A Pact To Keep, A Game To Win

10

A/N

I DO NOT OWN THE HUNGER GAMES SERIES, EVEN THOUGH I MAY WISH, BUT I DO OWN THIS DUKE SHIRT ANY BODY ELSE LIKE DUKE BLUE DEVILS BASKETBALL OR SOFTBALL?

HERE WE GO.......".".".".."."."...".".".

"You need to get up into that tree." Gale points up."Excuse me?""Climb the tree," this was a little less polite, a sign his temper was rising."Are you going to climb it too?""No. I'm going to get us food.""And just how is that relevant to me being in a tree?""You're too nosy to go hunting- you'll scare every animal away."She let out an insulted huff. "And how am I supposed to know this isn't some way for you to get rid of me? You go off hunting then never come back- leaving me stranded."Gale gave her an exasperated look. I know he would never do that, but I think deep down a part of him contemplated it. He typically has little patience for those who can't keep up or follow his instructions."I'm sorry Gale. I trust you, I'm just scared," wrapping her arms around herself she rests her cheek against her shoulder, maybe for comfort maybe to avoid Gale's grey eyes.After a few silent minutes Gale places his hand on her other shoulder. His features greatly softened, all the previous annoyance was gone. "Madge look," he seems a bit uncomfortable. "We need food, and there's no telling how close we are to the other tributes, especially the Careers. You heard that cannon. The faster I can do this the better, and by drawing the least amount of attention. If you're up in that tree...I'll know you'll be safe.""Okay," she replies quietly. "But I don't know how."Of course she didn't know how to climb a tree, technically he shouldn't know either. This puts a wrench in his plan. "I'll give you a boost."Gale kneels down linking his fingers together forming a cup shape. He instructs her to place her foot in his hands and how to hold onto the tree. It takes a few tries and a few slips but eventually Madge is able haul herself onto the first branch. Face as white as a sheet; her expression reminds me of the reaping, which causes a pang in my heart.As Gale looks up at Madge to give her the next steps, he cranes his neck a bit further making eye contact with Rue. The rest of the audience, who doesn't know Gale like I do must be on the edge of their seats wondering what will happen; if they will hear the cannons again so soon.Gale did not exactly smile, he did not exactly frown either. "Looks like you won't be alone after all.""What do you mean?" Madge clutches the tree tighter in fear.Gale let out a breath that most would consider a sharp exhale but I know it to be his chuckle. "I highly doubt they will harm you.""What is it?" She closes her eyes. "Who is it?""It's the little girl.""You mean Rue?" she slowly opens one eye then the other, her expression brightening."It's Rue right?" Gale calls directly up to the girl who has been watching them this whole time."Yes," she responds with a nod, her voice is soft but sure."Do you mind if Madge shares a tree with you for a while."Rue paused to ponder this. Did she really have to think about this? Was she secretly a menace underneath her sweet exterior? Impossible. She is too much like Prim. Finally she answers."I don't mind at all. They might." She points to a branch about half way between her and Madge. There, dangling from the branch was a large nest; its paper textured exterior was dark beige and as the camera zooms in I can hear buzzing."Wasps, if she doesn't bother them they won't bother her," he scoffs."WASPS? Gale I am not going to share a tree with a bunch of wasps." Madge says in a panic."They're not wasps," Rue calls down. "I deal with wasps on a daily basis back home."She waits to see if either of the people below her can identify the insects. When they don't she says very plainly, "They're tracker jackers."The flicker of worry that crosses Gale's face sets Madge on edge. "Gale, what's wrong? What does she mean tracker jackers? I don't understand.""They're one of the Capitol's delightful creations," sarcasm dripping off every one of his words.The commentators take this time to explain tracker jackers, a muttation, to the audience. It is probably for the best too, Gale's description would be very harsh and heated.The next thing I see is Gale scaling part of the tree trunk, his muscles tights, and the exertion causing his wounds to ooze through the makeshift bandages, passing her the knife Clove threw at him during the bloodbath. "It could come in handy." And with that he is off. Leaving the two girls in the tree.He is transformed. This is the Gale I know, the swift hunter who has undeniable skills even with his injuries. I'm proud of him, now he can show the audience (and the sponsors) what he is truly capable of. But we never see him actually hunt. We're switched to Foxface, who has ventured out of her cave and is heading in the direction of the Careers camp walking in the river to avoid footprints. Again clever. Now that they are not showing our tributes I allow myself to doze off again, school is in a few hours anyway."Katniss. Katniss." The voice penetrates into my dream. In my dream I am lost and confused in a large unfamiliar place. A city. The Capitol perhaps? I call out for help but no one can hear me, either that or they are ignoring me. Then in all those unfamiliar faces rushing by two pop up, I recognize Gale but someone tears him away pushing him into the crowd. Then in the distance I see Peeta. I follow him, turning the corner I'm suddenly confronted with those blue eyes and I realize I am back in the Seam. I know exactly where I am, home. When he opens his mouth to speak it is not his voice that comes out. It's Prim's."Katniss!" I'm shaken awake."Huh?" I bolt upright."Katniss look!" She has that fearful look in her eyes like Rue did, as she points to the television. I squint the bright sun tells me its morning.It is no longer Foxface on the screen; it is Gale who is surrounded by the Career pack. They are all grinning like fools, overjoyed to have found their premier prey- alone and weakened.The attack is messy and chaotic. Gale dodges the weapons returning punches, his fists and a branch are his only weapons. His leg is really bleeding now and worsens as he breaks out into a laboured run. Arrows wiz by him sticking into the trees and the ground by his feet, I look to see who is shooting them. The blond, Glimmer, has the bow clutched in her hand her other reaching for another arrow. Her technique isn't great which pleases me and she doesn't look entirely comfortable with the weapon. I guess even the Careers, with all their training still are not perfect. With me the bow is an extremely natural extension of my arm.Briefly we see Rue and Madge in the tree. Madge is higher up now sawing the branch the nest is attached to. What is she doing? If the tracker jackers come out she could be killed.Over the sound of the knife cutting into the wood I can hear the yells of the Careers in pursuit. The fight is not far away. In fact I catch a glimpse of Gale's orange backpack through the brush. In a matter of seconds we are brought back to the action. The Careers have yet to triumph but they may soon. Gale isn't looking too good.Cato and Clove have bolted ahead of him stopping him in his tracks. He frantically turns to go back the other way only to encounter Glimmer, Marvel and the girl from 4, weapons at the ready. He's trapped and they are grinning once again. Gale's breathing is very ragged and his face has taken on a sickly pallor. The boys rush him from both sides with swords, the girl from 4 loops around to cover them from the side- obviously they've had strategy training. Clove whips out a small knife and throws it. It's a miss. The next one is a bit larger, again a miss but not by much.Gale has dropped to his knee and is rolling to avoid both the knives and the swords. He somehow manages to get the feet out from under Cato and Marvel grabbing their swords and standing, throws them into the bush. They scurry quickly to retrieve them, not before signaling the girls. Plan B.The girls move into a triangle formation around him. More knives, more arrows. Clove is sweating and the crazed look in her eye is frightening (almost non-human). She snatches another large knife carefully winds up and it goes flying through the air at such a speed that it is a blur. This one is a hit, sinking deep into flesh.I resist the urge to cover my eyes at the sight of the bright red blood. Prim screams, burying her face in my shoulder.Glimmer crumples to the ground. Clove's knife plunged into her chest. The cannon fires.Clove is immobile, while the girl from 4 collapses beside the dead girl letting out a sob. The boys come crashing through the trees a spring in their step, smiles lighting up their faces clearly excited at the prospects of seeing Gale dead. Nothing could have prepared for what they saw- the joy completely vanishes.Marvel stumbles forward grabbing back the girl who is now covered in Glimmer's blood while Cato whips around to confront Clove, who is trembling, wide eyed, hand locked as if still holding the knife that killed her ally. "What did you do!" Cato yells, grabbing her, shaking her violently. She is so small next to him and though she is in the vulnerable position you can see his hurt is ready to burst through.The wind picks up as the hovercraft appears and the four remaining Careers reluctantly leave the scene.I've been so absorbed in the Careers and shocked over what just happened that I realize Gale is missing. And so is Glimmer's bow.The Careers start to head back so the body can be picked up. They briefly stop to regroup under a clump of tall trees; they look rather shaken while discussing among themselves what to do next.I really wish they would show Gale. Where did he go? Is he okay or is he laying somewhere near death? All that exertion must have put him in agonizing pain. Instead they show Madge and Rue, well hidden in the branches, who are still working at cutting down the nest. I don't get what is to be gained by doing this. If it is to get the tracker jackers away from them, moving to a different tree would have been the wiser choice. Too many stings could easily kill them, so why get closer?Madge takes the knife from Rue shooing her away. The little girl obeys, silently and swiftly leaping to another tree; it is like she can fly. I find myself smiling, how much the Gamemakers and other tributes have underestimated her. She could make it all the way to the end without ever setting foot on solid ground.Madge continues sawing, she is almost all the way through, the leaves rustling as the branch wobbles. That is when she gets stung, instantly there is an enormous lump on her neck. As she saws faster she grits her teeth, it must be the pain from her back blisters. The knife cuts through and she drops the branch down below. She sags against the tree sighing in relief and that is when we hear the thud, followed by agonizing screams.The Careers had actually stopped under Madge and Rue's tree, the tracker jacker nest bursting open right next to the girl from District 4. They attack, swarming all around her. Clove and the boys take off trailed by the angry insects receiving multiple stings. They quickly make it to the river plunging beneath the water. The District 4 girl was not so lucky in her escape; she manages only to stagger a few steps before she falls to the ground, swollen and twitching. She stills and the cannon fires. That is the second time in fifteen minutes there has been a death and Careers no less, not to mention the third one today. The Gamemakers are definitely getting some exciting television out of today.Once the tracker jackers and hovercraft are gone Rue drops lightly to the ground with a sting or two on her arms. When she stands she raises on her toes slightly looking like a bird ready to take flight."Madge? Madge?" It is not Rue's voice, it is too masculine. Gale. He comes limping out of the brush, red faced and worried. Breathing hard he approaches Rue clasping her upper arms."Rue, tell me... tell me that wasn't..."Rue shakes her head, "No it was one of the Career girls. She's still up there," she says lifting her chin to indicate where.He steps away going to the base of the tree. Cupping his hands around his mouth he calls up, "Madge? Come on down.""Why can't you come up here?""I'm not kidding around here Madge. We have to get moving." She shakes her head. He sighs. "I can't go up there; those branches will break under my weight. That's why Katniss always-" he cuts his words short.I'm stunned. He said my name and also, though most people who are watching will not realize it, he pretty much admitted to being in the woods before- frequently. President Snow isn't dumb, he will make the connection.Reluctantly she slowly starts to feel her way down branch by branch. Once she gets low enough Gale says, "Jump down."Madge shakes her head back and forth rapidly blinking. "I can't. I'm seeing double of everything. I've been stung."Gale cringes, "Jump anyway. I'll catch you."He will catch her? He can barely hold himself up. But she jumps and he does catch her. Placing her on her feet he doesn't immediately let go. They stand there for a moment helping each other balance."Am I hallucinating or is your arm bleeding even more?" Madge asks."No, that's real. Hurts a lot too. Your neck doesn't look too good. Did you pull the stinger out?"Her eyes open wide, "No! Was I supposed to?""Yes! Now hold still." Unlike me Gale has never been one to panic in a crisis. He moves her hair out of the way and yanks out the barbed stinger."I can fix you stings," Rue pipes up."You can?"Madge asks. Gale looks astonished."Sure. Follow me."My stomach growls as we walk to school. I'm so mad at myself. I didn't go hunting this morning because I was too engrossed in watching the games. So not only did my family suffer but that means the Hawthornes did too. I broke my promise to Gale and that hurts more than any hunger pains. It's just that I feel compelled to see Gale through this; I'm frightened that if I look away from the screen something could happen to him. I'm torn. Even now I have the jitters. What am I going to do?After dropping Prim, Rory and Vick off at school I do not go to my class. Instead I sneak off to the Justice Building. Mayor Undersee once again sees me into the telephone room."Next time you need to make a call, stop by the house, there is no need for you to keep coming here. You are always welcome at our home and you will have more privacy.""Thank you Mayor Undersee." It is hard for me to accept his offer, but I can tell he needs this.He dials the number and like last time, after a few rings, I hear, "Capitol Communications, how may I help you?""Haymitch Abernathy, District 12 mentor please." This time I know exactly what I am going to say."Hello?" Once again I'm greeted by Haymitch's gruff voice."Send them medicine." I demand.He is silent on the other end, however I can hear voices in the background- the other mentors I assume."I thought you might call Sweetheart.""Well...""Medicine is expensive you know."I roll my eyes, "Of course I know that and I am not so naive to think that the Hob collected enough to purchase some. But we can't be the only ones wanting to sponsor them, especially Gale. Now be a mentor and help your tributes!"He chuckles, clearly amused. "You sure are a piece of work. Don't worry I have multiple other sponsors lined up. But I knew you wouldn't want to be left out... and I don't have time to deal with another one of your exasperating conversations."Though I should be annoyed with him, I can't help but smile a little. He's not as belligerent as he appears. Yes he is a rude, lousy drunk but surprisingly understanding.