A/N: thank you to Hunting Destiny, GleeFangurl721, and HopeNeverDies for the reviews. And sorry for taking so much time to update: I haven't had much time during spring break to work on writing.
Also, the yakuza is helping out in Japan with the relief effort. Go figure.
Chapter 11
Peeta, Gale and Madge are all staring at me, thinking about what our next move should be. I have a feeling that Gale is all up for trying to ignite the rebellion in this District, but I know Peeta would be against it. And at this point I realize that the fate of Panem doesn't rest on my shoulders, but they rest on Madge's.
Gale speaks first. "Well, if 8 and 11 have revolted against the Capitol, I think we should revolt next." Peeta gives him an uncertain glare.
"That's foolish, Gale." He starts. "We don't know if the people of this district will revolt, and also how the Peacekeepers will react. I hope a couple of them will join us, but most of them will fight back. And not fairly."
Madge has a torn look on her face. "You both have points…" she begins. Our eyes settle on her. "Our best option would be to figure out how many people in the district would back us up." Her gaze moves from Gale to Peeta. "And how many Peacekeepers that will help us. It'll be a risky gamble, but it could work out."
"Depending on the Quarter Quell, of course." The words come out of my mouth meekly. They stare at me, and I start to back up my position. "This year going to be the third Quarter Quell and whatever the Capitol wants, they usually get. If whatever they do would endanger this rebellion or those involved, we may have to call it off." I can see a small smile on Peeta's face while Gale gives me a worried look.
Madge's face doesn't reveal anything, though. And that scares me the most.
A sober-looking Haymitch and a panicked Effie lead Peeta and me away from our friends. He glares down at us, anger written on his face. "What have you two done?"
I try to look as innocent and clueless as possible. "What are you talking about, Haymitch?" He face darkens and his gaze comes over to Peeta.
"Why is she lying to me? We all know what is happening in Districts 8 and 11. There's rumors coming out of the Capitol that Effie has picked up that makes it sound like you two may be targeted by secretive Capitol groups." He starts to shake his head, walking away. "Count to eleven once Effie and myself have entered the dining room."
I give him a confused glance as we watch him walk away. "I guess that we need to be out there in eleven seconds between him entering and us." Peeta mumbles out, not looking at me. I don't reply to him, but I do follow right besides him as he starts to walk towards the room.
"I have a feeling that wedding President Snow promised us will never happen." Peeta looks over to me, pain in his eyes. "But they're still sending people over to get a dress fitted for you. Or at least that's what Portia told me before we got back to Twelve." He looks forward as we enter the dining room. I just register that my hand is in his.
It seems like forever, but eventually we finally get through the banquet and the Mayor's speech; I almost fell asleep standing up there with Peeta. Once we leave, I beg Peeta to take me back to our house in the Victor's Village. He, on the other hand, wants to go visit his family; he hadn't seen them since our wedding. So I find myself walking back to the house by myself. I've just reached the Victor's Village when two Peacekeepers walk up to me.
I start to consider running for my house when I notice one of them is limping. Thoughts of taking them out mix through my mind until one of them pulls out a cracker. I give it no thought until I recognize the pattern on it; it's my mockingjay.
"Who are you?" It's somewhere between a shout and a scarred whisper. They look to each other before the one of the left replies.
"My name is Bonnie and this is Twill. We've come here from District 8 on our way to 13." I give them a blank stare, surprised by not only where they've been, but also where they're going. Maybe Gale is right, I tell to myself.
"And how do I know you aren't lying? What if you're just Capitol agents?" I ask, glaring at them. They both grin and start to laugh; my face reddens, but my glare darkens.
"Because your pin – the mockingjay, to be more exact – is the chosen symbol of the rebellion. It marks all of the failures of the Capitol. So that answers your question about us possibly being agents." The glare I'm giving them sharpens.
"And how can you be sure that District 13 is still around?"
"You've seen footage of 13, right?" I just nod. Everyone in Panem has seen it at least once in school; usually it pops up even more often than that. "If you watch closely you'll see a mockingjay fly through one of the frames of the footage."
"So?" I remark harshly.
"The Capitol says that the bombs they used would've wiped out any life within five miles of the impact site. Anything within 25 miles couldn't properly survive the past, what, 75 years?" Bonnie starts to laugh as Twill gives me a knowing grin. "You've just been believing the lie that the Capitol wants everyone to believe. You're a fool just like everyone else."
"Maybe she isn't the one to lead us in the rebellion?" Twill said, starting to mull over her new 'fact'.
"That or she just isn't ready. She doesn't see the full threat that the Capitol poses. To her present…and to her future." She looks to the ground, her hand moving around on her forehead in a thoughtful manner.
"Why me? Why do I have to lead the rebellion? Why can't Peeta…or even Gale?"
"You're the one who pulled out those berries. Not Peeta, and definitely not Gale." She winks at me. "Don't worry, we know who he is. A…friend of mine from 3 has been hacking into Capitol news and has sent us some information to prepare us for when we arrived."
"Why do I have so much support for this? All I wanted to do when I pulled out the nightlock was to save Peeta's life. That's what was important at that moment. Not freeing Panem from slavery; saving someone I loved." They look to each other before looking at me.
"And that's why you're the perfect person to lead. You have the anger, that fiery passion to lead, but your fighting the Capitol for the best, the noblest reason: to protect those you love." They look over my shoulder as footsteps start to approach. I smile as I listen to them approach; I recognize their owner.
Peeta comes up from behind me and looks at the two women in front of me. Gale comes up from the other side and looks at me. "Who are they?"
"Soldiers for the rebellion, Gale." The words come out of my mouth and the oppressive fear that seems to float over the District feels like it's breaking apart.
"So they are Peeta," Twill glances at the person she named off, "and that's Gale." I just nod. The time for words with them is over. I excuse myself from them and I continue to walk back to my house. Peeta doesn't follow me, most likely having numerous questions for them.
If this rebellion happens in a way that can free all of Panem, then maybe I will let myself lead it.
President Snow was smiling as he listened into what the two runners from a revolting district had told the girl. Sure, some of the better Peacekeepers would have to be moved to some other district to put down the exploding rebellion, but for now he felt confident. District 13 had made no moves to help the rebellion so far and with the approaching Quarter Quell, he would finally have the chance to eliminate those who were the most involved in the actions of the rebels.
Phone three on his desk started to ring. "This is President Snow," he spoke into the object.
"Hello, President. This is Head Peacekeeper Mengler." Snow groaned. The fool from District 11 was calling him again. He had a chance to end the rebellion, but instead he sparked the anger of his district.
"What is it, Head Peacekeeper? I'm busy trying to keep the other Districts in line. Luckily for me, your counterpart in District 8 has at least given me useful spies, although they don't know it yet."
"It turns out that I have two deserters, sir. They left early this morning and took out part of the fence surrounding the district. They also have some sort of vehicle." Snow smashed his fist down on his table; Mengler had been a thorn in his side for too long.
"Just find them, Mengler." The President slammed down the phone and grabbed a random object off of his desk and tossed it at the adjacent wall. Watching it shatter brought a devious smile to his face.
The rebellion could do whatever it wanted until the Quarter Quell. After that, their leaders will be dead and District 13 will have missed its chance.
A/N: there we go. Another mediocre chapter, I think. Also, go search up Acrassicauda. They're a metal band from Iraq, although they now are in the United States due to death threats from radicals.