Kapitel 75: The final announcement

Katniss, desperate and with tears in her eyes, quickly approached Jacob, her heart pounding with anguish. However, as she beheld the multiple wounds covering his body, she felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness. She didn't know where to begin to stop the blood that was flowing from each one of them.

Her trembling hands frantically searched for a solution, but they were lost amidst the traces of blood staining Jacob's skin. The wounds seemed to multiply before her eyes, and their overwhelming number made it difficult for her to focus on a single point.

Katniss fought back the tears that blurred her vision as she tried to recall the first aid knowledge she had acquired in District 12. She took a deep breath, attempting to find calm amidst the desperation, but the crushing reality of the situation enveloped her.

Carefully, she tried to apply pressure to a wound on Jacob's arm, but the blood continued to flow, defying her efforts to contain it. Her hands moved back and forth, without clear focus, and a sense of frustration overcame her.

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she murmured words of encouragement and tried to find a solution. Her trembling voice intertwined with her sobs, expressing her desperation and love for Jacob.

"Please, Jacob, hold on. Don't give up." She whispered in a distressed tone, feeling her own strength falter. She struggled to maintain composure, but the situation slipped through her fingers.

Katniss knew they needed urgent medical help, but in that moment, they were alone, amidst the deadly arena of the Hunger Games. Desperation clung to her heart as she attempted to stop the blood that seemed to escape her reach.

Despite her best efforts, Jacob's wounds continued to bleed, and time grew increasingly precious. Amidst her anguish, Katniss desperately sought a solution, wishing with all her being to stop the flow of blood that threatened Jacob's life.

At that moment, a voice filled the surroundings: "Greetings, finalists of the 74th Hunger Games. The latest rule modification has been revoked. Upon closer examination of the regulations, it has been concluded that only one victor can be allowed. Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor."

A small burst of static, and it was over. Katniss stared at Jacob with disbelief until she assimilated the truth: they never intended to let both of them live. The Gamemakers had planned everything to ensure the most dramatic ending in history, and they, like fools, had believed it.

"Well, maybe they realized I'm dying... Cough* Cough*." Jacob said weakly.

"Stop joking!" Katniss was furious.

Jacob, amidst the intensity of the moment and aware of the gravity of his wounds, was immersed in a mix of physical pain and anxiety. Despite the blood flowing from his wounds and the weakness threatening to consume him, a spark of clarity and sacrifice ignited within him.

With a broken voice filled with emotion, Jacob stared directly at Katniss, who was still struggling to stop the blood pouring from his body. The gleam in his eyes reflected unwavering determination as he uttered his words with an unsettling solemnity.

"Katniss, listen... If we persist, if we both keep fighting, if we press on... we will be the winners of these games. Just follow your instincts and let's go the same path." Jacob whispered, with a dramatic pause between each word.

Katniss looked up, her eyes filled with confusion and pain, not fully comprehending the words coming from Jacob's lips. Her gaze met the intensity of his, capturing a glimmer of resolve and a hidden message behind his words.

Jacob, despite the suffering that engulfed his body, was willing to make any necessary sacrifice to ensure Katniss' survival.

"End me, and that means you'll live." Jacob added, his words filled with emotion and devotion. It was a heart-wrenching declaration, a proposal for her to escape at the expense of his own existence.

Katniss was stunned, tears welling up in her eyes as she absorbed the meaning behind Jacob's words. In that moment, they found themselves at a critical juncture of the games, where survival intertwined with love and sacrifice.

The fate of both hung in the balance, and Jacob, with his dramatic statement, showcased the depth of his love and his willingness to give everything for Katniss. The final choice rested with her, and the burden of that decision weighed heavily on her shoulders as she faced the possibility of sacrificing Jacob to ensure her own survival.

"It's up to you..." Jacob, unable to bear staying awake any longer, slowly closed his eyes.

With trembling yet determined hands, Katniss continued applying tourniquets and bandages to Jacob's wounds. Each movement was precise and careful, aiming to stop the bleeding and keep him alive. Her own tears mingled with sweat on her face, but she didn't allow distress to paralyze her.

Once she finished treating the most severe wounds, Katniss held a knife in her hand, her mind clouded with desperation and sorrow. She whispered softly, barely audible to herself, "This time, it won't be you who sacrifices..."

She was about to direct the knife towards her own chest, determined to shoulder the burden of sacrifice for herself and let Jacob survive, when an announcement reverberated throughout the arena. The voice of the Gamemakers cut through the air, halting her movements abruptly.

The frantic voice of Claudius Templesmith shouted above them, "Stop! Stop! Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to present to you the victors of the Seventy-Fourth Hunger Games: Katniss Everdeen and Jacob Barber! I present to you... the tributes from District 12!"

An hovercraft appeared above them, and two ladders descended from it, but Katniss refused to let go of Jacob in any way.

But in that moment, due to Jacob being unconscious, something else came down to lift him, and that's when both of them boarded the hovercraft.

An electric shock paralyzed Katniss, which only added to her unease as she wasn't sure if Jacob could withstand being taken by the device that grabbed him.

As they ascended, Katniss looked down, and though her muscles were immobile,

Some people approached Jacob and took him away. Doctors dressed in sterilized white coats, masks, and gloves were already prepared to work, to take action. Jacob lay pale and motionless on the silver table, filled with tubes and wires everywhere, that for a moment, Katniss forgot they had made it out of the games and saw the doctors as yet another threat, as if they were mutated dogs or something worse.

Petrified, Katniss lunged forward to save him, but she was immediately held back and pushed into another room, with a glass door separating the two.

No one paid attention to her, except for a Capitol aide who appeared behind me and offered me a drink.

Katniss dropped to the floor, her face against the door, looking at the glass in her hand without understanding anything. It was cold, filled with orange juice, with a decorated rim. It seemed completely out of place in her dirty, blood-stained hand, alongside the scars and dirt-filled nails.

But Katniss's mouth watered at the smell, yet she carefully placed it on the floor, not trusting anything so clean and beautiful.

Through the glass, she saw the doctors working tirelessly on Jacob; they frowned, focused. She saw the flow of fluids being pumped through the tubes, and a wall filled with panels and lights that meant nothing to her. She wasn't sure, but Jacob's condition was critical.

The next thing she knew, they had landed on the rooftop of the Training Center, and they were taking Jacob away, leaving her behind. Katniss threw herself against the glass, screaming, and she thought she caught a glimpse of pink hair—it had to be Effie, Effie coming to the rescue—when someone pricked her from behind with a needle.