The Girl On Fire | Hunger Games | Peeta (1)

Chapter 11

Alessia continues to try to listen to them as they speak.
Glimmer speaks in her usual whine voice, "Why don't we just kill him now and get it over with?"
Cato shakes his head, "Let him tag along. What's the harm? He's handy with that knife. Besides, he's our best chance of us finding her."
Alessia widens her eyes. She cannot believe that Peeta would do a thing like that.
Glimmer continues, "Why? Do you really think she bought into that sappy romance stuff?"
Alessia rolls her eyes, why would she?! Alessia knew Peeta was just using it as an act. Or was he?
Cato shrugged, "She might've. She seems pretty simple minded."
Marvel joins in their conversation, "Every time I think about her spinning around in that dress, I want to puke."
Lacey also joins in, "Wish we knew how she got an eleven for her score."
Cato gives a sly smile, "Bet you lover boy knows."
Peeta then returns to the group and they all stop talking.
Cato changes the subject, "Was she dead?"
Peeta shakes his head, "No. But she is now."
The cannon fires.
Alessia's eyes widen again, she remembered that he told her that he didn't want the games to turn him into a monster, but it kinda seemed like it now.
Peeta then asks, "Ready to move on?"
The mob runs off into the woods. Off in the distance, Lacey is heard, "Hey you guys, look! Someone set up a snare and caught a rabbit. Lucky day, right?"

After they had left, Alessia is livid, and clutches her stomach as she feels sick after the group had just killed that poor girl. 

                                                                    - 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐭 𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞 -

Prim and Katniss sit at their ragged desks in a threadbare school room. The whole class watches The Games on a beautiful and fancy television that had been sent from the capitol. The two sisters observe Alessia on the screen as the teacher Templesmith speaks. 

"Pack-hunting is a sound strategy; we see it every year. But it's the first time I can recall a tribute from Twelve being included in one. Alessia seems pretty shocked by it too! Some boyfriend, that Peeta! Ouch!" Templesmith chuckles. 

Katniss just shuts her eyes and whispers, "Alessia..."

                                                                 - 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡 - 

Stillness. 

Then the top of the tree begins to blow sideways. Alessia wakes up quick, she has to hang on, literally. She feels a whoosh of air above her and looks up.... another hovercraft, descending. The arms extend from it, disappearing behind a boulder. Next thing Alessia sees is the body of a tribute that looks half burnt, vanishing into the air craft.

Alessia sighs, that girl must have started it.

Later that day, Alessia drags her feet in the dirt as the scorching sun beads down on her. Alessia pants as she walks.

She goes over to the snare she made the night before, thinking that the district 1 and 2 allies had taken her rabbit. It was still there. 

She cooks the rabbit over the still-hot coals of the fire left behind by the dead girl. But no smoke rises from it because she has rigged a cloth over the fire, propped up by sticks, to absorb the smoke. 

Her lips have cracked. She coats them with grease from the rabbit. Swallowing is an effort, like razors down her throat. She desperately needs water.

She then wraps up half the rabbit , puts it in her pack. Steps out from the tree's shade... into that killing sun again...

Two hours passes by. Parched and weak, Alessia snaps a branch in two, turns it into a walking stick. Up ahead is a patch of berries. At last. She sighs in relief.

She kneels down and grabs at them, just about to pop them in her mouth... when she stops herself. She knows these berries...

"Nightlock." She tosses them away and keeps going.

Hours continue to pass in the glade.

Alessia sags against a boulder - lips burning, eyes shut, sun beating on her. What comes out is a barely audible plea, "Water, Haymitch. Please..."

𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫

In Haymitch's headquarters of the game center, Haymitch, of course, is watching. Effie eyes him. 

He looks over at her, "Water she can find on her own..." He pours himself a cup of coffee and slugs down a bitter gulp. 

Effie shakes her head and walks out the door, muttering how selfish Haymitch can be.

𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐚

Alessia stumbles, weary. The ground starts to spin. She keeps moving, leaning on that stick. Then she drops, collapsing. 

Silence. 

𝐎𝐌𝐆! 𝐒𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧'𝐭 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲! 𝐈 𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐲. 𝐈𝐝𝐤 𝐢𝐟 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞...𝐀𝐧𝐲𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬, 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤!! 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐬𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠!𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐲𝐚𝐥𝐥, 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧.