Chapter Fourteen
The sun light is slowing decreasing from the trees. The soft snow is almost as hard as the ground beneath it. It hasn't really been snowing all that much. I take point and can see that Katniss is following with the bow ready to let fly an arrow. We move slowly as most of us are still suffering from the crash. I think also it helps to keep a slower pace for Haymitch who hasn't really seen any physical activity since the war.
The packs are heavy and causes me to quickly breath a little deeper. Katniss walks over to me.
"I can take it," she says.
I shake my head no.
"I rather you have nothing on you to be able to shoot cleaning," I say. "Plus we are almost there."
The streets are empty and deserted. Old cars are littered throughout the street, covered with snow. We each pick a house on the next side street over, Gale and Liam in one house and me and Katniss in the other. Haymitch takes the two story house at the far end, completing the circle.
"Keep radio chatter to a minimum," says Haymitch. "First contact and we move to the opposite direction. Clear your escape route and make sure that we all have the ability to get there. If we separate, then we will meet at the coast line by the end of tomorrow. If by the end of tomorrow you do not show up, then we will see you in the other life."
We all nod and move to our positions.
The house that we chose is a one story house. There is one large window that is where the living room is located. Walking towards the back kitchen and through the outside door, I see that the next houses have no fences so we would have no problem making it east. Walking back, I see that she has already set everything up. When I see that everything is in position, I sit down.
She walks over to me.
"Are you okay," she says.
"Little bit of a headache," I tell her. "But I will be fine. How about you?"
I check her head and find no lacerations or bleeding. Last time Gale checked it was a mild concussion. I open the bag with the medical supplies and get out a cold pack that when shaken the blue liquid turns cold. I place the cold pack on her head.
"Sit for a little bit," I say. "We have some time before any movement."
She sits next to me with the ice pack on her head. She makes a soothing sound as it lies there on her forehead.
"Don't you just love our vacations?" I say laughing.
"Enough to never want another vacation ever," she says laughing back.
I grab her hand and can see that probably some of my fingers are broken as it hurt like heck to try and close my hand. She sees that I winch and checks my hand.
"Seems like you have a couple broken fingers," she says. "Going to pop them back in. You might want to hold onto to something."
Closing my eyes, I think the pain of them popping back in is as bad as getting shot.
"Sorry," she says.
A couple of minutes pass and finally open my eyes. I move the fingers and although they still hurt, I can finally close my hand all the way. Keeping my mind active I go over checking the weapons that we have, two pistols, one shot gun, and two bows.
"How many explosives do we have?" I ask.
She looks into the pack and sees that we have three time explosives.
Grabbing the thermal goggles, I crawl over to the window and turn them on. Looking around I do not see anyone just yet. Two houses down across the street that is where Gale and Liam is. Turning my head I look up the street to the two story house. No movement there either.
I finally move back slowly as to not attract any sound.
"Nothing," I say. "I will take the first watch."
"Don't think I can sleep," she says.
"Well at least close your eyes," I say.
She places herself facing the rear of the house. We take turns just talking about things that keep us awake. It isn't a couple of hours before, I hear Katniss drift off to sleep. I grab the empty pack and roll it up placing it under her head. As I move away, she grabs my hand.
"Just going to close my eyes for a little bit," she says. "Wake me up in an hour."
Looking out I see the stars begin to come out. There is no moon tonight so the darkness is all encompassing. After thirty minutes passed I put on the infrared goggles. Finally crawling towards the window, I turn them on, and for a second my heart stops.
I see them approaching Haymitch's house.
"Contact made," I said over the COMs. "Nest you are about to have company over for dinner."
"Visual confirmed," says Haymitch. The next thing that I know, an explosion jars the housing development. Turning around Katniss comes to, and she is immediately armed with the gun in her hand.
"We have to go," I say.
Her eyes open wide.
"Who," she says.
"The nest," I say. "We have to get going, east."
I grab her hand and the packs, making a dash for the kitchen. I can feel her hesitation, in leaving Gale, Liam and Haymitch. It is what I first felt in my heart, to fight, but we all know that we chose this configuration to make for a quick escape.
"He will meet us," I say. "Trust me."
She finally runs ahead.
"Twenty minute burst," she yells back. It is our code for how far to run before we stop. The dark night and the fact that we are running without knowing where are going doesn't help the fact that Gale and Liam would be running near us but a couple of minutes behind us.
We can still hear the gun fire, and know that Haymitch is still giving us enough time to get away. His plan worked and we are about an hour east of his position before we finally stop.
There is only static on the COMs. A fear washes over us. What if we are the only two to make it?
She tests the COMS on different channels.
Nothing.
Static is the only thing we hear. There is a nearby store, or what looks like a store and all I can do is break into the door. We had to get out of the open.
Finally closing the door behind us.
"Peeta," she says. "Nothing."
"Don't worry," I say. "They will make it. We are almost at the coast. How is your head?"
"Better," she says. Turning to the side she vomits into the room.
"Sorry," she says. "My head is fine, but the little one in here probably is nauseous enough with all this running."
I open my pack and hand her my water. She drinks a little bit of water, before she places it on the floor.
"We will rest here for a little bit," I say. "I am pretty sure that we are ahead of them."
Looking outside there is no movement, there is nothing. I place on the goggles and look around and find that there is no one, no heat signatures at all. It does beg the question, are we moving in the right direction. I take out the compass and find that the arrow points towards the east. I wonder though how far we are from the coast. Coming back to her I feel her head and find that she is a little bit warm.
She sits down, and I see that soon enough she won't be able to do this anymore until our child is born.
The static cuts the thoughts in my head until finally it sounds like someone is picking up the radio.
"Hello," someone says with a song in her voice. "Someone there?"
I nod my head no. Whoever it is either is on our frequency or has one of our radios. If it is the latter then one of our own has been captured or killed.
"Well if no one is there, then that means that this little old man here belongs to nobody," she says in a childish voice. "It seems like we are just going to have to put you out of your misery old man, I mean no one is claiming you."
She hums something through the open radio. It is bait. She is trying to get us to say something. She is trying to gauge a reaction.
"I am a little puzzled, how did you get all the way out here on a Capitol Hovercraft," she says. "Well I guess some mysteries are not meant to be solved. Good bye."
Just then we hear the recoil of a gun being loaded and then the gun shot over the radio.
Static.
Could it be real? Has Haymitch just been killed?
Katniss walks up to the radio.
"No," I say. "It is a trick."
She opens a channel.
"Whoever this is, know this, that I will gun you down like the coward that you are," she says with a serious tone.
"Oh oh oh," she says. "There she is, Panem's little mockingjay. I was only joking; the old man is still here, alive and kicking. I am not a murderer; I don't kill people for fun, unlike someone I know."
Whoever this is, she knows Katniss when she mentioned the mockingjay and killing people but it was never for fun it was for survival.
"What's that? Hello?" she says. "Avox's got your tongue, especially the red hair ones."
She grips the radio tighter. It is enough to remind her of the games, but to remind her of the Avoxes that we had in our Training Center. She knows us more privately than what we thought. The other information anyone could have known it. This one though it is only someone who would have access to this. A gamemaker? Who could it be? Could this be the person who placed the rose in our home?
"Or maybe," she says with a devilish tone. "The poor little baker boy is having one of his reactions."
The blood begins to rise and I know that this girl is trying to get a response from me.
"What do you want?" she says over the radio.
"To say hello of course, I am such a fan," she says. "Tomorrow I hear it is going to be a beautiful day to see the ocean. You should really think about coming to see it. Don't worry none of my friends will stop our little get together. Oh and make sure that you bring the baker boy with you, would love to meet him as well."
The radio goes silent and then finally static.
"A trap," I say.
"Do we have a choice?" she says.
The radio comes back to life.
"Oh, I am sorry," the person on the radio says. "Something I forgot to say. He mentioned something about sweetheart. Wait let me get him for you."
There is a sound of a struggle and then finally.
"Say it or else, you will be punished," she says playfully.
"Follow my advice, don't do it, it is a trap," says Haymitch clearly through the radio.
"Well of course it is a trap silly," she says. "But don't think they have a choice."
The radio goes silent and finally Katniss turns it off. They have him. It is the only thing that we needed confirmation that they had him.
She comes out to the street and finally looks up and down the street.
"They are not coming for us," she says.
It is the same thing that the Capitol had always done. They take our love ones to get us to do what they want. Tomorrow we will have to make it to the coast and finally figure out who has been hunting us.
"I promise you this," she says. "We are coming after them."