Bite the Bullet
Chapter One
Katniss' POV
How long have I been here? A week? A month? A year even? I've lost all sense of time in this hell hole. At this point day and night have just become one big mix of torture. It's never ending. It seems like a lifetime ago since I was taken out of the Quarter Quell.
My name is Katniss Everdeen. I'm 17 years old. My home is District 12. I won the Hunger Games. Went back into the Quarter Quell. President Snow hates me. Now I'm a prisoner of the Capitol.
My cell has become the only place where I can escape in even the slightest. It's walls are stained with mold and what must be blood, though I try and imagine it's just worn paint. It reeks of sweat, blood and about every other horrible smell you can imagine mixed in with constant fear and desperation. They only let me bath when I have to do some scripted interview of some sort. Other than that, I along with everyone else in this prison, sit around and collect layers of oil and grime on our skin and hair. That's exactly the state I'm in now. My glossy black hair is full of oil to the point that you can see each individual strand. If I rub my hand over my skin, it's easy to scrub of the grime that coats my normally olive tone. Must ne at least two weeks since my last shower. But what does it matter? All I do other than sit in this cell is get interrogated and tortured. No reason to look good. My prep team would have a heart attack I'm sure.
I hear footsteps falling on the metal floor. We all know what that means. Someone is about to be tortured. And as a Peacekeeper in his all white uniform steps in front or my cell door, I know it's me.
I push myself closer against the far corner of the cell where I have settled myself. No matter how many times they come for me, I will be always be scares out of my mind. He presses in the code on the pad next to the barred cell door, each button beeping as it's pushed. The door slides away into the wall with a groan, protesting against the rust that has built up over the years. He steps in, his boots echoing through my small quarters.
"Alright fire girl. It's your turn." He says in a husky voice that sends chill up my spine.
I shake my in head in protest, my jaw clenching in fear. Not that it'll do any good. He still grabs onto my thinning arm with no remorse. Probably forming more bruises than already cover my body. I'm yanked to my feet and practically dragged out into the hallway, the door sliding shut behind us.
The walk to the interrogation room takes about fifteen minutes but to me it only feels like a few seconds. I've walked this same path so many times I could do it with my eyes shut.
As the heavy metal doors slide open I can already smell it. That grotesque mixture of blood and roses. And sure enough, as I'm dragged further into the all white room with the blinding lights, I see him sitting there. President Snow himself sits comfortably in a chair behind a window. He is there everyday, saying nothing at all. Simply watching and listening to my torture with a neutral expression on his face; clearly not caring what kind of pain I am put through. He stares at me with his snake eyes. I must really be something to see. There has been no way for me to really look at myself but I can imagine what I must look like. I only get two meals here; all both only stale bread and water, so I know I've lost weight making me little more than skin and bones. My hair is tangled and matted. My white prison uniform hangs off my sickly body, covered in dirt and dry blood. Like I said, my prep team would have a heart attack.
I'm strapped down on a cold metal table. White light stings my eyes. If only this was the worst part. Oh, but this is only the beginning. My interrogator spreads out his tools on a separate table, looking over them to see what he should start with. Needles, knives, live wires, whips and other countless tools of torture; all that will be used on me. He picks up a knife, twirling it in his in his fingers as he turns to me, a malicious smile on his lips.
"Alright girl on fire. Are you going to behave today? Give us some answers?"
I look him dead in the eyes as I talk. I'm telling the truth, no reason to be ashamed. "I already told you. I don't know anything about the rebels or the revolution. I had nothing to do with it." I say, my weak voice feeling like sand paper coming out of my raw throat. Screaming does that.
His jaw locks and he shakes his head as he dips the knife into a bottle of what I'm assuming is some from of acid. He walks up next to my table, looking down at me with cold, dark eyes. "Nobody buys this little innocent act Miss Everdeen. Come on now, just tell us what you know and we'll let you go."
I eye the knife as a drop of acid drips off the tip to the floor. "I-" my voice is so weak I have to swallow to form another word. "I don't know anything."
A sigh slips from his lips and he shakes his head, "You're so stubborn. Well, if you don't want to tell then I'll just have to punish you. Unless you want to speak up." His eyes watch me, waiting for me to give up. When I don't, he simply shrugs, "Oh well." He drags the knife down my arm, the acid causing an excruciating burning in my arm. I cry out in pain, trying to push against the restraints. "When did you find out about the rebels?!" I shake my head, tears stinging my eyes. "I don't know! I told you I-I don't know!" I sob. This earns me another to on my leg. "Did you volunteer for your sister in the 74th Hunger Games so you could begin your work with the rebel forces?!" His voice is rising now, venom filling with each word. I can feel the acid seeping into the cuts. The pain seems endless. How am I even supposed to respond while going through this? I look up at him, blood trickling down my cheek as he cuts me again. "I… I never knew anything… I swear." My voice shakes, just barely over a whisper. A primal growl comes through his teeth and now I know things are about to get worse.
He throws the knife to the ground, clear acid splattering against the hard floor. "I think it's time we stepped things up a bit. How about a little shock?"
A whimper comes from me. I know this torture. They call it "electric treatment" though I know it doesn't really treat anything.
Gloves are slipped ont his hands as he picks up the live wire attached to a generator. He walks back to me and holds it just close enough to my side that I feel an unpleasant tingle.
"What was Mr. Mellark planning for the rebellion?" he asks through clenched teeth.
I stay quiet, silent tears slipping down my cheek. "Fine then. You won't talk? I'll make you scream." He touches the wire to my skin, electricity surging through my veins. My vision goes black. I can't even scream. Strangled sobs leave me as he takes it away. He puts it back without even a question. I can't see straight. Is this happening? I can hardly think. I might black out. Is this ever going to end?
"Just tell me what you know!" he screams at me, his face turning red with rage. I want to say something in response but I can hardly think let alone form sentences. My body feels like it's made of bricks. I almost wish I could just die now. If I haven't been rescued by now, chances are I never will be. They clearly have more important thing than to save their poor victors.
"That's it! If you're not going to respond to basic torture then we're going to have to try a new method." My interrogator walks to the generator, shutting it off an placing the wire on the table. He takes his gloves off and comes back to my table, unlocking my restraints and pulling me off the table.
"You're off lucky for now. You are taking part in a special televised event tonight. So were going to have to wait." He sneers, shoving me towards the Peacekeeper that had brought me in here. "Take her to the stylist and get her ready." The Peacekeeper nods, gripping onto my arm as he drags me out of the room.
I'm so weak from my torture that I don't even have to energy to properly use my legs, so I'm stumbling the whole way there; blood dripping down my skin to the floor. I know where he's taking me. To my "stylist". Though he's nothing like the stylists I have come to know. This man is not like Cinna. He is not kind, doesn't lift me up and turn me into something beautiful. All he does is dress me up, covering all signs of torture then hand me back to a guard.
I hate this part almost as much as the actual torture. They put me on camera and Caesar Flickerman, who I've really grown to hate since my capture, who asks me questions that I answer with scripted lies. It makes me sick. Doing the same thing I have hated the Capitol for doing my whole life. But what choice do I have? It's not like they'll just kill me if I screw up. No, they'll just torture me more than normal. It amazes me to think that I used to be so strong. They've taken that girl away. Now all that's left is her shadow.
Peeta's POV
Five months. Five never ending, torturous months. That's how long it's been since I was taken out of the Quarter Quell by the rebels and Katniss was taken out by the Capitol. Making her their prisoner. The only way I've been able to see her is on a television screen sitting across from Caesar Flickerman. She appears almost unharmed. At least to people who don't know her. Those who do can see the emptiness in her normally serious, stormy grey eyes. The way that she fidgets more than usual. Even her feather like hunters step isn't the same when she walks onto the stage. What are they doing to her? It drives me insane. I feel so helpless; watching her in the Capitol, most likely tortured while I'm safe here in District 13.
I still can't believe that District 13 even exists. I've gone my whole life thinking that it had been obliterated during the Dark Days when in reality it had been building up, growing stronger, waiting for just the right moment to start the revolution. I find it hard not to hare all of these people. How could they just sit here underground, safe from the Capitol and the Games while we in the districts suffering from poverty and starvation or just barely getting by and sending our children into the Hunger Games knowing that there can only be one winner? It makes me sick just at the thought of it. But I can't take my anger out on them. I have to focus on the Capitol. Destroying them for all they've done. How dare they take her away from me right when I thought we were getting on the same page. How could they…
"Peeta. Peeta?!"
I'm snapped out of my thoughts by a husky voice saying my name, demanding my attention. I look up to see Boggs, our commander, along with everyone else sitting around the table looking at me expectantly. Dammit. They were talking to me. Must have dozed out again. I've been doing that allot since I got here.
"Oh uh… sorry. Would you… would you repeat that?" I ask feeling ashamed.
Boggs sighs, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest. "I was asking you whether or not you had finished shooting the propo to intercept the Capitol television channels."
Oh, those. Starting about a month ago, Beetee had discovered a way to hack into the Capitol network and air propos, usually just of me yelling at the camera about what the rebel forces had accomplished so far in the war. If you ask me, they're a waste of time. But that's probably because all I can think about is getting Katniss out of the Capitol.
"We finished them yesterday. I'm hoping to air them tonight. Maybe around eight o'clock." Beetee interjects.
"Excellent. The more power the Capitol sees we have, the better." Boggs states.
"What's even the point of these propos? They're not getting us anywhere. What we need to be focusing on is hitting them where it really hurts. Airing propos on their tv's isn't going to get us anywhere. We need to take away the one thing that is most valuable to them right now. Their secret weapon. We need to rescue Katniss and the others. If we can do that, then they'll really get a taste of what the rebels can do." Gale says, his hands balled up into fists on the table top. He wants Katniss our just as badly as I do. Though he hasn't shown the same effects of it that I have.
"I've said this once before. Going into the Capitol right now to simply rescue a handful of people is too risky at this point. It would be hazardous, almost stupid to even attempt it. We can't risk losing soldiers over something not mandatory." Boggs says, massaging his temple in frustration.
I open my mouth, ready to throw out another protest but am interrupted by a loud beeping. The small screens in front of each sea light up, the Capitol symbol illuminated on the screen. This is Capitol mandatory viewing, but even her in District 13 we watch, hoping for any information on the Capitols next plan of attack.
Once the seal disappears, I see her. Her hair and face are done up nicely for the cameras and she wears a black dress, nowhere near as nice as what Cinna used to design for her. The usual olive tone of her skin is even more pale than the last time I saw her on this screen. I reach out my hand, my fingers brushing her face. What have they done to you.
Caesar Flickerman straightens up his yellow jacket, matching with his yellow dyed hair. He looks like a giant lemon. He smiles his ever famous pearly whites at the camera then turns to Katniss. "Now Katniss, you must be aware that this war, this terrible war is very much underway." Caesar states, leaning forward onto his knees, closer to Katniss.
She looks even more nervous than she normally does on camera. Her eyes flicker from her lap, to the floor, basically anything but Caesar. "Y-ye" she stops, clearing her throat. "Yes. I'm very well aware of the state of the war." That's all she has to offer in her shaky voice. How can the people in the Capitol believe this? Can they not see the difference in the twirling female tribute and this nervous, almost sickly girl that sits there now?
"And what is your view of all this?" Caesar questions, looking at Katniss expectantly.
She looks up at him, her hands twisting uneasily in her lap. "I this it's insane. I don't think this should have ever happened in the first place." She says, her voice a bit more confident than before.
Caesar nods, "I see. Now what about the rebels? Do you have anything to say about Peeta Mellark and the other rebels?"
Katniss visibly stiffens at my name, her eyes widening a bit. Her body twists away from Caesar, looking directly at the camera. "I would. I want to tell them theat they should just stop and think for a minute. Why are you wasting your time? You may think you now what you're doing. What you're in for. Bur you don't. You should be focusing on what's really important here. Life."
I meet those grey eyes and see a small glimpse of the strong-willed Katniss I know and love. But what is she even talking about? Is she telling us that we need to back down? No. Katniss, damaged or not, wouldn't do something like that. 'You should be focusing on what's really important. Life.' Did she mean the rebels lives? No. That can't be it. Katniss, in her own sneaky way is trying to tell us something.
"So you're saying that they should surrender?" Caesar asks, his yellow eyebrows shooting up in question.
Katniss turns back to Caesar and hesitantly shakes her head. "No. I just think that if they really knew what they were doing, then they wouldn't be sending our propos and helping with damage control. They would actually save lives. It's safe for them by now."
Caesar looks at her, alarmed at all she had just said. What does she mean it's safe for us by now? Safe to what? To rescue them… It's safe now to rescue them! Just about the time I break her little code, the Capitol does too. There is screaming though the speakers. The camera has been knocked down making only feet visible. And that's when I hear it. Right before the screen goes black, there is a loud feminine scream. Katniss. The screen goes blank.
Everyone sits around the table, eyes glued to the now empty screen, trying to process what they just saw. I stand up before I can even think about it, slamming my hands on the table. "Did you not hear what she just said? This is our chance! We have to get them out! Now."
Boggs groans, shaking his head, "I've already explained this to you once today Mellark. It's too big of a risk for us to deal with right now."
"What do you not get here? She was telling us that now is the time to go to the Capitol. To save all of them. We need to go in there. Now!" I look at him hard. How can he not see that we need to do this? We have to. I have to get her back. Know that she's safe.
"I actually agree with Peeta on this one." Gales say's, backing me up for the first time since I've known him. "If we're ever going to get them out, now is the time to do it. You heard what Katniss said. We need to act."
"Miss Everdeen has been under the influence of imprisonment and possibly torture for five months. She is not a reliable source." Boggs counters.
"She seemed pretty certain to me. Don't see why we shouldn't just believe her and get them out." Finnick speaks up for the first time, stopping his fingers from tying knots in the short length of rope he always carries around. "We all have people that we want back. Friends, loved ones; they deserve to be saved. How do you expect your soldiers to fight their best if they're sitting around all day worrying?"
Everybody starts speaking at once throwing out reasons thy we should go into the Capitol. Boggs looks around at us, annoyance clear in his eyes. He lifts two fingers to his lips, blowing and letting out a loud whistle, bringing all of our words to a halt.
"Enough! You all have interesting points. If we're going to do this, than it needs to happen as soon as possible. Anyone emotionally attached to any of the prisoners stays here. We can't risk emotions getting in the way. That means Peeta, Finnick you can't come. No objections. Everyone else needs to be at the landing strip at 18:00. Meeting dismissed." Boggs then leaves the room, rubbing his temples with his fingers.
I should be mad that I don't get to go to the Capitol with them. Help save Kaniss and the others. But I'm not really. I would probably screw up the mission anyway. The important thing is that she's getting out. Out of the cold clutches fo President Snow and the Capitol. I get her back. And right now, that simple thought makes me happier than I've been in a long time.
Katniss' POV
After my betrayal during my interview with Caesar, I was hit on the head with what I'm assuming was the butt of a gun and then dragged of stage. They stripped me of my dress and forced me back into my prison uniform before throwing me back into my cell.
I know that my punishment is going to be bad. Probably very bad. But I really don't care. I really just hope that the rebels understood my message.
I had overheard the other day that President Snow was going to be absent from the prison for the majority of today. Makin today the opportune time for the rebels to come and save us all.
But still. The simple thought of what they will do to me makes me want to vomit up the bread and water they had given me before the interview. He had said he was going to try something different. What did that even mean? How could torture get any worse than it already was? I couldn't let them break me. They were so close to it but I wasn't going to let them finish the job.
I bring my hands up to my head, tearing the pins out, my newly washed hair falling in waves over my shoulders, a foreboding scream erupting from my throat. I start grabbing at the bars, shaking the door in the small hope that it might give.
"Might as well give it up brainless. That door isn't going to open any easier that it was when we got here five months ago."
Johanna's voice coming from the cell adjacent to mine stops me. I press my back against the wall we both share, my breathing heavy. Over the time we've been here, Johann has actually become the closest thing I have to a friend. We find comfort in each other with each session of torture we go through. It's hard not to when you've come to recognize each other by your screams.
"The more you flip out, the more pissed their going to be with you and the more trouble you'll be in."
I know she's right. But at this point, I'm desperate. "They told me they were going to try something new. Something worse. How could it get any worse?"
I hear a weak sigh escape her, "I don't know… Maybe you'll get lucky and they'll just go and kill you."
"No… they wouldn't do that. That would be like giving up. They won't crack that easily. All I can do now is hope they get the message."
I hear a light tapping form the hallway and look out to see Johanna's frail hand stretched out, palm open on the other side. My own hand grips her as my eyes well up with tears. "I never really got to know him well… but I know that he would do anything to get you back."
Tears spill over onto my cheeks as we hold onto each others hands. Trying to find some form of hope in each other. But that's all gone as we hear the heavy rise and fall of military boots on metal.
Our hands separate, moving back to our sides before the Peacekeeper reaches my door.
He doesn't even say anything. No taunts. He just opens my cell door, grabs me by the arm and drags me down the hall. I must be in for even more trouble than I thought.
The interrogation room is different. Instead of a metal table, there is a chair with restraints placed in front of a large television screen. What is this? I notice that the chair behind the window is empty. Just like I said.
I'm pushed down onto the chair, restraints tightened around my wrists, ankles and chest. The screen in front of me goes from black to illuminated with the Capitol seal.
"You remember your first games don't you Miss Everdeen?" the voice that regularly haunts my nightmares speaks up. I look at the screen that now shows me volunteering for Prim at the Reaping. Seems like a lifetime ago. "You were so brave. Volunteering so your sister wouldn't have to go. How noble. And then Mr. Mellark being reaped. Some pretty bad luck there."
I don't know why he's going on about this. The monitor flips between clips fo the reaping, parade, interviews, even some training clips. All from my first games.
"Things were going well for you until Mr. Mellark lied to the world. Loving you? That couldn't happen. He could never love a poor girl from the Seam.
Okay. Now I really am confused. I shake my head though I can't get myself to pull my eyes from the screen. "Peeta didn't lie. I thought he did back then but I know the truth now." I say, my eyebrows furrowing in confusion over what's going on.
That's when the first needle comes. Pain surges from my neck, throughout my boy. Intense pain. It's a familiar pain though. I just can't place where. My vision starts to get a bit distorted. Everything start to have a shiny outline. What's happening?
"Now Katniss… You don't really believe that now do you? If he were truly in love with you then why would he betray you and join the Career alliance?" The screen shows Peeta talking to the Careers, forming the alliance. Him searching for tributes, killing the girl with the fire. Why did he do that?
"He-he was trying to protect me. He told me that." Another needle in the the neck. More pain. Vision worse, mind swimming.
"He wouldn't tell you the truth Katniss. He was deceiving you. Why else would he lead Cato and the rest of his little pack right to you? Because he wanted you out of the picture."
"N-no! Peeta would never do that! He's too good…" at this point, even I'm starting to doubt myself. I look at the screen. I'm up in the tree, Peeta and the Careers below me. Waiting me out. It does seem like he lead them. No Katniss stop this. Peeta didn't do that. He would never. Right?
"And then in the Quarter Quell, he let you go off with Miss Mason instead of staying with him. He wouldn't have let that happen if he loved you. He would have wanted to stay with you. Protect you. He would have known it was too dangerous. He was practically setting you up for dead. And look where you are now."
Clips from the Quarter Quell flash across the screen. Images distorted. Peeta smirking evilly as I walk off with Johanna. That couldn't have happened, it couldn't have. The screen changes to show bombs falling on a district, people running and screaming in fear. It takes me a minute to notice it's District 12. I struggle against my restraints desperate to get closer to the screen. As if I can save my home from destruction. He stabs another needle into my neck. My mind can barely think. "See that? That's your precious little home. Being bombed and destroyed by rebel hovercrafts. Led by Mr. Mellark." He hisses into my ear.
My head shakes wildly. "No!" I scream through gritted teeth. Peeta loves me. He would never do this. He loves me and during the tour I had though that I was starting to love him too. But what they were saying… was starting to make sense.
"He deceived you! Acted like he love you then practically turned you over to us!" the screen shows rebel propos with Peeta yelling at the camera. He looks mad. My vision shifts. His eyes glow red, his lips turned up into a smirk. "He cheated you! Are you just going to let him get away with this?!"
I keep my eyes on the screen, hot tears spilling over the edges onto my cheeks. Peeta… you're evil? Why did you lie to me? Destroy our home?
"What are you going to do about this Katniss? You can't just let him get away with this. He's a mutt. Nothing more than a filthy mutt. You have to do something. You want him dead! You. Want. To. Killl! Him!" he shouts, inserting the last needle into my neck.
Peeta is evil. He destroyed District 12. Lied to me. Tried to get me killed. He's a mutt.
The television shuts off, my interrogator stepping in front of me with a satisfied smirk. "What do you want to do Katniss?"
My name is Katniss Everdeen. I'm 17 years old. My home is District 12. It's bee destroyed. Snow hates me. I'm a prisoner of the Capitol. Peeta lied to me. He's a mutt. I want him dead.
"I want to kill Peeta Mellark."
