Fallen Flower(G.H)

Chapter Twelve

I wake up the next morning and wait for Gale to wake up. Once he's up we pack up and head down to the stream to refill our water bottles. It's bone dry. I glance up at him.

"They're forcing us together." He says. I nod and we follow the empty stream to the lake. I refill and purify our water bottles while we wait. Gale pulls out his knife and I ready an arrow. We stay like that for hours and then Cato breaks through the trees. I release my arrow and it hits him squarely in the chest. It bounces off and he keeps running towards us.

"He's got some sort of body armour." I yell over to Gale. A group of large mutts break through the trees and Gale and I take off after Cato. I toss the bow onto the cornucopia and Gale gives me a boost. I grab his hands and pull him up right before the mutts reach him. They jump and snap at us. Rues eyes stare at me from the smallest mutt. I grab my bow and pull back an arrow I fire it into the crowd of mutts. One falls and soon enough Gale is ripped away from me. I turn one of my three remaining arrows already ready to fire. He's holding onto Gales neck like he held the district three males. I keep my arrow aimed at his head terrified. If I hit Cato he could still take Gale down with him. I would go home but without Gale. I couldn't forgive myself if I left Gale here.

"I'm a goner." Cato says. "I kill him and you shoot. You win. I can still do this. I can still kill him. You killed her so I kill him. It's a continuous loop isn't it? One more kill. I've got to bring pride to my district!" Gale struggles slightly and draws an X on his hand. I adjust my aim and release the arrow. I hits his hand and he falls into the pack. He starts fighting and I grab Gale pulling him farther onto the cornucopia. We cuddle up for warmth as we listen to Cato scream as they attack him and rip him to shreds. The sun starts to dawn as I wait for the cannon. The last cannon of the games. He drags himself into the cornucopia and I sigh. I fire another into the crowd of mutts taking out the blonde one that's sure to be the girl from one. I watch the mutts run and jump into an opening in the ground that closes up behind them. I take out my last arrow and notch it to my bow.

"Hold me down." I say quietly. Gale holds my legs and I lean over the edge twisting so I can aim.

"Please." Cato whispers. "Please." I take pity on him and fire it into his skull. The cannon goes off and Gale and I slid off the cornucopia. We walk to the lake and I retrieve my last arrow.

"Attention tributes. There has been a slight rule change. The previous rule allowing two victors from the same district has been revoked. Only one may be crowned." The voice says. I look over at Gale and shove the bow into his hands.

"Go home. Take care of your family." I urge.

"No you're my family too." Gale tosses the bow aside. "One of us has to die." He says. I stare at him and sigh. I slip my backpack off and pull out the pouch.

"I'm not going home without you." I say.

"I'm not going home without you." Gale answers. I feel the weight of the pouch and pour half of the nightlock onto my hand. Gale holds out his hand and I pour the rest into his hand. I hold them so the cameras can see and we raise them to our mouths dropping them in.

"Stop! May I present the victors of the seventy fourth hunger games! Samantha Mellark and Gale Hawthorne from district twelve!" The voice announces. We spit out the berries and I pass him the water rinsing out my mouth twice with my bottle. Blood is spilling down Gales leg as I realize that he wouldn't have lasted much longer anyway. A hovercraft appears and a later drops. Gale climbs onto the ladder and I join him. The moment we're on, we're frozen as they pull us up. Once we're in the hovercraft we're released and they start taking Gale away.

"No!" I scream as I lunge towards him. They yank me away and into a room. They hand me a glass of orange juice and I catch sight on my hands. They're caked with blood and dirt. I must look like an animal. I set it down and someone comes up behind me and I feel a faint prick before everything goes black.