Chapter 74

So, I don't know if you noticed it or not, but I changed tenses recently. It used to be past tense, now it's present tense. I think I'm going to keep it as present tense for this story. Sorry for any confusion, but I'll be sure to go back and edit later on. Enjoy!

KatnissWhen we get back home, I immediately go to the couch in the living room. My eyes begin to slowly close, sleep trying to lure me into its arms. But there's something there, keeping me awake. I can't tell what it is yet.

After a while of struggling to wait for sleep to come, I sit up and turn on the news. I hear Peeta rummaging around in the kitchen, probably making something for dinner tonight. "There will be a false bombing drill in about an hour." I turn my attention to the screen in front of me. I mentally groan and sigh. I hate the drills. We have to do one every month. We've been doing the routine for about four years now. 12 a year. Every year. "You'll hear the sirens, but do not be alarmed. You'll then be required to go to your District's underground shelter. That's all," a Capitol woman says to the camera.

Peeta walks into the living room, drying his hands with a towel. "There's a drill tonight," I say. He nods. "Then we better start eating now."

I stand and follow Peeta into the kitchen. My nose fills with the smell of a wonderfully cooked meal. Once in a while, Peeta will try to teach me how to cook, but even the simplest dishes fail miserably. I take my place at the table and Peeta hands me a plate of potatoes, greens, bread, and a delicious looking stew. I mumble a soft thank you and take a drink from the glass in front of me. I know that people still starve, so every night I feel guilty. But in the morning, I try to take any leftovers and bring them to the old Justice Building, where they distribute it to the homeless.

I still try to hunt when I can, even though I don't need to. Sometimes I give the game to Hazel, who moved in a year or two ago, like I used to. Posy is old enough now that she can help clean and from what Hazel said, she's starting to cook. Rory and Vick work somewhere in the district now. The mines are shut down though, so anyone who survived the war that worked in the mines had to go without a job for a while. I've seen some of them in the streets; homeless. I'm thankful that Hazel still manages without Gale. I've seen him around sometimes, but we rarely say a word to each other. He has his wife now, and I have Peeta.

The sirens begin to blare around us. I hadn't realized that its already been an hour. I hesitate at first but I stand and so does Peeta. We silently walk out of our house. I quick run to Haymitch's door and knock. I hear him mumble something unhappily inside, so I walk down the stairs and back to Peeta.

We quickly walk to the square where I can already see citizens being ushered into the Justice Building. We wait in line until it's our turn to walk down the staircase and into a dark and cramped bomb shelter. Peeta takes my hand. I squint to try and see in the pitch black darkness before me but my eyes don't adjust. I keep waking until I know we're on the bottom floor now. The room is lit by one lightbulb hanging from a string on the ceiling. Peeta and I crouch down in an empty place in the corner. I can hear whispers and feel eyes on us, but I ignore them all. I've gotten used to it by now.

An uneasy feeling begins to rise in my stomach when I hear the sound of the door shutting tight above us. I see Haymitch looking unhappy on the other side of the room. I tap my foot anxiously, even though I know this is just a drill. I hate being down here. Locked down here, underground. I feel as though I'm being slowly suffocated. I remember the feeling from when I was in 13, when the Capitol sent bombs in. "It's okay. It'll be over soon," Peeta whispers, as if reading my thoughts. I try to breath steadily but my breaths come out shakier. I close my eyes and lean against the cold wall behind me. There's a crackling sound over the loudspeaker, and someone begins speaking. "Okay. Thank you for participating in this month's bombing drill. You can return to your homes at this time." I scoff at that. A lot of these people don't have homes.

"See, it's over now," Peeta says to me. I nod and focus on the stairwell. My only goal is to get out of here.

"I think I'm going to go to the woods," I tell Peeta. He nods. I climb the stairs, Peeta's hand still in mine. I know he hates stairs. It's hard for him to climb steep ones with his prosthetic leg, but luckily this one isn't. When we reach the top, he kisses my cheek and I can hear a few aww's around us. I try to hide the heat growing in my cheeks, but I fail so I start jogging to the woods.

I immediately feel better when I slide under the fence. They keep it up to keep unwanted animals out of the District, but hunting is legal. It bothers me, though. I don't like the idea of other people coming into the woods. Just me. And Gale, of course but he doesn't hunt much anymore.

A while back I ran into him, though. We passed a few words. He talked about his new fiancée while I nodded, trying to hide the sadness from my expression due to the horrible awkward feeling between us. It's never been uncomfortable with Gale.

I brush the memory from my thoughts and continue into the woods. I hear birds chirping and leaves crunching beneath my feet and suddenly I can breath again. I lean against the tree. I glance around me when I hear voices. I furrow my eyebrows and walk forward. I pass the fallen log that contains my bow and arrows. I'm not sure why I still keep them there. I tell myself to take them home, but I never do. I can't bring myself to do it. I take a few more steps and I'm certain I'm hearing voices ahead, but they're soft. And male.

It takes me a while of walking before I can hear the voices clearly. I'm at my father's spot. The lake and the little hut not far away. I instantly feel almost jealous that people are here. This is my father's special place. And mine too. I peer past a huge tree and my breath gets caught in my throat. I have to keep from coughing. Gale stands there, facing the lake. I'm about to walk forward. To say something to him, but then he turns. I'm almost certain he can't see me, but I can see him. And I can see the baby he's holding. A girl, based on how the kid is dressed. His kid. "I used to come here all the time," I hear him say. Tears threaten to fall over my eyes. "Katniss." I look up when he says my name, but he's not talking to me. "She was my best friend. She got into a whole lot of trouble," he says with a slight laugh. I wipe away a tear that ran down my cheek.

The baby makes little noises that make Gale laugh. I tell myself to turn around and run, but I stay. "Maybe you'll know her someday...You'll definitely know who she is. She's the reason you're here, really."

I cover my mouth with my right hand to try to make the least noise possible, but crying isn't going to help that. I take a silent deep breath and calm myself. "She had a sister...Her name was Prim." Before he could continue though, a little boy walks out of the brush carrying a basket of berries. Another kid, probably around the age of five or six.

"Daddy, I got the berries. Can I learn how to hunt like you now?"

"You will someday."

"But I want to now! I want to be like you and Katniss." I freeze. He's talked about us hunting together before?

"No. You don't. But you'll learn how to hunt eventually."

"Fine," the boy grumbles. I take one last look at Gale and his family and sprint back to the fence, making plenty of noise. I don't care, though. I just have to get away from there. Too many memories.