Welcome to Reality [A Hunger Games fan fic]

[22] Welcome to the Exit

[22] Welcome to the Exit

Katniss's Point of View

Midnight. I've dragged everyone that I cared about onto the football field, where we stand before Bonnie, who wears clothing much more casual than us and holds a large leather briefcase. Montey, Darius, Gale, Madge, Thresh, Peeta. These are the people who I've dragged out here. Thresh has Foxface with him, who doesn't seem to know what's going on.

"I can't believe you actually went to homecoming," Bonnie says, looking our fancy group up and down.

"It's my goodbye party." I say weakly, shrugging. Peeta's behind me, looking confused.

"Where're you going?" Peeta asks. I don't know what to say.

"Nowhere, I'll still be here." I say flatly. "Will you go get my jacket? Zora knows where it is, so she can come with you."

"Uh, sure, I guess." Peeta says, puzzled beyond belief. As I feel him back away I turn to him. He looks at me with a odd expression, and I don't think I helped his overall confusion when I gave him a quick kiss. He looked like he was going to say something, but I quickly waved him off, watching as he sighed and followed Zora back to the school building.

I turn to Bonnie. "Okay, let's go."

"I'll get it prepared, you say goodbye to you're little group of friends." Bonnie says, kneeling on the grass and opening up her briefcase. I nod and turn to the small group of friends I've made.

"You're really gonna go, aren't you?" Madge says tightly, as if trying not to cry. I nod slowly. "I don't really want you to go."

"You'll have the real Katniss though," I say, Madge shakes her head.

"She's not the real Katniss anymore than you are." Madge sighs. "You're both real, you're both part of some reality. You've effected real people, lived real lives." A tear slips down my best friend's cheek. "That makes a person real."

"Oh, Madge," I say, enveloping her into a hug. She hugs me back, tightly. As we pull out of the hug she smiles at me sadly.

"Say hello to your Gale for me, 'kay?" Gale smiles, making me chuckle.

"It's amazing how much you're different yet alike my world's Gale," I say. Gale nods.

"Then your world's Gale is a good guy." Gale decides. I laugh, giving him a hug.

"Promise to watch Madge?" I whisper in Gale's ear while we hug.

"I promise, Catnip." Gale's words make me feel a wave of homesickness. I draw out of the hug and smile at him.

As soon as I'm out of Gale's embrace I'm tackled by Montey, who tightly hugs me. "I'm gonna miss you, Kat!" Montey exclaimed.

"Is this world's Katniss nice?" I ask her.

"Aw, she's great, but she isn't you," Montey tells me. "This world's Katniss is so laid-back, but you two are so alike.  You both are amazing people with a super strong personality."

"Well, you get her back tonight," I say. "And I get to go home."

Montey separates herself from me, staring at me with teary eyes. "Home is where the heart is, right?" she asks. I nod. "And your heart is in the other dimension?"

"Yes." I say. "But I do love all of you guys."

Darius comes up and gives me a hug as well. "We love you too, Kat," he says. "We won't forget about this for a long, long time."

"I don't know if I'll ever forget you guys." I say, looking at my group of friends who've become my family.

"We can't forget those who we care for," Thresh speaks up. I look at him, the silent giant who's been lurking in the back of the group for the past weeks. "And we owe you. You gave us something to root for, so in return we're going to keep you in our minds forever."

These words are what brings me to tears. I feel a tear slip down my cheek before I can swat it away, and I give the caring giant a big hug. The hug turns into a big group hug as everyone gathers around me.

"It's time to go." Bonnie says. I sigh and separate myself from my temporary family.

I stand in front of Bonnie, keeping my head held high. She nods at me.

"Close your eyes." I do as I'm told. I feel her grab my arm and place something in my hand, then she lightly takes my other arm and places another object in this hand.

"Think of something in our dimension." she orders. I do so, thinking of my father and Prim sitting in our run down home singing old folk songs.

Here it's safe and here it's warm,
I feel another tear slip down my cheek.
Here the daisies guard you from every...harm,
My mind begins to go black, I slowly slip out of consciousness.
Here your dreams are sweet..... and tomorrow brings them true,
I feel like I'm falling. Falling, falling, falling.
Here is...the....place where I.... love.......

A/N: This is not the end.