The Hunger Games: The Violent Hour

:The Hunger Games: The Violent Hour: (14) Paralyzed

            **A/N Ok, just to let y'all know, this will be the last chapter I will write in Katniss' point of view. I feel like the story would have more effect if we weren't in the deets with everything, y'know? Ok so that's the end of that. Enjoy!

            Gale. A strong, gusting wind with great power. A sudden outburst. Hazelle knew her son better than she ever could when she named him. Because that's exactly what he is.

            I wake up in a hospital, a setting very familiar to me by now. Only, I'm not sure if it's a hospital, since I can't open my eyes. But the  faint beeping of a machine and the scratchy sheets that are laid tightly over my body are the only clues I need.

            There's a murmur very close in proximity to me. "We're not sure why, but it seems like the shock from the force field has left Katniss temporarily paralyzed. The morphling we used on her to try to calm the pain didn't seem to work." There's a pause as everyone in the room takes this in. "In fact, she's probably awake right now, but there's no way to know. Only her senses seem to be working, nothing else."

            Haymitch is the first to speak up. "How long will she be like this?"

            "There's no way to tell. It could be a couple of hours, days. Maybe even weeks," the doctor says.

            "So with Peeta bedridden as well, I'll be the only one to mentor the kids," Haymitch says.

            Peeta bedridden? What did he do?

            "I could talk to her, try to communicate with her," Gale says.

            If I could smile, I would. I haven't heard that low, raspy voice in years. I try against my muscles to talk to him, to let him know that's I'm happy to see him. But all that comes out is a low, guttural sound. I hear the scuttle of feet as what I guess to be three or four people shift closer to me.

            "Katniss, can you hear us?" the doctor asks calmly.

            Yes. I want to say yes. But my mouth has the weight of a thousand mountains, and I can't move it. I settle on making my noise a little higher.

            "Mom. Mom, please, come back to us," I hear my son say.

            "Yes, mom, we need you," Iris says. "Please," she adds with a break in her voice.

            The sounds I make next can be compared to those the Avoxes in the sewers made on that wretched day. "Maybe we should leave her with Mr. Hawthorne, let's go kids," the doctor says, and I hear three sets of feet leaving.

            "Katniss," Gale says breathily. Since I can't see anything, it feels as if everything that touches me is magnified. So that's why when Gale brushes my hair out of my face, it feels as if it's the most personal contact I've ever had with him, including all those kisses. "I want to see your eyes. Is it okay if I open them?" he asks and I grumble in affirmation.

            When he opens my eyes, I take in an older version of a person I once knew so well. His hair has grayed, and the lines around his eyes have deepened.  "God It's been a while since I saw those." Tears cloud my vision and I think he takes it as a sign that my eyes need to blink. So he lets my lids drop and my mood sags. "I know you have a lot of questions," Gale says. "And I have a lot of answers. But let's save those for when you're in a better position, shall we?"

            The machine to my right pumps oxygen into my nose and my chest rises minutely. "I've missed you. A lot. Actually, not a day goes by that I don't think of you." He takes a deep breath. "I know it's wrong, because I've got Johanna and Axel, but I love you Katniss."

            Shock from the force field or not, my heart stops beating. The machine next to me goes insane and I hear the door slam open and someone rushes over to me. "What did you do?" asks the Doctor.

            "Nothing," Gale says defensively.

            "Well, you must have done something!" a nurse says in exasperation "You didn't unplug anything did you?"

            "No," Gale answers dryly.

            The room around me comes alive and I wonder why I'm still alive. But behind all the chaos, I can make out Gale's voice. "Maybe it's time that her heart stops beating," he says with the most pain I've ever heard in his voice.

            Traitor.

*A/N* Sorry about the shortness! But there's things I need to get done, and I promised something, so here it is. :) Sorry for taking so long to upload guys. But I will post something more... soon... ;)