Pure Torture: a Hunger Games Fanfiction

Chapter 5

Peeta

My lungs are on fire. My head is throbbing. My eyes are puffy and my arms scratched up. Around my IV is purple and swollen from me clawing at it. When Haymitch comes to visit me in the hospital finally, I'm almost embarrassed of my appearance. Prim tells me I shouldn't be. She says it wasn't my decision to have such a panic attack and it's also not my fault. I try to believe her, but it doesn't work very much. Haymitch walks in, but he does a double take when he sees me. I must look pretty awful.

"Hey, Peeta." He says as he walks in. He's quiet though. He's probably worried I'll have another panic attack or something.
"Hey," I manage.
"They told me something happened with you... I didn't think it was that bad at first, just thought you had a breakdown or something, but I guess it was more that that?" He says, seriously.
"Yeah." I say, blankly.
"Peeta, what happened to you?" He asks me, "if you can even explain it to me."
"I was.. I was just overcome with this awful feeling that she, that Katniss, was going to be killed for her actions," I begin, "I thought I would just get that gnawing feeling in my stomach, but I guess it turned into more. I couldn't breathe, but I was hyperventilating. But then the breaths started to jam in my throat and it drove me insane. I tried to rip my IV out I guess..."
I lift my purple arm to show him.
Then I continue.
"They tried to give me sleeping medication. I tried to tell them not to, that it would make my nightmares return, but they wouldn't listen. They thought I'd just be spending the night here. Guess I'm not. I've been admitted for a few days."
That's where I decide to end the story.
Haymitch looks stunned. I was never the boy to not do what he was told and to try to avoid help from others. But the Games change you. They changed me. They changed Haymitch, and Katniss, and Finnick, Annie, Johanna...

"Peeta, when you feel well enough, we need you to do Propos for 13. People know you, people in the districts will listen to you. " He says, out of the blue.
"Oh," I say, thinking about it.
"Peeta, I need you to think about this for me. I'm not telling you that you have to do this. But, Peeta, you have to remember that the more people on the Rebel side, the more hope we have of this revolution working. The more hope we have of ending these Games and fufilling what Katniss would have wanted."
"Would have wanted?" I ask frantically.
"Listen, Peeta, we don't have any information on if she's alive or not. They could have killed her by now, but maybe they haven't. We don't know."
"We need to get her out of there!" I say, almost yelling.
"Peeta, we can't. Not yet, at least. We don't know if she's even alive, let alone where they'd have her." He replies.

I feel my heart racing again. I force myself to take deep breaths, not wanting to have another panic. I take a huge, deep breath before letting out, "Okay."
Haymitch tells me to get better soon, and that whenever I'm deemed fit for the Propo, it will be made. He says goodbye, tells me he'll be back later, and then he leaves.

Since my Vitals are okay, the Hospital lets me leave and eat with the rest of 13 at dinner time. I sit next to Prim. We don't talk much, neither of us knowing what to really say. It's hard not to think about her. Every waking moment, I ache for her by my side. But she's not there...

After dinner I go back to the hospital. On my way to my room, I pass by a room with a man in it. He's tying knots. It's awfully weird to see it. But then I recognize the man as Finnick Odair.
"Finnick?" I ask.
He looks over at me, his face is red and he's sniffling.
"Come in, Peeta." He says to me.
He puts his rope down and makes room for me to sit next to him. We don't talk for a while.
"It's torture, isn't it?" He finally says to me.
"Yeah." Is all I say back.
"You're thinking I don't know what you're going through, aren't you?" He asks me. Actually, I am.
"You're wrong," he says,"they have Annie, too."
I look over at him. Annie Cresta, the mad victor from 4. He loves her.
"Finnick, I'm so sorry." I say to him.
"Me too. I'm sorry about Katniss." He says, sadly. We're both sort of crying, silently.
*****

Somehow Haymitch knew we were in Finnick's room. I don't know how, but he does. He comes running in, which makes us both nervous.
"Haymitch? What is it?" I ask quickly.
"I need you two to come with me. Now. Hurry." He replies hastily.

Finnick and I spring up off the bed, and follow Haymitch to the dinner hall. The TVs on the walls are all lit with Capitol seals, meaning a special broadcast. The anthem plays, and then the familiar face of Caesar Flickerman comes on screen.
"Good Evening, all. Tonight we have a very special guest with us, coming to talk with us about the speculations of what really happened during that night in the Quarter Quell." He says.

I don't know what to think. It's probably Johanna. Katniss is probably dead. She is almost definitely dead.

My heart skips a beat.

The girl on screen is beautiful. Her face is flawlessly covered in makeup, her dress a beautiful white color. Her brown hair is curled a little, flowing down her back and on her shoulders. She smiles.

The girl on screen is not Johanna Mason.

The girl on screen is Katniss.