Author Note: I do not own the Hunger Games! All characters belong to Suzanne Collins! This is my first fanfiction, so please be kind.

Chapter One

The world seems to be slipping through my fingers. Everything in my life is just a constant battle between the things I love and the things I lose. I remember a time when those two things were separated by a fine line but, now the line has been erased and I have nothing left to love. One by one everything has disappeared and I just can't stop it anymore. The tears are freely flowing down my face as I stare at my sister on the hospital bed. Prim, the only family I really have left, is dying.

My life was this perfect bubble of safety and comfort until the day my father was hit head on by a drunk driver. I was 11 years old, and from then on my life was changed forever. My daddy, the man I loved more than anything in this world, was gone. When the police came knocking on our door that night, I watched my mother crumble to ground and turn numb. She never did recover. My mother wasted away right before my eyes. Prim and I were helpless to the hunger that grew in our bellies.

Prim and I would have died if I hadn't taken to hunting for food in the woods. This was a pastime I used to do with my father, but we would always sell the meat the butcher. This time I was alone, and I was fully intent on eating whatever I caught. We slowly started regaining our strength, the color in our cheeks, and some meat on our bones.

It was on the fifth anniversary of my father's death that I found my mother dead. Some people say she died of a broken heart, but I know the truth. My uncle Haymitch moved in to help Prim and I when he discovered our situation. He has plenty of money and was able to help sustain a roof over our head, supplies for school, new cloths, and extra food. It was blessing and a curse, because while he did such great things for us, he was also a bitter old drunk.

Uncle Haymitch had offered to pay for therapy for my mother, hoping it would bring her out of her fog and back to her family. She had been prescribed anti-depressant pills. She had just had them re-filled the day before she passed away. It was that same bottle of pills I found empty on her bedside table that night. My mother, the selfish women she was committed suicide and left her children alone.

My Uncle Haymitch then became responsible for us, being our only other family. We all got along fine for about a year, until my sister Prim was hit by a car on her way home from school two days ago. She was rushed to the ER and has been in ICU ever since. The only thing keeping her alive is the machines. My baby sister has zero brain activity, and the doctors told me that there is no hope for her ever being able to survive off life support. Knowing this, I still haven't been able to bring myself to let her go. Ultimately, it's Haymitch's decision but he would never pull the plug without my permission.

I stared at her face, her innocent face. She's only 13 and is already as good as dead. I begin to cry again knowing my little duck has been robbed of a future. She was so bright, always dreaming of becoming a doctor. I brushed her blonde hair from her face, and silently begged to see those blue eyes one last time. If I could just say goodbye, and tell her how sorry I am for not being there to pick her up that day. If only I was there, I could have pushed her out-of-the-way. I could have done something.

"Miss Everdeen, how are you doing today?" The doctor smiles down at me from the doorway.

"I'm fine, thank you." I lie.

"Have you given anymore thought to what we discussed?"

He's talking about pulling the plug. He told me that there was no hope she would ever wake up, and she would connect to these machines for the rest of her life. I did think about it. I thought about how my sister would not want this for herself. She would want me to let her go, I know she would. I'm the one being selfish. I just don't know if I could survive without seeing the breath in her lungs.

"I have thought about it. I think I'm going to have too-too le-"

"Too let her go." The doctor finishes for me. I nod.

"Would you like me to go get your uncle from the waiting area?"

"Yes please."

The doctor leaves and I'm left to face the gravity of my decision. My heart breaks apart as I realize that with the next few minutes my sister will be dead. I begin to panic. I stand up and start pacing, while the blood rushes through my body, making my pulse point in my wrists tingle. Suddenly I can't breathe and I open the window slightly to let in some air. Haymitch walks in with the doctor, actually looking sober for once. He can see the fear in my eyes and he does something he never does. He walks over to me and pulls me in a tight hug.

"It's going to be okay, sweetheart. We'll get through this. You're a strong girl and I know that you'll pull through." He squeezes a little tighter and then let's go and walks over to Prim.

He gives her a kiss on the cheek, squeezes her hand and he nods to doctor. I'm frozen in place as the doctor flips the switch and the machines shut down. Then I stare at Prims chest. It rises, then falls, rises, falls, rises, falls, stutters, and then it's calm. I hold my breath, waiting for her chest to rise just one last time. It never does.

I collapse to the floor then. I hear a shriek come from somewhere, I wait for the girl to shut up and stop screaming but she never does. She gets louder, yelling at the top of her lungs. Suddenly, Haymitch and the doctor are holding me up and saying things to me, but I struggle against them. I don't know what they're saying; all I can hear is that damn girl screaming. When two nurses run in holding a needle, I suddenly notice the soreness in my throat. I'm the one screaming.

Suddenly the world goes back and the last thing I hear is, "It's alright sweetheart."

Next chapter will be up soon, please leave reviews!