The ground is far below, the Capitol completely behind us. I have no idea how fast we're traveling, but Messalla, who's piloting the stolen hovercraft that he's been tinkering on for ages, assures me that we'll be in Thirteen in a couple of hours.
We had to leave quickly after the screens went dark. We knew something was going to happen today, so Haymitch had instructed us to be ready to leave at a moment's notice. We'd been watching the Games in Messalla's garage when Katniss had shot the arrow at the force field encompassing the arena.
I look down at the sketch books that I brought with me. They've been on my lap since we left, a reminder of what Cinna did. He died to make sure Katniss could be saved.
Of course, none of us know whether Cinna's really dead, because we haven't seen or heard anything about it, but I think it's a good bet.
It hurts in all sorts of unimaginable ways. My friend Cinna, dead somewhere, in an unmarked grave.
Only the four of us are in this hovercraft. I wanted to get the mentors out, but there was no time. I have no illusion as to what's going to happen to them, and my throat tightens.
You can't fall apart. You need to get yourself to Thirteen now, and worry about yourself later.
And I have to make sure that Katniss is all right. We haven't been able to contact Haymitch since this morning, so we have absolutely no idea what's going on. Were they able to get them out of the arena? Are they safe?
Pollux comes to me with a glass of water, and gently pries the sketch books away from my hands, signing to me that I must drink.
I do as he says, taking small sips of the cool liquid until it's entirely gone. "Thanks, Pollux."
He nods. "Katniss is okay," he signs. "She has to be."
Has to be. The entire rebellion hinges on whether Katniss, my Katniss, has survived this ordeal.
My Katniss.
Tears overwhelm me suddenly, and I'm powerless to stop them. I sink to the floor, sobbing, my hands covering my face. I feel Pollux rubbing my back, and Castor comes over suddenly, hugging me.
"Come on, Cress, it's okay. Everything's okay. You're going to see Katniss again soon."
"Cinna's… he's dead… and Mags…" for several minutes, I can't think anymore, much less form a coherent sentence, but my friends let me cry, trying to comfort me as best they can.
I finally start to calm down, and when I look up again, I feel better. Everything still hurts inside, but the hurt feels cleaner.
Castor and Pollux help me to my feet and hug me.
"Okay?" Castor asks me.
I give a nod. "Yeah. I just, I couldn't keep it in anymore, you know?"
"We know. You'll see her again soon."
My laugh is humorless, "Even if I do, her heart belongs to Peeta, and his heart belongs to her."
"Maybe. But you'll still feel much better once you realize on your own that she's safe and happy. I know you, Cress."
I look at all the stuff we were able to bring with us on such short notice. My bag of clothes sits by the seat I was in. And we brought cameras and makeup. A lot of makeup, as per Cinna's instructions.
"I hope he's proud of us, wherever he is."
Pollux signs to me. "Of course he is. He really liked you, you know. But he realized that you had feelings for Katniss."
I smile a little. I guess he did.
It's another couple of hours before we see anything different other than the uncharted forests we've been flying over. Messalla calls us forward when he sees something unusual on the horizon. Several clouds of smoke billowing into the sky.
"What in the world?" I look at the navigational panel, "Wait… isn't that District Twelve?"
Messalla doesn't answer immediately, but finally, he nods. "What's left of it."
"Fire bombs," whispers Castor. "We can't stay here."
There's nothing we can do. Even from afar, we notice that Katniss's home has been completely destroyed.
"Look for survivors in the forest," I tell Messalla.
But it's in vain. We keep our eyes peeled as we cover the distance from District Twelve to District Thirteen, but we don't see anybody in the forest, nor does our hovercraft pick up any heat signals from human beings.
People are waiting for us as we arrive in District Thirteen airspace.
"District Thirteen to Cinna One, do you copy?" says a voice on the radio. By then, we've all put on headsets and are sitting in the front of the hovercraft.
"We copy, Thirteen," says Messalla.
"Welcome. Were you followed?"
"Negative, Thirteen," he answered.
"Good. We'll guide you to final approach."
We travel north another few miles when, all of a sudden, I notice that a wide patch of earth seems to open up below us. I almost panic until I realize that this is the landing platform.
Messalla lands and the rest of us get ready to disembark. My muscles are stiff, and I'd love nothing more than to walk outside and get some fresh air, but District Thirteen is underground.
Besides, I want to see Katniss.
Plutarch Heavensbee meets us as we get out. He's not wearing the customary colorful attire I'm used to seeing on him in the Capitol, but a rather drab gray jumpsuit. It looks strange on him.
"I'm glad you guys made it," he says.
"Glad to be here," I reply. "Plutarch, did they make it? The victors? Are they here?"
He nods, "Haymitch is here with Beetee, Finnick, and Katniss. They're fine. Well, Haymitch is fine. The others are in the hospital."
"What about Peeta and Joanna?" asks Messalla, who's right behind me.
"We couldn't get to them on time, or to Enobaria. The Capitol has them."
The Capitol has them. That phrase sends a cold chill running through me. "You left them there?"
"We didn't have a choice. We had to grab Katniss and go. They have Annie Cresta as well, from what we understand."
My mind spins, "What about the other mentors?"
The look Plutarch gives me is enough for my stomach to clench. I blink, then nod, swallowing the bile that's risen in my throat. "We brought Cinna's sketches and the cameras. You got everything else, right?"
"Yes, we have the outfit Cinna designed. Come on."
We follow Plutarch through the underground complex of a district that was no longer supposed to exist.
"Listen," I say. "We saw smoke rising from Twelve. What happened?"
"The Capitol happened."
"Did anybody get out? Katniss's family –."
"Yes. We got some people out, and Mrs. Everdeen and Primrose were amongst them. We dispatched several hovercraft there as soon as we realized what the Capitol had done and took the survivors here."
"We looked for survivors in the woods, but couldn't find anybody," says Messalla. "How many got out?"
"Not many." He opens a door, leading us into a conference room with a large oval table that takes up most of the space. A woman stands there with long gray hair and pale skin, wearing a similar jumpsuit to Plutarch's. Next to her stands a dark-skinned man whose jumpsuit is black and obviously military. "Everyone, I'd like to you meet President Alma Coin."
The woman steps forward, "Welcome to Thirteen."