Chapter Nine
This is probably the first time that we are all in the same room and there is no tension in the air. Katniss just sits there under a blanket. Walking into the living room I grab the food that was left in the pack. I see that Gale finally sits down in one of the living room chairs. Going into the kitchen I open the pack and place the meats in the freezer. It is a great thing that we were able to hook up to some panel that store the electricity for the freezer.
After getting the meats into the freezer, I look into the bag and find a brown paper bag tied together with my name on the label. I think about it for a little bit. Delly went to get the supplies, I am pretty sure that she got everything that we need and asked for. I think this is her little gift to me. Taking the bag out, I examine the writing and sure enough the happy face in the "P" of my name and I know that it is Delly's handwriting.
Opening the bag, I see that there are big chunks of a brown material. I grab one of the smaller chunks and lift it to my nose, the intoxicating aroma, is so familiar, and yet a memory. I wonder if I dreamt about this. Doctor Aurelius had explained to me that the treatments had allowed me to recover all my new memories intact.
"Anything that is pass your time in the Detention center will be as a normal memory," he says smiling. "Obviously we are still working to get your brain to access and process your old memories without triggering you know."
I roll down my sleeve.
"So that is why I have been remembering everything more like I use to," I say. "I could remember things from the war, and the rebuilding of the District without feeling like it wasn't my memory."
He pats me on the back.
"We are close," he says. "Soon enough, we will have you back to the way you were."
The way I was. It would be nice though to one day look at yourself in the mirror and recognize yourself. Looking down at the dark chunks in my hand.
"Chocolate," I say smiling.
Remembering the train and the first time that I had some in a hot cut with sugar was it.
I open the cupboard and looking at book that we labeled recipes I go to the one that says 'hot chocolate.'
Reading the entry I see that we had started to write everything that we could remember. It was mainly for me of course but it did help us so that we could make up recipes on how to do the things that we secretly loved from the Capitol. Mostly it was the food, although Katniss would never admitted it.
I cut a couple of pieces of chocolate into a pot and pour some milk in. The wood is still there from earlier this morning, although I will need to go to the shed and get some more. It only takes a couple of minutes to get the chocolate pieces to melt. I grab a little bit of the sugar from the bag in the cupboard and sprinkle it in the pot.
Grabbing a wooden spoon I taste it and finally smile when it taste almost the same.
Pouring it out in three mugs I walk back to the living and find them there talking.
"Here you go," I say handing it to Katniss.
She smells the aroma coming from the cup and immediately smiles.
"I didn't know we still had some chocolate left over from before," she says. The way she says it and I can quickly catch what she is referring to.
Even though we have welcomed Gale in our home, we still do not want to get Delly in trouble for helping us. I of course will tell her later, but for now we will just have to cover.
"Wouldn't you know it," I say. "I found it in the freezer, it was still good."
We all take a sip and finally see Katniss smile, and even just for a small second let out a sigh of delight.
"So," I say turning to Gale. "Tell us what you know."
He warms his hands on the mug and then finally places it on the table.
"We don't have much information on them," he says.
That right there I don't quite understand.
"For fifteen or sixteen years you have been made aware of this and either the intelligence agency of this new Capitol doesn't know what they are doing, or you are holding out," I say with a smile.
He smiles.
"Something that I learned a long time ago back before the whole Mockingjay thing," he says. "Truth you see, is not based on what you hear, or even what you see, it is based on what you know. So what we hear is a lot of stories about this and what I see is a diverted train here, supplies missing there, but what I know is only a couple of things."
The mockingjay bit is of course aimed at me. It is to show that he knows a lot more than what I do. It is that he knows Katniss a lot longer than I could ever. Probably it means that he understands her a lot longer than I do. The thing is that he would never understand, is that I am just happy knowing her now. I don't need to compete for her, I am happy to have known her at all. Love is just that, knowing that the happiness of another means more than your own.
"So what do you know Gale," says Katniss. "If you are going to recite old things that my father taught me, then what do you know?"
There are gaps in her life that I do not know. It is true though what he says. I could hear people talking about what they think is true. I could even see it with my own eyes. But it isn't until I physically know something that it becomes true.
"The only thing I know is that they move like they are in the shadows," he says. "I was tracking one for days, and finally just as I am about to catch them. It is like they disappeared."
That doesn't help us.
"So what have you heard?" I say. "Because we can't catch shadows and your 'know' doesn't help at all."
"The only thing that we hear is that they have two bases one in District Nine," he says. "The other comes from stories that are probably made up by children."
If I would chose a place to hide myself I would definitely hide it in a place that people would think was impossible to find.
"So what are the stories," I ask.
"We checked it out," he says. "Nothing there."
"Humor us," says Katniss.
He asks for a piece of paper. I stand and walk over to a sketch book that I have. Ripping a page out I hand it to him. He grabs it and starts to draw the map of Panem. Looking at it we come to the conclusion that Gale really should stick with the bow and arrow. He numbers what I believe is the districts and finally I see where we are.
"We are here," he says circling an area and putting a twelve on it. "The arena is across the mountain range here."
He draws little triangles along the middle of twelve.
"Odd," I say. "The triangles were bigger in person."
The mountain how beautiful they look for afar, but how menacing they look close. Those two days that we spent going through the valley of the two mountains was something that I could never forget.
It was those days that I would love to forget. It was those moments that going through the valley it makes you feel that it is never ending. The rocks and the terrain was rough enough, the body crying out for it to all end. The force feeding of the goat meat that was the only thing that we had to eat, these are all memories that I wish would disappear.
Her hands felt so cold that day. Walking alongside her, helping her through the cold snow. The hard terrain was more prevalent in the middle of two mountains.
"Peeta," she says weakly through the covered mouth guard that we made from my old shirt that we ripped.
Turning around I see that she is tired.
"You want to sit down for a little bit," I say.
She nods and I help her to the nearby rocks to sit down and take a breather.
"We need to get through the valley by night fall sweety," I say. "So we cannot stay seated for long."
The grey skies hide the sun's position, but from the tiredness of the day it may be early afternoon. Looking up I see that there are no signs of what time it is.
She sits for a couple of minutes before kneel right next to her. Her hands so cold, without any feeling in them. I grab them both and start to blow hot air into them. I can see the white puff of air coming from her more rapidly that normal. I reach around my belt and finally find my water bottle.
Handing it to her.
"Here," I say. "Drink."
She can barely hold the bottle, so I have to pop off the top of the bottle and hold it up to her mouth. My hands are all numb, and although I cannot feel it, I squeeze with all I can to get the last couple of drops out of the bottle.
If we do not drink the water quickly, the water freezes and then we would have to wait to make camp in order to thaw it out with the fire.
My warm hand brings me back to the here and now. I see that Gale had continue talking about the mountains and finally the area where the arena use to be.
"Somehow, the mountains are different when you pass in between them," I say somberly.
She squeezes my hand and then gives me a smile. We made it through that, I know that we can make through anything.
Gale stops and think about the 'x' that he has marked.
"Right here was the arena," he says.
Something so small can cause so much pain. That little 'x' marks the relative spot where things changed for both of us. I don't know yet if we will come out of it out as we are still trying to survive it.
"We have heard stories that their second base is somewhere on the coast of twelve," he says.
"Coast?" says Katniss. "We have a coast?"
"Yes, they call it 'the edge of darkness,' no one but a few people actually have gotten to it," he says. "That is where the children say they have seen people come from under the water. They say that they seen them walk on the water."
Something in the pit of my stomach and I know that is where we have to go. It was just like that time that I had that test in District Thirteen. I knew that it was where she was.
"That ." I say pointing. "That is where we are going."
"I told you, we checked, and nothing was there," he insisted. "How could you be so sure?"
"Sometimes it isn't what you know, it is what your gut tells you," I say. Just like when I was picked for the Games, I know in my gut that we would end up together.
Looking back I see Katniss looking at me. She nods and knows that she feels it as well.
"We would need your help though," I say to Gale. "Do not think Katniss would like to hike all the way over there again."
He looks at both of us. It is to see if we are serious. It is to see if we had made up our minds. It has been enough that they have come into our house. That they took a shot at her all those years ago. So now we are going to stop playing defense and finally go on the offense.
"Haymitch is suppose to be helping us clear our names," says Katniss.
He grabs one more sip of the hot chocolate stands and says.
"Well then, we will have to get ready," he says. "Tomorrow we will have to go back to the District to wait for our hovercraft."
