Finally, I'm starting to add Peeta's Life Part II. I own nothing, the story is based on the original Mockinjay. This story primarily presents Peeta's point of view but I could not go though it without adding some of Katniss's POV. I also provide more plot to other characters in the story, and present their plots in third person. I hope you enjoy.
It's been two weeks and I'm sitting in this training center. I see President Snow making announcements; he lost his grip around the Districts' throats. He confirms District 13 had been dormant in the shadows waiting to strike. Then along came Katniss. I spend a lot of time in a trance, just staring into nothing, memories mostly but I don't want to reminisce. I do think of the chessboard that sits in this floor. I think back to all the times I used it as a metaphor to describe what was happening to me and Katniss. I can't believe that I once thought we were contenders against Snow, then I realized we were pieces, reluctant pieces in a game played by Snow and who else? I think back to the day when I was playing chess with Haymitch and I asked him who Snow was up against – he said he didn't know what I was talking about. I feel nothing now, not anger, resentment, sadness, heartbreak, nothing. How many times did he lie to my face? He said I was like a son to him. He's a worthless and faithless son of a bitch. I know that now.
The only time I feel anything is when I think of home, and then I realize that it's gone. My family is gone, my friends, there's nothing. I have nothing. I feel anger boil inside of me. Because now that I am mourning them I realize how naïve I've been. How could I think that Katniss was my only everything, that without her I'd have nothing. I would only think about them losing me and how they would move on. I guess I never once considered losing all of them, and now that I have, I fully understand just how much I had in my life. The only other person I ever feared losing was Ivy, and I did lose her. I even pushed her away. I regret not fully appreciating or understanding just how much I loved them all.
Then there's Katniss. What about her? How much did she know? Did she know? She was so convincing. It was a perfect plan, was she to escape alone. I wound up being her best shield, ready to die for her. But it doesn't make sense, I believe she loves me. I could see it, I could feel it. Could she really have left me behind? I try to ask Annie what else she knows but she's confused, sometimes she even thinks I'm Finnick. The other night she actually tried to get in bed with me. I'm getting sick of her. It's like watching an infant and frankly I don't care if she drinks toxins or hurts herself. The other day she started to run herself into a wall but after a long day of watching her every step, I didn't care when she fell over unconscious. I needed a break.
"Why am I still here?! What do you want from me?!" I scream into the air. I know they can see me and hear me.
Suddenly the television turns on and it's Snow's face. "Hello Peeta." He says, as his disgusting eyes look right at me. The camera is up close to his face and I can see his disgusting swollen face, his puffy lips, and a deep red tint that outlines the inside of his mouth. He's repugnant.
I don't waste any time. "What do you want from me? Why am I still here?" I ask.
"I want to be fair Peeta. I want to punish those responsible and I'm trying to assess just how guilty you are before I start punishing. I'm doing my research before I talk to you." He says calmly.
"You're talking to me now." I say. "Ask away." I say to him.
"Did you know about the escape plan?" He asks.
"No – I was under the impression that this was a Quell, that you altered to make sure Katniss and I returned so that you could kill us. Her – really – because I think you were always very indifferent towards me." I say honestly.
"I was." He replies honestly. "I thought I was as indifferent as Katniss." He says. "Is she really pregnant?" He asks.
My gut instinct is to protect her still. Whether she lied to me or not, there's no point in disclosing my lies. It will only hurt me and besides she's out of his reach now. "Yes." I say to him.
He stares at me for a long time, evaluating me, and I can tell that he's thinking hard trying to figure out if he can believe me. "Is it yours or Gale's? Because I know about that relationship. The peacekeepers kept me informed. After the quell announcement she didn't care to hide it." He tells me.
I smile at him. "It's complicated. And you assumed a lot about them. They weren't lovers, not ever. That was just puppy love." I tell him.
"Did she know about it?" He asks.
This makes me nervous and I can't hide it. "I don't believe she did." I tell him honestly, and I don't know if I'm being rational or if my heart just doesn't want it to be true. He just looks at me and thinks.
"What about Haymitch?" he asks me.
I can't hide the disgust in my face when he mentions his name. "If I had information about him, I would gladly give it to you. That bastard used us; I have no doubt about it. I don't care if you find him." I say honestly.
Suddenly Annie walks into the room. She's naked again, try as I might she refuses to keep her clothes on. When I see her, I roll my eyes because I can't stand her anymore. I see Snow cracks a smile.
"How are you liking your new roommate?" He asks.
"She's okay." I feel exasperated. "Please – just do with me what you have to. I'm done sitting here. I can't take it anymore. You have as many questions as I do, and I don't have answers." I say desperately.
He smiles at me, which only makes him look more grotesque. It's like his skin is going to split it's so tight and I swear I can see bloody saliva in his mouth. "Oh – Peeta, don't worry it begins tomorrow. I will begin to do with you what I have to, her too." He looks in Annie's direction. The signal in the screen goes blank.
I turn to look at Annie and she smiles at me. I'm not stupid. I'm not getting out of here alive. Tomorrow my hell begins. Just then, I hear my elevator door open and out of it comes Portia and Effie. I feel warmth for the first time in two weeks. I run to them, the way a child would to a parent. They run to me and hold me. Finally, I feel tears run down my face and the release is so badly needed.
"Peeta!" Portia wraps her arms around me. She checks my face and she looks me over the way a mother would her child. "Are you eating? Are you hurt?" She asks me. Effie just hugs me and kisses me over and over again.
"I'm alive – I just don't know if I'm okay." I say honestly as I continue to cry. "They left me behind." I whimper to her.
Portia's eyes get large and panicked. "Don't say that Peeta, you don't know that."
"I don't know what to believe anymore. It wouldn't be the first time they lie to me and use me." I say. Portia embraces me but doesn't say anything. Why would she? She wouldn't know herself.
"Peeta. We have to get you ready, you have an interview." She tells me. "Are you being fed?" she asks again.
I'm still trying to grasp the thought that I need to do an interview but I answer her anyway. "Yes I'm eating. They are giving us plenty of food." I say. Their eyes trail past me to the young naked woman sitting on the sofa. "It's Annie, Finnick's lover from District 4." Their mouths hang open when they see her. "Snow brought her." Then it dawns on me, it's not hard to figure out I just hadn't wanted to think about anything up until now. "Snow is going to dangle us in front of them, all while mutilating us." I say to them.
Effie covers her mouth and she can no longer hold back her tears. She throws her arms around me and pleads. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry." She cries.
"Peeta, we have to get you ready for this interview. I'm so sorry." Portia insists as large heartbreaking tears run down her face.
Peacekeepers show up they take us all, including Annie. We come to a building that looks ominous. Effie begins to cry when she sees it and Portia tells me that this is the Military sector of the Capitol. As soon as we step out, Annie and I are dragged away. I hear Effie and Portia gasp but they have no idea what to do or what to expect. For a wonder Annie doesn't struggle, it's as if she's a rag doll, the peacekeeper has to carry her. For once I'm envious of her, I wish I could disconnect from reality like that. I'm scared. We are taken into a dark room where other men are waiting for us. I feel tense because I don't know what they are going to do, they're not even looking at us as if we were human. Suddenly all of their hands are on us and our clothes are completely torn off our bodies. I try to fight back but I am completely overpowered. Then they drag us into a bright-lit room and we are thrown on a hard tile floor. My eyes are still adjusting to the light. I look around and I see Annie, she's there, but she might as well not be. Then I see that her eyes fix on something. I look behind me and I see a small petite body lying on the ground. A woman. My stomach sinks. I run to her and gently turn her over.
"Johanna!" her name escapes me. I check for a pulse and she has one. I press my ear to her chest and I can hear her breathing and a heartbeat. I actually smile and for some reason I embrace her in my arms. She's freezing. Suddenly Annie comes up behind us on the ground and then proceeds to wrap herself around us. "Johanna, please wake up" I beg her. I start to rub her face with my hands. I rub my hands throughout her body in an effort to warm her up. Suddenly I see her eyes stir and they open slowly, she stares at the light ahead of her. She looks so helpless and it's crazy because I would never put her and helplessness together. She focuses on me and she stares at me for a second.
"Hello gorgeous." She says to me with a hoarse voice. She tries to stretch her hand to touch my face but she fails miserably. I embrace her close to me and kiss her forehead. I feel protective of her. I hold her until she fully comes to her senses. I pull back and she looks around, and she lifts her head to look at herself then at me and she rests her head against my chest again. "You know, this is not what I envisioned for the first time you and I would be naked together." She says with a smile on her face.
I smile at her and pull her close to me again. "Tell me you know what is going on? Did they betray me? Did Katniss purposely leave me behind?" I whisper in her ear begging her for answers because I'm sure she knows. If I was loathing her before this moment, seeing her now, knowing she was also left behind forces me to embrace her and let bygones be bygones.
"No, Peeta.." She says hoarsely. "She didn't know anything. The plan was to get you both out – I knew it would be a tall order. Haymitch was supposed to pick one. He couldn't though. So the tributes that knew about it decided that if we had to choose we wanted to save you." She explains.
Now it all makes sense, why they were sacrificing themselves for me. This brings tears to my eyes and I embrace her. "It would have been easier had you told us about it, you shouldn't have kept us in the dark, none of you." I cry.
"Peeta – you have to understand. It was a huge risk, the less you knew the better. If one of you was captured, your chances might be better if you didn't know anything. And that's all I'm going to tell you." She says to me.
"Well – I was captured." I say.
Her eyes actually tear up. "It wasn't supposed to be you." She says angrily. "We all knew she is a lose canyon, she won't understand what we are trying to do. You would. We were going to try to save her for you. This was not supposed to happen." She reaches out to embrace me. As she pulls away, she looks startled because she finally sees another human being clinging to us. I look over my shoulder and I see Annie shyly peeking over my shoulder to meet Johanna's gaze.
"It's Annie. Snow got to her and brought her to the Capitol. She's been staying with me at the Training Center." I say
She stares at Annie and she looks tense. "She looks wild and mad" She points out the obvious. "This is terrible. Finnick. He's going to…" She actually looks terrified.
"Don't worry about him Johanna, he's fine in District 13, we need to worry about us." I say bitterly.
Johanna looks at me. "You don't understand, you don't know how fragile he is." She stares sadly at Annie. "Peeta – you need to be strong for what's coming. If they caught Annie it's because Snow will try to play mind games with Finnick and Katniss. You'll be bait for them." She tells me.
"I figured as much." I say. "I'm worried about you too." I say honestly.
She smiles. "I thought you'd be mad at me." She confesses.
"I am but I'm too worried about you right now. And well, I like you. Maybe if you were in District 13 too, I'd be cursing you." I say smiling.
"No, I'm not there. You have to be strong. I don't know how long they'll keep me alive, but you have to promise me that you'll find a way out of here." She says to me.
"What makes you think that they won't kill us all?" I say to her.
"No Peeta – if Snow has you – he can still pull Katniss. She's the face of this rebellion. He's going to keep you alive. Annie too, because Finnick knows too much. If you two die, Katniss and Finnick have nothing to lose." She says to me. "They're just going to torture me until I tell them everything I know." I'm horrified when I hear this. I embrace her in my arms again. "Just tell them then. Don't suffer, you've suffered enough and you've done enough for them. Please." I plead to her.
"I can't. It's not who I am." She says to me. Just then the door bursts open and a man comes in with a large hose and he drowns us with freezing cold water. All I can do is hold on to them. It feels like an eternity. When they stop, a man runs in, rips Johanna out of my arms, and proceeds to beat her with leather straps. I try to reach her but other men hold me down. I scream until the shock makes me pass out. I come back to. I try to reach her but the men holding me down then drag me out. The last thing I see is Annie crawling to an unconscious Johanna and cradling her in her arms.
