Pregnant in the Games

Chapter 19: The Secret Girl

"I don't want to win the Games. There's no life waiting for me back home. You, on the other hand..." Rhymer reached her hand out and put it on my swollen stomach. "There's so much more life waiting for you on the other side. For her, too. If I have to kill a mom and her unborn to child to win," She shook her head. "It's not worth it."

"That's very nice of you, but you don't even know me," I replied.

She shrugs. "I don't need to know you. I just need to know your story, and I know it. Plus, I practically do know you. I watched you on TV for a while, before I came here."

"Why are you here, anyways?" I asked. 

"Oh, right." Rhymer reached around her neck, removing a necklace. "My mother is pregnant, too. She's probably had my baby sister by now. I was making this necklace for her. But after I got Reaped, I knew that I would never have the chance to give it to her. So I brought it in as my token so that I could give it to you." She held her hand out.

I grabbed the necklace from her. It was made out of wood and carved. It was in the shape of a heart, with the words From your big sister carved on the back. 

"Sorry about the words on the back," Rhymer said.

"No, don't apologize. This is beautiful. I like the words on the back. It'll be a memory of this moment."

Rhymer smiled. "Well, I have to go now."

I frowned. "Why don't you come into the tree house with me? I don't want you out there by yourself."

"No, I can't. I actually have to go."

"Why?"

"Well, I'm going to find that stray Tribute and I'm going to kill him. Then I'm going to kill myself."

"What?" I yelled. "No, you can't do that! Why would you want that?"

"I don't want to win this game. I told you that already. Plus, I'd rather die on my own terms than give someone else the satisfaction of killing me." Rhymer waved at me. "Enjoy the necklace."

And then she was gone.

The next morning, I heard the cannon. I immediately stopped what I was doing and looked off in the distance, as if I would be able to see Rhymer. I waited. Hardly a minute passed before the 2nd cannon went off. I sighed and looked at the ground. She's gone. Tears stung my eyes.

"Well that's it, then. We're the last ones. Looks like we're getting new Tributes," Gale said.

"Hey, Willow, what's wrong?" Tetrick asked as he put his arm around me.

"Nothing," I wiped my eyes and looked up at him.

He frowned at me. "Where did you get that necklace?"

I looked down at the necklace. My only memory of the mysterious girl who gave her life for mine. "I found it. Late last night. It's really pretty. I thought that I would give it to the baby, when she's born." 

Tetrick smiled. "That's a good idea." Then he kissed me on the forehead. 

Finnick's POV 

"This is a terrible idea, Katniss," I said as I walked quietly behind her. It's late at night, nearing midnight. Or maybe it's already passed. Katniss and I are in the headquarters for the Hunger Games. Peeta wouldn't come with her. He wanted to play no part in the multiple crimes we were committing. 

"I have to know what he said," Katniss replied to me in a low whisper. For the last week, she's been obsessing over what Luke said to Willow. At one point, Luke is whispering too quietly for the audience to hear. Ever since Katniss saw it, she's been watching it over and over again to try to figure out what it said. Finally, she accepted that she wouldn't hear it from that clip. However, she wasn't about to give up. Now we're breaking into the headquarters to find a different clip from a different camera or to turn up the volume on the same clip. 

Finally, we reached the computer room. Katniss used a key (which she had stolen from the front desk) to open the door. The door creaked open.  Not a single sound came from within. Katniss flipped the light switch. 

Computers lined the room. They were all still on, showing the camera views from all over the arena. I could see Willow's tree house from some of the screens. Katniss went over to a computer and quickly started using it. I stayed near the door, looking into the hallway over and over again to make sure that no one was coming.

"We'll get killed if we're caught," I whispered. 

"It's midnight. We won't get caught," Katniss replied as she worked diligently on the computer. 

"Ive found something," Katniss called out several minutes later. I closed the door and walked over to the computer, still keeping an eye on the hallway through the window. 

Katniss pulled up the same clip that she's watched countless times. Yet, instead of turning up the volume on the computer, as she had been doing, she could turn up the volume on the actual clip. When she turned it up, the microphone could make out what Luke had said. 

 "I killed Atos to get this position. I killed him so that I could have control over whether you live or die." Luke's voice paused for a moment. "You know, right after you dumped me, I was heartbroken. I was very mad. So I rigged the Games. I made it so that Gale and Titus got Reaped. I'm realizing now that maybe that was a bit mean."

Katniss gasped. She rewound the tape and played it again. Then again.

"No, no, this can't be true. Luke would never do that. I know him. He's kind. He's friends with Gale... He wouldn't..." At this point, Katniss was crying. 

"We should go," I said to her. "We don't want to push our luck."

"HE PUT MY SON IN THE GAMES!" Katniss screamed at me. She was past logical thinking. If there's anyone in the building, they know we're here. "HE'S SIGNING THE PAPERS TO GALE'S DEATH!"

"Katniss, stop screaming."

"Titus, too!" Her voice lowered, although she didn't stop screaming. "Gale's son is in the Games because Luke was upset! THIS IS ONLY BECAUSE HE WAS A LITTLE UPSET!"

"We need to leave, now!" I yelled back at her. If we don't leave now, we'll get caught. 

"We need to kill him. We need to take him down," Katniss said to me as we ran out of the computer room. 

***

NEW CHAPTER!

Sorry that it's a bit short. My bad. And sorry that it took me so long to update. My bad again.

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