Hunger Games, Gales POV (Everthorn)

The Games Begin

I woke to the television turning on, an alarm reminding us all that the games are beginning. I joined everyone in front of the television, scared for what I was about to see. The first day of the games, everything was closed; the instructions were simple, just watch the games. A constant reminder that you can't escape them. I stared at where Katniss stood on her platform and could see her mind reeling, I silently begged her to run straight to the woods. As the time continued to count down, I could see the more confused she was becoming. She was staring at the bow in the center and the Peeta and then the woods; like she couldn't decide what was most important to her. It was all I could do not to beg the television Katniss to give up on Peeta.

One. The games had begun. I watched as Katniss ran for a backpack, trying not to pay much attention to the murder that I was witnessing all around her. Everyone in the room was holding their breath, waiting for her to escape the bloodbath, praying that she would. Finally, she began to run; knives chased her into the forest, but she escaped without a scratch.

We all knew the cameras wouldn't show her for awhile, with the bloodbath still being in full swing. For as long as she wasn't on the screen, she was safe. We all slowly rose, no one wanted to stop watching, but none of us could bear to watch any more murder. My stomach churned thinking of how I'd have to hunt, knowing I wouldn't always be there to watch her. As long as the bloodbath continued, she should be safe; so I grabbed my game bag and ran out the door into the forest. I went as quickly as I could emptying my snares, shooting anything that I passed; none of my kills were as clean as Katniss' but they were still possible to sell. My stomach churned the more I thought of her in woods, just like these, scared for her life. I hurried home as fast as I could, not knowing if she'd even be alive when I returned.

I entered the hob, knowing all eyes were on me. Everyone was dying for a show, wanting me to say some tearful words about her; but I owed none of them my secrets. I traded what I needed to, getting Prim a small ring, hoping she'd find some joy in a gift. I was never great with Prim, she wasn't one for the woods and I had no idea how to live without the woods. She and I both loved Katniss, so we found that was the only common ground we needed. I wandered home letting myself think about what I had been avoiding for months, I'm almost eighteen. I don't have enough money to do anything but be a miner. The thought of going deep into the earth where my father died terrifies me, but my family needs me to work.

I clear my head of any thoughts as I walk into the house, knowing that they'd all tell me what I'd missed. The kids fought over who got to tell me, but in the end Vick told me there was no news. The first day in the games was slowly coming to an end. My family, including the Everdeens, sat down for dinner, waiting for Katniss to be back on the screen. We ate in silence until Prim squealed, alerting us all that Katniss was present. She was tightly secured in a tree, safe. Voices broke the calm chirps of animals settling in for the night, the Careers. You could see Katniss' face laced with shock and the slight movement she made out of surprise cause her to slip onto the underside of the branch she had been sitting on. The careers murdered the girl who had lit a fire, wandering towards an unprotected Katniss.

As the pack spread out, everyone in my small house gasped, Peeta Mellark was a career. They talked about Katniss, asking "lover boy" where she'd be. Their nickname for him disgusted me. They had no right to assume she'd love him back. To assume that there was love there. We stared, every single breath in the room held, as they walked right below Katniss. She was once again safe. The whole room released the air they had been holding in their lungs and slowly prepared for bed. Prim and her mother walked home, denying my offer of joining them. I slept in front of the games, closing my eyes only when I couldn't keep them open any longer.
————————————————————————
I awake to the sound of someone hitting the ground, someone used to jumping from trees. At first I jump, having no idea how I'd fallen asleep in the woods; but to soon I realize it's just the games. Katniss hits the ground and immediately tracks water, I see the Katniss I've seen a thousand times in the woods now. No makeup or effects, simply her. It's hard to even think that she's in the games, not home with me.

As my family wakes up around me, they remind me how dull the second day always is. I know they're reminding me to get to the woods while I still can. I know that going out is the one promise I made to Katniss, so I drag myself under the fence and into the woods. Naturally I slip into my natural hunter, nothing on my mind but game. Katniss would always tease me how easily I forgot about the real world. This time, I was thankful for it, it saved me from the pain of living. The day was warm and animals bounded right in front of me, easily shot. This was a day Katniss would sit in a tree and stay there until she ran out of arrows, collecting her rewards. But I needed to move, to hunt, to escape. So I did, I tracked through the forest for as long as I could, until the thoughts of Katniss creeped in. These thoughts warped our once safe woods into a place of murder, a place of the games. Every instinct in me told me to run, get away from the forest, so I did.

I slid under the fence, pushing the thoughts of fear deep within me. A short walk through the meadow led me to Katniss' front door. Prim threw the door open before I could knock, pulling me inside the house, "nothings happened. No killing. They're going to do something, I can feel it. The tributes are to far apart, they're gonna pull Katniss in."

Prim always shocked me, she thought so much more for others then you'd ever expect. I pulled her in for a tight hug, knowing I had no words against what she was saying; because it was true. When we pulled apart, she asked me to do something that unlocked a part of me that I never wanted to see, "Will you please describe Katniss for me? How you see her?"

I knew she didn't want a description, she wanted me to bear my heart and soul in words. Every part of me wanted to deny her request, but I couldn't destroy the light in her eyes, "Katniss is a Mockingjay. As special as they come. She can outsmart anyone, live through anything, and protect the ones she loves. She's an early morning sunrise, beautiful in every way but very few will care enough to see it. All of it I mean. They can tell she's beautiful, but they don't know everything lying beneath that beauty. The odds have never been in her favor, yet she always continues. When I met Katniss, I was determined to never love again; but there is no way I couldn't have fallen for her. She's my mockingjay."

Silence sat between us as we both processed what I said, neither expecting it. It was more then I had ever said before. A tear slid down Prim's cheek and she nodded. I laid the game on their table and walked out the door. There was nothing more to say, both of us were dealing with a broken heart. We had both lost the person we loved, now we had to live with it.