Peeta is never hijacked. This is what happens to him instead.
Nothing is worse than losing the ability to communicate. I used to have a way with words. I was able to captivate an audience with a simple speech. It was one of my few talents. But now, the words I long to say will forever go unspoken. I can't voice my opinion on the war. I can't hold a conversation with anyone. I can't even say my own name! And the worst part is knowing that I will never be able to speak again.
President Snow did this to me. He said that words were my greatest asset and I would be nothing without them. He gave the order to cut out my tongue under the pretense of making me an Avox. But his true intentions are much more cruel than I had imagined. Snow plans to hand me over to Katniss in order to hurt her.
My thoughts are interrupted by the sound of the hovercraft's engine turning off. Two large peacekeepers escort me to the door and then promptly kick me out. I fall to the ground in a heap, dazed and confused. Where am I? Why have I been brought here? I look around at the ruble and debris of what must be District 13. I've heard Snow talk about how the once forgotten district is aiding in the rebellion.
I hear gunfire and instinctively cover my head. Soldiers gather outside to defend their district from the enemy craft. The hovercraft takes to the sky and disappears without a trace. The shots ring out for awhile longer and then abruptly stop. Have they noticed me? Are they going to kill me now?
Then I see her, Katniss Everdeen, shoving her way through the crowd of soldiers. She is screaming my name as they move aside to let her through. It's not long before her arms are around me, crushing me against her shaking body.
"Peeta! You're alive," she sobs into my chest. "I was so worried."
I curl my arms protectively around her. No one in the Capitol would tell me what happened to the others after the Quarter Quell. I had no way of knowing whether Katniss had lived or died, and the thought of her being dead was too much to bare. I spent so many nights crying myself to sleep, hoping that she had somehow survived.
A sudden fear grips my heart. How will she react when she finds out what Snow has done to me? Will she be repulsed by me? Will she never want to kiss me again? It must be weird to kiss someone who doesn't have a tongue.
She is waiting for me to say something, but the words remain trapped in my throat. I pull away from her and shake my head. How can I explain the situation without speaking?
My silence worries her. "Peeta, what's wrong?"
I use my finger to write 'my tongue' in the dirt. She immediately grabs my face and forces open my mouth. She gasps and covers her own mouth with her hand. I knew it. She is disgusted by me. I let the tears drip down my cheeks as I write 'you hate me'.
"No!" She clutches me tighter than before. "You're wrong. I don't hate you. I could never hate you." As if to prove it to me, Katniss presses her lips against mine.
The kiss is full of passion and longing, and I can't help smiling against her lips. A gentle warmth spreads through my body as I return the kiss. I feel loved and safe for the first time in along time.
She pulls away and brushes her fingers through my hair. "I thought you were dead."
I want to tell her that I'll never leave her, but I settle for scribbling the word 'never' in the dirt.
We stay like this for a long time, reassured by each other's presence. She is here with me, alive and well in District 13. I no longer have to worry about safety, because we are back together. I'm never letting her go again.
When the sun begins to set, Katniss tells me it's time to go inside. I'm a little nervous about being underground, but she assures me that it isn't so bad. Our hands our clasped tightly together as she guilds me deeper and deeper into the earth. I feel as if the walls are going to fall down around us, burying us alive. That doesn't happen, of course, and we make it to her house without incident.
Her mother is waiting for us on the porch. "I heard about your condition," she says to me. "Let me see."
I hesitantly open my mouth and allow her to assess the damage. Katniss never lets go of my hand while her mother examines me. I begin to worry when the silence remains unbroken for an unnaturally long time. Maybe it's worse than I originally thought. No, that's impossible. What can be worse than having my tongue cut out?
"The wound isn't infected," she tells us. "But..."
Katniss bites her lip. "But?"
Mrs. Everdeen places a hand on my shoulder and leads me inside. "It looks like it was done recently. You must be in a lot of pain."
I let her clean the wound in my mouth, and she gives me some pain medication. I honestly hadn't paid much attention to the pain. What bothers me the most is the silence. I've lost my ability to communicate with spoken words, and that makes me sad. But now, the pain hits me full force. I pop a pill into my mouth and wash it down with some water.
Katniss brings me a notepad and a pen. "Here."
I quickly jot down the words 'thank you'.
Her family is kind enough to let me stay the night. Katniss fixes me a bed on the couch and then makes one for herself on the floor. She insists on staying by my side, and I'm grateful for her company. I crawl into the makeshift bed and relax. But I can't sleep. I'm afraid that I'll wake up in the Capitol, strapped to a table as the take something else from me. I don't want to go back; I want to stay here with Katniss.
"Can't sleep?" she asks.
I look down at her from my spot on the couch. 'No,' I write.
She shines a flashlight on my notepad. "Me either."
I'm suddenly worried that I won't adjust to life without being able to speak. I'll be unable to communicate at all if I forget the notepad. On top of that, people might treat me differently for not having a tongue. 'What happens now?'
My words seem to anger her. She must have guessed what I'm thinking. "Life goes on, Peeta. It went on when I thought you were dead, and it will go on even though you lost your tongue." She reaches for my hand and her voice softens. "You are still you. You are still the same Peeta Mellark who survived two arenas with me. That will never change."
