The Hunger Games (Peeta's Point of View)

Chapter Nineteen

A fresh sense of optimism runs through me, like the announcement flicked a switch in my mind. I had no hope, but now... It's almost as if the rule change was entirely for my benefit. Which is a stupid thought. But maybe the star-crossed lover act was a part of it. Hopefully we've proved popular with the viewers and the Gamemakers are indulging in it.

        Surely there can't be many tributes left will benefit from this new rule. I've missed a lot of cannons but I know Cato is still alive, and I'm willing to bet Clove is too. District 2's mentors must be going into overdrive with the sponsors, trying to ensure they win. Unlike one other mentor I could mention. With nothing to help me, I can only wait for Katniss to appear- and the trail of blood I've lost should lead her to me. And probably everyone else in the Arena. 

     That's if Katniss even decides to find me. If she hasn't forgiven me for that little episode back in the Capitol then she might not even bother. After all, I won't be much use to her, half-dead- why should she find me when I can't even defend myself? It would probably be for the best if she just put me out of my misery... But I know her; Katniss hunts for survival, not for sport. She won't be able to kill me in cold blood.

        The hours that once passed agonisingly slowly are now swift because I know each one will bring Katniss closer to me. My heart lurches every time I hear a noise, but my ears are so saturated with mud I can't be sure if I actually heard something or not. I detest how powerless I am, lying in this comatose state, in the knowledge that every breath could be my last. All it would take is for Cato to appear and spy me through the vines.

        Various bird calls sound throughout the forest, strangely calm. I wonder if they know of the carnage that is taking place? Are they even real, or just part of the soundtrack of this grisly place? To pass the time I play a game: try to identify each song as real or not real. A hollow croak of a raven: real. Harbingers of death seem appropriate for the Arena. A nightingale's tender warble: not real. A mockingjay's cry that sounds strangely like a dying child: real. Definitely. 

        Eventually day melts into night, the crystalline stars mocking me: beauty so far from my grasp. Uncertainty grips me, but its power is ephemeral- Katniss won't let me down. The mockinjay's cry still echoes even now, more ghastly now night has wrapped the Arena in its tendrils. I am more vulnerable than ever. 

        But I repeat to myself: there is nothing I can do. So I allow myself to be wrapped in the shroud of night.

         A distant noise shakes me awake and to my senses. Someone has found me! My body jerks upwards in response. But the mud has formed a hard casing around me and the plants have claimed the parts of my body that are above ground, so my position grows all the more uncomfortable. Sunlight streams down between the trees but it does little to calm me. Who was that? Or did I just imagine it? But then I hear it again so I know I'm not going crazy. It sounds like-

        "Peeta!" But that was a mockingjay, I know- so where did the tribute go? Then I hear something enter the lake. A boot.  And that's when I see her (well, the bottom of her leg). I recognise her at once. Katniss. She has found me.

        My eyes close in utter relief. I won't die, not today. "You here to finish me off, sweetheart?"

        "Peeta?" she whispers faintly, "Where are you?" The rustling of branches alerts me that she's coming closer. I feel her as she moves past me. "Peeta?"

        "Well, don't step on me."

        I open my eyes to see her, a good few feet away from me- she must have jumped back in surprise. The confusion evident on her face is hilarious, and despite the gravity of the situation, I can't help but laugh. Intently I watch as her expression reverts to sullenness and she orders, "Close your eyes again." I do, and don't open them until I feel her warmth beside me. "I guess all those hours decorating cakes paid off."