Hey, Everyone! Here's another chapter! Things are certainly getting interesting! Well, don't just sit there, Read on!
Chapter Twenty-Five
Finn Mellark's POV
I groaned as my alarm went off. Today is our first day of training and we all have to be up and ready by five a.m. Why we have to start so early is beyond me. I pull myself out of bed and rub my eyes. It took me forever to fall asleep last night. I really didn't want to leave mom and dad's room last night. I just couldn't believe what had happened. It all just seemed so . . . so surreal.
Seeing mom in that hospital bed with tubes going in and out of her, well, it had hit me hard. Mom and I have always had a special relationship. She's my biggest fan when I'm out on the court or the field. She's always supportive and encouraging. I just couldn't believe that the strongest woman in my life had been brought down. Well, that just wasn't going to fly with me. I would do whatever I had to do to show Remington just who he was messing with.
We all meet in the meadow, the sun rising behind us. Grandpa Haymitch, Uncle Gale, and Aunt Johanna have set up stations and obstacles for us. I can already tell that this training is going to hurt even more tomorrow.
Haymitch, Johanna, and Gale explain to us each of the stations and obstacles. Today, we're aiming to discover everyone's specialties. Then, for the rest of the training, we'll be focusing on our specialties and our strategies. This is going to be a long two weeks.
The first station I am assigned to is hand to hand combat, run by Grandpa Haymitch. Honestly, I really don't want to hurt him or anything. I know he's getting up there in age and he's not as strong as he used to be.
He motions for me to come at him so I lunge for him, attempting to kick him in the knee. He grabs my foot midair. He then uses my own leg to flip me over and pin me hard against the ground. Alright, so grandpa's got some game.
He teaches me a few moves. Apparently I have some serious potential at hand to hand combat. He sets me up with Alex and Blake to spar for a while. We were all really surprised when Blake wanted in on the training. He said that he viewed us as his family and that he wanted to help us in any way he could. As it turned out, Blake had some serious knowledge out hand to hand combat and poisons and potions. Maybe he really could be an asset to our mission.
As we go through our stations, I notice that Ivy has a serious knack for archery. I mean, of course she does; our mother is the great Katniss Everdeen after all. It's kind of amazing how good she is at it though. I know for a fact she's never shot a bow before and the second she picks one up, she's a complete master.
Phoenix, according to Uncle Gale, has a serious gift for strategizing. It's like he can just fit all the pieces of our mission together in no time. He just focuses and nothing else in the world matters to him. I guess it could be considered another form of artwork.
Lilac, sweet, dainty, girly girl Lilac, is the best knife thrower I've ever seen. Her form is perfect and her aim couldn't be any better. Even Aunt Johanna is impressed with her skills. It's crazy really. Who would've thought that Lilac Mellark could throw knives like a pro?
Liam and Ash are both pretty good in the stealth department and they've been spending all of the training time with Uncle Gale, learning about explosives. I guess explosives are a pretty big part of our strategy for our mission.
"Alright, what we're going to do this time is we're going to line every entrance to the Capitol Justice Building with explosives. No one can go in and no one can go out. But, before we do that, we're going to create a diversion. We're going to make sure that every peacekeeper in the Capitol is occupied when we're ready to pull Remington's plug.
"Our diversion is going to be in Capitol Square, at the Hunger Games memorial. Ash and Liam, after you've lined every entrance of the Capitol Justice Building with explosives, you'll make your way to the Square. There, you will set some explosives to go off at intervals, one after another. There will be dozens of these explosions. Make sure that no one will be able to figure out any pattern.
"Phoenix and I will be keeping in touch with everyone using radios. We'll give you instructions and help if you need it. We'll also be hacking into the cameras in the Capitol Justice Building, the surrounding area, and the Square. We'll be keeping tabs on you all and, if we can, informing you if there are any threats to your safety.
"Once the diversion is well under way, Task Force Zeta will move in. Task Force Zeta consists of Johanna, Nash, Lilac, and Finn. Your job is to take on anyone that's going to stand in the next force's way.
"Task Force Omega, you have the most important job. Ivy, Alex, Blake, and Haymitch, you are Task Force Omega and your job is to find Remington and kill him. I don't care who does it or how you do it but I want him dead. That's the whole object of this mission. He needs to be out of the way. He's been destroying everything that we all worked so hard for and he's been doing it for too long. He needs to be stopped.
"I want you all to study this strategy and these maps of the Capitol." Uncle Gale tells us. "I want you to memorize it all, every single thing. I want you to be dreaming of this when you sleep at night. There is absolutely no room for error in this mission. This is our last resort."
My heart is pounding furiously. The amount of pressure that this all is has finally hit me. If we screw up, Panem is royally screwed. No. We can't let this monster win. We're fighters. We're heroes. We're rebels.
Ivy Mellark's POV
*Two Weeks Later*
I grasp Blake's hand as Grandpa Haymitch drives us towards the Capitol. We decided to take our own vehicles for this trip. The first car, Grandpa Haymitch's Hummer, had me, Blake, Phoenix, Alex, Lilac, and Finn. Behind us, in Uncle Gale's Range Rover, was Uncle Gale, Aunt Johanna, Uncle Nash, Ash, and Liam. In both cars we had various amounts of our equipment. It was kind of nerve wracking to have explosives in the same car as you.
I couldn't stop from thinking about how important this was. The pressure was really on us. Whether they knew it or not, all of Panem was relying on us for their safety. If we messed up, even just a little bit, everything my parents and all the Rebels had worked and sacrificed for was going to be destroyed.
A few years ago, mom had told me about her sister, Primrose. Apparently she had been killed trying to save people during the rebellion. She had been working as a medic, trying to save people that were dying. She had only been about twelve years old and she had died for Panem. She had sacrificed herself for the greater good. She was a hero. I really hoped I would be able to make my Aunt Primrose proud during this mission.
I was eternally grateful that I was surrounded with people I completely trusted. I don't think I could have put together a better team myself. We all trusted each other and we were all incredibly gifted. In our group, we have a huge range of weaponry and skills; from combat to explosives to knives to strategy. There was no way we could be better prepared.
I sigh as we cross into the Capitol, the sun rising in front of us. It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day. I hope we can do this.
Is anyone else biting their nails right now? I know I am! How things will turn out . . . well I just don't know! I guess we'll have to see how our heroes do in the upcoming chapters! Thanks for reading and don't forget to review!