weren't as many doo rs to stray into, and each hallway looked a little different from the last. I soon found myself stepping into the dining room, only to see Gale out on the b alcony conversing with the stylists and Haymitch calmly talking to Effie at the table. This instantly hit me as strange since I had always thought that a discus sion presided over by just Effie and Haymitch was bound to strike up disaster. I silently guessed that the duty of strategizing for the games made them both mor e focused as I hovered over to the table and took a seat next to Effie. "Ah, look, it's the little trouble-maker herself," Haymitch mumbled, taking in m y presence. He must have had his own stylist because he seemed clean, groomed, a nd just about as sober as I had ever seen him. "I've been well-behaved," I said defensively, shooting Haymitch a glare. He gave Effie a questioning glance before silently chuckling to himself. Effie let out a dramatic sigh before straightening her back and turning her atte ntion towards me. "Gale told us about you telling him about our little plan, dea rie," Effie said almost bitterly, "And then stated what he wanted to end up doin g." I widened my eyes at them. "And...?" "They ended up convincing me." I jumped in my seat, startled by Gale's sudden appearance. I had forgotten just how silent his footsteps could be. A smirk played on his lips as he took the sea t next to me. "Gale agreed that the star-crossed lovers act was the best angle that you two co uld possibly have," Haymitch stated, eyeing the stemmed wine glasses across the room. "And he wants to go with it." I shot Gale a baffled look, and he gently nudged me in the side with his elbow.

I guessed that he wanted me to follow along for now, and that he would explain l ater. I begrudgingly complied, silently nodding as Haymitch and Effie shot us or ders to follow while we were on camera. The orders included always having contac t with each other, whether it be holding hands or a full embrace, and to continu ally talk about the other while we were being interviewed. "I'll have to work with you both before the interviews... Especially you, Katnis s," Haymitch said in a tired tone, "You're about as endearing as road kill." I pursed my lips and resisted the urge to scowl at Haymitch as everybody let out joking laughs around me. "You don't give her enough credit," Cinna said politely, grabbing my attention, "She can attract attention whenever she wants to." The conversation was interrupted when a silent, youthful looking man in a white tunic wandered over to the table and gestured to the tray of wine he was holding , offering some to us all. Haymitch immediately accepted, taking two of the wine glasses off the tray and earning a glare from Effie. I hesitantly took one too, thinking that I'd never get a chance to taste it again. Gale rejected the wine, but ended up taking a few sips from mine when curiosity had overtaken him. The servers were all young people dressed in tunics, and they were all silent an d sported the same disturbingly lost expression. I decided to ignore them and co ncentrate on the food in front of usmushroom soup, bitter greens with bite-size to matoes, thin-sliced beef, noodles in green sauce served with melty cheese, and p lump blue grapes. Once my stomach felt uncomfortably full, I tried to concentrate on the discussio n. Portia and Cinna were enthusiastically raving about their ideas for our inter view costumes when a girl set a gorgeous-looking frosted cake in the middle of t he table and delicately lit it up, making the top of it blaze with fire for a fe w seconds before it disappeared completely. Everyone clapped as the girl sliced into the cake. I felt Gale suddenly stiffen beside me. He gently tapped my arm, getting my atte ntion, before pointing up at the girl, making me let out a silent gasp as I stud ied her face. I couldn't place a name, but her dark red hair and porcelain skin immediately struck a nauseating feeling of guilt in my gut. "I... know you," I mumbled to the girl as she set a slice of cake in front of me . She glanced in my direction, her uninterested expression soon being crossed wi th terror. She shook her head violently in denial. "No, I definitely remember you," Gale affirmed, studying her face insistently. O nly a few seconds passed before the same look of terror crossed his features. I turned back to the table, only to see the four adults eyeing Gale and I like h awks. "Nonsense!" Effie suddenly snapped, giving me a start and waving the girl off, " How would you two know an Avox? The very thought." "What's an Avox?" I asked quietly, the feeling of guilt now rising into my chest . "They're traitors of the Capitol. Get their tongues cut off so that they can't s peak," Haymitch stated without missing a beat, "It isn't likely that you'd know one."

"Of course they don't know one!" Effie's voice suddenly got very shrill, "Listen you two, you're not supposed to talk to one of them unless it's to give an orde r. Understand?" We didn't even bother to nod our heads at Effie. I knew that the best thing to do was to agree with the adults and say that we co nfused her with someone else, but that seemed very difficult. We did know her. I could feel the pieces of my memory fitting together, and I could tell that Gale had already done so. "You done, Katniss?" Gale suddenly stood up from his chair, and was now looking expectantly down at me. "Yeah," I mumbled before following him out of the dining room. We walked rigidly through the hallways in silence, the red-haired Avox's image h aunting both of our minds. It only took a few more minutes for me to completely recall the memory, and I in stantly knew why her face struck such a suffocating feeling of guilt in both of us. We were her last hope. I had blindly followed Gale up a flight of stairs and into a dome-shaped room th at led to the roof. I stepped out into the cool evening air and immediately knew why he had taken me there. The wind was loud, and there were at least a dozen w ind chimes hung up on random hooks along the cemented walls. No one would hear u s here, and Gale had the good sense to suspect that everything was on surveillan ce in the Training Center. He turned to face me, the same look of hurt still hidden in his ashen eyes. "The y made a garden on top of the roof. It's really stupid, considering this is just where they train tributes to kill each other," he said in a low voice, gesturin g to the potted plants and flower beds around us. I pretended to examine a nearby blossom. "You've been up here before?" "Yeah. Cinna took me for some reason," he muttered under his breath, "He told me about the electric field they have around this place." In one swift motion, he plucked an acorn off of a sapling and tossed it off the roof, only to have it bo unce right back and land at our feet, slightly singed from the electricity. I let out a quiet scoff. "They're always worried about our safety." Gale gave me a pained smile before he inched closer to me, his footsteps ghostly and quiet. "I don't want you to let what we did to that Avox distract you from training." He was speaking right into my ear now, his voice lower than it was be fore. I could tell he was being especially paranoid with this subject, not wanti ng any possible microphones to pick up what we were saying. "It's our fault she doesn't have a tongue. It's our fault she's a slave for the Capitol now," I whispered back harshly, using all of my self control to keep my voice quiet. The memory was now fresh in my mind. Gale and I were out under the thick brush o f a tree, taking a break from hunting, when all the birds had suddenly stopped s inging. One of them turned its melody into a high-pitched, continuous note, almo st mechanically giving the others a warning. Then the red-haired girl tore throu

gh the brush, speeding through the clearing in front of Gale and I. She was drag ging a youthful boy behind her, probably her brother, and they looked as if they had been running for days. She locked her frantic eyes on mine before screaming , pleading for help, and we responded by staying still under the tree where we w ere safe. A hovercraft materialized above them before propelling a net at the gi rl, swiftly bringing her up, and launching a spear through her brother's torso. The girl shrieked out something, I think it was her brother's name, before the h overcraft was gone. Then the birds continued to sing as if nothing happened. Gale grabbed my forearm before pulling me into a forceful hug. "We couldn't save them." Yes we could. Gale and I are hunters, we know what an animal looks like at bay, and we could have predicted what was about to happen. We were quick enough to be able to grab the girl and hide her under the brush of the tree before the hover craft appeared. But we didn't. I knew that Gale must have been aware of this, but I accepted his comfort anyway . I attempted to ignore the guilt wallowing up inside of me and weakly returned his embrace. We stood there in silence for a while, letting ourselves mourn the red-haired Av ox and her brother. I was the first to pull away. I took a deep breath, pulling myself together, before speaking. "So. I guess we' re star-crossed lovers now... Imagine that." Gale gave me a sheepish grin before looking away. "You have to admit, it's a rea lly good angle." I rose my eyes at him skeptically, waiting for more of an explanation. He let out a loud sigh before bringing his gaze back to my face. "I realized tha t rejecting that angle just because I didn't want a fake relationship was selfis h. I need to get you back home safely, and being lovers happened to be a good wa y to do it," a hint of a smirk played on his lips, "It's just a plus that we get to hold hands now." He offered his hand, probably performing for the cameras th at might have had us on surveillance, before giving me a cautious smile. Gale was too good at acting. His smile just seemed so genuinely sweet and had ju st the right touch of modesty that it sent an unexpected rush of warmth through me. I hesitantly put my hand in his before he promptly ck into the Training Center. He gingerly let go of ht, and we proceeded to walk back to our chambers. ay of training, and we both decided that we should led me off of the roof and ba my hand before saying goodnig Tomorrow would be our first d get as much rest as possible.

I opened the door to my quarters only to see the red-headed Avox girl delicately collecting my unitard from the floor. She glanced in my direction, and a hint o f the terror from the last time we met suddenly appeared in her eyes. "I'm so sorry," I blurted out, thoughtlessly stepping toward her. Her eyes widen ed, and I remembered what Effie told me about not talking to them unless it was to give an order. "...that I left my unitard on the floor. Can you give it back to Cinna for me?" I felt my eyebrows furrow in guilt as she obediently nodded. I let my eyes find the floor as I silently hoped that the Avox knew that my apol ogy ran so much deeper than that. That I was sorry about ignoring her desperate pleas back in the woods, that I let them murder the boy in front of her, that I

let the Capitol mutilate her. The Avox suddenly appeared right in front of me, giving me a start. She flashed me a warm smile before putting a fragile finger to my lips. Was this her way of accepting my apology? I gave her a quizzical look before she padded out of the r oom, quietly closing the door behind her. The angelic smile that she gave me clouded my thoughts. Now that I knew that she was a sincerely sweet and forgiving person, it just made it that much more diff icult to accept that I let her get pulled into this fate. I kicked off my shoes before climbing under the covers of the bed, still feeling the Avox's gentle eyes haunt me as I nodded off to sleep. Chapter 7 The sickening feeling of guilt welled up in my chest refused to relinquish, even in sleep. It haunted my dreams, making images of the red-headed Avox and a star ved, unreachable Prim intertwine with gory thoughts of the games. I pictured Gal e beside me in a tree-filled arena, setting up snares in hopes of catching somet hing to eat. A Career broke through the clearing, twirling a knife playfully in their hand before tossing it in our direction. I bolted up from my pillows, scre aming wildly for Gale to run as I was slowly brought back to reality. I sat panting on the mattress, unconsciously wiping away the cold sweat that had collected on my forehead with a trembling hand. Dawn was just beginning to brea k through the windows, scattering gray light into the room. I tried to calm my frantic breaths, shaking off the image of the Career's knife whirling through the air towards Gale. Just the thought of him actually getting injured sent chills down my spine, making my whole body shake uncontrollably. I silently began to think about the imminent moment when one of us had to go, ma king my lips purse in unease. Even if we somehow became the final two, what woul d happen then? Gale had made it obvious that he stupidly wanted me to become the victor. It was almost funny how he ignored the fact that I wouldn't be able to live even a day without him. After all, using the word "friend" had become an understatement to us; we grew so close throughout the years, so agonizingly inseparable, that I n ow couldn't imagine living without him by my side. With a sigh, I limply dragged myself out of bed and tiredly padded my way into t he bathroom. If it came down to us being the final two, I would just have to act fast and be the first to die. It would be nice to have a quick and painless dea th, perhaps an arrow to the heart, and have Gale instantly become the victor. He would have no problem living without me. His winnings would be enough to suppor t both of our families, and his good looks would find him a wife with ease. Mayb e he would even make a family with her. I swallowed hard, now cementing the choice in my brain. Gale Hawthorne will beco me the victor of the 74th Hunger Games, whether he liked it or not. I thoughtlessly began poking at the buttons in the shower until water began pour ing out of the shower head. It ended up being icy cold, but I decided not to adj ust it. It would help me wake up and prepare for the first day of training. I watched as foamy orange soaps gushed out and covered my sides before being lat hered by a heavy-bristled brush. I worked some of the soap into my hair and rubb ed my face clean of sleep before stepping out into the cold air, relieved to fee

l the warmth of the air dryers blow against me. Once I was dried and moisturized with lotion, I wandered over to my closet only to find that an outfit had already been set out for me. Its simple design and in tricate details led me to believe that it was one of Cinna's creations, made jus t for training. I worked myself into the tight, black leggings and the long-slee ved burgundy tunic, noting how the stitching in the tunic made my otherwise humb le curves more prominent. I silently wondered if Cinna was aiming for a more pro vocative design with this, but dismissed the thought when I noticed how utterly comfortable the light fabric was. I worked my hair into a long, simple braid dow n my back and peered into a nearby mirror. I couldn't help but feel a rush of contentment. This was the first time since th e morning of the reapings that I looked like myself. No flashy hair or dresses, no make-up, no flaming capes. Just me, looking like I was heading out to the woo ds to hunt. I silently pulled on matching leather boots before heading out the door. It seem ed too early for breakfast, but I headed towards the dining room anyway, only to find Gale sitting alone at the table already on his second plate of food. He lo oked up from his meal before flashing me an impish grin. "You're up early," he n oted, taking a sip of water before continuing, "Sleep well?" I immediately thought of all the dreams that haunted me last night, how I woke u p screaming and gasping for breath. I pursed my lips before giving Gale a weak n od and seating myself in the chair next to him. A male Avox began preparing a pl ate of food in the corner of the room before setting it down in front of me, a l ook of frozen torment plastered on his fair face. I swallowed hard in an attempt to contain the feelings of guilt that bursted open in my chest every time an Av ox appeared before absently picking a roll up off of the plate and hearing Gale let out a quiet groan. I gave him a curious sideways glance, and he responded by gesturing down at our clothes. "I feel kind of ridiculous. I didn't know we wou ld be presented as twins, too." My eyes quizzically lowered to his outfit, only to find that he was sporting a t unic that was the same color as mine and black, slim-fitting pants. I furrowed m y brows, slightly bothered. "Wow. Cinna is really going all out." Gale nodded, lowering his ashen eyes to the table. "At least we're not on fire t his time." Haymitch sluggishly walked into the room, mumbling a "good morning" to us before ambling over to the Avox and grabbing a plate from him. He filled it up with a healthy amount of rabbit stew before sitting across from Gale and I and giving u s both a bored look. "Cute matching outfits," he muttered, swiping a roll off my plate and dipping it in his stew. He continued to speak before I could react. " Let's get down to businesstraining. I'm expecting to coach you both together, but I could do it separately if you want. Choose now." Gale let out a short snicker. "Would star-crossed lovers really get coached sepa rately?" "If one of the lovers had a secret skill they didn't want the other to know abou t," Haymitch replied without missing a beat. I had to laugh at this. "It's too late for that, Gale and I already know everyth ing about each other." Haymitch raised his eyebrows at me before taking a large bite of his stew. "All right then. I'll coach you together."

I felt a sort of relief at the thought of training with Gale. Him watching my ba ck and me watching his, just like it always was in the woods. Of course, this ti me we would be training to kill people instead of simply hunting to feed our fam ilies. The relief vanished as quickly as it appeared. "Now, give me an idea of what you two can do," Haymitch smirked to himself, his eyes flashing to my silverware, "I already know you're handy with a knife, Katni ss." Gale's face brightened up. "If you think she's good with a knife, you should see her with a bow and arrow. She's brilliant, never fails to miss the eyes of what ever she's aiming at." I felt my cheeks warm up, immediately feeling uncomfortable with Gale talking me up like that. "You're that good?" Haymitch asked, looking at me unbelievingly. I stiffened in my seat. "Gale's better. Not only that, but he can catch absolute ly anything that moves in one of his snares." Gale let out a breathy chuckle. "Please. I'm not anywhere near as good as her wi th a bow." He furrowed his eyebrows, looking deep in thought before replying. "S he knows practically every edible and medicinal plant there is." I frowned at my plate, wondering why Gale was putting so much effort into making me appear more skillful than I really was. I gave him a skeptical look before d eterminedly saying, "He's good with hand-to-hand combat. He can knock a person o ut with one punch if he wanted to." I gulped, silently comparing my scrawny body to the Careers' muscular, well-fed builds. "I probably wouldn't stand a chance against any of the other tributes if I ended up getting jumped." Gale let out an exasperated sigh, shooting me an embittered look. "Stop moping. Are you really the same Katniss that challenged a black bear a year ago?" I was instantly silenced. I quietly recalled the event, where I was out hunting with Gale and spotted a bee hive, and foolishly convinced myself that I was stea lthy enough to sneak it away from a bear. It ended in me being chased by it, and once it had lost our trail, Gale couldn't stop laughing. Haymitch cut in with a loud, forced cough. "Well, you two are going to be some t eam, by the looks of it." He was scraping the remaining bits of his stew from hi s plate and stuffing it in his mouth. "Are there any other skills I should know about?" I let out a quiet sigh, exchanging a look with Gale before continuing. "He's inh umanely quiet. He can sneak up on practically anything." Gale pursed his lips. "Katniss can climb trees like they're nothing, and can bal ance herself on weak, thin branches without even blinking an eye," he made sure that my eyes had found his face before giving me an apologetic grin, "She does h ave her flaws, though. One of them is that she refuses to accept any compliments ." I felt a smirk play on my lips. "I could say the same for you." Haymitch cleared his throat, getting our attention once again. "You two are like a bickering old couple," he said with a groan.

I fidgeted uncomfortably in my seat for a moment at the word couple. "Getting back to business, I want you two to steer clear of all the stations you 're skilled at. Try to learn something new in group training. Throw a spear, swi ng a mace, build a fire, paint some pretty pictures" "Paint pictures?" Gale's voice was leery. "I mean camouflage," Haymitch said the word in a mocking tone, "Not very useful in the arena, but they never fail to have a station every year." He sighed befor e continuing. "Never reveal how much you can actually do in front of the other t ributes. Make intentional mistakes, appear mediocre. Save showing what you're be st at until your private lessons. Understand?" Gale and I nodded hesitantly. "Now, one last thing. Be all over each other," Haymitch said in an indifferent t one, making me cringe. "I'm not exaggerating. Make it convincing, never leave ea ch other's side." I felt Gale stiffen beside me. "You know, it's pretty difficult to be touchy-fee ly with someone when you're busy swinging a mace." Haymitch glared at him. "No smartass remarks. New rule." He stood up from his ch air before fishing out a flask from his pocket and taking a long pull on it. He gave us both a wave of dismissal before turning on his heel and heading for the door. "Meet Effie by the elevator at ten," he called over his shoulder. I let out a long sigh before tentatively peering at Gale out the corner of my ey e. He was already looking at me, his head resting in his hand. "So, do you really think that I'm inhumanely quiet, excellent with snares, and g ood with hand-to-hand combat?" He flashed me a playful grin. I flinched at his words, feeling my cheeks get hot. "Don't make me regret talkin g you up," I mumbled, standing up from my chair and attempting to hide my face f rom him. I heard Gale let out a quiet sigh. "I was kidding, Catnip," he scooted out his c hair before standing up and gingerly stepping towards me, "Sorry." I didn't have enough self-control to ignore him. My body seemed to move on its o wn as I turned on my heel to face him, soon finding myself gazing into his ashen eyes. He must have spotted my blush, since his apologetic expression was quickl y replaced with a mischievous one. "Of course, everything I said about you was true," he muttered, experimentally i nching his face closer to mine, "Even though you still have room for improvement ." My pulse quickened to a frightening rate before I immediately turned my face awa y from his, clumsily backing up and putting space between us. "You don't have to act right now," I swallowed hard in an attempt to steady my shaking voice, "The re's no one here to watch." Gale's face immediately fell at my words. "Is that really all this is to you? An act?" I furrowed my eyebrows at him, surprised by the amount of disappointment in his voice. I thought back to all the times we were alone in the woods, words unneede

d as we zipped through the trees. We would know where the other was aiming and w hat the other was planning to do almost by instinct. My heart would speed up at times when I was particularly close to him, but I had always blamed that on the adrenaline of hunting. That was all I ever really needed. I never expected any feelings to develop, or for our ardent friendship to escalate into anything more. I let my eyes find the floor as my hands clenched into stiff fists at my sides. "What else would it be?" A flash of hurt appeared behind Gale's eyes for a split moment before he gulped, regaining his composure. "Good point," he sighed, forcing a smile as he stepped toward me, "I'm going. Don't be late for training." He brushed a gentle hand ac ross my cheek before casually walking out of the dining room. I stood still for a moment, still feeling the warmth of Gale's hand tingle on my cheek. I waited until the echo of his footsteps stopped before stalking back to my room and closing the door behind me. I knew that I had made the right choice by not giving in back in the dining room , so why did I feel so empty? I sat down on the bed with a groan, becoming frust rated with Gale for making things so difficult. Of course it was all an act, and Gale was just too good at it. There were moment s where he actually had me believing that his advances were sincere, and it frig htened me. I gulped, thinking back to all the girls I heard whispering and giggling to them selves around school about him. It was just recently that it had started to both er me, as if Gale was my possession. And in a way, he was. Before meeting each other, we were just two lost, fatherless children with the h eavy responsibility of providing for our families. We no longer were alone the d ay that we crossed paths in the woods. Having a partner, someone who understood what it felt like to have the responsibility of keeping food on the table, was l ike the doorway to both sustenance and sanity, and we were each other's key. Gale was mine. And I was his. Anything else was unthinkable... At least for now. Until he became the victor of the Hunger Games and found himse lf a pretty wife to live the rest of his life with. This thought made my chest ache, and I attempted to soothe it with deep sighs. I glanced at the digital clock on the screen by my closet and found that it was a lmost ten, causing me to reluctantly make my way over to the bathroom before spl ashing my face with water and smoothing my hair back into a tidier braid. The ac hing feeling in my chest was soon replaced with nervousness as I headed out my d oor and towards the elevator, thinking about meeting the other tributes and seei ng what they were capable of. I thought that I would be on time, but the sight of Gale waiting beside a very i mpatient looking Effie by the elevator told me otherwise. "I told you to not be late," Gale said jokingly as Effie prodded the down button on the panel beside the elevator. "We're not exactly late, but it's traditional to show up early for these kinds o f things," Effie murmured, her pencil-thin eyebrows creasing together in frustra tion, "We're going to end up showing up at 10 on the dot. How embarrassing."

The training rooms were below ground level, but the swift elevator had us down t here in less than a minute. Effie shot Gale an expecting look, causing him to wr ap a strong arm around my waist before the doors opened, revealing a giant gymna sium filled with various weapons and obstacle courses. Although it wasn't 10 yet , we were the last to arrive. Effie must have noticed because I heard her let ou t a theatrical sigh before shoving us out of the elevator and quickly closing th e doors behind us. The other tributes were gathered in a large, rigid circle surrounding a tall wom an who I assumed to be the head trainer. Gale's grip around me tightened as he l ed the way over to the circle. Remembering Haymitch's demands back in the dining room, I tentatively leaned into his side, making sure the other tributes could see. A light-haired, male Avox stopped us in our tracks before pinning cloth squares adorned with the number 12 on both of our backs. As he did this, I did a quick a ssessment. Gale and I were the only two dressed alike. I swallowed hard, suddenly feeling the tense atmosphere weigh down on me. It see med like every one of the tributes' eyes were on Gale and I as we joined the cir cle, never breaking our half-embrace. The head trainer grabbed everyone's attention with a couple loud claps before im mediately beginning to explain the training schedule in a gruff voice. Experts w ould always be present at each of the stations, ready to help us if we asked. We would be free to use all of the equipment and travel from station to station, p er our mentor's instructions. Some of the areas taught survival skills, but most of them dealt with fighting techniques. The head trainer spent a long time stre ssing how it was strictly forbidden to partake in any combative exercise with an other tribute, and that we would need assistants to observe if we wanted to prac tice with a partner. She began to list all the skill stations, pointing around t he room enthusiastically as she did. I couldn't help but tune out her voice as I studied the other tributes. It was t he first time we were all gathered on level ground in simple clothes, giving me a chance to examine their features clearly. I began to silently panic as I reali zed that most of them probably had at least eighty pounds on me. The Careers loo ked especially intimidating with their bright, eager faces and fresh muscles. On e blonde girl from District 2 kept eyeing Gale from across the circle, setting m e on edge. The head trainer released us with another loud clap, and the Careers instantly s et off and began handling the deadliest-looking weapons in the gym with ease. I watched as a male with a stocky build from District 11 threw a spear with great force in one of the areas, piercing a dummy right through the forehead. I began to unconsciously tremble. "Hey," Gale nudged me in the arm, making me jump, "Want to do some knot-tying fi rst?" I took a deep breath to steady my nerves before letting out a short chuckle, low ering my voice to just above a whisper. "You cheater. Didn't Haymitch tell us to avoid stations we're skilled at?" Gale smirked, replying with a whisper. "He also told us to make intentional mist akes. Besides, all the other stations are crowded." He unwrapped his arm from my waist and proceeded to gently grab my hand as we headed to the empty station. I got the feeling that the knot-tying class wasn't exactly the hot spot of the gy m, but that didn't stop the blonde District 2 girl from stalking over once Gale

had taken a seat there. The District 2 boy exasperatedly followed after her befo re they began to settle themselves into the fire-building station next to us. The knot-tying trainer eagerly handed Gale and I thin pieces of rope, obviously glad to have students. He looked Gale straight in the face before asking, "Are y ou a beginner?" Gale stifled a short laugh before exchanging a look with me. "Sure am." I spent the next twenty minutes or so watching Gale entertain the trainer with h is mediocre-looking snares, intentionally knotting it too tight in some places a nd too loose in others. Since I had no talent to mask, I freely knotted the snar es to the best of my ability. The trainer was in the middle of showing us how to make a simple trap that would leave a competitor dangling by one leg from a tre e when almost rabid laughter coming from the District 2 tributes next to us caug ht my attention. I curiously began listening to their almost inaudible voices. "Say we take out Lover Boy first," the male mumbled, struggling to ignite the lo gs in front of him with two sticks, "make the girl watch." The blonde female let out a piercing shriek of laughter. "It's a shame that we h ave to kill such a pretty face. Don't you think so, Cato?" She continued to eye Gale, making me almost rip the rope I was working on in half. The male named Cato's eyes lit up. "He looks pretty useful, actually. Maybe he c an join the Careers this year." A smile played on the girl's lips before she set down the flint she had in her h ands and wiped her hands on her knees. "All we need to do is get the girl out of the way. She really bothers me, anyway." Cato's features twisted into a sadistic grin before he raised his voice signific antly. "I just can't wait to cut 12 up into little pieces. Hear her beg for merc y under my blade." Gale must have heard. I directed my attention to him just in time to see him thr ow the rope he was working on to the ground before wildly rushing over to them, violently grabbing Cato by the collar and bringing him up to eye level. "Why don't you target one of your Career buddies instead?" he hissed through gri tted teeth. I hurriedly made my way over to Gale, grabbing his forearm. "Don't." He ignored me, causing Cato to raise his eyebrows uninterestedly at him before t alking in an almost bored tone. "Clove, do me a favor and punch Lover Boy in the neck for me." "That gorgeous neck of his?" She let out a scoff, not even trying to hide her og ling eyes. "Not a chance." Gale sneered. "Some team mate you have, there." "Like you're one to talk," Cato spat, beginning to thrash out of Gale's grip, "Y ou just have a useless, scrawny girl by your side. She probably won't even make it through the bloodbath!" By this time, we had gotten the attention of several assistants and trainers. Th ey made their way over to us, hollering, "District 12! District 2! No combative partners!"

Gale clenched his jaw before throwing Cato to the ground and turning on his heel . He ignored the frustrated shouts from the trainers as he grabbed my arm, leadi ng me away from Cato and Clove. I could tell that he was too blinded by his fury to recognize what was going on around him with a clear head, so he probably did n't hear what Cato mumbled from the ground right before we stormed away. But I did. It was a simple statement, but just remembering the sheer determination and crue lness in his voice was enough to send shivers down my spine. He had turned to Cl ove before hissing it, and she nodded her head in agreement without hesitation. "They're the first ones we kill." Chapter 8 "Gale?" My voice was hushed as he pulled me towards the spear-throwing station. He gentl y let go of my arm once we had reached it, only to pick up the nearest spear and instantly throw it at a nearby dummy, making a good stick right in the neck. He had obviously intimidated the field, causing most of the other tributes to keep their distance from us. I stood quietly next to him, studying his flaring gray eyes and creased eyebrows . The last time I had seen him act like this was out in the woods on a particularl y chilly October morning. We both had our bows slung around our shoulders, but i nstead of being on the lookout for game, he was busy ranting loudly about the Ca pitol's injustice towards the districts. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary, except his words were much more vicious and the sound of his almost inaudible s teps was replaced with booming, insistent stomps. It had become a sort of tradit ion for me to keep by his side, offering him silent comfort, until he was done. Even though his powerful words scared away our game, I had preferred he let out everything in the woods where nobody could hear us than back in District 12. He would always make up for it by hunting especially well afterwards, and in a way, I was relieved that he trusted me enough to let his guard down and pour out his words of hatred towards the Capitol to my awaiting ears. I kept my eyes locked on Gale's face, watching him take a moment to swallow his rage and slowly gain back his composure. He took a couple swift, deep breaths be fore surveying the scene around him and turning to face me. "Haymitch is going to kill me," he mumbled in a joking tone, specks of anger sti ll apparent in his ashen eyes. I impulsively reached out for his hand and grabbed it before blurting out, "He'l l understand." A ghost of a smile played on Gale's lips before he enveloped me into a tight hug . "I'm just so protective of you..." At first, I was startled. I felt the other tributes' eyes flutter towards us, sc offing and groaning before resuming their activities. My initial reaction was to pull away, but I fought it, remembering that our lovers act was still in play. I weakly wrapped my arms around his sides, unwillingly feeling a blush pool in m y cheeks as I took in his familiar scent.

I was counting the seconds until Gale pulled away, feeling uncomfortable in our public embrace, when I heard Clove's voice echo from across the gym. I couldn't understand what she was saying, but I recognized the disappointment and annoyanc e in her tone. I silently remembered her outward flirting towards Gale, and felt a slight feeling of satisfaction at her having to watch us together in the corn er of the gym. Before I knew it, I felt a smirk pull at the sides of my mouth as I insistently nuzzled myself closer into Gale's chest, hoping that Clove had a good view of it . Gale let out a quiet chuckle into my hair. "Catnip?" I was too busy savoring my victory to reply to him. His grip around me weakened, but I responded by tightening mine. "Catnip." I furrowed my eyebrows, frustrated at him interrupting me. "Katniss," Gale murmured, pulling away just enough to gently take my face into o ne of his hands and turn it so that I was looking at the rest of the gym. Gamemakers, twenty or so of them, were shuffling around. Their purple robes flow ed around their ankles as they studied the tributes, pausing occasionally to jot down notes. Some of them lazily wandered over to the endless banquet laid out f or them, while others took scattered seats among the elevated stands surrounding the room. I saw that a handful of them were fixated on Gale and I, shaking their heads as they diligently scribbled into their notes. One of them stepped toward us before calling out, "Shouldn't you two be focusing on something else?" I felt my cheeks heat up as I immediately stepped backwards and away from Gale, letting my arms fall limply at my sides. Gale tried to stifle a fit of laughter. "Yeah, we really should save all that fo r later, when we're alone." Breakfast and dinner would always be served on our own district's floor, but all twenty-four of the tributes ate lunch together in a dining room next to the gym nasium. Its design was a lot like the gym itself, with its plain white walls and waxed floors, but instead of stations, it was filled with tables and numerous c arts of food. We all served ourselves before getting situated at the tables. The Careers seeme d to levitate toward each other, making sure to gather around the central table as if to prove their superiority to us. They proceeded to laugh and converse hea rtily, like they had been friends for years. Most of the other tributes took spots at tables that were stowed away in corners , trying to fade into the background. I watched as they took nervous bites of th eir food, eyeing everyone else in the room with distrustful, studying gazes. "Have you noticed the twelve-year-old from 11?" Gale asked absently, choosing a table and setting his food on top of it. He made a big show by pulling out a cha ir for me and flashing a warm smile once I had seated myself down in it. I had s een enough of his smiles in the woods to tell that the one he was sporting then was far from genuine.

"Yeah. She's been staying at the edible plants station ever since training start ed," I mumbled in response. I had unconsciously kept an eye on her ever since I saw the televised reapings, noting how her small stature wouldn't get her far in the games. She had dark brown skin and a thick wave of raven hair, but other th an that, she was hauntingly similar to Prim in size and demeanor. Gale narrowed his eyes, struggling to keep the smile on his face as he sat down next to me. "She reminds me of..." His voice drifted off as he saw me visibly st iffen, "someone." I creased my eyebrows, feeling guilt rise into my chest. "How do you think they' re doing without us?" My voice was just above a whisper as I thought about our f amilies back in District 12. I tried to hide my panic-stricken face from the oth er tributes, not wanting to ruin our act. "She's fine," Gale stated without missing a beat, "Everyone in the district love s her. She's probably getting piles of food every day." Of course he knew that the heart of my worries was Prim. I silently wondered how Gale himself was holding up, how he pushed thoughts of his family to the back o f his mind. It must not have been easy, being reaped and losing your younger bro ther all in a single wave of events. Even though technically, Gale wasn't reaped . I clenched my fists under the table, struggling to calm myself. "You shouldn't h ave volunteered." The atmosphere between us became tense as my words lingered in the air. Gale swallowed hard. "What was I supposed to do? Let you go without me?" I glanc ed to my side, only to see that he was now glowering at me. So much for holding up the act. "That was exactly what you were supposed to do. Remember our promise?" My voice was grim as I watched his ashen eyes gradually become continually more rigid. He pursed his lips tightly together before swiftly lowering his gaze to the table. "I wasn't thinking straight. I knew that you could hold your own in the games. Y ou're the best hunter I know," he murmured through barred teeth, "but I just cou ldn't stand even the chance of losing you." I inhaled sharply. "Well. Now we're just going to have to lose our families." I wanted to take back the words the moment they left my mouth. My eyes widened a s they echoed in my ears before I frantically looked over to Gale, only to see h im slowly drawing away from me. "Wait, I" "No, don't. You're right," he said, exhaling loudly, "I shouldn't have volunteer ed." I didn't know why his words were so cutting to me. I silently cringed before dir ecting my attention back to my food, thankful that most of the tributes weren't interested in looking at us at the moment. "But," Gale's voice interrupted my thoughts, "I don't regret it." His hand found mine under the table before he gave it a comforting squeeze. "Like I said befor e, she's fine." Gale wasn't one to keep secrets from me. I could tell that he honestly thought t

hat our families were going to be okay, at least long enough for one of us to ge t back. I felt the muscles in my face relax as I instinctively squeezed his hand back. "I'm glad you're here," I whispered under my breath. I had hoped that he wouldn' t be able to hear it, but his hunting ears were too skilled. I watched as his fake smile swiftly turned into a true one. "First day of training is over!" The head trainer's gruff voice filled the gym, grabbing everyone's attention. Gale and I were posed at the weightlifting statio n, him easily lifting two fifteen-pound dumbbells and me struggling with a singl e eight-pound one. "I'll see all of your lovely faces here bright and early tomorrow!" The trainer turned away and released us before gathering with a group of Gamemakers. The tri butes seemed to move in a single wave towards the elevator, eager to eat dinner back on their floors. I felt a pout tug at the sides of my mouth as I defeatedly set my weight back do wn on its rack. Gale put both of his next to mine before taking my hand and lead ing us over to the elevator. "I thought we weren't supposed to be showing off," I muttered under my breath. Gale let out a joking scoff. "Fifteen pounds is showing off?" We all crowded into the elevator before a girl from District 1 pressed all the b uttons on the panel, making it so that we would take a stop at each of the distr icts' floors. The Careers didn't hesitate before gathering together and conversing enthusiasti cally. I caught Cato out of the corner of my eye quickly pointing a finger at Ga le and I, causing all the other tributes around him to nod their heads eagerly. Clove locked eyes with me before flashing a ridiculing smirk. They weren't joking when they said we made ourselves their first target. I swallowed hard before unconsciously stepping closer to Gale and resting my che ek against his side, causing him to let go of my hand before wrapping a firm arm around my shoulders. The elevator emptied quickly, and soon only us and the tributes from District 11 were left. I studied the twelve-year-old, how her stance was so similar to Prim 'salways having most of her weight on her toes, leaning forward and extending her arms slightly. It made it so that she always looked like she was about to take f light. She caught my gaze before giving me a distrusting glance, turning away and stepp ing towards the male tribute. He was the one I saw with the spears earlier, with a massive build and muscles like an ox. I gulped before returning my attention towards the girl tribute again. "What's y our name?" I asked without thinking. She seemed startled at my voice, giving a s light jump before lowering her dark, slanted eyes to the floor. "Rue," she mumbled, pursing her lips. The elevator stopped before the doors slid open, revealing the District 11 floor. The male tribute stepped out first, igno ring Gale and I as he passed us. Rue walked sprightly towards the exit before pa using and turning to me again. "And that's Thresh. You shouldn't be scared of hi

m." She made her way out the elevator without another word, the doors closing be hind her. I stiffened before leaning against Gale for support, the elevator now empty exce pt for us. "Twelve-year-olds shouldn't be allowed in the games," I mumbled bitte rly, clenching my fists together. I silently imagined poor, fragile Rue trying t o hold her own against a 200-pound Career, and found myself hoping that she had some hidden talent to help her at least get through the blood bath. "No one should be allowed in the games," Gale responded, his voice turning sulle n. He ran a hand through his dark hair before uttering, "Maybe there's a way to make all three of us win." I shook my head, wishing that Gale would just let go of his hopeless fantasies o f breaking away from the Capitol. Back in the dining room, Haymitch and Effie grilled us throughout dinner about e very moment of trainingwhat stations we went to, who watched us, how the other tri butes sized up... Cinna and Portia were no where to be seen, so there was no one to tame the constant questions. Gale seemed to be avoiding the fact that we had made ourselves enemies with the Careers, and Haymitch and Effie seemed completely oblivious. I decided to keep q uiet about it, knowing that they would find out eventually. "I didn't hear about how inappropriate the District 12 tributes were acting duri ng training, so you guys obviously weren't touchy-feely enough," Haymitch grunte d, helping himself to a second serving of lamb stew. Effie raised her eyebrows before taking a dainty bite from her platter of peas a nd carrots. "Don't go too overboard, we want to save most of it for the intervie ws," she stated in an urgent tone before murmuring, "Not to mention how overly s candalous behavior from you two might just make me the laughing stock of the Cap itol..." I tried my best to concentrate on the discussion as I shoveled down the bed of l amb stew in front of me. The dried plums seemed strange at first, but I soon bec ame accustomed to its sweet flavor in contrast to the lamb. Haymitch cleared his throat, eyeing us from across the table. "Now, let's talk p rivate sessions with Gamemakers." He pointed a bored finger at Gale, "You. Snare s." He moved his finger so that it was pointing at me, "You. Archery. Any questi ons?" "Just snares?" Gale asked almost disappointedly. "Feel free to mix in anything else that would look nice and flashy," Haymitch sa id before glancing at me, "For example, you could throw a couple knives in addit ion to your arrows, sweetheart." I looked up from my lamb stew and unintentionally shot Haymitch a skeptical look . "We're the last ones they see. I'm pretty sure they won't be paying much atten tion to us, anyway." Haymitch let out a prolonged sigh. "You two should still be able to get decent s cores, regardless. They like destruction, try to take out some of the overhangin g lights in the gym. If the sparks don't interest them, you're out of luck." If luck was what Gale and I were depending on, then we might as well not show up for the private sessions at all. I felt my face fall as I soaked in Haymitch's

words. Effie clicked her tongue before absently examining her nails. "I really shouldn' t be talking about this around the tributes, Haymitch, but I heard that they lea ve the Training Room open during the evening." Haymitch smirked, quickly catching on. "God forbid these two sneak down there an d prepare themselves." I exchanged a look with Gale, seeing his gray eyes already filled with mischief. The rest of dinner was filled with suggestions for our performances. Haymitch se emed to go through each station effortlessly, stating tricks that would get us t he Gamemakers' attention. I ignored the ones that dealt with weightlifting and p hysical combat, and instead paid attention to the ones dealing with edible plant s and stealth. By the time he was through talking, all of our plates had already been scraped c lean of food. Haymitch took a deep breath before grumbling, "If either of you somehow mess thi s up, I will have to strangle something." He stood up from his chair and ambled out of the dining room without another word, followed by a very enthusiastic Eff ie. She blew us both a kiss and whispered, "Don't cause too much trouble tonight ," before finally taking her exit. I turned to Gale and smirked when I saw that the mischief never left his eyes. "Ready to go, Catnip?" he asked eagerly. "It's not even dark yet," I murmured in response, feeling a ghost of a smile pla y on my lips, "The trainers probably haven't even left the gym." Gale let out a prolonged sigh before standing up and straightening his back. "To o bad. Guess we have to kill time until later, then." I shot him a quizzical look, and he responded by flashing me a sly grin and hold ing out his hand. "To the roof?" We spent the next couple hours under the wind chimes of the roof, bantering abou t our performances for the Gamemakers. We had made ourselves comfortable in a sp ot next to a colorful bed of flowers, and I couldn't help but notice that the pr imroses and common rues were blooming. They both had tiny, yellow petals with to wering stems and thin leaves. Gale must have noticed me eyeing them, because he quickly changed the subject to edible plants. "How are you going to show them that skill?" I pursed my lips, tearing my gaze away from the two blossoms. "Haymitch said tha t there really wasn't much to do at that station besides sitting down and eating everything." Gale let out a short chuckle. "That's sure to get you a perfect score." I returned the laugh, except it came out sounding unnatural and nervous. Gale ra ised a single eyebrow before giving my shoulder two gentle pats. "I know you, Ca tnip. You're going to end up showing everyone up," he murmured confidently, "esp ecially those Careers." I wished desperately that I could live up to those expectations, but I knew that

I would get a five at best. That's what most of the non-Careers averaged at, an yway. The sun was just setting beneath the vibrant Capitol buildings, painting the sky with a calm orange color. The air cooled down and the winds sped up, whipping t he primroses and rues left and right in their flower beds. "Want to get going?" Gale asked eagerly, already getting to his feet. I replied with a grin before following him through the doors that led back into the Training Center. I was filled with a giddy feeling as we scaled the stairs and quietly made our w ay to the elevator. It was silly, but breaking the rules with Gale by my side ga ve me a sense of home. It was almost like we were crawling under the fence into the woods back in District 12 again, sneaking into places we weren't supposed to go and always adrenalized by the thought of getting caught by something unwante d. I prodded the down button on the panel next to the elevator before it immediatel y slid open its doors, beckoning us inside its dimly-lit compartment. The only s ound echoing throughout the eerily quiet Training Center was the distant squeaki ng of the elevator making its way passed all the District's floors and below gro und into the Training Room. The doors slid open, revealing a dark, empty gymnasium. Gale was the first to st ep out of the elevator, and his single footstep caused all the hanging lights in the gym to flicker on and fill the spacious room with light. It took a second for my eyes to adjust to the brightness, but once they did, I w as almost surprised to see that everything was still in its place. None of the m achinery or weight machines had any locks, and it seemed like there were no alar ms to set off either. I kept the thought that we were on surveillance at the bac k of my mind, trying not to let it bother me as I followed Gale into the center of the gym. "I'm surprised that there aren't any Careers here," Gale said, trying to keep hi s voice low, "It seems that they try to cheat in every way possible each year." "Maybe their mentors want it to be an even field this time," I replied coolly be fore exchanging a look with Gale and bursting into laughter. We had to laugh bec ause the alternative was to be intimidated and scared out of our wits, which is what the Careers would want out of us. Gale and I both seemed to levitate toward the weapons, not having a chance to re ally study and use them to our full potential since training began. I impulsivel y picked up a bow and examined it, only to find myself in awe of the perfectly p olished wood and metals it was made out of. The wood seemed sturdy, but it curve d easily as I pulled the tightly-wounded string back to my chin. I cheerfully di rected my attention to a matching quiver of arrows and studied the perfectly-cut feathers they were adorned with in amazement. Gale interrupted my thoughts with a chuckle. "I always see you at your happiest when you have a bow in your hands." I replied with a sheepish smile, lowering my eyes to the bow he had picked up. I t was very similar to mine, except it was darker in color and had a handle made out of secure rubber. We both strung our bows with arrows before slinging the quivers over our shoulde

rs and making our way over to the shooting range. The movement of holding the bo w straight out in front of me and pulling the string back had become so natural to me over the years that it filled me with relief, but immediately after I had done so, I knew something was wrong. The string was tighter than the one I used at home, and the arrow was much more rigid and stiff. Even though these were bet ter-quality in the long run, the small changes made me miss my target by a few i nches. Gale ended up just barely missing a bull's-eye, and for a moment, I was h umiliated. He must have noticed because he let out an exasperated sigh and mumbl ed, "I was aiming for the target next to that." We both took shots at the bull's-eyes in front of us again and again until we go t a feel for the new weapons, then we began aiming for the dummies. I instinctiv ely took the right and Gale took the left, just like it always was when we were hunting a pack of animals. I skewered my dummy right through the heart and Gale made a good stick in the forehead of his. Feeling slightly playful, I yelled, "Geese!" in an unshaken tone, immediately br oadening my targets to the whole right side of the group of dummies. Gale instan tly caught on, taking shots at the left side until we met each other in the midd le, just as we did when we were taking down a flock of geese in the air. Gale was slightly out of breath as he examined my half of the dummies. "That's m y Catnip," he said, allowing a big grin to take over his features. I felt proud seeing that I never missed the heart on any of them. "It's like a b oring version of hunting." Gale let out a short chuckle before gently patting my back. We spent the next hour or so trying our hands at all of the weapons in the gym, choosing the ones we were going to perform with in front of the Gamemakers. Gale chose the spears in addition to his snares, and decided that he would incorpora te weightlifting somehow when he realized that he could toss around a thirty-pou nd dumbbell like it was nothing. I decided on centering everything around archer y, and to close the show up with throwing a couple knives. We were both winded by the time we decided on putting all the weapons back in th eir places and making our way back to the elevator. Despite my aching muscles, I felt rejuvenated at finally being able to handle weapons with Gale. It was the closest we would get to hunting back home before we were put into the arena, whe re we would have to worry about being targeted ourselves. "I'm expecting a perfect twelve out of you," Gale whispered as we stepped out of the elevator and back onto the District 12 floor. "Right back at you," I said with a grin, feeling light on my toes. We both separated and made our way back to our chambers after bidding each other goodnight. On the second day of training, I found myself constantly getting distracted by R ue. She caught my gaze on several occasions, and ended up following Gale and I a s we joined different stations. Like me, she was clever but only with a light, e she had to hold it at ears didn't travel more with plants, could climb swiftly, and had very good aim, wooden slingshot. A bow looked strange in her hands sinc an angle in order for it to not scrape the floor, and sp than two feet after she threw them.

A hint of nervousness rose in my chest as I imagined Rue trying to tackle a Care

er armed with a sword with that slingshot of hers. The more I examined her, the more I wanted to follow her around and protect her against every little danger. I knew that these newly developed feelings would only cause me trouble in the ga mes, and I had to remind myself repeatedly that my only goal in the long-run was to get Gale home safely. During dinner, Cinna and Portia joined us for the first time in what seemed like years. They raved about the interview costumes they had prepared for Gale and I , all smiles as they said that it would relate to our breathtaking chariot costu mes. They didn't want to reveal more than that. "We both want it to be a surprise," Cinna stated with a knowing grin. Gale and I snuck off after everyone had left the dining room, feeling slightly m ore daring as we took the elevator down to the gym when it was barely dusk. Gale was concentrating more on his snares this time, working his skilled hands until he had a whole line of them dangling onto the floor. He threw spears at dummies , causing them to fall into the snares and instantly get caught in them by the n ecks. It was almost strange seeing something human-shaped get caught in one of Gale's snares after being so accustomed to seeing only squirrels and rabbits in them. B ut nonetheless, I was put into awe. There was no doubt in my mind that he would score anything less than a twelve. The third day of training was the day we would be called out of lunch for our pr ivate sessions with the Gamemakers. We would perform our best in the limited tim e they gave us, going district by district, first the boy, then the girl. As usu al, District 12 was slated to go last. Nobody ate as we lingered in the dining room. I could see that even some of the Careers' faces were twisted in nervousness as they watched the room quickly empt y, since no one came back once they had left. Gale sat close to me, quietly reminding me of all the tricks we had come up with together those nights in the gym. He was met only by silence, which he responde d to with, "Just think of it as a boring version of hunting." This immediately summoned a smile out of me. By the time they called Thresh, we were left alone with Rue. She seemed to hesitate a little before curiously making her way over to Gale and I and delicately seating herself at our table. She studied us both with her dee p, dark eyes before asking, "Do either of you know what you're going to do yet?" Gale looked a little suspicious as he exchanged a confused glance with me. "You don't have to tell me." Rue's voice was high-pitched and soothing, almost a s if she was singing. It hurt seeing how similar she was to Prim. "Do you want t o know what I'm going to do?" I stayed quiet, still not believing that she was talking to us casually. She flashed us both an innocent smile before swiftly jumping onto the top of the table and leaping to the next, gracefully landing on her knees as she prepared herself for another leap. She looked natural as she went through the air, exactl y like a bird taking flight and landing back to the earth. "Wait," Gale broke in, "Why are you showing us this? Don't you know that we can

use it against you now?" Rue glanced back at us before getting off of the table she was on and back to he r feet. "I feel like I can trust you both." They called her in after that, and she took sprightly steps out of the room befo re the door closed behind her, leaving Gale and I alone. We sat in silence for a moment, taking in what happened. "You're thinking of making an alliance with her, aren't you?" Gale mumbled, lowe ring his ashen eyes to the table. It was funny how he knew what I was thinking before even I did. "She's just so s imilar to Prim..." My voice was distant. "I know," Gale said, pursing his lips and thinking over his words before adding, "She seems like she would be handy." "We would need to kill her," I responded without missing a beat, my voice slight ly embittered, "Eventually. We would need to kill her ourselves if we protected her." Gale stiffened. "We could make it quick." It sounded like he had to choke the words out. I immediately turned my gaze to h im, creasing my eyebrows at the very thought of Rue dying by our hand. "You woul dn't be able to do it." He refused to meet my eyes as he exhaled sharply. "Neither would you." We sat in silence for a moment, both deeply bothered until Gale broke it with a sigh. "I want you to know that what I said on the first day still stands. I'm go ing to do whatever it takes to make you the victor," he swallowed hard before co ntinuing, "Even if" "Don't," I cut in without thinking, "I don't want to think about that right now. " The door opened and they summoned Gale. He rose out of his chair with a deep bre ath. I began to inwardly panic, fighting the urge to grab after Gale as he took a ste p away from me. "W-Wait!" I stammered, the word tumbling out of my mouth without my permission. He looked down at me confusedly before I lowered my eyes and mum bled, "Good luck." A pained smile appeared on Gale's lips before he murmured, "You too, Catnip." And just like that, he was gone. The sound of the door closing behind him echoed in my ears as I sat alone at our table, nervously fumbling with my hands. Every thing that we had practiced in the gym those two nights seemed to slip away from me as I silently panicked, feeling suffocatingly claustrophobic even though the room around me was massive and spacious. I forced myself to take deep breaths. They stung in my throat as they gradually began to calm my racing heart. What exactly set me off the edge? I thought back to our conversation, furrowing my eyebrows as I slowly gained bac k my composure. Was it the thought of killing Rue?

My lips pursed together. No. Even though it was a horrible, disgusting thought, it only made me feel uncomfortable. Then it hit me. "I want you to know that what I said on the first day still stands. I'm going to do whatever it takes to make you the victor..." My hands clenched into fists under the table as the panic began to seize my hear t again. That was it, the thought of Gale sacrificing himself in the games for m e. I didn't think it was possible, but within these past few days, I had become eve n more dependent on him than I was before. Just the thought of losing him sent m e into a sea of dread. I clenched my jaw, and tried to soothe myself by making m y deep breaths fiercer. This might be what could make me lose myself in the aren a. What inhumane things would I be willing to do for Gale's safety? My thoughts were interrupted by a Gamemaker calling my name from the door. I too k a few seconds to quickly collect myself before smoothing back my hair and maki ng my way into the gymnasium. The scene I was greeted by caught me completely off guard. What looked like a punch bowl was shattered on the ground behind the banquet tab le, and one of their robes was completely soaked with the liquid. Avoxes were ha stily trying to wipe up the mess with cloths, and the Gamemakers all had a look of shock plastered to their faces. One of them cleared their throat before sayin g, "I know this looks very unprofessional, but we were running out of time. Plea se continue with your demonstration." I creased my eyebrows before obediently nodding, immediately making my way towar ds the weapons without another thought. Everything Gale and I practiced seemed t o flow back into my brain as I neared the bows and arrows. We were right, this w as just like a boring version of hunting. I couldn't stop a smirk from twisting my features as I picked up the same bow I worked with for the past two nights. The now familiar details in the handle felt natural in my hand as I picked up the quiver of arrows and fastened it around m y shoulder. The shooting range seemed too simple and predictable at the time, so I made my way to the center of the gymnasium and set up an entire row of dummie s. I put a good distance between me and the dummies before swiftly turning aroun d and stringing my first arrow all in one habitual movement. I pulled back the s tring and let go, taking no more than a split second to aim before I got a good stick right in the heart. I glanced at the Gamemakers and saw that most of them were nodding in approval. This gave me a boost of confidence, and I soon found myself shoulder-rolling bet ween shots, always managing to skewer the dummies right in the heart. I got to m y feet and did a spontaneous twirl before shooting my last dummy, causing a few praising claps to come from the Gamemakers. My feet seemed to move on their own as I did a leap from the ground, gracefully landing before shooting one of the hanging lights high above the gymnasium floor . I silently thanked Haymitch for this suggestion as the sparks flowed from the ceiling to the ground, making some of the more exuberant Gamemakers give me a sh ort applause. I began to make my way over to the knife-throwing section, but was stopped by on

e of the Gamemakers calling out, "That's enough, Katniss Everdeen. You're dismis sed." My feet felt light as I made my way toward the exit. Whatever accident caused th e shattered glass and spilt drinks obviously made it so that the Gamemakers were paying attention to my performance and not their food. Maybe the odds were fina lly in my favor. As I made my way through the door, I found myself wondering how Gale did. Then it hit me. He wasn't the type of person to accept being ignored, especially when his life a nd the chance of getting more sponsors was on the line. The bliss I felt from performing well immediately left me and was replaced with a gnawing worry. After all, the shattered punch bowl really did seem like something Gale would do in a fury. Chapter 9 This elevator isn't fast enough. I found myself constantly repeating that thought in my mind as I was zoomed upwa rds through the Training Center. The image of Gale losing his head and shooting at the Gamemakers with what I assumed to be an extra spear caused my heart to go into a flurry of anxiousness, making it all the more essential that the elevato r I was in quickened its speed. What would they do to him? Arrest him? Execute him? Cut his tongue off, and fate him to wait on the future tributes of Panem? I've seen enough games in my past to know that the particularly rebellious tributes always ended up being the firs t to go. I ferociously bit at my lip. Why didn't I realize what Gale did earlier? The des truction should have tipped me off immediately! If they had already sent guards to him, maybe even while I was busy performing for the Gamemakers, I would be to o late. He would be gone. My limp hands turned into clenched fists at this thought, and I soon found mysel f nervously darting my eyes around the elevator. There must be a way to make thi s piece of junk move faster. It seemed like an eternity before the doors finally slid open, revealing the Dis trict 12 floor to my impatient eyes. I immediately rushed out of the compartment , only to be stopped mid-step when a familiar voice intruded into my thoughts. "Catnip?" I whipped my head around, only to see Gale calmly leaning against the wall next to the elevator, his raven hair tousled against his moonlit face. A smirk tugged at the side of his mouth before he murmured, "I was waiting for y ou." He nervously shifted his feet before continuing, "How did your performance go?" At first, I was overwhelmed by the sheer relief I felt seeing that he was still safe, but it was soon replaced with a mixture of frustration and resent. I shook

my head, brushing off his greeting before fervently whispering, "Please don't t ell me that shattered glass in the gym was your fault." He swiftly lowered his eyes to the floor, clearly already knowing that I was goi ng to bring this up. "They were singing a drinking song while I was tying snares ," he groaned defensively, "Only paying attention to the drinks in front of them . One moment I was setting up some dummies, the next I was whirling a spear at t heir punch bowl." I swallowed hard, feeling my eyebrows crease together. "What now, then?" My voic e sounded weak as it was forced through the now painfully tightened muscles in m y throat. Thoughts of Gale's possible punishments scrambled through my head, cau sing the muscles in my stomach to knot up. "You know how unforgiving the Capitol is!" Gale raised his eyebrows at me before letting out a quick scoff. "Like they woul d do anything serious. They need me to be a tribute in their little games," his jaw tightened, venom creeping into his tone as he continued, "It would be a pain for them to replace me at this stage." A sort of panicked fury welled up in my chest, causing me to choke out my next w ords. "Did you forget that these are the Gamemakers? They could make the arena a living hell for us if they wanted!" Gale's eyes widened at my words before we were both roused by a low, sluggish vo ice echoing from down the hallway. It gave us both a start, causing both of our heads to crane in its direction. "All right, all right. Stop all that yelling." Haymitch lazily appeared next to me, taking a tense stance before giving me a st ubborn glare through his glassy eyes and murmuring, "Jeez. You could wake up the dead with those screams." I felt a ghost of a pout play across my lips as I lowered my gaze to the floor, still trying to calm my quickened pulse. Haymitch cleared his throat and shifted his glare to include Gale before running a hand through what remained of his unkempt hair. "Now, what's all this about ' living hells?' Are you two talking about my life?" "The arena, Haymitch," I said before exhaling sharply. He began to thoughtfully rub at the thin layer of smoky gray stubble coating his chin, furrowing his eyebrows in an exasperated manner. "Okay. So that's how bad you two did today?" I pursed my lips and glanced at Gale, only to see that his previous look of frus tration was now mixed with what looked like shame. He crinkled his eyebrows toge ther before mumbling in a strained voice, "I'm sure Katniss did fine." He paused to think over his words before continuing carefully, "On the other hand, the on ly way to get the Gamemakers to even look at me was to throw a spear at them." Haymitch raised his eyebrows, the frown wrinkles covering the lower half of his face deepening as he slowly took in Gale's words. "Hurt anybody?" Gale shook his head before mumbling defiantly, "I didn't aim at them. If I did, they would be dead. I aimed at their drinks instead, and-" "Son, are you telling me that you let all those innocent drinks go to waste?" Ha

ymitch cut in. I shot him an annoyed look, and was instantly perplexed by the ge nuine look of distress he sported across his alarmingly tired features. Gale responded with a piercing glare, causing Haymitch to blink before letting o ut a quick sigh. "Nevermind. I actually came over here to herd you two up for di nner," he said, almost as an afterthought. He turned on his heel and gestured fo r Gale and I to follow. I watched as the back of his aged torso shook with quiet laughter before he murmured under his breath, "Effie's going to have a fit." I hesitated, but ended up forcing my legs to carry me in Haymitch's direction. G ale almost instinctively made his way to my side before matching my pace. We all walked in a smothering silence, our footsteps the only sound echoing thro ugh the narrow hallways. The back of Gale's hand occasionally brushed against mi ne, the touch as light as a falling leaf, but still electrifying nonetheless. I felt a tremble run up my arm at this contact before sideways glance. He was already looking at me out of deep gray irises thoughtful and apologetic. His dark and I suddenly felt an urge to reach up and brush it unconsciously giving him a the corner of his eye, his hair had fallen over them, away.

I pushed my lips together before forcing myself to tear my gaze away from him. Almost on cue, Gale tentatively inched closer to my walking figure until I could feel the heat radiating from his toned forearm through the thin sleeves of his burgundy tunic. He bent down slightly, his lips tickling the top of my ear as he whispered directly into it, "The Gamemakers won't be able to hurt us in the are na. I won't let them." A shudder rushed through me at his words, and I was suddenly thankful for the di m lighting in the hallways as a blush slowly began to stain my cheeks. "Me neith er," I murmured shakily in response. Gale let out a quiet chuckle before redirecting his gaze towards Haymitch in fro nt of us. "I know." Effie, Cinna, and Portia were waiting at the table by the time we had all entere d the dining room. Bowls filled to the rim with fish soup and a big basket of go lden, flaky bread rolls were in front of them, untouched. Cinna flashed the three of us a shining grin before explaining, "Effie insisted that it wouldn't be proper to eat until everyone joined us." "Of course," Effie chimed in, a hint of annoyance apparent in her tone, "it also isn't proper to be eight minutes late to dinner, especially when there are peop le waiting." She kept a steady glare on us as we swiftly took seats at the table. Great, she was already in a bad mood. An Avox obediently set bowls of soup in front of us. Hot steam blew across my fa ce as I curiously look into it, filling my nose with a salty scent. I silently w ished for a platter of lamb stew as I picked up a spoon and took tiny sips of th e liquid. Portia was just beginning to open her mouth when Haymitch cut in. "All right, en ough small talk. The boy has something to fess up to." I felt Gale stiffen next to me. The three adults sitting across from us looked a t him expectantly, holding their spoons still above their cooling soup.

Haymitch continued to eat sloppily, despite the sudden wave of discomfort that r ushed over the table. "Come on," he grumbled, reaching over my food to grab a ro ll from the basket, "Out with it, boy." I saw Gale push his lips into a stern line for a split second at Haymitch's word s before he blurted out, "I threw a spear at the Gamemakers." "You what?" The horror in Effie's tone confirmed my worst suspicions. I unintent ionally shot her a distressed look as she gaped openmouthed at Gale. Cinna and Portia tensed in their seats, their eyes blank and their faces drained of color. "I didn't hurt anyone," Gale stressed, seeing their reactions. They relaxed slig htly in their seats. Effie had grown to an almost violet shade, her arms trembling as she continually opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of water before she finally spoke. "Why?" "They were drunk... and not even pretending to be concerned for my future, which really should be expected," Gale said, the acidity in his tone almost making me flinch. "So, you just threw a spear in their general direction? Did you even aim?" Porti a asked quietly, her mouth pulled into a strained line. "Of course I aimed," he responded, sounding almost offended, "The spear shattere d the punch bowl before sticking right into their table. A good shot, which they would've recognized if they weren't so senselessly drunk." "What did they say?" Cinna asked, now completely composed and taking small bites of the soup in front of him. "Nothing. At least nothing in front of me. I walked out of the room before anyth ing else could happen," Gale said shamelessly. "Without being dismissed?" Effie gasped. She had regained her natural color, but her face was still twisted into a horrified grimace. Gale shot her an incredulous look. "Do you really think I would wait politely to be dismissed after throwing a spear at them?" The sound of Haymitch gulping down his soup soon became the only sound occupying the quietness around the table. He noticed, and swiftly wiped his mouth with th e back of his hand before speaking. "Well, that's that." I let out a breath that I didn't realize I had been holding. "They're not going to arrest him, right?" My voice was quiet and hesitant, causing Gale to give me a curious sideways glance. "I really doubt it," Haymitch mumbled, "The worst they could do is make the aren a terrible for you two, which you've already figured out." Portia cleared her throat. "They already promised to do that to all the tributes every year. It'll be hardly any different," she said in a determined tone. Cinn a grinned at her. "That's true," I mumbled, feeling the panic that had been cemented in my heart g

radually lift away from me. Gale gently nudged my arm with his elbow, as if he w as saying told you so. I saw Haymitch quietly suppress a smile out of the corner of my eye. "What were their faces like, anyway?" The corners of Gale's mouth curled up into a half-smile. "Astounded. Shocked. Ho rrified. One dropped his glass and ending up spilling his drink all over himself . I think another even squeaked." Haymitch tilted his head back and guffawed, his mouth filled with bread. Everyon e else followed suit, crinkling their eyebrows together as they laughed. Even Ef fie was holding a dainty hand over her mouth to try to hide the smile she was no w sporting. "Serves them right. Those idiots should be looking at you if you're taking time to perform in front of them!" Haymitch choked out through his fits of laughter. Effie gave him an alarmed glance before he continued, "I like you, boy. Lots of spunk!" Gale bit his lower lip before giving me a sheepish grin. I felt myself return th e grin before giving him a gentle pat on the shoulder and quietly saying, "Atta boy." He let out a quiet chuckle. "At least Katniss will make up for my low score. Can 't go disgracing District 12 completely, now can we?" He asked in a loud voice t hrough the laughter, eyeing me with playful eyes. "Oh!" Cinna said, quickly composing himself, "We almost forgot. How did you do, dear?" Everyone directed their gazes to me, their faces slightly flushed from their pas t merriment. "Uh," I mumbled, feeling on-the-spot, "I shot some arrows. Got an applause." "As I expected," Gale murmured through his smile. I silently remembered the scene I encountered when I entered the gym, the Gamema kers disarrayed and out of their seats, the floors covered in sticky alcoholic p unch. The only reason they were even looking at me was because of what Gale did. If he hadn't thrown that spear, who knows how my performance could have went? The corners of my mouth were tugged into a warm smile as I unconsciously gave Ga le a grateful gaze. He returned it before patting the top of my head gingerly. " That's my Catnip." We were all situated in the sitting room around the television, anxiously waitin g for the scores to be broadcasted. The only thing on the screen right now was a n unmoving picture of the Capitol seal, which would soon be replaced with should ers-up pictures of the District 1 tributes. After about five seconds of the pict ure being up, the tributes' scores will appear in golden script below their imag es. As usual, District 12 was scheduled to be last. Cinna, Portia, and Effie were sitting stiffly on a large white couch across from the couch Gale and I were sitting on, eyes glued to the screen. Haymitch slouch ed in a wooden chair he had dragged in from the dining room, and despite his laz y posture, he was gazing attentively at the television along with the rest of us .

The still screen suddenly changed, causing a slight gasp to come out of Effie. O n the left-hand side flashed a square-shaped picture of the District 1 boy, bulk y and short-haired. On the right was a picture of the District 1 girl, blonde an d slender. You could tell that the images were taken during training since they both sported a look of murderous intent. A nine appeared beneath the boy, and a seven for the girl. Average scores for Careers. I watched as their faces disappeared from the screen and were soon replaced with pictures of Cato and Clove. I felt Gale clench his hands beside me before ident ical nines beamed under their pictures. As other tributes' images came and went, I found myself wishing that they broadc asted their names, too. I tried to burn the faces of the ones to avoid into my m ind, but since most of the non-Careers averaged at a five, I didn't have to reme mber much. The District 10 tributes were soon on the television. The girl had dark brown ha ir and looked aged from worry, and the boy was hauntingly small, although he was obviously older than twelve. I recognized his face as the boy I had seen limpin g around the gymnasium on a crippled foot. A shudder ran through me as I saw the two flash beneath his picture. They were quickly replaced by pictures of Thresh and Rue. I felt myself unconsci ously lean forward in my seat as I studied Rue's image, her dark eyes filled wit h innocence and her mouth almost curled into a smile. The seconds ticked by slowly before their scores finally showed up on the screen . I inwardly gasped at Rue's seven. Her birdlike leaps must have been impressive to the judges. Thresh's eight was nothing to turn a nose up at, either. I silently recalled wat ching him handle the weapons with ease during training, and knew that the Career s would doubtlessly try to make him an ally. I felt myself tense up, only calmed when I remembered what Rue had said in the elevator. "And that's Thresh. You shouldn't be scared of him." I pursed my lips together as I examined his picture, his almost emotionless face , his dark skin adorned with bulging muscles. Even with the trust I felt myself developing for Rue, it was difficult to not be scared of him. Pictures of Gale and I soon took the place of theirs on the television screen, m aking everyone in the room stiffen. Gale's picture had him looking to the side, flashing a half-smirk to whatever he was looking at. Mine simply had me staring at the ground with a blush painted across my cheeks. Lovely. I heard Haymitch let out a quiet snort at this, but everyone else's concentratio n was unwavering as we waited for the scores to come up. I dug my nails into my palms in anticipation, feeling a suffocating lump form in my throat at I stared anxiously at the screen. Then I saw two identical elevens pop up. Everyone in the room was taken aback. We all seemed to simultaneously lean back in our chairs, shake our heads, even rub our eyes in disbelief. Then everyone wa s booming with cheers. Tears of happiness were streaming down Portia's face, and Effie's cheeks were flushed as she continuously squealed. "Holy shit!" Haymitch yelled at the top of his lungs. Effie shot him a glare. Ci

nna got up from his seat and gave both Gale and I congratulatory pats on the sho ulders. I was still gaping wide-eyed at the screen. "How...?" I stammered, the shining e levens burning into my vision. "Guess they liked the boy's temper!" Haymitch said with a guffaw. I found myself wondering how the wooden chair underneath him wasn't breaking as he ferociously cheered, "And you just had it in you, sweetheart!" I immediately whipped my head around to beam up at Gale, who was already smiling down at me. "Well, there's still room for improvement there," he said warmly. I felt the gri n on my face widen as he pulled me into a playful hug. This time, I didn't hesit ate before wrapping my arms around him. We had all ended up staying in the sitting room for a long while, even when the District 12 scores were replaced by the Capitol seal on the screen. When everyon e had calmed down, their bursting relief and happiness taken over by pure giddin ess, we ended up talking about our interviews. Cinna and Portia's faces lit up a t the subject, but they still refused to reveal anything about the costumes. Hay mitch looked more tired than anything at the thought, knowing that he and Effie would have to start coaching us the next day. Effie had begun to panic halfway through the conversation, worrying about how Ga le and I's fake relationship would escalate on stage. Haymitch had raised his ey ebrows before thoughtfully gazing at the carpet and stating, "Let's cross that b ridge when we get to it." Surprisingly, Effie didn't press on the subject. It made me feel a little uneasy , but I was too dizzy from the delight of seeing the scores that I didn't questi on it. After everyone was worn out, we all bid each other goodnight and went off to our own separate chambers. Gale walked me practically all the way to my door before pausing and gazing at me, looking like he was holding back from a great temptat ion. After a few moments of silence, he swallowed hard and patted the top of my head with a crooked smile before going off to his own chamber. I e I l replayed today's events over and over in my head as I laid motionless under th covers of my bed, exhausted and worn out, particularly from the stress. Soon, found myself drifting off, relieved, reprieved, and with the twin elevens stil flashing behind my eyelids.

I awoke with a yawn, lazily stretching myself awake as light shined through the blinds covering the window and across my face. I blinked my eyes into focus, ple ased with the fact that my slumber wasn't interrupted by the seemingly reoccurri ng nightmares I had been having lately. The elevens instantly popped into my mind again. I silently wondered how the oth er tributes reacted when they saw it. Were they frightened? Jealous? Maybe even angry, thinking that we had made some deal with the Gamemakers? Images of Cato and Clove's faces, flushed with anger and disbelief while staring at our scores, took over my mind. With a smirk, I scooted myself out of the bed and padded my way into my bathroom. Maybe now they'll think twice before target ing Gale and I. I peered into the mirror in the bathroom and frowned. I had forgotten to change

out of my training clothes before going to bed last night, and the burgundy tuni c was now wrinkled and ridden up against my torso. My once very neatly braided h air was now a frizzy mess on top of my head, and my black leggings had ridden up my thighs and twisted around my legs. With a sigh, I swiftly undressed and hopped into the shower, careful of which bu ttons I pressed on the panel as the water slowly began streaming out of the show er head. I figured out that the buttons were arranged into four columns for water tempera ture, water pressure, soaps, and sponges. I experimented with them, but to my di smay, came out smelling like a mixture of watermelons and roses. I tried to hurry as I dressed myself in clothes from the dressing area before se tting my tunic and leggings out on the bed, not knowing what else to do with the m. My hair was hastily braided down my back before I headed to the dining room. It was eerily quiet as I walked through the narrow hallways. Thoughts of all the other tributes, just floors below me, made me feel slightly uneasy. I silently wondered if Rue and Thresh were ever bothered by the sounds we made on the Distr ict 12 floor, or if the booming of our footsteps was ever audible through their ceiling. I unconsciously made my steps lighter against the carpet before being roused by a voice from behind me. "Hey, Catnip." I whirled around, startled by Gale's sudden appearance. I involuntarily gave him a grin before lowering my head and mumbling, "You really need to stop sneaking up on me." I watched as the front of his torso shook with silent laughter. "I wasn't even t rying to be quiet that time. And you call yourself a hunter," he teased. We made our way to the dining room together, still filled with euphoria from our training scores. Haymitch and Effie were already sitting side-by-side at the ta ble, ignoring the food in front of them and instead talking to each other in hus hed voices. This came off as strange to me, but I saw the platter of lamb stew on the table and immediately dismissed Effie and Haymitch before shoveling some on a plate fo r myself. Gale followed suit, and we were soon the only ones eating at the table . About halfway through my mound, I looked up curiously at our two mentors, only t o see that Effie was sporting a slightly distressed look and Haymitch was trying to hold back laughter. I narrowed my gaze at them before saying, "Is there some thing going on?" Haymitch instantly jumped in. "Today's coaching. You know that, right sweetheart ?" I hesitantly nodded my head before raising an eyebrow at him. Gale was already d one with his plate of food, and he began to give the two mentors in front of us distrusting glances. "Well," Effie started, her eyes darting across the room, "You both know your ang le, right?"

Gale and I exchanged a look before nodding together. I felt a wave of uneasiness rush over me as Effie pushed her lips together and said, "We really need to mak e the relationship between you two believable. The interviews are the perfect ti me to do that." They were wearing down on my patience. I gave them both the most convincing glar e I could muster before mumbling, "Just get on with it." Haymitch couldn't hold back the smile that twisted his features after that. "The one thing the Capitol hasn't seen you two do yet," he mumbled, dragging the syl lables in a way that made me gulp, "is kiss." Chapter 10 A breath got caught in my throat as a flurry of emotions surged through my chest in a matter of seconds. Haymitch's amused smile seemed to bore through me, maki ng my torso tremble in unease. I felt Gale stiffen beside me before clenching his fists under the table. "You c an't be serious," he muttered quietly, avoiding my gaze as venom began creeping into his tone, "Not during the interviews. Not in front of those people who are going to be watching us fight to death for entertainment." By the end of his sen tence, he was practically hissing out his words. Haymitch clenched his jaw, pushing his thin, chapped lips together over his teet h as his smile faded away. "Is it really that much different from what you two h ave been doing already?" I narrowed my eyes, not knowing how to respond. Kissing for the sake of our angl e in front of a live crowd really wasn't that much different from hugging in fro nt of cameras, so why did just the thought make my chest flutter? I unconsciousl y gave Gale a sideways glance, only to see that underneath his scowl was somethi ng that looked like worry...and...desire? Gale exhaled sharply and crinkled his eyebrows together before glaring thoughtfu lly at the table. "It's just" "That you don't want to be forced to reveal that much of your personal life to t he Capitol?" Haymitch cut in, leaning back in his chair so that the front legs o f it were hovering above the floor. "Suck it up. If you want to survive, you're going to have to swallow that stubborn pride of yours, son." I watched as Gale's scowl swiftly deepened, etching lines of distaste on the oth erwise smooth skin that surrounded his mouth. I swallowed hard, silently thinkin g back to the time he had first found out about the angle. "I don't want anything fake. Especially not with you..." Gale was never the type of person to change himself for the satisfaction of othe rs. He would do as he pleased, remaining as solid as a rock while others molded to his touch. He was never afraid to voice his opinion about something, never af raid of the judgment that might be thrown in his direction. Now, he has to answe r orders helplessly, almost like a puppet, just for the chance of getting more s ponsors. This must be killing him. I was roused from my thoughts by Haymitch breaking the silence around the table with a loud grunt. He leaned forward, making the front legs of his chair hit the floor with a bang. "Don't act like you weren't waiting for a chance like this,"

he said in a gravelly voice, peering at Gale mischievously through slitted eyes , "You should be more appreciative. I'm throwing you a bone." A hardly noticeable flush appeared on Gale's tanned cheeks, but he remained sile nt. I shifted uncomfortably in my chair. Haymitch slouched lazily, savoring the silence lingering around the table as he forced himself to take a sip of the water in front of him with a grimace. I half -expected him to whip out his flask, but the shadows circling his sunken eyes le d me to believe that he had been avoiding alcohol altogether lately. "All right," he mumbled, scooting his chair out and sluggishly getting to his fe et, "Now that we're all feeling significantly more awkward, let's get this coach ing started." Effie's eyes shot up at us for the first time in what felt like hours. "I have t o prepare! Haymitch, you take them first," she trilled, making her way clumsily out of the dining room in heels that made her at least five inches taller than u sual. I let out a sigh, feeling the glee from the training scores slowly slip away fro m me. "So, what's the schedule?" I asked absently, getting up from my chair. Gal e got up from his shortly after. "Four hours with me, lunch, then four hours with Effie," Haymitch stated in a bo red tone. "What do you and Effie have to teach us that will take four hours each?" Gale as ked, his shoulders squared in exasperation. Haymitch's mouth quirked at the corner before he swiftly turned away from Gale a nd I and headed out of the dining room, gesturing for us to follow. He ended up taking us to the sitting room and directing us towards one of the couches before sitting himself down on the coffee table, its legs whining under his weight. He began to rub at the stubble carpeting his chin with a thoughtful hand, frowning at us as we all sat in silence. At first, I thought that he was studying us, but as the seconds ticked away, it seemed more like he was trying to kill time. I narrowed my eyes, feeling increas ingly more irritated as my hands knotted into fists on my lap. "What" "Shhh," Haymitch hushed in a demanding tone, his gaze unwavering. I pushed my lips together impatiently before feeling the corners on my mouth cur l downwards. Haymitch continued to rake Gale and I with his glassy eyes, pausing occasionally to glare at one of our more dissatisfying features. Gale exhaled sharply. "Stop" "Shhh!" Haymitch said, more loudly this time. He wrinkled his forehead theatrica lly. I rolled my eyes before feeling Gale lean lazily into the cushions of the couch. I followed his example. This could take a while. After a few more minutes of this, Haymitch swiftly slapped his hands onto his kn ees and got to his feet. "Nope. Got nothin'." "Wait, what?" Gale asked, eyeing our mentor with wariness.

"I've been trying to think of what to do with you two," Haymitch said, shrugging his shoulders lightly, "but you're both about as interesting as drywall. So far , we've got everyone fooled with your top training scores and unforgettable cost umes, but your personalities..." Haymitch gave us both an exaggerated wince. "What's that supposed to mean?" I countered, my voice coming out more squeaky th an I intended. Haymitch let out a quick chuckle, obviously amused by my reaction. "What I mean is that people won't start tripping over each other to sponsor you two if you ju st kiss. You both still need memorable personalities, as well." His gaze drifted toward Gale, who was still leaning exasperatedly against the couch cushions. "M aybe not him, actually. He's too pretty." A flare of annoyance flickered behind Gale's ashen eyes, but he composed himself with a quick sigh. "Okay, then. What are we going to do?" A smirk played on Haymitch's thin lips. "Hmm... Let's see. Aloof? Arrogant? Char ming? Humble? Sexy...?" His eyes flickered to me before he stifled a fit of laug hter, "Nevermind, definitely not the last one." I felt a pout play on my features before seeing Gale out of the corner of my eye grin at my reaction and reassure me with a gentle nudge. "Now, lucky for you two, hostile and sullen are also approaches," Haymitch state d, his voice drifting off, "but that's usually reserved for the more intimidatin g tributes." I couldn't help myself from picturing Thresh taking a seat for his interview, hi s face twisted into a permanent glare as he refused to answer questions with mor e than a few words. If only I was his size, then I wouldn't have to worry about coming off as likable. I unconsciously deepened the pout on my face. Haymitch squared his shoulders before peering over to Gale thoughtfully, his smi le dropping from his face as his tone got more serious. "I can picture you as ar rogant. That could even end up coming off as charming." I felt myself visibly tense at the thought of Capitol women swooning over Gale i n their seats. "And you," Haymitch's slurred tone caught my attention as his eyes swept over to me, "You could come off as a lot of things." "Great," I blurted out without thinking. If I had learned one thing from sitting at home and begrudgingly watching previous games, it was that tributes without an eye-catching, obvious trait hardly ever caught sponsors' interests. "What about fierce? Or determined?" Gale suggested, a look of pride in his eyes, "She could pull that off without even trying." I felt a blush faintly color my cheeks, which only succeeded in irritating me ev en more. Haymitch must have noticed since he raised a skeptical brow before sayi ng, "Okay. Go on, delight me." "Uh," I responded lamely, not knowing what to say. Haymitch sighed before shooting me the most obvious interview question there was . "Are you confident in your ability to come out as the victor?" No, I thought harshly. If anyone was going to be the victor, it would be Gale. A

number of seconds passed as I cringed in my seat, knowing that a tribute going for a fierce or determined approach should have answered immediately. "Yeeees... ?" I said quietly, mentally slapping myself afterwards. Gale gave me a quizzical glance. "Okay. Fierce is not going to happen," Haymitch stated matter-of-factly. I felt Gale stiffen beside me. "Why does she even need an approach? She's fine a nd dandy just being herself," he defended, making me feel a little guilty. Haymitch took a seat back on the coffee table. "I'm thinking the same thing, boy ," he mumbled before directing his gaze back to me. "Just answer the questions, sweetheart. Don't let the audience know how openly you despise them, as we shoul d be fine." I couldn't help but feel anger well up inside my chest. At least two hours had a lready passed, and we hadn't made any progress on my approach at all. The only p ossible thing that could give me the least bit of depth would be...a breath caug ht in my throat. As if he could read my thoughts, Haymitch suddenly piped up. "Time to work on th at other angle! Let's see you two kiss." Gale and I seemed to simultaneously tense up before giving Haymitch a skeptical glare. The mentor responded by creasing his eyebrows together defensively. "We w ant this kiss to be believable, otherwise it won't even be worth doing," he mutt ered, waving a dismissive hand, "but if you two want to practice in private, the n so be it." A shudder ran through me, and I immediately pushed the thought to the back of my mind. "We should work more on individual angles, Haymitch. Gale hasn't even pra cticed his." Haymitch shrugged his shoulders before agreeing. I let out a quiet sigh of relie f before glancing in Gale's direction, only to be perplexed by the slight look o f disappointment he was sporting. The next couple of hours included Gale trying out a number of approaches and me attempting to answer traditional interview questions with a cheery attitude. Hay mitch seemed uncharacteristically patient as he suggested answers for us to memo rize and cite on stage, which included our love for our families and our hunting abilities. We spent a long time deciding on whether or not Gale and I should el aborate on our past together, and ended up deciding that, during my interview, I would try to exaggerate it to the point where it seemed that we wouldn't be abl e to survive without each other. Which, in a way, was completely true. Our fourth hour was almost up, and Haymitch decided to go through a quick run-th rough of what we had learned. "...Now, since I know you two can't do anything by yourselves," Haymitch started , and despite the obvious insult, his tone was warmer than usual, "I'll tell you how to work that kiss in. Katniss will be interviewed first, and she'll sit the re and look pretty while hinting at the relationship going on between you both. Then, Gale will go up and answer a few questions." The mentor took the time to l ock his eyes with Gale's before continuing, "Try to steer the questions toward K atniss. Eventually, some kind of variation of, 'How much do you love her?' will come up. And then, get out of your seat and go for it." I couldn't stop myself from tensing up again. No matter how much it was brought up, the thought of kissing Gale just couldn't seem to sink in.

Haymitch got to his feet before stretching his arms above his head and letting o ut a strained sigh. He took a tense stance before mumbling, "Don't mess this up. Either of you. Make it believable." I swallowed hard, but forced myself to nod. My cheeks had been getting continual ly more red for the past hour. By now, they were probably beet red. "Lunch time!" Effie's voice rang through the hallway, beckoning the three of us out of the sitting room. Walking only made the fact that my legs were rigid and achy from sitting more prominent in my mind, but that was soon soothed with the thought of warm food in my stomach. I was delighted to see a platter of lamb stew and wild rice in the center of the table again, and practically dived into the plate with a spoon when we had all seated ourselves around it. I had succeeded in scarfing down half a plate when E ffie caught my attention by clearing her throat loudly. "Honestly! I might as well start my coaching now, and that means you are going t o have to eat like a lady, Katniss," she chimed, her glare sweeping over me and resting on Gale, "That means you, too." Gale narrowed his eyes before resting both of his elbows on the table and contin uing to shovel the stew into his mouth. I couldn't stop myself from chuckling at Effie's horrified reaction. After lunch, Effie practically swept Gale and I up to her chamber, babbling abou t keeping our backs straight and not dragging our feet the entire way. I watched as the anger behind Gale's irises increased with every, "Didn't they ever teach you two manners in District 12?" She threw open the door to her chamber, the bright white and pink walls instantl y stinging my eyes as I walked onto the plush carpet. Gale sat himself on a dist ant wooden chair as Effie dragged me into her closet and, much to my discontent, slipped me into a full-length gown and heels. The gown was white and low-cut do wn the back, making my bare, protruding shoulder blades frame my braid. Effie proceeded to drag me back out of the closet, making me trip over my feet i n an effort to follow her. As soon as I waddled into Gale's view, he began to st ifle back fits of laughter. His eyes raked down my body before landing on the pa le blue heels I was in. "If you can walk in those, surviving in the arena should be a cinch," he mumbled, eyebrows raised. Effie shot him a glare. "Be quiet while I'm working with her, or I'll have you i n heels next." That shut him up. For the next hour, Effie had me struggling to walk across the room. The gown kep t getting tangled around the shoes, and the carpet kept making them fall to the side, making my ankles scream in pain. The only thing that kept me from kicking off the shoes in Effie's direction was the fact that she ran around in them full -time, and the determination to conquer anything she was capable of. Gale seemed thoroughly amused when I had succeeded in walking without a single w obble, but his eyes instantly turned as sharp as a hawk's when Effie yelled corr ections at me. "Straighten your legs! Hands at your sides! Don't twist up your face in concentr ation like that!" Effie's trilling voice pierced my ears like needles, making me purse my lips together in frustration.

The gown was bothersome, and it would be so much easier to walk if it didn't get in the way of my heels. At this thought, I hiked it up my shins and Effie proce eded to give the back of my hands a swift slap. I heard Gale let out a snarl across the room. "I think she's good with walking n ow," he mumbled through a clenched jaw. Effie let out a sigh, unaffected by the venom in Gale's tone. "She's decent. It' s a good thing Cinna won't have her in heels as high as those." I shot Effie an exasperated glare, but couldn't help but feel a little grateful. The shoes Cinna would put me in for the interviews would feel like nothing afte r wearing these, at least. I swapped places with Gale as Effie ushered him to the center of the room. I sat myself down on the chair and slid the heels off my now swelled feet in relief b efore rubbing my sore ankles. "Straighten your back," Effie said in an even tone, studying Gale's posture. He obeyed after a lot of hesitation, his usual slouch soon disappearing. I watched as the lean curve of his back became more prominent under his slim-fitting shirt , making a curious rush of warmth color my cheeks. Effie quickly circled around Gale, making him stiffen under her vision. The musc les in his arm tightened as she prodded them with manicured fingernails, and his eyebrows furrowed together after each glance she sent to his face. "Well," she said, taking a few steps back, "Nothing much to do with you. The Cap itol ladies will practically eat you up the moment you step on stage with that c amera-ready face of yours." I felt my body tense as a familiar feeling of possession rushed through me, maki ng my eyes narrow in annoyance. Effie must have noticed because she quickly gest ured for me to stand by his side, causing me to quickly pad my way over on my no w bare feet. "Now," she chimed, her painted lips spreading into a grin to reveal her unnatura lly white teeth. "Give me a smile. Both of you." My cheeks twitched as I forced the sides of my mouth the curl upwards. Gale look ed like he was just pushing his lips together into a stern line. Effie let out a sigh. "I should've known with the two of you," she murmured, rub bing her left temple. For the next couple of hours she had us walk with perfect posture around the roo m, sit down the proper ways on chairs she had set out, and flash smiles on cue. By the time she thought we had mastered posture and walking, she had us say bana l phrases with a smile, while smiling, or ending with a smile. This wore on Gale 's patience the most, and by the last half hour, he was shooting scowls in Effie 's direction instead of grins. "Good enough," Effie sighed, plopping herself down onto her bed. Her tired featu res seemed to rejuvenate as a single thought crossed her mind. "Did Haymitch wor k with your star-crossed lover angle, yet?" Her eager voice made me flinch uncomfortably. "Yes," I answered, feeling Gale's gaze wander in my direction. Effie's thin eyebrows promptly raised at that. "Okay then," she said with a spar

kle in her dark eyes, "Let me see that jaw-dropping kiss." I should have known that this was what she was talking about. I pressed my lips together before slowly sneaking a sideways glance in Gale's direction, only to s ee that he was already surveying my face with deep, wondering eyes. "Come on," Effie pushed, "There can't be this much hesitance on the stage. The c rowd will never buy it." Never buy it? Would that mean, after everything we've been through, Gale and I w ould still be left sponsor-less in the arena? I let out a sharp breath before swiftly turning on my heel, making myself face G ale with a strong look of determination, despite my now pounding heart. His eyeb rows flew up at my sudden movement, and a look of surprise instantly taking over his features. "What...?" He started, his cheeks faintly glowing in the bright l ight of Effie's chamber. My heart began to leap into my throat as I proceeded to stand on my tiptoes, my hands grazing Gale's shoulders to steady myself. He promptly leaned down to get to my eye level and... I let my lips brush across the hollow of his cheek, as light as a feather. Just this was enough to send my heart knocking intensely against my ribcage, and I ha d to turn away. My now muffled ears just barely picked up the sound of Effie dis appointedly groaning. "Work on that," she stated simply before walking over to my side and tugging me over to the closet. I was thankful, since the muscles in my legs had just starte d to spasm and I found it difficult to control my shaking knees. I slowly began to compose myself inside the closed doors of the closet as I let Effie slip the gown off of me and dress me in my normal clothes. "I thought you said that Haymitch went through the angle with you two," she mumb led harshly, handing me the leather boots I had been wearing with a slight grima ce. "He did," I responded with a pout, working my feet into the boots, "He didn't go through the kiss, though." Effie flashed what looked like a genuine grin in my direction. It was the first I had seen out of her since we arrived at the Training Center. "But you went for it, anyway. Cinna was right, you truly are a Girl on Fire." I didn't know whether that was an insult or a compliment, but before I could ask , Effie was pushing me out of the closet. Gale was still standing dumbstruck in the center of the room where we had left him. "That was a great reaction, from both of you!" Effie gushed, taking a seat back on her bed. "So genuine, so true." I felt a shudder pulse through me. That's because it was. "But next time, aim for the mouth," she added simply. I watched as Gale's ashen eyes widened, but he responded with an obedient nod. I had expected the table to be adorned with another overflowing platter of lamb stew for dinner, but I was greeted instead by an herb-roasted chicken on a bed o f steamed vegetables. It looked good, but I still felt my stomach constrict in d

isappointment. This began to make me worry about the Capitol food making me pick y, so I pushed the thoughts of the stew to the back of my mind. As we ate, I watched Gale out of the blurred part of my vision continually shoot me quick sideways glances. It made me feel on edge, but I decided to pretend no t to notice. Haymitch and Effie were filling Cinna and Portia in on the events that took plac e during coaching. Effie was leaving out the part where I almost fainted in an a ttempt to kiss Gale, and I felt immensely grateful. "We're putting the finishing touches on the interview costumes, ourselves," boas ted Portia, cutting a steaming piece of meat off of the chicken leg on her plate before popping it in her mouth with a fork. Cinna grinned down at his food. "It's delicate work. The details are always the most important," he mumbled knowingly. The thin line of gold eyeliner circling h is hazel eyes reflected in the lighting of the dining room. "Did you decide on their individual approaches, yet?" Effie interrupted, giving Haymitch a curious glance. Haymitch cleared his throat sloppily, not bothering to hide the chewed food in h is mouth as he spoke. "The boy is arrogant and charming," he drew out the last w ord in a way that made Gale shoot him a glare, "and she is just being herself." Everyone's eyes darted toward me, making me lower my gaze to the table in unease . "The best angle I've heard yet," Cinna responded warmly. Effie, on the other hand, seemed unpleased. "The tributes who get the most spons ors always have a specific approach." "Haymitch tried to find me one," I mumbled lamely, "None of them fit me." "She's probably going to outshine everyone else, anyway," Gale cut in, surprisin g everyone slightly. He had been uncharacteristically quiet ever since we entere d the dining room. "Katniss just being herself is better than centering the appr oach entirely around one attribute." Everyone gave Gale a wondering glance, as if it was the most honorable thing he had ever said. Haymitch broke the moment with a gravelly laugh. "It would be, if she wasn't so sour." He began guffawing at his own joke, and I watched silently as Effie's stern look broke into a smile. I felt the corners of my mouth tuggin g upwards into a smirk. "Like you're any better," I murmured, trying to give Haymitch the most convincin g glare I could muster. After the chicken was stripped of most of its meat, the adults began to separate back into their own chambers. They each bid Gale and I goodnight after taking t he time to wish us good luck, which only succeeded in reminding me that the inte rviews were just around the corner, making my chest tense in anxiety. Haymitch was the last to leave, and a shadow passed over his features as he regi stered my uneasiness. "You'll do fine, sweetheart," he mumbled, barely audible a s he made his way over to my side and gave my shoulder a swift, reassuring slap. He directed his gaze over to Gale, his tone becoming more playful. "Don't miss. " And with that, he left the room, leaving Gale and I alone at the table.

I cleared my throat quietly before getting up from my chair. "We should go to be d, too," I mumbled before absently giving Gale a thoughtful glance. He raised a single eyebrow before gazing up at me with his piercing gray irises, making me f reeze in place. "We have to do something, first," he said, almost matter-of-factly, before getti ng up from his chair and stepping toward me. I felt my eyes widen. "What are you...?" The corner of his mouth quirked up in response before he wrapped his gentle fing ers around my wrist. "Practice." I involuntarily let myself gulp, and watched as Gale's eyes wandered to my throa t as I did so. He pursed his lips before inching his face closer to mine, studyi ng my reaction carefully through slitted eyes. He brought a warm hand to the sma ll of my back and gingerly pulled me closer to him, letting me feel the warmth r adiating off of his torso through the fabric of his shirt. I let my eyes droop closed, shuddering as I felt the soft caress of his breath b low across my cheek. It wasn't like in Effie's chamber; this time, I felt as if I was completely prepared, like it was somehow natural. I was eager, even. My heart seemed to swell in my chest, making my breaths come out shaky as I tent atively raised my head to near Gale's. His arms slid tighter around me, envelopi ng me in a comforting warmth and sending a dizzying sense of weightlessness puls ing through my veins. I couldn't help but imagine the pressure of his slightly c happed lips against mine, making the muscles in my legs tremble in anticipation. That was why when I had instead felt the brush of his soft kiss against my cheek , I couldn't help but flutter my eyes open questioningly. Gale was gazing down at me with a sheepish, almost pained grin. "Never thought i t would be this difficult," he breathed, almost soundlessly. I creased my eyebrows together, unintentionally letting a pout tug at the side o f my mouth. A million things were rushing through my mind, but the only response that passed through my lips was, "I know." His grip around me loosened slightly, but his gray eyes were still fixated on mi ne. "I don't mean that kind of difficult. It's just..." He paused, thinking over his words before continuing, "It feels almost wrong to do. You look like you're forcing yourself." I involuntarily shot Gale a skeptical look from under my eyelashes. Did he reall y think I was forcing myself when I was practically melting pliantly in his arms ? After a lot of thought, I pushed my lips together and let my head weakly nod in agreement, immediately regretting it afterwards. Gale frowned before slowly taking a step back and loosening his hold around my t orso, separating us almost completely. The moment he did, I felt like something essential was torn out of my grasp. "We don't have to do it, then. The kiss I me an," he murmured, a flash of hurt faintly flickering behind his hardened eyes. "No" I squeaked, almost right after he had said it. I quickly tried to redeem myse lf by lowering my eyes to the floor and mumbling, "It's for the sponsors. We're going to need them in the arena." Gale let out a quiet chuckle, making me dart m

y attention back to him quizzically. "I'll make sure not to mess up on stage, then," he said simply, his lips tighten ing into a smile. The smile was crooked, and obviously faked. It almost hurt to look at, especiall y after being given so many of his genuine smiles earlier in the day. I sucked i n a sharp breath before muttering, "We should get some rest." "Yeah," Gale agreed, taking time to absently brush a stray hair behind my ear be fore continuing. "I'll see you in the morning, Catnip." I forced myself to nod meekly, watching as he slowly started to make his way out of the dining room. Before he reached the exit, he tentatively craned his neck to look at me before flashing another grin in my direction. "By the way, your ch eeks are really red." I hadn't gotten a lot of sleep that night, much to my dismay. It seemed like I h ad just closed my eyes for two seconds when the light filtering through the curt ains shined across my face, making me twist in my sheets restlessly. "Oh, she's moving! I thought she was dead." An insistent whisper registered at the back of my mind, but I quickly dismissed it. My eyelids were still too heavy for it to be morning. "I don't think she's going to wake up." "Should we splash water on her face?" "Maybe. Make it icy cold." "No, blazing hot. That always works best." "Are you crazy? Do you know what that'll do to her skin?" A groan escaped from my lips as the whispers gradually grew more loud, making it more difficult to ignore. "See? You upset her." "Not my fault." "Just wait until I tell Cinna." I gripped a bunch of my comforter in a fist before opening my eyes to slits. My vision slowly focused, only to reveal my entire prep team hanging over me. I ins tantly sat up, giving out a startled gasp. "Yay! She's awake!" Octavia cheered, bouncing as she clapped her plump hands tog ether. I drowsily gave her an incredulous look before something clicked at the b ack of my mind. Today was the day of the interviews. I didn't bother to show any sign of protest as my prep team dragged me out of be d and to the bathroom, stripping me completely and immediately going to work on my skin. My eyes were still clouded with sleep as I curiously watched Venia whip out a gold powder and brush it onto my thigh thickly. Coaching with Effie and Haymitch was over. They had done everything they could d o to help me, and I was still hopelessly uninteresting. This thought lingered in

my mind, making my chest sink as I felt multiple brushes and moisturizers rub a gainst my body. At this point, my only hope of being able to appear half as appealing as Haymitc h expected me to be on stage was if Cinna made me so stunning, it wouldn't matte r what came out of my mouth. Maybe his designs would do the impossible and save me, just as they had before the chariot ride. But then again, even if everything else went terribly, I still had something to fall back on. Gale. He always did have a way with enchanting people, which he di d unintentionally and obliviously. Our broadcasted relationship, as much as I ha ted to admit to myself, was probably the most interesting part of me. I was shut since were set in a chair in the center of the bathroom, and ended up letting my eyes closed and give in to sleep. It was probably to my prep team's advantage, my limbs wouldn't unconsciously jerk away at the sight of tweezers if they limp with slumber.

When I awoke again, it was late into the afternoon and my skin was already made to look like glowing satin. My arms were penciled with subtle, white designs and my twenty nails were filed and painted with flames. "Good morning, sunshine," Flavius said in a cheerful tone, already more than hal fway through curling my dark hair. Octavia was rubbing a clear substance into th e strands, making the curls fall glossily in a curtain around my shoulders. "I was beginning to think that she was going to sleep through the interviews," V enia muttered. She was on the opposite side of the bathroom filling a metal tray up with different assortments of make-up. She quickly made her way over to me b efore handing the tray to Octavia and taking control of my hair, loosely braidin g it to the side and making it fall down my right shoulder in a wave. Octavia and Flavius went to work with the makeup, brushing my face with precisio n as they erased my features with a layer of pale powder and drew them out again . It only took a couple of moments before they stepped away, revealing my new, a irbrushed face to me in the mirror. My lips were left alone, and when I asked, Octavia just giggled and chimed, "We don't want any makeup accidentally smearing onto the boy's mouth!" I felt myself visibly stiffen before she began applying dark makeup around my eyes, blocking my view of the mirror once again. Cinna entered the bathroom with a big, black bag in his hands that zipped up the side. He responded to my confused gaze by gesturing to the bag with his gold-fl ecked eyes and explaining that he had covered the dress, still wanting it to be a surprise for everyone. His tone was warm with excitement. I was brought to a tall mirror before being ordered to close my eyes. I obeyed, and almost instantly felt the silken material of the dress slide over my body. I t must have weighed at least forty pounds, which gave me a start and almost made me lose my balance. Someone offered r of shoes laid d at least four t out a sigh of me their hand, and I clutched it as I blindly stepped into a pai out neatly in front of me. They were cushioned on the inside, an inches shorter than the heels Effie had me work in. I quietly le relief.

"Oh, she looks beautiful!" I heard Octavia squeal to my side. Warm hands adjuste d the side of the dress as eager voices of approval rang from my prep team.

"Yes, she does," Cinna agreed softly, a smile apparent in his voice. "You can op en your eyes now, Girl on Fire." My eyes slitted open, and I was immediately given a start by the figure looking back at me in the mirror. I blinked my eyes ferociously in disbelief, making my eyelashes throw off bits of light as I peered at myself. My shining dark eyes an d shimmering, smooth skin adorned with patterns of white flames just barely noti ceable against the golden powder evenly brushed against my skin, complimenting t he dress... Oh, the dress... Its silken fabric was covered in flame-colored jewels around my torso, reflectin g light with its precious gems in a way that made it seem like tongues of fire w ere licking up my sides. It was tight around my hips, complimenting my humble fi gure just as it cut off on my lower stomach and jutted out with flaring bits of fabric that stopped just above my knees. The heels felt sturdy under my feet, bu t looked as fragile as glass from the outside, making me look a lot more gracefu l than I really was. They seemed to reflect warm shades of orange and red, givin g the illusion of fire sizzling at my feet. It was no exaggeration to say that I was standing there with the radiance of the sun. We all stood in silence, just soaking in the genius of Cinna's work before I qui etly choked out, "Thank you." Cinna grinned, his gaze sweeping over me with confidence. "Twirl for me." I obeyed, tearing my gaze away from the mirror before I slowly spun myself aroun d. The flares of fabric grazing my thighs flew up and swayed together in blurs o f warm colors, and the gems seemed to be awakened by the sudden movement as they immediately began to reflect light more colorfully, making the illusion of fire more vivid and bright. I heard my entire prep team squeal in admiration to my s ide, making my lips tighten into a smile. "Perfect," Cinna said vacantly, sounding like he was talking to himself. His dee p-in-thought expression was quickly broken by my prep team screaming shrill vari ations of, "I need a dress like that for Snow's next party!" Cinna proceeded to politely dismiss the prep team, making them disappointedly sc atter out of the room, their voices growing small as they complained under their breaths. A sudden silence filled the air when the trio had left, making Cinna a nd I exchange a look of equal relief before he quickly directed his focus back t o the dress. "Is everything comfortable?" He asked, studying the delicate patterns swirling o ver my arms with adept eyes. I nodded in response, still slightly mesmerized by my own reflection. Cinna had me spend the next couple of minutes walking along the tiled floors of the bathroom, getting a feel for the dress as I moved around in it. The shoes we re infinitely more comfortable than the heels Effie had me in, making taking ste ps in them almost effortless. The dress was much shorter than the full-length go wn, cutting off just at the end of my thighs, making it so that I wasn't tempted to hike it up when I walked. "You're going to blow them away," Cinna mused. I slowly gave him a tensed, sheep ish smile in response, which made him furrow his eyebrows questionably before as king, "Is something bothering you?" I let out a quiet sigh before looking down at my feet, the reflective shoes almo

st making me lose my train of thought. "I'm going to ruin everything," I mumbled in a small voice, avoiding Cinna's gaze as my eyes began to nervously dart arou nd the bathroom, "Everyone has such high expectations for me, but I couldn't eve n answer Haymitch when he was asking me interview questions during coaching. The only things I have going for me are your designs and Gale." My throat tightened by the end of the sentence, making my words seem more strained than I had inten ded. I heard Cinna quietly click his tongue in thought before he replied. "You have n o idea, do you? How brightly you're shining to both the citizens of the Capitol and the Gamemakers?" My eyes flew up to give him a confused stare, which made th e corners of his lips curl into a grin. "Your spirit, Katniss. It has made you t he center of attention, and you're so caught up in your faults that you're not e ven noticing it." It took a moment for me to be able to respond after letting his words sink in. " My spirit?" Cinna's grin widened, as if he was hoping that I'd ask. "The same spirit that ma de Haymitch go sober, made you score an eleven from the Gamemakers," he paused a nd pursed his lips before continuing, "...and made you volunteer for your sister during the reapings." I felt myself flinch at the thought of Prim, an image of her angelic face immedi ately taking up my thoughts. Cinna wandered over to my side and wrapped a light, encouraging arm around my shoulders before breaking the silence once more. "Wha t I'm saying is that Haymitch wouldn't have told you to act like yourself if he thought you wouldn't do well." I hesitantly nodded my head. It wouldn't be the first time I felt like I was und eserving of Cinna's confidence. His calm voice instantly roused me, as if he cou ld read my thoughts. "Suppose that, during your interview, you were talking to a close friend instead of Caesar Flickerman. Perhaps... Gale?" It was the first time I had heard Cinna refer to Gale by his name instead of 'th e boy tribute.' I shot him a look before pressing my lips together in thought. " Yes, but that doesn't make sense," I muttered in an almost defeated tone, "He wo uldn't be asking those questions. He already knows everything there is to know a bout me." As if on cue, a knock on the door echoed throughout the bathroom. "Cinna, the bo y is ready. Can we get a move on? Effie wouldn't be pleased if we're late." It w as Portia, her voice filled with anxiousness. Cinna wrinkled his eyebrows at the door, obviously not done with his pep talk. " Of course, Portia. Is the boy with you right now?" "Yup." This time, it was Gale responding. His voice sent a rush of choking warmt h through my chest. "The Capitol will probably like this suit, by the way. Very sparkly." There was an obvious edge of sarcasm in his tone, but the stylists see med unaffected by it. "Just wait until you see Katniss' dress," Portia said, loudly gripping the handl e on the other side of the door, "Can we come in?" I suddenly felt very self conscious, the makeup and dress weighing me down much more than it had a moment ago. "Yes, we should all probably get going to the elevator, anyway," Cinna encourage d. I felt a horrified grimace twist my features as I fought a powerful urge to r

etreat and hide in a corner. I stood stiffly and watched the door fling open, re vealing an impatient looking Portia and a slightly bored Gale. His features seem ed to brighten at the sight of me, his eyebrows springing upward as he shameless ly let his gaze rake up and down my figure. I unconsciously began to study him, a breath getting caught in my throat. His ta nned skin seemed untouched by makeup, but his gray eyes were somehow made even m ore piercing and mesmerizing under his tousled raven hair. A black dress shirt w as purposely buttoned messily and tightly around his chest, revealing a firm set of muscles under it. The same fiery effect was added to his dark, slim-fitting pants, but was much more subtle than the gems that wrapped around my torso. "Wow," we both seemed to mumble simultaneously, causing chuckles to come out of the stylists. "C'mon, we don't have all day. You two can ogle at each other later," Portia ins isted, grabbing Gale by the arm and half-pulling him out of the room. Cinna continued to chuckle quietly, his hazel eyes directed towards the floor as Portia and Gale took their exit. I made a move to follow them, but he stopped m e by gently holding back my arm. "Wait a second." He quickly responded to my questioning look, his words filled with the same conf idence as earlier. "If you can't imagine Gale asking you the questions, what abo ut me? Do you consider me a friend?" I opened my mouth to speak, but was cut off by Portia intently calling for us fr om the hallway. "I'll be sitting on the main platform with the other stylists in plain view. Jus t find me when you're asked a question," Cinna said, not waiting for my response before gesturing towards the bathroom door. "Shall we go? Before Portia rips my head off?" I couldn't stop a smile from forming on my lips as I followed Cinna out of the r oom, suddenly feeling a wave of determination surge through me. Gale and I could easily overtake the other tributes. We've already attracted mor e attention than the past District 12 tributes combined, wrecking through the co mpetition with both the beauty and destruction of two, untamed fires. Chapter 11 "Ready, Catnip?" Cinna and I had caught up with Portia and Gale, and we were now making record ti me towards the elevator to meet up with Effie and Haymitch. I was walking beside Gale, and our two stylists were deep in conversation, keeping a steady pace beh ind us. The interviews will take place in the City Circle outside of the Training Center ; it has been swept clean for the occasion and filled up with a countless number of chairs for spectators. Like in past games, a raised stage was also added, as well as elevated seating units reserved for stylists so that cameras would have no trouble finding them while the crowd reacted to their designs. Balconies off of large buildings were usually used to seat Gamemakers and other prestigious g uests, as well as cinematographers wanting birds-eye shots of the event. "I'm unbelievably ready," I breathed, feeling lightheaded and weightless on my t oes, "I just hope that it doesn't wear off before we go on stage."

Gale let out a chuckle before noting my dizzying steps and wrapping a firm arm a round my shoulders to keep me grounded. We rounded a corner, and Effie's voice immediately rang throughout the halls. "Y ou think they're ready for smoochin'?" "They better be," Haymitch responded, clearing his throat gratingly, "If they wa nt the sponsors to be impressed, they need to practically rip each other's cloth es off." I tensed, and the stylists hurried ahead of Gale and I to make our presence know n to Effie and Haymitch. I felt the determination that was just powerfully pulsi ng through my veins moments ago instantly drain away. Gale, on the other hand, only let a flicker of discomfort flash across his featu res before he immediately composed himself. "Don't let it get to you," he presse d, his grip around my shoulders tentatively tightening. "I'm not," I lied, instinctively inching closer into Gale's torso, just as I had in the woods on especially busy hunting nights for an extra sense of safety. Haymitch let out a low whistle once Gale and I had come into his view, letting h is glassy eyes study our costumes intently. "Wow," he mused, eyebrows raising at the fire effect the gems on my dress had, "These designs are actually making th em seem slightly likable. And shiny." "Very shiny," Effie added, clasping an admiring hand over her painted lips, "Oh, Katniss, dear. You look so lovely." I flashed her a pained grin, the muscles in my cheeks still overused from her co aching the day before. As we all stepped into the elevator, I silently noted Haymitch's bare chin, sign ifying that he had shaved the peppery stubble from the lower half of his face. T he two mentors had fancied themselves up thoroughly, and so had Portia, but Cinn a remained in his simple black ensemble and golden eyeliner. The elevator opened and revealed the first floor of the Training Center, and we were all immediately ushered outside of the building. The City Circle looked completely different from the last time I had seen it, wi th its open space now tightly packed with arcs of chairs that were almost entire ly filled up with curious Capitol citizens and dim lighting due to the falling o f evening. The street lamps were turned off, leaving the towering stage as only part of the place that wasn't darkened and instead glowing with blinding, yellow ish lights from above. Portia and Cinna gravitated towards a platform where the other stylists had alre ady been seated, and Effie and Haymitch set off to find seats in the restless cr owd. I heard Effie hiss something about coming here too late under her breath be fore they dispatched, leaving Gale and I alone in the sea of people. "Over here," Gale said, nudging me towards the stage. Most of the tributes were already in an organized line to the side of the platform, ready to make their gr and entrances and broadcast themselves properly to all of Panem. The District 1 girl was looking posh with her nose in the air, crossing her arms and disregarding the District 1 boy standing uncomfortably beside her. Clove an d Cato were huddled closely together, perhaps battling the night air just beginn

ing to settle down on the City Circle. They both had icy glares locked on Gale a nd I as we took our places at the end of the line. All too soon, Caesar Flickerman, the man who has hosted the interviews for as lo ng as I can remember, eagerly took the stage. Despite all the time that has pass ed, he sported the same young face that he had when he first started hosting, bu t now covered it in a thick layer of pale makeup under his excessively dyed hair . This year, it was a shade of powder blue, which matched his painted lips and e yelids almost exactly. "Hellooo Capitol!" He yelled into the black microphone posed in his hand, twisti ng his face into a theatrical smile as he twirled around the stage. The crowd we nt crazy with applause as he told a few lively jokes to loosen them up. He adjus ted the microphone on a stand and placed it near two armchairs in the center of the stage while he was still talking enthusiastically into it. "Now tell me, Panem," Caesar said intensely, the cameras zooming in on his face, "Are you ready to meet your 74th Hunger Games tributes? !" A roar of cheers passed through the audience in a wave. The cinematographers vio lently whirled their cameras around to catch shots of the crowd, revealing them to the thousands of television sets tuned in around the country. "Come on up!" Caesar yelled to the line of tributes next to the stage in a sings ong voice, waving us onward as he plopped himself down in one of the armchairs. The audience continued to burst in acclamation as we walked in a single-file lin e towards the arc of chairs set up at the back of the stage. I could feel the ca meras zooming in on us, making my breathing rapid and shallow. Gale gripped my h and comfortingly from behind me, which was shown clearly on the huge screens aro und the circle. I quickly took my seat, relieved to not have to stand on my shaking legs. Gale l et our linked hands dangle over our armrests, which was also noted by the camera s. For a few minutes, all the tributes flashed strained smiles to the cameras and t he audience, letting our applause carry on for much longer than was comfortable. I began to unconsciously fumble with the fabric of my dress as I tried to hide my nervousness with a mask of determination. Gale was very stiff beside me, and it was evident that he was avoiding the gaze of any of the Capitol citizens and instead locking his silver eyes on the wooden stage below us. "Glimmer, it's your time to shine!" Caesar called out, hushing the audience almo st immediately. So that's what her name was. Glimmer. I will never understand the appeal of Dist rict 1 names; they sound too over-the-top and flashy. But then again, that's how most of the people from District 1 acted, too. Glimmer didn't hesitate before getting up from her seat and gliding over to the armchair next to Caesar, letting her blonde hair flow behind her and around her slim figure, which was adorned with a see-through, lace dress tightly wrapped ar ound her body like a second layer of skin. "So, I'm guessing your mentor is going for the sexy approach with you?" Caesar a sked with a gleaming smile, his dyed eyebrows arching slightly. Glimmer rolled her emerald eyes before pursing her glossy lips, as if it was the most obvious question in the world. "I'll just let everyone else decide that," she said in a provocative, hushed tone. The crowd went wild, the male voices sta

nding out from the rest. With a deep breath, I drained out the blaring sound of Glimmer's deafening appla use and instead busied myself with the rules of the interviews, repeating them i n my head in an attempt to distract myself from the many cameras swiveling aroun d us like insects. Each interview lasts only for three minutes, and then the tribute is forced to s it at the back of the stage again, despite if they were finished or not. A blari ng buzzer will echo around the City Circle at the end of those three minutes. If you did well, the seconds should tick by quickly, and the audience should prote st when you get out of the chair to leave. They definitely did that with Glimmer as she made her way back to her seat, look ing thoroughly disgusted with everyone around her. "Marvel, buddy, let's see if you can top that!" Caesar chimed, snapping me out o f my reverie. He eagerly clapped his hands together as the District 1 boy lazily got up from his seat and ambled to the armchair at the center of the stage. I silently registered the tribute's crystal blue eyes and close-cropped hair, an d instantly remembered seeing him exasperatedly following Glimmer around in the gym, his features twisted with exhaustion as he situated himself among the other Careers. He had a strong build like Cato, and seemed just as ruthless, but he a lso seemed to have an extra set of smarts, as well. While the other Careers blin dly followed each other, he was the one to protest and question their actions. "Hey, Caesar," he said in an almost bored voice, waving to the audience with tig htened lips. A couple Capitol women let out in hesitant cheers, while others adv erted their eyes skeptically. Marvel spent his three minutes politely dragging the conversation on with Caesar , who occasionally let out an exaggerated laugh to make the interview seem more interesting. No one protested when it was time for him to go. "Clove! Honey! Come closer, so I can see you better!" Caesar said, theatrically fanning himself to make it seem like her presence was heating him up, despite th e cool evening air. Clove gracefully got up from her chair before smoothing her teal dress out over her thighs and making her way over to the center of the stag e. She made it a point to let the cameras see her giving Gale a provocative wink before taking her place next to Caesar. I unconsciously tightened my grip on hi s hand before shooting her a narrow glare, which caused a strained "Oooh" to com e from the audience. "Sassy, are you?" Caesar laughed, his blue lips stretching over his unnaturally white teeth. "I suppose so," Clove said in an artificially sweet voice, purposely letting her gaze drift over to Gale again. I immediately felt unease well up in my chest. W hat was she trying to do? "Ah, if I didn't know better, I'd say you've got your eyes on a taken man," Caes ar chuckled before giving me a reassuring glance. I'm sure it was meant to be co mforting, but it only felt like he was mocking me. My glare sharpened. "Taken?" Clove let out a ridiculing laugh, as clear and sharp as glass. "That di dn't stop him before. Did it, sweetie?" Her jade-colored eyes found their way ov er to Gale again, who was now practically snarling in her direction. It hit me immediately after that; Clove not only found out about our angle, but

was also trying to ruin it. I felt my eyes blaze as I frantically tried to peer past the blinding stage-lights to find Haymitch in the crowd, feeling like it wa s the best thing to do in a situation like this. The audience had grown restless at this point, some shouting insults at both Clo ve and Gale and others giving them words of encouragement. I felt fury rise into my throat as I finally locked my eyes on Haymitch's glassy ones in the sea of p eople. He was looking directly at me, his eyebrows furrowed in frustration. Spea k, his eyes seemed to say, I told you not to mess this up. I attempted to swallow down the panic swelling in my chest as I racked my brain for a solution, Haymitch's piercing gaze slowly pushing me over the edge. "Like he would ever even consider being with you!" My voice rang around the City Circle, surprising even myself. Gale gave me a curious sideways glance before quickly registering my actions and breaking the silence that followed my outburst with, "Stop living in your fanta sies, two." His voice was dripping with venom. "Aw, honey, there's no need to deny it. You're better with me, anyway," Clove si ghed dreamily, unaffected. I found Haymitch in the crowd again, who was now standing up on his feet and fra ntically gesturing with his hands. That's not good enough. Before I had a chance to think my actions through, I let out a loud scoff. "Deny what? He was with me the entire time in the Training Center. We were never away from each other," I said with confidence, even though I was lying through my te eth. Thoughts raced through my head, making me dizzier than I already was as pre ssure from the audience made me desperately try to think of something better to add. "At night, especially." The crowd was now letting out fits of laughter, slapping their hands over their mouths as if what I said was the most piercing thing possible. I looked over at Haymitch, whose eyebrows were raised as if he were impressed. Effie sat next to him with her jaw dropped and her eyes widened. A small voice inside of me was sa ying that I would be mortified by my actions later, but I ignored it and instead savored my victory by returning Clove's initial smile back to her with equal ri dicule. She seemed speechless as her cheeks flushed under her makeup, her pencil-thin ey ebrows creasing together in my direction. The buzzer went off, and she stalked b ack to her chair next to Cato furiously. "Ooh, that was heated," Caesar said, staring out into the audience with playful eyes, "You all better not even think of messing with that District 12 man, he ha s a feisty girlfriend." Everyone laughed, and I felt my actions catch up with me as I lowered my gaze to the floor, feeling the cameras focus in on my face. I silently acknowledged Gal e squeezing my hand reassuringly before giving him a pained glance, only to see that he was desperately trying to hold back a toothy grin. "Cato, get over here, before his girlfriend does something else," Caesar called out, flashing me another glance over his shoulder. I ignored it and swallowed ha rd, still feeling the cameras insistently zoom in my direction. Cato rose up from his seat, his bulging muscles purposely revealed and highlight ed across his arms under a short-sleeved dress shirt. His dark hair framed his g

laring expression in a way that hushed the crowd instantly as he took the center of the stage with firm, intimidating footsteps. "You're lookin' a little scary there, big boy," Caesar joked, and was only met b y Cato's scathing scowl. A few uncomfortable chuckles came from the crowd. Cato's three minutes were filled with him begrudgingly answering Caesar's questi ons, which did not include the scene with Clove at all, which was probably a sma rt move. When the buzzer rang, everybody politely clapped as he went to the back of the stage and claimed his seat next to Clove again. The seconds seemed to drag themselves by as the other Districts' tributes sailed through their interviews, clearly affected by Cato's appearance as they weakly laughed and smiled at the cameras. Cato had put me on edge, as well. It was the way he unconsciously leaned towards Clove, sending glares like daggers at whoever dared to turn their head in her d irection. The way his features were shadowed over, despite the bright light floo ding the stage, and how his expression was filled with pure hatred as his gaze s wept over Gale. A light shudder ran through my torso. This was the first time since we had first met in the gym that I had actually felt a slight tremor of fear towards the Dis trict 2 male. I silently tried to register a little information on each tribute, but my mind k ept on wandering elsewhere. Before I knew it, the girl from District 5 was alrea dy in the overstuffed armchair next to Caesar and conversing smoothly. I quietly remembered her face, which was a lot like a fox's, and noted her elusive, sneak y movements. The interviews with the tributes from Districts 6, 7, and 8 completely swept pas t me. I silently hoped that Gale was paying more attention to them than I was. Before I knew it, the girl from District 9 had made her way to the center of the stage, her ginger hair falling down her back in tight ringlets that contrasted against her pine green dress. She was going for the humble approach, but did it too thoroughly, and ended up denying every compliment thrown in her direction wi th haste. I didn't catch her name, but wasn't too bothered by it; she didn't see m like someone who needed to be feared. The District 9 boy came and went, a pani cked look never leaving his sunken eyes. I began to daze off again, and was immediately roused by the sound of something slapping against the stage. My gaze darted towards the District 10 girl, who had fallen over her feet just a few inches in front of her chair, causing the audie nce to let out quick snorts and stifled laughter. She picked herself up speedily before smoothing her dress out clumsily with her sweat-covered palms and rushin g over to Caesar. "Heh... Have a nice fall?" Caesar laughed, obviously running out of jokes this d eep into the interviews. The District 10 boy struggled out of his chair before dragging his crippled foot limply behind him across the stage. The audience was politely quiet as he answe red his questions, speaking mostly of his two little sisters back home and how a ll he wanted was to see them again. Before long, Rue was being called up. I forced myself to pay attention as she fl uttered over to Caesar, her steps sprightly and almost completely soundless. She was dressed in a frilled, ribbon-covered gown with black, feathery wings attach

ed to the back that protruded through her raven hair, making her seem even more like a bird about to take flight than she already did. The audience let out a si multaneous "Awww" as she struggled onto the cushions of the armchair, which were comically huge compared to her tiny figure. After going through how cute she looked, and watching Rue shyly accept the compl iments, Caesar immediately started talking about her training score. "So, I saw that you scored a seven. That's very impressive for a District 11 tribute, not t o mention a twelve-year-old!" Rue let the corners of her mouth quirk into a sweet grin, making the audience go crazy in adoration. "You shouldn't be so quick to assume, Caesar." The interviewer's lips stretched into what looked like a genuine smile. "So matu re, too. Would you like to hint at what got you that seven?" The Gamemakers squirmed in their balcony uncomfortably, but Rue didn't hesitate. "I'm very hard to catch," she said confidently in her tremulous voice, "so don' t count me out yet." "Wouldn't think of it," Caesar responded warmly before the sound of the buzzer e choed through the circle, much to both mine and the audience's dismay. Thresh promptly got to his feet after Rue had made her way back to the chair nex t to him, not waiting to be called up before he stalked across the stage and squ eezed himself in the armchair next to Caesar. It was comical like Rue, except in stead of him being too tiny for it, he had trouble even sliding himself between the armrests. He was wearing a sleeveless shirt that revealed muscles at least t hree times the size as any boy tributes' had been so far. "Whoooa, hold on there, buckaroo," Caesar said with a low whistle, raising his e yebrows as he took in Thresh's massive build, "You're intimidating me, here." Thresh sat silently, his face emotionless as he stared blankly out into the audi ence. Much like I had imagined, he refused to answer questions in detail, someti mes not answering them at all. I silently started thinking about how if I had any money, I would sponsor Thresh myself. We all looked like insects compared to him, just waiting to be squashed under his feet. My thoughts were interrupted by the buzzer suddenly reverberating off of my eard rums and echoing at the back of my skull, sending my pulse into a frenzy as I wh irled my head around to glance to the side in a panic, just in time to see Thres h easing himself back into the chair next to Rue. It was my turn. "I've been looking forward to interviewing you, Katniss dear," Caesar chimed, ca tching my attention as he attempted to beckon me forward with his whitened smile . My heart beat wildly against my ribcage as I sent a frantic look towards Gale. H e blinked confusedly at me before letting the corners of his mouth curl into a s light grin and whispering, "You'll outshine everyone," repeating his words from dinner the night before in a tender voice. I couldn't stop the grin that had spread across my lips after that, and the came ras caught it with ease. It was as if all the panic that had consumed me just mo ments before was lifted away the moment my eyes locked with Gale's, as if he was the one thing keeping me from running off the stage in fright. His grin widened as my trembles ceased, making him tighten his grip on my hand encouragingly. "I

know you will." The audience erupted with cheers as the cameras began to insistently focus in on us. I could hear Caesar above all of them, his energetic acclamations amplified by the microphone next to him. "I hate to break up this adorable moment, but your time is ticking away, Katniss !" Caesar pressed, tapping his pale wrist as if a watch was wrapped around it. I pursed my lips, suddenly finding it very difficult to tear my gaze away from Ga le's ashen irises. It was Clove's loud scoff that snapped me out of my daze, cau sing me to begrudgingly get up from my chair and take a step towards Caesar, my hand leaving Gale's for the first time since the interviews began. As I walked, the gems on my dress caught the light shining on the stage and bega n to reflect it, making fire lick up my hips in swirls. The shoes followed suit, intensifying the illusion alongside with the flame-like fabric snaking around m y thighs. I caught sight of myself on one of the big screens, and had trouble ta king my eyes away from the dress as I sat myself down. All attention went to Cinna after that, the crowd loudly applauding in adoration as the cameras hungrily gobbled up his image. His lips tightened into a goodnat ured smile before he pointed the cameras back towards the stage almost exasperat edly. "Someone! Call an ambulance! I think my heart just stopped!" Caesar called out, theatrically clawing at his chest. I let out a nervous laugh before sneaking a g lance back down my dress. Even when I was sitting still, it was as if glittering flames were spiraling around my torso, consuming my hips in an almost hypnotizi ng way. "But in all seriousness, Katniss, you look stunning," Caesar countered, craning his neck to look at Gale, "Let's hope your boyfriend isn't as protective as you, because it's safe to say that all eyes are on you tonight!" All the cameras zoomed in on Gale, making him stiffen as he stubbornly diverted his gaze to the floor. Capitol women swooned in their seats the moment they had laid eyes on him, and he furrowed his eyebrows in an attempt to ignore it, hidin g the annoyance that followed shortly after. The cinematographers focused their cameras back on me, gathering that they weren't going to get much of a reaction from him. I continued to laugh nervously, hoping that the anxiousness I felt in my chest w asn't showing on my face. Caesar quickly took hold of the conversation before it could become strained, changing the subject to the opening ceremonies. "My hear t stopped when I saw that costume, too. What did you think about it?" I darted my gaze to Cinna, who was immeasurably easier to find than Haymitch. He looked back at me intently with his gold-flecked eyes before arching one of his delicate brows. I swallowed hard before saying, "You mean after I knew I wasn't going to be burned alive?" The audience roared in laughter, and so did Caesar. Cinna looked back at me with a warm smile, as if he was encouraging me, which made guilt suddenly well up in my chest. "But really, it was beautiful. He's a genius, and I'm really thankful for everything he's done," I amended. Caesar nodded his head quickly in response before continuing with his string of questions. "I'm sure any of us would be a little scared of a costume like that. How did you persuade yourself to go through with it?"

Haymitch's gaze felt like it was burning into my side, and I darted my attention towards him almost irritably, only to be met by eyes that seemed to be filled w ith exclamations of impatience. I quickly realized that I was supposed to be ste ering the conversation towards Gale, not Cinna's designs. Holding back an exasperated sigh, I answered, "I knew Gale would be there to pul l that cape off of me if it started to do any damage, and I would so the same fo r him. That helped us both go through with it." This sparked the crowd's interest, but Haymitch still wasn't satisfied. Effie sa t next to him quizzically as he and I shot frowns at each other, something I was glad about the cameras not catching. "Oh really? That brings me to the topic I was most excited about covering with y ou," Caesar mused, directing his smile to the audience as if he was giving them a present. I exhaled sharply before biting my lower lip, preparing myself. Caesar's smile widened to the point where his shining back teeth were showing, a nd I had to resist the urge to shrink back into the seat I was in. "Do you know how rare it is to have volunteers in District 12? It's absolutely amazing to hav e both of the tributes from there be volunteers this year," he stressed, using h is hands to demonstrate how unthinkable it was, "What caused you to volunteer? A nd do you have any idea what caused Gale do the same?" I felt my eyes widen in Caesar's direction as I thought back to the day of the r eapings, to Prim's color-drained face, to Gale's uncharacteristic tears dampenin g my hair. I pressed my lips together as I frustratedly let my gaze wander over to Haymitch in search of another lifesaving suggestion, but his eyes only offere d a blank stare. I let out a shaky breath before unconsciously clenching my fist s together on my lap. "She's only twelve," I finally muttered, barely audible. The circle had gotten so unsettlingly quiet after that that if somebody had drop ped a pin, the sound of it ricocheting off the cement would've been heard clearl y. "Who?" Caesar pressed, noticing that he hit a soft spot. No. No, I'm not telling you. I'm not going to let all of Panem know about her. M y throat constricted as I tried to force words out. Anything, even a blatant lie would be better than absolute silence. I felt trembles shake my torso as my gaz e instinctively drifted towards Gale, who was looking back at me with uneasy eye s. I knew that I couldn't tell Caesar, and I absolutely couldn't tell the Capitol c itizens surrounded around the stage. Maybe I couldn't even tell Haymitch, Cinna or Effie. But I could, without a doubt, tell my best friend. "Her name is Prim," I started, locking my eyes on Gale's silver ones and forcing myself to drone out everything else, "She's the most precious, genuine, and rad iant person I have ever known. And that's why I couldn't let her be reaped." I was only slightly aware of the distant clapping coming from the audience as I focused all of my attention on Gale. His tortured look had evolved into a warm o ne, and his claps echoed the loudest inside my head. "Do you have any idea why he volunteered right after you did?" Caesar asked sudd enly, his voice just barely succeeding in rousing me as he gestured insistently towards the back of the stage.

I pursed my lips, a breath getting caught in my throat. "Because," I started, on ly to have it come out strained as my eyes diverted back to Gale's in a frantic search for refuge. His gray irises looked back at me expectantly, and words were suddenly flowing out of my mouth without my permission. "Because he didn't want me to go through this alone. Ever since our fathers died in the same mining accident, we have helped each other through everything, whet her it be our aiming skills or our starving families." I watched as Gale's harde ned features gradually softened at my words, and I involuntarily flashed him a h eartfelt smile. "Because we simply need each other." The sound of the buzzer went off around the circle, instantly making it seem as if a weight had been lifted from my chest. I sucked in a sharp breath before slo wly registering the blasting sound of my applause, making my eyes sweep over the individual faces of the spectators. I was surprised by the large amount of tear s streaming down their hysterical, slightly inspired faces. "Best of luck to you, Katniss Everdeen, tribute from District 12," Caesar whispe red under his breath and away from the microphone, reaching his hand out and giv ing my forearm a comforting squeeze. It was almost troubling to see his face wit hout his contorted smile and to hear his voice drop down to a normal octave. I f lashed him a forced grin before heading back to my chair, the applause carrying on even after I was seated. "Let's wrap this up, Gale!" Caesar yelled, his voice snapped back into his usual , exaggerated timbre. My eyes darted over to Gale, only to find that he was already staring back at me . "Wish me luck, Catnip." And just like that, he was gone, already off to the center of the stage. It was as if dozens of miles were suddenly put between us as he seated himself into the armchair, giving the audience a goodnatured wave and sending most of the female s into giddy fits of giggles. His applause was as loud as my closing one had bee n, amplified by women shouting out loving remarks. I was too dazed by what had come out of my mouth during my interview to even car e. It was as if I had suddenly gone into a completely different mindset, which w as triggered only by a single look in Gale's direction. My eyes swept over the audience again, almost unconsciously, only to have my gaz e land on Haymitch. He wasn't paying attention to Gale, and instead shooting me almost teasing looks. I was about to question them, but my thoughts were stopped dead in their tracks as realization suddenly flooded my brain. In a few minutes time, Gale's lips would be on mine. I resisted the urge to squirm in my seat as this thought echoed in my brain and rang in my ears. It was almost funny how the audience was listening intently to his interview while being completely oblivious to the fact that he was just buil ding up to where he could glide over to me and sweep me into what was supposed t o be a jaw-dropping kiss. I pursed my lips and forced myself to focus, hoping th at my expression didn't entirely give it away. "...Gale, huh? Isn't that some type of storm?" Caesar asked, twisting his mouth into his signature smile.

"Isn't caesar some type of salad?" Gale countered. He was holding up his arrogan t angle well, and judging from the audience's reaction, Haymitch's plans of it b eing charming had worked. The interviewer laughed along with the crowd, making me almost slip into another stupor before he shot his next question. "I've been meaning to ask you to elabo rate on what your girlfriend was saying before her interview ended." Gale's eyes glinteda glint very similar to the one that appeared whenever an anima l had an opening for him to shoot at. "She put it really well, I think. It's no exaggeration to say that we need each other." "So, it's safe to say that you love her?" Caesar pushed, leaving the spectators in a sea of anticipation. My knees had begun to tremble again, and I was suddenl y even more grateful for the chair beneath me. "Yes," Gale said without hesitation. Even though I knew it was all just an act p repared by our two crafty mentors, his single-syllable word was enough to leave me even more shaken than I already was. My attention immediately darted towards the audience, expecting the females to begin glaring at me, but they were instea d letting out squeaky sounds of delighted approval. "How much?" Caesar said in an almost hushed voice, pushing the envelope even fur ther. This was it. My heart leaped into my throat as I forced my body to stay still. I hadn't expected for this moment to come so soon; it felt like only seconds had passed after my interview had ended. I hesitantly raised my eyes to peer at the center of the stage, but instead foun d Gale mere inches away from me. I had forgotten just how silent he was. Slowly, Gale lowered his head so that he was eye-level with me, and he was rewar ded with a catch in my breathing. The corner of his mouth quirked as he looked d own at me, his expression dimmed to something I had never seen beforea sleepy, alm ost passionate light buried in his smoky eyes. He let his fingers lightly trail themselves down my cheek to my lips, outlining the shape of them with utmost car e. I gulped in an attempt to calm my pulse, and let my eyes dart to the side to cat ch sight of one of the large screens around the City Circle. The makeup covering my cheeks made my otherwise beet red blush glow into a subtle pink; Cinna must have thought ahead. Momentary shots of the dumbfounded crowd were also shown on the screen, and they looked as if they could hardly believe their eyes. That cou ld go for Caesar, too, who was practically hung over the back of his chair as he tried to decipher Gale's actions. "Close your eyes, Catnip," Gale breathed, his cool breath scattering across my f ace in a way that sent shivers through my nerves, shivers that made my previous trembles spread throughout my entire body. I obeyed, quickly snapping my eyes sh ut and blinding myself to the entire scene around me. First, his lips had only touched mine lightly, as if he had decided against it a t the last moment, but it was almost immediately followed by more force. A rushi ng sound filled my ears, like beating wings, as I instinctively wrapped my arms around his neck to pull him closer. He let out a muffled sound of surprise, but it was lost against my mouth. Gale's lips tensed for a second, but softened quickly against mine as he respond ed to my sudden forcefulness, cupping my cheek tenderly in his palm and raising

my face to meet his more conveniently. I was only slightly aware of the audience letting out tearful acclamations, thei r encouraging cheers edged with discomfort as we continued much longer than was necessary with our kiss. "Yuck," Clove gagged, making me break apart from Gale to peer at her. His breath was suddenly rapid, as if he had just come back from running a mile. "Finally! They stop going at it on public television!" the District 2 girl conti nued, regarding my glare with disgust. Caesar shot her a look of protest, but sh e silenced him with a piercing scowl. "Honestly. I don't understand why everyone is blubbering about how cute they are. They're both just going to end up dying in the games, anyway." Chapter 12 "One by one, you'll start to fall. Before night's over, I'll get you all." -Unknown Part II: "The Games" The silence that followed Clove's outburst was unsettling. She sat stiffly and cross-legged in her chair, crinkling her nose and glaring to the side in a way that made her seem like a three-year-old who had just finishe d with their tantrum. Everyone in the crowd's gazes grew blank as their once liv ely expressions became tormented, their surgically altered irises flashing with inner affliction as they let the fact that the couple in front of them was going to be sent off to their death in less than twenty-four hours sink in. Good, I thought harshly, Maybe now they'll realize how cruel the games really ar e. The buzzer finally sounded, the loud hum of it almost ear-piercing in the smothe ring silence. Then, as if awakened from their temporarily guilt-ridden states, t he audience began to whip their heads around to look at one another while lettin g out exclamations of "How tragic!" They proceeded to casually make conversation about who they thought was going to outlive the other, their voices carrying a certain tinge of something that sent surges of chills through my torsoa careless, almost eager note in their words, as if they were talking about some mindless drama on one of their Capitol televisi on networks. I felt a gawk twist my features as I let my eyes sway across the individual face s in the crowd, only to be met by superficial tears and the occasional spirited grin. I hadn't realized that Gale's warm palm was still pressed against my cheek until he swiped it away, making a move to shoot the spectators a sharp glare, o nly to be stopped when I frantically grabbed after the sleeve of his black dress shirt. "Well!" Caesar called impatiently out into the microphone, silencing the disorde r around him, "That was technically against the rules, since Katniss Everdeen ha d already used up all of her airtime, but I think we can let it slide! What a gr eat way to conclude this year's interviews!"

I exasperatedly looked up and locked gazes with Gale, who had his eyebrows crink led sternly together as he stared down at me with stormy eyes, making it apparen t that he was now struggling with the tedious task of ignoring the crowd's ignor ance. My eyes widened as I began to decipher the cooped-up emotions now rising to the surface in his ashen irises, making everything that had happened moments before seem to flood into my brain. I became aware of the faint tingle around my mouth, and unconsciously let my gaze wander down to Gale's lips, making my ears ring. He straightened himself up, and I was suddenly overcome by a nagging urge to wra p my arms around his neck and bring him back down to eye-level again. The anthem abruptly began to ring around the City Circle, snapping me out of my daze and causing me to scramble to my feet out of required respect. While the ot her tributes were a good distance apart, Gale and I stood closely together, whic h was regarded by the cameras as every screen around the circle was dominated by a shot of us. Poor, tragic us, who apparently would just make this year's games more interesting, according to the empty cries coming from the audience. I bega n to silently seethe. Once the anthem was over, all the tributes seemed to move off of the stage in a single wave, their backs arched in exhaustion. I watched as Cato insistently tri ed to comfort Clove, but she swatted him away as if he was just an unwanted fly. I pursed my lips together before letting my eyes drift over to Gale, who respond ed by moving closer to me and whispering fervently in my ear. "Don't let it both er you. It's not surprising that these people are shallow enough to think..." Hi s sentence drifted off as he fixedly clenched his jaw together. A buzzing sound fluttered in my ears ter up every ounce of self-control I e line of other tributes back in the out yourself. I'm fine," I lied, the ice come out strained. at the sound of his voice, and I had to mus had to just tear my gaze away and follow th direction of the Training Center. "Worry ab tightened muscles in my throat making my vo

I turned away, and Gale responded by taking my hand into hisa gesture that was usu ally natural but had nonetheless succeeded in sending my pulse into a flurryand we proceeded to step off of the stage and into the crowd. I didn't even bother to look for our mentors or stylists in the now chaotic sea of people, deciding that it was next to impossible to spot them over the various heads blocking my view of the place. Everyone seemed to part and stagger out of the way for Gale and I, and some of t he more exuberant individuals went as far as to call out our names and give us w ords of praise for our interviews. Some even eagerly pointed out the tears strea ming down their faces, which I assumed was supposed to be an act of empathy, but it only made me feel more uncomfortable than I already was. I could never understand why citizens of the Capitol let tears flood their eyes if they didn't genuinely feel heartache. Maybe it was because it never showed it self as an obstacle in their almost perfect lives; after all, the biggest proble m they probably ever had had to face was their makeup clumping. My hands knotted together into tight fists at this thought, and Gale had the goo d grace to not pull away from my sudden death grip on his hand. He instead gave me a curious sideways glance, his smoky eyes intently studying my expression as we finally broke out of the crowd and into the Training Center. Just as we had taken our first steps into the building, the elevator at the far side of the room had begun to shut closed with most of the other tributes in it.

I caught a glance of Rue through the thin slit of the doors diving in an effort to hold it open for us, but Cato had swept her away before she could even take two steps on her delicate toes. Gale let out a strained groan before leading me over to the now closed doors of the elevator and jabbing an impatient finger on the up button next to it. "Guess we'll have to wait for the next one," he said breathily before lowering his gaz e down to me again, his silver eyes lidded and thoughtful. I bit my lower lip before absently nodding in response, listening to the distant squeaking the elevator made as it swept its way to various Districts' floors wi thout us. My silence must have set Gale on edge, because he inched himself closer before g iving my arm a gentle nudge. "I'm kind of glad we didn't have to go in the same elevator as them, anyway," he murmured, his almost inaudible voice sending light shivers down my spine and making me hastily turn my head away. I took in a shar p breath, the air icy against my tensed lips, before Gale let out a quiet sigh. "C'mon, Catnip. What's wrong?" The corners of my mouth curled downward before I involuntarily let my gaze wande r to Gale again, only to have my heart do a purposeless somersault inside my tau t chest. His dark hair had curled slightly at the ends in response to the slight humidity in the evening air, brushing lightly against the nape of his neck and framing his slitted eyes. "Nothing," I responded shakily, quickly adverting my g aze to the closed elevator doors in front of us. "The kiss wasn't that bad, was it?" Gale mused, making a breath catch in my thro at and sending me into a fit of choked coughs. The corner of his mouth quirked i nto an amused grin. I was immediately filled with a sudden rush of relief when a faint ding sounded from above, signifying that the elevator had made its way down its shaft again. The doors slid open, and I stepped into the dimly lit compartment with a slight sense of triumph. Gale ambled in after me before pressing a finger to the 12 but ton and having the doors shift closed behind him. "You didn't answer me," he pushed, his grin widening against his tanned cheeks. He had scooted much closer than was necessary to me, making my breaths uneven. "It was just thata kiss," I countered quickly, a slight pout apparent in my voice, "A last-ditch effort to get us sponsors." "That can't be all that was to you," Gale continued, unaffected, "I definitely f elt somethinga spark, even. I know you did, too." "Don't," I huffed, narrowing my gaze stubbornly in front of me. It felt as if th e elevator was unhurriedly crawling its way upward, making my chest knot up impa tiently. Gale only let a smirk tug at the sides of his mouth in response. "Before tonight , I've been trying to imagine what it would be like to kiss you, and..." His voi ce was suddenly softened into something that made my cheeks heat up uneasily, "I t was nothing like I expected." "You do know that we're going into the arena tomorrow, right?" I demanded, my vo ice coming out much more squeaky than I had intended. "Which makes this all the more important," Gale stated in a tender tone, somethi ng that was unfamiliar and almost alien compared to the hushed commands I was us

ed to hearing during hunting in the woods. "People like you are hard to come by, Catnip. In a way, you're precious," he murmured, his voice dropped to just abov e a whisper as he absently brushed a stray hair out of my face and behind my ear , "I'm going to do whatever it takes to protect you in the arena. You can count on that." "Stop," I muttered, a pleading edge in my voice. His touch was electrifying agai nst my cheek, making trembles shoot their way up my torso as I desperately tried to advert my attention elsewhere. "Okay, I'm done," he responded almost instantly afterwards, scooting himself awa y just in time for the elevator to open and reveal the District 12 floor. "That' s all." The cool air that had hit my side after he had inched himself away gave me a sli ght start, making me whirl my head in Gale's direction almost uncontrollably. He flashed me a strained grin in response, making my knees buckle slightly, before he proceeded to turn away and step out of the elevator. "Wait!" I called out, feeling like a helpless child rushing after him, "II will... " I exhaled sharply before forcing a determined mask across my features, "Same w ith me. I'm protecting you. And you can count on it, too." A smile broke out across Gale's lips, not forced like the grin he had given me a few moments ago, before he stuffed his hands into his pockets and gestured towa rd the entrance of the roof. "Do me a favor?" "Sing?" "Yes, sing. I'm sure it won't be that painful for you, right?" "But... Why?" "Because." Gale had led me onto the roof, the numerous flower beds and clamorous wind chime s now familiar to both of us. He leaned onto the railing, putting me slightly on edge as I remembered how the electric field around the place had singed an acor n to the point where it was steaming. "Because it's my last wish before we're se nt into the arena. Is it really too much to ask?" he said playfully, the cool ni ght wind tousling his raven hair against his moonlit face. "That's a lame last wish," I mumbled under my breath, shifting my weight onto th e railing, but being more mindful than Gale of the electric field. "I think it's a great last wish," he responded almost absently, his ashen eyes l ocked on the Capitol buildings below us, now lit up with various street lamps, " Besides, in all the years that we've known each other, you've never sang to me. And after your mother told me about what a magnificent voice you have, I feel a little cheated." He let out a light chuckle before letting his gaze sweep over i n my direction. I pursed my lips together uneasily, silently noting that the bright lights from the city washed out the stars I was so used to seeing in the night sky. Singing was something that I used to do daily with my father before he died, one of the peculiar things that we bonded over that set us apart from all the other children and their fathers in my classes. He had a voice that made every living thing within hearing distance stop in their tracks and listen, a voice that I w ill never in my life live up to. After he died, I couldn't bring myself to let a

nother tune escape from my lips. It was all just too painful. "Well, now I know that you have high expectations," I muttered, feeling my eyes become dull as I forced the thoughts of my father to the back of my mind, "I'll probably end up disappointing you." "You can never disappoint me, Catnip," Gale said, a note of disbelief in his ton e, "Not even if you tried." I involuntarily felt my gaze sway over to him, only to have my I bit my lower lip, feeling the memories of my father perched xt to numerous mockingjays rise to the surface in my mind, but ling the pain that usually gripped my heart at the presence of eyes lock on his. up on branches ne curiously not fee them.

If anyone was going to be able to make me utter out another song, it would be Ga le. After all that he's done, who am I to refuse such a simple request? Without another thought, I snapped my eyes shut and began to let the words flow out from my lips, clenching my hands onto the railing as the melody of the first song that found it's way to my mouth filled the air. "You, you used to have all the answers. And you, you still have them too. And we, we live half in the day time. And we, we live half at night." I let my eyes slit open and nervously dart to the side, only to see Gale gazing at me with his chin rested in his palm, his eyes speculative and his lips stretc hed into a warm grin. I continued a little louder, and his smile widened tentati vely across his features. "When I find myself by the sea, In another's company by the sea, Want to go out to the pier, Gonna dive and have no fear, Because you... You just know." I gulped in an effort to keep my voice from wavering before choking out the last words, suddenly feeling as if a massive weight was posed on my shoulders. "You just do." Slowly, I inhaled deeply and pressed my lips firmly together, suddenly rememberi ng that my father would whisper that song to me whenever I felt lonely, which wa s quite often considering that I didn't have that many friends growing up. And n ow, I was singing it to my best friend on a roof the night before we were sent t o an arena, where we could be killed in seconds. "That was beautiful, Catnip," Gale murmured, snapping me out of my reverie, "Tha nk you. That was exactly what I needed." My eyes darted almost frantically over to him, and I was startled by the sudden tears that were blurring my vision. I hastily made a move to hide them, but Gale had beaten me to it by reaching out a gentle hand and carefully wiping them awa y with his thumb. "Wh" I started, but was immediately interrupted when he had pulled me closer into his chest, enveloping me in his warm arms and instantly making me melt into plia ncy.

"I won't ever," he whispered into my hair, barely audible, "let you feel pain ag ain." "Honestly! If you hadn't given such a great performance tonight, I would be busy beating the daylight out of you both!" I tightened my lips in Effie's direction in an effort to give her an apologetic look, but she continued to keep her flaring eyes locked in front of her as she s talked through the hallways on her heeled shoes, the clicks it made against the floor almost succeeding in rattling the walls. "Do you know how long we all wait ed in the dining room? Do you know what we had to let go cold in front of us?" "N" Gale started, only to be cut off when Effie exclaimed, "Cream and rose petal s oup! Do you know how recherch that dish is, even for the Capitol?" I desperately held back the urge to roll my eyes as I kept a steady pace obedien tly behind Effie, who was carrying on with her rant for much longer than was nec essary. To be fair, though, it must have taken her a while to find Gale and I on the roof, since it was a reasonably unexpected place for us to be. "You didn't have to wait for us," Gale muttered, irritation starting to drip int o his tone. "Really? So I would just let you two starve on the night before you go to the ar ena?" Effie countered, a tinge of hysteria apparent in her voice. We rounded a corner and soon found ourselves nearing the dining room entrance, t he sweet fragrance of our dinner immediately filling our noses. Effie wrapped he r slender fingers around the door handle before swinging it open, only to reveal Haymitch and our stylists already almost halfway through their meals. "I told you all to wait until I came back with these two!" Effie exclaimed, clap ping a hand over her horrified mouth and making her words come out muffled. Portia began to quietly chortle to herself. "Sorry, we didn't want everything to go to waste," she stated in a matter-of-fact tone. Haymitch brought his bowl of soup to his mouth before loudly slurping it down in a clear effort to aggravate Effie even further. After our bowls were scraped clean, we all made our way to the sitting room to w atch the replays of the interviews. Haymitch slouched lazily into the cushions o f a large white couch next to Gale and I, and across from us sat our two stylist s and a very vexed Effie. We had almost tuned in late, and by the time Clove was shown on the screen with her head held up in confidence, I silently wished that we did. My exclamations t oward her from the back of the stage seemed alien, much too girlish to be me, an d yet I couldn't seem to shrug off the feeling of how letting out all my frustra tion toward her in front of millions felt so right. Cato appeared even more threatening in the various views of the cameras, his sco wl etching lines of distaste in the rough skin that framed his shadowy features. Shots of the audience showed that they felt just as intimidated as I had, and t hat had doubtlessly earned him a sizable amount of sponsors. It was difficult to see the faces of the people we were going to be put up again st the next daythe people who all had something to fight for, who all had families who would mourn just as much as mine would. Ice seemed to crystallize in my che st as I wondered which of these tributes were fated to die by my hand.

I silently noted how Gale seemed to be growing gradually more tense as the inter views went on, the muscles in his arms stiffening as his hands periodically clen ched into tight fists. By the time Thresh was shown taking rough steps back to h is chair, he was so frigid that I was tempted to inch closer to him in an act of comfort. When I'm shown making my way towards the center of the stage, the vivid flames c reated by the bright jewels wrapped around my torso caught me by surprise. I abs ently glanced down at the dress, almost forgetting that I was still wearing it. While my beauty was artificial, all created by Cinna's hand, Gale's was natural and shone through even on the television screen. His ashen eyes seemed just as p iercing as they were in person, making the muscles in my throat contract, and hi s entire act was charming and utterly winning of every heart in the crowd. Everything grew silent as Gale smoothly got up from his seat on the television a nd glided over to me, my cheeks instantly glowing to a faint pink as he tentativ ely bent down to eye level. It wasn't until our lips had made contact that the a udience burst out in acclamation, some jumping from the seats with tearful cheer s. The cameras swiveled over to Clove for a split moment, just in time to see he r emerald eyes roll and her slender arms cross over her chest. Her outburst wasn 't shown, which didn't surprise me, and it immediately cut to a shot of us all s tanding for the anthem. It ended with a flourish, and was followed by the Capito l seal wiping the screen blank. Cinna inhaled deeply before getting up from the couch and carefully switching th e television off, making me let out a breath I didn't realize I had been holding . Tomorrow at dawn, Gale and I were going to be woken up by our stylists and pre pared for the arena. "Guess this is goodbye, huh?" Haymitch asked in a gravelly voice, leaning forwar d in his seat and stroking at the peppery stubble that had already began to grow back across his chin. He and Effie won't be seeing us off since they'll be stat ioned at the Headquarters, hopefully busy with our massive amount of sponsors an d attentively working out plans to get Gale and I our parachutes in the arena. "Only for one of us," Gale responded halfheartedly, his lips tugging into a grin , "Katniss will be seeing you again soon enough." I immediately stiffened, feeling my stomach knot up in a way that made it diffic ult to breathe. I opened my mouth to protest, but Haymitch cut me off with a pai ned chuckle, the sound of it grating against my ears. "I've always liked you, boy," he murmured, slapping Gale's shoulder encouragingl y before getting to his feet, his aged legs shaking under his weight. He crossed his arms and raked his glassy eyes over us for one last time. "Stay out of the Cornucopia when the gong sounds. Just get the hell out of there," he demanded wi th a strange softness apparent in his voice, "I know you two could probably hold your own, but I don't want to take any chances." "Anything else?" Gale asked, almost exasperatedly. Haymitch locked gazes with him for an extended amount of time, the pain that had wallowed at the back of his crystal eyes over the years resurfacing. "Stay aliv e," he mumbled through tightened lips. Effie made her way over to us with actual tears apparent in her eyes before grab bing both of our hands between her reedy fingers, her elongated nails digging in to my skin. "Thank you both so much," she whispered in a voice that was absent o

f any theatricality, "Thanks for being the best tributes I have ever had the pri vilege of mentoring. Best of luck to you both." My eyebrows crinkled together as I let her warm words sink in, and I had to swal low down the sudden bundle of emotions welling inside of my chest. "Eff" "I wouldn't be at all surprised if I got promoted to a half-decent district next year!" she cut in, immediately wiping away the moving effect her previous words had had. She dropped our hands before dashing out of the room, apparently overc ome by either our parting or the possibility of her fortune improving in the fut ure. Haymitch stared after her with a ghost of a smile on his lips, his arms still st iffly knotted together over his chest. "Remember what I told you, or so help me, I will go over to that arena just to bash your heads in," he said in a stern to ne. That seemed like a much better fate than fighting to the death among the other t ributes, but I kept quiet and obediently nodded my head. Slowly, the frown wrinkles covering the lower half of Haymitch's face etched dee per into his loose skin. "I really need a drink." It was always slightly satisfying to take a shower after having been made-over a lmost beyond recognition. I stood silently in the warm water as it splashed against my torso, spiraling do wn the drain and taking the golden powder and pale makeup with it. I chose a pin e-scented soap, feeling as if it was fitting, and scrubbed it against my face an d through my hair until all signs of unnatural beauty were erased. My nails were still adorned painted flames, and after considering how long it would take to c hip off, I exasperatedly turned off the water and stepped out into the cool air. What kind of landscape would await Gale and I in the arena? I silently hoped for trees, something that could provide both food and concealment. Usually there we re at least a few, since the Games always resolve too quickly without them, but what if they had added a sort of twist to it? A bone-chilling climate? Flesh-eat ing animals? Dirty, bacteria-filled water? After being dried and moisturized by the countless gadgets around the bathroom, I padded my way over to the closet and chose the plainest sleeping-wear I could find. The clothes appeared within seconds, and after hurriedly throwing them on, I noticed a slight shimmering out of the corner of my eye. My legs almost uncon sciously carried themselves toward it, revealing a circular, golden pin adorned with a mockingjay in the center of it, its wings outstretched and its beak point ed downward. I inwardly gasped before reaching out a hesitant hand to touch its cool surface, almost not believing that it was actually there. A sudden tinge of guilt prodde d against my rib cage as I delicately plucked it up from where it was set down a nd studied the delicate details around the feathers. I had forgotten that it eve n existed. A light knock rattled my door, giving me a slight start before I hesitantly made my way over to it and swung it open, revealing the red-haired Avox. Under her b right eyes were dark smudges from lack of sleep, and they became more apparent a fter her eyebrows flew up in surprise. "Oh," I blurted out, my hand tightening around the mockingjay pin in my hand, "H i?"

The corners of her mouth tightened into a tired smile before she gestured toward the pin, making me bring my hand up and reveal it to her. "This? It's a token f rom my district," I explained quizzically. She nodded her head quickly before unconsciously letting her gaze dart around, a s if she was expecting some type of punishment at any moment. She started to mou th out silent words, revealing the empty space between her teeth where her tongu e used to be. Good luck. I felt my features twist into a slight gawk as she reached up a delicate hand an d wiped away a few stray hairs from my face before turning on her heel and hasti ly setting off, disappearing into the darkness of the hallways. My feet acted as if they were nailed to the floor after that. If I had any chanc e of getting sleep before that encounter, it was all lost now. It took a lot of effort, but I forced my legs to carry themselves over to my bed before I sat myself down on the mattress, the springs underneath the soft canva s cover whining under my weight. I set the mockingjay pin on the nightstand befo re laying myself down and staring at the ceiling with wide, haunted eyes. I wasn't exactly sure how, but I must have eventually drifted off into a weak sl eep because the next time I opened my eyes, my mouth felt thick and my torso fel t stiff. Cinna was sitting patiently at the end of my bed, the golden eyeliner a round his hazel eyes catching the dim morning light streaming in from the window s. "Good morning," he said warmly as I forced myself to sit up, my limbs icy to the touch since I had slept without any sort of cover the night before. "G'morning," I mumbled back, my voice slurred with exhaustion. I sluggishly stro ked a hand through my tangled hair before rubbing the sleep from my eyes. "That mockingjay pin," Cinna started, gesturing towards the nightstand, "I told an Avox to bring it to you last night. She seemed strangely enthusiastic about i t." I felt myself visibly tense at the memory of the red-haired Avox wishing me luck last night, her empty mouth hopelessly mouthing words that would never be adorn ed with her voice again. "Where did you find it?" "On the train. It was on a sweater you wore," he explained, getting to his feet and carefully making his way over to the nightstand to pick the pin up in his sl ender fingers. "It's your token, right?" I nodded my head, the movement slow and barely noticeable. A smile played on Cinna's lips as he closed his hand around the pin. "It was esp ecially difficult to have the review board clear it. They thought it was an unfa ir advantage, as if its little point could do you any good." I forced the corner of my lip to curl upward. "Thank you." Cinna returned my smile without struggle. "Of course, Girl on Fire." He proceeded to give me a simple shift to wear, explaining that the actual prepa rations and dressing will take place in the catacombs underneath the arena itsel f. His voice was filled with disappointment as he added on that he had no part i n designing the arena clothing, and that he hoped they had at least used a flexi

ble, airy fabric. Cinna led me to the roof, and as if he predicted my worries, said that Portia ha d already left with Gale about a half-hour ago. I silently wondered if we were r unning late, and was instantly given a start by a hovercraft materializing above us out of thin air, just like the one that had captured the red-haired Avox tha t day in the woods. A steel ladder dropped down from a rectangular entrance in t he hovercraft, and I grabbed onto it only to suddenly feel like I was frozen in place. Some sort of current ran through my veins, gluing me to the metal surface of the ladder as it lifted me safely inside. A fair woman approached me once I was in the confines of the hovercraft, a syrin ge posed in her abnormally smooth hand. Panic instantly seized my heart, and I d esperately tried to pull myself away from the ladder, only to find that my limbs were securely locked in place. "Don't worry, Katniss Everdeen," the woman started, holding the syringe out in f ront of her and prodding the needle deep into the underside of my right forearm, "This is just a tracker. All the tributes have one." I felt a square-shaped chip lodge itself into my flesh, and once the needle was taken out, the ladder released me. A nauseating feeling instantly rose into my t hroat, making me quietly wretch onto the floor for a few moments before Cinna he lped me back to my feet with a slight look of worry etching his features. "Did that hurt her?" he asked, his usually calm voice risen a couple octaves. "No, I ensure you that we do nothing to harm our tributes before they're in the arena," the woman answered, almost automatically, "she's probably just dealing w ith shock." The woman left Cinna and I alone at the entrance of the hovercraft for a few sho rt moments, giving me time to examine the tracker. It shaped the skin it was und er grotesquely, and shone through my flesh with a sort of faint light. A young male Avox made inst his fair forehead fast had been set out. gulped down as much of nance in the arena. his way into the room, his curled brown hair brushing aga as he led us into a section of the hovercraft where break Despite the lingering feeling of nausea in my stomach, I the food as possible, knowing that I would need the suste

Cinna absently fumbled with the mockingjay pin, moving it between his slender fi ngers as he locked his gaze out the window. We were moving at an amazing speed, the buildings of the city and the trees of the wilderness beyond sailing under u s as we dashed through the air. It wasn't long until these windows were blacked out, blinding us from our surroundings and indicating that we were near the aren a. The hovercraft suddenly lurched to a stop, causing Cinna to inhale sharply and c lose his hand tightly around the mockingjay pin. It was almost strange to see hi m in a state where he wasn't smiling in all directions. We were taken to the ladder again, but this time it lowered us down an almost pi tch-black tube leading into the catacombs underneath the arena, where I would be prepared. These places were called Launch Rooms by the Capitol, but were referr ed to as Stockyards by the districtsplaces where animals were taken for the slaugh ter. Everything was brand-new, not a single speck of dust or fingerprint on any of th e equipment. After all, the Launch Rooms were always used as historical sites, w

here Capitol citizens can plan family visits and even reenact in some of the pas t events of the games, all smiles and laughter. It's a struggle to keep my breakfast down as I quickly bathed in a small shower built in the corner of the room, the water cold and the soap smelling like chemi cals. I absently poked at the tracker, only to find that the flesh around it was sore and that it sent waves of pain all the way up my arm. When I dried myself, Cinna neatly braided my hair down my back and secured it wi th a black piece of string before taking a cardboard package out from underneath some of the equipment and clumsily tearing it open, revealing the arena clothes designed for every tribute this year. He frowned into the contents before begru dgingly helping me into them. The leggings were black and skintight, stopping just below my hips and being sec ured by a thick black leather belt. The shirt was made of the same material, and wrapped securely around my torso like a second layer of skin. A loose jacket ma de of soft fabric went over it, the inside covered with numerous metallic square s used for reflecting heat on cold nights. I frowned at the color, and I could t ell that Cinna was thinking the same thing that I was. The black, good for conce aling things only at night, would make me stand out like a sore thumb during the day. Cinna pulled out a sturdy-looking pair of boots from the package, and my spirits were instantly lifted. Although it sported the same dark color as the rest of t he ensemble, it was made of soft, flexible leather and was not that much differe nt from the ones I favored at home. The soles were easily bent against my feet, making it very good for running. "Let's not forget this," Cinna mumbled, taking the mockingjay pin from his pocke t and attaching it to my shirt, the gold contrasting against the black. "There, you're all set. Move around, tell me if everything fits all right." I began walking around, the boots silent against the cement floor of the Launch Room. Although the material of the clothes was tight against my skin, it was ver y breathy and allowed a lot of movement. "It's fine. Fits perfectly," I stated, stretching my arms in front of me and feeling a slight tinge of pain shoot up my right arm from the tracker. "Good," Cinna said, his smile forced for the first time since I had met him, "I have to admit, they did use the fabric that I would have. You can be very agile in that... But, of course, I would have used earth tones." I glanced down at myself, knowing that the blackness was probably a setback by t he Gamemakers. I silently decided to rub mud on the material later to make it mo re camouflage-friendly. "Anything else? Maybe some more food, perhaps?" Cinna asked. I didn't think I would be able to stomach more food, so I accepted a glass of wa ter instead. I could feel the cool liquid make its way down, soothing my raw thr oat and anxiety-filled chest. It wasn't long until a pleasant female voice sounded through the speakers and st ated that it was time to prepare for launch, the announcement ringing around the Launch Room and echoing, as if it wasn't terrible enough to hear the first time around. Like a child, I grabbed after Cinna's hand and immediately collected comfort fro m it. He led me over to a circular pad on the floor, the rubber squishing beneat

h my boots as I begrudgingly stepped onto it. "Remember everything that Haymitch said," Cinna reminded me, giving my hand a ge ntle squeeze. I meant to nod my head in response, but I only succeeded in wideni ng my eyes. With every passing second, it felt as if my body was growing gradual ly more numb. I could hardly even feel Cinna's warm palm pressed against mine an ymore. "Find water," he continued, sensing my growing anxiety. A glass tube began to sl owly lower itself down onto the launch pad, creaking loudly as it went. "Try to gather everything that you can, you never know what could become handy later!" C inna yelled out, his voice barely audible over the whining of the machinery. Once the tube had lowered itself onto our hands, separating our grips on each ot her and loudly dropping itself to the floor, it instantly felt as if I was suffo cating. My breath fogged up my view of the outside world as it got increasingly more uneven, starbursts dotting my vision as my head grew heavier. I stared blankly out in front of me, frantically wiping away the fog on the glas s and giving Cinna a desperate look. He responded with an almost pained smile be fore tapping a forefinger under his chin. Head up. I gulped, feeling claustrophobic and smothered inside the small imprisonment of the tube. The launch pad under my feet began to slowly rise up, threatening to m ake my trembling knees buckle. It carried me through the ceiling of the Launch R oom, leaving me in complete and utter darkness as it continued to rise up. Get yourself together, I demanded harshly, gulping insistently and making stand tall and firm. The launch pad pushed me out into the daylight, and gs were instantly filled with fresh air, relieving me from the inside. My tung from the sudden brightness, blinding me for a few seconds and making nk in an effort to retrieve my vision. I silently registered the scent of rees and the cool wind whipping my braid over my shoulders. myself my lun eyes s me bli pine t

The speakers around the arena crackled for a moment before the legendary voice o f Claudius Templesmith, the announcer of the games, filled everyone's ears. "Ladies and Gentleman, let the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games begin!" Chapter 13 Get. Yourself. Together. A slight feeling of reassurance wallowed at the back of my mind, reminding me th at all the tributes were given a safe sixty seconds on their platforms to think of a strategy before finally setting off into what could be their instant demise . Although it did soothe my writhing heart, it didn't shake the sudden deadened sensation that pulsed through my torso and snaked through my legs. Claudius Templesmith's eager voice was replaced by an even more offsetting ticki ng noise that rang throughout the arena, signifying that our time of safety was almost over. Adrenaline seemed to burst through my veins at this thought, and I blinked my panic-stricken eyes insistently until I was certain that I could surv ey my surroundings clearly. The first thing that filled my vision was the Cornucopia, a monstrously sized go lden horn that all the tributes were spaced equally away from. The mouth, which towered at a staggering twenty feet, spilled with valuable items that could mean salvation for any of us. These items were strewn across the flat, open stretch of grass-speckled dirt, the quality decreasing the farther away they were from t

he horn. I forced mouthfuls of icy air into my lungs, despite the protests my taut chest made, before darting my eyes away from the Cornucopia and towards the tributes t hat were closest to me. The males from Districts 6 and 8 were posed on the platf orms to my sides, their features contorted with fright as they eyed the thick gr owths of pine trees surrounding the area with desperation. I silently noted that I probably didn't need to worry about them attacking me once the gong rang. My gaze unconsciously swept across the rest of the tributes, the panic that I ha d swallowed moments before rising into my throat again as I realized that Gale w as positioned a wavering six tributes away from me. It only succeeded in increas ing once I registered the look of sheer determination in his stormy eyes, direct ed towards the horn. I followed his gaze, only to see that on top of a pile of blanket rolls was a sh ining silver bow, acquainted by a sheath of arrows that sported the same metalli c color. Almost frantically, I peered over at Gale again, only to see that he wa s readying his legs to dash over to it. My thoughts went into a frenzy as I deci phered what he was planning to do. The ticking noise echoing through the speakers suddenly became unbearably loud a s Cato and Clove caught my vision, their eager eyes darting from me to Gale with pure hatred pooling behind their shadowy irises. Suddenly, their words in the T raining Center carried so much more weight than they had earlier as they echoed in my head. "They're the first ones we kill." The ticking rattled my eardrums, sending waves of pain throughout my skull as ev erything around me began to blur together into one terrible mass. Then, the tick s stopped altogether. For a moment we all stood in complete silence, not even th e wind filling our ears, until the gong finally sounded. The sound of feet slapping against the earth instantly replaced the silence as t ributes ran either into the trees or towards the horn with all the speed they co uld possibly muster. Without thinking, I gave Gale one last glance, only to see that he was leading the way towards the horn with almost soundless grace. My leg s unconsciously began to carry me toward his side. "Oh, no you don't!" Clove's tremulous voice rang from my side, making me whip my head around and narrow my gaze at the set of throwing knives she was in the pro cess of picking up. It was as if an animalistic sense of survival took over in t hat moment, wiping away all traces of fear and replacing them with pure instinct . "Glimmer! Marvel! Take out the ones that ran into the forest!" Cato demanded acr oss the Cornucopia, tailing Gale and swinging unyielding fists at the unfortunat e tributes that were near him, "Clove, you take the girl!" "What do you think I'm doing, numbskull?" Clove hissed back, plucking a knife up from her set and twirling it between her slender fingers. I widened my eyes as I silently took in the icy glare crystallizing behind her emerald irises. I had seen Clove at the knife-throwing station a couple times in the Training Ce nter. She never missed. Without a second thought, I dove towards the item that was closest to me, and al most let out a strained groan when I silently registered that it was just a long , polished wooden stick.

"Ha!" Clove laughed, her voice as sharp as the knives in her hands, "Poor little , defenseless girl. All you can find is that stick?" With a couple clicks of her tongue, she posed the blade between her fingers before whisking it towards me. The weapon whistled through the air before just barely missing my forehead as I lunged out of the way, sticking into the ground just a few feet away from me and trembling in its place. I smirked. Thanks for the knife. Clove must have predicted my actions, because she came rushing over to me before I could even take two steps. There was no time to think before I swung the wood en stick at her head, making it snap as it connected to her cheek. She fell to t he earth, giving me time to dash over to the knife and tear it out of the dirt. "You...!" she spat, venom dripping into her tone as she clapped a hand against h er now reddened cheek, a few slivers of wood stuck into the swelled skin, "Oh, I am going to enjoy cutting you to pieces!" With a sharp breath, I positioned the knife in my hand in an effort to throw it at Clove, but she was up on her feet and in front of me in seconds. She kicked a t my torso, startling me and making me fall to the ground with a muffled yelp. I t only seemed like a split second later that she was on top of me, her thighs se curely locked in place as I struggled underneath her. "You just got a lucky swing," Clove spat before giving me an almost crazed smile . In a final effort, I brought the knife up and sliced it across the meaty part of her shoulder, but her grin didn't even falter before she knocked the now bloo dy blade from my grip. She let her fair fingers brush against the set of knives at her side before she picked out the biggest of them all and hovered it against my throat. "Katniss!" Gale's voice immediately cut through my thoughts, giving Clove a star t as she whirled her head around. Almost instantly afterward, the point of an ar row shot through the same shoulder that I had slashed at, making a nauseating sq uishing sound as it tore through Clove's flesh. I seized the chance to kick her off of me, making her face-plant against the ground and let out a bloodcurdling, agonized scream as the arrow bent against the muscle in her arm. My eyes frantically flittered to Gale before he swiftly helped me to my feet, th e silver bow he had targeted glinting in his hand. "Go!" he demanded, pushing me in the direction of the trees. I made sure that he was following before I grabb ed a knife from Clove's pile and took off, determinedly snatching a bright orang e backpack from the ground along the way. I tried to ignore the countless amount of corpses scattered across the Cornucopi a as I directed all my attention towards the forest in front of me, blood trickl ing down my throat from where Clove had pricked the skin. "Clove!" I heard Cato squawk from behind, a note of hysteria in his tone, only o be answered by unintelligible, gurgling demands from his district partner. A abid sense of danger rose into my throat as I silently registered the sound of he District 2 male's booming footsteps follow Gale and I into the brush of the rees. t r t t

I allowed myself one glance toward our pursuer, only to see that he was seething with pure malice as he readied a spear in his hand. He threw the spear, and I s idestepped out of the way at the last minute, only to feel the tip of the weapon connect to the backpack I was carrying and stick to the trunk of a nearby tree. I heard Gale let out a string of curses under his breath as we were forced to l eave the pack behind.

A wave of relief washed over me as I realized that Cato had only brought one spe ar, but it immediately diminished once I heard his footsteps increase frightenin gly in speed behind us. I gave Gale a panic-stricken sideways glance, and he res ponded by almost exasperatedly stringing an arrow into the bow he was carrying a nd shooting it at Cato, awkwardly running backwards as he aimed. To my horror, Cato dodged the arrow without trouble before choking out an almost demented fit of laughter, as if the chase was succeeding in adding onto his eag erness. Gale's eyebrows crinkled together in frustration as he proceeded to repeatedly s hoot at him, only to just barely swipe the points of the arrows against Cato's f lesh. He let out an extended groan as he gripped what seemed like his last arrow securely in his hand, his knuckles whitening from the force before he suddenly stopped in his tracks. I hadn't even registered Gale's actions before he allowed Cato to reach arms-length distance. I whirled myself around, feeling a scream tangle itself into my vocal cords as I saw Cato twist his features into a frenzied smile. Gale didn't even give him en ough time to raise a fist before he jabbed the arrow he was holding just below t he right side of Cato's collarbone. The District 2 male hissed out a staggering amount of curses before clamping his hands around the arrow, possibly planning to tug it out, but only succeeding in staining his hands with the nauseating amount of blood that was now streaming o ut of his wound. Without thinking, I rushed over to Gale before clutching onto the sleeve of his shirt and lugging him away, adrenaline boosting my speed and making everything p ass by in a blur. My heart was racing in a way that made my breaths come out uneven, and I found i t very difficult to remove my hand from Gale as we darted through the trees. "Are you insane?" Gale and I hadn't dared to slow down until we had put at least a mile's distance between us and where we had left Cato bleeding, and I still couldn't bring myse lf to release my death grip on his shirt. I felt tears sting my eyes as I forced breaths of icy dusk air into my lungs, ra ttling my ribcage with pure panic. "You could've been killed! Twice!" Gale peered down at me with lidded eyes, a mixture of puzzlement and worry pooli ng behind his ashen irises. We had stopped near a clump of willow trees, the dro oping branches and long tresses of flowing leaves concealing us from any nearby disturbances. "What was I supposed to do? Miss another shot? Let Cato get near you?" Gale coun tered, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. It didn't seem to bothe r him that my hand was tangled in the material of his sleeve like I was holding onto it for dear life. "It wasn't only that. What were you doing rushing headfirst Haymitch said for us to get the hell out of there once the was unusually high-pitched and frantic, and I had to force . If anyone was near, I didn't want them to be able to find into the Cornucopia? gong rang!" My voice myself to quiet down us.

Gale let out a quiet sigh, his silver eyes raking over my trembling figure. "Why don't you understand? I did it for you."

My chest flooded with a sort of fluttering feeling, as if it was filled with mil lions of beating wings. "Throwing yourself into danger? How is that doing someth ing for me?" I demanded, a pressure beating against the backside of my eyes and leaving starbursts in my vision. I knew that I was overreacting, but I couldn't seem to be able to swallow down the seemingly permanent panic in my throat. Gale pursed his lips into a stern line before gingerly brushing the backside of his hand against my cheek, which only succeeded in making my trembles more viole nt. "This is the Hunger Games. As long as we're alive, we're throwing ourselves into danger." I gulped and stared at Gale with widened, haunted eyes, wanting to deny his word s but knowing deep down that he was right. There was no way that we could be a h undred percent safe in this arena. I inhaled deeply, feeling my breath sting my raw throat as it slowly soothed by frantic nerves. Gale abruptly placed a gentle finger below my chin and raised my head so that I was facing the sky, making me think that he wanted to meet eyes with me, but he seemed more interested in looking at my throat. "You have a cut," he noted, stud ying the dried blood through slitted eyes. "It's nothing," I mumbled stubbornly, lowering my head and hiding the cut. I had to force back the dread threatening to weigh itself down in the pit of my stoma ch as I remembered that it very well could have meant the end of everything for me. If it wasn't for Gale, I would be on my way home right now, ice cold and in a casket. Gale furrowed his eyebrows at me before quietly groaning to himself. "Once we fi nd a stream, I'm going to clean it out for you. Even if I have to tie you up and sit on you while I'm doing it," he murmured with equal stubbornness. An ear-piercing blast suddenly blared from the sky, the sound thunderous and boo ming. My eyes darted around in confusion before I remembered that each fatality set off a cannon shot in the arena, signifying that a deceased tribute was in th e process of getting picked up by a hovercraft. On the first day in the arena, t he death-rate is usually so high that they don't even fire the cannons until the initial killing at the Cornucopia was over. This cannon was followed by another, and another, until my eardrums were quiveri ng from the clamorous noises. It seemed like hours had passed once everything gr ew quiet again. "Eleven," Gale noted almost absently, "There were eleven cannons." "Thirteen tributes left...including us," I added with a deep breath. The haunting thought of Rue being one of those eleven immediately made h knot up. Maybe she was already limp and strewn across the dirt, bled dangling from the claw of a hovercraft. I swallowed hard and tried to se thoughts to the back of my mind, knowing that my questions would be once the deaths were projected into the night sky. my stomac white and force the answered

Maybe it would even be better if Rue was gone. I knew the second I laid eyes on her that I would become too attached, and that never bodes well in the games. I don't know what I'd do if the horrifying task of killing her was ever posed on my shoulders. "...Is that really all we have?" Gale was peering down at the items we had manag

ed to collect at the Cornucopia, disapproval etching his features. I raised my eyes to look at him before feeling the corners of my mouth curl down ward. "Yeah. Remember how we had to leave the backpack behind?" I mumbled, brush ing a finger across the knife I had snatched from Clove's set while she was writ hing on the dirt. "So, we have a knife, a bow, and a sheath..." Gale's frown deepened, "with no ar rows." "Exactly," I murmured in response before exhaling sharply. Shivers trickled thei r way down my spine in response to the cold night air, making me pull my heat-re flecting jacket closer to my skin. Gale and I had spent about an hour in search of a water source, but had only suc ceeded in finding an abundance of trees. I silently remembered how all I wanted in the arena was a forest for cover, and felt a slight feeling of regret prod my thoughts. "Are you cold?" Gale asked, arching an eyebrow at me before leaning back against the trunk of the willow we were in. We had begrudgingly settled in this tree af ter the darkness of night had fallen, its thick branches and thick cover allurin g. "No," I lied, only to be betrayed by my body sending a fit of shivers through my torso. The corner of Gale's mouth quirked into an amused grin before he opened his arms and gestured for me to get closer to him. "No," I repeated, a harsh edg e in my tone. This only succeeded in widening his smile. "C'mon, I'm toasty warm," he pressed with a light chuckle, "And the last thing w e need is for you to get sick." I frowned, feeling the freezing air bite against my already frigid limbs. "I won 't get sick." "Are you sure about that?" Gale pushed in a persuasive tone, gesturing toward hi mself again. With a sigh, I reluctantly crawled my way over to him, careful to not shake the thick branch we were on. "Only because I really don't want to get sick," I procl aimed before easing myself against Gale's torso, instantly feeling his body heat radiating through his clothes. He wrapped his sturdy arms around me, instantly engulfing me in comforting warmth that soothed my aching nerves from the outside . I resisted the urge to greedily inhale his natural scent of pine as he nuzzled himself closer, succeeding in making my cheeks heat up. "See? Isn't this better?" Gale chimed, a smile apparent in his voice. The anthem suddenly blared from all around us, and I felt Gale's body immediatel y stiffen against mine. I craned my neck to get a better view of the sky, knowin g that the death recap would follow. The haunting thought of Rue being taken out prodded my thoughts again, and was accompanied by thoughts of Cato and Clove as well. The wound Gale had given Cato was surely rough enough to be fatal. I peered through the thick curtain of leaves from the willow and spotted the Cap itol seal floating in the night sky, projected by a hovercraft onto an enormous screen carried by another hovercraft. The screen was big enough to be viewed fro m all over the arena by the tributes who made it through the day. The way they revealed the deaths was disturbingly similar to the way they reveal

ed the training scoresit would sport the same picture, and the number beneath it w as still shining and golden. The only difference was that instead of a score, it had their district number. Back in the districts, full coverage of all the deaths would be shone with each terrible detail zoomed in upon and emphasized. That was decided to be unfair in the arena; it would reveal not only the weapons each tribute had, but the way th ey fought as well. The anthem faded away into silence and the Capitol seal vanished, only to reveal a blank screen for a few agonizing moments. This was quickly replaced by an ima ge of the girl from District 3, her eyes bright and framed by her chestnut, twir led hair. "Clove and Cato survived?" Gale asked breathily, his tone edged with disbelief. He grew even more tense beside me. The girl's picture was wiped away from the screen and an image of the boy from D istrict 4 soon appeared, giving me a slight start. It was very rare that any of the Careers died on the first day. I unconsciously inched closer into Gale's tor so as the image of the boy from District 5 soon filled the empty space of the sc reen, putting me even more on edge as I realized that the fox-faced girl was sti ll on the loose. With a deep breath, I watched as all the tributes from District s 6 and 7 took turns appearing on the screen, their eyes still filled with youth and potential. The boy from 8 replaced them, and then both of the tributes from 9 replaced him. There was still one more to go. My heart seemed to plunge all the way to the gro und as my thoughts were directed to Rue, only to be flooded with a wave of relie f once the screen revealed that it was instead the girl from 10. Her picture van ished and a final view of the Capitol seal accompanied by a short musical flouri sh filled the screen before fading into the darkness, allowing the sounds of the forest to resume. "Clove and Cato survived?" Gale repeated, his voice strained. I swallowed hard before directing my gaze at the ground below us, hoping that we wouldn't somehow fall during the night. "They're Careers. Probably got some typ e of medicine and bandages from the Cornucopia," I murmured before exhaling shar ply. I was hoping that I could use the plants around us if we ever needed anythi ng medicinal, but I couldn't even place a name to most of them. Gale stayed silent, but his grip got increasingly more tight and protective arou nd my torso. The only thing keeping me grounded as we sat silently in the willow tree was the gentle sound of Gale breathing. I pressed my ear against his chest in an effort to discreetly amplify the noise, which I hoped would drain out the rest of the world around me. "Go to sleep. I'll keep watch," Gale murmured into my hair, his voice lined with both exhaustion and uneasiness. "I can't," I mumbled back before inhaling deeply. It was as if my eyes were glue d open by the fear of someone catching us in the middle of the night. Careers we re always known to go around in a pack, picking off the rest of the tributes whe n they were in their weariest, weakest states. Gale chuckled, the sound pained and tired. "Me neither."

Suddenly, the pounding of feet against the dirt caught my ear, making me stiffen and squint through the leaves of the tree. Gale heard it too, and he turned his head like a dog would have once it caught a scent. "Marvel, lets slow down. It's not like we're going to find anyone soon." I instantly recognized this voice as Glimmer's, making me turn to stone against Gale's torso. I didn't dare to even breathe when I spotted the blinding light of several flashlights beaming into the treetops, making half-asleep birds clumsil y scatter into the night sky. I heard Marvel let out a strained sigh, which was followed by the piercing noise of Glimmer and who I assumed to be the girl from District 4 laughing. "The longer I get to stay away from the District 2 crazies, the better," Marvel muttered, swishing his flashlight uncomfortably close to the willow tree Gale an d I were in. "Yeah, did you see Clove after she got hit by that arrow? She was trying to tear it out herself," the girl from District 4 exclaimed, her high-pitched voice gra ting against my eardrums, "She lashed out at my district partner when he tried t o help her. Ended up slicing his throat open." Glimmer made a disgusted noise before running a delicate hand through her yellow locks of hair. "I knew she was going to be one of those tributes," she said, he r poshness apparent even in her tone, "right from the start." "Cato has been talking about all the ways he's going to kill the tributes from D istrict 12 ever since he saw them in the gym," Marvel added, leaning himself aga inst a tree, "How he's going to cut them to bits, pierce their skulls with spear s, slice their limbs off, make sure they're alive through it...blah, blah, blah. " "What's so special about the two from 12? As far as I'm concerned, they're just ordinary trash from the slums who don't deserve all the effort it takes to kill slowly," Glimmer declared, pointing her nose in the air. I felt Gale tense besid e me, the anger behind his ashen irises almost glowing through the darkness. Marvel let out another sigh, and Glimmer responded by rolling her emerald eyes. "Well, whatever. At least it'll give the audience a good show." Chapter 14 "You know what?" asked the girl from District 4, shaking her long chestnut hair out of her eyes, "I don't even think Cato and Clove are up for the job of killin g those two District 12 rats." Glimmer lowered her jade-colored eyes until her full eyelashes cast shadows agai nst her porcelain cheeks. "I think you're right," she agreed, "They don't look s o good right now, especially with those wounds bloodying up everything at the Co rnucopia." A disgusted croak sounded from the back of her throat. Marvel tentatively tightened his fingers around the flashlight in his grip befor e crinkling his heavy eyebrows together. "Don't underestimate them." I felt a sudden jolt surge through my veins as Gale abruptly shifted under me, h is hand quietly patting the branch we were on in a doubtless search for our smal l pile of supplies. My body tensed against his as I continued to squint through the brush of the willow, struggling to study the Careers through the dawning lig ht. They all seemed to be armed with weapons cloaked in sheaths or covers, the d

eadly items dangling inches away from their bloodthirsty hands. What damage woul d a knife and an arrow-less bow do against them? In one fluid movement, I clapped my d in hopes that it would discourage s. He responded by letting his eyes with something that startled mea ming affection. hand against Gale's and hastily shook my hea him from challenging the Career pack below u rake over to mine, his stormy irises flooded mixture of both the need to protect and overwhel

I unintentionally lost my grip on the branch we were on for a split second, the leaves around us rustling once I had snapped out of my reverie and steadied myse lf. Marvel's eyes swept across the willow Gale and I were in, the light of his flash light swaying across the foliage and sending my heart into my throat. I gritted my teeth and unconsciously scooted myself closer to the safety of Gale's torso, expecting Marvel to alert the other Careers of his discovery immediately. Instea d, I slowly registered with perplexed eyes that the District 1 male had turned i n the opposite direction, his hand brushing lightly against the wooden shaft of the spear jammed into his belt. "We should probably get going. Cato wouldn't be pleased if we came back to the C ornucopia with no blood on our hands," Marvel muttered, his feet shuffling again st the dirt as he gestured for the rest of the Career pack to follow dismissivel y. Glimmer and the girl from District 4 obeyed without question, their flashligh ts beaming against the treetops around them as they hurried away. I felt my eyes widen into blank discs as I stared into nothing, my pulse beating wildly against my ribcage. Had Marvel really caught sight of Gale and I, or was that just my imagination? And if he did, why would he turn away, when he obviou sly had the upper hand with all the weapons at the Careers' disposal? "Catnip," Gale whispered, his voice cutting into my thoughts and his warm breath scattering across my face as he gingerly shook my shoulder, "Let's go. The sun is rising." I blinked my eyes in an effort to clear my vision before peering at the horizon, traces of sun rays mixing into what was once the night sky and leaving it a mix ture of contrasting colors. With a sharp breath, I urged my legs to swing themse lves over the branch, but my limbs seemed to be locked in place. Whether it was from the shock of Marvel's actions, the cold morning air, or how close Gale was, I didn't know. "Catnip," Gale pushed, raising his hand from my shoulder and to my cheek, his to uch as light as a feather against my skin. Throughout the night, the cameras were probably struggling to get a good shot of us up in the willow, competing against both the coverage of the leaves and the darkness. Gale and I were both guaranteed a close-up as soon as we emerged from the tresses of the tree, especially after escaping from that encounter with the Career pack. We'd better make it so that our appearance on the television screen s across the country gave the audience a reason to sponsor us. As soon as this thought left me, I felt Gale's sturdy hands slide themselves to the small of my back and below the undersides of my knees before he swooped me i nto the security of his arms, bridal style. Before I had the chance to react, he jumped from the tree with utmost grace and landed on his feet with a muffled pl op, an amused grin plastered to his features as he studied my aghast expression. He carefully set me back on my feet, and I realized with great clumsiness that I

had grappled at Gale's broad shoulders in the seconds that we were falling back to the ground, making it so that my arms were wrapped securely around his neck. I unhinged myself immediately, only to stumble backwards awkwardly from the sud den weight on my feet, making Gale have to gently grab my hips to steady me. The re was no doubt that the blush pooling in my cheeks was caught effortlessly by t he cameras situated around us, lit up by the dawn light. That was definitely not how I wanted my close-up to go. I felt the redness in my cheeks deepen as I darted my gaze to the ground. Gale snorted. "After you," he said, the corner of his mouth quirking as he gestu red for me to walk in front of him. I frowned before hesitantly complying, which only made Gale's grin widen. The forest was quiet. In fact, it was much too quiet for me to let my guard down . Apart from the occasional rustle a rabbit made as it darted into the bushes, i t seemed as if Gale and I were left alone in the trees. This sense of solitude w as only an illusion, though; the cameras were doubtlessly following our every st ep, unless the death of a tribute was beckoning them elsewhere. The sound of Gale hissing out a curse caught my ear, and I curiously craned my n eck to give him a quizzical glance. "Another one got away," he mumbled, disappointment apparent in his tone as he tw isted the small throwing knife between his fingers. I instantly knew that he was talking about a rabbit, and felt the corner of my mouth curl downwards into a p out. "If I just had something to make into a snare, we'd be having a feast by now," G ale added stubbornly before letting his gaze wander to the treetops. I looked down into the empty silver sheath in my hands, the bow wrapped around m y torso seemingly increasing in weight as time went on. Not only did we have no food, but the dryness in my throat was a constant reminder that we had no source of water, either. It wasn't rare that tributes went through the first few days in a haze of agoniz ing thirst and hunger. In fact, the Capitol viewed it as the second most amusing thing to watch as we all fought desperately for our lives; the first, of course , being bloody showdowns. I swallowed hard in an attempt to moisten my gullet, but only felt the roughness of my tongue rub against the back of my throat. The muscles in my stomach had b egun to cramp, and the pulsating pain in my head only became more apparent as th e sun made its way to the center of its arch across the sky, beaming through the canopy of the trees. "Catnip!" Gale suddenly called out, the cheerfulness in his tone giving me a sta rt. "I'm a genius!" I arched an eyebrow at him before securing the sheath across my shoulder. "Oh, r eally?" Gale nodded his head, the smile across his features unwavering. "I'm about to ma ke you the best wooden arrows you've ever had the pleasure of shooting." My eyebrows flew up at this news before I raised my head to peer at the tall, ag ed pine trees surrounding the clearing we were situated in, their straight branc hes perfect for fashioning arrows.

"You're a genius!" I chimed d hinging my hands onto the y palms as I hoisted myself off the slender branches as

without thinking, throwing the sheath to the dirt an trunk of a nearby pine. Its bark was rough against m upwards, choosing my footing carefully and breaking I went.

Gale let out a quick chuckle, shielding his eyes from the afternoon sun as he wa tched me scurry up the trunk. "I've always been suspicious of you being part squ irrel, and this just settles it," he yelled up at me in a teasing tone, a smile apparent in his voice. By the time I made it back to the ground, a handful of sticks clasped tightly in my free hand, Gale had already went to work on the branches that I had dropped to the earth from the treetop. Pine needles laid disarrayed around him, litterin g the grass-speckled dirt as he sliced them away from the sticks with the serrat ed edge of the throwing knife. I found myself gazing at his hands in wonder, his calloused fingertips working w ith both swiftness and precision as he skillfully carved a sharp point onto the front of the arrow shaft. The tree flesh that was revealed once he slashed at it was a fair white color, framed by a pale green that surrounded the remaining ba rk. "I hope you know that this means you're catching dinner tonight," Gale announced , raising his eyes to look at me but not pausing his hand movements. The corners of my mouth raised into a slight grin as I set the sticks I was hold ing at his feet. "I'm not complaining." Gale's eyes glinted before he gestured to the pile of finished arrows beside him . "Go on, try them out," he encouraged, kicking one towards me, "They don't have feathers, so it'll be a little off, but you can handle that." A childish feeling of giddiness gripped my heart before I pulled the silver bow over my head and off my torso, my mouth tightening into an unconscious grin as I bent down to retrieve the arrow. It felt a little flimsy in my grip, but the po int looked sharp enough to draw blood, and that's all that really mattered. Without a second thought, I strung the arrow onto the bow using the delicately c arved notch it had on its back end and held it straight out in front of me, the movement natural to my experienced hands. I tugged the tightly wounded string ba ck to my chin before aiming at a rustling bush, waiting for a clear shot of what ever swift-footed animal it had cloaked in its foliage. A pink-tipped nose poked out of the leaves, and my arrow went flying toward it before the animal even ha d a chance to move two inches. The familiar sound of the pointed tip of an arrow connecting to flesh faintly so unded, and I raced toward it feeling light on my toes. I kicked away the brush i mpatiently, only to see a rabbit folded in on itself like a potato bug around th e wooden shaft of the arrow. "Good to see you," I chuckled, holding the rabbit out so Gale could see it from where he was standing. Evening was just beginning to fall once Gale was on his last branch, the dull pa rt of the blade making an indentation on his fingertip as he sliced away at the stick's bark. I silently noted the redness in his fingers from overwork, and fel t a pang of guilt in my ribcage as I shifted the now full silver sheath in my la p.

The initial euphoria from finally being armed with a decent weapon had worn off hours ago, leaving me to dwell on my parched throat and achy muscles again. The rabbit I had shot laid at my feet, blood from the wound in its neck now drying i nto a maroon crust against its pale gray coat. "And...done," Gale breathed, tossing the final wooden arrow into the sheath with newly arisen triumph apparent in his movements, "Now to find some way to cook t hat rabbit." I pursed my lips before eyeing the animal in front of us with hesitant eyes. "If we build a fire, the smoke would lead the Careers directly to us." "And we just so happen to have a brand-new batch of arrows and a skilled archer on our hands," Gale countered with a grin, shoving the throwing knife into his b elt, "I think we'll be fine. Besides, remember the last time we tried to eat raw rabbit?" I inwardly grimaced as the memory made its way to the surface of my mind, leavin g a faint trail of recollected nausea in the pit of my stomach. "Rabbit fever," I said with a shiver, earning an amused grin from Gale. I had been given the throwing knife to skin and gut the rabbit while Gale set of f to find fire wood and tinder. A slight feeling of uneasiness welled in my ches t as I pressed the blade of the knife to the rabbit's stomach, staining the once shining metal with blood as I sliced into the animal's flesh. The act of prepar ing game for eating had become so familiar to my hands that I could do it withou t thinking, which only resulted in my mind lingering on other things. It was very rare, especially this early in the games, to have almost an entire d ay without any interruptions. Maybe the Gamemakers were feeling generous today. I inwardly scoffed before dismissing that thought completely. There must be some other terrible thing going on elsewhere to entertain the viewers so that traps weren't necessary to spur on killing, but what? My thoughts immediately directed themselves toward the Careers. I hadn't heard a ny cannons today, and eleven was a startlingly low death rate for the second day . Were they waiting until the fear of being captured by them became so unbearabl e that it drew some of the tributes to insanity? By the looks of it, most of the m were interested in giving the audience a good show. I gritted my teeth before tearing away the last of the rabbit's pelt and leaving it abandoned under a pile of leaves along with its feet, tail, head, and innard s. Maybe the Careers were busy with their own problems, as difficult as it was t o believe. I silently remembered what Glimmer had said this morning about Clove and Cato, and felt an unexplainable feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach. A faint snapping sound echoed from above, making my ears perk as I whirled my he ad upwards to peer in the direction of it. The treetops were eerily still as the feeling of uneasiness in my chest rose into my throat. I was about to dismiss the sound as my imagination when a blur of almost invisib le blackness caught the corner of my eye, making me dart my gaze over to the now rustling foliage of two nearby pine trees. My pulse quickened against my ribcage as every one of my instincts screamed at m e to flee. Instead, I planted my feet in the dirt and stared with wide eyes at t he treetops, only to be met by silence. "Hey, Catnip"

I whirled myself around, the still bloody knife readied in my hand as I reflexiv ely raised it in front of me, only to see Gale, who now had a very perplexed loo k plastered to his features. "Is everything okay?" he asked in a stern tone, immediately dropping the armful of dried tinder he had collected onto the dirt and hurrying over to my side, gri pping my shoulder with a secure hand. I swallowed hard before lowering the knife and opening my mouth to respond, only to be interrupted when another snapping noise sounded from the same trees. "We have to go," I stated suddenly, my breaths uneven as I hastily collected the sheath and the bow off the ground. "Wh" Gale started, but I was already pushing him in the direction of the brush bef ore he could finish. The snapping noise seemed to get closer, never leaving the tops of the trees and always being followed by an inexplicable blur of movement. "We need to go," I demanded harshly, grabbing Gale's forearm and feeling the mus cles under his smooth skin tense as we rushed through the thickets. "Did you suddenly get the urge to go on a nice evening run?" Gale joked, but I c ould tell that his heart wasn't completely in it. I furrowed my eyebrows together before trying to find the correct words to descr ibe what had happened, only to become gradually more aware that he would think I was going insane. Instead, I settled on letting out an elongated sigh and conti nuing to walk downhill, feeling the dirt getting slightly more moist under my fe et. Usually, I'd prefer to be on higher ground, but the lure of a possible strea m was too strong for me to resist. Gale arched a puzzled eyebrow, keeping a steady pace beside me. "Was the tinder I got so horrifically bad that we had to run away from it?" My heart seemed to be doing somersaults inside my chest as I staggered forward, finally feeling the exhaustion of today's events catch up with me. "No, it was.. . There was something in the trees," I murmured halfheartedly, hoping that Gale wouldn't question me any further. He responded by giving me a into a studious look as he ducked his head under tre e branches, his raven hair brushing lightly against his forehead and falling int o his ashen eyes. I resisted the urge to reach up and stroke it away. "This is the first time in years that I haven't been completely sure of what you 're feeling," Gale murmured, gazing at me through half-lidded eyes, "I don't lik e it." I pushed my lips into a stern line before frowning at the ground in front of me. The trees seemed to be swaying in my vision, and I seemed to be getting increas ingly more lightheaded with each step I forced myself to take. "Do you want me t o tell you what I'm feeling, then?" "That would be great," Gale responded immediately, his eyes lighting up like a c hild's on their birthday. I exhaled sharply, stealing a sideways glance at him before forcing the words ou t of my lips. "Confusion. Panic. Mostly panic. Also, I'm starting to think that

I'm getting delusional. That's always fun." Gale's irises immediately filled with the same need to protect that I had seen e arlier, making me raise my eyebrows at him. My body seemed too weak to be surpri sed as I shuffled my feet forward through the damp soil, my head becoming too he avy for my neck to support. "Delusions," Gale echoed, the word sounding wrong in his perfect voice. Perfect? Where did that come from? It was almost startling when I realized that my hands were gripping at my temple s wildly. Starbursts dotted my vision, making it so that the trees in front of m e were covered with bright specks as I seemingly blundered into them. The world around me began to mold into a gigantic spiral, swallowing me into its depth as I abruptly felt the sensation of falling. It seemed to last forever, the falling. I expected for it to stop with a painful collision to the ground, but I was instead met by what felt like a pair of stro ng arms wrapping themselves around my torso. My ears were filled with a buzzing sound as the inside of my skull was covered i n what felt like a thin layer of fire, burning my brain and sending my muscles i nto spasms. My stomach lurched as everything in it clamped into a painful cramp, only to become unbearably agonizing until everything finally went numb. This is nice, I thought, blackness taking over my once dizzying vision. I was only slightly aware of Gale calling out to me, the sound muffled against m y eardrums, as if I was encased in a pool of water. "Katniss, honey. You don't hold it like that." I peered at the wooden bow in my grip with stubborn eyes, gradually realizing th at the world around me had grown in size at least sevenfold. I only reached the knees of the man in front of me, and he had to bend down to pat the top of my he ad with his gentle hands. "Repeat after me. String, pull, aim, fire," he said in a voice that was soothing against my eardrums, a sort of musical edge to it. Mockingjays gathered around in the trees, attempting to copy the simple yet hypnotizing sound of this man's tone. "Katniss, go ahead and try it. I know you have it in you," the man murmured. I raised my hands, only to see that they were as tiny as a child's. They awkward ly fit around the handmade bow I was attempting to maneuver, and my aim was incr edibly off as I fired an arrow that was meant to hit a nearby tree trunk, but on ly succeeded in landing a couple feet in front of me. The man laughed, the sound instantly causing a smile to conjure onto my features , despite my failure. The mockingjays bursted into a wave of song, the man's ton e still too complex for them to capture. I watched with curious eyes as the man got onto his knees in front of me, reveal ing his olive-toned face and sleek black hair. My silver eyes were reflected in his glassy ones, framed with both laugh and worry wrinkles. I inwardly gasped, my limbs locking in place as the man stroked a loving hand ag ainst my cheek, his fingertips coarse against my skin. "That's my daughter," he murmured, his tone filled with affection as he tore the arrow out of the dirt an

d handed it back to me. The world around us, once so peaceful and absent of worries, began to crumble un der our feet. The smile plastered to my father's features didn't even falter as clouds of smoke began to erupt around us, a wall of flames closing in around him . The stinging scent of smoke suddenly filled my nostrils as my skin was covered i n a thick layer of coal dust. "N-No!" I choked out, the word grating against my raw throat as I tried to squint through the smoke with tear-filled eyes. "Don't leave me!" Don't leave me! Don't leave me! Don't leave me! "Don't..." I began to stir back to reality, my heart beating like a drum against my chest and the hollow of my collarbone collecting cold sweat, "...leave me." "Wasn't planning to," Gale responded almost immediately, giving me a start and m aking me whirl my head in his direction. His face was contorted into a mask of c oncern as he gripped what looked like a bottle of water in his strained fingers. "Nightmare?" "W-What?" I asked, still not completely aware of my surroundings. I silently reg istered the sound of flowing water beside me and the feeling of a damp piece of cloth on my forehead, cooling my scorching temperature. "Did you have a nightmare?" Gale repeated, pushing the bottle of water towards m e. I peered at the bottom of his shirt, only to see where he had ripped a sizabl e piece of cloth off of it. As if on cue, he reached for the piece of material o n my forehead and gently raised it off before dipping it back into the stream we were next to. "You were sleeping, after all." "What?" I echoed, raising myself off of the tree trunk I was positioned against. My head felt heavy, but I was relieved to realize that there were no cramps in my stomach. Gale chuckled before squeezing the excess water from the ripped cloth of his shi rt and setting it back of my forehead. "Cramps, spasms, dizziness, delusions," h e started, gazing at me with contemplative eyes, "All symptoms of severe dehydra tion. You fainted, Catnip." I arched my eyebrows at him, feeling my pulse gradually slow as my anxiety lifte d away. "What happened after that?" Gale let out an elongated sigh before gesturing toward the stream beside us. "Wh at should have happened a long time ago. I found you some water. Thank God we we ren't that far away from it," he muttered, raking an uneasy hand through his rav en locks, "Then, the weirdest thing happened. I was deciding whether or not I sh ould let you drink this without purifying it. Then, I heard a snap from the tree s, and out came this." Gale grabbed a bright orange backpack from his side, a ho le apparent in the strap from where Cato had pinned it to a tree trunk. "It just ...fell from the trees." The snapping. I silently remembered when I had heard it coming from above when I was busy skinning a rabbit. I was about to dismiss it as a symptom of the dehyd ration, but now I wasn't so sure. "Maybe it was a gift from the sponsors," I sug

gested hesitantly, already knowing the answer before Gale had given it to me. "No, they only send parachutes, and this was on the Cornucopia during the bloodb ath. You picked it up, remember?" Gale insisted, opening the backpack and reveal ing its contents. "Look, we have a sleeping bag, matches, sunglasses, dried beef strips, crackers, wire, iodine, and that," he said cheerfully, gesturing toward s the water bottle in my hand, "Not to mention the stuff we had before. I'd say we're well-supplied now." "And it just...came from the trees?" I asked hesitantly, letting my gaze wander to the treetops above us. "Yeah, as hard as that is to believe," Gale countered, biting the inside of his cheek and crinkling his eyebrows together, "It was hell waiting for that water t o purify while you were unconscious in front of me, but I'm glad I did it. You l ooked so peaceful once you had something clean to drink. You even...said somethi ng to me." I darted my gaze to Gale, perplexed by the grin he was now sporting across his f eatures. I tried to remember saying anything to him through the thick haze the n ightmare casted across my memory, but all I got was blankness. "What did I say?" Gale's smile deepened. "I think I'll just keep that to myself," he murmured. And if I wasn't mistaken, his voice was a little unsteady. Chapter 15 You even...said something to me. The ends of the dark hair framing Gale's features seemed newly wet, as if he had recently splashed his face with water from the stream beside us. Shadows were s tarting to stain the smooth skin under his weary eyes, which only made a pang of guilt contract in my chesthe probably hadn't gotten a wink of sleep since we set foot in the arena. Gale turned his head away from the stream before locking his slate eyes on mine, which only made the darkness tarnishing his eyelids more noticeable. He swept h is raven hair out of his face with an impatient hand before shooting me an almos t tentative grin. "No matter how much you stare at me, I'm still not going to te ll you what you said." I furrowed my eyebrows in frustration before swiftly darting my gaze to the wate r bottle I had clenched in my hands, the gnawing feeling of not knowing what had come out of my own mouth while I was unconscious weighing itself down in the pi t of my stomach. "Why?" "I already told you," Gale pursed his lips before he eased himself beside me, hi s warm shoulder brushing against mine as he positioned himself against the same tree trunk I was leaning on, "I want to keep it all to myself." I felt my mouth twist into a pout as I shot him the most bitter look I could mus ter. "Since when did we start keeping secrets?" This only brought a snort out of Gale as he promptly reached for the water bottl e I was holding, his fingertips grazing my hand in a way that made my cheeks cur iously heat up. He freed the bottle from my grip before bringing it to his mouth and letting the cool liquid cascade down his throat. "Don't worry your pretty little head, Catnip," he muttered in a waning tone afte

r taking the bottle away from his lips, "It's not like it was anything bad. In f act, I really enjoyed what you said." I arched my eyebrows quizzically at Gale, which only deepened the look of amusem ent lightening his features as he peered at me over the top of the water bottle in his hands. His mischievous grin was making a reappearance, which only made me realize how dry his lips had gotten since the first day in the arena. "If it wa s so enjoyable, then you should tell me what it was," I grumbled in a stubborn t one. "I can't," Gale crinkled his eyebrows together, his tone suddenly softened into a hesitant murmur that almost succeeded in giving me a start, "If I did, you wou ld probably say that you didn't mean it." "Maybe I wouldn't," I huffed, turning my head away and darting my eyes to the di rt. It was almost puzzling how I was letting a petty thing like not knowing what I had said in an unconscious state bother me, especially since we were in an ar ena where every other living thing was posed to kill us. Gale let out a quick chuckle, the melodic sound faintly coming from the very bac k of his throat. "Are you saying that, no matter what you said, you won't take i t back?" he lilted, placing a light finger below my chin and turning my head so that I was facing his now deeply studious ashen eyes. It was as if a current of warmth surged through my body and pooled in my cheeks against my will, making a trembling feeling trickle its way through my torso and reverberate off of my eardrums. "I'm not promising anything," I mumbled under m y breath, my voice as small and distant as an echo. It was only when I silently registered how Gale's amused grin had reached his beaming eyes that I realized h ow hot my cheeks had gotten. "You know, I never saw you blush before we got reaped," Gale muttered, tentative ly inching his face closer to mine and moving his finger away from my chin so th at he could envelope my cheek with his warm palm, "It's..." He paused, examining my expression intently before the corner of his mouth quirked into what looked like a sincere smile. "...cute." With terrible suddenness, a cannon sliced through the once calm air, seemingly r ocking the very ground we were on with its thunderous rumble. I could feel Gale tense beside me before he swiftly got to his feet and slung the bright orange ba ckpack over his shoulder. "Let's move downstream," he grunted, all traces of the tenderness he once had in his tone completely wiped away and replaced with unea siness. I nodded before standing myself up, the hurried movement making my head sway sli ghtly as I gathered the bow and sheath off the damp dirt. Gale gently pushed me in front of him before we traveled beside the running water, his touch gradually becoming more electrifying against my skin. Despite this, I couldn't help but notice how the quiet sound of rustling leaves and snapping branches in the treetops seemed to follow us. The sound of a small animal treading across the dirt caught my ear, and the silv er bow was readied in my grasp without another passing second. My hand found its way to the sheath positioned against my spine before I wrapped my fingers aroun d one of the handmade arrows, its wooden shaft rough against my skin as I swiftl y strung it into the bow. My eyes narrowed at the crisp foliage in front of me a s I pulled the bow's string back to my chin and listened for the faint footsteps of the animal to reach my ears again.

I stood silently and stiffly with the bow outstretched in front of my torso befo re being answered by the almost inaudible sound of rabbit feet slapping against the dirt. My arrow cut through the air like a razor blade before it skewered the swift-footed animal mid-leap. I exhaled sharply before lowering the silver bow to my side and letting my gaze rake across the crumpled frame of the rabbit I had shot, my wooden arrow stickin g out of its side and brushing against its copper colored fur. Gale and I had decided to catch something to eat before the sun set, our stomach s clamped with hunger and the dry morsels from the backpack too precious to be e aten impulsively. Gale had left with the new coil of wire posed between his fing ers to set up a few snares, leaving me to shoot at the sizable population of rab bits around the area. We weren't far from each other or the clearing by the stream where we had decide d to leave our heaviest belongings. The orange backpack was left in that clearin g, which enabled it to lead us back with its bright color shining through the fo liage. The corner of my mouth curled downward as I silently remembered how the last rab bit I had shot was left abandoned somewhere in the forest for another mouth to e at, the inexplicable noises coming from the trees driving me to flee without it. As I almost absently made my way over to my fresh game, I made a mental note to never waste a kill again. "Hey, Catnip." I whirled myself around, my grip tightening around the bow in my hand as I took in Gale's startling presence. "You need to stop sneaking up on me," I muttered i n a breathy tone. Gale let a ghost of a smirk play across his lips as he broke through the thin wa ll of brush separating him from the clearing I was in. He twirled the coil of wi re between his fingers. "The snares I set up should catch something by tomorrow morning," he stated, his smokey eyes brightening as they landed on the shot rabb it at my feet. I lowered my gaze to the limp animal laid across the dirt before I bent down to tangle my fingers into its thick pelt, its fur soft and tufted against my finger tips. My hands made a habitual move to toss it into my game bag, only to find th at it wasn't positioned where it normally was at my side, but on the ground in m y home back in District 12. My lips tightened before I begrudgingly let the rabb it dangle from my fingers. "We should cook this before nightfall," I noted, letting my gaze wander to the d imming sky above us, "the fire would be less noticeable in the light." "Lets hurry back to the stream, then," Gale said, gesturing toward the brush beh ind him. He grinned at the lifeless rabbit in my hands before letting me lead th e way into the foliage. "Cook it quick, though. The sun is setting." "I shot it. I don't think it's fair that I have to cook it, too," I teased, a sm ile playing on my lips as I made my way back in the direction to where we had le ft the backpack. Gale let out a chuckle, the sound slurred and soothing to my eardrums. "C'mon, i t's been too long since I've gotten to eat your cooking," he complained with moc k-fuss.

I opened my mouth to respond, only to be cut off by the sudden sound of footstep s in the distance. They were too heavy to belong to a rabbit or any other small animal, and the way they almost made the very ground beneath my feet vibrate mad e me think that they didn't belong to any of the Careers, either. I let my gaze dart over to Gale, who was now staring into the brush in front of us with alert eyes. His lips tightened into a frown before he reached out to gra b my forearm, stepping in front of me protectively as we quickened our pace towa rd the stream. The footsteps only got increasingly louder, making my heart slip into my throat and my grip around the silver bow unconsciously tighten. Stomp, stomp, stomp. I pushed my lips together into a stern line before instinctively inching myself closer into Gale's torso, his body heat radiating through the thin fabric of his shirt and the cloth gripping onto his lean muscles like black paint. He must ha ve left his heat-reflecting jacket back at the stream. Stomp, stomp My eyebrows arched as the booming noise came to a halt without warning, making m e strain my ears in an attempt to pick up another trace of it. Gale visibly tens ed before he broke out into a run, his grip on my forearm unbroken as we crashed through the thick clusters of leaves. I swiftly matched my pace with his before preparing myself to whip out an arrow, ignoring every single one of my instinct s as we rushed toward where we had left our supplies. Gale reached out a stiff arm to break through a final tuft of brush that covered the clearing next to the stream. The scene that had greeted me after that made me think that I was hallucinating again. Gale made a faint noise of surprise that sounded at the back of his throat befor e his fingers uncertainly found their way to the knife in his belt, his features tightening into a look of incredulity as he took in who was standing in front o f us, our newly found orange backpack in the intruder's meaty fingers. "Thresh?" I blurted out without thinking, the rabbit slipping from my grip as I hesitantly readied the silver bow in my hands. Gale's mouth twisted into a scowl at the hugely built tribute in front of him be fore he sidestepped in front of me, his movements almost invisibly fast as he pl anted his feet into the dirt. "I really hoped that I wouldn't see you around her e," he muttered, his voice a little unsteady as he reluctantly continued to brus h his fingers against the handle of the knife. Thresh's grip on the orange backpack tightened as his dark, hardened eyes raked over our weapons. He tentatively stepped closer to us, his footsteps clamorous a nd almost strange paired up with the soft look of unwilling sheepishness twistin g his ox-like features, as if he was ashamed of being caught. Gale practically snarled in Thresh's direction before he whipped out the knife a nd darted forward, preventing the District 11 male from coming any closer to me. He jerked the blade up, making it reflect the dimming sunlight as it hovered ag ainst Thresh's enormous throat. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right here," Gale hissed, his eyebrows furrowed into something that looked extremely conflicted. He had never ended a human life before, and I could tell by the slight tremble in his hands t

hat he wasn't exactly eager to start. Thresh didn't even seem alarmed at the sudden blade at his throat. He let his ga ze sway over to Gale before he crinkled his thick eyebrows together, gesturing t oward the orange backpack in his hands before he finally spoke. "Because, District 12," Thresh bellowed, his deep voice edged with exhaustion, " The little girl in the trees. She'll die without this." Snap. I didn't even have enough time to be surprised before I whirled my head upward i n the direction of the treetops, only to be met by a pair of glistening, opaque eyes hidden in the leaves. Gale must have been caught off guard by Thresh's expl anation, because the District 11 male slipped from his grip and dropped the back pack before disappearing into the brush, obviously not wanting anything to do wi th what was about to unfold. My eyes widened into discs as I unconsciously stepped toward the tree, my head s waying as everything began to connect together. The rustling and snapping in the trees wasn't a sign of me going mad, it was the sound of small, sprightly limbs dashing through the branches. The backpack hadn 't simply come from above, it had fallen from the delicate grip of a giving hand that just so happened to be hiding in the leaves. I watched as the shimmering eyes in the tree filled with a fleeting look of drea d, possibly from the fright of being found out. They darted away from me, and I realized with great dismay that the owner of the hand that possibly saved my lif e was about to flee. "Wait!" I blurted out without thinking, making the eyes in the tree sway back to m e. I swallowed hard, knowing that this was no way to act in the Hunger Games. Al l the people glued to their television sets across Panem were probably expecting me to string an arrow into my bow and shoot at the open target in front of me, but my arms were limp at my sides. I couldn't shoot at the eyes in front of me a ny more than I could shoot at my own sister. "I won't hurt you. I promise I won't hurt you..." I murmured as I watched the ey es in the tree gradually fill with more disbelief. "...Rue." The smoke rising into the air put me on edge, its silver curls staining the clea r azure sky and contrasting against the pale colors painting the horizon as the sun set. The smell of cooked rabbit meat filled my nostrils, making the feeling of gnawing hunger in my stomach more apparent as I watched the food in the blazi ng fire at my feet gradually turn brown as it crackled in the flames. The silver bow rested at my side, my fingers uneasily brushing against its handl e as I prepared myself for an attack. The smoke seemed a thousand shades darker than what I was used to, its swirls signaling any possible tributes of our where abouts. Gale was standing stiffly next to me, his arms crossed in front of his chest as he frowned at the fire below him, the flames illuminating his exhausted features . I could tell he wasn't pleased with my latest decision, even though he hadn't said anything about it when I was helping a little girl from the trees and insis ting that she let us feed her; it was the least we could do. "Rue?" I murmured, my voice small as I jabbed the knife into the rabbit meat in front of us. A thin stream of red juice spurted out of where I had sliced it, ma

king it apparent that it still needed a while for it to cook completely. Rue's dusky eyes darted over to me at the sound of her name, panic still obvious ly etching her features as she uncomfortably sat across from me at the other sid e of the fire. The flames seemed to dance in the center of her dark irises as sh e gulped and uneasily furrowed her thin eyebrows. "Yes?" Her voice was as tremulous as I had remembered fear clouding her usually sprightly timbre. I e rabbit meat with the knife again, only to be out of the incision. "Why did you give us the it, but there was a thick haze of pursed my lips before prodding th met by the same red juice gushing backpack?"

Gale's eyes swept across me before they landed on Rue, who tensed once she felt his slate irises study her. "I wasn't planning to, I was just...watching," Rue s tammered, bringing a tiny hand to brush her raven tresses out of her slanted eye s, "That's what I've been doing ever since we got to the arenawatching and running . I had just gotten back from spying on the Careers when I saw that you fainted. " Gale clenched his jaw at the memory, and I gave him a quick sideways glance befo re directing my attention back to Rue as she pursed her lips, perhaps thinking o f the right words to explain what had happened. "At first, I thought that you died," Rue mumbled, making Gale cringe, "but then I saw that your chest was rising and that you were still breathing. I had just w ent around the forest to collect things that people left after the bloodbath, an d I found the backpack pinned to a tree with a spear. I went through it, and saw that it had iodine and a water bottle." Rue suddenly directed her glistening ga ze to Gale, making him raise his eyebrows at her. "You," she started, pushing he r lips into a thin line, "You looked absolutely horrified when she fainted, like you had the life sucked out of you." I felt my eyes widen before I darted my gaze to Gale, who was staring almost she epishly at the ground below him. I was half-expecting him to deny what Rue had s aid, but he stayed silent. "You picked her up and started running. I don't even think you knew where you we re going," Rue continued, her eyes still locked on Gale, "And then you reached t he stream. At first, you looked at it as if it was God-sent, but then you starte d glaring at it. The look on your face was almost heartbreaking, and I instantly knew that it was because you couldn't purify the water before you gave it to he r." Gale's silver irises increasingly got more strained as he relived these events, his eyebrows crinkled into a pained grimace. "You looked so helpless," Rue murmured, her eyes softening as she continued, "Th e iodine and water bottle in the backpack had gotten so much more difficult to c arry after that. I couldn't stop thinking about how scared you looked, about how you couldn't stop stroking her hair and telling her to wake up. And then, befor e I knew it, I dropped the backpack next to you." Rue's small mouth quirked into a grin, "And when you saw the iodine and water bottle...I don't think I've ever seen anybody so happy before." My heart skipped against my ribcage as I let Rue's words slowly sink in. I knew that Gale had saved my life by giving me that water, but I didn't know how much panic I had made him go through. I felt my lips curl into a warm smile against m y will as I locked my gaze on Gale, and he responded by letting his eyes rake ov er to me and sighing. "See, Catnip? You're going to be the end of me," he mumble d, a note of affection in his tone.

Rue chuckled, the sound exactly like a bird chirping. Her hair was a thick, shad owy curtain across her shoulders as she pointed a tiny finger at the fire in fro nt of her, her lips curled into a grin. "I know you guys are busy staring at eac h other right now, but the rabbit is burning." I felt my eyebrows fly up as I gripped the knife and frantically prodded the rab bit with it in an attempt to get it out of the flames that continually blackened its meat. Gale hurried toward the stream before filling the water bottle and to ssing it onto the fire, putting it out and leaving a smoldering pile of ashes an d a thoroughly cooked chunk of rabbit meat. Rue chuckled again, and I couldn't h elp but give her an exasperated smile. I sliced the meat into three equal parts, and was relieved to see that the outsi de was only slightly charred. Gale ate his share without hesitance, and Rue stil l looked slightly uncomfortable pecking off the meat, as if it wasn't truly hers . I sank my teeth into my piece, the warm meat heating me up from the inside as the evening air began to fall onto us. "Rue," Gale muttered, her name still sounding foreign on his tongue as he wiped his mouth with his hand, "Thresh tried to take the backpack earlier today. He sa id it was because you would die without it...What was that about?" Rue crinkled her eyebrows together before peering at Gale with eyes that seemed too big for her small face, her dark irises shining as she took a tiny bite of t he meat in her hands. "Oh," she murmured, swallowing hard before she continued, "He's been looking after me ever since we first met. Even in the Training Center , he would always stick close and never let the Careers even look at me. It was like he thought he was my big brother, or something." Gale lowered his gaze to the dirt, as if he could relate to Thresh's actions. "H as he been protecting you in the arena?" he asked, stiffening. I suddenly expect ed the District 11 male to burst through the bushes, and found that my hand was unconsciously inching closer to the silver bow. "Actually, no," Rue lilted, the corners of her mouth curling downward, "I haven' t seen him since the first day of the games. I don't even know how he found out that I gave you the backpack." I let out a faint sigh before popping the last bit of my rabbit meat in my mouth , the gnawing hunger in my stomach tamed. The sun had dipped beneath the horizon , leaving the sky with only pale traces of its rays in its dark blue expanse. "I only heard one cannon today," I noted, raising my eyes to glance at Rue, who wa sn't even halfway done with her food, "You said you were spying on the Careers. Why haven't they been attacking the other tributes? Are they planning something? " Rue narrowed her eyes and began choking on the food she had in her mouth, making me offer her the water bottle. She shook her head before swallowing hard and pe ering at me through half-lidded eyes. "I don't think they could plan anything, e ven if they wanted to," she mumbled, her eyes suddenly hardened with panic, "The two from District 2...they're insane. The cannon was from the boy. He sliced th e girl from 4's throat, just because she came back to the Cornucopia before she killed anybody." Gale tensed beside me, his eyes filled with a mixture of hatred and uneasiness. Rue tightened her lips so that her dimples were indenting her cheeks before she continued, "The boy from District 2 was about to kill the tributes from District 1, too, but they escaped before he could. The girl seemed like she got seriousl y injured, though." She brought a delicate hand up to push some of her thick, in

ky hair out of her face. "Careers never kill their allies, not before everyone e lse is dead. If they can do that to each other, imagine what they'll do to us." I felt my pulse rock my ribcage as I began to silently imagine Cato and Clove in hazes of insanity, lashing out at their own allies in the Cornucopia as all the other tributes remained in the forest unscathed. That would be two Careers dead so far, only on the second day. "I don't understand," Gale muttered, his voice edged with anger, "I shot both of them on the first day!" "They bandaged each other up," Rue immediately responded, pursing her lips, "The boy looks fine, but the girl is getting worse. I think it's because she got a l ot of dirt in her wound. It looks infectedshe can barely even move her shoulder wi thout screaming in pain." I exhaled sharply before giving Rue an almost pleading look. "Well, maybe there won't be Careers in the arena this year," I muttered, making Gale raise his eyeb rows at me, "Maybe they won't be the top alliance. Maybe, instead of them..." I let my voice drift off, and I could tell that Gale had already understood what I was saying. Rue, on the other hand, was still looking at me with puzzled eyes. I let the corner of my mouth quirk into a grin. "...We can be the top alliance." "Ha. I'd like to see you try." I whirled my head around, the sudden sound of a girl's high-pitched voice pierci ng my eardrums like needles. Gale had gotten to his feet in a second, and Rue wa s staring up at him with wide, frightened eyes. "Glimmer, shut up." "Don't tell me to shut up! You're the one who got us in this mess, anyway!" "What? If I remember correctly, it was you who ran away screaming once Cato cut that annoying girl's throat. I just followed you." I stood myself up before grabbing the silver bow off of the ground and stringing it with a wooden arrow, my eyes peering around frantically through the night ai r. It wasn't long until two streams of light caught my vision from two flashligh ts, beaming into the treetops and slicing through the once calm darkness. A tall, lanky boy with chestnut hair broke through the bushes, his black arena p ants already torn at the knees and his cheeks stained with mud. It was Marvel. "Okay, I admit that that wasn't the best way to greet you guys," he chortled, wa ving the girl behind him to follow in his steps. A curtain of bright blonde hair appeared behind Marvel before a slender girl with arena clothes that seemed too tight to be comfortable stepped beside him, her emerald eyes filled with disgus t as she peered at us. Her black leggings were torn down the side, revealing a d eep slice on her thigh that only a sword could make. Multiple scratches covered her face, and a sticky layer of blood matted the top of her yellow hair. "What Glimmer probably meant," Marvel started, his thick eyebrows raising as he talked in a completely calm timbre, "was that she'd like to see you try to be th e top alliance this year without us." "What are you saying?" I hissed, raising the bow in front of me and aiming right for the District 1 male's forehead.

"Shoot 'em, Catnip," Gale grumbled, his mouth tightened into a hate-filled grima ce at the two Careers in front of us. Marvel frantically raised his hands in front of him as if he was surrendering. " Whoa, there. No need to be hasty," he barked, which only made Glimmer roll her e yes, "This isn't exactly easy for us, either. You see, we can't be allies with t wo nut-cases like Cato and Clove, but we still want to win. We decided to try to find the tributes we thought would have the best chance at winning." Gale let out a quick breath of laughter, the sound mocking and filled with venom as he glared at Marvel. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Glimmer groaned and stomped her right foot as if she was having a tantrum before she glowered at Gale. "You're so lucky you're hot because you have one annoying personality," she grumbled, which only made her district partner elbow her in t he ribs. "Yeah, District 12," Marvel muttered, his mouth curling into a grin that only su cceeded in making my chest flare with anger, "Would you mind if we allied with y ou?" Chapter 16 I was sure that Marvel had to be joking. The very thought of any tributes from District 12 nheard of. Entirely impossible, even, through the miners back home, who were all probably squawking k of at their flickering television screens right allying with the Careers was u watery eyes of the overworked each profanity they could thin at this moment.

Yet, Marvel gazed at Gale and I with determined eyes, the brilliant blue of his irises shining as he awaited our response. His fair skin stretched over his prom inent cheek bones as he twisted his mouth into a thin line, the lingering silenc e obviously setting him on edge. My grip on the silver bow tightened, the wooden arrow still aimed at Marvel's begrimed forehead despite my complete lack of mur derous intent. A sharp breath of laughter suddenly rang from beside me, the harsh edge of revul sion in the otherwise melodic sound sending a twinge of surprise through my alre ady frigid torso. I let my eyes sway over to Gale, only to see that his features had hardened into a look so ferocious that I almost let my solid grip on my bow string slip. "What?" Gale hissed, making Marvel raise his thick eyebrows questioningly, "Are you serious? Do you really think we would ally with two of the Capitol's lapdogs ?" "Watch your mouth, Pretty-Boy," Glimmer snarled before taking two heavy steps in our direction, only to have Marvel reach a stiff arm out to restrain her. "Glimmer, don't ask for a fight if you can't handle one," Marvel muttered, his a zure eyes strained. It was only then that I saw Glimmer's slender fingers brushi ng insistently against the handle of what could only be a long, sharp blade hook ed onto her belt. There was a catch in my breath, and I was thankful that Gale w as the only one close enough to hear it. He grabbed my shoulder before giving it a comforting squeeze, his acid-filled gaze seeming strange paired up with his s oothing movements. "What makes you think that I can't handle one?" Glimmer spat, creasing her eyebr ows together and cracking the thin layer of dried blood plastered to her porcela

in forehead. Marvel gave her a skeptical look, and she responded by curling her full lips into a scowl and resentfully stepping away from Gale and me, apparentl y succumbing to her district partner's silent commands. Marvel inhaled sharply before crossing his taut arms in front of his chest and m aking his gaze more focused, almost making me flinch. "Is that your final answer , 12?" he drawled, his voice considerably less friendly than when he had first s tepped into our clearing. Gale's grip on my shoulder swiftly tightened before he pulled me closer to him, making me struggle to keep my aim locked on the District 1 male. I was startled to feel the warmth of Gale's arm cradling me into his chest, but I tried to focu s on the task at hand and not on the glowing blush gradually coloring my cheeks. "The thought of having two unreliable lapdogs as allies is tempting, especially the doubtless betrayal part, but..." Gale retorted through gritted teeth, his gr ip around me continually tightening and becoming more distracting, "I think we'l l have to pass." Marvel clicked his tongue before shaking his head, as if the decision disappoint ed him. "Oh well. You leave us no choice, then." A glint appeared in Glimmer's jade-colored eyes before she whipped the blade out from her belt, the metal grinding against the sheath with an ear-piercing teari ng noise. Her once defeated expression soon twisted into an eager one as she sla shed it in front of her, air whistling around the weapon. "Don't forget the litt le one, Marv. She's been shaking behind those two District 12 rats this entire t ime." My eyes widened before I silently made the connection, my insides twisting into a nauseating feeling of dread. Rue. I tore myself away from Gale's grasp before shooting my arrow blindly in front o f me, the move a wild reflex. I watched as it sliced through the air, only manag ing to catch the very edge of Glimmer's arm and make a shallow cut against her a lready thoroughly wounded skin. She let out a hiss, her hand slapping against th e cut before blood dribbled through the slits between her fingers. "Oh, you bitch," Glimmer seethed, her emerald eyes blazing into something that m ade me want to rush to Rue's side. Marvel's features had tightened into a look o f pure malice as his hands went to his belt, only to reveal the thick wooden han dle of the weapon he had attached to it. My eyes darted to the other end of his deadly item before a wave of terror washed over me, knowing the metallic spikes that were meant to pound victims into a bloody pulp too wellit was a mace. The dar kness of the evening cloaked the menacing weapon well. My hand found its way to the sheath positioned against my back before I snatched another arrow from it, only to have my limbs freeze in place after I registered the sound of Gale's footsteps hurrying toward Marvel. Hurrying toward the massi ve weapon in the Career's murderous hands, the spikes sharp and horrible enough to kill in one blow. My body moved on its own; my brain was in too much of a rabid panic to have any say in my actions. Before I knew it, I had sent an arrow whizzing through the ai r before it skewered Marvel right above his collarbone, missing his neck by only a few inches. Gale had already been right in front of him, and he brought down his throwing knife with a vicious scissoring movement, only to have Marvel inter rupt the blow by clapping his hand on Gale's forearm. "A-hem."

I whirled my head around, only to see that Glimmer had reached arms-length dista nce away from me, her fair fingers wrapped around the rubber hilt of her blade. "It's not polite to ignore your opponent," she emitted through a wicked smile, r aising the blade above her head and crashing it downwards. I jumped out of the w ay, but the blade had caught my arm despite my efforts, slicing away a chunk of skin at my elbow. I let out a pained yelp before Glimmer hissed out a curse, fum bling with her weapon and instantly making me aware that she was clumsy with it. I tried to ignore the harsh stinging of my fresh wound as I leaped away, string ing an arrow into my bow as I went along. "Hey! Get back here!" Glimmer seethed, gripping her sword incorrectly as she ste pped toward me. It was then that I noticed the limp hindering her movement, the deep slice down her thigh the doubtless cause of it. I smirked. A fluttering feeling of relief filled my ribcage as memories of eyeing the Distr ict 1 tributes in the gym entered my mind. Glimmer was never able to handle a we apon bigger than her palm with skill. I pulled my bowstring back to my chin, taking care to aim right at her heart, be fore a muffled grunt of pain pierced my eardrums and turned my limbs into stone. I whipped my head around, only to see that Gale was holding himself up against a tree, his palm stained red with blood as he held it tightly against his side. H is shirt was ripped, revealing the torn flesh under it as he gritted his teeth t o doubtlessly hold back an agonized scream. Marvel stood closely next to him, hi s mace dripping with red liquid, dampening the dirt under it. Bile raised into my throat as the muscles in it contracted, making it impossible for words to reach my lips as my entire being seemed to be instantly flooded wi th horror. "G-G-G...!" The bile burned, making my eyes water as I forced my body to react. Something, anything would be better than just watching helplessly as blood streamed down Gale's side. "No!" My eyes widened, instantly startled by the tremulous sound of Rue's voice echoin g throughout the night air. I turned my head around, my stiff neck aching as I f orced it to move, only to see that Rue had lodged herself between Glimmer and me . Her tiny hands were wrapped around the fist Glimmer had her blade in, stopping the blow that would have sliced my head cleanly off while I was distracted. I s f d s felt my eyes widen as I let the scene in front of me sink inhow Rue's opaque eye were shimmering with tears, how Glimmer was frantically trying to shake her of as if she was nothing more than an unwanted spider, how my arms were still hel outstretched in front of me, the arrow still pointed at the District 1 female' heart...

I didn't even have to think about it. My hand let go of the bowstring, sending t he wooden arrow through the air. Everything seemed to go by sickeningly slow as I watched the arrow sink into Glimmer's chest, ripping through her flesh and wip ing her face clean of all the rage I had previously seen in it. I had expected t o see fear replace it, but instead, her expression seemed to be filled with reli ef. As if she couldn't wait to finally be out of this sadistic world. My ears buzzed as Glimmer fell to the earth, her hands gripping the arrow sticki ng out of her chest as she squirmed in the dirt, the movements weak. Rue unlatch ed herself before stepping back and burying her face in her hands, her moans muf fled with tears.

"Glimmer?" Marvel's voice was hoarse, his wounds weakening him as he rushed to h is district partner's side, abandoning his bloodied mace and dropping it to the earth. My stomach wretched as I watched him crouch next to her, cradling her alr eady lifeless face onto his lap. "Glimmer?" My first kill. The first human life I had ended with my very own hands, and ever y terrible moment of it was doubtlessly being broadcasted across Panem. I would never be able to wash this blood off my hands. I'm a killer. "N-No...Please. You're the only one I have left..." Marvel's voice was small as he absently stroked the blonde hair away from his Glimmer's sallow face, his fea tures crinkled into a pained grimace as he eyed the thick blood dribbling out th e side of her mouth. Killerkillerkiller. Despite the multiple wounds across his side, Gale's footsteps were just as silen t as they always were. He loomed behind Marvel before raising the very same mace that had been crashed against his torso above his head. I braced myself, expect ing for it to fall on the District 1 male while he was preoccupied, but Gale let the spiked weapon dangle motionless in the air instead. "Go, you lapdog," Gale mumbled flatly, his face tightening as he peered at the D istrict 1 tributes below him, "Now. Before I change my mind." Marvel seemed ten years younger as he slowly turned his head around to meet Gale 's gaze, his eyes wide and shining with tears. "Thank you," he breathed, his voi ce barely audible. He slipped his arms under Glimmer's limp frame before lifting her up and slowly heading back into the brush. Marvel must have thought that we were out of earshot when he started to sob. My entire body had begun to tremble once the cannon had finally echoed throughou t the arena. Not only because it carried the usual terribleness each cannon had, but because I knew it was for her. That I had caused it. The fact that it had sounded a long while after Marvel had drifted away from us only made it worse. It meant that he had stayed with Glimmer even after she died , still clinging onto the thread of hope that by some miracle, she'd be filled w ith life again. All because of me. "Ouch." I blinked, forcing myself out of my reverie. "Sorry, Gale," I murmured, my voice thick as I tried to make my hands more gentle. After Marvel had left, I forced myself to mentally organize the things that I absolutely had to do into a list. Naturally, at the top of the list was the task of treating Gale's wounds as best as I possibly could. At first, I had tried to clean them around his shirt, but the fabric had kept on sticking to the torn flesh, making him take it off impati ently after I had to peel it away from the dried blood a few times. "It's not you, it's..." Gale cringed, clenching his jaw as he poked the raw fles h on his side, "It's this. You're doing fine." I pursed my lips before unwillingly giving him a pleading look, only to make his expression even more conflicted than it already was. I knew that he was lying a bout me doing fine; I was doing a mediocre job, at best. There was a reason why

my mother never asked me to help with her patients. "I'm sorry," I repeated in a small voice, splashing water onto Gale's side in an attempt to wash away the dried blood encrusting his torso. My vision started to blur as I used a torn piece of fabric from my shirt to gently scrub the parts o f his side that weren't shredded by Marvel's mace, surprised to find that my che eks had become moist with tears. "So...So sorry," I choked, using my free hand t o frantically rub my eyes. A painful lump had formed in my throat, making my wor ds come out shaky. "Oh, Katniss..." Gale murmured, his voice uneven as he wrapped his arms around m y waist, pulling me into his bare chest. "Stop. You have absolutely nothing to b e sorry for," he whispered, stroking my hair out of my face and squeezing me clo ser into him. I was mindful about Gale's wounds, trying not to touch them as I hesitantly wrap ped my trembling arms around his neck. "Liar," I whispered back, still trying to hide my tears as I buried my face into the crook of his neck. He didn't smell l ike pine, as he usually did. He smelled like blood. Gale let out a strained sigh before moving his lips to my ear and murmuring ferv ently into it, his grip around me tightening despite how it must have hurt him. "Katniss Everdeen, the day I lie to you will be the day I start trusting the Cap itol." My grip around his neck tightened against my will, making a wave of shudders sur ge through my torso. Gale responded by pulling me even closer so that I had no c hoice but to brush against the wound on his side with my hip. If it stung, he di dn't let it show. "Um..." Rue's voice suddenly sounded from my side, giving me a slight start as I swiftly made a move to unhinge myself from Gale's neck, only to have him restra in me by locking his arms in place around my waist. "I think..." Rue chirped, sounding uncomfortable, "I think I have something for your wounds. Something to disinfect them." I wiped my already stinging eyes with the back of my hand before craning my neck to peer at Rue from beneath Gale's chin, who was standing pigeon-toed beside us , clutching what looked like a bundle of flimsy stems covered with dark leaves i n her hand. "Oh?" Gale started, tentatively unwrapping one of his arms from my torso and rea ching out toward Rue, who swiftly dropped her findings into his palm. "What's th is?" Rue nervously darted her glassy eyes to the side before lowering her voice to ju st above a whisper. "Laurus nobilis," she breathed, her tone steadying as we nea red a topic she was insightful about, "but we just call them laurels in District 11. We use the leaves to make wounds heal faster." Gale didn't try to hold me back again when I gingerly pushed myself off of him, wanting to survey the plant myself. The name sounded familiar, and I had a dim m emory of flipping through my father's plant book and seeing a tall tree whose le aves, when chewed up, would both disinfect and speed up the healing process of a wound. Gale opened his palm out to me, and I plucked a thick leaf from it. It was attac hed to a thin, yellowing stem and had a finely serrated edge that made its gloss y green color stand out.

"You can test it out on me first," Rue suggested, her tone getting squeakier the more our silence dragged on. She pursed her thin lips before directing her gaze to me, her dark irises shining, "I just want to help. The same horror that I sa w in his eyes when you fainted...I'm seeing it in yours now." I felt myself flinch at Rue's words before unhinging myself completely from Gale , suddenly completely aware of my swelled eyes and raw cheeks. I had meant to th ank Rue, but I could only manage to give her the same pleading look I had given Gale before I stuck one of the leaves into my mouth and chewed, ignoring the sha rp minty taste that spread across my tongue as I did so. Rue, as if she had rece ived a silent message from my look, crouched beside me and followed suit. It seemed as if Rue had done this a million times before as she promptly took th e chewed leaves out of her mouth and spread it on the sides of Gale's massive wo und, the places where the mace's spikes had impacted his flesh considerably deep er than the rest. The flesh that was still intact around the wound was already b ruising, the skin yellow and tender. Bad, but not fatal. I let out a quiet sigh of relief before spreading the leaves I had chewed next to Rue's. My eyes had long-since adjusted to the dark after we had coated Gale's wound com pletely with the leaves. He was leaning against a tree, the tanned skin that was n't wounded covered with goosebumps from the night air. "I sure am lucky to have two doctors with me," Gale joked halfheartedly before R ue retrieved his abandoned shirt from beside him and wrapped it around his torso , tying it securely around the wound. He grimaced, obviously still suffering, bu t he tried to play it off as a forced smile instead. I felt my eyebrows crinkle together as I surveyed the riverbank for Gale's jacke t, and as if reading my thoughts, he grabbed my shoulders with strong hands befo re tugging me into his chest, his arms instinctively binding themselves around m y waist. "Don't go," he murmured, the feeble edge in his tone startling me, "I'm warm enough without it." I found myself clumsily straddling Gale's lap in an attempt to not touch his fre shly dressed wound, and I heard Rue stifling a giggle from beside me. With terrible suddenness, the anthem blared around the arena, making each one of us tense as we searched the sky for the screen that would show the death recaps for the day. The Capitol seal shown through the thick foliage of the tree above us just befor e it was wiped away from the screen and replaced with an image of Glimmer, sendi ng my pulse into a rabid flurry as my body turned to ice. The picture was taken before her porcelain skin was tainted with wounds and before her blonde hair was matted with blood. Before my arrow had lodged itself into her heart. I swallowed hard in an attempt to control the trembles shooting themselves throu gh my limbs, and I was almost grateful when an image of the girl from District 4 took Glimmer's place on the screen. Her picture was replaced by another shot of the Capitol seal and the unavoidable musical flourish that went with it before the screen faded into the blackness of the night sky. Three Careers dead so far, and it was just the end of the second day. A nauseating feeling of guilt was twisting itself in the pit of my stomach, maki ng my chest heave slightly as I turned away from the sky and buried my face into Gale's shoulder, breathing in the fresh scent of his blood that only added onto my self-loathing. Why did I get to be armed with the beautiful silver bow he ha

d gone through the trouble of snatching up at the Cornucopia, when he only had a throwing knife to protect himself with? "Don't you ever, ever," I drawled, my grip on Gale's neck unconsciously tighteni ng, "Go up against anyone with a mace again. Or any weapon, for that matter." Gale nuzzled his face into my neck, making me shiver once I had felt him smile a gainst it. "Are you worried about me, Catnip?" he teased, instantly making me aw are at how close I had squeezed myself into him. I squirmed in an effort to draw myself away, but Gale kept me securely in place with his sturdy arms. Rue giggled, the sound soft and soothing to my eardrums. "Wow, I guess I should step into the other room," she murmured dryly. I'm not sure how, but exhaustion must have taken over Gale during the night. I h ad craned my neck to glance at him only to see that his forehead was resting on my shoulder, and that his chest was rising and falling with quiet, warm breaths that brushed across the crook of my neck, making surges of trembles rush through me. I couldn't stop a small smile from tugging at the corners of my lips; he ne eded rest more than anyone. Rue and I had taken the opportunity to compare our supplies and plan ahead. She did most of the sorting since Gale was a light sleeper, and I didn't want to wak e him by moving my shoulder. It was almost funny how neither of us needed to say that we were allies to final ize the decision. We were already together, and she had somehow won over all of my trust in less than a day. I would've expected her to flee when Marvel and Gli mmer came into the equation, but she had stuck with us, even when my arrow had p ierced through Glimmer's chest and when Gale was limping behind them, mace in ha nd. "Wow," she whispered, careful to keep her wistful voice low so she wouldn't wake Gale, "You made these arrows?" "Gale did," I mumbled back with a grin, feeling an odd sense of pride swell in m y chest. Rue already knew what was in the orange backpack since she was the one who colle cted it after the bloodbath, so she kept it to the side as she carefully spread out the other items in between us. I could see her dusky eyes sway back to the a rrows occasionally, as if she couldn't get over how sturdy they seemed for mere branches. "Sorry, I don't have much," she mumbled, furrowing her eyebrows as if she was em barrassed as she revealed her extensive collection of roots, nuts, berries, and greens. I eyed the plump berries suspiciously, and she responded by letting a fa int chuckle escape from her lips. "I'm from District 11, Katniss. Agriculture. I know a safe berry when I see one." As if to prove her point, she plucked one fr om the stack and popped it into her mouth, making sure that I saw her swallow. Along with her gatherings, Rue had a small water skin, an extra pair of ragged s ocks, and a dulled dagger that she had also collected after the bloodbath from t he trunk of an old pine tree. The only thing I had to show her besides the backpack was the silver bow and the sheath filled with the wooden arrows that Gale had carved, but she seemed more than impressed. I also acknowledged the throwing knife I had gotten from Clove a t the Cornucopia, and she seemed to understand that I couldn't show it to her on ce I mentioned that it was attached to Gale's belt.

The sun was already rising once we were done splitting our food into three equal parts, making the metallic end of the bloodied mace just feet away from us refl ect its rays. I tensed at the weapon's spikes driven into the earth, knowing tha t they were once being torn across Gale's flesh. Rue pursed her lips before tentatively scooting herself more to the side in an a ttempt to hide the mace from my vision, and I couldn't help but give her a weak smile. At least the weapon wasn't in the hands of a Career anymore, though I had an odd feeling that Marvel wouldn't be searching for us again anytime soon. "Rue?" I mumbled, squinting my eyes in response to the sun's light breaking thro ugh the foliage of the trees. "How many of us are left? I've only been keeping t rack of the Careers." She gave me a blank stare before holding her small hands in front of her face an d counting on her fingers, going through all the tributes she could remember. "T here's me, you, Gale, Thresh, the two from District 2, the boy from District 1.. ." Her sprightly voice drifted away as she crinkled her eyebrows together in tho ught, "Too many. Without the Careers, all the other tributes are just hiding out in the trees, waiting for someone else to kill them." I flinched at Rue's strong words, and she responded by giving me a quizzical loo k. The games had surely aged her innocent twelve-year-old mind by at least ten y ears. Gale began to stir, making me aware of how my arm had fallen asleep during the n ight from the weight of his head on my shoulder. I stretched it above my head af ter he pulled himself away from it and rubbed his eyes sleepily with the back of his hand. "Was I asleep?" Gale wearily mumbled, his ashen eyes darting around aimlessly un til he silently answered his own question, causing him to give me an almost sulk y look. "Why did you let me fall asleep?" "Because you needed it," I responded matter-of-factly, resisting the urge to bru sh his sleep-tousled hair out of his smokey eyes. He gave me a defeated grin bef ore quietly sighing to himself. Gale wasn't one to complain, which most people would see as a good trait, but it only worried me more. It meant that I would never truly know how bad his wound was, or if he was in any type of pain that I could fix. I watched with strained eyes as he tried to stand himself up, gritting his teeth as he struggled to his feet. His hands automatically found their way to his sid e before they gripped his wound, as if pressure would make the pain go away. Rue suggested replacing the leaves, but he assured her that that wouldn't be needed until later. I never strayed far from Gale, worried that he might fall over the moment I wasn 't there to catch him. The guilt combined with the overwhelming uneasiness I fel t for his wound continued to eat away at me throughout the day, even when Rue wa s showing us which berries were safe to eat and Gale was joking about how he wou ld bet that she was half-bird. It must've been late afternoon when the sound of a cannon pierced the air, which made all three of us pause in our tracks for a moment as we silently wondered w ith great anxiety who it was for. As soon as we managed to shrug it off, another cannon echoed throughout the arena, soaking me to the very marrow of my bones w ith distress.

It wasn't until a third cannon reverberated off our eardrums that Rue suggested that she went into the trees to see what the Careers were doing. "No," I immediately demanded, only to have Gale push his lips into a stern line before disagreeing with me. "Rue was doing fine before this alliance. I'm sure she won't get into any troubl e if she just checks up on the Cornucopia," he coaxed, giving me a speculative l ook beneath his eyelashes. I felt my features twist into a pained grimace, and h e responded by wrapping his arm around my shoulders and dropping his voice to a comforting murmur. "She'll be back before you even have a chance to worry about her." In the end, they both ended up convincing me, and Rue had readied herself in the foliage of the trees. I urged her to not snap any branches while she was up the re, and she nodded with a slight smile, her teeth the only part of her I could s ee while she was cloaked in the dark tresses of the treetops. The moment she was out of my sight was the moment I felt as if a part of my very being was torn away from me. I knew that I shouldn't feel that way about any ot her tribute besides Galehe was the only one I was protecting in this arena with my lifebut I couldn't help the rising panic in my chest. "Relax, Catnip," he asserted, resting a strong arm on my shoulders and pulling m e closer to him, "Rue's tough. I wouldn't be surprised if she came back here wit h a dead bear in her hands." We both stood still for a while, expecting Rue to pop up in the treetops again w ithout another moment's notice. I bit my bottom lip, already regretting that I'd let her go. I knew that I should have gone with her, but I couldn't flutter thr ough the trees as quietly as she could. Maybe Gale would've been able to if it w asn't for the wound on his side. It wasn't long before Gale noticed my slit elbow, the skin around it shriveled u p and peeling. I had almost forgotten that Glimmer had sliced at it with her swo rd, but as soon as I remembered, the stinging had me rushing to the river to soo the it with cool water. Gale forced me to sit down on the dirt before he cleaned the slice properly, his hands gentle as he brushed them across my skin. We used all the laurel leaves R ue had collected on his wound, so he had to settle with cleaning mine with water and wrapping a small piece of fabric from his pants around it. I wondered with dry amusement how long it would take before we had no more fabric to dress our w ounds with. We both ended up settling in front of a tree, our aching backs leaning against i ts rough trunk as we awaited Rue's arrival. The sky was clear, giving the sun free reign across its azure expanse as it beam ed through the treetops and onto my skin, the pleasant warmth contrasting with t he piercing anxiety I felt in the pit of my stomach. "...You think she's busy with that bear you mentioned?" I joked with a weak chuc kle, feeling my breaths gradually become more uneven. "Definitely," Gale assured, his slightly unsteady voice putting me even more on edge than I already was. The moment I heard a body dashing through the treetops, my initial reaction was

to be filled with relief. I got to my feet, a smile tugging at my lips, when it finally hit me. Rue was never that loud. An entire symphony of snapping branches and rustling leaves hit my eardrums like punches, making my head swell as I aimlessly wandered around the clearing, Gale getting to his feet to worriedly follow me. "Rue?" I called out, my voice shaking as I felt my heart slap against my ribcage , making me arch my back in an effort to soothe it. A tiny figure suddenly burst through the foliage of the tree above me before it crashed to the ground, rolling through the dirt and leaving trails of dust in it s path. "Rue!" I darted over to her, my feet reacting on their own as my brain recovered from the shock. I turned her over, and she widened her opaque eyes at me before sucking in a loud, sharp breath and coughing into her hands, revealing a large gash across her cheek and multiple twigs stuck in her thick wave of raven hair. "M-Marvel...!" Rue choked out between coughs, her eyes watering as she struggled to sit up. She removed her hands from her mouth only to reveal, to my pure horr or, spatters of blood on her petite palms. "He saw me! He threw a knife at me!" I hadn't realized that Gale was beside me before he clenched his fist, his eyebr ows crinkling above his rage-filled eyes. "Should've killed him when I had the c hance," he muttered, helping Rue sit up. Rue took a deep, trembling breath before shaking her head, as if to clear the th oughts from it. "And Clove...Her arm! She..." The wetness in her eyes threatened to drip over her eyelids, moistening her thick eyelashes as she stared horror-s truck at the ground. "...She cut off her arm! Her own arm, just because she was afraid of the infection spreading!" I sucked in a sharp breath at the image of Clove slicing away at her infected sh oulder with a blade, clenching her teeth to hold back agonized screams as blood streamed down her side and her arm gradually got more limp and lifeless. "...And they were coming for me," Rue slowly realized, her eyes becoming wild, " They were chasing me! And I led them here!" She gripped the sides of her head wi th strained hands, her tears now running freely down her cheeks. "We need to run !" Chapter 17 "We need to run! Right now!" My head pounded, the throbbing pain pulsating in time with my rabid heartbeat. R ue's hysterical voice lingered in the air, seemingly echoing in my eardrums and making my limbs lock in place as the meaning of her words slowly sank into my br ain. Rue's frantic whimpering was lost as my mind plummeted into an empty space where sound and sight were muffled and dulled, as if my head was being pushed violent ly into a tub of dark water. I was only slightly aware of Gale getting to his feet and hissing out a chain of curses as he stalked away, his legs stiff but carrying purpose. "I can hear the m," he muttered from behind me, his voice piercing through my daze and causing a

wave of trembles to surge through my limbs, "They're coming from all directions . They have us closed in." "No...No, they can't." I was puzzled when Rue had peeked over the hands she had buried her face in to p eer at me, only to slowly realize that the words had burst out my own clenched t eeth. I darted my head downward to stare at my palms, now covered with the sheen of a thin layer of sweat, before I forced myself to get to my feet and rub my e yes roughly, as if it would help carry me back to reality. "There are only three of them left," I explained shortly, "And one of them is probably already half-d ead from blood loss." "Good point," Gale agreed, making me crane my neck to look at him. I was startle d to see the bloodied mace that had once been used to wound his side posed firml y in his fist. There was a ripple in his hard mask once I had locked gazes with him, as if he was ashamed of being seen with such a terrible weapon in his hand, but it was gone as soon as Rue let out another whimper. "It's a gamble," Gale added, his features darkening, "Running into Cato would be a done deal." I couldn't help but imagine Cato's stocky frame and thick arms, and how his glar e was enough to silence an entire crowd of Capitolites during his interview. Wit h a gulp, I saw that Gale's jaw had tightened, as if it pained him to admit that Cato would be a danger to us. "...This is all my fault," Rue suddenly choked out, causing me glance at her sid eways. Her frantic expression looked wild paired up with her disheveled hair and torn arena clothing, and the whites of her eyes had reddened from her fresh tea rs. Her dark skin was etched with scratches from her rough landing, and the bloo d from her gashed cheek was drying into a maroon crust against the side of her f ace. It was then that my head cleared enough to hear the distant but imminent forthco ming of rough footsteps heading in our direction, the careless tread accompanied by the occasional high-pitched voice of what could only be a Career calling out curt demands. "No it's not," Gale reassured her, his expression exasperated as he adjusted his grip on the mace, looking uncomfortable as the spiked head of the weapon dangle d against his side, "It was only a matter of time before something like this hap pened." I became gradually more aware of the fact that our time had been quickly running out, and that the Career pack that had doubtlessly caused all three cannons ear lier today was rushing in our direction. Every passing second was a second waste d. "If we don't go soon, we'll have to deal with all three of them at once," I murm ured under my breath, causing Gale's already stormy eyes to harden. He nodded be fore slinging the orange backpack over his shoulder. My eyes unconsciously darte d to his wound, only to see that the black shirt wrapped around it had been damp ening with what seemed to be fresh blood. My chest heaved, but I forced myself t o tear my gaze away and focus on the task at hand. I turned myself around before gathering the silver bow and sheath off the dirt a nd locking my gaze on Rue, who had been folding in on herself and wrapping her a rms around her chest, as if she could make herself small enough to vanish comple tely.

I swallowed hard before crouching in front of her and trying to make the panic s earing through my veins less apparent as she peeked out from behind her slender arms. "You should go into the trees again," I murmured, watching Rue's opaque ey es widen to the point where they looked unnatural paired up with her petite face , "You'll be safer that way." Rue tightened her lips before nodding, the movement a slight twitch in her neck. Her legs seemed even more delicate than usual as she willed herself to stand up , only to have her features suddenly contort in pain as she put weight on her fe et, her knees buckling and causing her to wobble back down to the earth. "What's wrong?" I quaked, startled to see that I had been unconsciously reaching out toward her. Rue looked up at me with tears shining in her eyes, making my e yebrows crinkle in puzzlement. She silently tore the tarnished boot off her left foot, struggling with the tight leather and revealing her bare toes to the dry afternoon air. I felt a breath catch in my throat as my gaze locked on her ankle . It had swelled to almost the size of a small melon and was dotted with reddeni ng bruises, the skin looking tender and bloated. Rue let out a choked whimper, the sound coming from the very back of her throat. All the hysteria I had seen in her features earlier had evaporated and was repl aced with an almost haunting look of emptinessthe look of someone who had lost all hope. "I must have twisted my ankle on the way over here," Rue murmured, her voice slu rred with tears as she forced a smile to tug at her thin lips, "Too bad adrenali ne doesn't last, huh?" "I'll carry you," Gale suddenly urged from behind me, already dropping the mace to the dirt. I craned my neck to glance at him, only to have my eyes find their way to the still bleeding wound on his side. I sternly shook my head before slipping the silver bow around my torso. "I'll do it," I insisted, reaching my arms out toward Rue's petite frame, only to have m y limbs turn to stone once the lingering noise of rustling leaves caught my ear from outside the clearing. The screeching voice of a Career suddenly rattled my eardrums, seemingly shaking the treetops around us with its piercing timbre. "Come out, come out wherever you are..." Clove. I knew her shrill, venom-drenched voice anywhere; it had come through the teeth of her wicked smile when she had hovered one of her throwing knives again st my throat at the Cornucopia. All the other voices of the Career pack seemed d eep in the woods, but hers was so clear that she could have been only mere feet away from our location. I felt a shiver surge its way up my spine as my features twisted into a strained grimace, the mere sound of Clove's eager footsteps enough to paralyze my entire body with unexplainable fear. It was almost obvious that we would be able to ta ke herthe blood loss from her recent self-inflicted injury should have her already falling into the awaiting claws of deathbut I couldn't seem to shake the feeling of aching dread rocking through my body. Clove let out an elongated sigh, the sound high-pitched and drenched with staged exaggeration. "District 12 rodents," she spat, her voice suddenly snapped into a malice-filled hiss, "I know you're here somewhere." Her steps seemed to be slo wing, as if she was savoring the moment by slithering around us. "Poor little Ma rvy...You'll pay for what you did to him."

I couldn't help but imagine her pale, sickly skin and her torn, shriveled nub wh ere she had irrationally cut off the source of her infection. My eyes swayed ove r to Rue, and she seemed just as frightened as I was. Trembles had begun to visi bly trickle their way up and down her spine, and her lips were parted and quiver ing, not daring to make a single sound. A hand suddenly grazed my shoulder, and I had to hold back a gasp as I whipped m y head around, only to see Gale eyeing me with strained, stormy eyes. It puzzled me to see how extremely conflicted his expression waschapped lips pushed together , dark strands of hair falling into his eyes, broad shoulders set stiffly...I ha d to resist the urge to reach up and smooth all the pained creases out of Gale's otherwise smooth face as he silently gazed down at me. My confusion only grew as he proceeded to cup the side of my face with a warm ha nd, his expression growing softer as he inched his face close to mine until his lips could softly brush against my forehead. The touch seemed to send waves of w armth throughout my entire body, making my knees buckle as his lips tentatively traveled to my ear, his breath tickling it as he softly whispered, "Take Rue and run." My eyes widened before I whirled my head upwards to catch Gale's gaze, but he ha d already stepped away from me and rushed into the brush towards Clove. I felt a scream build up behind my vocal cords as I saw him disappear into the foliage, mace in hand. "Well, well, well..." I heard Clove chime through the thickets, a poison-tipped smile apparent in her voice, "If it isn't Lover Boy himself. I bet all that bloo d on your side is the handiwork of Marvy, right? He's a good boy." My legs moved without my consent. I was darting through the trees before Clove c ould even begin her next sentence, an arrow already strung into my bow. Her shri ll voice lingered in my eardrums until I had found both her and Gale standing st iffly in a disarray of branches and leaves. "Oh, lookie here," Clove lilted, dragging her syllables as she let her dulled em erald irises sway in my direction, "It's the other District 12 rat, too. I must have hit the jackpot." My breaths tore through my chest in fits as I slowly let my eyes lock onto Distr ict 2 female, only to have the mere sight of her crippled frame send bile up my throat, burning the back of my mouth as I slowly took the sight of her in. The once perfectly smooth wave of chestnut hair that flowed over her shoulders w as now a single knot resting on top of her sallow head, matted at the sides with dried blood and framing her sickeningly pale face. Her arena clothes were stain ed with blood in various areas, tearing at her torso and knees and revealing mor e of her pallid, withered skin. None of this compared to the side of Clove's torso, where a messily bandaged bul ge took the place of where her arm used to be, causing her lean to the side a bi t, as if the absence of the limb set her off balance. She looked as if she was a lready dead, parts of her skin graying as if her body was decomposing. I had to rake my eyes away, only to catch a glimpse of Gale gazing at me with a crinkled look of pain in his irises, screaming a silent message: Why did you fol low me? "How sweet, you two get to die together," Clove drawled, immediately snapping me out of my reverie and causing me to glance at her, only to have another wave of nausea pass through me at her appearance. She barred her teeth, her feeble fing

ers finding their way to her belt and revealing a couple of small throwing knive s hooked onto it. Gale's movements were almost invisibly fast as he stepped in front of me, making me widen my eyes in silent surprise. "You're bluffing," he murmured through cle nched teeth, his voice drenched with venom as he peered at the District 2 female in front of him, "You don't have a single drop of blood left in you. I wouldn't be surprised if you couldn't even lift your arm up." Clove let a sharp ring of laughter tear through her throat before she gave Gale a glare as sharp as glass, her weak eyes just barely carrying enough life to do so. "You're probably right. It's a good thing that I have two brutes on my side then, isn't it?" Gale tensed in front of me, and I felt myself do the same as I slowly registered the meaning of Clove's words. The District 2 female shot us a foul smile, her c racked lips stretching over her yellowing teeth, before she yelled as loud as sh e possibly could, making nearby birds scatter into the sunlight as her voice pie rced the air. "Cato! Marvel! I found them! They're right here!" I hurriedly pushed myself around Gale before raising my bow and taking aim at Cl ove's neck, my heart drumming against my ribcage and making my hands shake. I fo rced my gaze to narrow as I tried to work my way through the panic surging throu gh my limbs, my fingers barely able to grip my bowstring as I clumsily pulled it to my chin. Clove's jaw suddenly dropped into a silent scream, her jade-colored eyes widenin g and her single arm falling limply at her side. I let out a trembling breath, t hinking that I had managed to release my arrow, only to find with utmost confusi on that it was still securely strung into my bow. My eyes lowered to Clove's stomach where a dark stain rapidly spread throughout the tattered remains of her arena clothingblood. She fell to the earth, face-plant ing into the dirt and revealing a very nauseated looking Marvel standing behind her, a bloodstained dagger held outstretched in front of him. At his feet was Cl ove's crumpled, inanimate frame, the knife wound at the center of her back makin g red liquid seep into the dirt around her. "Go, you dimwits," Marvel hissed abruptly, not even bothering to wipe Clove's bl ood off his dagger before quickly shoving it back into his belt, "Cato's coming, and he will kill you both." I felt my features twist into a gawk, and I thought I saw a flash of a grin tug at Marvel's thin lips in response to it. His brilliant blue eyes seemed to cut r ight through me as he stepped closer to us, his expression filled with something that puzzled me to the very pit of my stomacha sort of soft, wanting look buried in his icy irises. "Look at this," Marvel murmured sweetly, his gaze never leaving mine as he tenta tively reached a hand up toward my cheek, "I never thought that a pretty girl wo uld ever lead me to backstabbing my allies." I furrowed my eyebrows in extreme confusion before Marvel let out a sigh, his az ure eyes finding their way to the dirt. "Take care of yourself," he breathed. I didn't even have enough time to respond before Gale grabbed my shoulder and tu gged me away from the District 1 male, a scowl plastered to his features as he l ed me back toward the clearing. Rue was still where we had left her, the tears that had once ran freely down her

cheeks now dried into a salty crust against her dark skin. Her expression brigh tened once she saw us, and a crushing fact dawned on me: She must have thought t hat we had left her to die alone. I slipped my hands under Rue's tiny frame before securing her in my grasp, her b ody as light as air compared to the overflowing game bags I had to carry back in District 12. My legs almost unconsciously followed in Gale's tracks as we rushe d out of the clearing and into the trees. The gentle, almost soothing sound of Marvel's voice just through the thick layers of leaves that separated us. I on't know where the District 12's went," and, "Clove was re," as I put increasingly more space between myself and managed reached my ears picked up traces of, "D like that when I got he the District 1 Career.

I had managed to escape with Gale, Rue, and all of our supplies, but I just coul dn't help but feel as if I had left something essential behind. Boom! I sat as still as a statue, waiting for a wave of overwhelming guilt to pulse th rough my body in response to Clove's cannon rippling through the air, just like it had when Glimmer's cannon sounded. I pushed my lips together as if I could ph ysically brace myself for it, but it never came. I couldn't help but wonder if i t was because Clove had already seemed dead the moment she stepped into the aren a, all traces of her usual self gone and replaced with a crazed, almost animalis tic lunatic whose only concern was getting out of the games alive. "Well, look at that," Gale said with the low whistle, causing me to gaze sideway s at him. The bloodied shirt we had used to bandage his side with laid abandoned on the dirt, and the chewed leaves that had been covering his wound flowed down the river we were all situated next to. Gale's side was slippery with water, indicating that he had rinsed it and reveal ing that his once raw wound was now healing into a neat scab. Rue sat next to hi m with a knowing grin plastered onto her features. "Wow," I blurted out, scooting myself closer to Gale to get a better look, "The leaves did that?" "Laurel leaves can do wonders for open wounds," Rue explained wistfully, "They s peed up the healing process and make the wound clean itself. That's probably why it was bleeding earlier." She gave us both a sweet smile. "I don't know what Di strict 11 would do without them." "I don't know what I would do without them," Gale murmured, still staring with d isbelief down at his side. Rue let out a tremulous giggle, and I couldn't help but give Gale a relieved smi le as I tentatively ran my finger around the smooth skin around his scab. I was rewarded with a catch in his breath as a shiver ran through his torso at my touc h. The sun was ducking beneath the expanse of trees that surrounded us, letting dus k slowly chill the air. We had followed the river to another clearing that was covered with bright moss and thin grass, the plants succeeding in soothing Rue as she sat quietly in fron t of a lichen-covered boulder, her swollen ankle outstretched in front of her. It wasn't until the dryness of afternoon faded away that I had realized that we

had left Gale's jacket at the clearing before we frantically fled away from it, wanting to put as much space between us and the Careers as possible. You only wanted to leave one of the Careers. I felt a lump lodge itself in my throat as I forced this thought to the back of my mind, which was an easy task to do when Gale's goosebump-covered torso was ri ght beside me. I leaned myself against him in an effort to transfer my body heat . My a, to ey head still seemed to be in a daze when the anthem sounded throughout the aren making me lazily search the sky for the screen. It wasn't nearly dark enough be night yet, so a pang of confusion prodded at my chest as I wondered why th were showing the death recaps early today.

The screen appeared above the foliage of the treetops in front of us, blocking o ut what little light the sun was offering as it slipped into the sky. The Capito l seal was taking up the wide expanse of the screen before it was replaced by an image of Clove, making a shudder creep its way up my spine. The picture was tak en before she had become so incredibly tainted by the idea of surviving; she was even smiling, her eyes brightened and her arm still attached to her side. I sucked in a breath as I waited for the three cannons from earlier today to be revealed, uneasiness welling up in my throat as I watched Clove's image disappea r from the screen. It was replaced by the face of the male tribute from District 3, his eyes widened with fear and his irises framed by dark circles, indicating that he couldn't even sleep in the Training Center. The arena must have been he ll for him, then. Next was the female tribute from District 8 and the male tribu te from District 10, the one that had been hobbling around on his crippled foot during the interviews. The screen blackened, not disappearing into the still dimly-lit sky and instead dipping beneath the trees and out of sight. I felt my head pound as I imagined h ow all the families felt about their children not lasting. How they reacted when their deaths were being shown on their television screens, eager narrations clo sing in on every gory detail. Gale shivered beside me, doubtlessly in response to the frigid air against his b are torso. I pursed my lips in worry, and he responded by giving me an almost sh eepish grin. "You could still get closer, Catnip," he murmured, obviously trying to take the strain away from watching the death recaps. He wrapped a sturdy arm around my sh oulders and pulled me closer into his torso. My body seemed to instinctively tense as I waited for the scent of Gale's blood to seep into my nostrils, but his natural scent of pine seemed to be prevailing through it. In a flurry of mixed emotions, I found myself inhaling deeply, more relieved than anything that his wound had finally healed enough to not have to b e bandaged anymore. I was interrupted when another shiver ran through Gale's bod y, making me aware of how my cheek was brushing against the goosebumps that cove red the smooth skin of his chest. His jacket was gone, but that didn't mean that he would have to spend the rest o f his nights in the arena chilled to the bone. Determined, I retrieved Gale's black arena shirt before dipping it into the rive r, tightening my lips in unease as I quickly washed the mixture of blood, dirt, and laurel leaves away from the fabric. My hands tightened around it, wringing t he red-tinted water away from it and watching as the scarlet liquid trickled bac

k into the river. I winced. Gale placed his palm over the back of my hand before enclosing my fist in his, e nveloping it in his body heat despite how he was freezing next to me. "You don't have to..." he murmured, reaching out toward his shirt only to have me move it away from his fingers. "I'll do it," I mumbled back stubbornly, only to make Gale's chest shake with si lent laughter beside me. "Your face is green, Catnip. You were never good with human blood," he crooned, reaching for the shirt again, "Let me do that." With a sigh, I let him take the fabric away from my hands before he proceeded to dip it back in the river, makin g the water around it cloud with blood. My hands were left empty and task-less in my lap as I listened to the constant s ound of water splashing against the bank of the river, leaving my mind free to w ander. I was almost startled when an image of Marvel's fair face took up the free space in my head, making a tremble shoot its way through my torso even though my heat -reflecting jacket was zipped securely around my torso. The brilliant blueness o f his eyes, the slight shadows tinting his eyelids, the darkness of his tawny ha ir in contrast to his pale skin... "Rue?" I murmured, reaching a hand up to brush a few stray hairs away from my fa ce, desperate to find a task to occupy myself with. Rue blinked in my direction, and I could see that she had already cleaned the ga sh on her cheek. It was now a delicate line across the side of her face, framing her cheek bone. "Yes?" I cleared my throat uncomfortably before unconsciously scooting myself closer to Gale. "You said...You said that Marvel threw a knife at you." I felt Gale tense beside me, making me chew at my lower lip in unease. I scooted myself even closer to him. "Oh," Rue frowned, her voice weary, "It's odd, but now that I think about it...I think he missed on purpose." Gale's frame grew even more tense, making me dart my gaze to his features, only to see that he had set his jaw firmly and that his lips were tightened into a st ern line. "Cato and Clove were with him. I think Clove was trying to flirt with him, calli ng him Marvy and all that," Rue shuddered, lowering her head and fumbling with h er fingers, "I think Marvel had just gotten there. He looked really confused and lost, it was almost...pitiful." I let out e me, his earm, the an almost a trembling breath while Gale seemed to get gradually more stiff besid hands now hanging motionless in the river. I placed my palm on his for touch as light as a falling leaf, and he acknowledged it by giving me pleading look.

Rue continued, unaware of how it was affecting Gale. "I shifted my weight. It wa s stupid. I ended up snapping a twig, and Cato immediately found me..." Rue paus ed to take a breath, obviously having trouble reliving the whole thing. "He took one of Clove's throwing knives, but Marvel...He ended up shoving Cato so that h e would miss. The knife still ended up cutting my cheek, but I think Cato was ai

ming for my forehead." "After that, Cato got really, really mad. He punched Marvel in the stomach and s tarted saying that he would cut Marvel to pieces if he didn't throw a knife at m e. I was still shocked about being found, and the blood from my cheek...It just made me panic." Rue's eyes were starting to moisten with tears, making me open m y mouth in an effort to tell her to stop, but she continued before I could utter a word. "I turned around and was about to jump into another tree, but I missed and ending up falling...I think that was when I twisted my ankle. I heard a pop. " "Rue" I started, but she still continued, her tears now sticking to her eyelashes. "I was so scared. Cato was yelling at Marvel, telling him to kill me while I was right in front of them and he...He just wouldn't..." Rue's tears were now falli ng over her cheeks, making her hiccup between her sentences. "It wasn't until I got into another tree that Marvel finally threw a knife at me. It didn't even co me close...But I thought...I thought that he was trying to kill me, just because I was so scared. And then I blamed everything on him..." Gale got up from beside me, tossing his shirt to the dirt before he stalked away , his features tightened into a pained grimace. "They ended up following me...I was so stupid, I was scared of Marvel when he wa s the only one telling them to stop, telling them that I was just a weak twelveyear-old and that I wasn't worth the effort..." She brushed a hand across her ch eek in an effort to wipe away her tears, only to have more flow down from her ey es. Rue seemed to be finished. Her sniffing was the only thing interrupting the stra ined silence that had fallen upon us. "...Gale," I started, feeling the lump in my throat grow bigger as I watched him slowly crane his neck to look at me sideways, his features twisted into somethi ng that looked extremely disturbed. "Well," he suddenly muttered, crinkling his eyebrows as his hardened eyes straye d away from me, "I guess that lapdog really is our ally." Gale inhaled sharply, his eyes narrowing into slits as if he had to force his words out. "Let's go fin d him." "What?" I choked out, unconsciously getting to my feet and letting my eyebrows f urrow in puzzlement. "But you" "It doesn't matter what I think about this," Gale argued, his tone suddenly dren ched with frustration as he turned his head to peer at me, his ashen eyes filled with desperation, "If he can protect you, Katniss, that's good enough for me." I was startled by Gale's sudden outburst, the feebleness in his eyes catching me off-guard as I stared at him with my eyebrows arched. "What" "And frankly, I'm sure that he's already fallen in love the desperation in his eyes becoming increasingly more re than anyone how that feels. He'd do anything to keep how I feel about it, no matter how helpless and jealous with you," Gale seethed, apparent, "And I know mo you safe, and no matter I get..."

I sucked in a breath, my lips parted as I let Gale's words slowly sink in. "...It'll all be worth it, because I'll know that you'll be safe." His voice had weakened into a soft murmur, and he stared at me as if he had suddenly aged ten

yearshis back arched with exhaustion and the shadows under his eyes more visible than I had ever seen them. "It'll all be worth it because...Because I love you, Katniss."