A Tiny Spark

Chapter 1

"And I will stay up through the night;
Let's be clear, won't close my eyes;
And I know that I can survive;
I'll walk through fire to save my life."

-Sia
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The clock strikes for a new hour. One hour since the Quarter Quell faded to black, engulfed in flames. One hour since my sister began this fire with an electric arrow.

One hour since... Oh, I can't even think over Mom's sobbing.  We sit together on the sofa, my head lying against her shoulder.

"We don't know for sure," I keep saying to her, though I feel tears staining my face. "Maybe, somehow-"

She grabs my hand firmly, grimacing. "Prim. You're such a bright ray of sunshine. Always so optimistic, even when your father died and I... I couldn't even produce the energy to keep you fed. I feel like I've only just returned to my old self.  Of course, I wish Katniss somehow lived through what happened earlier... God, I wish. But the whole place exploded. Nothing looked salvageable, from what I saw. We have to accept it.... Katniss is dead."

So it goes, I guess. Death is the only thing I'm sure of in this world.  We lost Dad; and we almost lost Katniss more than once. She came home alive, but scarred. Now... Now, there's just no way she could've survived again.

What if that was the point? That she wanted to die?

No. Can't be. I saw how frightened she was when she volunteered for me. She put my life above her own, to give me a second chance. But the prospect of being 'sacrificed' must've haunted her every waking moment inside the arena. 

I can't say the same about her mental state afterwards. Before Reaping Day, she had said, without emotion, "Don't expect me to come home. If nothing else, I want Peeta to win."

Which begs the question: Why would she take Peeta down with her? At first, I wasn't sure if she cared about him. Not even after she tended to his potentially fatal leg wound. My thoughts changed during the Quarter Quell- and the moment his heartbeat vanished. He legitimately died.  Katniss was hysterical, almost like Mom when the miners told us about Dad. That older victor they allied with, Finnick Odair, literally raised Peeta from the dead, because he saw her anguish, too.

Yeah. There's no doubt in my mind. Katniss loved Peeta. 

Oh great. Did I really just use past tense?

Loves, I correct myself. She loves him, and soon, I'll see both of them again. They're practically invincible in my eyes.

"I've got a bad feeling that's not the worst of it," I admit to my mother. "I think we're... we're officially at war, Mom."

"Unfortunately," she agrees, stroking my cheeks.

A new appreciation is growing between us; something I've always wanted.  I finally have my mom back. In spite of losing Katniss, I know she won't shut people out anymore. 

BOOM. 

Mom and I jump at the sudden quakes.  They seem distant- but my heart leaps, nevertheless.

"What was that?" 

"We'd better go see," Mom replies.

Opening the door, we step outside. Way beyond Victor's Village, smoke curls upwards. And fire. A monstrous fire burns somewhere near the Hob.

"No," I whisper.

Poor Greasy Sae! I hope she's not in there.  But a glimpse above shows me that she won't be the only potential casualty. Hovercars fly around, releasing explosives wherever the pilots direct them. And I know exactly who's behind this.