Katniss Pov
I woke up to chaos. My head was still in Cloves lap, and Foxy must have joined us while I was asleep, but that wasn't the part that startled me. There were men in large, black suits with weapons pointed directly at me. Cloves arms, which were still wrapped around me, tightened, trying to keep me calm.
"They've come to take us home, Kat, back to our families." She whispers, grinning down at me. I give her a small smile, still slightly confused. One man grabbed my arms carefully, pulling me to my feet as he starts to lead me down the ladder.
When we reach the beach, I see everyone form the other camp, including Cato. I shift my gaze from him and Glimmer, who is wrapped in his arms, to the boat that would take me home. And then questions flooded my mind. Is mom okay? Would Gale still like me? Where would I go, since Prim was taken from mom?
"You'll be okay. We will take you back to your district, where you can rejoin your family and go to the local school." The guard comments from behind me, answering my unspoken questions.
"Local? What happened to the mix-district school?" I exclaim, whirling around.
"It's been closed, because of multiple fights after the students disappearance and if we continue to do the things the way we did, more students may disappear. Now everyone is confined to their districts, no sub communities in between." My eyes widen at the statement. Things really have changed. Before, everyone in twelve, even though we were the lowest of the districts, had good jobs. But it's been nearly six years, so things could have changed.
The slight rock of the boat was soothing, making my eyes droop as I looked out over the calm waves of the ocean. I'm going home, I think, but really, I'm not sure where my home is. The light that the moon and stars gave off made me feel slightly better, like I wasn't so alone, but I still knew that, in the end, I really didn't have anyone. Clove and Foxy will go back to their districts, Prim sided with Peeta, my mom may be gone and I haven't seen my best friend and cousin, Gale, in years.
Gale and I were in the same grade in school, and both of our fathers were fishers in a sub community that had people from district twelve in district four. The only way we could stay there was to be successful, but our families were getting poorer and poorer. Now that the sub communities are gone, I don't know what happened to them.
Across the deck, I could see Cato and Glimmer making goo-goo eyes at each other, but Cato's seemed fake…
No! Katniss, snap out of it! He doesn't like you, and he never will, I think harshly, you just need to get over yourself and face that he will never abandon his fiancée for you. You are a twelve, he is a two, get it through that thick head of yours.
As the sea breeze swept across the deck, I started to shiver. Creeping back downstairs, I slide on top of the silk sheets that they had put on the bed. The smoothness drove me crazy; I was so used to the hard mats I had slept on during my time on the island. I got frustrated, standing up and tearing the sheets off before flopping down onto the rough canvas of the mattress. That's better, I think as I slowly drift off.
"Island survivors, I welcome you back to Panem!" President Snow says into the microphone, the sound echoing from the speakers that surround the capitol stage. "We have with us today, the students from Panem Academy that went missing. Marvel Formen and Glimmer Monro of district one, Cato Jones and Clove Marley of district two, Susan Grey of district 5, Rue and Thresh Kenth of district eleven, and Peeta and Primrose Mellark of district twelve. And, a girl that disappeared nearly six years ago and was found with these kids, Katniss Everdeen of district twelve."
Everyone from the island had gained the weight they needed, and were cleaned and dressed to perfection, the girls wearing flamboyant dresses and the boys wearing fine suits. They were all happy, happy to be home, but I was angry. I would've rather stayed on the island. When I got back, I finally got the confirmed news that my mom is dead, my house is now only mine, seeing as they thought I was able to live on my own, and the government would pay for my expenses for two months while I gain my bearings to the changes.
Clove had been kind enough to introduce me to the new system. Since there were no sub communities, I was now considered a district twelve inhabitant even though I lived in the sub community of district four my entire life. Apparently, when my father died, my mother and sister were sent to district twelve to a 'seam' (another word for a poor area in town) house. This house was now mine.
Through out the welcome back party, I saw many people. Hunger Games victors, like Finnick Odair and Johanna Mason, who I liked, along with high-ranking capitol officials.
Just as I was about to get on the train to go home, the president talked to me, his beady eyes narrowed and the over powering scent of blood and roses encasing him.
"Everything is about to change, Ms. Everdeen," he said, "and they may not be for the better."
Well, that's it. Where Paradise Hides is officially over. The sequel will be out once I get a handle on my school work-Vanessa Knight