Safe and Sound

NOTE: I'm just letting you know that it's back to Harper's Point of View, just in case that you didn't read the author's note on the last chapter :) Please enjoy!

Chapter Twenty Nine - Short Lived Perfection

As soon as my eyes opened, I started coughing. I felt the familiar, warm liquid trickle down my chin as the pain tugged at my chest. My head was spinning and I didn't quite know what was going on. All I knew was that the air smelt and tasted clean again and that, when I wasn't coughing, I could actually breathe again. I gasped and gagged, until I was too tired to cough anymore. I had coughed my lot. I put my head back down on the forest floor again, clutching it as it span. It was early evening, meaning that tomorrow was going to be the eighteenth day spent in the Games. As I looked at the moon, I suddenly remembered: Grayson.

I looked over my shoulder, hoping to see Grayson sitting beside me. But he wasn't. He was lying beside me, his eyes closed and his mouth and chin stained with his own, dried blood. I gasped and sat up. I reached over to him and gabbed his shoulder. I was about to shake him to see if he was asleep or dead, when I felt his hand clamp down on mine, stopping me from doing anything.

"Please don't. That hurts. I'm alive, okay?" Grayson mumbled, his voice raspy and quiet, causing me to let out a laugh while starting to cry. I fell down onto his stomach and sobbed into his stomach, glad that we had both made it out. Grayson let his hand flop down so it rested on my back, his thumb rubbing small circles in between my shoulder blades. But...how had we both made it out? I sat up and reached out, gently stroking back Grayson's hair. It was still somewhat damp from the blood, but I didn't stop. Most of the blood had dried, anyway.

"Grayson?" I asked. He opened his eyes and looked at up me. The pain shone in them more than ever before. He raised his eyebrows slightly, a sign that he was interested, "How did we manage to get out of the clearing and away from the blood?"

Grayson sighed and looked up at the sky, before he explained how he had managed to get up and get us both out of there, while coughing up blood and more. I listened to him intently, not wanting to miss a single detail.

"I really owe you now. More than ever. I owe you lots." I said once he had finished. He could have died rescuing me, but he shrugged it off. I continued to stroke back his hair.

"You don't owe me anything, you would have done the same for me. I'm not sure if you're aware, but we're allies remember? Each other's mockingjay. Surely you of all people wouldn't have forgotten that." He said, causing me to laugh slightly. It hurt my chest terribly, but things could have been much worse, so I didn't say anything. Grayson then closed his eyes and allowed me to continue with stroking and fiddling with his thick mess of hair, which now had dried blood in it. It wasn't exactly pleasant, but I thought I would never do this again, what with the jackets and the blood in the air, but Grayson had proved me wrong like he did on many occasions. He had ignored the pain, pushed past the trauma and got the two of us out of there as fast as he could, nearly dying on the way.

And that was what made this moment more special than any other we had experienced so far in the Games. No, we weren't dancing to a chorus from the mockingjays under a blue moon. We were covered in dried blood, cuts, bruises and scars. We had just seen each other break from emotional pain and trauma. We had just seen each other snap and start to crumble, desperation filling our broken cries. But now, even after all of that and more, we were with each other after escaping death one more time, like we had done a few more times before. We were just being thankful for each other's presence. It was a silent, non-verbal thanking, but it was as loud as any nonetheless. Perhaps even more so.

And so here we were. The mockingjays of District 12. The ones people would be talking about for a couple of days to come, right up until we killed each other. And that was what was going to happen. Either that or one of us was going to sacrifice themselves to save the other. Perhaps we would pull a Katniss and Peeta stunt and get the two of out and light the spark to a rebellion, which wouldn't work, but would bring the Capitol down just enough to make a slight difference. The slight difference that would give the Districts one more think to hope for, one more thing that would make us stronger as a community. No more bread and circuses, just bread. And enough for us all to live soundly and not die of starvation and malnutrition.

As we lay there, we watched the sun go down completely. We watched the sky go from a beautiful orange and pink colour to a dark blue and, eventually, an inky black. We were just watching the stars appear, shining brightly against the dark sky, when the cannon blew. It startled the two of us, causing us both to jump and then groan, clutching our chests. We both hadn't quite gotten rid of the pain from breathing in blood. It still ached to breathe, let alone make any sudden movements.

We looked and saw the hovercraft dip down into the trees nearby, but it was too dark to make out a body. All we knew was that we would find out in a matter of minutes. Grayson and I exchanged a single glance, before we both automatically got to our feet, picked up all of our things and found a nearby tree. It took a lot of effort, pushing and dry, racking sobs, but eventually we made it up to a branch that would support the two of us. I reached into Grayson's backpack and pulled out his sleeping bag and the blanket. We both climbed in, threw the blanket over the two of us, then belted ourselves onto the branch. We hadn't even bothered to eat, but we honestly couldn't have if we tried. We were both in no state to try and eat food and to actually keep it down.

"Three left, huh?" Grayson stated, his voice still raspy and strained. I shrugged against him, not really wanting to reply. I could feel his steady heartbeat. It felt nice. It was slow and his chest rose and fell over other beat. I could have put my ear against his chest and listened to it all day. It was so peaceful and it would break the two of us if one or the other had to silence it.

"I guess so." I whispered. It was so close to the end. I knew that only one of the three people that still remained would be able to see their home againn, feel the gentle touch of their family's hand. Perhaps see their lover once more and feel the loving kiss that welcomes them back home. And I knew that it wasn't going to be one of us. If we were against the District 10 boy, he would be free. If we were against Midas, he would be free. We would just crumple at their feet, not able to get out. Especially because of our health. We were probably easy to kill now.

"Harper, whatever happens, I want to say tha-" Grayson was cut off by the anthem of Panem. We both looked up at the sky, waiting to see who had died and, therefore, who we were left with. We both took a deep breath and stared at the projection, unblinking, waiting with bated breath.

The face of the boy from 10 stared down at us. Grayson and I drew a breath together, not quite sure how to react. We had Midas, and he was going to give his everything so he could go home. So he could gain honour, respect and an actual life. Perhaps even receive the rare privilege of old age. I looked at Grayson and he seemed to read my thoughts.

"But Harper, so are we." He said, but his voice wavered slightly. He looked down at the branch and traced the patterns with one of his fingers. "We can't give up. Not now. Not after all we've been through. You never know, the odds may be in our favour."

"I'm not entirely sure that the odds are in our favour. They haven't exactly been nice to us since we came together as allies. And before that, too." I pointed out. Grayson merely smiled rested his head back down, still looking at me. I had to try not to grin, but the sides of my mouth were threatening to turn up, making it hard not to resist. "What are you smiling at, you know this is a serious matter that I'm talking about-"

"Harper, stop talking." Grayson said, cutting me off. I stopped. Grayson smiled at me once more. His teeth weren't a startling white colour, but they were clean. No matter what the colour of his teeth, his smile was still as beautiful as ever, small or not. "I want to savour right now and I don't want any negativity. Just be quiet and listen to the birds. Listen to the trees. Listen to your heart. See? It's perfect when it's close to silent, especially when the only sounds audible are the nicest ones."

"Have I ever told you how much you mean to me?" I whispered after lying in complete silence for a few, peaceful minutes. Grayson smiled and bowed his head slightly.

"You surely don't mean that." He said, the tops of his cheeks going slightly pink. Of course, he wasn't used to being given some sort of affection at all. I smiled slightly at the boy and moved so I was even closer to him, just so I could hear his heartbeat even clearer than I did before.

"Trust me, Grayson. I do." I snuggled deeper into him and he wrapped his arms around my middle, holding me close to him. He was warm and firm, despite how frail he was and how cold the air was. It was perfect. Yes, it was admittedly going to be short lived, but that didn't change how it felt. The finale was probably going to be really soon. It might be with the three of the remaining tributes, depending on who died up until then. But for all I knew, this might have well been Grayson and I's last night together in the peace and quiet, without feeling too much pain. Yes, we were covered in blood, dried blood, but that didn't change anything. Yes, our lungs seemed to choke on anything and everything, but that didn't stop us from breathing in time with one another. And yes, we were now silent, but it spoke louder than words. It was a silent sign of thanks, of hope, of affection.

And I feared this would be it for a very long time.

Perhaps forever.