Chapter 14. Left Behind
For the remainer of the week, Prim stayed in her house, avoiding Rory. She felt like a complete idiot for kissing him. The two of them had been friends for years, as long as Katniss and Gale were! And, in an instant, she felt like she possibly jeopardized the entire thing for a silly kiss. But when these thoughts popped into her head, the youngest Everdeen shook her head rapidly to ward them away, her ponytail which now replaced the braid bouncing from side to side as she did.
Every day and night, Gale remained at Katniss's side. He was informed of the entire story about Peeta and fully understood her stress over it. Regardless of the jealousy that surged in him, he refused to show it. For the year he was gone, Peeta had protected and watched over Katniss. For that, he was eternally grateful.
The hunter sat on the side of the bed, lightly tracing strands of hair in her messy braid when Prim walked in with a tray of food. The girl watched the two of them, almost instantly flashing back to when Rory undid her braid. She shook her head slightly before putting the tray down on the end table of the bed. "Hungry, Katniss?"
Katniss, however, shook her head slightly. She had regressed slightly on the progress she had been making. While she still communicated, it was in short sentences or in nods. She grasped Gale's free hand tightly in her own though, counting the pulses that throbbed in his wrist. After her rope had failed to calm her down in the kitchen, she began to explore other ways of calming herself and keeping herself distracted from her constant worried thoughts. Prim frowned a little, but gave an understanding nod. She turned back to the tray before picking up the glass of water. "Please at least have a drink then?"
The dark haired girl turned her eyes up toward her sister briefly. She then pressed her moist eyes against the side of Gale's thigh as she lost count of the pulses in his wrist and shook her head. "I'm okay."
Sighing, the blond put the glass down before leaning down to Katniss. Since her talk with Rory, Prim had softened up a lot though she wasn't fully back to how she used to be. It would take more then a few days to undo a year's worth of bottling emotions. Still, Prim planted a brief kiss on the top of her sister's head. "Okay. Let me know if you need anything or want to talk about anything. It might help."
"Thank you, Prim," Katniss whispered. She didn't turn her face from Gale's leg, but she nodded slightly. She could sense the change in the girl and, while she didn't know what had caused it, she was thankful that Prim had stopped turning into her.
"No problem," she smiled, trying to comfort her older sister. She reached down, going to grasp on to her hand when the sudden sounds of footsteps behind the door broke her concentration. Prim turned her attention back towards the door, listening carefully. Slowly, yet surely, more and more sounds echoed through the hallways. Prim immediately stood up and smiled back at Katniss. "Katniss, I think everybody's back."
Katniss immediately sat up in her bed, her hand falling from Gale's as her eyes shot toward the door. However, the look in her eyes wasn't panic: it was almost excitement. She scrambled out of bed, even as her legs quaked slightly under her weight, and she sprinted to the door, opening it and looking out. Down the hallway, the sight from downstairs could be seen from the stairway. A few people walked through and by - Johanna throwing her coat carelessly aside, Chaff heading for the kitchen presumably for alcohol, and a familiar man with golden eyeliner stopped at the foot of the stairs, looking towards the living room where the rest of the rebels were situating themselves.
Katniss, although she was searching for a familiar blond boy, stopped when she saw her stylist. Her face immediately broke out into a smile and she ran down the hallway and stairs before immediately wrapping her arms around him. "Cinna!"
Although he couldn't have foreseen such a sudden movement, the stylist wasn't surprised by the arms around him. The man turned around to face her, a small smile spreading across his lips, which was split at the corner. Cinna wrapped his arms around her and spoke, though his tone was soft yet solemn. "It's great to see you again, Girl on Fire."
She turned her eyes up toward him. "You're okay. So the mission was a success?"
"You could say so. Portia and I both made it out thanks to everybody."
"Good," she smiled at him again before releasing him. She scrunched her nose up at Finnick briefly as he passed her, ruffling her hair absentmindedly while Gale and Prim both started down the stairs behind her. "I'm glad they finally decided to get you guys out."
"Well, it wouldn't have been wise for them to pull us until the time was right. It was an understandable move."
Something about Cinna's tone was off, however. The usual calm, soft tone was still there but had a hint of melancholy to it, which was odd for the usually so-well-held-together stylist. Katniss faltered slightly at she looked up at Cinna. Suddenly, it seemed like Peeta was taking too long to arrive. "Cinna? What happened?"
Cinna rubbed his brow as he looked back to the other rebels. He, for the first time ever in front of Katniss, looked uncertain and speechless. The man who, to Katniss, always had the right words couldn't think of how to form the sentence he wanted to say. Suddenly, her hands began to shake so hard she had to stuff them into her pockets. She ran her eyes quickly along the line of rebels that all seemed to avoid her eyes. Not knowing was worse than anything they could tell her as her chest began to tighten. Her voice suddenly became panicky. "What happened? Where's Peeta?"
Cinna, deciding he would be the most delicate with the situation, put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Try to calm yourself. I'll tell you. During the mission, he fell back when trying to aid one of the injured."
She pressed her lips together briefly, focusing on Cinna's hand on her shoulder to stop the panic from rising up to her throat. "And why isn't he here?"
"Panem's Peacekeepers in the Capitol spotted him," Cinna continued, his grip on her shoulder loosening but never abandoning the spot. "They captured Peeta. We tried to go after them but we were overwhelmed."
Katniss stared into Cinna's eyes, trying to focus on the gold eyeliner, but her bottom lip began to quiver as she felt the anxiety beginning to overtake her senses.
It was Delly, however, that spoke Katniss's thoughts from the stairs. "You left him there?"
Cinna's gaze left Katniss's to look up at the girl. He had no idea who the woman was, but his confusion and questions never showed on his expression.
"We didn't have a choice. They were overpowering us as it was and too many were injured," Johanna's voice called up from behind Cinna. Her narrowed eyes shot back to the rest of the rebels, as if she had to explain herself. "What? We saved Cinna and Portia and it was our mission. We should be the ones explaining our actions, not him."
Delly turned her gaze onto Johanna's briefly, but ultimately, she turned to glare at Willow, although the effect was marred by the tears in her eyes. "You brought him there, when I asked you not to take him on any missions without consulting me. You betrayed me and then you abandoned him to be brutally tortured, probably murdered."
At Delly's words, Katniss fell backwards onto the stairs, grasping her chest desperately. Cinna almost instinctively sat down on the stairs beside her. He reached over, grasping her hands in his but said nothing. No matter how well he was with words, no words could soften the blow Delly's harsh sentences struck. The blond paid them no mind, however.
Willow kept her gaze on Delly's and fought to keep any remorse from showing on her face. "Delly, it was necessary. We didn't have a choice-"
"We're getting him back. You have to get him back."
"Get realistic," Johanna glared towards Delly as she pushed Willow out of the path of the girl's glare. It was an odd, almost protective side that Johanna was letting out as she stood in front of the younger General, eyes glaring at the District 12 rebel. "We've all been with Bread since the break out. Do you honestly believe for a damn second that we wanted to leave him? You're not the only one with connections to the boy, so I'd suggest you hold that tongue of yours before I rip it out."
Delly stepped off the stairs, not backing down, even when faced with the intimidating Johanna. When she spoke, it was sarcastic and biting, even though the tears in her eyes told a different story. One where she'd like to break down like Katniss was. "I'd like to see you try it. None of you care about Peeta. Just because you've been around him for, what, a year? Two? He's been my best friend since we were toddlers. Please, continue talking, because I'm sure what you say will actually have relevance."
But Johanna didn't have any words for the girl. Never one to take threats and sarcasm well, Johanna didn't even hesitate before slamming her right fist towards the girl's cheek. Delly stumbled backwards, wincing as she heard a bone crack. Regardless, she instantly launched herself toward the older woman, punching her in the stomach.
Willow gasped, dodging around Johanna to push the two women apart quickly as Katniss began to gasp for air more desperately on the steps. Johanna refused to back down though. She grasped Willow by the shoulders, moving the shorter woman almost too easily away before diving on to Delly. She gave herself a brief moment to cough from the punch Delly gave her before straddling over the rebel, her fingers snaking around the blond under her's neck and her knees painfully digging in to Delly's hands.
"You fucking listen here! You might have known the boy longer but what have you really been doing for this war? How many Games have you been a part of, huh? How many break outs did you and Peeta complete together and how many missions for Bonum have the two of you fought side by side together on? That's right, none! Peeta didn't need your permission to do anything and you have no right yelling at Willow for allowing the grown fucking man to do as he pleased!"
Delly gasped in pain, feeling her hands crack under Johanna's knees as she struggled. "Get off me, bitch!"
Willow grasped Johanna's shoulders, although her hands were tender. She bit her bottom lip, usually so good at diffusing tension, but faltering slightly this time. She felt a fondness for both women, even though Delly was mad at her. "Johanna... let her up. She's just upset. Come on."
This only fueled Johanna's rage more, however. She shot a glare up towards Willow before shooting it back down at Delly. Without warning, she spit on the younger rebel's cheek before standing upright, off of her. Willow's eyes widened almost imperceptibly before Delly's growl reverberated in the room. The blond dove at the District 7 Victor's knees before crawling on top of her and punching every inch of her she could reach.
The sudden fall shouldn't have caught Johanna off guard, but it did. The Victor fell to the ground hard, seeing stars for a brief moment after her head bashed against the floor. However, about three punches to the face later, Johanna realized her situation. She was pushed down on her back, against her will, just letting this blond have her way. The Victor snapped. With no regards or restrictions, Johanna immediately brought her fist up and slammed it into Delly's throat with as much force as she could muster. Delly let out a strangled gasp, instantly raising her hand to her throat. Suddenly, Katniss's gasps for breath didn't seem so trivial as the blond fell off Johanna, fighting for air as well.
Willow grabbed Johanna's arm, roughly this time, and threw her off Delly, her eyes flashing. She had her General face on, taking control of her soldier. "Mason, control yourself!"
Johanna clenched her fist, her eyes never leaving Delly. However, the woman seemed satisfied enough with the damage she caused the girl. Relaxing her muscles, Johanna reached up and went to roughly wipe away the blood from her badly wounded nose but winced when she touched it. Johanna muttered a death threat under her breath aimed towards Delly as she lowered her other arm.
Willow eyed her for a moment before glancing down at Delly and Katniss, who were both gasping for breath for very different reasons. She instantly glanced at Prim. "Deal with Cartwright and Everdeen, if you would, Prim." She didn't wait for a response before grabbing Johanna's arm tightly and pulling her into the kitchen. Prim, who still stood on the stairs, nodded before immediately rushing over towards the two.