A/N - Hope there aren't too many mistakes, I haven't had much time to double and triple check because I'm on holidays and I just wanted to post this chapter while I still had internet. Hope you enjoy! Xx

CHAPTER 13:

That made it two requests for Peeta's death in less than an hour, thought Katniss. First, it was Boggs and now, it was Peeta himself.

"Don't be ridiculous," said Jackson, impatiently. It was as if she was speaking to a child that had just asked for dessert, instead of dinner.

"I just murdered a member of our squad!" shouted Peeta.

"You pushed him off you. You couldn't have known he would trigger the net at that exact spot," said Finnick, trying to calm him.

"Who cares? He's dead, isn't he?" Tears began to run down Peeta's face, staining his cheeks. "I didn't know, I've never seen myself like that before. Katniss is right, I'm the monster, I'm the mutt, I'm the one Snow has turned into a weapon!"

"It's not your fault, Peeta," said Kailani, gently.

"You can't take me with you, it's only a matter of time before I kill someone else." Peeta looked around at all of their conflicted faces. "Maybe you think it's kinder to just dump me somewhere, let me take my chances. But that's the same thing as handing me over to the Capitol. Do you think you'd be doing me a favour by sending me back to Snow?"

No. The answer to that was a firm no, Katniss was positive. Peeta couldn't go back to Snow, he'd be tortured and tormented until there really was, none of him left. "I'll kill you before that happens," said Gale, "I promise."

Peeta hesitated, as if considering the reliability of the offer. And then, he shook his head. "It's no good. What if you're not there to do it? I want one of those poison pills like the rest of you have."

Nightlock. Katniss had one in her Mockingjay suit back at camp, and one in the breast pocket of her uniform. It was interesting that they hadn't issued Peeta one, perhaps Coin didn't want to risk him using it before he could kill her. But none of them knew if Peeta meant to use it now, or only if he were captured. In the state he was in, Katniss expected he'd use it sooner rather than later. It would make things easier, that was for sure. They wouldn't have to shoot him, bear that guilt. It would also simplify having to deal with his homicidal episodes. But, all Katniss could think of was being in the arena. That was what all of this was like, and she could only imagine how much satisfaction Snow would get out of her having to kill Peeta.

"It's not about you," said Katniss, finally. "We're on a mission, and you're necessary to it." She looked around at everyone else, ignoring Peeta. "Think we might find some food here?"

Half of them stayed to guard Peeta, while the other half went off in search of food. Finnick and Kailani were amongst those to stay, though they weren't really needed. Again, Finnick found himself studying her, the love of his life. He leaned his head on her shoulder, breathing in her scent. Behind the horrible tar, and smell of smoke that covered them all, there was the distinct scent of tropical flowers and vanilla. It was Kailani, familiar and warm, just like home. He wished they could just go home, that this could all be over. Finnick wanted to start his life with her, like they should have years ago. He wanted to live by the sea, and wake up to her every morning. He didn't want to be in this dark, abandoned apartment, in the middle of the Capitol. This wasn't safe, this was like being in the Games again and he was as worried for her life now, as he was then. Finnick was fucking terrified, to the very depths of his soul and only now, was he acknowledging it. Kailani placed a light kiss to his head, linking their hands together.

"Are you okay?" she asked, quietly.

No, he wasn't, but she probably already knew that. This wasn't going to be easy, the Capitol would realise they weren't dead eventually. They couldn't just stroll into President Snow's private quarters, without concern. Nothing was ever that easy, especially not in this damn place. "I love you," he said, instead.

The grip on his hand tightened, "I know, I love you too."

Katniss and Gale handed food out to the others, and it wasn't until they'd all gotten into a box of fancy cream-filled cookies, that the beeping started up again. The seal of Panem lit up the television screen and remained there as the anthem played. And then, they began to show images of the dead, just as they did with the tributes in the arena. They started with the four faces of their camera crew, followed by Boggs, Gale, Finnick, Kailani, Peeta and of course, her. They didn't bother with the soldiers from Thirteen, either because they wouldn't know who they were, or because they knew it wouldn't mean anything. Then the man himself appeared, seated at his desk, a flag draped behind him, a fresh white rose gleaming in his lapel.

Snow congratulated the Peacekeepers on a masterful job, honoured them for ridding the country of the menace called the Mockingjay. With her death, he predicted a turning of the tide in the war, since the demoralised rebels had no one left to follow. Somewhere, in District Thirteen, Beetee hit a switch. No longer was President Snow on the screen, but President Coin. She introduced herself to Panem, identified herself as the head of the rebellion before launching into Katniss' eulogy. She praised the girl who survived the Seam and the Hunger Games, then turned a country of slaves into an army of freedom fighters. "Dead or alive, Katniss Everdeen will remain the face of this rebellion. If ever you waver in your resolve, think of the Mockingjay, and in her you will find the strength you need to rid Panem of its oppressors."

"I had no idea how much I meant to her," said Katniss. Gale laughed, while Kailani gave her a small smirk and everyone else shot her questioning looks.

A heavily doctored photo of herself, looking beautiful and fierce, with a bunch of flames flickering behind her, appeared on screen. There were no words, no slogan. The only thing they needed now, was her face. Beetee returned the reins back to a very controlled Snow. Katniss had the feeling that the President thought the emergency channel was impenetrable, and someone would end up dead tonight because it was breached. "Tomorrow morning, when we pull Katniss Everdeen's body from the ashes, we will see exactly who the Mockingjay is. A dead girl who could save no one, not even herself." The seal appeared, the anthem played, and then the screen went blank again.

"Except that you won't find her," said Finnick, voicing what they were all thinking. The grace period would be brief. Once they dug through the ashes of the apartment building, and found their bodies missing, they would know that they'd escaped. They would be after them, without fail.

"We can get a head start on them at least," said Katniss, tiredly. All she wanted to do was lie down, and sleep. She was exhausted, after the day that they'd had, they all were but right now, they couldn't afford to stop and rest. Instead, Katniss pulled out the Holo and insisted that Jackson talked her through the basic commands so that she could at least start to operate the thing herself. As the Holo projected their surroundings, Katniss felt her heart sink even further. They must have been moving closer to crucial targets, because the number of pods had noticeably increased. She looked around at the others, "Any ideas?"

"Why don't we start by ruling out possibilities," said Finnick. "The street is not a possibility."

"The rooftops are just as bad as the street," said Leeg 1.

"We still might have a chance to withdraw, go back the way we came," said Homes. "But that would mean a failed mission."

A pang of guilt hit Katniss. She'd fabricated this mission, Coin had never assigned her anything and yet, all of these people- well, she looked over at Cressida, at Finnick and Kailani who both knew her well enough to know better- most of these people, were following her trustingly, convinced that she was indeed on a special mission to assassinate Snow. "It was never intended for all of us to go forward," she said, "You just had the misfortune to be with me."

"Well, that's a moot point, we're with you now," said Jackson. "So, we can't stay put. We can't move up. We can't move laterally. I think that just leaves one option."

"Underground," said Gale.

Katniss didn't enjoy the idea of that very much. Underground, just like the mines of Twelve, and all of Thirteen. Underground, where she dreaded dying. The Holo could show subterranean as well as street-level pods. While the above-ground streets were all relatively simply laid out, underground there were the additions of interlacing tunnels, twisting and turning without any sense of direction. The pods looked less numerous, though. Two doors down from where they were, a vertical tube connected their row of apartments to the tunnels. To reach the tube apartment, they would have to squeeze through a maintenance shaft that ran the length of the building. They could enter the shaft through the back of the closet space on the upper floor. It was their best option.

"Okay, then," said Katniss, "Let's make it look like we've never been here." They erased all signs of their stay, sent empty cans of food down a trash chute, pocketed the full ones for later, flipped the cushions smeared with blood and wiped traces of black gel from the tiles. There was no fixing the latch on the front door, but they did lock the second bolt, which would at least keep it from swinging open on contact. Katniss figured the camera suits that Castor and Pollux wore wouldn't fit through the maintenance shaft, given how bit and bulky they were. Messalla found them a cupboard to shove them in, though Katniss wished there was a better option that allowed them to hide evidence of them being there better, there wasn't. They still had their emergency back-up cameras with them though, they didn't want to leave them behind.

The only problem left, was Peeta. Peeta, who planted himself on the blue sofa and refused to budge. "I'm not going," he said, stubbornly. "I'll either disclose your position or hurt someone else."

"Snow's people will find you," said Kailani. "We're not going to leave you behind."

"Then leave me a pill, I'll only take it if I have to."

"That's not an option," said Jackson, "Come along."

"Or you'll what? Shoot me?" asked Peeta.

"We'll knock you out and drag you with us, which will both slow us down and endanger us," said Homes.

"Stop being noble! I don't care if I die!" Peeta turned to her then, his eyes pleading. "Katniss, please. Don't you see, I want to be out of this?"

Of course, she did. That was the problem, she saw it clearly. But whether it was because she cared about him too much, or a part of her didn't want to let Snow win, Katniss couldn't bring herself to let him go. "We're wasting time, are you coming voluntarily or do we knock you out?"

Peeta buried his face in his hands for a few moments and then, rose to join them. "Should we free his hands?" asked Leeg 1.

"No!" Peeta growled, drawing his cuffs in close to his body.

"No," echoed Katniss. "But I want the key." Jackson passed it over without a word, and she slipped it into her pocket.

Together, they moved upstairs and Homes proceeded to prise open the small metal door to the maintenance shaft. Even going single file, and holding their packs and gear out to the side, it was a tight fit. However, they squeezed their way through and broke into the second apartment. In this apartment, one of the bedrooms had a door marked utility instead of a bathroom. Behind the door, was the room with the entrance to the tube.

Messalla frowned at the wide circular cover, and for a moment returned to his own fussy world. "It's why no one every wants the centre unit. Workmen coming and going whenever and no second bath. But the rent's considerably cheaper." Then he noticed Finnick's amused expression, and added, "Never mind."

The tube's cover was simple to unlatch, and a wide ladder with rubber treads allowed for a swift and easy descent into the bowels of the city. They gathered at the foot of the ladder, waiting for their eyes to adjust to the dim strip of lights, breathing in the mixture of chemicals, mildew and sewage. Pollux, pale and sweaty, reached out and latched on to Castor's wrist, like he might have fallen over if someone hadn't been there to steady him.

"My brother worked down here after he became an Avox," said Castor, "Took five years before we were able to buy his way up to the ground level. Didn't see the sun once." Under better conditions, on a day with fewer horrors and more rest, someone would surely have known what to say. Kailani opened her mouth, and then closed it again, unsure. They all stood there for a long time, trying to formulate some kind of response.

Finally, Peeta turned to Pollux. "Well, then you just became our most valuable asset," he said. Castor laughed and Pollux managed a smile.

It wasn't until they were halfway down the first tunnel, that Katniss realised what was so remarkable about the exchange. Peeta had sounded like his old self, the one who could always think of the right thing to say when no one else could. He was right though, Pollux had turned out to be useful, he was worth ten Holos in the underground tunnels. He knew things that would otherwise have led to disasters for newcomers, leading them through safely. He knew which tunnels were safe, and which weren't. He knew when water would gush through the sewer periodically, and when Avoxes would be changing shifts. And most importantly, he had knowledge of the cameras. There weren't many down in such a gloomy, misty place but they kept well out of their way nevertheless. Under Pollux's guidance they made good time, much better than above ground. However, after about six hours, fatigue took over. Katniss figured they still had a few hours before their bodies were discovered missing, and when she suggested that they stopped and rested, no one objected. Pollux found them a small, warm room humming with machines, and indicated that they had to be gone in four hours. Jackson worked out a guard schedule, with Finnick and Kailani on the first shift, alongside Pollux and Katniss wedged herself in the tight space between Gale and Leeg 1, before slipping off to sleep.

It felt like only a few minutes had passed when Jackson shook her awake and told her that she was on watch. They had an hour before they had to leave, and Jackson told her to eat and keep an eye on Pollux who'd insisted on being on guard all night. "He can't sleep down here," she had said. Katniss forced herself up, and sat against the wall facing the door. Pollux seemed wide awake, he'd probably been reliving those five years of imprisonment all night. Katniss pulled out the Holo, and began studying. She and Pollux clicked around, looking at what traps lied where until Katniss felt like her head was spinning. She handed the device over to him, and looked down at all of the sleeping soldiers, crew, and friends. She was very aware that they might not all make it to the Capitol, that they'd already lost two. Gale, was sound asleep against a wall, one hand on his gun, the other wrapped around his waist. There was Leeg 1, Jackson, Homes. Cressida was squeezed next to Messalla, and Castor slept close to where Pollux had been sitting all night. Finnick and Kailani were wrapped up in each other as they were every night, enjoying every second they had. They must have known that there was a chance that it might not last. They'd watched each other fight for their lives before, and were there alongside each other as they did again. This, was the third Games that they'd been in. It never stopped, not for any of them. And then, her eyes fell on Peeta. His head rested by Katniss' feet, not asleep like he should have been.

"Have you eaten?" asked Katniss, her voice quiet. Peeta shook his head, and she opened a can of chicken and rice soup, handing it to him, keeping the lid in case he tried to slit his wrists with it or something. Without a word, he sat up and tilted the can back, chugging the soup down. "Peeta, when you asked about what happened to Darius and Lavinia, and Boggs told you it was real, you said you thought so, because there was nothing shiny about it. What did you mean?"

"Oh, I don't know exactly how to explain it," he said, frowning. "In the beginning, everything was just complete confusion. Now I can sort certain things out, I think there's a pattern emerging. The memories they altered with the tracker jacker venom have this strange quality about them. Like they're too intense or the images aren't stable. You remember what it was like when we were stung?"

Katniss nodded, "Tree shattered, there were giant coloured butterflies, I fell in a pit of orange bubbles." She thought about it. "Shiny orange bubbles."

"Right, but nothing about Darius or Lavinia was like that, I don't think they'd given me any venom yet."

"Well, that's good, isn't it?" asked Katniss, "If you can separate the two, then you can figure out what's true."

"Yes, and if I could grow wings, I could fly, only people can't grow wings," he said, "Real or not real?"

"Real, but people don't need wings to survive."

"Mockingjays do." Peeta finished the soup and returned the can to her.

In the fluorescent light, the circles under his eyes looked like dark bruises. "There's still time, you should sleep," said Katniss. Without resistance, Peeta laid back down, but instead of going to sleep he just stared at one of the machine dials, as the needle twitched from side to side. Slowly, as she would with a wounded animal, her hand stretched out and brushed a wave of hair from his forehead. He froze at her touch, but didn't recoil. Katniss continued to gently smooth back his hair, it was the first time she'd voluntarily touched him since the last arena.

"You're still trying to protect me, real or not real," he whispered.

"Real," answered Katniss. "Because that's what you and I do, protect each other." And after a minute or two, he drifted back off to sleep.

Shortly before seven, she and Pollux moved among the others, rousing them. Kailani woke with a start, and Finnick rubbed a hand over her back. There were the usual yawns and sighs that came with waking, from everyone else. However, Katniss was sure she heard something else. Almost, like a hissing sound. Perhaps it was just steam escaping from a pipe, or the far-off whoosh of one of the trains, or… Katniss hushed everyone, trying to get a better read on it. There was a hissing, but it wasn't just one extended sound, more like multiple exhalations that formed words. A single word. It echoed throughout the tunnels. One word. One name. Repeated over and over again.

"Katniss."

Kailani heard it clearly, now. Katniss, Katniss, Katniss. Snow had found their trail, and now he was hunting them. They shouldn't have stopped, tired or not, it was foolish to think that they'd have this head start for long. A wave of nausea passed over her, briefly. All of this camp food must have been disagreeing with her, but it didn't last long.

"Katniss." The sound was much closer now, and Katniss jumped, swinging around, her bow loaded. Peeta's lips were barely moving, but there was no doubt that the name had come from him. "Katniss." He must have been reacting to the mutts, programmed to respond to the hissing chorus, to join the hunt. "Katniss!" Peeta snapped upright, his eyes wide, his breaths short. "Katniss! Get out of here!"

She hesitated, "Why? What's making that sound?"

"I don't know, only that it has to kill you," said Peeta, "Run! Get out! Go!"

Katniss relaxed her bowstring, and looked around studying them. "Whatever it is, it's after me. It might be a good time to split up." Kailani shook her head, unsurprised. This was every bit the Mockingjay, she supposed. The girl that wouldn't leave Peeta behind, that hated the fact that all that they did, they did for her. They all would have sacrificed themselves to see that she made it out of the arena, that was probably why Haymitch hadn't wanted to tell her anything, she would never have gone along with it.

"We can't split up, we need to stick together," said Kailani, firmly.

"Besides, we're your guard," said Jackson.

"And your crew," added Cressida.

"I'm not leaving you," Gale said, decisively.

Katniss didn't try to argue with them, she knew it would have been useless. They weren't going to split up, it was too dangerous. All of them divided up their weapons, given that the camera crew had nothing to arm themselves with. Finnick gave one of his guns to Castor, while Peeta's was loaded with a real cartridge, and given to Pollux. Katniss and Gale handed their weapons over to Messalla and Cressida, since they had their bows and preferred to use them anyway. The only person without a weapon, was Peeta but that was for the best.

Outside the hum of the room, the hissing became more distinct. The mutts were behind them, still at a fair distance but they wouldn't tire like they would. No doubt they were faster as well, genetically designed to be the most effective trackers they could be. They had to move fast, but in doing so it made them sloppy. They couldn't focus on being quiet, or discrete, they just had to keep moving. They had covered almost three more blocks via an overflow pipe and a section of neglected train track when the screams began. Thick, and guttural, they echoed off of the walls.

"Avoxes," said Peeta, immediately. "That's what Darius sounded like when they tortured him."

"The mutts must have found them," said Cressida.

"So, they're not just after Katniss," said Leeg 1.

"They'll probably kill anyone," said Gale, "They just won't stop until they get to her." Kailani thought of the monkeys back in the arena. Mutts were always designed to be vicious, they all might have had different traits, claws, or teeth, or poison, or all of the above, but they were always vicious. They wanted blood, and they would enjoy getting it. They had a job to do, but it wouldn't keep them from killing anyone else. Snow would want to make all of them suffer, and he would have known that it would make Katniss suffer too.

"Let me go on alone," said Katniss, hopefully. "Lead them off, I'll transfer the Holo to Kailani, the rest of you can finish the mission."

"No one's going to agree to that!" said Jackson, exasperated.

"We're wasting time," said Finnick, and Kailani agreed. They shouldn't have been arguing about this, they had to keep moving.

"Listen," whispered Peeta.

The screams had stopped but the mutts sounded closer now, and not just behind them, but below them as well. They ran, it was the only thing they could do. As the scent of roses filled the air, Jackson ordered them to put their masks on but they didn't need them. It wasn't a gas, or a poison trying to suffocate them, it was a message. Katniss gagged, and Kailani knew who it was she thought of. Snow always smelled like roses, it was suffocating. Their Mockingjay swerved away from the scent, leading them back to the main streets that reflected the ones above. The Transfer, Pollux had called it. It was empty now, all except for them. Katniss took out a pod, before sprinting to the next intersection. She was so determined in where she was going, that she almost stepped into another pod. At the last moment, Finnick grabbed her arm. "Katniss!" But it was too late, for Messalla. He was encased in a white shaft of golden light that radiated from ceiling to floor. Gale had attempted to shoot an arrow at it, but it did nothing. Messalla stood there, unmoving, frozen. His head was tilted back, his mouth stretched wide as if he could have been yelling. They watched, utterly helpless, as the flesh melted off his body like candle wax.

"Can't help him!" yelled Peeta, shoving them forward. "Can't!" Somehow, he was still able to function. Kailani had expected him to lose it by now, had been trying to keep a close eye on him but, he was still himself. And, he was right. There was nothing they could do for him now, and somehow, Kailani managed to turn away from the horrible sight that was Messalla.

They had made it to the next intersection, when the shooting started. It wasn't a pod either, but a squad of Peacekeepers. They pounded across the Transfer towards them, and though they outnumbered them two to one, this was a squad of sharpshooters. Their white uniforms became bloodied, and most of them were dead as more began to pour in from the same tunnel they had just been in. Except, these weren't Peacekeepers. Kailani could see the strangeness in how they moved, tails swinging behind them, back and forth, back and forth. They were the size of full-grown humans, and the reptiles swarmed upon the Peacekeepers, living and dead, clamping onto their necks and ripping off their heads. The mutts fell to their bellies, the remains of the decapitated Peacekeepers all around them, and skittered towards their group on all fours, their scales shining in the dim light.

"This way!" shouted Katniss. She made a sharp right turn, and once everyone was behind her, fired into the intersection. A pod was activated, and a set of huge mechanical teeth burst through the street, chewing the tile to dust. "Forget about the mission," she yelled, grabbing Pollux by the arm. "What's the quickest way above ground?"

He started moving, and Katniss moved after him, everyone else following their lead. Leeg 1 however, had her gun trained in the direction of where the mutts had been, Jackson too and Kailani paused. They weren't moving, and they didn't look they intended to move either. "What are you-"

Jackson spun around, fixing her with a look. "Go, now," she ordered, "We'll hold them off." She didn't think that the blast would hold them off for long and honestly, Kailani thought the other woman was probably right. She hesitated though, they still could have run, they might have made it.

"Jackson…"

Finnick grabbed her arm, tightly. "Kailani, come on." This never got easier, having to leave people behind. They did it too often, she was tired of losing people but nevertheless, Kailani turned away and started running. She and Finnick caught up quickly, and though they all wanted to move fast, they also had to be careful. Pollux led them through the main sewer, and the poisonous liquid below would have killed them had they fallen in. The stench alone, was bad enough. They made their way over a narrow bridge, and Pollux smacked a ladder with his hand, pointing up the shaft. This was it, their way out.

"Wait!" said Katniss. "Where are Jackson and Leeg 1?"

"They stayed behind to hold the mutts back," said Kailani, carefully.

"What?" Katniss immediately lunged back towards the bridge, but Finnick held her back, a frown on his face.

"Don't waste their lives, Katniss," he said. "It's too late for them, look!" Across the bridge, the mutts slithered along menacingly. They hadn't been able to hold them back for long, then.

"Stand back!" shouted Gale. He used an explosive-tipped arrow to rip the far side of the bridge from its foundation and the structure sunk into the bubbling liquid below. And despite the toxicity of it, the mutts began to throw themselves into the foul sewer. Clearly, it didn't bother them. Along their bank, everyone opened fire. Kailani looked around, there were too many of them, they just kept coming like an inexhaustible supply. Her eyes fell on Katniss, shooting arrow after arrow. They had to get out of here and above all else, she had to get out of here. The Mockingjay needed to stay alive, they couldn't lose her now.

"Everyone up!" yelled Kailani. "Climb the ladder!"

Pollux grabbed Katniss, and forced her to start climbing and for that, Kailani was relieved. They continued to shoot, but the mutts were closer now. She was vaguely aware of others getting on the ladder, starting to make the ascent. "Brace yourselves!" shouted Gale, and he let off an explosive arrow. Given how close the mutts were, it knocked all of them back and Kailani was thrown into a metal pipe. Pain spread through her, from her stomach outwards and she cringed. If she made it out of here, that was going to bruise. Something snarled, and she barely had time to throw a hand up before a mutt was on top of her. It must have been one of the few to escape the blast. They could be killed, but it took dozens of bullets. They were more durable than anything like them had a right to be, and Kailani saw a gleaming set of teeth before it sunk into her arm. She yelled, hurriedly moving to position her gun before the damn think took her whole arm off. Without hesitating, she fired. The bullets had it reeling back, a deep red liquid seeping out of the mutt's injuries before Finnick finished it off with his trident. He didn't say anything, there was no time, just pushed her towards the ladder. She ignored the pain, from her arm, from her body, and climbed. There was no thinking, just climbing as fast as possible. Kailani could feel Finnick behind her, could hear his breathing above the gunshots still being let off below. As long as he was there, nothing else mattered. Katniss gave her a hand, pulling her out of the shaft, as Finnick followed behind her.

"The Holo, Katniss, detonate it!" he ordered, as they pulled Gale up. Katniss looked between him, and the gloom below. They weren't all here, she was only just realising that. But if they weren't here now, there was no way they were going to make it. Someone cried out, a human sound and Kailani tried not to think about who it could be. Neither Homes, nor Castor were there.

"But-" started Katniss, her face torn. "There's still someone alive."

"No, Katniss," said Gale, his uniform torn, his neck bleeding. "They're not coming, only mutts are."

Pale and shaking, Katniss pulled out the Holo, choked out, "Nightlock, nightlock, nightlock", and dropped it down into the shaft. They all pressed into the wall, as the explosion rocked the entire platform, bits of mutt and human flesh shooting out of the pipe, and showering them. Pollux slammed a cover over the pipe, and locked it into place. For a moment, all that could be heard was their heavy breathing. A bandage was found for Gale's neck, and her arm. It was bleeding heavily, Kailani realised but it could have been worse.

"We can't stay here," said Katniss, finally. She was right, they had to keep moving. There was no time to stop, and they'd made it this far. Another wave of nausea washed over Kailani, and pain shot through her abdomen. Moaning, she bent over and suddenly, Finnick was there.

"Lani?"

"I'm fine," she managed, unconvincingly. Kailani met his concerned look, and tried a small smile. "I'll be fine." It was just the blood loss, and being knocked around by that blast. She would be alright, she was sure of it.

Katniss was kneeling down next to Peeta, speaking quietly to him, trying to convince him that they needed him or something like that. Kailani didn't know for sure, all of them did know when she leaned in to kiss him though. Gale looked away, immediately as Katniss pulled away, her eyes focused completely on Peeta. "Don't let him take you away from me," she said, quietly. In the silence though, she might as well have been talking at a normal volume. Kailani felt like she was intruding on something private, but there was little way to be able to avoid it.

Peeta was panting, his eyes wide. "No, I don't want too…"

"Stay with me."

His face calmed, the tension in his muscles easing just slightly. A sense of normality returned to him, the confliction that waged within him disappearing, at least for a time. "Always," he murmured.

Katniss pulled him to his feet, before turning to Pollux. "How far to the street?"