-Everlark fanfic
Prompt: What if Peeta was the one who heard the screams in the Jabberjay part of Catching Fire?
"Peeta!" screamed a distressed voice in the darkness. It was Peeta's brother. Peeta's vision turned red with anger and he sprinted towards the source.
Branches hit him from every direction, leaving stinging cuts on his face, arms, and ankles.
He heard Katniss's voice shout from behind him, telling him that the voices weren't real.
They had to be real.
He heard the screams of his brothers from every angle and his head was pounding.
Amidst all the voices, he heard an unfamiliar female scream. Beside him, he felt the brush of wind from someone running by. It was Finnick. Tears were
welling in his eyes as he ran towards the scream. "Annie!" Finnick yelled with only blood curdling screams responding.
Both Peeta and Finnick were running towards the screams, unsure of what they would do once the found the source, but they were are as hell going to
kill whoever was causing them. The screams were so close, it was almost like they were over head. In fact, they were over head. Peeta looked up at the
trees above. Flying around were birds. It took only a second to realize what these birds were, but when he figured it out, his blood ran cold.
Jabberjays.
He grabbed Finnick by the shoulders and forced him to face him. Finnick was lashing out, he had a feral look in his eyes, the word "Annie" on his lips.
"Jabberjays!" yelled Peeta, over the sounds of invisible massacre. Finnick's eyes flashed with realization as he glanced up and saw the birds, they looked
towards each other and then ran back towards the direction they had come. They made their way through the thick forrest, towards the group they
left behind. He could see Katniss's mouth moving, as if she was screaming but Peeta heard no sound. Tears were streaming down her face and it was as
if she were banging on some kind of invisible glass wall. Peeta and Finnick ran towards the wall with a cloud of screaming Jaberjays looming over them.
They hit the wall and slid down in agony as the screams got progressively louder. Peeta's hands were covering his ears as he pressed up against the
wall. Katniss was on the other side, crouching down to his level, trying to break through. Peeta closed his eyes, trying to block out the images that the
screams were conjuring.
Then he heard a new scream.
It was his mother.
Peeta opened his eyes, his pupils dilated with fear, more frightened than he had been before. Not because it was his mother's voice.
No, it was far worse than that.
He was frightened because he enjoyed hearing it. His mother, who used to beat him and his brothers. The one who gave him scars he would never
talk about. The one who always told him that he amounted to nothing. The one who never believed in him, even when he had to fight to the death in
the Hunger Games. It terrified him that the screams of his own mother sounded like music. He looked up and met Katniss's eyes and in a way, he
knew she understood. She was the only person who understood. Ever since she saw him that day in the rain, when his mother beat him for burning
the bread. He had always thought that beating was worth it. He got to save the love of his life.
His mother's screams were almost comforting. Peeta was dizzy with fear, he held his head tighter; and in that moment he realized that he had broken
his only promise to himself.
He let the games change him.
The screams started to quiet down as the birds began to fly away. He knew that the hour must be ending. He looked over at Finnick who was curled up,
his hands over his ears, tears falling from his eyes.
"It wasn't real." Peeta choked. "None of it was real."
Finnick screwed his eyes shut, his whole body was shaking visibly.
"Where do you think they get the screams from?" Finnick demanded with a strangled and horse voice, through shaky and uneven breaths. Peeta knew
exactly what he was implying and refused to consider it. He couldn't bare to picture his siblings being tortured just so he could suffer in these infernal
games. Wasn't being in the games two times punishment enough?!
"No." Peeta refused through clenched teeth. "No, everyone is alright. I know it. My siblings are alright, Annie is alright." Finnick flinched at the mention
of Annie's name. Peeta didn't know who Annie was but for Finnick to be acting that way, he must love her as much as Peeta loved Katniss.
"What about your mother?" Finnick whispered. Peeta met his eyes. Finnick had heard her screams too and Peeta's lack of response regarding the
screams of his own mother had bewildered him. Peeta didn't respond, he just looked away, ashamed.
The wall disappeared and Katniss tumbled towards him. She grabbed him tight and held him close, murmuring in his ear about how none of it was real.
"Im so sorry Peeta. Im so sorry." she whispered. He gripped her hands as if they were the only thing anchoring him to earth, but truthfully, they were
the only thing anchoring him to sanity.
"Stay with me." Peeta begged dizzily. Katniss kissed his forehead.
"Always" she whispered, like it was a secret only they could keep.
-More chapters will be added later. This chapter was more angst than anything else but the next chapter will hopefully satisfy your Everlark needs. :) Thank you for reading and comments are greatly appreciated!