No this isn't happening. There must be some mistake. Prims's name was one in thousands. Not that sweet little girl who brings us cheese. Not that girl who cried over an old cat. No!
Thom's grip on my arm is my anchor to reality. The effect of what has happened finally hits me. Like a slap on my face as the truth sinks in.
I turn around and see Prim, the blood-drained from her face, hands clenched in fists at her side, walking stiffly to the stage, I find Katniss face, blanched with shock.
"Prim", a strangled cry escapes her lips. I know her. I know what she's going to do.
Thom's grip tightens on my arm, as the crowd parts, making a straight path to the stage. No.
I push through the crowd without thinking. I can see Katniss reach Prim just before she mounts the steps. She pushes Prim behind her.
"I volunteer!", she gasps "I volunteer as tribute!", there's some confusion on the stage, but I plough through the crowd, shoving people mindlessly. I can hear Prim screaming when I reach the front. She's wrapped her skinny arms around Katniss like a vice. No. Katniss wouldn't cry, she can't cry, not in front of the entire of Panem. She will give no one that. She's not looking at Prim. Her fingers trying to pry Prim of her. "Let's go", she says hoarsely.
I don't realize that I'm near from until I pull Prim of her back. She turns and I can see the fear in her eyes that she's trying hard to hide. My chest tightens. No.
"Up you go-" Katniss, but It wouldn't come out . "-Catnip," I choke out.
I can't even look at her. Prim is still thrashing and screaming in my arms, even as I turn.
She gives up and cries into my shirt as I spot her mother. The next few seconds go by so quickly. Effie asks everyone to applaud Katniss, but it never happens. There is just silence emanates the unspoken words, saying that we do not agree.
There's a shift in the ground. A few people lift their hands. I do the same without question, press the three middle fingers of my left hands to my lips and hold out to Katniss. Prim jumps from my arm and does the same, so does every soul of District 12.
It's a rarely used gesture, often seen at funerals. But here -in front of the entire nation, in the face of the Capitol- it speaks volumes. It says that we do not agree.
Katniss wears a blank face and nods. My Catnip. NO.
I take Prim's hand and head to her mother. I turn around to see Haymitch throwing an arm around Catnip's shoulders. The stage is just a few meters away but it feels like it's happening far away, in another world. If only we had run away-
I draw in choppy breaths. Regret is such a useless emotion. There's no point in thinking about what could have been. All you can do now is think about what can be done to survive, I tell myself.
Prim's grip pulls me back to reality. Effie Trinket is walking up to the mic, with a slip in hand. I don't even have time to-
She reads "Peeta Mellark".
Peeta Mellark.
YOU ARE READING
the untold tale (A Gale Hawthorne story)
Fanfiction"Maybe I'll tell her after the Reaping. Maybe she'll be my Winter Fire someday." But there's only one rule: Kill or be killed Gale Hawthorne's life takes a drastic turn. One that's going to break his heart. His best friend gets Reaped into the Hunge...
