Pregnant in the Games

Chapter 17: New Tributes and Lies

Chris' death, combined with the fact that Luke is now head Gamekeeper, just set me off.


The next week was spent hunting down every other tribute and killing them. The four of us dedicated all of our thought to it. I barely said a word. I mourned heavily for Chris and was too upset to talk to anyone. I felt like killing everyone in this arena was the only thing to make up for it.


The opponents were fairly easy, too. None of us got hurt from the fighting, so it was pretty successful.


During that week of killing, Tetrick and I would break off from Jessica and Talon. We would take some moments to kiss each other, simply because it felt right. I still wouldn't say that we're together. It's a confusing situation. Then when he would bring up Chris, I would walk away as if he hadn't said anything.


When we had killed everyone, it was just the four of us left. For a second, I thought that someone was going to have to die. No more Tributes would come until there was three left. Luckily, however, we were called to the nearest Cornucopia for an announcement.


Claudius Templesmith told us that due to the current situation of the Games, they would let the four of us stay together and they were bringing 24 more Tributes into the mix. We were also told that we had a week before the new Tributes arrived. They need to do the Reapings, make their trips to the Capitol, go through training and the interviews in the week span of time. So we had the entire arena to ourselves.


We spent that second week working diligently on the tree house. By the time our week was up, the tree house had been completely constructed. You work a lot faster when you don't have to be so concerned about the world around you. We knew that no one would come out and attack us. We knew that we could sleep whenever we wanted without having to worry. It was a good feeling.


I'm also now 9 weeks pregnant. I've had strange dreams. My boobs hurt. I'm moody. Still feeling sick, too. It sort of sucks. I'm just glad that I've even lasted the first month of the Hunger Games. Only 35 months to go. When I think of it that way, I'm terrified.


When the new Tributes came, there was no warning. Claudius Templesmith didn't tell us that the Tributes were coming. The only reason we knew was because we could hear the countdown. Then the starting cannon. For 24 Tributes, the games have just begun. For us, things just became a lot harder.


"It was fun while it lasted," Jessica said. All four of us were sitting in the tree house. It was completely walled in, except for a few holes that we used as windows. I stared out the window, knife in hand, ready to throw if I needed to. Tetrick had his hand on Chris' old bow, which he was also prepared to use, if need be.


"I'm very curious about these Tributes," Talon said. "We have no idea who they are and we know nothing about them."


"Gives them a bit of an advantage, don't you think? First of all, they don't even need to last as long in the Games as we do. Second of all, they've been watching us on the television. They know a lot about us," Tetrick said.


Suddenly, a horrible thought came to mind. They know where our tree house is. Every single one of them.


"We need to guard this place very heavily," I said. "They know exactly where we are. Expect an infiltration." With those words, Jessica and Talon got their own weapons, too. We looked out the windows, waiting for someone to arrive.


As we watched, I saw the bushes rustling. Someone was running through the trees. I could feel the members of my alliance tense. "Hold fire," I whispered to them. I wanted to see the Tribute before we attacked.


The Tribute burst through the trees and I gasped. I would recognize that face anywhere. He's from District 12, like me. He has dark brown hair and beautiful blue eyes. He's 15, the same age as Talon. Tears came to my eyes the second I saw him. He looked around frantically and then noticed the tree house. His face melted into relief. "Willow... Are you up there?"


"Gale!" I yelled, crawling down from the tree house and running over to him. I wrapped my arms tightly around him and held him close. He's Katniss and Peeta's son. He's named after Katniss' good friend, who left District 12 a long time ago. I can't imagine how Katniss and Peeta feel right now. Having a kid in the Games is their worst nightmare. That was Katniss' hesitation to have kids. She didn't want the kid to die to the Games.


"I found you!" Gale called in joy. Then he stepped away from me, suddenly wearing a very serious expression. "There's something I need to tell you."


"No!" Jessica suddenly screamed, jumping down from the ladder. Tetrick and Talon ran at her heels. Jessica pulled a sword out, pointing it threateningly at Gale.


"Whoa!" I stepped between Gale and Jessica's sword. "That's my friend. Leave him alone."


"He's a liar!" She screamed.


"He hasn't even said anything, Jess," Talon said, putting his hand over hers and slowly lowering it. "Just calm down." Then he gave her a kiss for good measure.


"What do you have to tell me, Gale?" I asked.


Gale took a step away from Jessica, eyeing her careful. I could tell that he didn't trust her. I stayed in between the two. What could Gale possibly know that I didn't?


Then I realized that he's seen every moment of the Games. He's seen what happened as I slept or as I had my back turned.


"Chris didn't kill herself, Willow. She was struggling, but she was okay. Jessica stabbed her and framed it as a suicide. I saw the whole thing," Gale said.


I turned and looked at Jessica. Her eyes were wide with fear. She had dropped her sword the ground, leaving her defenceless.


"Is that true, Jess?" I asked her. Although I didn't need to ask. I know in my heart that Gale is telling me the truth.


"Well what was I supposed to do? She was going to kill us!" Jessica pointed at me. "She was going to kill you!"


"Jess, how..." Talon trailed off. He had no words. I've never seen him so hurt.


Tetrick pulled a knife out of his belt. Before Jessica could react, Tetrick stabbed the knife into her side. I saw no mercy in his eyes. I didn't see any sympathy. I just saw rage. He was very close to Chris. If I hate Jessica right now, then I can't imagine how he feels. He probably sees her as Satan re-incarnated.


Jessica fell to the ground, dead.


"I'm sorry, Talon. I just had to," Tetrick said. "She killed Chris. You have to understand."


He nodded. "I understand. Don't worry." He then turned to Gale. "Come on. Let's get in the tree house before the hovercraft comes along. It will be taking Jessica's body away."


Our alliance remained at four. We just lost one member and gained another. Tetrick and Talon accepted Jessica gratefully. They didn't seem to have any hesitations. I don't understand how anyone could. Gale isn't suited for these Games. What if he dies here? I could never forgive myself for that, no matter how he died. I'm sure that Katniss and Peeta are watching right now. I'm sure they're counting on me to help keep their son alive, and that's exactly what I plan to do.


We spent the day held up in the tree. Gale had gotten some food from sponsors almost the moment he started the games. We still have plenty of water. So there was no need to leave the tent. He told us that when the cannon went off, he ran away from his District 12 partner as fast as he could. Apparently he doesn't like her too much.


We killed 5 people while we were in the tree house. Most of them never saw it coming. One guy gut stuck in one of our human snares. I didn't hear any other cannons. Today, we have made the only kills. So those 5, plus Jessica, means that there's 22 people left in these Games.


That night, when everyone else had gone to sleep, Gale woke me up.


"I need to talk to you about something," He whispered. "I wanted to bring it up to you first. If you like the idea, then we'll bring it up to the others and you can have my back, because it sounds pretty crazy."


"What is it?" I asked, wiping the sleep away from my eyes.


"There's this guy. He's a Tribute, from District 2. When I was watching the Reapings with Mom, she gasped when she saw him. She started freaking out. She made eye contact with Dad. Dad nodded at her. Something passed between them. Mom really wants me to ally with him. She says she has a good feeling that he's a great guy."


"So this is just some random guy?"


"Yeah. His name is Titus. I want to find him."


I sighed. "That's dangerous, Gale."


"We can handle it. No enemy seems to be too hard for you guys," He replied.


"That was with Jessica."


Gale frowned. "I'm a better fighter than Jessica. Trust me. I don't know how much you saw, but she never laid a hand on any of those Tributes. She was terrible in training. I have no idea how she got the score she got."


I do. She was going to help deliver my baby, which was enough for the Gamekeepers. I hung my head. I feel so betrayed by her.


"Mom insisted that I do this. Please."


"What if he's not who you think he is? What if he's some terrible guy that stabs us in our sleep?" I asked.


"Then I'll take watch for the next couple nights. Just until you trust him. I will watch him and I will recognize if he's not a good part of this alliance. Please, Willow. Mom isn't the only one who has a good feeling about this guy."


I sighed. "Alright. We'll convince the others in the morning and we'll go find him. You better be right about him."


Gale nodded. "Trust me."


So the next morning, I presented the idea to the others. With Gale's help, they agreed to go look for him. We set off on the open road, all of us with our weapons unsheathed. These other Tributes know a lot about us. I'm sure that we're the threat in these Games. It complicates things.


We had no idea where this Titus guy would be. So we traveled south, towards the rain forest. We walked on the outside of the giant chasm. We walked right by the tree where Tetrick and I stayed for a few days. As we did so, Tetrick purposely brushed his arm against mine.


We started to head into some new territory. Past the rain forest, things start to get colder. Pretty soon, we found that there's a giant, iced over lake. Near the middle of the lake, there's a glacier floating around. We turned to the right then, not wanting to proceed into the cold area. We reached a hotter area, where the grass was dry and poky. The trees were very wide spaced. 100 yards would pass between two trees. The climate could be described as the savanna.


"What a strange place," Gale commented. "Does Panem have anything like this?"


Tetrick shook his head. "No. Not that I know of."


Not too far away, through the grass, I noticed a kid lying down. I sped up my steps, trying to get closer to him. Once we reached him, I realized that he was passed out. His lips were cracked from the dry climate. His chest was barely rising and falling. I realized that he was dehydrated.


"That's him! That's Titus," Gale said.


I put my hand underneath Titus' back and lifted him up. Then I held my canteen to his lips. The water seemed to wake him up. He gratefully drank the water. He drank until there was nothing left in the canteen. It's a good thing we have multiple.


"Willow?" Titus asked when he had opened his eyes. He looked around, seeing Gale, Talon and Tetrick. Then he brought his eyes back to me. "I take it you found out about Jessica, since she's not here."


I nodded.


"I can get up now," Titus said. With our help, he managed to get on his feet again. He looked a bit unsteady, but he was alright. "The cameras har
dly looked at anyone else, you know. Everyone in Panem knows your names. You are the favorites."


"Good to hear," Tetrick said. "So who are you?"


"My name is Titus. I'm from District 2," He said. Then he looked over at Gale. "What's your name again?"


"Gale. Gale Mellark," Gale replied.


Titus frowned. "Huh. That's my Dad's name. Weird."


I gasped. I looked over at Gale. He seemed to be thinking the same thing, because his mouth was hanging open, too.


"What's your last name, Titus?" I asked him.


"Hawthorne. Why do you ask?"


I put my hand over my mouth. No wonder Katniss was so persistent about allying with him. This guy is Gale Hawthorne's son! Katniss hasn't seen Gale in 25 years. She must've realized who he was the moment she saw him.


"Is your dad still alive?" Gale asked.


"Yeah. Alive and well."


"And he used to live in District 12." I phrased it as a statement and not a question.


"Um... yeah. How do you know all of this?" Titus asked.


"Gale used to be best friends with my mom!" Gale said. "I'm named after your dad! He went off to District 2 and she never heard from him again. She didn't know if he was alive. She knew nothing about his life. Then when she saw you during the reaping, she told me right away that I needed to ally with you. This is the reason why."


Titus frowned. "You're telling me that Gale was best friends with Katniss Everdeen and he never mentioned it to me?"


"Yes! Things ended a little awkwardly with their friendship. But you're dad is alive! Mom must be so glad to hear this conversation," Gale said.


"So you want ally with me?" Titus asked.


I nodded, although I hated the idea of adding anyone to the alliance. I'm realizing that I'm attached to too many people in these games. I'm very close to Talon. I'm very close to Tetrick (obviously.) I've known Gale his entire life and now I'm becoming attached to someone else. Losing Chris and Jessica's betrayal made me realize that I can't become attached to so many people. People around me are going to die. I might lose every member of my alliance. It's so painful to think about losing any of them, at this point. I just don't want more heartbreak.


So suddenly, Titus was an addition to our alliance. We received a parachute that had some more water in it, which we gave all of it to Titus. I'm sure Katniss is rejoicing about this right now. I, on the other hand, am dreading the moment where I lose him. Maybe I'll die before Titus. Then I won't have to deal with that heart break.


That night, we only made it as far as the rain forest. We had already spent most of the day traveling to find Titus. Tetrick and I slept up in our special tree. Talon and Titus slept in a separate tree. Gale, as promised, kept watch that night.


Long after Talon and Titus fell asleep, Tetrick and I were still awake. We were kissing on another for a long time, before I finally asked him something.


"Are you worried about this whole Luke thing? I mean, my ex-fiance is the Head Gamekeeper. Not ideal situations for you."


He shrugged. "Nah, I'm not worried."


"He could kill you."


"You know what, Willow? I'm going to die in these Games. There's no doubt in my mind. Even if I get to the end of this three years, I will die. I've planned to throw myself down when the time comes. The only thing Luke can do to me is make it happen earlier than intended."


I frowned. "What are you talking about?"


He put his hands on either side of my face. "You are going to reach the end. There's no doubt in my mind. Hopefully, your baby girl will be with you. In that situation, I'm not going to keep myself alive. I can't."


"How can you be so sure that I'm making it to the end?" I asked.


"Look around you, Willow. You're pregnant. You have four other people here to protect you. Chris would've given anything to protect you, too. Panem loves you. Parachutes are raining on us. Maybe everyone sitting here is going to die. Except for you. You will make it."


I shook my head. "Don't talk like that."


"It's a little under three years away. Don't worry. I don't think I'm going anywhere any time soon."


Just the idea of Tetrick leaving brought tears to my eyes. I started to cry. Tetrick held me close, comforting me. "Don't worry, Willow. Don't cry."


After some crying and some kissing, I finally wanted to go to bed. Is Tetrick right? Is it actually possible for me to reach the end? He did have a point. I have a strong alliance around me. I do have a lot of sponsors. The idea of winning the whole thing just seems to far fetched to me. It's hard to imagine that.


***


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BTW, what's up with me and T's? Talon. Titus. Tetrick. I can barely keep it straight. But it's too late to fix the names now. So I guess I'll deal with it.

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