The Hunger Games- What If's (Fan Fiction)

Chapter Seven

   I stood there, awe-struck, as I thought about what I could do next.

   Instantly, I let my mind wander to Peeta. Peeta, with that sweet scent, that dirty blonde hair, and those words. Those words that could do anything. But something was different. When I thought about Peeta just now, I didn't feel my stomach flutter. I didn't see little sparks. I didn't think of his lips. I didn't actually feel anything for him.

   Do I not care for him anymore? Of course I care for him, but not in the way that was expected of me. Now I'm left wondering what all of Panem is thinking now. Will they forget about the star crossed lovers from District Twelve? No, they'll never forget Peeta's interview. No one could. They probably despise me. But I don't care. I do not need sponsors to get me through these Games.

   My mind isn't really set, but I start to walk again. I feel numb as I walk over the grass that crunches beneath my boots. I eventually stop to scope out anyone in sight. I scurry up the tallest tree I can see. The bark feels cold under my sweating hands. I climb swiftly up to the highest branch and look all around me. 

   The tops of the trees look like a sea of green. The bitter breeze tousles my hair and stings my cheeks slightly. I can see the sun slowly creeping under the blanket of the horizon and I know that night will soon consume the arena.

   I move to a lower branch in the tree and decide to sleep there. I take out my sleeping bag and climb in. As the air around me grows colder by the second, the sleeping bag only gets warmer. I strap myself to the branch of the tree and stare at the sky, waiting to hear the anthem and see the face of Cato.

   And then it hits me. There's only four of us left now. Thresh will most likely come out as the victor, but Foxface stands a fair chance. After all, no one had truly laid a hand on her yet.

   Maybe everyone forgot about her. I don't even know her real name, so it's possible, right?

   I remember Cato saying something about cutting Peeta. Where did he cut him? Peeta isn't dead yet, that much I know for sure. If he's still alive, then there's still a chance of finding, and possibly saving, him. Claudius Templesmith said that two tributes, as long as they're from the same District, may win. I must go and find Peeta. If not for him, then for the rest of Panem.

   The sound of trumpets blares in my ears just as I begin to drift off. I quickly snap my eyes open to be met with the Capitol's emblem. The faces of both Clove, then Cato looming over me. Cato looks so angry in his picture. I wonder what his family must feel like. Are they glad he's gone? Or are they glaring at me with loathing in their hearts?

   The theme ends, the emblem disappears, and the sky blacks out. I shut my eyes and thoughts quickly, and I fall into a gentle, sorrowful sleep.

>>------>X<------<<

   I wake up to the  sound of a single bird chirping. I open my eyes and see that it's a mockingjay. I slowly sit up and unbuckle myself from the  tree branch. I reach out to touch the bird who is watching my every move carefully, but the instant before I can feel its soft feathers, it flaps its wings and flies away. I sigh and begin to pack up my gear.

   I jump down from the tree and position my bow so it's in the crook of my arm. My stomach grumbles softly, and I reach for my pack only to remember that I shared the last of my groosling with Thresh. It looks like I'll have to go hunting today.

   An hour later, I'm carrying a groosling and a rather pathetic-looking rabbit. I didn't have much hope for the rabbit, and I bet it's thanking me for putting it out of its misery.

   I gather some dry branches, leaves, and a good place to start a fire. I place the groosling and the rabbit down tenderly on the grass and pile the branches up. I whiddle away at the wood until a wisp of smoke emits from the small indent I made in the branch. The smell of the smoke awakens me somehow, and I sit up a little straighter.

   After I get a steady flame going, I fan in with some leaves and add a few more branches. While the fire is getting hotter, I clean both the rabbit and groosling in record time. I find a slab of rock, probably limestone, and place both the groosling and rabbit skins on it and place it in the fire. While I'm cooking the meat, I might as well experiment. I then stick the groosling on a larger branch and put that in the fire. I do the same with the rabbit and wait for them to cook.

   By now, I have made up my mind about what I am going to do. I will find Peeta first. If I can't save him, then I can't save him. The next thing to do is go after Foxface. I figure that I better save Thresh for last. He's the strongest and probably would hesitate very little to kill his ex-ally.

   I collect some  and greens and place them in the little leather pouch. When that's done, the meat is done cooking. It smells  delicious and I can hardly restrain myself from biting into the entire rabbit. The rabbit is scrawny, so I'll finish that off quickly. The groosling can last longer, I've learned, so I save that for later. I eat the rabbit quickly, making sure I get every last bit of meat I can find. The grease from the rabbit coats my lips, but I don't mind.

   I carefully pull the limestone from the fire and inspect my handiwork. The rabbit hair has charred and burnt off, but the groosling's skin didn't have very many feathers on it, so not much of it was burnt. Each one of the skins had hardened considerably, but not so much that I couldn't do anything with it. What exactly I was going to do with it, I had no idea, but I thought it was clever.

    I extinguished the fire and started walking around, occasionally calling out Peeta's name softly. Everything was eerily quiet; I didn't feel comfortable like I usually did. Something was definitely off, but I had no idea what it was.