Chapter 29: Deployed to the Capitol
The rebels soon begin to take the streets of the Capitol. With this development, President Coin orders Star Squad to enter the city just behind the front lines, shooting propos until we finally storm the Presidential Mansion. We wear heavy armor that almost makes us look like we are wearing space suits, exploring the moon instead of the aftermath of war.
All the while, I have been observing my husband's behavior. He is less angry and violent now then when he was first rescued. But now and again, flashes of these extreme emotions will come out, yet they are not directed at me; rather, he pours them into the energy of our training.
And then there is Peeta's stubborn refusal to bear any weapons whatsoever. It would be a lot easier to kill me if he had a gun. Then again, he could still kill me with his bare hands if he wanted to. So why hasn't he?
As we begin our silent sweep of already-fought battles and film propos, I feel the need to confess my concerns to someone. Haymitch, Mother and Prim are all back in District 13, so the only person I could possibly confide in is -
"Boggs? Can I ask you something?"
"Go right ahead, General Mellark."
"I know that Peeta is better than he was, but he's still not all there. I'm afraid Coin put him on my squad thinking he would try to kill me. Yet he hasn't. He doesn't even want a weapon! Why could that be?"
Boggs seems taken aback by my reasoning, especially about the part regarding President Coin. "May I offer another theory?" he inquires.
"By all means."
"Perhaps Peeta's refusal to bear arms is not because he is trying to refrain from killing you, but because he is refusing to fight the Capitol, and therefore, helping the enemy."
Bogg's theory is almost as shell-shocking as the one I offered up about Coin. But now that I think on it... could Peeta's hesitance to kill me be because he knows he does not have to? That he could just as easily hand me over to Snow if the rebels somehow lose? I am eerily reminded of how I once thought my then-boyfriend was going to bequeath me to the Careers in our first Games.
KABOOM! There is a sudden explosion just above our heads that nearly sends all of Squad 451 whirling to the ground. I look up and through the haze of the explosion, I can see white figures advancing. Peacekeepers!
This battlefield was not cleared properly! It isn't safe!
"FALL BACK!" Boggs roars, and our squad goes into full retreat, making for an abandoned Capitol office building on one side of the street. Myself and a few others are not so lucky; trapped by enemy fire, we have to hide behind statue ruins and other large debris to avoid being hit. Of our squad's thirteen members, six of us are caught in the crosshairs of Peacekeeper bullets.
And then, I witness something truly miraculous. Through the smoke, through the hail of bullets, I watch in awe as my husband runs from the safety of the office building and out into enemy territory. Using only the scattered objects around him, he dodges the Peacekeeper's grenades and shooting to get to our comrades, one by one. Then he carries them to the office building and safety - all without a single weapon to protect himself!
He is like a spirit, a ghost whom the Peacekeepers cannot harm. He rescues Cressida. He rescues Castor and Pollux, the twin Avox cameramen. He rescues Finnick, in a strange reversal of how the fisherman saved the baker's son in the Quell. Peeta even rescues Gale, who is pinned down not far away from me.
And through all the tumult, I can hear Peeta sending up the same words, over and over again, like a prayer: "Please, Lord - help me get one more. Help me get one more!"
