"No." Sybil said it firmly. She didn't want to say no, she wanted to take the extra piece of rabbit meat that Matthew was holding out to her. "We're both hungry, we split the food evenly. We both need to eat and you need your fair share. You've been stinting yourself and it shows." It had crept up on her, how thin Matthew looked, because they both kept bundled up in their clothes and jackets but that morning she had almost been startled at how he looked. It had reminded her of the first train ride home, the sharp look to his cheekbones and the dark circles under his eyes and the sudden realization that he looked burned out and ill because he had been protecting her.
"You're pregnant." He continued holding the food out.
"I've already eaten more than half. Yes, I'm pregnant, but you're twice my size, and you need to eat. If I collapse, you could probably drag me to some sort of shelter. If you collapse, I would have to leave you and find help." Help that would be hard to find. The forests and abandoned towns that existed between the districts had an eerie quietness to them and they rarely saw people at all. It was becoming more common to see troops on the empty roads, in vehicles from the Peacekeepers but not actual Peacekeepers. They had left the train tracks when they had come upon District 10 with its train entry looking heavily guarded. The plan had always been to head north to the hunting camp her father had prepared but they had considered scouting into the district until they saw the guards. They had observed long enough to see a supply train go in and out. Whatever else, the fate of District 12 had not been the fate of their district. They didn't discuss the odds of finding their families perfectly intact at the hunting camp to the north. That they both feared what they would find went unstated. But they were closer to the hunting camp than District 10, even if they were still weeks away. "Eat that, you need to eat as much as I do. Mary would tear me limb from limb if I didn't return with you in tow."
She glared until he gave up, and she wasn't shocked that he was finished in seconds. They had been lucky with food, she realized that after a month of walking. Lucky that Paulus and Clodia had connived to leave a bag stuffed with food for their escape from the train, and lucky they had found abandoned rations in District 12's train entrance, but there wasn't much left and the fall weather was rapidly shifting to winter. The tricks they had both learned in the Training Center helped them catch small animals and scavenge for plant food but the colder it grew, the slimmer the pickings were.
They were trudging along what she suspected was once a well used road when they rounded a steep bend and found three men walking towards them. Sybil tensed immediately and she saw Matthew do the same beside her. The three men looked ragged and dirty, but well fed. Or rather, none of them looked as gaunt as Matthew looked, or as she no doubt looked. They were at least all shorter than Matthew and slight for men, and the smallest was just an inch or so taller than her, the sort of man that in District Ten would be a bit of a laughingstock because he was a tiny mite of a man.
The real problem though was that she was certain the small fellow recognized them both. He jabbed the two bigger men and there was clearly some discussion before the tallest man, a pale fellow with red hair and sallow skin waved at them.
"Hey there," the red haired man called. "Are you two friendly?" The three men all made a show of smiling. Sybil could see Matthew stiffen beside her but after a moment he did smile, stepping forward of her just slightly.
"Friendly enough," Matthew said, "since we're none of us Peacekeepers and all breaking the law being here."
A fair point, Sybil realized, and it establishes that we can get them into trouble as easily as they can us. They were all far from any District border. The three strangers all made a show of chuckling at Matthew's words before the red haired leader spoke again. "I think it's fair to say we're all law breakers here, what with the rebellion and all. You, my friend, sound as though you hail from District Ten. What can you tell us?"
Matthew hesitated but only for a moment. "Not much. A group of landholders broke out when the attack on the Arena happened." He gestured to Sybil. "We were going to go then, but this one's mother was ill. Now that the woman has passed, we decided to join them."
The red haired man's eyes narrowed. Then he smiled slyly. "Well, District Ten has shown its loyalty, we can't deny that. They've been keeping the rest of the rebelling districts fed."
"Ironic, all things considered," muttered the second man "But then you two must know the rumors there."
The small man jabbed the loose lipped fellow hard enough that it would have made her suspicious just by itself but she knew all too well what the rumors were. She kept it off her face as Matthew made a show of grinning.
"I'm afraid not," Matthew said, chuckling. "Or rather if you need to know who whose daughter was caught with whose lad behind the barns, I can probably tell you, and my love here probably knows who Lady Sitterly is seeing behind Lord Sitterly's back but we're just simple folk with a child on the way, tired of all of our hard work going to feed some rich bastards in the Capitol. We heard that our people had gone east, into what they used to call Massachusetts. Isn't that right, Isobel?"
She nodded. That was a code word, a warning to not reveal her identity, or his. "That or Rhode Island. Lord Merton's family hailed from there, or so he said."
"Well," the red haired man said, matching Matthew's jovial tone, "If it's the rebellion you're looking for, we're scouting for District 13 and we need healthy people willing to work. Our base camp is about two days walk from here, we're gearing up for a move out to District 7. We're happy to take you and have you join up with us."
"Kevin, it ain't two days and we should call for transport," the second fellow said. "We got to get these two to Coin before she changes her mind about the victor bounty!"
Sybil jumped as Matthew whipped out the Peacekeeper sidearm he'd taken from the District 12 gate station and fired it into the second man's head. The red haired man started grabbing for his own side arm and Matthew fired at him as well but then the man dove at him and in seconds they were grappling. The short man took it all in with a blink and turned to run. Before he could go a dozen steps, Sybil's paralysis broke and she threw one of the throwing clubs she'd made for hunting at the short man, aiming for his knees. He went down and she mentally thanked William Mason for the lesson he'd taught her in the Training Center, to go for the knees to make a fight more even. She shook it off as she realized that while Matthew was winning, he was trying to stop the red haired man from triggering the radio that he'd been hiding in his jacket. Matthew slammed the man's hand that was holding it into the rough dirt road, forcing the man to drop it. Sybil kicked it away. Matthew punched the man until there was no question he was dead and then slowly stood up, breathing heavily. Sybil was careful to let him get his bearings. Matthew was a wolf, a protector of the pack, she agreed with Mary completely on that point, but he also had 'the Viking look' as Tom called it, and it was wise to let him let the killing rage leave before she asked him any questions.
He took several deep, gulping breathes and then seemed to visibly shake it all off. His eyes swept over to the third man, the short fellow, who was gamely trying to crawl away. Finally, as he looked down at his bloody hands and then at her, he seemed ready to speak. "They were lying."
"Yes." She had figured that out. "They recognized us." Sybil hesitated. "They know, or at least suspect Papa's ancestry."
"I doubt they're certain," Matthew breathed in and out hard. "About that, anyway, but they knew we were victors, that we're the District 10 victors and there's a bounty." He pointed to the injured man that was crawling away. "We need to get answers…" His expression softened. "You don't have to see this."
Part of her wanted to accept that particular piece of protection from Matthew. Because she knew what was about to happen, and how it had to end, and she didn't want any part of it. At the same time, her grandmother had made her promise to get Matthew home as intact as possible. Matthew has the Crawley steel, her grandmother had warned her the night before she entered the Arena for the last time, but his mother and father did too fine a job in teaching him to be a kind and gentle man. He beats himself up for every terrible thing he's forced to do. You will know when it's time to take the burden from him.
And she knew it was time, as much as she hated what needed to be done. "We're partners in this journey. You've killed two men today, and taken a beating," a beating that she suspected he couldn't afford to take, "so I can at least help you get some answers from this man."
The short man knew what was going to happen, she could see it in his eyes. He held up his hands to ward off blows as they approached him. "We weren't… we weren't gonna hurt you! I swear it!"
"What were you going to do?" Matthew growled.
Sybil smiled at the man, feeling cold inside. "Tell us what you know. We're not monsters. Maybe we can work something out."
The short man visibly relaxed on the ground. "We really are scouts. There really is a move planned to District 7. The main force is about a day behind us. We were just making sure that the Capitol wasn't patrolling on the ground through here."
"What's this bounty?" Matthew asked. He kicked the man.
"It's just… Coin wants the victors. To use. As leaders Like the Girl on Fire…" The short man began to plead. "We weren't gonna hurt you. If we brought you in, we'd be heroes."
"And what would have happened to us?" Matthew snapped. It was a more than fair question, Sybil realized. The three men had lied to them, and had planned on tricking them into going to their base. She waited for an answer.
"President Coin would have put you in the special unit. With the girl. They get special weapons. Coin wants the victors on display as fighting for the rebellion." The man glared at Matthew. "You'd live like kings with us. Coin makes sure the girl and the other victors get whatever they want." He started to cry. "Please don't kill me… I have children…"
"And what if we want to go home?" Matthew hissed. Sybil could visibly see his temper rising. "What if we don't want to be pawns in this rebellion? What if we have children? What were you going to get as bounty?" Each question was followed by a kick. At the same time, she could tell that Matthew was already processing what the man had said. Which meant she had to take over. He was either going to let the killing rage take over and kill the man before they got any answers, or he was going to let his conscience rule the day and let the man live. Either way, it got them nothing. That meant she had to step in.
"Matthew, stop." Sybil said it as firmly as she had spoken to him earlier that morning. It seemed to register, or at least he stopped kicking the man, and looked at her. She sighed. "Let me do this. If you really want answers, I can get them." More softly she added. "You're too angry. Like when you came back from the games. And you're hurt." He was, she could see that by the blood trickling down his face and by the awkward way he was standing. "We left our bags. Go back and get them."
The short man waited until Matthew was out of earshot to try his next gambit. "Listen to me, girl. Yes damn it, I know who you are and who he is. Everyone knows that man is crazy violent. We were on foot because our vehicle broke down but it's just a few miles away. There's a radio. You could be having a hot meal at HQ in a couple of hours. They want victors. You'll be treated well, Coin wanted you second to the Girl on Fire. Said you and the eye gouger were needed for insurance."
She nodded, wondering if he realized he'd told her too much in his desperation. There was a vehicle, possibly one she could fix, and Coin, whoever that really was, wanted her more than Matthew. Insurance against Papa withholding food supplies was her first thought, and then the darker idea came. Manipulating her father wasn't hard, and either she or Matthew would be an effective hostage, but whether she liked it or not, she was President Snow's bastard grandchild and Coin of District 13 sounded like exactly the sort who wouldn't mind using her as a pawn. A completely ineffective pawn, while she did think the old man had a certain fondness for her, it would never change any decision Snow made, but the last thing she wanted was to put herself in the hands of someone who planned to use her as much as the Capitol had. This needs to be done quickly, she decided as she looked down at the man. Still, she thought suddenly, this son of a bitch doesn't deserve to think he's won this game. "What are the names of your children?"
"What?" He looked at her askance, put off by the change in questioning.
She pulled out the small pistol she had liberated from the train station and pointed it at him. "You don't even have a child, do you? You just lied to get Matthew off his game. And you certainly don't give a bloody damn about what will happen to us once you get your bounty. This Coin will use me as a ransom tool to either my father or President Snow. That's all you people want, a tool." She stared into his eyes as he realized that she hadn't been fooled. "That's right, you idiot. You don't win the games unless you're smart." Then she fired the gun into his head.