Maybe It Can Be Real

Chapter 29

ALL RIGHTS GO TO SUZANNE COLLINS. I OWN NOTHING.

ENDING OF LAST CHAPTER:

That becomes our routine every day. Peeta goes to the bakery, I go hunting then to the Hob to sell most of the game I managed to snag that day. Peeta and I usually end up meeting at the fork every day. One will wait for the other, depending on who gets there first. Day in and day out we do that.

The days turn into weeks. The weeks turn into months. The months turn into years.

Oddly enough, we don't get tired of it. That's what surprises me.

****

I'm in the Quell.... again. Shivers run down my body. I close my eyes and suck in a deep breath.

I pull the pearl out of the parachute tied to my belt and roll it along my fingertips and along my lips. It provides a small sense of comfort in this horrid place. Come to think of it, I pro-

A branch snaps behind me. Without thinking, I stuff the pearl back into the parachute, grab my bow, and notch an arrow quickly, turning to the direction it came from, my mind set on protecting me and Peeta.

Peeta.

Where is he? I whip around, searching for him in the dense jungle foliage. My heart is beating rapidly.

I take a huge risk - I yell into the trees. "Peeta!", I call out. "Peeta!"

I hear another branch snap and I train my bow in that direction, prepared to kill anyone that could stop me from getting to Peeta.

My jaw is clenched tight, my breathing rapid. I spin in a slow circle, eyeing all the trees around me.

Suddenly Finnick bursts out from the trees behind me, sweat dripping down his face. My bow lowers in shock.

"F-Finnick? W-," I stutter.

"Katniss, move! We've gotta go!", he yells. He grips my wrist and drags me away in the direction he came from. I follow him, still utterly shocked that he's here. Didn't he get .... attacked .... by mutts in the Capitol? He did right? I shut my eyes at the awful memory/dream. I don't want to relive it, even if it did or didn't happen.

We run for a long time pretty much at full speed. I don't know how I'm keeping up with him.

"Where are you taking me?", I ask between pants.

"Peeta," is all he says.

At this, my heart rate accelerates even more. Where is he? What's wrong with him? Why were we separated in the first place? I don't know the answer to those questions, but I do know for a fact that I will get to Peeta and make sure he gets out of this arena alive if it's the last thing I do.

We finally, finally pull up to a tiny clearing in the jungle. We stand there, our hand on our knees, gasping for breath. I stand up and notch an arrow. Slowly and stealthily, I creep around the small clearing, looking for Peeta.

I get to the other side, and my heart plummets to my feet. Peeta is backed up against a tree, the Careers closing in on him. Finnick comes up behind me.

Before it even crosses my mind, I holler, "Peeta, no!"

All of their heads turn in my direction. The Careers have wicked smiles on their faces, their weapons all still pointed toward Peeta.

Peeta, sadly, has a look of extreme terror written all over his face. It absolutely breaks my heart to see it.

I release the arrow in my bow, and that's when all hell breaks loose.