Catching Fire (My Version)

What if the Rules for the third quarter quell had been different, what if not only did previous winner have to go back in but also one regular tribute….

(Takes up after Peeta as volunteered instead of Haymitch)

Katniss' P.O.V.

"And now for the last tribute", Effie Trinket says too cheerfully. Both genders have been put into the same ball. All eyes in the square are on Effie as she slips her dainty hand into the ball. I gaze around at the numerous faces staring up at that platform and I wonder which teenager will have their life cut short. Which family is about to lose their loved one forever.

"Jamila Melano!"

Jamie's P.O.V

The kids in front of me move out of the way to make a path to the peacekeepers that are waiting in front of the stage, none of them looking me in the eye. My face is expressionless but not because I feel no emotion, in fact, I feel many. They range from anger to calm, from terror to tranquility. I feel so torn between these that I feel nothing at all. I do feel the entire square's gaze settling upon me but I do not look around. I simply walk to the stage with my chin up and head high. As I stand upon the stage I briefly scour the square for the one pair of eyes that could grant some feeling of warmth to a mind that has become numb, but I do not find them. We are told to shake hands and are roughly shoved into a car and in turn onto a deserted train platform

"Wait, we get to say goodbye!" I hear Katniss exclaim. I breathe a quiet sigh of relief, I know no one would have come; the one person that might have is nowhere to be found. As I glance around I see Haymitch Abernathy and Effie Trinket appear surrounded by peacekeepers. They usher us onto the train and shut the doors behind us.

Katniss's P.O.V.

This new tribute, Jamila, she looks…somewhat pretty in an unusual way, I have never see her before. She has the grey eyes of The Seam, she's tall, taller than me, her face is almost symmetrical,with a faint scar above her lip. Her hair is mostly light brown but she has a slight blonde streak, suggesting she spends a lot of time outside. I make a decision not to have her as an enemy.

I watch her movement as we are ushered onto the train. She makes little noise but takes confident strides. She sits opposite Peeta as I gaze out of the window, we are left alone as Effie and Haymitch leave our carriage.

"Peeta Mellark", Peeta says offering a handshake, a real one.

She looks sceptic and shakes his hand warily.

"Jamie Melano, I know who you are, don't worry", Jamie says with a hint of a smile.

"You seem to be taking this whole thing pretty well" notes Peeta, sitting back in his chair.

"I've got nothing to lose".

It is dark by the time dinner is served on the familiar mahogany table. As we sit down I notice the mark I left when I almost stabbed Haymitch's hand, it seems like a lifetime ago.

Jamie's P.O.V.

Laid out before me is the largest amount of food I've ever seen in my life. We are served some sort of reddish broth that tastes of tomatoes, then there is a turkey that has been stuffed with duck, my mind flickers back to the last meal I had, a weak soup and a morsel of bread. Over the meal Effie tries to make small talk that ranges in everything from the weather to ducks.

"So, Jamila," Effie asks me in her overly cheery tone, I exhale tiredly.

"What do you make of all this?" Tired and irritated, I reply:

"There's more food here than I've been able to put on my family's table for over three years."