Catching Fire: What If Katniss Had Really Gotten Pregnant?

Chapter 14

Hey guys I know some of my chapters have been short lately and I really hope this one is good enough! :)

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Why on earth had the gamemakers put chokeberries in the arena? Why was I so stupid for not recognizing them?

Chokeberries, you see, are quite strange and very rare. The Capitol made them. They stop your heart but don't kill you, somehow, and within an hour you will wake up and be just like your old self.

My mind was still active, working as Peeta continued to scream and cry. Why would the gamemakers put these in here? Were they... Trying to help me? No. Of course they weren't. But...

The gamemakers certainly weren't stupid enough to put them into the arena without a good reason... But what that reason was, I had absolutely no idea.

Then my cannon fired. Wait, it did? If the gamemakers knew these were chokeberries and that I wasn't really dead, why would they sound the cannon? I thought back to Plutarch, the new head gamemaker. He had liked me, been nice to me. Could he have truly faked my death?

That seemed the most unlikely explanation, but there was no other explanation whatsoever that I could come up with.

"Katniss, how could you do this? Katniss..." I wanted to yell out to Peeta, tell him everything was okay, I was fine. But my lips wouldn't listen to what I was telling them to do. My lips did feel it when he kissed me though. "I love you Katniss."

I heard the crunching of leaves as he backed away from me. He sobbed as I felt the hovercraft lift me into the sky.

I felt terrible about what Peeta was going through. I would find him in district twelve, explain things. But I would have to be extremely careful. If anyone spotted me and discovered I wasn't dead, Plutarch and I would most likely be executed.

They didn't prepare me for my family very well though. All they did was pull the knife out of my stomach and change me into a dress. Thinking that this was what they did to every tribute after their death, sending their families their bodies still covered in gore. It was awful, truly awful.

Darkness was all I could see for what felt like hours and hours. My stomach lurched when I felt the high speed Capitol train I was surely on, racing down the tracks. When my eyes finally let my brain open them, again darkness. I felt my arms crossed over my chest and realized I was in a coffin.

I groaned at this movement of my body, for as soon as I did my blood began flowing again which meant I was bleeding. I felt my dress and cushioning of the coffin soak from my blood; I had to get out of there.

I attempted to push open the lid, and, thankully, found it to be unlocked. I turned and closed the coffin. I found myself standing in the backyard of our house in victors village. This house was sure to be taken away from my mother and sister very soon, though.

"Blaaah!" I heard Lady bleat. I looked around and found her in her pen, staring at me.

"Shh!" I hissed at the goat. I don't know what would've happened if Prim came back here and saw me. Lady layed on the ground but continued to stare at me. "I wonder if anyone's home."

I peeked my head in the back door, and cautiously allowed myself to go walk in and take a few steps down the hallway.

I peered my head around the corner and looked into the living room. What I saw was the television switched on, but no one watching it. It was Peeta's victory interview. I realized that Prim and my mother must have gone down to the square to watch his interview.

I ran over to my mothers medine cabinet and took some gauze, alcohol pads, and medical tape. But only a little of each, as to not alert my mother that anyone had been there.

I sat on the couch and tended to my wounds as I watched his interview. He didn't seem like himself. His eyes were red and blotchy, and he wasn't talking very much. Then I realized that they were already to the part of the interview where they made him sit and watch the entire re-run of the Games. I became lost in thought as I made a terrible mistake. I had pushed a ton of gauze onto my stomach and taped it, merely slowing the bleeding; and when I began to mend my arm, a giant drop of blood dripped onto the couch.

I wrapped up my arm quickly, flipped the couch cushion over, and hoped that the blood would never be found.

Then the sad realization that I could never return to my family washed over me. I decided it best to take to the woods. I grabbed my fathers hunting jacket, my boots, and changed into a gren shirt and jeans.

I threw more clothes into my foraging bag, along with some food to get me started, and a photo of me and Prim. I let a single tear escape. I took one last glance at Peeta's face on the television screen and headed out the door. I snuck behind fences, behind garbage cans, houses, bushes, doing anything I had to to not be seen.

Four. I counted on my fingers. Four weeks until Peeta returned to district twelve. In four weeks I would sneak back to see him. Just once. Apologize, then return to the woods.

I ducked under the chain linked fence and ran into the forest, out of sight. Without thinking, I walked to a ledge overlooking the valley. Where I had a clear sight of everything but couldn't be seen.

What I found there was Gale crying, holding a picture of me.