Safe & Sound

Chapter 1

I woke up with a jump. Sweat sticking strands of my hair onto my forehead. Every night it was the same. Every night the same nightmare, same reaction, same antidote. I swung my legs to the side taking the covers off. My feet dangled a bit, my toes making contact with the cold floor. I dug my fingers into my hair and took deep breaths closing my eyes. The rumbling from the avalanche attack still ringing in my ears. My fathers dead and cold eyes staring back at me before Nate's arms wrap around me and drag me away towards the tunnels and into the trains.

I stood up and walked to the bathroom before turning the knobs from the sink. Letting the cold water run, I took a hand fool and cleaned my face in desperate need to wake up. I was in no better situation then inside that mountain. I was being held prisoner in my own home, District 2, after the Capitol had fallen and Paylor had been chosen Panem's new president. Of cores after Snow was brought down and Coin was murdered.

I slid down next to the sink. My back taking the cold from the concrete wall. It had been a month now. And I could remember everything as if it was just yesterday. The sirens, the desperate screams, the pushing, the dead bodies... I sighed.

I was never glad to be the only district on the Capitols side. I despised those who trained to become Peacekeepers. Never did I encourage the Hunger Games and never did I like President Snow with his chilly voice and cold eyes. Eyes of a killer I used to say before my father hushed me. My father... my only reason for living and staying in District 2. My mother had died giving birth to me eighteen years ago. I grew up with my father. I was quiet and closed towards everyone from our District; once I understood why we were so protected, so favorited by the Capitol I became completely remote. My father wasn't a fan of the idea of what our distract was. But he knew how to survive. I knew he did it for me.

The only other person I had ever trusted or cared for, was Nate. He was the kid who lived two houses down from ours. His brothers all worked for the Capitol, his mother and father dead. A troublemaker. He would get punished in public almost everyday. But he went on with his bad habits until he met me. People said I was the influence that stopped him. That drove him to control. I shoved that away. I knew he stopped because he could never burden with leaving me alone after I saved him.

He was walking, or better yet dragging himself back to his house after what I supposed was his second whipping down in the square that week. I was outside waiting for my father to get back from work. He fell on his face, his breathing heavy. I couldn't help myself really. It was strange. It was the first time I ever approached someone from our distract. I wrapped his arm around my shoulder and took him inside. Laying him on the diner table, I took his shirt off. And I was right, there were fresh wounds, but unhealed ones that had reopened. I filled a bucket with water and began cleaning the pierced skin. Dipping a cloth into the water and washing away the dirt and blood before he could catch any infections. He slept the afternoon off. My father came home and said nothing. He simply wrapped his arm around my shoulder and smiled proudly down at me. I walked down late evening to check up on him only to walk into the kitchen and meet with his blue eyes. After that, there was no turning back. He took care of me and I took care of him.

Now I was alone. In the hands of the rebels. But it was either this or dying in the mountain. Though I was always sure I preferred dying. I had lost my father and not even minutes later, I had lost Nate. They were the only people I had. The only family I knew.

When both Nate and I became of age, we applied for the working aries at the Mountain, at least that's what we called it. It was the Capitols core in our district. The treasure in our lands. There we worked with hovercrafts and they held some assembles where they talked about military strategies. We never came close to the classified military stuff. We were in charge of the hovercrafts. Honestly me we were better off. My father had taught both Nate and I all he knew. We were quick, agile and smart. I hated waking up every day though. How could I ever like helping the Capitol?

"Just think of it as survival payment." Nate would tell me. "No work, no survival."

And he was right. I woke up only for my father and for him. I couldn't bare the thought of loosing either of them. So I did my survival payment as do. It was amusing though. They day of the attack, Nate was the one tired and mad at everything. He started talking about joining the rebels and I had to push him out of the halls and take him out close to the woods to calm him down. The Peacekeepers would never think twice before punishing for treason. And let's face it, he had a history of being chastised publicly already. He slid down against the trunk of a big oak tree and I chuckled a bit shaking my head as he began braking sticks in his hands.

"What happen to me being the one tired of this place and having small outburst?" I smiled standing in front of him.

"I wasn't kidding. Why not join the rebellion? They fight for what we want," he looked up at me. His blue orbs serious. A seriousness that was far from common.

My smile fell and I kneeled down in front of him. "Nate..." I had no words. He had hated this place as much as I did. But I was the one who voiced it, showed my emotions towards the whole thing. He was the calm one who had to stop be from shouting my hate for the Capitol.

He leaned towards me, his hand cupped my cheek. I froze. We had never been this close, never had really touched besides when we trained in the woods. Nate had spent hours teaching me hand to hand combat. He wanted me to learn how to fend for myself if the day ever came where he wasn't by my side. Those were kicks and blows. Not warm caresses. "They fight for our freedom. To bring down the Capitol. Snow. Everything that we despise so much," he tucked a strand of my dark locks behind my ear. "Can you imagine a future where our people don't have to train to become Capitol puppets? Where we don't build the Capitols machinery and protect their military plans? Can you?" His voice had gone deep, filled with passion and hope.

I smiled sadly. "We have to get back." Was all I said. And now, staring at the bunk bead in this cellar, I regretted that answer.

We went back. Nate had calmed a bit. But at the exact moment we bumped into my father, the entrance we had walked in through had been shut off. Darkness took over before the alarm began blaring and the walls began shaking. Nate took hold of my arm as I took hold of my fathers hand before the three of us began running for the trains. People were screaming, there were already bodies around us, people pushing past us. Before I knew it rocks came down on us and my father's hand was no longer in mine.

"Dad!" I shouted. Rocks and more rocks was what I saw. I slipped from Nate's hold who called after me, and ran towards the pile of rocks. "Dad!" I kept shouting, my vision blurred by tears. I had only cried three times in my life. The first when my father explained my mothers death. I was six and had finally understood it. The second when Nate had taken a whipping for protecting me from a Peacekeeper. It had taken a week for his wounds to close and begin healing. And then at that moment.

"Jean," he coughed out once I had doug him out. His face was black, blood dripping from the corner of his lips. I pulled him out and set him away from the rocks. He cupped my cheek and wiped away tears. I began to sob. "You have to run."

"No," I shook my head wiping more tears. "I won't leave you." I pulled him closer to me. He was mine. No-one could take him from me.

He gave me a sad smile. The rumbling became louder. "Nate take her! Run!" he managed to shout.

I began to complain but Nate's arms had already circled around my waist. I shouted and watched his eyes go blank. Nate made his way to the tunnels and push us into one of the trains before the doors shut. He put me on my feet but hugged me to him. Both protectively and affectionate. I could feel my life slipping away. Rocks began do fall on us and the compartment was filled with ashy air. We all began to cough and cover our eyes when the train doors opened. Nate pulled us out and as we fell we watched Katniss Everdeen stand in front of one of the workers. It all happened so fast. One minute she was there the other she was on the ground and gunfire began non-stop. Nate picked us up and began heading towards the woods. The dust covering the square made it hard. All of a sudden a tall figure with dark hair stood in front of us, Nate stood in front of me at such a quick pace I didn't register what was happening until he fell to the ground. I knew I was shouting. I crawled to the ground and pulled him to me. He smiled sadly, his hand brushing my cheek before his eyes went blank and his hand fell to the side limp. I could feel my body trembling. I stood up and charged at the figure. The last think I remember was falling into darkness. The next thing I knew I was being held by the rebells.

I hadn't noticed the tears streaming down my cheeks till my ears registered my sniffing. My hands were in shaking fists and I was beginning to bite down hard on my jaw. The rebells were suppose to be fighting for what I wanted. Wasn't that what Nate said? So how? How could they take away my father? How could they kill Nate so cooly and not care at all? It all seemed so unjust to me. I was beginning to hate the rebellion just as much as the Capitol. It had taken the first week to control me. They sedated me daily to control my violent outbursts. At night was the only time I wished I was sedated. Nightmares after nightmares was all my mind could come up with. The screaming, he pushing, the darkness. It was like a horrible film on repeat.

I leaned my head back. I was alone. I had no-one. So what where they waiting for? Where they going to kill me? What? I had nothing left. So why the wait?