Pure Torture: a Hunger Games Fanfiction

Chapter 22

Peeta

"Now I know my place. We're all just pieces in their Games." -Birdy

I walk into Katniss's hospital room, expecting to see her awake, feeling better. Instead, I see her asleep. He hair is messy and her face still as white as ever. She's clammy and sweating.

I take her warm hand and hold it in mine. The motion must pull her from her sleep, because within 30 seconds, her eyes have opened. She squints and blinks a couple of times, adjusting her eyes to the stark, white lighting in the room.

"Hey, Katniss." I say, quietly.
"Hey." She replies, even quieter than me.
We don't talk very much for a couple of minutes. She lets out a sigh of frustration.
"I'm freezing, Peeta." She says, upset.
"I can get you another blanket. It's okay. What's wrong?" I ask, trying to calm her down.
"I'm tired of being this way. I want to be better. I want to be fixed. But these doctors will never be able to fix me. I want to be better, Peeta. You don't deserve this! My family doesn't deserve to watch me go through this. I want to be better, better for you and for Prim... I'm tired of being sick or on Suicide Watch or in surgery." She says.

I kiss her right then and there, not caring about if someone's around or whatever. When we finally pull away, I whisper.
"Shhh... Katniss. You're not a burden to us! When the doctors sent me back here, they told me something I think you might like." I say.

Her eyes brighten. She asks what they told me and I answer.
"They said that if you feel well enough, you can have some time out of the hospital. I can walk you around 13, we can eat lunch together... Do whatever we want until we need to come back."

She smiles. I've missed that smile so much.
"Really?" She asks, excited.
"Really." I reply.
She takes a deep breath.
"Thank you, Peeta." She says.
"Its my pleasure." I reply, happily.
--

"What do you mean she can't have time out of here?!" I say, frustrated.

"I'm sorry! She can't. Do you see her? She's running a fever of 101.3! I'm sorry, Mr. Mellark, but she's just not well enough." The Doctor replies, just as frustrated as I am.
Katniss sits in her bed, silently. She looks heartbroken.

"Listen, Doctor Stone, maybe if she ca have some time out of this place she can feel better. She's been in here for, like, two weeks now!" I argue.

The doctor looks almost on the verge of cracking and letting us go. Katniss showered and looks presentable. She's out of her hospital gown and in a District 13 uniform. She's braided her hair and brushed her teeth. We were just about to get her IV removed when the doctor changed his mind.

"Please," I beg the doctor.
He lets out a sigh of defeat.
"Fine. But if anything, and I mean anything, feels out of the ordinary, you come right back here. If not, you're required back here at 8:00 pm." He says.

8 o'clock. That gives us 9 hours to do whatever we want.

I help Katniss out of her bed. She holds my hand as we walk out of the hospital room and into the corridor. Katniss stops at the triage desk to give Prim a hug and tell her what's going on.
"Be careful," Prim tells us, "Katniss, don't do more than what you can handle on your leg."

Katniss holds tightly onto my arm. We exit the Hospital.

"Okay," I say, "I think it's lunchtime. We should go to the dining hall."
She nods.
As we walk, we attract stares and whispers from the other citizens. She walks with a small limp, and this is the first time they've seen Katniss since the Quarter Quell. I can tell how uncomfortable this is for her. She holds my hand the whole way to the dining hall, and still doesn't let go when we reach it. It's as if she's scared that if we let go, we'll lose each other.

We get our food quickly and sit down at a table with Finnick and Annie.

"Katniss! Peeta! Look who it is!" Finnick says, happily.
"Hey, Finnick. Hello, Annie." I say.
Katniss greets Finnick also, and gives Annie a small smile.

"So," Finnick says, "They've discharged you, Katniss?"
"No, they're just letting me out for a little while today. I'm still running a good fever from the Blood Transfusion." She says, explaining.

At her words, Annie cringes. She lifts her hands to her ears and squeezes her eyes shut, tightly. Finnick leans over to her a whispers something in her ear. He moves his hand in circles on her back until she removes her hands from her ears and opens her eyes again.

I look over at Katniss, instinctively, and see her eyes wide with terror.
"Katniss?" Finnick asks, concerned.
She doesn't answer. Her eyes are locked on something that isn't there.

Her face mirrors the terror I see in her eyes. I cautiously place my hand on her shoulder. Her head swivels to look at me quickly. She jumps at my touch.
"Hey, Katniss, it's alright." I say, trying to calm her down.
"It's my fault." She whispers, over and over again.
"Katniss, look at me. Shhhh.... It's alright. You're here with me, okay? It's not real. It's not real. You're here with me an Finnick and Annie. We're not going to hurt you. You're safe." I say, looking into her eyes.

"Is she okay?" Annie asks, quietly. Her voice is no more than a quiet whisper. It's the first thing I've heard her say.

After a little bit more reassurance, Katniss comes out of her flashback. She's paler than before, and sweating a little.
"I'm sorry..." She says, sadly, "I tried to fight it off, I felt it coming and so I tried to focus on something to make it go away. But it wouldn't leave."

Annie's eyes widen.
"That's.... That's what happens to me. When I have a flashback." She says, still quietly.

Finnick and I give each other a look. Katniss and Annie both suffering from similar things. This scares me, as Annie is viewed as mad. I know that Katniss's flashbacks are different though, she doesn't put her hands over her ears, or squint her eyes shut like Annie. She whispers during hers, sometimes crying or breathing heavily.

They can't view her as mad, can they?

We all finish our meal and decide to part ways. I take Katniss on a basic tour of the parts of 13 I know. After that, we wander. It's nice, having time to ourselves. It's been maybe an hour since lunch when Haymitch finally finds us.

"I looked everywhere for you two. Why aren't you in the hospital?" He asks, confused.

"We've been alotted time to be out of the hospital," I explain, "We have until 8."

"Perfect. They want you in Command. They need something to air. They want a Propo filmed as soon as possible so they can break in to the Capitol newscast tonight. They need you two to film something." He says.

I don't say anything. Instead, it's Katniss who speaks.

She takes a deep breath.
"Alright. I'm ready to try to be your Mockingjay."