It feels like I just dropped off to sleep when I am jerked awake by a loud alarm sounding. Abruptly I sit up and look around, trying to figure out where I am. I see Mick, bedraggled and alert, across the room and the previous day comes back to me. The room is a jumble of bodies and noises as rebels pull themselves from their slumber. What time is it?

Wils barks from the doorway, "Everyone up. It's time. Squad teams out on the street in five minutes."

The people surrounding me jump into action, grabbing supplies and heading for the door. I nod to Mick, indicating for him to wait at his bunk for me. I gather my own things and hurry over to him. We join the crowd headed for the door, but before we get there our trusty guard (Bob, was it?) pulls us from the line. "Madeleine? Mikhail? You've been assigned to Squad four. Outside, report to Wils, he'll show you where to go."

"Squad four. Wils. Got it." I repeat, knowing that he'll want more than a nod of confirmation.

Then he turns his back, apparently searching out other late comers who still need assignments.


Outside, it's still dark. Only the bright moon lights the street. The squads are organizing quickly and we find Wils in no time.

"Oh good. Follow me, you two. Spinner isn't back yet, but he'll join squad four later." He leads us over to a group of nine rebels which must be our squad. Other than two boys about our age, the others are in their twenties and thirties. There we're introduced to Rayf, the squad leader. Rayf is a big, tough looking guy, probably in his thirties, who looks skeptically at us before walking a few steps away with Wils, where they have a quiet conversation.

When he comes back, he's all business. "Alright, folks. Let's get into place. Gilda, take the lead. You two scamps, with me. We're stationed on the roof of the cannery." Mick and I exchange a look, but fall in next to Rayf at the back of the group. Rayf mutters quietly as we walk, a litany of the basics of battle, the protocols he expects his people to follow, the commands he'll expect us to answer to. Since we're new, we should follow the lead of the other squad members. He asks us about our weapons and we confirm my gun, the rope and hooks, our knives. When we're near the marina, Gilda leads us into the cannery, a now-empty warehouse sized factory where she leads us to a stairwell and up to the roof. The wind blows coolly against us, and the sight of the Port and its marina, and the moonlit water captures me for a moment before Rayf orders us down before we're spotted by any Peacekeeper forces.

Crouched on the roof, he directs the various squad members to machine gun nests, sending Mick along with two older rebels, until only I'm left. Nervously, I wait. He waves me over to a fourth gun nest. "You'll be stationed here. Spinner should be here with your gear soon." My gear? I nod dumbly.

I'm engrossed, watching the area around the Port for any sign of rebels, when something swings into my peripheral vision and I startle.

"Easy! It's just me," Spinner whispers quickly, slumping down beside me. My heart is still pounding, but I breathe a sigh of relief.

He says with a chuckle, "Wait 'til you see what I brought, little miss Mockingjay. You just have to promise not to catch on fire." He looks especially delighted with his joke. I wonder how funny he'd find it if he knew who I was. He's still pleased with himself as he pulls a sleek black contraption from his bag. A crossbow. I've never seen one for real and I stare in disbelief.

He laughs at my reaction and explains quietly, "The rebellion sent some medical supplies and weapons last week - they'd sent a few of these. When you mentioned the bow, we thought ... well, it'll take some adjustment but I figured it's worth a try." Then he shows me the two sets of arrows. Pointing to a red-tipped set, he says, "You know how Katniss had those arrows that exploded? These don't have the same power, but you get the idea. Trust me, they pack a punch!"

I'm in awe. I'm not sure I'll be any good with it, but I've read about them and it should be easier for me than a traditional bow and arrow. I didn't really have the arm strength for a bow; I'd tired quickly whenever Katniss had taken me to the woods to shoot.

It's still early when the battle begins, but the sky is brightening as dawn approaches. An explosion at the Port signals everyone to action, and we on the rooftops search out Peacekeeper targets as their troops scramble into action. The crossbow takes time to load, and I start off with the normal arrows until I'm confident about my aim and the range of the crossbow. I'm keyed up and nervous, and my first few arrows miss badly, but I take my time, steadying the crossbow, ducking behind the wall to reload. I get accustomed to the machine guns firing so near, the sounds of combat below. Soon my shots are passably good, and I've taken out two Peacekeepers. I switch to the more powerful arrows.

The battle extends through the day, as fighting wages beneath us, rebels claim more ground, and Peacekeepers fall back. I'd expected, at some point, to be aiming up, but there are no bombers here, no Capitol hovercraft. It seems odd that they wouldn't have more back-up. Either they are occupied in other battles or they've been destroyed, like the ones we saw shot down in the rebel propo. The rebel gains in the surrounding area, their successful blockade of the route away from the Port, the lack of Capitol air support all tilt things in our favor. In the end, the battle is one-sided, and by nightfall, some Capitol troops have escaped in boats, but the remaining Capitol troops have surrendered.

There's no big celebration. The distant sound of explosions indicates that the battle in sector one continues. The rebel teams are rushing to create prison quarters for the surrendered Peacekeepers, to get medical attention to the injured rebels, to bury the dead. Work continues through the night, squads sleeping in shifts. Inventory of the ships is taken, sure that more troops are out in the water, on patrol if nothing else. Rebel patrols are planned, but early in the inventory, a ship being searched explodes, and now a bomb squad is being sent in to check each boat before anyone else boards. For now, rebels keep watch from the docks.


Almost 24 hours after we were first woken for the battle, our squad gets a break for meals and sleep. I wonder when Spinner last slept, as we all crash into empty bunks in our barracks back by the central plaza.

When we're woken, it's afternoon. By evening, word has come that the train station is in rebel hands. That puts the rebels in control of most of the district, with only a few Capitol troop locations still intact. We should be celebrating, but there's a heaviness to the rebels grouped in the dining area.

As Spinner, Mick and I fill our bellies with ration bars, we learn why, hearing for the first time about the broadcasts aired the night before. There was live programming with President Snow and Peeta, interrupted by rebel clips of Katniss and Finnick. Peeta was blaming damage in the districts on the rebels, including things here in four that everyone here knows were the result of Capitol bombings - more Capitol propaganda.

But the rumor that is whispered again and again is that at the end, as the broadcast bounced back and forth between the Capitol and the rebels, Peeta warned district 13 of an attack to come that night. Apparently all those stories about district 13 were true, that they helped rescue the Victors from the Quell and have been supporting the rebellion ever since. And no messages have come through from the rebel network since the airing. Not a word, not even a response to district four's messages about winning the Port and the train station. Given the circumstances, nobody feels like celebrating.


A/N: Sometimes I hate that Madge is subjected to all this, but I'm following Canon (as best I can) and there is a war on. For anyone interested, I've also started a series of Hawthorne family one shots.