And here we are. Fire Igniting is finished and we move onto INFERNO! I'm so flipping excited!
So, I loved hearing from you all. And I will call out a reviewer who's been very dedicated and thoughtful! She's super sweet, and I'd love to give you a shout out, doll(: So, nick100, thank you for reviewing almost EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER! (:
I'll stop jabbering on and give you all what you've been waiting for.
Carry on, Buttercups.
"Come on, Katniss. Stay alive, Katniss," it repeats. But it's hard. The spots cloud my vision, but through small cracks, I see the arena getting farther away.
Before I entirely black out, light floods my eyes again and I see the arena behind me, sparks eating away at the dying barrier. It worked.
And after that? After hearing Cato scream and watching him get pulled away from me?
After not feeling anything at all?
I fade to nothing.
Now I'm a warrior.
Now I've got thicker skin.
I'm a warrior.
I'm stronger than I've ever been.
Demi Lovato, "Warrior."
Katniss POV
An ache in my temple is the first thing I notice. That, and I'm on grass. My eyes are shut, but I can see light through my eyelids. Then, a cold cloth is pressed against my forehead.
That's when I'm fully aware.
The arena. The force field. The rebellion.
Cato.
My eyes open to see Finnick standing over me, a worried expression on his face. It's soon gone, seeing my eyes open and working. I can feel a sharp pain in my wrist and I cringe.
"She's okay. Thanks for helping," he says to a very tired looking man. I smell salt water and immediately realize where I am.
"Are.." I say, but I realize how raspy my voice is. I keep talking anyways. "Are we in District Four?" He chuckles and nods.
"Right on the outskirts. Normally, people don't live in this part of the District. It's too "rustic" for them." I hear feet scuffling and a man with gray hair and Finnick's sea green eyes looking down at me. "Katniss, this is my uncle. He's a surgeon for the people on the boats. He removed your tracker."
I look to the man and he just smiles. "Thank you." Instead of replying back, he just nods his head.
"He's deaf," Finnick explains, "but has a mad talent for removing fish hooks from one's nose." The old man leaves quickly. We're left in silence, and Finnick sits down next to me.
"How...?" I can't find the right words to ask this question. He looks confused for a few seconds but nods.
"How did we get out?" he says. I shake my head.
"How did we get away?" That's when he looks around and whispers in my ear.
"You destroyed the force field, and once it was down, I carried you out. It was right next to my district, so I slipped through the fence. But let's just say we had some help along the way." He pulls away from my head and sighs.
"And.. what happened to Cato?" My throat chokes up at the thought of the Capitol having him.
Finnick looks deep in thought before saying anything else. But once his mouth opens, I'm prepared for the words "he was taken by the Capitol."
"I... don't know where he is. I didn't see a Capitol symbol on the helicopter that took him. But don't get your hopes up. Think rationally." Looking to the small town below us, he picks at the wild flowers. My mind wanders at his words.
No Capitol symbol? What?
"In every Games, the hovercraft always had a Capitol symbol," I tell the District Four... ally. Yet he's not a tribute anymore.
"Then maybe they weren't taken by the Capitol. Maybe they were taken from it." He says matter-a-factly. And a beacon of hope suddenly sparks after hearing that. What if he's safe?
But all I know is, that if Finnick and I are missing (and probably WANTED fugitives), they'll come after us. And as if reading my mind, Finnick shifts and begins to speak again.
"If you're stable enough to walk, we have to get going. My uncle was just tending to your few wounds." With those words, I sit up. My back is aching after laying down for so long. With the help of Finnick, I slowly stand up.
"We need to go to District Thirteen." But that almost sends me back on my ass. District Thirteen?
"What?"
"The Rebellion has been a work in progress for over fifty years, when they got back on their feet," he explains, "and now they've found something to hold onto. And that's where Cinna is right now." Cinna, my amazing stylist and Capitol citizen whom I love. Other than Effie, but I wouldn't ever admit that to her.
Once I get the feeling in my legs back, we start walking. Walking to whatever way District Thirteen is.
Where Cato hopefully is, safe and sound.
Cato's POV
I feel a sharp pain in my arm. And my eyelids shield a bright light shining directly onto my face. And then the smell of heavy medication floods my nose. I wrinkle it. And then I try and open my eyes. But when I do, everything is hazy, blurred on the edges. Much like those movies I'd see with my parents, where the main character was dreaming, and everything was clouded.
I don't like the feeling, of being aware, yet not... aware. It's that weird limbo between consciousness and unconsciousness. Much like lucid dreaming, only reality.
And then I hear familiar voices. One is Haymitch, Katniss' mentor. And another is a smaller voice, very delicate and sweet. I'd know it anywhere.
It's Prim's voice, Katniss' little sister.
And that's when things start to get clearer. I see a gray room, with gray separators, and white sheets. And I look down to my arm, which is bandaged and slightly red. And then I see the fluid drip connected to my veins. Haymitch replaces it with a different drip after seeing me conscious.
"Hey meathead. Good to have you back." He looks unshaved, but other than that, he seems sober.
"Where... where am I?" I ask sleepily. I mean, I was just on drugs.
Haymitch chuckles, but still replies. "You're safe. And in District Thirteen." And he lets it sink in.
District Thirteen? I knew there were rebellions around the nation, but I thought Thirteen was a pile of rubble and ash. But that makes me question where we really are. Wouldn't the Capitol see a thriving civilization?
"If we're in Thirteen, then how are we in buildings?"
"Oh, kid I can't wait till they take you off the morphine. It's making you stupid." He huffs. "We're underground meathead. And no, I can't explain how. And you already know why." Even off alcohol, he's an ass.
And then the first person to come to mind is Katniss.
"Where's Katniss?" I can hear vulnerability in my voice. And normally, that would be a problem. But when it comes to Katniss, I don't care.
Haymitch looks uncomfortable. It's not exactly something I want to see. He went from cocky to concerned in about three seconds.
Prim leaves the room, closing a glass door behind her. And then I see the cameras, small little slits in the wall with a reflective camera looking through.
"Cato, you can't freak out here. Or else Coin will deem you a threat to the Rebellion, and lock you up." And that sets me into hyper mode.
"Haymitch, what. Happened. To. Katniss." I enunciate every word.
"Cato, we don't know. We don't know if she's in the Capitol or on the run. She's been posted missing." I hear his voice shake a bit, and I can tell he feels like breaking. But with Prim around, he knows he can't.
I feel like exploding. I feel like destroying anything in my path until I find her. And I feel an empty feeling settle in my chest. A lump in my throat rises, making it hard to breathe.
Haymitch stares at me, waiting for my response.
"Why did you rescue me?" I ask through the lump. It's hard to talk through the mass of emotions coursing through me. But the thing I feel most is pain. Pain physically and mentally.
"We were supposed to rescue her originally. But we never knew you were... faster. And seems Beetee had other plans." He looks at the camera angrily.
"We need to find her." I say. "Immediately."
"We're working on it."
"Well, do you know where she is now?"
"No."
"Well, then work harder!" I yell. Anger floods me, and I feel different. Empty. Much like I did before the Games. Before I met Katniss. But then more people come into my head. Mrs. Everdeen? My mom? "Haymitch... is my mom..?"
"No, she's not. But she's also on the missing list. Mona is safe." He says calmly. This sets me on ease slightly. But both my mother and Katniss are on my must need list.
"How did I get out?" He looks annoyed at this point with all my questions.
"The force field deteriorated and we came and grabbed you. The blast from the lightning knocked you on your back, and gave you a minor concussion. We removed the tracking device from your wrist. And now here you are, healthy and obviously alive." He says sarcastically. And then he changes my drip back to the morphine.
"Look kid, you're unstable. Let's wait till next time to talk when you're thinking straight. G'night meathead."
And then the haziness starts again. After five minutes of it, he leaves me by myself in the gray room, with gray walls, gray separators, and white sheets. And after another five minutes, the gray turns to coal dust. And then ashes.
But through the ashes, only one person stands in my mind and haunts me in my sleep. The only one who helped me float above the people who try to bring me down. Down to the bodies I've dismembered and the souls I've ridden of life.
Katniss Everdeen, my beautiful, missing Mockingjay.
Well, here's the first chapter! I hoped you all liked Cato's point of view. Until everything slowly unfolds, you'll see his point of view in each chapter. I tried to switch things up so nothing was exactly like Mockingjay. Review! I'd love to hear how you love the first chapter. (;
Sincerely your author,
HeyoMyFellowReaders101.
Love you Buttercups!