Here's the next chapter! Enjoy! I do not own Catching Fire so any direct quotes will be in italics.
Ch. 11
In the few seconds that we're pushed roughly back into the building, I realize something I should have noticed months ago, the Capitol does really hate us. I knew that, but I didn't full understand it. I hate the Capitol, all they've done to the twelve innocent districts; we supply everything for them, yet they give us nothing in return. They killed a man because he wanted to respect Katniss, a girl that helped their district in a hard time, when they lost people that they adored.
I hate the Peacekeepers that push us back inside that are way too rough with us for something we didn't even do, "We're going!" One Peacekeeper has a tight hold on Katniss and I can't stand it, I push him away, "We get it, all right? Come on Katniss." I lead her towards the door, I know this has made me mad beyond belief, but Katniss has something else in her eyes, something unrecognizable.
I see our team, all standing staring at the blank televisions, all lost. Their faces show shock, but I don't think they saw the murder of the all too innocent man. They would never have shown that on these shiny Capitol televisions. "What happened?" Effie rushes over to us. I try to compose myself, Effie would never understand my anger, and she would never believe the truth. "We lost the feed just after Katniss's beautiful speech, and then Haymitch said he thought he heard a gun fire, and I said it was ridiculous, but who knows? There are lunatics everywhere!" She doesn't even suspect the Peacekeepers; it would never be them in her eyes. She wouldn't believe it even if she had witnessed it. The Capitol has brainwashed her since the day she was born. I can't blame her, but I can't tell her the truth either.
"Nothing happened, Effie." I let my eyes find Haymitch and I can see in his eyes that he knows the truth, "An old truck backfired." It doesn't calm me down much when we hear two more gunshots, two more dead, two more no longer breathing. My nightmares have become somewhat of reality; only we're not in the arena where deaths are expected to happen, we're in the real world. There's a silence, maybe Effie realizes the truth, but I think I'm dreaming to big on that one.
"Both of you. With me," say Haymitch. I'm glad he leads us away from the rest of the group, we needed to talk; they were hiding something from me. I had a feeling it was something very important. Why don't they trust me with information?
We walk through the hallways of the old creaky Justice Building of District Eleven. Haymitch seems to know where to go, which turn to take, which stairs to climb, I wonder why he put this to memory. He couldn't have spent more than two days in District Eleven; it must've been where he went to release anger. It's a good thing; I can feel the anger rushing through my blood, infecting my whole body. This wasn't fair, it never was, but it didn't fully hit me until now. The man whistled and now he's dead, what about his wife, his grandchildren, I bet they never expected this.
I don't pay attention to the turns we take or the things we do, I just follow Haymitch, my eyes tinted red. I realize things as we walk at a fast pace down the halls, things I never thought about until now. I hated this country, and it hates me, we never really had a great relationship. But what of those people out there, the people that Katniss and I gave hope? They're part of this country, they're what keep it strong, but the leaders, especially Snow don't like them either.
Finally we make it to a room, small and dark and dusty, it's the only place that the Capitol hopefully won't be listening to. We're in five steps before Haymitch turns around, "What happened?" I explain all of it trying to calm myself done as the words come out faster and faster, I hope he understands.
Finally I'm done the things that happened only moments ago; laid out in the open, "What's going on Haymitch?" I nearly spit out. I need to know; this has to be so much more.
"It will be better coming from you," Haymitch turns to Katniss, who stands behind me, her eyes set on the grimy windows behind Haymitch. You can see her heart-rate pick up and the room become instantly tense.
"President Snow came to my house yesterday." Her words don't sound shaky or lost, they seem sure and careful and practiced. She must have wanted to tell me. She lays out a whole intricate story that I was oblivious to. There were district beginning to rise against the Capitol because of our stunt with the berries. People didn't believe it was out of young love. People were too smart to see behind Katniss' lying love. There was a kiss between Gale that she tells me about, that Snow had somehow found out about. I knew there was something there. The whole country might fall because of what we did. Because neither of us could live if the other had to die, "I was supposed to fix things on this tour. Make everyone who had doubted believe I acted out of love. Calm things down. But obviously, all I've done today is get three people killed, and now everyone in the square will be punished." President Snow had also threatened her family, which meant mine was in jeopardy as well.
By the end of things Katniss' voice has turned weak and her knees have begun to shake. She goes and sits down on a dusty old couch. I'm too mad to do that. If they had told me, maybe things would be better. "Then I made things worse, too. By giving the money." Finally the anger bubbles out, I hit an old lamp sitting on a dusty table. The way it crashes on the ground helps a little, but it doesn't make the situation at hand any better. "This has to stop. Right now." I look at both of them, their eyes wide and shocked, "This—this – game you two play, where you tell each other secrets but keep them from me like I'm too inconsequential or stupid or weak to handle them." That's how this made me feel, like I was unimportant, like I didn't have an important part to play as well.
"It's not like that, Peeta—" Katniss looks so young, so harmless, with a golden headband a simple dress, she wasn't anything that Cinna portrayed her to be. Both of us held the fate of our country in our hands, we were important. That's not what her outfit put across, but it worked. She didn't look like the heartbreaker, secret-keeper, girl that she was.
"It's exactly like that!" I scream at both of them, I was getting tired of this, "I have people I care about, too, Katniss! Family and friends back in District Twelve who will be just as dead as yours if we don't pull this thing off. So, after all we went through in the arena, don't I even rate the truth from you!" If she didn't want to love me, I at least deserved truth, communication. It happened to us both and I'm tired of her acting like it only happened to her. Katniss doesn't say anything she looks away from me as I try to hold her gaze to see something in those bright grey eyes of hers.
I hope you liked it! I really like this part in the book, don't know why, but I do, so I liked writing it! So I only got two suggestions of names for my reviewers and I'm going with Mockingjay's! So reviewers, you are my Mockingjay's! And non-reviewers you're my Clovely's! I love all my Mockingjay's and all my Clovely's! Next chapter will be up tomorrow, maybe two? Depends on how many reviews I get :) And of course on how I'm feeling, don't want my writing to suck:( Haha anyways don't forget to REVIEW on the way out! Thanks! ~boywithbreadlover
