『 𝗧𝗢𝗚𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗪𝗘 𝗕𝗨𝗥𝗡 』𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

When Forever Began

TRIGGER WARNING: BLOOD, AND GRUESOME THEMES

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The sound of rain drumming on the roof of your house gently pulls you toward consciousness. You fight to return to sleep though, wrapped in a warm cocoon of blankets, safe at home. You're vaguely aware that your head aches. Possibly you have the flu and this is why you're allowed to stay in bed, even though you can tell you've been asleep a long time. Your father's calloused hand strokes your cheek and you find it blissfully calming. The sound of silent humming fills your ears and it almost lulls you back to sleep. Then there's a voice, the wrong voice, not your father's, and you're scared.

"Y/n," it says. "Y/n, can you hear me?"

Your eyes open and the sense of security vanishes. You're not home, not with your father. You're in a dim, chilly cave, your bare feet freezing despite the cover, the air tainted with the unmistakable smell of blood. The haggard, pale face of a boy slides into view, and after an initial jolt of alarm, you feel better. "Peeta."

"Hey," he says. "Good to see your eyes again."

"How long have I been out?" You ask.

"Not sure. I woke up yesterday evening and you were lying next to me in a very scary pool of blood," he says. "I think it's stopped finally, but I wouldn't sit up or anything."

You gingerly lift your hand to your head and find it bandaged. This simple gesture leaves you weak and dizzy. Peeta holds a bottle to your lips and you drink thirstily.

"You're better," you say.

"Much better. Whatever you shot into my arm did the trick," he says. "By this morning, almost all the swelling in my leg was gone."

He doesn't seem angry about you tricking him, drugging him, and running off to the feast. Maybe you're just too beat-up and you'll hear about it later when you're stronger. But for the moment, he's all gentleness.

"Did you eat?" You ask.

"I'm sorry to say I gobbled down three pieces of that groosling before I realized it might have to last a while. Don't worry, I'm back on a strict diet," he says.

"No, it's good. You need to eat. I'll go hunting soon," You say.

"Not too soon, all right?" he says. "You just let me take care of you for a while."

You don't really seem to have much choice. Peeta feeds you bites of groosling and raisins and makes you drink plenty of water. He rubs some warmth back into your feet and wraps them in his jacket before tucking the sleeping bag back up around your chin.

"Your boots and socks are still damp and the weather's not helping much," he says. There's a clap of thunder, and you see lightning electrify the sky through an opening in the rocks. Rain drips through several holes in the ceiling, but Peeta has built a sort of canopy over your head and upper body by wedging the square of plastic into the rock above you.

"I wonder what brought on this storm? I mean, who's the target?" says Peeta.

"Cato and Thresh," you say without thinking. "Foxface will be in her den somewhere, and Clove ... she cut me and then ..." Your voice trails off.

"I know Clove's dead. I saw it in the sky last night," he says. "Did you kill her?"

"No. Thresh bashed her skull in with a rock," you tell him.

"Good thing he didn't catch you, too," says Peeta.

The memory of the feast returns full-force and you suddenly feel sick. "He did. But he let me go." Then, of course, you have to tell him. About things you've kept to yourself because he was too sick to ask and you weren't ready to relive anyway. Like the explosion and your ear and Rue's dying and the boy from District 1 and the bread. All of which leads to what happened with Thresh and how he was paying off a debt of sorts.