Chapter One
I kneel down on the large rock by the lake with my bow resting on my knee with the arrow grazing the clear water. Today is the day of the Victory Tour and I can already feel in my aching bones that today something very horrible is about to happen.
I hear a twig snap behind me and I quickly draw my bow as the sun begins to peek over the mountains. It's Gale in his jacket, with his game bag hooked to his belt. "Whoa, easy." I lower it and take a deep breath of the cool air. Gale smiles. "I saw some turkey's while I was coming down, they just walked past me like they owned the place." I smile a little. "How rude of them." He licks his lips.
"Well that's what you get for working in the mines all the time." I look down at my boots as the snow glistens against the rising sun. "When does the tour leave?" He asks and I frown. "A couple hours." He smiles. "Let's go then." I walk with him across the frozen stream as my boots cling to the slippery rocks as best as they can. Gale wraps his arm around my waist here and there to make sure I don't fall. Then we come up on them, those rude and horrible turkeys. We crouch down behind a rock and I draw my bow and aim at a plump turkey as it flaunts around the others with it's bright feathers.
I shoot and then when I watch it penetrate it turns into Marvel with my arrow in his chest. I fall to the ground, dropping my bow as I crawl back quickly, hyperventilating. Someone grabs my arms and I start screaming, seeing a bloody face. "Stop! Let me go! Please!" "Hey!" Gales voice yells and I then see his pale face and his grey eyes wide with fear. "You're with me, you're safe, you're home." I stand quickly and grab my bow. "We should go." I stutter and quicken my pace.
Later when we are behind the Hob he looks down at me. "Are you coming to the train station?" He frowns. "You have enough people that are going to be there." I look down. "Nobody I really care about." He stays silent. "Are we going to do this again?" He looks at me. "Gale it was a act." "Yeah, it was a good one." "If I didn't do it I would be dead." Then his lips smash onto mine. I close my eyes, my fingers curling against his chest. His lips are like velvet, his hot breath smells like the oranges we shared only moments ago.
When he breaks away his thumb gently brushes my cheek as his forehead rests against mine. "I had to do that, at least once." Then he walks back into the Hob. I walk to Haymitch's and bang on the door. "Haymitch!" I just open the door and walk into the putrid stench. I see Haymitch passed out with his head on his table with liquor bottles everywhere. I shake him.
"Haymitch! Come on the cameras will be here in a hour!" No response. I grab a cup with water in it and pour it all over him. He screams, whipping a knife at me and he blinks a few times. "What the hell are you doing!" "Cameras are going to be here in a hour." He goes at me with a knife and I grab his throat, throwing him down onto his chair. "If you wanted to be babied then you should've asked Peeta!"
"Asked me what?" Peeta asks. I see him with his rosy cheeks and his nose red from the cold, a warm loaf of bread in his hands. "Asked you to wake me up without giving me pneumonia!" Peeta starts cutting the bread and he smiles. "Would you like some bread Katniss?" "No I already ate at the Hob but thank you." He nods. "You're welcome." Haymitch takes a swig of his liquor. "Burr, you two have a lot of warming up to do." "Yeah which is in a hour." I say with a blush and then throw a napkin at Haymitch.
"Take a bath Haymitch." He glares in my direction. "I just did."
I walk back home into my new house, right smack dab in the Victors Village. ButterCup hisses at me as he is perched on the fountain in the middle of the village. I ignore him and walk up my stoop, taking off my scarf. I open the door and shut it from the wintry blast. My mother and Prim rush over to me. "Did you have a good walk dear?" "Walk? I was just-" "We got visitors." Prim says and I swallow as I see two men in black.
