I Am The Mockingjay.

Chapter One

Gale

"We could do it you know." I tell Katniss matter of factly.
"What?" Her confused look brings a smirk to my face, but it quickly disappears with my own seriousness.
"Take off, live in the woods. It's what we'd do anyway."
"They'd catch us, cut out our tongues or worse..." She scoffs at me,"and besides you have your brothers and I have Prim."
"They could come too." I offer.
"Prim in the woods?" She smirks at me. I chuckle at the thought of Prim's innocent little head running from the law.
"Maybe not."
There's a silence that follows this conversation as we realize what we're talking about. Running away from this life we live in. From the poverty in the Seam where children starve to death every day in our District. Running from the Capitol's laws that say that 24 children have to be put into a fight to the death every year. Living in the woods would be heaven compared to the life we're living.
We both look out across the vast expanse of woods that Katniss and I have illegally claimed as our own. Hunting in the woods is illegal but if you look around District twelve, the laws aren't exactly being enforced by the Peacekeepers. I sell my game to most of them in fact.
I've been hunting here ever since my father died when I was thirteen. I met Katniss a year later in these same woods, inspecting one of my snares. When I saw the determined look on her face I knew I wasn't getting rid of her. And though I can't afford to admit it, my life was never the same.
"I'm never having kids." Katniss suddenly states. My heart sinks a little when she says this. But I get it. In this world why would you ever want to raise kids? They're name gets put in the reaping every year and you could only have your child taken away from you. There's no point in risking it. But there's still a part of me that desperately wants a family.
"I might if I didn't live here."
"But you DO live here." Katniss mutters obviously aggravated.
"I know but if I didn't." I snap back.
She looks at me with a strange look on her face. There's silence once more before her question that shatters it.
"How many times is your name in today?"
"Fourty-Two." I tell her. Her grey eyes are taken aback with worry and her face pales for a moment.
"I guess the odds aren't exactly in my favor."
.....

"Mom Katniss and I got a pretty good haul today, we should start prepping it for after the reaping...Mom?"
My mother Hazelle blinks rapidly and shakes her head, snapping out of her trance.
"Yes, I'll get right on that." She jumps up to grab my game bag from me and starts setting my load on the table. There's a crease in her forehead from worry. I guess it makes sense. Three of her children are in the reaping. This whole situation fills me with rage as I watch my mother, an innocent, have to potentially give up her children so that the damn Capitol can keep they're control over the districts. Nothing about this system is fair, except to the people of the Capitol.
I sigh and walk over to my mother and wrap my arms around her. She hesitantly returns my embrace but then her grip tightens immensely. I rest my chin on top of her head and she breathes out a shaky breath.
"I'll take care of them, I always do. Don't I?"
She pulls away and looks at me, taking my face in her hands.
"Yes you do. But I don't want you volunteering for them either. I don't want any of you leaving. Your MINE. Not theirs. Remember that okay?" She says with a stern look that makes me fear for my life.
"Yes ma'am."
"Good. Now go clean yourself up your absolutely filthy, honestly Gale I don't know how Katniss stands it." She says with a twinge of sarcasm in her voice. I laugh to myself but do as I'm told.
After an ice cold bath that makes me fear hypothermia I throw on my fathers nice shirt and slacks. For a moment I look at myself in my mother's cracked mirror she keeps in her bedroom. I look like my father. I glance over at the picture my mother keeps of him where he stands next to her at their toasting, smiling. He's wearing the same shirt and slacks that I am now. The same grey eyes and dark hair and olive skin. I look back at my reflection and sigh, running my fingers through my hair, wondering if I'll ever stand next to Katniss like that.
"Gale quit admiring yourself you aren't that good looking." I see Rory standing in the doorway smirking at me.
"Well if I'm not good looking then who is? You?" I smirk back.
"Exactly! Now your getting it!" He gasps with sarcastic enthusiasm. At that moment Posy runs into the room and jumps on my mother's bed. Jumping off of the patchwork blanket she wraps her arms around my neck and giggles. Vick then comes in as well and smiles at Posy.
"Well gents I do believe that IM the best looking one here, don't you think Posy?" Vick waits for a response. Posy just smiles and looks in the mirror at her reflection.
"No. It's me." I laugh and take her off my back and into my arms.
"That's right. Which is why we need to keep those school boys away right? Because we don't want them to know how pretty you are or they could be in a LOT of trouble!" I start tickling her and she squeals and giggles trying to get away from me.
As if on que, to end this happy moment, the alarms start to ring. Signaling for all of us to get to town square. My brothers look at me and for a moment there's fear in both of their eyes. I nod at both of them and they nod back. Posy looks back and forth between all of us from my arms and she suddenly wraps her arms around my neck.
"Don't leave." She says softly. I hug her back and then set her down on the ground, kneeling down to her level.
"I'm coming back okay?" I tell her, searching her eyes for an answer. She nods.
We all head out the door together, but once we reach the town square my mother takes Posy's hand and leads her over to where the adults stand. My brothers and I stand in line so that the peacekeepers can take record of District Twelve's population. All the while I search around for Katniss.
Where is she?
After my name is taken down on record I move into the line of eighteen year olds, and keep looking around for Katniss. I find her as she walks hand in hand with Prim to drop her off with the other twelves. I can see her squeeze Prim's hand and then she finds her place amongst the sixteens. The light blue dress she wears brings out the darkness of her hair. Her mother probably put it up because she's not very good at doing intricate things with her hands.
Her eyes meet mine and I mouth to her: Are you okay?
She nods but the fear in her eyes and in her slight movements is enough for me to know that she isn't. I sigh and turn to the stage, where Effie Trinket, quite possibly the most pathetic human on the planet, prances on with her 12 inch heels. Honestly, how do people walk in those? She must be a robot. It's the only explanation. The Capitol citizens are robots.
"Welcome! Welcome, Welcome. Happy Hunger Games! And, may the odds be ever in your favor!" Blah blah blah. The dark days, death, widows, orphans, peace, tribute, the speech goes on and on. And it's the exact same one I've been listening to for eighteen years. Just get on with it lady! Finally the speech ends.
"As usual, ladies first!" She hurries over to a bowl full of girl's names. Her hand digs around for a moment and then a white slip of paper is taken out and she carries it over to the microphone. My heart pounds in my chest as she opens the tiny slip of paper.
Not Katniss or Prim...I silently pray.
"Dawn Rowan!"
I breathe a sigh of relief and watch as a small girl from the seventeens section shakily makes her way on stage.
"And now for the boys..." Effie makes her way over to the second bowl of names and grabs one.
"Rory Hawthorne!" Everything goes silent. It's as if I'm in a dream, voices sound far off and distant and things start spinning.
Rory? No.
I watch on the huge screen as Rory, my brother, sets his jaw and begins walking to the stage. No, this can't be happening. I'll protect them, I always do...
My mother and I's conversation comes back to me and I snap out of my stupor and shove my way out of line.
"I VOLUNTEER!" I yell. I jog down the center isle, trying to get to Rory. Peacekeepers try and block my path.
"Hey, get out of my way!" I growl. The push against me but I shove them out of my way and make my way to Rory who's stopped in his tracks.
"What the hell are you doing?!" He whispers. I clap him on the back but shove him behind me.
"I made a promise to Mom. It's okay I got this. Stop trying to steal my show alright?" I say sarcastically. Rory doesn't smirk though. Tears well up in his eyes but he sets his jaw, and gives me a curt nod.
After a deep breath I continue walking down the path and up the steps to the stage, taking my place next to Effie and Dawn.
"What a surprise! How bout a big round of applause for our first brave volunteer!" Effie starts clapping but the rest of the crowd stays silent.
Then suddenly, in unison, they raise their middle three fingers to their lips and then out to me. A sign of respect. The gesture makes my chest tighten but I keep my emotions stony for the cameras. Better to show no emotion than any emotion.
I spot Katniss in the crowd. She holds her three fingers high but her eyes are glistening with tears. Once more my throat closes up as I realize I may never see her again.
I shake hands with Dawn and before I can get another glance at Katniss, I'm shoved through the doors to the Justice Building and out of sight to public eyes.