Broken Pawns

t w e l v e

   The woman leaves and the man ties my hands and ankles down with belts this time, not fabric. I try not to move or show that I am in pain as he attaches all kinds of weird things to me. When I open my eyes after closing them the doctor stands in front of me, a smile on his face, a remote in his hand.

"Let the fun begin." He smiles.

------------------------------ Katniss's POV ----------------------------

"Gale, please." 

   I press my forehead against the bars as the tears fall down my face. Two hours, it had been two hours since Peeta had dragged Gale into the cell next to me. Not once in the two hours had Gale moved. Not once. Posy and Vicky had fallen asleep and Hazelle sat on the floor, her eyes on Gale. I sit on the floor as well, my body pressed against the bars of my cell. One of my cold hands grips Gale's arm. I was lucky that Peeta threw Gale towards the side of the cell and not the back or middle. 

"Is he breathing," Hazelle asks me for what felt like the millionth time.

"Barley," I answer.

   It was true, his breathing had slowed to almost nothing in the long two hours and his skin has paled. Thankfully the bleeding had stopped though it stoped it made me worry. If no one looked at those bullet wounds he could die of infection if not infection he would die of the loss of blood.

"Gale." I shake his arm slightly and I want to scream when yet again there is no response.  

   I wanted him to respond to me, I wanted him to show me he was going to live, that he was okay. I wanted to hear his voice again even if it was something along the lines of "You're a mutt."  I didn't want to lose him again, I couldn't lose him again. 

"Wake up god damn it!" I can't stop myself from yelling as I shake his arm harder. 

He doesn't move once again. I let out a frustrated shout and hit his arm over and over and over again as tears fall down my face. He needed to move, he needed to wake up. I had just got him back, I wasn't going to lose him again.

"Katniss, honey calm down," Hazelle demands.

"Please Gale, please wake up." I whimper.

   I close my eyes and enclose my hand over his wrist. His skin was cold and I prayed that he would live.

(Flash back)

   My hands hit the bars as I scream Gale's name. My best friend lie's motionless in his cell with his clothes soaked in blood, new and old bruises cover his body. It had been almost two days since he had moved. The only time he made a noise was while peacekeepers and doctors put him through hell but even then he wouldn't move. It scared me.

"Wake up Gale," I demand. "Get up!"

    After hours of screaming my throat is raw and I feel weak. I collapse to my knees, my eyes now once leaving him.  I don't know when or how but I fell asleep and my body slumped onto the cold cement floor.

When I wake up, I hear a horse and weak voice saying my name. My eyes look to Gale, he sits up against the wall, pain written on his face. Some old and new injuries bleed and show. They must have taken him while I was sleeping, he must have woken up while I slept. 

"Catnip." He whispers.

"Hey," I force myself to smile. It was a weak smile but it as a smile. My prayers had been answered, he woke up. He might look weak and dead, but he was awake and he is talking.

"How long," He pauses to take a shaky breath. "How long have I been out?"

"Two days, maybe longer," I say. 

   I grip the gars and pull myself into a sitting position. I try to ignore the pain the runs through, my body but I wince and grip the bars tighter.  I watch him close his eyes and take a few shaky, painful breaths.

"Are you okay?" He whispers.

I nod my head, "I'm okay."

He laughs as if it was funny and I close my eyes resting my forehead against the cold bars, smiling at his laugh. 

"You're a horrible liar Katniss."

"I know.'" I open my eyes just to roll them.

   We both laugh and for some reason, I forget we're in the capitol. I forget about the two weeks of hell we've had. I think we're in the woods, sitting in our spot just like we used to. I imagine the wind running through my hair and the smell of pine, I imagine he sits next to me, looking out over the meadow as he laughs at a simple lie I tried to tell.

(Flash back ends)

"Is Katniss okay Mom?"

"She's fine dear," Hazelle says. "She's just worried about Gale."

"Is bubba okay?" Posy asks, her voice thick with sleep. Guilt hits me hard, she and Vicky probably woke up to me screaming at Gale's lifeless body.

(Flash back)

 "Take her." Gale begged "Take her, leave me."

"My orders-"

"I don't give a shit about your orders, you're getting her out of here."

   Gale had to lean into the wall for support. He was so weak, I could see it pained him to stand. I could see his body shaking as he tried to stay standing.

"Gale," I whispered.

"You're getting out of here Catnip," He whispers back.

"Gale." My voice shakes.

(Flash back ends)

"He will be soon." 

  Lies. It was lies. Gale wasn't going to be okay, he was going to die and all I could do is watch. I wasn't okay. Not one bit. The man I loved laid near dead on the floor next to me, I was trapped in a cell I was never going to escape from. I didn't know if my sister was alive at all, and the Hawthorne family was suffering because of me. 

"Get some sleep Katniss, you too Posy. Vick."