RUN AWAY – TWO
I take a glance at Maroon, whose mouth has already dropped open and her eyes trail the falling bombs. She stares at me speechless, just as I do. For a few moments it's just letting the fear sink in. Then we realize we need to act, and fast.
She turns and runs out holding Rhodes hand.
"Meet us in the meadow! We're gonna go help!" She yells back to me.
And then it's just me, left to protect my family.
I pull Xander up in my arms and turn to Peeta looking out the small window in our kitchen. He shoots me a fearful, puzzled look.
But there's no time for explaining. "Grab Morgan! And hurry! We need to run!" I yell at him. Xander struggles in my arms.
He takes Morgan's hand. When I reach the door again, it's worse. Most of Nine is already burning, and in the dusk it looks like something out of a horror film. Morgan gasps and Xander begins to cry, screaming out Peeta's name. I try lulling him back to calmness, but to no avail.
Peeta trails behind, pushing Morgan along as we make a path through Nine to the meadow. The quickest way is through the square. When I run into Maroon she takes Xander, but glances quizzically behind me. My heart sinks when I realize what she's seeing- Or more like what she's not seeing.
Peeta and Morgan have vanished.
Happy Birthday to me...
I panic, glancing around the square. Nothing. No one who resembles either of them.
"Peeta!" I yell, preparing myself to run. But my hand is grabbed. I turn back to meet Maroon's fearful green eyes.
"Cato, they'll find their way." She tries calming me. But I can't believe her until I see them in plain sight. Until I know where they are in this burning city.
I struggle my way out, and begin running. I figure I won't be able to find them by just standing in the square, yelling their names.
No one. All I see is flames... And men, holding guns in suspicious white suits. T-They resemble peacekeepers in a way...
That's when I realize they are peacekeepers. And the craft they are coming out of is none other than a Capitol Hovercraft. I know what's going on... And it scares the sense out of me.
The Capitol is making an attempt to regain power. And they are doing a pretty good job of it.
That's when I see the blonde boy screaming my name. "Cato! Cato help us!" He yells.
"Peeta!" I target his tear stricken face and chase after him, shaking off peacekeepers along the way. He's being dragged away, and he's sobbing.
Happy Birthday to me...
Where was Morgan? And where was he being taken? I panic more, and am confronted by yet another peacekeeper.
His hands wrap around my throat, and I have to kick at his legs to get him off. I position my hands on his head, and then I hear the snap! I've successfully broken the man's neck. I've still got it in me.
He falls to the ground, his helmet rolling through the crowd. In my fight, they'd gotten Peeta on the hovercraft. They're taking him to the Capitol. Who knows what they'll do to him there. If it's anything like what he describes his last "visit" there to be, I won't stand for it.
But... Why would they only take Peeta? They wouldn't have any use for him anymore... Unless they were luring someone in. Luring me in...
"Peeta!" I scream up at the craft, but it's already long gone. I scope the area, which is now clear of the peacekeepers and is only full of dying or already dead bodies.
And guess who I spot, among the pile of dying people?
Morgan. Screaming, hacking up a sticky red liquid, white shirt soaked crimson, a bullet hole penetrating her chest.
Happy Birthday dear Cato...
My mouth drops, and my eyes glaze over with tears. "Morgan!" I yell at her writhe body as I dash to her. She glances up at me and struggles to hold her arms up.
"D-Dad? Where's Peeta?" She asks quietly, glancing around.
"Don't worry about Peeta... He's fine..." I hold back my tears. I need to stay strong for her. My poor, poor Morgan.
"Aren't I brave daddy? I haven't even cried..." She smiles weakly up at me, and that jerks the tears out.
Resting her head in my lap, I force a smile back. "Yes... Very brave." I assure her, brushing a few strands of hair back. My daughter is dying. She's dying...
"I'm sorry we lost you. Those men in white got us though." She sighs. I think she knows what's happening too.
"It's fine... Don't worry, Morgan. I'll get those men... For you, okay?" I smile at her, wiping my tears with one hand and holding her hand with the other.
"You can't get them all alone... Can you?" She still maintains that adorable innocence at a moment like this. I don't want her to die...
"Peeta, Maroon and Rhodes will help. We'll get em' for you. Make sure they remember. Morgan...?" I smile down at her, her eyes dulling by the second. No no no! She can't die! Not today!
"Yeah dad?" She asks up at me, coughing again.
"I love you... I don't want you to die..." I whisper, watching as tears slowly slide from my face onto her cheeks.
"I don't want to either daddy. But look, I'm brave... I-I'm doing fine. I love you too..." She sighs, then closes her eyes. "Why's it so quiet?"
It wasn't quiet. Everyone was screaming. "It's not." I laugh a little, but it's a sad one. Full of anger.
"Oh..." She whispers. "Whoops."
I stare at her a while. "You're gonna be a real pretty angel, Morgan..." I cry. She will be. She's exactly how I picture an angel. Piercing blue eyes, soft blonde hair, pale but beautiful skin, thin red lips. Even in death she's pretty.
She smiles. "I'll look down on you daddy. B-Bye... Say bye to Peeta for me, too. I love you a lot." She opens her eyes slightly and smiles.
"Bye angel." I cry a little harder now. She is brave. "You can go now, if you want." I don't want her to go.
She nods and closes her eyes. She stifles her breathing, and then it stops all together. She looks angelic. But my crying doesn't stop. I don't think I could stop it.
But when I turn back to see the ruins of Nine, and see that if I don't move soon I won't be able to get out of this mess, I need to leave her.
I kiss her cheek then stand and brush the ash off of my pants. I wipe tears away and stare up the sky a moment. It's clear of the hovercrafts. Just smoke. The screams have died down, just as the building's flames. It's as silent as any other day now.
But nothing looks the same. Farms are destroyed, animals running wild through nine in fear. Burning bodies lay motionless around the ground, and some who have received the same fate as Morgan.
Slowly and quietly I make my way to the meadow, where Xander sits playing with a flower and Maroon cries into Rhodes shoulder. The small blonde boy stands and stares up at me blankly, before wrapping his arms around my legs. He knows who's missing...
Happy Birthday to me...
