Hehehe, had fun writing this chapter. Enjoy!
Septa:
I open my eyes and look at my hands. They are strong, I know that. I will have to make do with my injuries until I can get back to Coin. I'm sure that Haymitch has sent Katniss there by now and probably joined them himself. I doubt they know the situation I am in. They may guess that I am a prisoner, but they don't know that I am going to possibly die today.
I sigh and push myself up to my knees. My hands sink into something soft. That's not right. I look down and notice that I am on a mattress. I sit up and look around. I am not in my cell. I am in my room in the Training Center. No, this can't be happening. What about our plan? I jump out of the bed and go to the door. It's locked. I turn and see clothes and a note on one of my chairs.
You have been found guilty of treason. You die today at Noon. You have already been washed. You are to dress and eat when the food is brought to you. At Noon, an escort will take you to the City Circle where you will face your judgment.
I look at the note in my shaking hand. I didn't want this to be a public execution. No doubt they are going to have all of Panem watching. I don't want Andrew and Jacob to see me die like this. A tear runs down my face and I crumple the note in my hand. This is not what I wanted for them. They've probably been moved out of that house by now and back into the crummy shack they were in before. I close my eyes and lean against the wall, crying for the first time in many years.
Gale:
He scowled at the note. He had ruined his plan. They had taken them out of their cells in the middle of the night while they slept. His plan had been for them to knock out the guards when they came for them, steal their uniforms, and then walk right out. "Peeta must have guessed that we would try something. He thinks like Septa does, like a Victor of the Hunger Games. So, we are to die." He threw the note in the trash and looked at the clothes that had been laid out for him. They were the same clothes he had worn thirty years ago: his uniform. "You are cruel, Peeta." He thought bitterly. He dressed and then sat in the chair. There was still a chance they could escape. He just had to find her. He didn't even know where he was.
Gale stood and went to the window and looked out and to the ground. He recognized the President's Mansion. He was in the Training Center and on the top floor, floor twelve. He knew that they would put Septa on the same floor. Peeta's twisted way of giving comfort. He knew that they would not take them down at the same time. She would be first and then him. He figured that she knew several ways out. If he could get her to see that there was still a chance, they could escape. She would know where to hide until things settled enough for them to get into the sewers. "Don't give up, Septa."
Septa:
I look out the window and watch the preparations. There is a crowd gathering. What are they going to do? Make us ride a chariot out? I doubt it. They'll want to see us walk to our deaths. A chariot is too easy to wrest control of the horses. I know Gale is around here somewhere. It's only a question of what condition he is in. I can tell that they put me through the works. My ribs are healed as well as any other injury I had sustained while in the prisons. We can escape. I can now fight more and I have a new knife. The idiots don't know me well enough to search the room before they had put me in here. I had hidden a couple of boot knives in the dresser. They're boot knives, but they'll do in our current situation. I just need to get one to him. With weapons, we have a chance.
I look at the stairs of the building and see all the Peacekeepers lined up along the street. So this is to be a parade. Great. We'll have to fight our way out on the way down. But I know where we can go. After that, we'll have to hide and slowly make our way out of the Capitol. But, even if we could do that, Gale admitted that he was old. Most of the fighting would fall on me. I know he would try his hardest to help me, but it may end with him dead anyway. Then I would be alone. Though, that would give me a better chance of getting out alive.
But I can't do that. That would be heartless. That would be what Coin would do. That is what all the victors would do. It's not what my father would have done and it's not something I will ever do. If anything, I'll die to give him a chance at freedom. I've failed in this anyway. What's the point in me living? The rebellion can't be salvaged. Even if it could, it's my fault that most of Thirteen's soldiers are dead and Eleven is destroyed. Maybe I should just die. Maybe Thirteen will rally around my death and fight back. I've no doubt that we were betrayed. I was the only spy in the Capitol aside from Katniss and Haymitch and they are already gone, back in Thirteen. I turn when I hear the door open. Half a dozen Peacekeepers are in the hall.
"It's time." The lone female in the group says. I nod and walk over to them. I look into each of their eyes and see sadness in all of them. I accept it in silence and let myself be led to the elevator. Three of the half dozen get on with me and I am riding to ground level. I know the other half went back for Gale. I can only guess that we are walking out together. But I could be wrong. The President did say that I was to die first. I'm just glad that I won't have to die by Gale's hands. Even though we had been in prison together for only five days, we became friends because of it. I take a deep breath and follow the female Peacekeeper from the elevator to the front doors. They don't cuff me like I expect them to. Gale is nowhere to be seen. I gulp. I won't do this without him. I can't do this without him.
The elevator behind us opens and Gale steps out with his own three guards. I look at him. He hasn't been fixed like I have. But of course not. He never won the Games. He was never the one that people looked to for leadership and a comforting word. It's bittersweet. I can tell by his uniform that he is too weak to fight anyone. He hadn't been given food like I had. Though the meager broth is hardly what I would call food. He looks at me, the question in his eyes. Are we going to do this? I raise an eyebrow, a signal asking if he can. He hangs his head and I shake mine. There is no way we can escape. We will face our judgments with our heads held high.
The captain walks in and looks at me, there is a smirk in his eyes. He doesn't strike me, just looks me over. I can tell that he is considering something in his mind and it disgusts me. Outside, the clock strikes Noon. I take a deep breath as the doors open. I am nudged forward and I begin walking, my locket and pendant shine in the sunlight. The Peacekeepers make a path to a stage that faces the President's Mansion. I climb the steps and look at the large house. The President isn't there, but his heir, Roseanne, and the Victors. Many of them look as if they have been beaten. I move my eyes along the row to where Districts Eleven and Twelve should be. Evan and Eva are missing, but Rue is there. My place is empty. Of course it is. For the past several years, I have been mentoring alone and Katniss is dead. She can't be up there. I turn my eyes to the terrace. There he is, the President. He is standing in front of a podium.
"People of Panem," he begins and I notice the cameras. I steel myself against the guilt and the feeling of failure. "I have gathered everyone to the Capitol and their televisions for one reason and one reason only. And that is to witness the death of two traitors caught starting a rebellion. To the rebels of Thirteen, let this be a warning to you. Should I find any more of your people among mine, I will have them killed without a trial. All persons seen engaging in rebellious activity will be tortured and then killed." He turns to face me. "Miss Águila, do you have any last words to say to the people you betrayed."
"I have only one thing to ask of you, Mr. President. I ask that you not repeat your actions of thirty years ago. The Districts were not involved in my rebellion. I did what I did in an effort to spare other families my grief. I only ask that you not punish them for my actions as they were mine and mine alone." I close my eyes. Someone tucks my locket and pendant into my shirt. I take a breath. I hear the shot. Pain explodes in my chest.
Rue:
She watched as Septa crumpled to the ground, red blossoming on her white shirt. Her pendants fell from beneath the fabric as the body landed on the stage. She watched in horror, her fingers digging into the wood of the chair, as the old man was also shot in the chest. There was no word for it. "No," she thought, "there is a word for this. The President is a monster. He took the children of Eleven from their parents and then destroyed it. All the rest of the Districts are on lock down. I am the only adult from Eleven left alive. And now to kill an old man who has done nothing is monstrous. But what can I do about it? Septa never let on that she was leading the rebels. I was told that Katniss was their rallying point, but that's not the same as leading. Septa actually led them. Only a victor would think of taking the Districts during the Games."
"People of Panem," the President spoke, "you all heard the traitor ask that I pardon the Districts that did not participate in her rebellion. I already have. But like District Thirteen and the old District Twelve, District Eleven has been destroyed for openly participating in the rebellion. The children of District Eleven will be sent to other Districts to be cared for. Perhaps, in the future, they can return to the place they once called home." Rue sees the cameras flash in her direction to see her reaction. She keeps her face a mask of calm. She needed to get to the rebels of Thirteen. She would help them and get her home back.
She looked at the three empty chairs next to her. Evan and Eva had been killed with Eleven and Septa had just been executed. She looked at the bodies. She knew they would be taken and left in the sewer. She had a feeling that the rebels would come for the bodies to give them a proper burial. She would be waiting when they did.
Bring on the flames! Hehehe, can't wait to read your reviews for this chapter.
