Morning comes with a burst of noise, ripping us from where we sleep. My eyes blink open as Prim grips my wrist in her small hand. Looking around, I watch as Haymitch moves from his chair and stands before the door, watching it with tense shoulders. The sound of screaming and yelling comes again and the hallway flashes with light.
"What's happening?" Katniss hisses, lurching forward until her feet are hanging off the bed. Before she can get too far, I've wrapped an arm around her waist and I'm pulling her back towards the bed where I'm struggling to get standing.
"Haymitch?" Prim's small voice calls out and the old man turns slightly. His gaze catches mine over his shoulder and he shrugs listlessly.
"Don't know." He shouts just as another shriek and a small pop echo. I can feel Katniss twitch at the sound as we all struggle to listen. Thankfully, it doesn't seem like an angry mob, though I doubt we'd get too many people against us. After a few moments have passed, the yells become cheers and the shrieks turn into excited chatter. We can hear the people coming now as though in a horde moving towards us. I feel Prim at my back, her hand tight on my shoulder as we all watch the door. Beyond it, we see the shadows.
I stop breathing just as the loud speaker in the room hums to life.
"Alert: Commander notice." The blank tone rings out around the room and we hear the sounds in the hallway hush to silence. Everyone in the room seems to suck in a breath at once, waiting for what's next.
"Citizens of District 13," Coin's shrill voice fills my head as the speakers crackle. "It is with great pleasure that I inform you that a recent mission to the Capitol by District 13 military personnel has been successful. We can now confirm that President Snow, long-standing enabler of the Hunger Games, has been killed in battle. Though the war is not yet over, we have claimed a major victory."
We barely hear the end of her speech before the people in the hallway drown it out with their cheers. Beyond our door, people celebrate as we stay rooted to our spots, frozen.
"He really is dead," Katniss whispers as her hand grips mine.
"Yes. He is." I reply. Haymitch turns from the doorway just as some nurses spill in, their grins splitting wide on their faces.
"They got him!" They shout, seemingly unaware that it was this girl, small and fragile, standing before them that actually took down their worst nightmare. One nurse leaps forward, a native of District 13, and grabs Katniss by the shoulders, her eyes bright with excitement. "We won!" She shouts and I feel Katniss shaking like a leaf under the woman's gaze. Carefully, I step between them and take Katniss around the shoulders, guiding her out into the hallway. Prim is at my side in an instant, with Haymitch quick on our heels.
We move quickly, our feet carrying us down the hallway and through the throngs of people that cheer and yell in extreme joy at the death of the President. Every so often, someone will grab us up, recognizing the Mockingjay, and scream at us in their excitement. Each time Prim's fingers dig into mine and Katniss slides closer, desperately avoiding this sheer hysteria that has overtaken the District.
We're halfway to Haymitch's unit when we catch sight of Finnick and Annie running towards us. They've smiles on their faces though they're strained.
"What now?" I ask, coming up with both Everdeen's attached to my hands and Haymitch huffing behind me.
"We need to go. Sooner rather than later." Finnick responds tightly and Annie nods beside him.
"Where? When?" I try to suppress the panic building from the idea of leaving District 13. This is the only 'home' I know apart from the fragmented memories of my past.
"Get your things. Get whatever you can. We meet in two hours are the surface elevator – remember?" I nod and Finnick slips by us with Annie it tow.
We don't waste any more time moving down the hallways to Haymitch's unit.
"Peeta!" It takes me a moment to clue into Prim's voice over the roaring in my head but when I do, my eyes find hers and her wet cheeks and I slow to a stop, sinking down before her and pulling a dazed Katniss with me. "We need to get mom's stuff," Prim stutters in between quiet sobs. In the corner of my eye, I see Katniss slowly look towards me.
"Can we, Peeta?" Prim's voice is quiet, asking for permission. I stare at her for a moment, torn.
"I'll take her," Haymitch interrupts, startling me back into action.
"Go; meet us in the unit as soon as you can." I get back to my feet and pull Katniss along with me. All I can feel is the sweat on her palm and the strong way her fingers are clenching around mine. When we finally get to the unit, she pulls loose and turns on me, staring me down.
"Tell me." She growls. I pause, contemplating my words. We hadn't told her anything about her mother. We should have, I knew that. "Peeta. What happened?"
"She died. In the Capitol." Her face pales and she leans against the wall for a moment, stepping back from my outstretched arms and holding up her hand to me.
"I'm okay – just give me a minute."
"I'm sorry." And I am, for more than just not telling her – I'm sorry for everything. For her mother, for her burden, for her injuries, everything.
"Don't apologize. I know things weren't good with us – I know that. I'm just surprised." She doesn't say anything more for a few minutes as I begin to place things on the bed to be packed.
It isn't long before she's standing of her own volition again, pulling items slowly from the drawer before placing them in a bag. Her movements are careful, hesitant, before she turns to me and I catch the frown on her lips.
"Is Prim alright with it?" She whispers.
"As alright as she can be, I guess." I place a package of first aid supplies in the bag and rest my hands on her shoulders. "She still has you, Katniss."
"Do we have to go?" Her change in conversation catches me off guard just as Haymitch and Prim burst through the door with a bag of items. Their cheeks are red with movement, their eyes wide as they catch us just standing around.
"Katniss, tell me, is this what you want for us? To stay? To leave? Haymitch? Prim?" I never really asked before, I just assumed we'd all want to leave. But I remember then that this is what they know now and the idea of running off during a war is risky. It could get us killed. Staying could get us killed. Our options are limited.
"What other choice do we have?" Katniss asks in return and I smile sadly, knowingly, as she looks towards Prim.
The room falls silent after that, apart from our efforts to pack as efficiently as possible. It takes little over an hour for us to condense all of the Everdeen's items into two packs and all of Haymitch's into one.
"What about Gale? And Delly?" Katniss interrupts our packing, turning to look at each of us with wide eyes. To be honest, her question catches me by surprise as I realize that I hadn't even thought of them. I'd only wanted to make sure Katniss was safe – I'd been consumed by it.
"Leave them a note, sweetheart," Haymitch replies gruffly, stuffing a supply of unmarked pills into one of the pack's pockets. Katniss nods swiftly, moving to a discarded piece of paper in the trash and finding a pen tucked into one of the drawers. I don't stand around and watch what she writes, instead checking the bathroom for any remaining useful items.
When it's done, we wordlessly slip from the room and head towards the kitchens. The doors are locked when we get there but Prim uses her nurse's code to get us past, sneaking us inside to pack as many canned goods as we can.
Finally, when we arrive at the elevator, I set my heavy pack on the floor and help Katniss pull hers off. We hide them in the corner as we try to inconspicuously wait for Finnick and Annie. It isn't long before they're rounding the corner, Finnick with a military pack slung over his shoulder and Annie clutching to a cardboard tube.
"You guys ready?" Finnick rasps, catching his breath after likely his first jog without both working legs. I meet Annie's eyes and look to her hands. When I look up again, she's smiling slightly and nodding. The crazy woman is toting around my art. I try to stamp down the embarrassment at having that be her item to save from this place.
"Yes." Prim huffs, dropping the last of our hidden sacks into the center of the circle we've inadvertently created. I chance a glance around and take in everyone's faces. Though they're more determined than scared, I once again doubt whether this is the best plan. All around us, people are still shouting in the hallways and clamoring with excitement. But our group, morose and drawn, simply looks tired. Tired of fighting, tired of surviving, tired of running.
"Where's Johanna?" Haymitch asks gruffly, surprising us. It's not until that moment that I realize she's missing. That she should be with us too. Finnick sighs loudly and doesn't meet anyone's eyes.
"She wasn't ready yet," He mutters. I can see it then, the way his hands clench and his face clouds with frustration. He'd wanted Johanna here too. Haymitch only nods knowingly and shifts on his feet as we all wait for someone to make the next move.
"Let's go then," Finnick states quietly and presses his hand to the elevator button. We all listen to the quiet hum and the beep when the doors open to our level. With everyone squished in, nobody makes a sound as we glide to the top. Any second now, the elevator could be stopped. We could be stopped, taken by Coin's guards and shown to the cells. We could be tortured or killed, all for trying to run.
We've become a people too tired of political wills and being pawns in other people's games to stay and try to fight. We won't roll over and die, but we refuse to stay and play. The doors open to the surface and it's Prim who's the first to step out – Prim, the little girl that started this all, now fearless against the unknown. Soon after, we all spill out of the elevator and then we're running, moving towards the low fence and then tossing our packs over the wire.
Katniss is first over the line, pulling Annie and then Prim over with her. Haymitch is the next over and shakes off her grip, grumbling more to himself than to us. Finally, Finnick and I clamor our way to the top and slip, our loose feet dropping from the rungs of the chain and forcing us both down to the ground with the air knocked from our lungs. Together we all pause, watching as the elevator door hums closed and the surface of District 13 is left empty.
Nobody comes for us. No guns are raised and no shouts of escape are heard. Finnick and I find our way to our feet and look around at the others, our motley crew of escapees. For a moment, just one second, fear grips me as I realize that we're now on our own. There is nobody up here to help us. Just us. In the wild. At the tail end of a war.
We don't make it five miles before the sun is setting and we have to find shelter. Though Katniss is slow moving, she's able to give pin point instructions that have us building a shelter and foraging for food in no time. When dusk has past and full night is upon us, we are able to build a small fire and eat a can of the stolen food with the small berries and leaves that we've gathered.
As I nibble on the jerky that someone has provided, I make note that my canteen will need filling tomorrow. That we'll need to fashion weapons, maybe get Katniss a bow, to start hunting if this is going to be an extended trip. It's then I realize that I have no idea where Finnick is taking us and as I look towards where Prim is curled up against a snoring Haymitch, the fear once again crackles in my chest.
"What's the plan now?" Katniss asks quietly, her fingers twirling at a long piece of grass as her head rests in my lap. I let my fingers stroke through the wisps of her loose hair, brushing them back from her face as I watch Finnick carefully for answers.
"Well," Finnick starts, shifting himself so a sleeping Annie can lie fully on the ground at his side. "I want to go home to District 4. I know some good hiding places; there are people there who can help."
I feel Katniss shift at his words, her body tensing as she listens.
"I know it's not your home, but District 12 was bombed, Katniss. You can't go back there. They'll look for you there first. You know that, we all know that," He continues. I stay silent as he stares into the fire, his hands slowly working a loose thread in his pants. "Come to 4. You don't have to stay forever. Just until things have settled down. Then we'll get you wherever you want to go."
Looking down at Katniss, my hands never stilling, I watch as a flurry of emotions cross her face. I don't speak, wouldn't bother, since I know that I'll go wherever she goes. I'd follow her until the bitter end if I had to.
"How long do we have to walk?" It's a whisper, but it makes Finnick whip his head up, his trademark smile beaming across the fire.
"Delly got us some maps a while back – Annie's been studying them. We think maybe a week, or two, give or take? The District is really big, but once we're in it, I can get us around faster." Finnick continues on hopefully, talking through the whole plan with a light in his eye that I think has been missing since the Games.
Later that night, as I lie tucked against Katniss, I listen to the sound of her breathing and the beat of her heart. It's calm and steady, a small reminder that as long as these sounds keep existing, everything is going to be alright.
AN: All I've got is that I'm sorry this has taken so long and that this isn't the best chapter. Real life, you know. Plus, I'm trying to get a bunch of stuff together for my trip abroad and it's only like twenty days away and oh man I'm not ready for real life and oh man! Sorry guys. Sorry. Let me know if this chapter does or does not make sense. It took me like a week to write (three times over).