Chapter 25: Aim to Kill

Disclaimer: Not Suzanne Collins.

Clove:

"Alright, have a seat."

Again, Clove, Johanna, and Annie were brought into the screening room. Another special appearance by President Snow was coming up.

This time, Clove had her hands in cuffs. The drugs they usually gave her were stopped on Lucilius's command. The medics and guards were a bit more cautious around her, fearing her reaction. Even Clove felt a bit more on edge. There was a lingering sense of worry, a voice in her head that kept telling her to keep her guard up.

Perhaps, she was breaking. Johanna was close, she never said a word anymore. Her biting wit and sarcasm had diminished during their captivity. Annie was gone. The whole time, just gone. And Peeta, well, Clove never got to see him. But she got the feeling he was worse off.

Projected onto the wall, Peeta sat on a high chair. Unlike the last couple of times, he looked nervous. His condition had worsened since the last time he had been on Caesar's show.

Although, Clove could have been wrong about that. Hallucinations now crossed into her reality. Nothing terribly confusing, but her eyes did trick her at times. Likely to be a result of the sedatives she was kept on for so long.

Peeta began a speech similar to the first he had given. Cease-fire, rebels, destruction; those words made multiple appearances. The Capitol showed images of a broken damn, a granary fire, and spilled chemicals. All provided to emphasize the need for an end to the rebellion.

There was an interruption in the programming, something that hadn't happened before. And Katniss Everdeen materialized on the wall. She stood among some ruins, a sight that was familiar to many in the districts nowadays. Or so Lucilius said.

"Peeta? Do you recognize this? It's your home. Was your home. Look at it. There's no one left to hear you." The ruins she stood on were the remains of Twelve.

When the broadcast returned to the Capitol interview, it was obvious Peeta had seen her. He lacked concentration, the little focus he had at the beginning had vanished.

A few more seconds ticked by and then Finnick's voice was heard.

"Finnick! Finnick!" Annie yelled, desperately trying to find him. She panicked when he failed to call her name in return.

Finnick spoke of Rue, the girl from Eleven. They had a clip of Katniss singing to her when she died in the arena. Clove had watched the games, but this scene had been cut by Gamemakers when they aired the Games to the public. The emotion was incredibly in it was incredibly sincere. Clove understood this was a tactic meant to garner support for the rebellion. Capitol citizens were suckers for drama and tragedy. The rebels had begun working on expanding the cracks, forcing them open until they became unrepairable chasms in Snow's rule.

The broadcast morphed into a battle between the rebels in Thirteen and the Capitol, as they both tried to retain control. Clove was impressed by the skill level the rebels had, it was a huge accomplishment to be able to infiltrate the Capitol feed, an even bigger one to keep control for a few seconds.

The battle ended after a few minutes and the Capitol seal was on screen. Some moments later, the cameras turned back on to where President Snow stood on the stage with Peeta. There was chaos in the Capitol. Shouting and shuffling were heard in the background.

"The rebels are trying to undermine our society!" Snow declared on screen. "Will we allow this to happen? We will not! Your government, your Capitol, will emerge victorious. In the end, justice and truth will reign supreme!"

He moved next to Peeta. "Peeta, after tonight, is there anything you would care to say to Katniss?"

Peeta struggled to gather his thoughts. "Katniss…how do you think this will end? What will be left? No one is safe. Not in the Capitol. Not in the districts. And you…in Thirteen…" He was fighting himslef at this point, struggling to speak. "Dead by morning!"

There was a pounding sound in her ears. It was the blood that coursed through her veins, her heart pumping it through her body at an irregular speed. The fear, worry, and dispair Clove felt at the thought of her family being in danger was overwhelming.

The flashing images that took over the screen in the moments after the announcement only worsened her condition. A still picture of ruins, flames, and death. After that, white tiles and more shouting. Peeta's voice as he continued to speak. The words 'bomb' and 'raid' stood out. A cry of pain, just before red liquid stained the white tiles. That image was frozen on the screen.

No one spoke, not even the peacekeeper guarding them. Annie was only capable of sobbing. Johanna sat in her chair, void of any emotion.

Then, Clove shot out of her seat and slammed her handcuffed hands into the face of the peacekeeper. The helmet provided some level of protection but the impact was enough to mess with his balance. Clove followed up with another strike, bringing the man down. She had an easy target now. She kicked and kept hitting with the cuffs; yelling and cursing the entire time. She gained nothing from attacking, but she needed to vent. She needed to have some control and it would be this man's death.

She didn't hear the shot, but she felt the warmth on her side. Hot, burning her skin. Clove looked down, maybe it was her imagination. The blood was bright red and all too, real. Her eyes were wide with shock, scanning the room for the shooter.

Another peacekeeper. The helmet was off, he still held the gun he had fired. His expression was full of horror. Clove focused on his face. The man's skin was a pale yellow, on his cheek, a diamond. A Capitol peacekeeper new to the job, the poor man had no idea he wasn't ever supposed to shoot at a hostage.

"Don't shoot! Don't shoot!"

The last thing she saw before falling asleep was Lucilius, frowning at her and shaking his head. Lucilius, she'd memorize the name and face. She'd live through this. Once the war was over, no matter which side won, Clove would hunt him down.

Cato:

The air was heavy and only got heavier the deeper they went into the earth. They descended several flights of stairs to finally reach the bunkers.

"Please, find the number that matches your compartment." A computer voice repeated this instruction countless times.

Cato reached 394 before Max and Enobaria had. The space provided for the inhabitants of said compartment was small and there were no walls; privacy was not a priority in times of crisis. There were two bunks carved right into the wall. He inspected the other 'compartments' near his and found that it was the same for all. A sheet with instructions sat inside the lower bunk. He didn't bother to read it.

Enobaria and Max arrived a few minutes later. The eight year old had fear etched into his face and he held on tightly to Enobaria's hand.

"Hey, don't be scared. We'll be fine here. Nothing will get us." Cato told him. Max nodded slightly before taking a seat in the lower bunk.

Enobaria crossed her arms impatiently. "I told him this wasn't a drill." No wonder the boy had been so afraid.

"Coin says they won't be nuclear. The Capitol won't want to damage any of the equipment." Cato said.

He didn't have to explain that the Capitol would keep it after the rebels lost the war.
"Makes sense." She responded.

The lights flickered off when the first bomb hit. The bunker shook; a small earthquake was produced by the impact. Max began to cry and Enobaria was quick to soothe the boy. The bright lights did not come back on, instead, a reddish-brown glow filled the bunkers.

Max cried quietly, he didn't have his notebook to draw in. Cato pulled the bracelet out of his pocket and gave it to Max. He held on to it, opening and closing the locket as a way to distract himself.

"You'll break it, Max. Clove will be really mad." Enobaria whispered to him. Cato smiled, imagining Clove being angry at him for letting Max play with it.

I'd rather have her here giving me the silent treatment, than have her locked away in the Capitol.

Hours melted away and another bomb hit Thirteen. More time passed, then another bomb. The Capitol had planned this raid and they had done it meticulously. They wanted to lure the people back out to the upper levels before attacking once more.

The next day, everyone in the bunkers was allowed to socialize. Max insisted on visiting Posy in Compartment 74. From there, the small girl lead everyone over to compartment E. The Everdeen's had created a game that involved their ugly yellow cat chasing a small red light.

Cato watched as Max amused himself by observing the beast as it struggled to capture the light. The entire second day was spent with game. The third followed the same schedule and ended with Max demanding to have a cat once they all returned home to Two.

"Why not a dog? They're more fun." Enobaria disliked cats. Max was unrelenting. It was a sign, at least he believed they'd make it home. Cato could only wish for such certainty.

Day four came around and the bombings had stopped. A soldier showed up at Cato's compartment, informing him of a meeting. He lead Cato over to another square, this one belonged to Coin. Others had already gathered, including Plutarch and Haymitch.

"It has been twenty-four hours since the last bomb fell. This is standard wait time to allow every one to leave the bunkers. We are ready to give that order at this moment." Coin said. No one contradicted her. They were sick of the bunkers.

"Currently, we're behind on promos. The Mockingjay hasn't been seen in days and we have to move quickly if we want to keep the support we have in the districts." Coin waited for a response.

Fulvia, Plutarch's Capitol secretary, came up with a plan. "We can let her go inspect the outside of Thirteen. We tape her reaction. Heavy guard, of course, but we have to let the Districts know that we're still standing." Plutarch approved.

"I'll go with her." Haymitch added.

"We should let Odair go with her, too. It can't hurt to show we have another victor on our side." Fulvia said. They weren't going to pick Cato for a promo, he wasn't very well liked anywhere.

Coin gave a firm nod. "I'll announce the end of the lock-down and we meet back in Command immediately."

Thirteen was still determined to make promos. They didn't help, they caused a raid. Once they saw Katniss walking around again, the Capitol would want to do more damage. Someone would die.

Whatever happens here, let them kill Johanna Mason first.

The hostages will make it to Thirteen soon, I think maybe next chapter. So, look forward to that, guys! Thank you for reading and reviewing, you're awesome!