Caged | The Hunger Games AU ✓

xxviii. hospitalization

twenty-eight - hospitalization

- - - ➳

matthias goes silent.

for five long, full seconds, he doesn't make a sound. i can't see much through my blurry and unfocused vision, but he appears to be sitting completely still with his mouth slightly open. i can't hear him breathe. i don't even think he's blinking.

the loud, booming voice of claudius templesmith echoes through the arena. "ladies and gentlemen, i am pleased to present the victor of the 75th hunger games, matthias rutcher. i give you- the tribute of district twelve!"

and like the announcement finally slapped some emotion into him, matthias screams. it's a dreadful sound full of pure, heart-wrenching agony that twists my insides horribly. the scream is short-lived and is soon replaced with cracking sobs. he leans down and presses his face into my neck. i can feel his tears on my skin. his chest shakes with the weight of his sobs, heavy and racking his body.

"no!" he shouts, face still buried in my hair. "no! i refuse!"

i wait a few seconds more. my heart is barely beating. my lungs burn and demand oxygen.

so i give it to them.

in a sputter, i gasp in as much air as i can until my lungs are filled. my eyes shift back into focus just in time to see matthias' head snap up, face inches from mine. a mixture of bewilderment and confusion is on his tear-streaked face as he stares at me with his eyes widened.

"thalia?" he questions, leaning back a bit to examine me from a better angle. i'm still sucking in ragged breaths through my mouth, which has gone as dry as sandpaper. i nod, lifting my lips in a small smile. he releases a shaking sigh of relief. "you're alive."

i nod again, barely able to speak. my brain is fuzzy and i feel dizzy from the blood loss. "y-yeah, i'm alive. which means the capitol lied."

matthias' hands go back to my stomach, pressing down on the open wound there. his facial expression slowly hardens to steel; his blue eyes mimic the crashing waves just yards away from us. he lifts his head and glares at the sky. "how many? how many other tributes were still breathing when their cannons blew?"

as expected, there's no response. i can only imagine the bedlam occurring in the gamemakers' area. what's going on in the capitol? what are they deciding? are they just going to let me bleed out here until there's only one left for real?

but matthias already has an answer. "seems like you don't have a choice. thalia blew your cover. you can't just let her die, can you?"

after a few seconds of unbearably tense silence, claudius' voice sounds again. "very well. ladies and gentlemen, the new victors of the 75th hunger games: thalia forkshire and matthias rutcher!"

my eyes widen in surprise that my plan actually worked. i fooled the capitol, and now we're going home. both of us.

matthias breathes a laugh that's more like another relieved sigh. he hugs me tighter. "i told you until the very end, didn't i?"

i let him embrace me, still fighting off the black dots invading my vision. i'm too shocked to reply. my lips are parted slightly, my body feeling numb and cold from the amount of blood i've lost already.

the hovercraft materializes in the dark sky. matthias immediately picks me up bridal style and carries me to the single ladder that drops down. he somehow manages to loop an arm around one of the rungs after he places a foot on the bottom one, still holding me steadily. though the current freezes us in place, i can feel matthias' muscles shaking from the impossible position he's put himself in.