I forgot to mention this in the last chapter, but if you haven't read Love and War (the prequel to I am the Mockingjay) then you really should now. It'll only help you to understand what is going on in this story a little better. Again, thank you for your wonderful reviews. :)
Katniss' POV
Being underground is always out of my comfort zone. Being evacuated underground because the District I was staying in is being destroyed is worse. Years ago I only had to keep Peeta safe. Now, I have three of my children to look after. We seem to be far enough under the surface to be safe from the bombs, but I'm worried about Asher. It sounds like Finnick knows where he is at, but why won't he tell us? We stop at a dead end and I hear Azia sigh.
"Beyond this wall is the 'safe harbor unit.' You will be in Sector 8, along with the other refuges."
Finnick types some numbers on a keyboard and the entrance dissolves. Literally. After we step into the large gymnasium like room, the hole rematerializes. I've never seen anything like it in my life.
I immediately notice the gigantic room we are in. Rows and rows of cots line up over half the area. The other half is separated from the sleeping area by an invisible wall. If you look really close at it, you can see it looks just like a force field. On the second half is a dining area and bathrooms.
Finnick leads us to Sector 8 and to our cots . "You will have to change your clothes immediately."
We aren't given time to speak. We're all probably in too much shock to say anything anyway. He escorts us to the bathrooms and I step into a shower. I let the warm water drench my skin and hair. After ten minutes, the water turns ice cold. I wrap a towel around my body and examine the clothes Finnick gave me. A simple black shirt with a v-neck, a thigh-length, black trench coat with a hood, a couple pairs of sock, dark combat boot, and gray cargo pants. When I reach into the plastic bag to make sure that's everything, I find a belt and undergarments. By the looks of it, it's a utility belt used for hiding weapons. I wonder if all the refugees are armed. After getting fully dressed, I brush my hair with my fingers and meet up with Peeta and some of our children. Our outfits are almost identical and remind me too much of what we wore in the Games.
"You guys are needed in an emergency war meeting." Finnick tells us.
"Okay, where?" I ask.
"In the corner all the way over there," he replies.
"Aren't the meetings supposed to be secretive?" Azia asks.
"That's why it's in a corner. You kids need to stay here, though."
Azia winces at Finnick's words. Then she scowls at him.
"Not by themselves, Finnick we can see the 'corner' from here. You don't need to walk us there. Please stay with the girls." Peeta instructs him. Then he motions for me to follow him.
As we walk through the area, I'm heartbroken. There's a young mother trying to calm her crying baby down, with no success. Little children are jumping on the cots because they're too innocent to understand what is really going on. Older children are either crying in groups or moping in solitude.
I see a woman with beautiful blond hair and blue eyes walk by us; she reminds me of Salama. My mother and her returned to District 12 after Peeta and I came back to thirteen. I did my best to get them to stay, but they wanted to go back. Now that the war has begun, I'm even more worried about them.
Finally, we arrive to the corner where the Mayor is.
"Mockingjay, I'm glad you made it here okay."
"Because of Finnick." I respond.
"Well, I assigned him to your family for a reason. Speaking of your family, your eldest son Asher-"
"Where is he?" Peeta bursts out in anger. He's gritting his teeth and I am doing my best to hold him back from punching the mayor.
"He and Rachel Mason are missing. The security guards caught them on camera sneaking above ground and into the forest."
"And?" I ask, still restraining Peeta.
"We think they're dead. There is no way that they could have survived the bombings."
"Then we should form a search party." I say.
"It's too soon to do something like that. For all we know, the Capitol has Peacekeepers waiting in the trees to attack anyone who goes above ground. The entire district is on high alert, we cannot risk any more lives because of two civilians."
"He's not dead." Azia appears out of nowhere. A soldier is about to take her back to our sector when Coin tells him to let her stay. "Ever since we were younger, Asher and I have been close. Whenever he got hurt, I knew and vice versa. I can't explain it, but I think it has something to do with being twins."
"Even if the girl is right, we cannot afford to send a rescue team out. We are already taking a risk by what I gathered you here for." Coin tells us, "I am sending you to your assigned districts today.
Asher's POV
I wake up in a pitch black cellar. My entire body is shaking. I have no clue where I'm at. I see someone move in the corner. I'm not alone.
"Asher?" her voice cracks as she breaks down into tears.
"Rachel, are you okay? What did they do to you?" I ask. Only the outline of her body is visible.
"Beat me and threatened to use tracker jacker venom.." her voice trails off. When I walk over to her, she moves away.
"At least let me be here for you." I say. As I sit down next to her, I can barely make out her swollen black eye.
"The Capitol isn't stupid. They put us in the same cell for a reason." She laughs and I take her hand, squeezing it gently. I don't know what else they did to her, but it couldn't have been good. They made Rachel Mason cry; I didn't think it was possible. Heck, I don't even know how long we've been in this cell. I just woke up a few minutes ago.
Suddenly, sunshine replaces the utter darkness and a group of Peacekeepers walk towards us. They don't say anything to us, but handcuff our hands behind our backs and walk us outside.
The President stands in front of us, "I hope the hovercraft ride wasn't too intolerable. Welcome to the Capitol." He smiles and I punch him in the face.
After this chapter, things will get wayyyy more interesting. I didn't think this one was all that anyway. Review :)