Catching Fire: What If Katniss Had Really Gotten Pregnant?

Chapter 8

I heard Finnick screaming and yelling loudly, and opened my eyes just in time to see it. The unbelievably  huge, black soaring wave, and I waited for it to come crashing harshly onto the beach and crush me. I grabbed Peeta's arm, who was still sleeping, and it happened.

I felt the enormous currents begin to pull me into the water. But someone fiercely grabbed onto my other arm before I could. I wasn't going anywhere, but I felt my grip on Peeta's arm begin to loosen.

I wasn't going to let go. I didn't have a choice, though. His arm was yanked from my grasp roughly and I felt a ping of pain in my shoulder. 

In attempt to yell out Peeta's name, my lungs began to fill with the salty water of the ocean. As the wave slowly rolled back I sat there on the ground choking. Who had saved me? Finnick? I turned. No, Johanna.

I saw her lying there gagging, her knife dug deeply into the ground. That's how she'd held us in place. I stood and turned in a flash, and I didn't feel a thing. My fear and worry renewed my muscles and I felt good as new.

I ran to the edge of the water and saw Finnick hauling back Beetee. Mags and Wiress were clearly gone. Not even in sight.

But Peeta! Peeta was thrashing in the water, yelling for help, trying to stay afloat. "Peeta!" I screamed. "Peeta!"  I tried to run into the water to save him but someone grabbed my arm and stopped me. Johanna.

"Let go!" I yell. "He's still alive. Peeta!" Johanna shook her head and pointed. The water began to swirl. A whirlpool? Mag's and Wiress' bodies floated to the surface as the water spun Peeta continued to thrash about. I had time. "I'm going to get him."

"Ugh," Johanna rolled her eyes and dove in before I could. Then I realized that when Peeta was pulled from my grasp, my shoulder had gotten dislocated. It just hung there... Awkwardly.

Johanna pulled Peeta away from the whirlpool just in the nick of time. I was crying and screaming Peeta's name until he was all the way to shore. I hugged him with my one working arm and wouldn't let go.

He was choking and threw up a little on my back, but I refused to let go until the choking ended and I heard his words that he was okay. I wouldn't believe anyone else.

When I did let go my face was red and puffy, drenched in tears, my arm still hung at my side, and I'm pretty sure I was having a panic attack.

"Oh, Peeta, thank God!" I just ended up hugging him again. He pulled away from me.

"Your arm...?"

"Oh, that's nothing. I can fix that easy." said Beetee. He grabbed hold of my arm and shoulder. "Ready?" I nodded, not know what to expect. He pushed my arm up with a jerk, there was a loud crack and I shrieked. "Sorry. But it's fine now." I moved my arm around and found that he was right.

"Um, thanks." I said, wiping at the tears smudged all over my face. I turned my attention back on Peeta as he mumbled something out about water. I walked over to our supplies to get him some, but found the baskets empty. "I'm going to go refill the water." I lifted two of the baskets.

"No!" Peeta called out suddenly, and just got himself on coughing again. "You can't go in the woods. The fog --"

"Won't bother me." I cut him off. "Don't worry, I won't go in the woods here, I'll go down the beach a ways. And even if the fog goes that far, I'm pretty sure I'll be able to get away from it."

"But Katniss," Peeta protested.

"No buts. We obviously need water, Peeta. The trees are the only source of water we have, which means going into the woods. So, I'm going."

You could tell he wanted to argue further, but instead he shut his mouth and stood. "Fine. But I'm coming." I wasn't in the mood or condition to disagree with him, so I just grabbed his hand and headed down the beach. We walked a good half hour, almost to the edge of that island, until we decided it was safe enough to enter.

"Katniss wait," Peeta said to me just as I was about to walk into the woods. "I almost forgot to give this to you." he put a locket around my neck. "Just a reminder of why you have to go home. You can look at it later."

I looked closely at the locket. Gold and silver encrusted chain, a golden heart. Where did Peeta get this? I would never find out, but, gee was Peeta making this difficult for me. I wanted to tell him to shut up, that he was going home, but I coudn't very well do that with the whole world watching, could I?

I could just imagine Haymitch saying, Put on a good show, sweetheart. Only this was no show. I loved Peeta, and I was pregnant with his baby.

When I couldn't think of what to do, I hugged Peeta and said I couldn't stand the thought of going home without him. Didn't he get that? It's not what I wanted to say, but it was the truth.

And with that, we walked straight into the jungle. I think we both knew something was very wrong. There was an eerie silence, absolutely no noises at all.

"There's something not right here." Peeta said suspiciously. "Let's hurry up and get the water and get the heck out of here." he said as he took my hand again. I was just about to stick the knife in the tree when I heard them. Prim, Gale, Peeta, my mother. I heard their screams, their moans of pain. I ran toward the noises, yelling their names.

Peeta followed me, yelling as well. Did he hear them? No, he was yelling my name. Wait, he wasn't screaming? No, when I stopped running, he appeared next to me, lips unmoving. No one was really screaming. Jabber jays. That was the only explanation.

I crumpled to the ground and covered my ears. But the sounds pierced through my skin, I couldn't block them out.

Peeta lifted me and ran toward the beach. But we couldn't get to the beach, something was blocking our path. A force field? No, their was no shock or flying. Some kind of invisible barrier meant to hold us there while those creepy birds played with our minds.

Peeta sat next to me and tried to comfort me but it was no use. All of the screams gradually combined into one horrifying screech and I knew that it would haunt my dreams. It seemed like and eternity had passed when all of the birds suddenly silenced and all flew away. The barrier disappeared and Peeta carried me onto the beach then sat with me nestled on his lap where I cried myself dry.

I knew I'd been crying a lot lately, but there had been so many reasons to I just couldn't help it.