The Hunger Games: Retold

Chapter 19

Scanning the bleak desert scenery I wonder how people ever survived this place. I can't remember how I got here, it so closely resembles the picture in our book at school that I wonder if somehow I stepped through the pages into the scene. The heat is real, though, I've never been so hot. I strip out of my jacket and shirt as I fight through the crumbling sand, trying to get somewhere, but I don't know where. Pulling my socks and boots off, I cast them aside and climb a dune to the top for a better view. The sun beats down on me and sweat pours down my chest, making my undershirt stick to my skin. I wince in anticipation of the sting when it hits the burn, but it doesn't come. I breathe a sigh of thanks for the ointment Katniss rubbed...Katniss! Where is she? My head whips back and forth, desperately searching the dry, barren landscape.

"Katniss!" I yell, but sand whips in to fill my mouth. Spluttering and coughing as blazing gusts of wind begin to blow sand into my eyes and mouth, I struggle to stay upright and call again, "Katniss!" She's nowhere to be seen, I've lost her! "Katniss!" I scream.

Waking in terror, I barely have the strength to open my eyes, but I can feel her nestled up close to me in the sleeping bag. Smiling to myself, I don't even mind the unbearable heat as I drift back into the grip of the darkness.

The next time I wake I am alone in the sleeping bag. I feel slightly more coherent, and I'm glad to have a chance to talk to Katniss without struggling to make sense. Lifting my head, I look around the cave for her, but I don't see her. She must be outside for a second. I drop my head back on my arm and close my eyes. I feel a smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. As miserable as I am, my stomach still flutters as I remember the sweet surprise of her lips on mine. I was even able to force myself to hold down the broth since she rewarded my efforts with gentle, encouraging kisses. My smile widens and I shake my head at my own foolishness. Of course she's playing for the cameras, I know she is. But she looks at me with such real concern, like she might really care if...my thoughts trail off, shying away from this dangerous route.

How long has she been gone? I scan the cave again, searching for clues. When I can't see or hear anything, I feel panic beginning to rise. I wasn't just asleep, I was unconscious. How easily Cato and Clove could have stolen in grabbed her without my even knowing it. The dreams of losing her return with a rush and I weakly fight the sleeping bag, trying to rise. Just then she appears at the mouth of the cave with the broth pot and a curious look in her eyes.

I can't easily break free from the frantic anxiety that had gripped me. "I woke up and you were gone," I pant. "I was worried about you."

She laughs and gently pushes me back down to the sleeping bag, unzipping it so I can lie on top of it. "You were worried about me?" she teases. "Have you taken a look at yourself lately?"

She has a point, but so do I. She can't know how viciously the Careers are slavering for her blood. "I thought Cato and Clove might have found you," I admit. "They like to hunt at night."

As she's talking to me my thoughts are slippery and hard to hold on to. I think she can tell as her gaze sharpens and she peers closely at me. "How do you feel?" she asks.

"Better than yesterday," I answer truthfully. "This is an enormous improvement over the mud. Clean clothes and medicine and a sleeping bag and," most importantly of all, "you." She smiles softly, reaching out to touch my cheek, and I'm overcome by the fond gesture. I catch her fingers and press a kiss against them.

She watches me intently for a moment, and I'm unable to read her expression. "No more kisses for you until you've eaten," she rebukes gently. Dizzy with her nearness, I try my best not to fight it as I force down the spoonfuls of some kind of mashed berry she holds to my lips. I can't bear the smell of the roasted bird again though, and I turn my head away before I bring up the berries. She is obviously worried about me and I'm struck by how exhausted she looks.