Author's Note: Hello Everyone! It has been a while since I have written fanfiction, but I'm back! I hope to continue my old stories, as well as write some new ones. I am currently away at college so I won't update this as much as I would like, but I wanted to get this story out there. It has been in the back of my mind for ages and I needed to get it out.
I love The Hunger Games trilogy and especially the character, Madge. I was super sad and surprised by her death because I was not expecting that to happen. I thought that Gale and Madge were going to find that they weren't all that different with that class divide gone. I thought they were going to fall in love, get married, and make beautiful babies together! But of course, my hopes and dreams were dashed! Sad face. But after a while, I believe that I have found out why she "had to die," which I'll write a one shot for.
Anywho, this story is rated M because of the violence, language, and sexual situations. I'm not sure how graphic I will get with the sex, seeing as I have not gotten there yet, but I will warn you before hand. I would say you may skip them if you are not comfortable, but some of the sex scenes may have important points in them. However, it is still to be determined.
I've never been in a war. I do have a military base near me, so I have some knowledge, but that doesn't mean that I am an expert. I will try to keep situations somewhat accurate, but again, I am no expert. I'm just kind of going off of what I know and stuff from movies. Also, this is a war during the Panem era, so not everything will be the same. Sooo yea!
All Hunger Games characters and places belong to the wonderful Suzanne Collins; you readers know which characters and situations. Others come from my mind place.
Enjoy!
5 years after the creation of the New Government
Chapter 1
It's not exactly a warm day as we wait impatiently at the meeting site. It's not really cold, but the new spring air doesn't help when the sun is hidden behind clouds. The troops are chattering and hopping up and down to keep warm and quell their nervous feet.
I stand next to the General and Major waiting for the signal to go ahead and meet with the officers of the other force. We had been waiting there for almost an hour and the men were getting restless. I honestly didn't care either way, as long as we got shit done and won this battle. It's just another day on the job to me.
The General starts to pace back and forth in irritation as the Major lights a cigarette. The General's face grows red with anger and his hands wouldn't stop twitching.
"Would you stop?" Major Jennings says after taking a long puff of the cigarette.
"What the hell is taking them so long?" General Barker seethes, completely ignoring Jennings.
"They were ten miles behind us, General. It's going to take a bit," I reply evenly.
"Ten miles means ten minutes Hawthorne. Not an hour. This is ridiculous. Why do we even have to wait for them? We can take care of this ourselves. They didn't have to send two units."
"It's protocol when going into an unknown situation. A complete unit got captured, this isn't something that we can go into without precautions."
"Protocol my ass," The General huffs, stopping abruptly and getting in my face. I feel the hair on the back of my neck stand up at his proximity and I stand to my full height of six foot four. General or not, no one gets in my face, I am prepared to fight if I have to. "We have the best of the best in our unit, Hawthorne, including you. And the dumbasses who got themselves captured were the worst and smallest of our units. They were just sent to check to make sure there were no bombs in this area. They aren't equipped with skill and men like we have. I'm sure the ones who captured them can easily be taken down by us. No need for the other unit."
I clench my fists so hard I'm sure my knuckles are white. All I really want to do is slug this man in my face, but instead I use my height to my advantage and I tower over him. "Wait for the signal," I hiss.
Just as General Barker goes to open his trap, I'm sure to say something useless, we hear mockingjays sing a familiar melody. It's deep and low, like a man's voice. We created the signal when a force of Peacekeepers reemerged to fight against the struggling new government. "Reapers," we call them, since they are no longer "keepers of the Peace." More like bringers of death and war.
The few low notes ripple through the trees in a cacophony of sounds. Even slightly distorted we can tell that it's the signal. The notes were kept low because sometimes the mockingjays just sing random notes, which are always high. It's the only way that we know it's them.
"Finally," the General says, walking away from me and towards the woods. Good, otherwise, I'd have punched his lights out. "Alright men! Move out! We're heading in!"
Major Jennings and I are both on the same page as we say, "What?!"
"You heard me," the general sniffs as he walks towards the Reaper camp and away from the meeting site.
"Stop!" Major Jennings yells to the men as I jog over to General Barker, grab his shoulder, and forcefully turn him around.
"Are you a fucking idiot?"
"Don't talk that way to your superior Hawthorne. Just because you were in the war doesn't give you the right to treat us higher ranking officers like we're less than you. Remember that is what got you demoted, Colonel?" So I punched one freaking guy? He was in my face anyways. "Now I'm the man in charge and you're to listen to me. We are moving in, now. The other unit will figure it out and come soon after us."
I'm about ready to punch Barker in the jaw, but instead I step back and let him go. He can get his ass killed. Like I give a crap. "Go ahead then, General," I spit out his title like it's a bad piece of meat.
Barker glares at me, his brown eyes flashing, but turns and leads the troops. I follow behind, hands in my pockets, shoulders slumped. The old me would have been pissed and fought until I made him stay to meet up with the other unit, or at least distracted him until they came. But war changes you, it's hard to make me care about anything anymore. You kind of just stop caring.
A bump on my left side makes me stumble for a second, but I quickly recover. My gray eyes narrow, but a smirk comes to my face at noticing who bumped into me. He turned away, pretending to be completely innocence, but I could know that dark blonde curly hair anywhere.
"You looking for a fight Hadwin Coburn?" I lightheartedly threaten.
He turns his head, green eyes wide in feigned shock, and points to himself. He then quickly shakes his head, but a stupid smile makes its way on his face. I rush over and put the kid in a headlock.
"I give! I give!" he rasps as if he was being strangled. I let him go and we both laugh. "You causing trouble Hawthorne?"
"Yup, you know me. Always causing trouble."
"Seriously though man, what's happening? Why are we moving in already? Shouldn't we be waiting for the other unit?"
I sigh and scratch the side of my jaw. My fingernails run over the long stubble that is growing longer each day, reminding me I really need to shave. "It's not my fault. I wanted to wait, but General Dipshit got his panties in a twist while waiting and pulled rank." I hear some sniggering around us, guys listening in on our conversation. "And I'll kill any of you dumbasses if the general gets even whiff of what I said." Some of the men look scared, like they should. Others just roll their eyes. I'll have to remind those boys who is boss next time I do training.
"Well if I die because of him, I swear I'll haunt him in his sleep."
"Oh yea? I heard he sleeps in the nude," I say before laughing.
"Ew, man. Gross." He clearly doesn't think it's as funny as I do, which makes it funnier.
I finish laughing as we find the road leading into the Reaper's camp. All of the men are quiet and dispersing. Some making their way across the road in small groups while others head towards the opening of the camp. I immediately shut off all emotions and jog up to the general. Jerk or not, I need to put our argument aside and be sure we are on the same page. Communication with all of the officers is essential so we can get out of this battle with as few losses as possible.
"What's the plan General?"
"I'll stay on this side. Major Jennings is already on the other side of the road, but I need you there too. A messenger who ran ahead says they have an electric fence around the camp. It's only a few small wires so as long as we severe the wires we can get through. I sent our electricians and bomb experts up ahead. Hopefully they can cut off the source and blow an opening for us. They also have watch towers so we need to be careful to not be seen. That means only move on my signal got it Hawthorne?"
I nod. "Got it. What is the signal?"
"When we blow a bloody opening, Colonel! Now get moving."
I salute and wait with the last few men to get across the dirt road. When we deem it safe we run. I make it across first, but stay at the tree line to make sure we all get across. Once we all are I run along the wall of men and stop every once in a while to tell the men the information that Barker told me.
I make it up to Jennings just as I see him sending the bomb expert on our side towards the edge of the forest to get closer to the electrified fence. "Just in time Hawthorne. You ready to head in?"
"As ready as I'll ever be. We can't just cut the power supply to the fence? We can be more conspicuous that way and take them by surprise."
"Not my idea. Just following orders."
I huff at the general's need to get things done rather than to think things through. It's a trait I have, but at least I'm not stupid about it. Just as I think this, I hear a gunshot and see our bomb expert fall.
"Shit! They already know we're here!" I yell as I run towards the fallen soldier.
"Hawthorne-" Jennings yells from behind me, but the rest of his words are drowned out by the sound of an explosion on the other side of the road. At least their bomb was successful.
I don't bother to look at the man on the ground, knowing he is already dead. Instead I look for the bomb he dropped. I see it near his feet, undetonated. Holy shit, yes! I grab the bomb and look for the switch to set it off, finding it on the side. My knowledge of bombs are sadly pretty advance so just by one glance I recognize the type of bomb. It would go off after ten seconds so I have enough time to figure out aim and trajectory. I flip the switch, jerk my arm back, wait two seconds and throw. The bomb goes off on impact with the ground and a large opening is made in the fence.
Men run past me into the camp almost immediately. I see Jennings in the lead which reassures me and makes me thankful that at least he is smart and patient. If he had sent men over to the other side to head in they would have been easy targets for the men in the watch towers.
I wait for more of the troops to pass so that I can lead the others who were towards the back. I run in when I believe about half of the soldiers are in and I take charge of the remaining men. As we rush in I see total chaos.
Bodies on the ground, men running left and right, gun shots fill the air. Many men are being captured and thrown into a solid cabin that tents are built around. I shoot and throw punches, but I realize that it is futile to keep going like this. They already knew we were coming. They planned for it. They were prepared. Unlike us.
"Men! Those who can retreat, retreat now!" I yell over the gunfire.
Some start running right away, while others pause, unsure what to do. Most men keep fighting however and I curse their stupidity.
A body slams into my back and I turn to shoot only to see General Barker. "What the fuck are you thinking Hawthorne? We can't retreat!"
I shoot a guy who comes up behind Barker before speaking. "Stop being an idiot Barker! We can't win this! We don't have enough men and they were prepared for us. You should have known right as you were running in. We were stupid not to wait and strategize."
"Hawthorne-"
"No, you listen, we need to retreat!"
His jaw clenches in irritation and he goes to say something when a bullet hits his jaw. I see the blood, bone, and flesh fly through the air in slow motion. Barker makes a horrible sound, blood dripping down his uniform, before his eyes roll into the back of his head and he drops to the ground. I roar in the direction the bullet came from and shoot everyone I don't recognize.
I become a machine. I no longer feel or see people. I just see targets and shoot. I don't run either. I walk around slowly, as if I'm indestructible, and just kill.
I barely hear the screams of fallen or captured men. I barely feel the heat coming from the burning watch towers. I barely smell the burnt flesh of men who got too close to the flames. I'm barely human.
Suddenly I'm tackled to the ground, and I'm no longer immortal. I fall hard and the first few layers of skin on my arm tear off. I scream in agony and fight like a rabid animal against my attacker. I throw the man off with my feet and try to get up only to be brought down by two more men. I chuck them off of me and am restricted by more. It takes about six men to finally subdue me, and by then I'm tired. I give in.
I'm drug towards the cabin, but not deposited inside. The building must be full as I see men lined up on the side of the cabin on their knees, some in make handcuffs. But even those without handcuffs don't move. A few Reapers stand with guns pointed at their prisoners, ready to shoot anyone that even flinches.
They don't seem to be looking like they'll try to move. And once they see me captured, any fire in their eyes is immediately extinguished. They won't try to fight anymore.
I let the men set me down and barely hear their cheers at capturing the famous "Gale Hawthorne." Ha. Famous. For what, killing? Yea that sounds about right. And I fucking hate it.
Sounds come back to me slowly and I realize the fight must be over. There are no longer gun shots being fired, no more sounds of men screaming or running. There is only the sound of the watch towers burning and our captors laughing.
The shorter one is clapping his hands like an idiot in glee as he does a stupid little dance. "Damn, what luck?! Capturing the Gale Hawthorne? What do you think we should do to him?"
"Kill 'em!" yells one in a Capitol accent.
"Yea!" Others agree with great enthusiasm.
"No knuckleheads! We should offer a ransom or agreement in exchange for him," a tall thin man almost hisses like a snake. They all immediately agree to that with cheers. "But first, we should have a little fun with him, shouldn't we boys?"
The men look at him in confusion at first, not exactly sure what he means. The man lets an evil smirk grow on his face as he yells, "Let's line 'em up boys. We'll shoot them all in a line, execution style."
That immediately gets my attention and I go to jump up and tackle the man to the ground even with my arms roped together behind my back. But my stomach is kicked and my head is thrown against the ground. Then a knee jabs into my back to keep me down. I taste blood in my mouth and see stars, but don't stop glaring at the thin man.
"Don't even think about it Hawthorne," He tuts. "You don't want to miss this, believe me. It's going to be a hell of a show." If I could, I would spit in his face.
I don't really see my soldiers being taken to be put in a line because my face is in the dirt. But I do hear them. I hear some resisting, their feet either dragging or scuffling on the ground. The Reapers yell at them or hit those to try. After a while, they no longer resist, realizing it's futile, and trudge slowly to their death.
"Alright, that is a long enough line," I hear the snake like man say in delight. "We can do more later. For now that is good enough. Jinx, pick up Hawthorne's head so he can see the show we've prepared for him."
A man's hand yanks on my hair, pulling my head up out of the dirt. I curse out loud, one because that fucking hurt and two because I let my hair grow long enough for someone to get a grip on. The knee remains on my back and my head is jerked back again, this time high enough for me to see a line of my soldiers lined up in front of me on their knees.
Some have fear in their eyes staring at me, hoping I can get them out of this. The others stare ahead, their eyes cold and dead, accepting what is coming to them. I know that I should try to think of a way out of this or at least give them some sort of hope. But I can't and I don't. I just stare back at them blankly, feeling hollow inside and out. The men previously staring at me look down, their hope dashed. Some start to cry. I don't feel bad or sad. I don't feel shit.
"Okay get some gun men behind these men. I want Hawthorne to see their facial expressions as they die," he laughs evilly.
I watch as some gunmen get behind each soldier and point their guns at their victim's head. I make sure to look at each and every one of them. I don't turn away, I don't look past them. I look at them. They deserve to have their faces remembered. I deserve to remember their faces. They will be there every night in my dreams, along with all of the others.
"Ready Hawthorne?" The thin Reaper asks as he steps close enough to me that I can see most of his body.
I try again to get out of my restrainer's grasp. I almost succeed, I get halfway off of my knees and I see my taunter jump back in fright when another body grabs me and brings me back down. His added weight will keep me on my knees for good, but the reaction from the thin Reaper is enough to make me satisfied. I give him a smirk and spit on his shoes.
"You filthy little fuck," he hisses as he lifts his foot to kick me in the face.
It doesn't quite make it because a sound from the other side of the cabin causes him to stop. I hear him release the safety on his gun as him and a few others run to see what the noise was. As much as I'm wishing it's the other unit, I know it's not. They would have been much louder.
"Hey! It looks like we have more prisoners! Are these ones that escaped into the woods?" I hear the snake Reaper say.
A new, deeper voice answers creepily. "Yes they are. We didn't get many, but you're going to love the one we caught. It's a rare bird indeed."
"Oh, is it? I do love rare things, we already have one rare breed, but I wouldn't exactly call him a bird. More like a mangy mutt."
I hear the sound of their boots as they approach. The snaky Reaper uses his boot to pull my head back and I finally see his face up close. Everything about this man is oily. His skin, his thin inky hair, and his voice. I want to clean myself just by looking at him. The man next to him is a monster of a man. His skin is dark as are his eyes and his muscles are huge. His deep voice matches his physique.
"Well shit! Is that Gale Hawthorne?"
"The one and only," I try to sneer, but end up rasping. The words were a struggle to get out of my throat with my head practically on top of my back.
"You definitely won this round, Bo. But I think you'll still like what I brought as a topping," the darker Reaper gestures towards his new captors with an evil smirk on his face.
I watch each man file by, finding no one of significance, but then I see what the Reaper was talking about. My eyes widen in shock and I feel my heart beat faster. Alarms in my head start to go off as I look to the two, who I assume are the head of the Reapers at this camp, to watch their reactions.
The greasy one's eyes light up in delight and he licks his lips at the sight of his special gift. This makes the other one smile, pleased with himself. "Rare right?"
Bo, I think I remember correctly, replies with a husky voice, "Oh yes. A rare bird indeed, a pretty rare bird." He finishes with a chuckle before slithering over to the object of his attention.
I watch him approach the petite figure at the end of the line. It's a woman with her hands being held behind her back by another Reaper. She is short and thin with short blonde hair. I can't see her very well from my position, but I don't recognize this girl. Actually, I wouldn't recognize any girl that would appear in our midst. The thing was, in our unit, there were no females. Our unit was an all male unit.
Author's Note: Gasp! Who can it be? I bet you know who it is, but maybe I am trying to trick you! Guess you'll have to wait until the next chapter.
I also wanted to say that I would love a beta! I was looking for some betas through the beta link, but everyone I found didn't seem to fit the story. I need someone who is a grammar nazi (like myself), who knows the characters, likes Gadge, and doesn't mind reading some smut.
If you aren't interested in beta-ing, but just want to chat about pairings (no yaoi or yuri, sorry!), books, story ideas, and such, then please still contact me. I'd love to talk to people who are part of the fanfiction community so we feed off of each other! Not literally feed off of each other though. We are not cannibals or zombies, that would be weird.
But yes! Please leave a review! I take any criticism or feedback, good or bad. Believe me, with my acting experiences, I've learned to suck it up.
Thanks! Read and review!