I'll Be Beside You (Sequel to I'll Be Watching You)

The Quarter Quell

9 Months Later

It was so hard to think that Cato and I won our Games almost a year ago, we get promoted from Tributes to Mentors. I've been asking Haymitch what it's like to be a Mentor but he only says one thing;

"Don't get too attached to your tributes. The odds are not in their favor."

Then he falls straight back into a drunken sleep. I promised myself that I would be a better mentor and actually help the tributes that are reaped. The Reaping for the 75th Hunger Games were 2 weeks away and since it's the 3rd Quarter Quell, a twist is gonna be added to the Games and that's announced by President Snow the day before the Reaping. I'm expecting anything to happen. Anything.

****

There was a disruption in the square. A new band of Peacekeepers marched into District 12 and started causing chaos. I found Greasy Sae out in an alley clutching her bleeding eye socket with an already soaked cloth.

"My eye! My eye!"

"Come on, I'll get you out of here."

I guide her through the dispersing crowd and leave her with her family. That's when I hear the groans of pain coming from the square. Tearing through the crowd, I find the horrific sight of Gale tied to a post and being whipped by Romulus Thread, the new head Peacekeeper.

"GALE!"

I run out in front of the post, Thread glaring at me, trying to intimidate me. But everyone knows not to intimidate the Girl on Fire.

"Move! Before you get punished as well!"

"I'm not moving! Over my fucking dead body will I allow you to whip my friend for no reason!"

"Fine, lets test that shall we?"

He raises the whip above his head and the end meets my face, cutting it open. The blood runs down my face and I can hear Gale telling me to go. Katniss, Cato and Haymitch run out of the crowd and take in the sight. Haymitch raises his hand in front of Thread and their eyes become locked on each other.

"I wouldn't do that."

"She should move out of my way!"

"Don't you recognize her? Brooke Fairfall? Girl on Fire? Darling of the Capitol?"

"I don't care! She should know not to defy the law!"

"I don't think President Snow would take too kindly to this, and neither would the rest of Panem. I didn't say she was smart, just think about it."

Thread's eyes soften and he flicks his wrist, signaling the others to untie Gale. Katniss and Haymitch grab Gale around the waist and sprint for the house. Cato picks me up in his arms and runs after them.

"Mrs Everdeen, it's Gale."

"Ok, set him down on the table. Is anyone else hurt?"

"Brooke has a cut on her face."

"Prim, go and help Brooke. Katniss, get some snow to draw out the pain."

Prim scurries over to me and Cato, grabbing a vial sitting on the table. She takes a cloth out of her apron and covers it in the clear liquid, draping it over my cut. I couldn't help but cuss as the liquid made the cut sting like a bitch.

"Oh, sorry but it has to be done."

I watched as Mrs Everdeen worked on Gale, his body writhing in pain. The whip marks were deep and were seeping with blood and pus. The snow did little to soothe him but the Morphling finally took effect and the moans finally ceased.

****

Gale stayed on the table for days, his cuts now not angry and red. My cut was healing, slowly but surely. Cato kissed the pain away every night and it left nothing but a scar. Thread was a scary dude, that's for sure but he mostly left us alone. Even Mayor Undersee wasn't okay with his appointment but no one could contradict the Capitol. Reaping Day was almost upon us again and I thought I was being sick with anxiety when I lost my lunch that day. My conscience got the better of me. Heading back down to the Hob, the man at the stall was surprised at my request. I headed back home with my purchase and went straight upstairs to the bathroom. Cato and I never used protection and we were lucky. But the little stick in my hand told me our luck had run out.

I'm pregnant.

Next thing I knew I was on my knees, sobbing my heart out and Cato rushing up the stairs to comfort me. He took one look at the test and his face turned ashen. Silent tears fell down his cheeks and his arms reached around my shoulders, pulling me closer to his chest. We wanted kids, don't get me wrong, but not like this. We wanted to wait until we were older, more mature and able to look after a child. I wasn't sure if the tears we shed were happy tears or tears of sorrow.

"I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"We agreed to wait until we were older. Now we have even more responsibility."

"That's nothing to be sorry for. We have to be strong. For our baby."

Fresh tears fell down my cheeks and he still held me close. We sat there on the bathroom floor for ages before Katniss called me down to watch President Snow's Quarter Quell announcement. Cato wiped the tears from my face and pulled me downstairs. It seemed like everything was in a haze, my hearing was fading in and out. A heartbeat sounded in my ears, was it mine or my baby's? The image of President Snow was already up on the TV. Cato sat down on the couch and pulled me onto his lap, wrapping his arms around my middle. We watched as Snow grabbed an envelope from new Head Gamemaker Plutarch Heavensbee and made his way up to the podium.

"Welcome, to the 3rd Quarter Quell. 75 years ago, the Districts were overcome by the rule of the Capitol thus creating the Hunger Games. As you all know, the Quarter Quell has special rules and this envelope holds the twist on this years Hunger Games."

We all hold our breath as his wrinkled fingers slide open the seal and take out the piece of paper that changes the Games.

"To remind the citizens of Panem that even the strongest rebels can be defeated, this years Tributes will be reaped from the existing pool of victors."

Cato tenses up and it takes me a full minute to process what just happened. I end up on the floor, my family standing over me. This day keeps getting better and better.

First I find out I'm pregnant and now I'm going back into the arena.

Oh boy.