Pure Torture: a Hunger Games Fanfiction

Chapter 1

Peeta

I wake up in a hospital bed, my thin sheets bunched up at the foot of the bed. I must have a had a nightmare. I thrash when I have them. I sigh, trying to remember what's happened. I can't remember anything about what happened last time I was awake.

As I'm trying to remember, a nurse walks in. But she looks too young to be a nurse. As she comes closer she whispers something.
"Peeta? Is that you?"
"Uh, yes." I answer awkwardly.
Knowing I'm full awake, she flicks on a little lamp on the bedside table. She steps into the shafts of light the small lamp puts off. It's Prim. I see her eyes first, they're bloodshot and puffy. I almost begin to wonder why, but it hits me again. It feels as if I'm being shot, bullets piercing my heart one by one.
"Katniss... She's in the Capitol?" I ask, like a child.
"Yes..." She whispers, her voice breaking from tears. She places a tray of medication on the counter and acts like she's interested in them. I stand up and try to walk over to her, but I remember I'm still hooked up to an IV.
"Prim," I call to her quietly, "Come here.."
She drops whatever she was working on and walks over to me, tears running down her face. I pull her into a hug. This is hard for me, but I've only known Katniss for 2 years, really. Prim's known her for all 14 years of her life. They're sisters. This must crush her.
"What if they kill her?" She whimpers into my shoulder.
I don't know what to tell her. What if they kill her? I will not love again. I will not smile or laugh. My world will go dark...

I'm crying now, too. Because I know that they will kill her for being a symbol, for being the "Mockingjay". And now that she's in the Capitol, far out of reach, I'm helpless. She's unprotected and has no way out. Once, when I was a little boy, I heard someone who came into the bakery in 12 talking about a kind of sweet torture. Like a child, waiting for their Christmas presents or their birthday. But this torture isn't sweet. It burns you, it breaks you.

Prim is still crying silently on my shoulder when another nurse comes in. She stops abruptly in the doorway when she sees Prim and I's little moment. She hesitates, probably not wanting to intrude upon us. Prim slowly lifts up her head off of my tear soaked shoulder.
"It's okay," she says, wiping her tears with the backs of her hands,"You can come in, Mara."
The nurse comes in, knowing it's okay. Seeing how upset Prim is, she relieves Prim of her duties for the rest of the day. Prim leaves, obediently.

Then the nurse turns to me.
"You're her brother?" She asks.
"No," I say, laughing a little,"Katniss is her sister. I'm her 'fiancé'. I guess you could call us family friends, at least."
"Oh." She says before returning to her work. She tells me to sit back down on my hospital bed, then takes the IV out of my arm. She changes the bandages on my tracker wound, and then leaves to request my discharge.

When she returns, the Head Doctor examines me before giving the go-ahead. The nurse, Mara I guess, then hands me a small, gray bag and checks a paper for my assigned compartment number: E7. When I get to my compartment, I spot Prim across the hallway. My compartment is right next to theirs. At least I'll have some company. When I get inside, I dump the few contents of my bag out onto the bed. Inside, there's a gray uniform, a plastic-covered piece of paper with new citizen guidelines and instructions, a map of 13, and one unusual small box. I push away the papers and the uniform, and focus my attention on the small, gray box. Is everything in 13 gray? I wonder. It seems like it.

I don't know what to do with the box except to open it. I carefully take the top off of it, and am shocked when I see a note from Haymitch.
Peeta,
Inside this box is something of yours I requested to keep, after you were rescued. It's the gold locket you had wanted for Katniss to have. Instead of the pictures of Katniss's family and Gale, I replaced them with a picture of Katniss and a picture of you two on your victory tour. I hope you like it... If you ever need something, I'm in Compartment G3 and Finnick told me to tell you he's in the hospital right now. You can request to see him there.
-Haymitch
This note comes as an udder shock. Haymitch must feel genuinely bad for me, he's being so nice. I can't believe he would do this for me.

Tears already welling up in my eyes, I place the note neatly on the bed next to the box and remove the locket. On the outside, it looks exactly as it did in the Arena. But on the inside, there were different pictures. Just as Haymitch said. The tears spilled out of my eyes as I stared at the pictures of Katniss and of us. The picture of Katniss was breathtaking. I'm instantly reminded of how beautiful she is. Her gray eyes, cold at first, but warming as she learns to trust you. Her hair, falling perfectly around her shoulders. And her smile, that smile which could light up the darkest of nights. I'm reminded of how much I love her. It's like a spark in my heart.

And that spark caught flame, enveloping my heart with passion and love. And a hope that I can get that smile back to me.

**Here's Chapter 1! Sorry if it took long! Please, if you know anyone who might want to read this, recommend it and vote! If you have any suggestions or want to say anything, comment!

Soon I'm going to have a chapter in Katniss's POV... :)

Enjoy! **