Collisions (in the works)

chapter 4

Katniss POV

     It has been a couple days since our return back home, Gale and I decided to go hunt for game and then trade in the Hob. Peeta is with Haymitch making sure he hasn't died yet from alcohol poisoning. Gale and I ventured off toward the gate which is passed the Seam, by my old house. We reached the fence and pass a few gates to reach the Meadow. Before we crawl underneath the gap in the fence, I pause and cautiously listen for the hum  to see if the fence is alive. I hear no buzzing which implies that the fence isn't alive like it should be 24/7. I check back behind me to make sure the coast is clear, before I flatten out on my belly and slide underneath the two-foot stretch that has been loose for years. Once I am through, I go to the trees to retrieve my bow and a sheath of arrows that were hidden in a log. When I turn around I see that Gale has made it through the stretch and is now towering over me. Gale decided that we should go towards our place. Our place was just over the hills with rock ledge that has a view of the valley and that overlooks the giant cement wall separating us from who knows what. I plopped on the ledge as I picked at the small sections of grass that lie there, as I am stuck in my thoughts of when the last time we were here might have been.

Flashback

"Hey Catnip," Gale says. "Look what I shot,"  He held a loaf of bread with an arrow through it which caused me to laugh. Real bakery bread, I haven't had since the baker's son had tossed me bread he burned. I take the bread in my hands and let the warmth seep into my body.  Inhaling the fragrance of the bread practically makes my mouth water. 

"What did it cost you?" I asked.

"Just a squirrel, I think the man was feeling sentimental this morning." Gale said " Even wished me the best of luck."

Flashback over

After a while of sitting and enjoying the view I decided to break the silence, "What do you think is out there?" I asked referring to the cement wall. 

"I don't know, but I would like to" he said curiously. 

"The idea you are thinking Gale is preposterous, How could we leave our families, to go venture off in the unknown and possibly die!" I had some tension in my tone. 

"Just forget it Katniss" Gale snapped. 

This conversation feels wrong. How could I ever leave Prim? How can Gale think that when he has a family to tend to? We can't leave, so why bother talk about it. Before I can finish my thinking, we hear some rustling in the leaves behind us. Wild dogs had wandered toward us with a hungry, almost deadly look in their black pits for eyes. Before I could even grab an arrow, a mangy mutt had pounced on me, and began digging it's vulture like claws into my skin. I let out a yelp of pain, before Gale had shot the creature with an arrow, I watched as the arrow pierced through the neck of the wild dog; causing little droplets of blood to fall on my chin. I kicked the limp mutt off of me and got up from the ground. I hugged Gale tightly, if it weren't for him I'd be dead. As for the other dogs they seem to have run off due to seeing what had happened to their friend. After I pulled away from Gale, I saw the damage done by the dog I had deep incisions on my right arm toward my shoulder and a few puncture wounds in my left arm. Gale and I decided that we should return back to 12.  

Once inside 12, Gale heads toward the Hob to give Greasy Sae the wild dog he had shot, as I decided to walk back home and have my mother and Prim tend to my battle scars. I had arrived at the entrance of the Victor's Village, seeing a broad shouldered, dirty blonde figure rush towards me. His arms finding their way around my waist, keeping me steady. I breath in the scent of fresh bread mixed with honey, Peeta. I can see that my arms are practically covered in a thick red warm liquid. 

"Katniss what happened?" Peeta asked with concern lacing his voice.

 "Wild dogs, woods, and Gale," was all I can manage to spit out. 

Peeta nodded as he help me walk back to my house. He led me inside the house and there stood Haymitch in shock as well as Prim. Prim had cleared the table quickly as Peeta  helped me sit down. Prim had focused on my bleeding wounds soon screaming for my mother. My mother had walked in and quickly noticed the red that was dripping down into a pool. Prim began to wipe my arms down with a clear concoction, as my mother gathered herbs from the pantry. Prim went outside to gather some ice, for the herbal concoction my mother began mixing. She added the ice in as Prim rubbed my back ever so gently. My mother coated these wraps with the concoction before wrapping my arms with them. I lay down on the table, eventually letting sleep take over.