The Hunger Games: What If Katniss Never Existed?

Chapter 17

A/N

Yay! This is my third chapter today! My small amounts of homework are changing my nights forever, woohoo.

Prim POV

"Is no one in here? (mutters) I could have sworn we turned the lights off when we left..." I ducked down behind one of the repulsive tables and held my breath in terror. I squeezed my eyes shut as if these things would stop the man from seeing me and sent a silent prayer for him to leave. The man briskly walked over to the light switch and I caught a peek of his crisp white lab coat. He moved to turn of the lights but something seemed to catch his eye. He shuffled over to where I had backed into the wall and I realized that in my haste I had tipped a plastic container onto it's side, the sound muffled by a clothe that had been left out. My breath caught in my throat and I choked down a scream of terror as the man picked up the container, set it in it's place and sharply turned around facing me. My body shook as he approached my hiding place. Frantically I scootched back without looking behind me to avoid him. My back hit something hard and cold before a loud crash and the sound of shattering glass. He ran behind the table and stared in shock at the sight of me. I saw directly behind him was a mirror and I saw why he was so stunned. My braid had come undone and it flared around me in a frizzy mess. On top of that my shirt had come untucked and my eyes were bugged out in terror. I cowered back and yelped in pain when I set my hand down. Dragging it back quickly I quivered as I saw a piece of glass ingrained in my palm. The noise had snapped the strange man out of his stupor and he rushed forward to help he. As a reflex I threw my hands in front of my face and turned away. I heard him stop and slowly peered at him. "Why do you look so scared?" He asked me. My only response was a whimper that only reminded me of the sound a mouse makes when trapped by a lion. " I won't hurt you." He said gently. I looked into his eyes and determined that he was telling the truth. Slowly I shuffled my body into facing him. "How did you get in here little girl?" My looking down at the ground seemed to satisfy him because he gently grabbed my arm. His touch made me flinch, as if I was dirty just being around a person who knew about this lab. He looked around us and sighed. "I guess you think I am a monster now. I didn't get to choose this job you know." Shame shone like a beacon in his eyes and I almost pitied him. "Never mind, lets get you cleaned up. We don't want you to get in trouble now do we? I will clean this mess up later." Slowly I followed him out the door.