Strong arms wrap around my body and stay there until I hit. My eyes were pinched shut till I felt myself come in contact with the ground at great force, so I open them to see the soft green grass before my eyes. I grunt and sigh staring up at the sky for a moment. My landing was . . . alright. It certainly wasn't pleasant, but I was surprisingly okay. I blink a few times, trying to decide how this is possible without an injury. Then I hear a low moan from beneath me. My eyes widen as I remember those arms wrapping around me as I plummeted to the ground a brief second ago. Gale. He made sure I was safe before he was by making me land on top of him.

"Gale!" I cry in a panicky voice and roll off him onto my knees. "Gale, Gale, Gale are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah s'okay. I'm okay," he says breathlessly. He doesn't look injured anywhere. He'd only had the breath knocked out of him from the impact of falling. Especially with me landing on top of him. Or so it seems for just that moment.

He cranes his neck to look at the tree. Panic swarms his grey eyes when he sees that the girl is getting close to the ground, glaring at us and smirking maliciously.

"Katniss, go!" he hisses.

"No!" I bite back, realizing now the way my teeth are chattering in the frigid weather conditions.

"Katniss!" he yells and then sighs. He lowers his voice and his next words come out as serene as possible. Maybe he believes it will help his chances of getting me to go without him.

"Please. Please, please, please Catnip. Just go. I'll be behind you, okay?" I bite my lip and watch the girl bend her knees, preparing to jump the last three feet she has between where she stands on the tree and the ground.

"Gale," I whisper, a tear of fear for both him and I slipping from my left eye. I try to steady my frantic breathing and close my eyes for a moment, gathering my composure. "You promise?" I ask

He smiles hollowly. I can tell something's hurting by the grimace on his face, but I don't know what. It's something more than getting his breath knocked out. I wish I could help, but I can barely see him in the dark. I know at that moment the chances of him following close behind me are slim. I pinch my eyes shut to conceal my tears as the realization hits me. He won't follow, he can't. He will probably be killed by this girl. This is it. This is the end. He just stares at me helplessly, hopelessly, knowing he can't promise that.

"Go," he mouths. I position myself to get up, but make sure I lean in close to him before I do to say,

"I can't do that."

Then, I completely stand on my two feet in front of the strong Career girl before me. I realize how implausible it is that I will kill her. I remember something Gale and I'd discussed only a couple of weeks before the reaping. He'd been ranting about the Capitol. This is habitual to him. I always scold him when he does much like my mother would when I was younger and unknowingly yelled things that were similar to his words only dumbed down to something a five year old would say. Though, he never quits. He lowers his voice, yes, but doesn't stop or eat his words. Anyways, he was angry about the games and all the children that die every year. I was biting my tongue, trying not to add on or agree to any of his words. The conversation went something like this,

"I wonder if they know themselves what it's like to kill someone. I mean, I surely don't know, but it can't be anything that's thrilling," he'd said.

Gale had then leaned back onto his elbows and I followed his eyes which gazed at the meadow, squinted in deep thought.

"What do you think it's like Catnip?"

I remember how I'd stared at him tentatively, not wanting any input on the conversation. I'd stood there blankly. When he grew impatient for an answer that he was beginning to realize he wasn't going to receive, he continued on himself.

"Maybe it's like what we do. Maybe it's like killing animals."

I was shaken by the thought of that and I recall the shiver that had run up my spine. Unsure what to reply, I'd simply said,

"Well, I hope I never have to experience whatever killing is like."

Then, we dropped it. I didn't think much of it until now. I'm faced with killing a girl. I know what I'm going to say to Gale first if we both make it past this moment alive. I'm going to tell him exactly what it's like even though he already knows by the events of the Cornucopia. I suddenly wish he'd found and taken the time to fill me in on what it felt like. If he had, I'd be somewhat prepared for the feelings I'm about to undergo. But Gale isn't the type to open up to something like that willingly, without being asked. Besides, if he had, chances are I wouldn't have wanted to hear the details of a horrific moment like that anyways. I'm horrible at facing the things that lye in my past, present, and sometimes, things that lye in my future. And right now, this is one of those moments where I have to face the present.

I load my bow quickly, pointing it straight at the girls chest, or at least where I think it is. I can't be sure, with how little of light I have from the moon, exactly where I'm pointing. Then, I see a quick movement made by the girl. All I see is that she draws something back and my best guess is that it's her arm. Then, what I think is her arm lurches forward as if she's thrown something and she grunts at the same time that it does. One thing crosses my mind. She's thrown something relatively heavy. That's when I see a glint of something metal and shiny thanks to the path of the moon's light. I duck on instinct, holding my head in my hands. The sound of something quickly whizzing past me fills my ears for a small second followed by the sound of Gale's voice.

"Shoot, Katniss!"

I stand up and let go of the string, the arrow flying out of the grasp of my fingers and the bow. I get the feeling that I missed, but the pained noise that escapes the girl's mouth tells me otherwise. I drop my weapon just as the girl drops to the ground clutching her stomach. The pang of guilt hits me immediately and my free hands fly up to clasp my mouth at the same time a tear falls from my eye. I pinch my eyes shut and take some time to regather myself.

It's just a game Katniss, I tell myself. But I know deep down it's a game no one should ever have to play. Now not only Gale, but myself as well has played it. This is no hopscotch or hide-and-seek. Those are games that will appear in dreams. This is a game that will appear in nightmares. But this is also a game that I can not afford to lose.

I put on a strong mask after I wipe my tears. A cannon reassures me that the girl is dead so I kneel down, realizing that it won't be long before the Career's realize this girl hasn't caught back up to them yet. I find my eyes beginning to droop, but the adrenaline of the moment lets me push on.

"Okay Gale I need you to tell me what hurts," I say quietly, to keep from any other people around that might be out to kill from hearing me even though if there is they probably already know I'm here.

"Everything," he moans. By the grimace on his face, it's hard for me to think he's over exaggerating.

"Can you stand up?" I ask, hoping that's not too much and he can bear through the pain that's killing him.

He pushes his upper body up on his two hands slowly and with just a few moans and grunts, but as soon as any pressure is put on his left foot, he crumbles back to the ground.

"My ankle," he whimpers. Just then I hear the familiar sound of a cannon and look at Gale with a slender of hope on my face.

"You hear that? We're that much closer to one of us surviving. You can do this Gale. We have time so let's take this slow?"

It takes awhile for me to lift Gale up on his feet. He wraps one arm around my shoulders and I wrap one of mind around his back to where we're as stable as possible. Then, we grab as much as we can. He holds a backpack on his back full of stuff and I sling my arrows over my shoulder and hold the bow in my free hand. If anybody were to sneak up on us, I've planned out what to do. I'd let go of Gale and defend the both of us with my bow & arrows. Of course that'd risk injuring him some more by the fall, but it's better than both of us being killed.

We don't get very far before I hear what I dreaded the most. I hear the Careers laughing and hollering like a group of buffoons. I can hear their voice getting louder and clearer as they get closer. My head throbs and the cut on my arm from the cornucopia earlier aches. But I refuse to surrender this early on.

"Alright Gale I'm gonna-"

"No Katniss. Just go, I'll be alright. You have to go, okay? One of us needs to make it out of here alive," he says and drops to the ground helplessly.

I feel a load of tears blur my vision as I kneel down to look at him. I just feel like curling up in a little ball and weeping. It's the first night and I'm already breaking more by the second. We're going to have to leave each other's side this early in the game. I don't like the thought of it. My stomach begins to twist into nervous knots. I know he'll be dead as soon as they catch sight of him.

"I can't-"

I begin to speak, but Gale cuts me off.

"Do it for Prim Katniss."

At these words a tear slips from my eye and slides down my cheek. I know all the cameras are on us and all of Panem just heard those sweet words. I know that if one of us survives this night we'll no longer need to worry about sponsors. They'll come as quickly as rain falls from the sky.

"Don't cry," Gale whispers. He reaches up to my face and delicately tucks a loose strand of hair falling from my braid behind my ear. I don't even try forcing a fake smile like I'd usually do with this gesture. If so I'm afraid all my tears will spill like a waterfall or lava bursting out of a volcano. "Go," he pleads.

I don't know what to say. I'm simply speechless. I want to say something like "Stay safe" but I know it's useless. Once I'm gone from his sight and he's in the Career's sight, he'll be dead. This we both know. Instead of saying anything I give him a friendly kiss on the forehead and stand up on my wobbly legs.

I decide to leave Gale one of the bags of stuff just in case he somehow survives. The rest I gather in my hands. I don't say anything at all after that. I just go knowing that I'll regret it if and when his face appears in the sky tomorrow night.