The Flame That Never Dies

Chapter Sixteen

(Katniss' POV.)

My entire body feels completely numb. I slowly sag to the floor, the air now unable to fill my lungs. The image of Gale's lifeless body hitting the floor only continues to blur my mind, the thought nearly drawing me to tears.

No tears escape, though. No matter how many great memories we had, the man that died in my arms was not the one that I loved. That man was a monster.

The sound of constant crying claws at my ears, my head beginning to throb. I force myself to shake off the memories and look up, my tired eyes immediately finding the pain filled ones belonging to Rose.

I watch as she desperately grasps her tiny fingers around the arrow lodged in the middle of Gale's chest, her entire body uncontrollably shaking as tears rush down her bright red cheeks.

Thick red blood runs down the edge of her arm as the arrow wobbles around in her hand, her crying only growing much louder. My arms quickly embrace her. My shirt is immediately soaked in hot tears, her chest rising and falling rapidly against mine.

"Everything's gonna be okay," I assure her in a whisper, my fingers beginning to run through her long blonde hair.

The top of her head nearly slams into my jaw with how fast she begins shaking it.

"No, it's not okay. I killed him!" Rose screams in a hoarse voice. Her body suddenly jolts forward in pain, a thick yellow liquid slipping out of the gap between her cracked lips.

I carefully pat her back as she continues to empty her stomach, my other hand now grazing the tips of her blood covered fingers.

It reminds me of my first time killing someone. Gale once said to me that killing people is no different than killing animals.

People that had families who loved them; ones who may have had a bright future coming their way had they won the Games. No matter how heartless and cruel they were, they were still living and breathing people with beating hearts.

The killing part is the same. The emotional side effects are what make it different. Those painful thoughts will always haunt me. I know exactly what Rose is going through.

I pull her in closer. "You saved me, Rose."

Her eyes slowly find mine again, her breathing beginning to slightly return to normal.

"I did." She whispers to herself. A smile dances across her lips as her hands grasp tightly onto mine. "It's because I love you so much."

The words instantly fill me up with complete warmth and love. I can't help but smile, hot tears immediately beginning to burn at my eyes.

"I love you too." I whisper back, my hands automatically dragging her into a big hug.

Just as Rose is about to respond, a loud sound suddenly cuts her off. It's then that I realize the noises are coming from Finnius' room, them being the sound of his cries.

I'm up on two shaky legs before I even know it, my body almost throwing itself at the doorway to his room. From the corner of my eye I notice Peeta, his unconscious body sprawled out on the floor.

"Stay here and help your father!" I hiss at Rose just as she begins to climb to her feet, her face twisted into a look of worry.

I don't even stop to see if she heard my command, the blazing pain instantly ripping across my ankle as I force myself over to his hospital bed.

"Mommy!" Finnius screeches, a pool of blood now forming on his chest as he continues to cough up the thick red liquid.

I find myself bawling once I finally reach him, his tiny fingers grasping onto whatever they can find as I grow closer.