Chapter 45

Peeta

I reach out for her. She's pleading for help. I can see it in her eyes. But I can't move. I can't reach her, no matter how hard I pull on these invisible restraints.

A person who's face I can't see walks into this gloomy and dark cell. Katniss tries to scream, I can tell, but it's just a muffled noise against the cloth to her mouth. I try my hardest to get to her. To help her. But I can't and it's killing me. I let out awful sobbing noises, flailing around, trying to get up and help her.

My heart sinks rapidly when I see this faceless man pull out a gun. I yell and beg this person not to hurt her. To kill me instead. He doesn't seem to hear or see me though. Katniss does. She stares straight ahead at me, her grey eyes locked on my blue ones. I see a tear slip from her eye. Then, the gun goes off.

I sit up, taking in my surroundings. I can't breath for a moment, but when my eyes adjust I somehow calm myself down.

No one can describe the fear I get from these nightmares; Except Katniss. But she thrashes around and screams in her nightmares. When I wake, I can't control myself for a few minutes. I can't breath, I can't hear, I can't see. I am utterly paralyzed with terror that my nightmares bring. Every night it's different, but somehow, the same. They're always about Katniss; losing her. I have to tell myself that she is alright, and force myself to believe it.

I squint and look out the window above my bed. The sun is just beginning to come up. I sigh and watch the beautiful colors light up the sky. I begin to breath normally again.

Then there's a knock on my door. "Peeta?" It's Katniss. I'd know her voice anywhere. I stand up and open the door. She's about to say something but before she does I pull her into a hug. I can feel her almost tense up at the shock of my actions, but she hugs me back after a few seconds. "Nightmare?" she asks.

"Yes," I say. My voice sounds wobbly and unstable.

"It's over now. I'm here," she cooes. I nod and embrace her again. When we pull away from eachother again, she looks up at me. "Did Haymitch tell you about the Games?"

Before I fell asleep last night, Haymitch barged in and told me that I had to mentor not two, but six children separately. I'm not sure how I'm going to do it. That would mean even more children that I had to try and get out. How was I going to pick just one of them that I wanted to survive the most? It's sick and horrible, but that's what the Hunger Games are.

"How are we going to do it?" she asks.

"I don't know," I say, shaking my head.

"The Reaping is tomorrow, Peeta. They gave them an extra day, but I think I need it," she whispers.

"Let's do something then. If mentoring kids is all were going to do for who knows how long, then we should get one more day in peace," I suggest. She nods and hugs me again.

"We don't really have mant options," she says, rolling her eyes. District 13 doesn't have much to do at all.

"We could have a picnic in the woods. I'm sure they'd let us," I say. I watch as a smile creeps up on her face.

"Okay," she says. I take her hand and we walk out of the room together.

***

After Katniss and I have our picnic, we walk hand in hand back to the 13 base. Haymitch meets us at the door. "Well, hello lovebirds. You finally showed up," he says. I roll my eyes. "The Reaping is tomorrow. All the victors have to be there."

"So how is this supposed to work?" I ask. "Isn't there more than one Reaping?"

"No. All the Capitol children 12 to 18 are rounded up like normal. They pick twenty-four of them."

"How do we know which ones we mentor?" Katniss asks.

"You'll be assigned that right after; when the tributes say goodbye. We meet in the upstairs of their 'Justice Building'," he says, making air quotes.

"What's their Justice Building?" Katniss asks.

"They just built it. It's next to the president's mansion," he says, eyeing Katniss. The place where Prim died. She doesn't seem to notice it.

"Wait, who's the new president anyway?" Katniss asks.

"So many questions, sweetheart," he says, rolling his eyes. Katniss scowls at the use of her nickname. "The old Vice President. His name is Bennett Tamer. I don't know much about him."

"We meet outside the mansion, on the stairs. There, you'll be assigned the tributes you mentor. You get on a train with them. There will be guards, because those kids probably won't like you very much," Haymitch says. "I'm mainly talking about you, sweetheart."

"But remember, you're on your own. I'm not there to hold you hand anymore. I'm mentoring new kids," he says. Katniss and I nod, taking in all of the details, trying to prepare ourselves for tomorrow and the days ahead.

***

"I'll see you in the morning?" Katniss asks. We're standing in front of my bedroom door. I nod, and hig her tighrlt. The scent of trees and grass fills my nose.

"You can get me if you have nightmares," I say and she nods. I'm about to open the door to my room but she stops me.

"Can I stay with you tonight?" she asks. I see innocence in her eyes. Both of us had to grow up so fast, Katniss especially. Since she was 11, she's had to take charge of her family. I don't come from an incredibly poor family, like her. We had the bakery, but we were most certainly not rich.

"Of course," I say. My roommate hasn't showed up yet. Maybe he's too afraid of staying in the same room as me; the killer, the victor, the crazy guy who was hijacked twice. The guy who tried to kill the one he loves. I shudder at the thought, but I know that people think those things of me.

"Thank you," Katniss whispers. I open the door and we walk in together. I lie down first on the bed, Katniss beside me. She presses the side of her face against my chest and we fall asleep. No nightmares will haunt us tonight.

***

My eyes flutter open. Katniss is still fast asleep beside me. I don't want to wake her but I have to shift my position because my arm was starting to get tingly. I move to the side, squinting from the bright orange light streaming through the window.

Katniss opens her eyes and sits up. "Good morning," I say.

"Good morning," she replies. There is a knock on the door. I assume it's Haymitch.

"Start getting ready. The Reaping is at 2," he says.

"See you later?" Katniss asks, standing up from the bed. I nod and kiss her cheek. She smiles lightly and leaves the room. District 13 gave the victors something nice to wear for the Reaping. My clothes are plain but fairly nice. Black pants with a button down blue shirt with black shoes. I smooth my hair with my hands and walk out of the room, trying my best to prepare myself for what's going to happen today.