The Third Tribute

Chapter eight: Let the 74th Hunger Games... Begin!

~A/N Just a note, but if you can listen to wait by m83 while you read this it's much better. Thanks! Remember, this is only optional.~

I wake from my beautiful slumber and I frown. Today is the day. The day where I could lose everything. I rise and retrieve an outfit I find at the foot of my bed, consisting of a black jacket with an orange twelve printed on the back, thin black leggings, an orange shirt, and stiff sneakers. It doesn't help that I can barely walk in them yet, as I have yet to wear them in. I remember the games start at ten this morning, and I glance at the clock. It's half past eight o' clock. I don't have much time, so I hurry to the bathroom to change my clothes. I take a quick shower, put my hair in my signature side braid, and get dressed. I speed walk to breakfast and to my surprise, Only one of the boys is there. I turn to ask Haymitch, "Where is Gale?" At first I reject the thought of waiting for him to finish chewing his mouthful of pancakes so he can answer me, but I doubt he is sober, so I let it go. But to my surprise, he replies.
"He said he was skipping breakfast. He knew you'd never forgive him if he laid another finger on that boy, so after a lot of time to think last night he decided to go to his final therapy session."
I nod, and I'm flooded with relief. Peeta looks at me funny, and when he catches me looking back he quickly turns his attention back onto his meal. Here the meals are so elegant it's surreal. I've become so used to them in the past few days it will be hard to adjust in the games. Then I realize that is just another manipulation of the Capitol; To give us just enough time to adjust to easy life that it becomes terribly difficult to begin to focus solely on survival once more. "I'm not hungry," I say, pushing my plate over and excusing myself.

It's been twenty minutes since I last looked at a clock, leaving just over an hour left before death stares at me right in the eyes, threatening to take me over. I ride the elevator to Gale's room, but just my luck: he isn't there. I check the dining hall again but to no avail. I check the hospital wing on the twelfth level, and he isn't there either. I make a final desperate assumption about where Gale is. He has to be in the hospital therapy room on the first level. I'm not supposed to leave my floor without an escort, but I do. I ride the elevator down and quickly weave through the crowd. I finally get to the hospital wing and I stop. I need a plan. I glance back down he hall, and I run into the first empty room I find, where nothing of use is waiting for me. By the time I get to the fifth empty room, there is a uniform laying on the bed. I quickly snatch it and hide it under my shirt as I head to the bathrooms. When I am done changing I sneak out and let my hair fall down in curls, undoing my signature. When I reach the therapy room, I peek inside through the window. Gale is sobbing. What do they do to him? Is something wrong? I check again. He is no longer in my sight. I take this as my chance to attack whoever is inside. They are doing much more than therapy. What ever it is, is cruel. It's a beating. It's punishment.

When I enter the room it is only white walls with small dents on the sides. I quietly call for Gale, and a tiny Echo follows. I do not hear a reply, but instead I hear Gale's muffled sobs followed by a scream, and rush closer. I stare into the back room window and he is sitting on a stool, alone, with an earpiece in. I hear an unfamiliar voice, and Gale's mouth forms words I can't determine. He falls to the ground, screaming. I hurry in and hear rapidly approaching footsteps. I think fast, and hurl Gale over my shoulder. I hear yells coming from behind me. "Get them!" And, "Don't let them get away!" I run faster. I run as if my life depends on it. I hurry to the elevator and pick up my pace again. I reach the elevator and bang desperately on the buttons. I look behind me and there are three peacekeepers. I hear guns fire and duck over Gale. I feel a piercing pain in my right leg. I've been shot. I almost collapse but stay strong for Gale. I run into the elevator just as it opens and the wall behind where I just stood has six bullets in it. I finally let myself relax and I try to clean out my wound. I wince and try again. I give up and sob. I shake Gale to try to wake him, but he won't. I do what I've been dreading, and I check his pulse. It's slow. Getting slower. I want to scream. He Is dying. I cry into him and kiss his forehead. "No. No no no no no no no. No!" I panic once again. His pulse slows more. And more. And more. Until it reaches almost nothing. I fear the incredible stillness, and It comes. I decide to attempt to revive him, like mother taught me. Just before I begin, I whisper to him, "Please come back," In tears, I attempt to revive him. I use her techniques. I push on his chest and then press my lips to his. I check his pulse. It has no beat. After what seems like an eternity, he is still unconscious. I try to give him breath one last time, and when our lips meet for what I pray will not be the last time, I feel a smile creep onto them. I smile back, and I keep going. It feels like nothing else in the world matters, and for a moment, I almost believe it. I never want to stop, and because there is no space between us, I feel like we are united, like we are one. He slides up until he is sitting and wraps his arms around my waist. My hands still rest on his cheeks. We pull away, and we just stare. I embrace him and try to speak between tears of joy. "I thought I lost you...You were dead...your heart stopped," I muster.
"It's okay, It's working now," he comforts. "Be careful, there are peacekeepers," he jokes. I smile.
"Do you want to stand up?" I ask. He nods, and I help him up. Following that, we go our separate ways, alive.

I sit aboard the hovercraft, Gale and Peeta on either side of me. I study them, because I may never see them again. I don't want to forget them. I do not want to forget the boy with the bread, or the boy who hunts. I do not want to forget their beautiful faces, Peeta's kindness, Gale's humor. And most of all, I want to remember the moments. The good, the bad, and everything in-between, I don't want to forget any of it. In the midst of my thoughts I am woken with a sharp pain in my arm, a tracker. I feel the hovercraft lowering, and I grasp Gale's hand, and discreetly, Peeta's as well. I don't want to trigger another one of Gale's panic attacks this close to at least one of our deaths. "No matter what goes down in that arena, I still want you guys to remember me. Don't let yourselves forget a single fateful moment, and I will do the same for you. Promise me that, and we will always have each other. Promise?"
Gale replies immediately. "Always."
And another response, "I will." But this time the words come from Peeta. I lean my head on Gale's shoulder, and Peeta tightens his grip on my hand. The ground shakes, signaling we have arrived on solid ground, and so we all depart toward our separate hallways. At the end of mine, I meet but one person; Cinna. He stands in the entryway of the ramp, and to his left, a translucent tube. To his right, a marble bench. I recognize this as the launch room. Cinna quickly glances at his wristwatch.
"We don't have much time," he says, "five minutes remaining. I'm still betting on you, girl on fire." He tells me, all while attaching my Mockingjay pin to my arena jacket. He presses one finger to his lips, indicating secrecy. I lightly smile.
"Do you have any idea what the arena will be like this year?" I question.
"I've caught some lake images while walking past the game maker's room, and a bit of a woodsy area."
That's good, there will be water, and I am familiar with the woods.
Katniss Everdeen a voice bellows throughout the room. 60.....55.....50.....45
I hesitantly enter the tube, and I start to wave goodbye to Cinna before he disappears from my view. I attempt to come up with a plan. To my right lies a lake, distant, but life saving. To my left is a field, protection, but who knows what's behind it? Interrupting my thoughts, a voice bellows throughout the arena, Let the 74th annual Hunger Games, begin! And I haven't got a plan yet.
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Kay guys, update next month... Sorry for the delay, but I have schoolwork and crap so... OH. And I need to figure out some plot stuffs in order to update the next chapter, so if anyone has ideas please contribute them! I also need a couple characters for the tributes, so you can make a profile and message me that. Be sure to include:
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