The Last Mockingjay [ON HOLD]

2. The Reaping

My heart thuds. As I grasp Rue and Finnick, Effie steps up. Aging rapidly, her wrinkles are nearly visible in between her pale, modified skin. I smile at her welcomely, and she notices me, but pulls a sad face. I frown, and she quickly turns to the rest of the audience.

'Happy 76th Hunger Games!' She recites, again repeating that horrible Capitol accent. It's so familiar. Although it is many years later, nothing has changed. Even though the kids standing here right now have close to no idea what is going to happen, they stare with stern faces. Rue and Finnick stand trembling, just in case it is them. The sad thing is, it probably will be.

Peeta wraps his arms around my waist, and stares with sad eyes. I feel disgusted at myself. As a parent, I should be able to give them freedom, a full life. As tears prickle down my cheek, and I can feel Peeta's soft fingers brush them off. 'It's gonna be okay,' he whispers, as if he needs to make himself believe too. People around us watch in envy. 'It's them', they whisper. Years of this have trained me to ignore others talking about us. We will always be the star-crossed lovers.

Effie clears her voice. We haven't seen her in so long. 'Ladies first!' She recites, just like always. She puts her hand into the bowl. Wait... is she shaking? I squint. She is. I can tell how nervous she is.

'Rue Mellark,' she whispers. My heart drops, even though I have thought about this over and over again for the past couple of days. 'No!' I shriek, just as I did when Prim was taken. Peeta grips me with his strong arms. Though I try to run up, my feet don't respond. Rue comes towards me.

'Mom, it will be okay,' she smiles sadly. 'You did it, I can do it.' I sob hysterically as she proudly pulls herself on stage. Only one sentence repeats itself again and again in my head. 'Paylor, you will pay for this'.

Effie looks like she is close to tears. I glance at Finnick. He seems determined. I honestly don't know what he is thinking. Worried, I stare at the reaping bowl. 'Please no,' I repeat over and over again in a small whisper. Peeta squeezes my shoulders and I rest my head on his.

Effie puts her hand in the bowl. 'Beetee Hawthorne', she yells. A boy steps onto the stage, an angry fire forming in his eyes. I stare at him, realising how familiar he seems. What was his name? Beetee... Wait. Beetee? The one who was involved in killing Prim? My heart beats. Beetee... Hawthorne. Suddenly, I hear a familiar voice.

'No!', it screams, much like mine before. It's deep and tough, yet warm enough. I turn to face the guy. Yep, I was right. I stare at him, stunned. Gale. As his familiar eyebrows and grey Seam eyes are settling into my brain, he jumps out of the crowd.

With no one to hold him back, he launches himself at the peacekeepers who have hold of Beetee. 'Please', he yells. Effie looks at him knowingly. 'Sorry,' she says into the microphone, her voice trembling. 'Any volunteers?' In that moment, I focus my attention onto Finnick. I stare at him, desperate. I speak to him silently. 'No.' I plead.

Finnick looks at the ground, hiding his face. All I can see now is his shiny blonde hair.

'No takers?' Effie asks once again. Finnick opens his mouth and his hand shoots up. I tremble violently, not knowing what to do. However, he doesn't volunteer. Instead, he yells, 'Are the people who were 12-18 in the 75th Hunger Games allowed to join?'

Effie stares into Finnick's blue eyes. 'No,' she says firmly. However, I can see her apologising to me silently. After a few seconds of complete silence, a peacekeeper goes on stage and whispers to Effie. She nods, like she understands what he is saying. He points to a page in the book that he is holding.  She smiles. 'Actually, yes. As it is only, technically, a year since the last Hunger Games, any person that was eligible in the last hunger games are still eligible.'

My mouth speaks before I could think. 'I volunteer as tribute for Rue Mellark.' But mine isn't the only voice to be heard. Peeta speaks especially in sync with me. I stare at him, and mouth 'no'. He shakes his head, kisses the top of my nose and tries to walk towards the justice building. I run upto him. 'I can't let you die', I say, and add, 'and I thought you were a boy,' I can hear a couple of sniffs for us, the star crossed lovers. Some laugh at the joke I just made.

I get up on the Justice Building, while helping Rue down. Effie smiles at me genuinely. Up on stage for the third time, I see Gale fighting with another woman, much like what I did with Peeta. I open my eyes, hoping to recognise her. Though her hair is long, and her body chubby, she is unmistakable. It's Johanna.

My jaw drops, literally. Gale fell in love with Johanna? I don't know why, but my heart beats so loudly I am scared that Effie could hear it. Finally, Gale climbs up. We face eachother, and shake hands. Suddenly, some sort of pleasant spasm runs through my arm. Shocked, I pull away, and look at Peeta. He looks at me miserably, as he faces the ground. 'I'm sorry,' I mouth. He smiles though his eyes say different. His cloudy expression shows me that he is in pain. He looks at Gale, who is beaming. I shake my head, as he raises his eyebrows.