Sea green eyes

4 - A Grim Reaping

The rain is pelting down now, strong enough that it stings my skin as I walk slowly through the Victor's Village. The reaping is in two weeks. I could be back in the arena in a month.

I start to shake. I could be killing again, feel blood warming my hands. I could have to kill Johanna. Katniss. Peeta. Haymitch. Sara. Shit. SARA!

My eyes fly open and I start to run. She's only just turned eighteen, barely won her games two years ago, and she could be going back into the arena.

Bursting in through her doorway, I scan the empty halls of her house.

"Sara? Sara!?" In response, there is only a loud cry from the kitchen. I run towards it, finding Sara on the floor of the kitchen, sobbing into her hands. "Sara..." I slowly take her hands from her face, taking in her expression.

Gods. Her eyes are red and puffy, tear stains like small rivers falling down both cheeks. Lips trembling, Sara shakes her head, hair falling in front of her eyes.

"I can't do this Kas... I won't go back there, I can't!"

"I know, I know Sara..." I grab her and pull her close, putting my arms around her as she sobs into my chest.

"I WON'T GO BACK!"

"You won't. You won't Sara!"

"How do you know?" She sobs, and I hold her closer, stroking her hair.

"There are four names in that bowl, Sarah, they're not going to pick you."

"YOU DON'T KNOW THAT!"

"I do... Sara I promise you, you won't go back into there."

"Swear!" Sara grabs my shoulders and scans my face, wet eyes taking in my expression. "SWEAR TO ME!"

I freeze. Sara's eyes look so dark, big, and in this moment, she looks so young, like the eighteen year old she is. I stroke away her ginger hair from her eyes, unlatching it from her eyelashes. I gulp.

"I swear on my life. You won't go back into that arena."

Sara smiles softly, and curls back up onto my chest as I think about the other Victors. Johanna, she would be angry... Haymitch, the same. Katniss and Peeta... I don't know them well enough yet but I can assume they would have the same reactions as the screams I can hear from the houses next to ours. As my mind flickers through the Victors, it lands on Odair.

Finnick Odair... he'll be angry, but would have gone first to Annie or Mag's to comfort them, putting their needs above his own. Then, after that, he would have gone to the ocean, not his house, to the docks that I'd seen on my Victory Tour and sat above or even in the water, closed his eyes and simply breathed.

Wow. I... I guess I never realized how much I observer Odair. Huh.

Shaking the thought out of my head, I close my eyes and and press my cheek to Sara's hair, rubbing soothing circles onto her back. That is something I can think about later. For now... just think about how I'm going to survive the Quarter Quell.

---

On the day of the reaping, I wake up to the sound of arguing outside my house.

"I'm afraid she needs to come with us, boy." Then a voice I immediately recognize as Tom quips back;

"Oh yeah? What are you going to do if I don't let you in?"

Shit. I knew Tom hated the Capitol but this is getting suicidal! I bolt out of bed and down the stairs, scanning Tom in the doorway for all of a second before reaching forward to grab his arm. Peeking over his shoulder at the Peacekeepers, now looking very disgruntled, I flash my most winning smile.