DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Hunger Games, or Suzanne Collins. I only own me. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED.
**SPOILER ALERT** If you haven't finished Mockingjay, don't read this!
Please review if you like my story! This is my first story, so any constructive criticism is appreciated! I thought of continuing where Mockingjay left off, so here goes.
~Fire
It's been 15 years since I shot President Coin. President Snow is dead. The rebels are sitting at bay, waiting for one wrong move from the Capitol to set them in action. I've been relieved from my Mockingjay duties. For now. I refuse to tell Violet and Asher about what happened in the years following the first Hunger Games. They don't need to know. Peeta and I know we'll have to tell them someday, but I want to keep the truth from them for as long as possible. They only know the watered-down truth, that Peeta and I were in the Hunger Games and won.
Violet is wise for a 14 year old; I think she sees through my fake smile when I tell the story. She doesn't say a word, but I know she knows more of the truth than I would have liked. Asher, Ash for short, is the sweetest son a mother could wish for. He's 15, and I feel so blessed to have him. But someday, they will have to know the reasons behind my nightmares. I occasionally wake up screaming in the middle of the night, refusing to calm down until Peeta sings to me. He can push the nightmares at bay, but he can never really make them go away. For now, though, we're safe.
The phone interrupts me cooking. I sigh, and pick it up off the receiver. Probably just another stupid telemarketer.
"Listen, I don't want to buy any of your-" I start, only to be interrupted again.
"You didn't honestly think you could get rid of me that easily, did you?" I can hear him smile through the phone. He wheezes and I can hear him struggle to regain his breath.
No. This is impossible. Snow is dead. Dead. He's dead, rotting in a ditch right now, a white, wilted rose in his shirt pocket. But the voice speaking in my ear tells me otherwise.
"No. You're dead. You can't be alive. How?" My mind was thrown back into the past, the day of President Coin's assassination. I vaguely remember a pair of ice blue eyes looking at me from under the hood of a cloak, victory sparkling in their depths. I had thought at the time it was just an old man, but now I come to the realization I was stupid. I now know I had been looking into Snow's eyes that day, and for the past 15 years, I had been living under a false sense of security.
Snow chuckles softly. "Katniss, never trust your eyes. I didn't die. Did it ever occur to you that the guards who took my body away were working for me? They took me away to a safe haven, where I could gain my strength back, and plan my next move. My next move is to kill President Paylor. At this moment, my guards are stationed at the Capitol waiting for my signal to kill Paylor at this very moment. " His voice sends cold shivers down my spine.
"But what about the security?" I ask, trying to stop my suddenly sweaty hands from dropping the phone. My mind has gone numb with shock.
"All the guards surrounding Paylor work for me." He laughs, the kind of laugh only a maniac could muster. I hear a click on the other end of the phone. "The signal has been sent. And in a short while here, Paylor will be dead, and the President's chair will be returned to me."
My mind goes numb. I can barely manage the few words I get out of my parched mouth.
"No. No. No. No." I throw the phone against the drywall, tears trying to force their way out of my eyes. The world spins around me, and the kitchen blurs into a mess of black and white. I sink to the floor, unimaginable horrors flooding my mind.
In the back of my mind, I hear the T.V. come to life. I numbly get to my feet, and run to the living room. The Presidential Seal flickers across the screen before a reporter's face is shown on screen, his lips moving. I can barely hear, so I grab the remote and turn up the volume.
"-and sources say that is was one of Paylor's own guards who fired the fatal shot. President Paylor's body is being taken away, and memorial services will take place tomorrow at the Capitol Garden. A emergency vote has taken place, and we are awaiting the results." The reporter presses a hand to his ear. A look of pure terror floods his face, and it takes him a moment to regain his composure.
"I've just received news that the new president is Mr. Snow. This is a shock for us all, however, President Snow will not be releasing more info about his supposed death. That's right, Mr. Snow is once again President Snow!" He says this unenthusiastically, and I can see the horror play across his face once more. He presses his hand to his earpiece once more, and his mouth makes a O of surprise.
"President Snow has just announced that the Hunger Games will continue, and the tributes have already been pre-determined."
"PEETA! Peeta, come here!" I shout as loud as I can.
Moments later, Peeta runs into the room. "What?" He asks. He looks at my face, and then at the T.V.
"What happened?" He looks at me. I shake my head, my tongue can't form the words. I point to the T.V.
"That's right folks, President Snow will be announcing the chosen tributes tomorrow! The Hunger Games will continue, so stay tuned for more details! Tune in tomorrow at 5:00, and President Snow will release the names of the tributes." He plasters a smile to his face, which just outlines the weird black swirls on his cheekbones. I swear, I don't get Capitol people's strange fascination with making themselves as unhumanlike as they can. Then the words that were said sink into my brain. I gasp, and sink to the floor. Peeta just stares at the T.V., tears in his eyes. He grabs the remote from my hand and turns off the T.V. Reality blurs with the horrors of my imagination, and I press my hands to my head, trying to sort out my jumbled mind.
My name is Katniss Everdeen. The Capitol wanted me dead. My home is District 12. District 12 is being rebuilt. Gale killed Prim. I killed President Coin. Peeta loves me. I am The Girl On Fire. President Snow is back. I am Katniss Everdeen...
My hands fish out a piece of frayed rope from my pants pocket. I tie and untie furiously, blocking my mind from the world, thinking about knots and nothing but knots and -my chin is suddenly pulled up. I stared into the face of the one I loved- Peeta.
"Katniss, it will be okay. Shhh...shh baby, just stand up for me." I can see his lips moving, but the sounds they make mean nothing to me. I raise my hand, and press my fingers against his mouth, as if I could understand him better then.
I close my eyes. When I open them again, I'm in bed with a worried-looking Peeta gently stroking my face. He opens his mouth to say something when my the last couple hours come back to me. I can feel my heartbeat beating rapidly, and my eyes swim as Peeta goes in and out of focus. I gasp, trying to compose myself.
"President Snow...he..." I manage before I break down into tears. Peeta immediately grabs a tissue from our bedside table and dries my cheeks off. They stay dry a good 5 seconds before my cheeks are wet again.
"Shh...Katniss sweetheart, it'll be alright." He soothes.
"It won't be alright!" I sob. "I shouldn't have been so stupid! Why did I ever think President Snow would ever leave us alone?" I shriek.
Peeta furrows his brow. He was always the calm one in bad situations. "We can make it through this. You're a tough woman, and Violet and Ash need you to be strong."
I look into his rich blue eyes. "You're right." I take a deep breath before continuing. "I won't let this get to me. But you do know who President Snow intends to use as tributes for District 12, don't you?" I can't look into Peeta's eyes; I just can't bear to see the look. But I make myself look into his eyes anyway.
I see sadness, longing, grief, but I also see hatred. He and I both hate the Capitol. We still have relapses in our sanity; at times, I'll break down and cry, telling myself over and over who I am, and at times Peeta will look at me like he hates me.
It's slowly killing us both, not knowing when these relapses in our memory will be, but they've come more and more infrequently.
Peeta gazes sullenly into my eyes. He tilts his head closer to mine, and we kiss. For a fleeting moment, nothing matters, just the closeness of our lips, the beating of our hearts, and it's perfect. I wish I could live in that moment forever, but even the best fabricated fantasy will be shattered by reality.
I hear the sound of feet running down the hallway. Peeta rolls onto his back and props himself up on the down pillows. I slide closer to him, and rest my head on his stomach. The door creaks open, and I look into a pair of speckled blue eyes.
"Hi Mommy. Hi Daddy."
Violet steps into the room, careful not to step on a sleeping Buttercup. I still kept him after all these years, though now he is a ancient cat, and he's blind in one eye. But I know he remembers. Whenever someone speaks of Prim, he meows and looks into my eyes. Sometimes I'll wake up and hear him meowing at the front door. It's like he still has hope she'll return to him. We get along much better, having lost someone we both love.
Peeta looks into my eyes. I nod solemnly. He clears his throat before speaking.
"Violet, I think it's time you learned how Rue became your middle name."
:D Well I hope you like Chapter 1, and please review if you liked it! Even if you didn't like, review! :D
~Fire
