Chapter 10

Katniss Jr.'s story

"No!" I scream as my mummy is electrocuted by the bolt of lightning. The robot is burnt alive and explodes into a million burning smithereens. What is left of him is just a skeleton dripping with dark oil. It gives a creak and collapses into a heap of melting metal. He must have had too much fuel in him for that to happen. But my mind is on my mortally injured mummy, who lies motionless near the lamp post. Sobbing, I take the bow out of her limp hands and push my mummy as far and gently as I can from the lamp post. "Mummy, wake up. Please don't die." I beg her as I kneel at her side, my tears running non-stop. She makes no response. Her eyes are closed. Her lips look so cold and blue. "Don't die. Please! I can't live without you!" I implore her. I bury my face in her arms, bruised and cut and blackened with the dirt of battle, and weep. I kiss her broken fingers and then I look at her face, bleeding all the more. Nothing can describe my sadness and pain at losing my mummy. "Please, don't leave me. Let me die with you. I don't want to be alone here. Everyone will miss you. I love you, mummy." I say between sobs.

A groan escapes from my mummy's lips. Her eyes flutter open. "Mummy?" I ask. She looks so calm and even angelic. My mummy has turned from a fighter to...my mummy. Peaceful. Soft. Loving. Her right arm wraps around my neck and draws me down so that I am lying down next to her. "I'm so sorry. So sorry." she whispers gravely. "I couldn't protect you from seeing such terrible things." "I should be the one that is sorry. I couldn't save you, mummy. I was so scared." I say. At this point, I start crying again. Mummy only smiles weakly and wipes away my tears slowly. "It's all right. It's all right. Jay, I tell you the truth, my time is short. I'm going to-"

"Please don't die!" I burst out and hug mummy. While I cry into her chest, mummy says soothingly, "It's alright. I'm not going to die. Death, is not the word. And yet, death is not the end. Remember what I have told you. We all go to a good place when our time comes. And we'll still have memories in our hearts for our loved ones who go. Remember Aunt Prim? I still remember her, even now. She's waiting for us up there, wanting us join her in that beautiful place. I have been there before too. You remember?" "A green meadow and flowers. And rabbits," I say. "But daddy, Bagel and I will have no mummy. No mummy to talk to, to laugh with and to sleep with. Especially daddy." A moment of pain registers across her face for a split second. But it passes quickly. "I'm sorry," mummy says. "We cannot choose the time we go. It is up to the One up there. But we can choose the memories we want to leave behind in the hearts of our loved ones. And in that way, you'll have something to remember you mummy by. I know it will be lonely. I fell like that when your grandpa died. But I will be with you, through your memories."

"But I don't want you to leave me! I will miss you so much." I cry. "Me too." mummy says, with more tears brimming in her eyes. "I will miss you too, up there."

We spend the next few minutes lying side by side, mother and daughter. I am so sad, yet so happy to be with my mummy before she goes. "Want to hear a song?" mummy asks out of the blue. How can I refuse to listen to my mother sing, especially when she's dying? It would be like denying her last wish. Well, it is her last wish. And last song.

So my mummy, the Mockingjay, whom many call Katniss Everdeen, sings her last song,

Down in the valley, the valley so low

Hang your head over, hear the wind blow

Hear the wind blow, dear, hear the wind blow;

Hang your head over, hear the wind blow.

Roses love sunshine, violets love dew,

Angels in Heaven know I love you,

Know I love you, dear, know I love you,

Angels in Heaven know I love you.

If you don't love me, love whom you please,

Throw your arms 'round me, give my heart ease,

Give my heart ease, dear, give my heart ease,

Throw your arms 'round me, give my heart ease.

Build me a castle, forty feet high;

So I can see her as she rides by,

As she rides by, dear, as she rides by,

So I can see her as she rides by.

Write me a letter,'Send it by...

Mummy stops singing, too overcome by emotion. Her life is draining away slowly and painfully. I wrap my arms around my beloved mummy. I rest my head on her chest. "I love you, mummy." I say in a broken voice, tearfully. I know she will be gone soon, and that...that...I just don't want to think about that. All I want to do is to spent as much time as possible with my mummy in her dying seconds. "I love you too. When I am gone, it's OK to cry for me. Just take care your daddy, Bagel and yourself." mummy says in an equally broken voice. Her left hand strokes my braid gently as we both fall asleep, one to a sleep that would last forever.

Peeta's story

I leap out from the van the moment it halts. We have reached the town square at last. Peacekeepers swarm throughout the area, armed to the teeth. Optimus Prime has his cannon ready, looking out for any more Decepticons. But the remnants of the varmints are long gone, to goodness knows where. "Search the area!" the commander orders. Johanna runs to the middle of the square, only to stop cold. I go up to her and I see my Katniss lying dead with our daughter Jay at her side. "Katniss! Jay! No!" I scream. Bagel runs up, looking as white as a ghost. He finds that his sister is only asleep and carries her to the van. Meanwhile, I just hug Katniss and scream, "Don't die! No! Why?! Why?!" I just cry my eyes out as Johanna, the Peacekeepers and the Autobots look on. Bumblebee looks so crushed and Optimus so guilty. A medic arrives and attempts to resuscitate her in vain. He shakes his head after doing everything from CPR to jump start. "No. You can't leave me. You can't." I moan and hug Katniss tightly. Her eyes are closed...forever. However, she looks so serene even in death. Her lips are actually curved into a smile. I do not resist the urge to kiss them.

"I'm sorry. She's gone." the paramedic says gently and walks away. All the Peacekeepers, including Johanna and Gale take off their helmets and put them at rest to their sides, as a sign of condolence and respect. The Autobots just bow their heads, some in sadness and some in respect. Bumblebee just starts crying, shedding tears from his optics. For a couple of minutes, everyone is so sombre. "She's such a fighter." I say softly once I have cried myself out. "She fought in two Hunger Games and two wars. Yet she just couldn't escape death. No one can. Katniss had been through so much. So much. She suffered so much with me." I shake my head and kiss her cold lips.

"I'm sorry for your loss." Optimus Prime speaks. "I speak on behalf of the Autobots. We are very sorry that we could not protect her." "It's OK. We were outgunned." I say, trying make him not feel so guilty. "I have seen, that she is a worthy warrior. We will honour her as a heroine, a loving mother and wife and a loyal soldier to her country. Never have I, or the Autobots, seen such a spirited warrior. Now we know why you call her the Mockingjay. Katniss, not only she defeated many of the foe, but she also cast down the vile Megatron and the Fallen. If it were not for her deeds, this land would be nothing but dust." Everyone looks up to see her last amazing feat: defeating two of the most dangerous enemies of Panem. The headless corpse of Megatron, the melted remains of the Fallen. "Even I cannot achieve that feat. So, as a tribute to her sacrifice, of herself and ultimately her life, we, the Autobots, pledge to do everything to help protect you and we will do our utmost to ensure that her legacy will live on. For she is a noble warrior, one to be looked up to even when she is gone."

"That's very well." I say. "Thank you. Thank you for helping us." Gale and two Peacekeepers step in to help me carry my beloved Katniss to a waiting medic ambulance. I take off my jacket to cover her, but Johanna says, "You don't have to. Look. Even though she is dead, she still looks so...beautiful." She's right. There is such serenity on her face. Haymitch looks emotionless, but I know he is as sad as I am deep within him. He had been like a father to her all this while. "Hey, boy. Let's go home." he says. He pats me gently. Out of the blue, a mockingjay appears out of nowhere and perches on Grimlock's snout. He glances at it silently and makes no attempt to chase it off. The bird sings the four-note tune that Rue and Katniss used in the arena to tell each other that one was safe and sound, of all things. Then it flies away.

"Yeah, Katniss. You are safe and sound at last." I murmur.