Swimming in the dark,
finding ways to fall apart.
Needing it to go away,
but still, wanting it to stay.
A/N--hey guys! I feel awful for going almost a week without an update! Sorry, sorry. On the bright side, I get to have a marshmallow fight in the play, so that's always fun!!!
Disclaimer--If someone got me one of those little bitty dragons from 'How to Train Your Dragon' I would be eternally grateful. Those things are SO cute!
Enjoy :)!
Prim closes her eyes, not believing the sight she is seeing. She tries to remember what her first impression of Borus was. What was her explanation for him being able to survive on his own? She thought that he worked for the Capitol, she remembers. She was so wrong.
Not only is Borus one of the nicest, most father-figure-like people she has ever met, but he is so friendly and optimistic, it is like he really is Hope after all, not the light. He's as far away from working for the Capitol as you can get. He's like a calmer version of Gale, Prim thinks, comparing him to her Capitol-hating friend. In between bouts of whistling, Borus had spent the past two hours keeping her entertained with all manner of stories. Over half of them had to do with how horrible the Capitol is, how against the Hunger Games him and his friends are, or how stupid Capitol citizens are.
At one point in his stories, Prim had stepped in, offering a piece of advice. "We should make some of the Capitol idiots go into the Games," she had said. "See if they could survive more than a minute!" The outburst had shocked Borus. In all honesty, it had shocked Prim. Where did she get that thought? Surely she couldn't have conceived such a hateful thing on her own, could she have? A part of Prim is still shocked over the sentence now, even as she stares at the most improbable thing she has ever seen.
Before her, lies a small village, underground, blazing with dazzling lights; red, yellow, orange, blue, and white. The houses are made partially from mud, partially from grasses, or wood, bricks, rock. It seems like they were just put together from anything the villagers could get their hands on.
"Welcome to District Zero, hunneh," Borus smiles proudly at his home. All Prim can think is, How did this get here? There is no precedent for this. No reason to believe that another district was situated underground, only a few miles away from her own home district. This kind of stuff just didn't exist. How could the Capitol have not caught them?
But the strangeness didn't stop there. Behind the small village, another is stationed, probably five-hundred yards away. And behind that, there is another. And to the sides of all of them. There are about fifteen total. Fifteen groups of probably 50 houses. How many people did that make? Prim tried to do the math in her head, but she was too flabbergasted to think of anything more specific than a lot.
"Over seven-hundred houses," Borus says, answering Prim's silent question. "And most of the houses contain families of at least four. There are some, like mine for instance, that only have two. There are some with three, or five. There are a very, very few with only one. About 2,800 people, once it's averaged out. Give or take, of course. I don't know the exact number."
Wow! Prim thinks. That is more than her district has. A lot more than her district. And all these people were living underground. Prim has so many questions, that she is confused when the first thing that pops out of her mouth is, "Why were you so far away from home?"
Borus doesn't even take a breath before he answers, which assures Prim that he has nothing to be nervous about. "Scouting trip. You wouldn't believe how often we find people in that part of the woods." Prim tears her eyes away from the brilliant lights long enough to give Borus a questioning look. "Not all from your district, of course. But people sneak out into the woods all the time. People who hate the Capitol, and everything it stands for. Those wild animals have a fetish for that tree that brought you to this cave, you see. They actually draw more people to us. So I guess they're good for somethin', at least."
Prim can't believe what he is saying. People sneak out of other districts? And not just to hunt, like her sister, but to actually run away? For good? How could they ever expect to make it on their own out in the wilderness? Prim tries to think of disappearances from her district, but the only one that comes to mind is her sister, just the other day. At any rate, Katniss is the only disappearance that Prim is looking for, the only one she really cares about, the only thing that matters at the moment. "So...about my sister?" Prim prods, trying to get her thoughts out of the muddled mess that they are in.
"Yeah? I promised you we'd find 'er, didn't I?" Prim nods at him. He rubs at his scruffy chin for a moment, considering, and Figgy flies up to land on his head. Prim stifles a giggle at the funny creatures elated attitude. Rae had run up ahead as soon as they were within smelling distance of the village, and Jellum hadn't stopped to admire it from afar, as Prim, Borus, and Figgy had. "Well. She ain't here, I can tell ya that much. I'm not really sure whatcha wanna do about it, but I say we get some rest first, hmm? I'm bushed from all that walking, and I'll wager you are too. Am I right?"
Prim actually yawns. She didn't even know she was tired! Yet here she is, yawning away, her eyelids growing heavier by the second. She finds herself nodding, and allowing Borus to lead her the rest of the way into the village, and into one of the smaller houses. It is all sort of a blur behind her weary eyes, but she notices a woman taking her as soon as she walks into the house. She hears her mumbling something to herself, to Prim, to Borus, then she lays Prim down on a very, very comfortable bed-like piece of furniture, and it only takes a matter of seconds before Prim is asleep.
Dreaming, dreaming, of a future without the Capitol. A future without the Hunger Games.
"Oh man, we are gonna be in so much trouble. Oh man, oh man!" Challa chants to himself, his hands propelling him up a few centimeters off the leather seats of the limo that they are riding in. Katniss feels sorry for Challa, but his incessant need to state the obvious is grating on her last nerve.
"Calm down, Challa," she says to him, patting him on the shoulder, trying to comfort him. It is a hard process for Katniss, because she is not a usually patient person, but she is saying it mechanically. Almost like she would to Prim, only without any real feeling behind it. "We're going to be okay. The papers were signed and filed. You are legitimately free to go." Like that would make a difference to President Snow.
Matza snorts. "Like that matters," he mumbles to himself. Katniss shoots him a glare from the other side of Challa. The part that makes Katniss the most upset, is that she was just thinking it herself.
"It matters." Portia had been nearly silent the entire ride, allowing Katniss to try to calm down Challa, and to try to reprimand Matza. Which is the reason that Katniss really didn't give a crap what Portia had to say at the moment. She doesn't believe it anyway. She just wants to be back to Cinna and Haymitch, then ultimately back to Prim and Peeta and Gale. And her mother. Back home. If they could ever even go back.
"Who are you again?" Matza cocks an eyebrow confidently. Katniss nearly expects Portia to yell at him; she would have. Portia, however, keeps perfectly calm, smiling at him a little, but not saying anything. So Matza moves on to the next person to bother. "Well, at least you look familiar. Poor-something. But you," he turns to Katniss, gesturing to all of her, but mainly focusing on her chest. "You don't look like anyone I've ever seen before. Was it...Kandace?"
Katniss is about to yell at him. She has lost her patience. Gone. But she doesn't have to, because someone beats her to it.
"WOULD YOU JUST SHUT THE HELL UP!?" Challa screams at him, his face reddening in fury. Matza looks taken aback, and he flounders for a response. Katniss is nearly as surprised at Challa as his younger brother is, but she can't help the wild urge she has to yell 'HaHa!' right in Matza's face. "It's your fault we're in this freakin' mess. You set Peeta's house on fire. You told Dad. You mouthed off to the peacekeepers. You resisted arrest. You spit in the faces of guard after guard. And now you're being the most annoying person on the face of the earth. Get over yourself, and be real for once, would you?"
"Ha!" Katniss bursts out, able to hold it back no longer. Challa turns back to face the front, which, incidentally, happens to be Portia. She smiles at him warmly, and he reaches over and grabs on to Katniss' hand for comfort. She gives it a little squeeze, and then is reminded of all the times that Peeta had done that exact thing for her. The first time they had physical contact, even. When they were shaking hands at the Reaping. And many, many times after. He had been her strength through everything. So how was she going to get by without him now?
Matza fumes for the rest of the ride. Portia thanks the driver, and he lifts his cap cordially, then drives off. They are in front of Portia's house, but Katniss knows that they will not stay there. They are meeting Cinna here, and he is to drive them back to the safe house, where they will reconnect with the other two Mellarks, and Haymitch. The place seems deserted, although Katniss knows it is not. It bothers her though, all the same.
"Where's Cinna?" She asks Portia, hoping for a quick reply. She doesn't get one. Portia is being unusually silent. Usual being a few words here and there. She had said practically nothing, two words is all, in the last hour and a half. A dark car pulls up to the curb in front of the house, and the driver's door opens. Katniss does not recognize the car, and she gets a feeling of genuine panic before she sees Cinna stepping out of the open door. Portia hustles Katniss and the brothers into the back seat, then she slides into the passenger seat.
"What now?" Katniss hears Portia ask Cinna in a quiet voice, probably trying to keep the rest of them from hearing. Matza has his arms crossed over his chest, and he is staring out the window. Challa is still gripping Katniss' hand, but his eyelids are lowering. Katniss knows that Challa has been very quiet and depressed lately, not being able to handle the life of a criminal, and the outburst he had against his brother has probably made him tired. That leaves Katniss as the only one really paying attention when Cinna answers her.
"Back to District 12; quick. Then we're out of there. Probably for good this time."
Not much of this surprises Katniss. She already knew that they wouldn't be able to continue on with their lives as usual after what happened. But two words stick with her.
This time.
"Oh, no man. Not gonna happen. Don't give me that look, Bread Boy. I know what you're thinking, and we are not climbing down that hole. Too dangerous. We don't even have light." Gale shakes his head wildly, his bow still drawn taut in his hands.
"Sure we do," I say reassuringly. Okay, and maybe a little bit cockily. "I brought a flashlight. You know how we Victors are. Always gotta have the best."
"Look. I know you don't know much about the forest and survival and everything, but I do. You can't just go waltzing into a freakin' cave and expect to live. It doesn't matter if we're treed by wild dogs. We can get rid of them. In fact, they will probably leave if we just stay still for an hour or so. But going into that cave is a death sentence. "
"I've had good experiences with caves as refuges," I say without thinking, referring to the time that Katniss and I stayed in the cave for a few days during the Games. I notice my mistake almost instantly: Katniss was there too. Gale's face reddens in anger, and he looks about ready to aim his bow at my head. Or my heart, I'm not entirely sure which would be more satisfying to him.
"That's not. The point," he says through tightly clenched teeth, glaring at me the entire time. His voice is cold as steel, and I know I've really pissed him off. Yet again. I'm pretty good at that.
"Sorry. I didn't mean--sorry." I'm not really sorry. I just want him to agree to go in the cave with me. I think of a different, more plausible tactic. "Katniss could be in there. Or Prim. Prim probably is in there. She wouldn't know better than to 'waltz into a freakin' cave' if she was...say, treed by a bunch of wild animals. It seems pretty probable to me, actually."
Gale rethinks the situation. Even if it's a long shot that she is in there, Prim's chances of surviving in that cave are one in a million. It would have to be a very unique circumstance to allow for her life in there. And Gale can't chance that, even if it is putting my life and his own in danger. We both consider Prim's life as more valuable than our own. It is one of the things that is uniting us. He nods after a moment, and motions for me to go first.
I'm not going to lie about the fact that I was terrified, but I was also determined. I took the flashlight out of the pack that held food, water, and bandages and flipped the switch on, as a preliminary attempt to calm my nerves. Then I worked my way out to the edge of the branch, and swung down onto the precariously stacked rocks.
Gale would think I was crazy if he knew the reason that I first noticed the cave, and counted it as a possible path to follow. That mockingjay had me convinced, even after only a few seconds of cocking its head in my direction, then in the direction of the cave.
I drop down into the cave, and almost instantly notice the sticky substance that coats the floor. My head spins as I think of the dream I had what seems like years ago, but must have only been about a week ago: The blood flowing out of the cave, flooding me, drowning me, destroying what was left of me. The blood everywhere. The cave, the blood. The blood, the blood, the cave. No sign of Prim, I point my already illuminated flashlight at the floor. It is blood, I realize, just as Gale drops down next to me, his arrow still knocked on his bow, ready to take out any potential threats.
The only thing that is threatening me right now can't be taken out by an arrow. I feel sick by the sight of the blood, and as I stumble forward to preferably find a dark corner to vomit in, I slip on a particularly pooled up splotch of the red, viscous liquid. As I go down, unstable on my prosthetic leg, and therefore unable to catch myself, my head conks hard against the rock floor. Then all I see is black.
A/N--Sorry, again, for the delay! I'm just glad I got this written before I go to bed tonight :D. I hope you liked it! And thanks to all my wonderful reviewers :D. (If you've read Maximum Ride, then read Diary of a Lovesick Mutant by Phoenix Fanatic. It's amazing). And since I know you've all read THG, read Starvation 1 by Penelope Wendy Bing. It's GREAT!
Thanks guys, and REVIEW! (I went off on a three minute rant today in study hall about the word review. It started with me saying how interesting the word was to my friend, and ended with me muttering to myself about movie reviews.)
REVIEW!