Chapter 53

We agreed to proceed underground. After making some effort to cover our tracks around the apartment, my squad gathered in the living room. Peeta had moved himself back to the sofa and showed no signs of budging.

"I'm not going," he insisted. "I'll either disclose your position or hurt someone else."

"Snow's people will find you," Finnick tried to reason with him. The thought made Peeta blanch, but he put on a brave face.

"Then leave me a pill. I'll only take it if I have to," he retorted. I shot him a skeptical look, which he pretended to ignore.

"That's not an option. Come along," Jackson ordered, but Peeta stiffened.

"Or you'll what? Shoot me?" he challenged.

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

Peeta shook his head frantically and clenched his cuffed fists. I edged toward him, ready to throw myself between him and Katniss if another one of his episodes came on.

"Stop being noble! I don't care if I die! Katniss, please. Don't you see, I want to be out of this?"

True to form, Katniss replied with a cold efficiency. "We're wasting time. Are you coming voluntarily or do we knock you out?"

At this, Peeta buried his face in his hands. I watched the expression shifting on Katniss' face as she struggled to maintain some kind of heartless mask, but found herself unable to keep her harsh demeanor toward Peeta.

When Peeta finally decided to stand, my squad-mates gave a collective sigh of relief.

"Should we free his hands?" Leeg 1 asked, eyeing the harsh metal cuffs on Peeta's wrists. But Peeta pulled his hands tightly against his chest, straining his bruised flesh against the restraints.

"No!" he insisted, rapidly searching between me and Katniss for support.

"No," Katniss agreed. "But I want the key." Peeta watched me helplessly as Jackson surrendered the key to his handcuffs to Katniss.

"What?" I mouthed to him, unsure of what he wanted me to do about it. Does he want me to take the key instead? I don't want to be responsible for that thing.

"Real or not real?" he asked quietly, and it took me a moment to realize what he meant.

"Not real," I assured him. "Katniss won't hurt you. Not real."

Katniss slipped the key into her pocket and looked up at the rest of us to show that she was ready to leave. I wondered whether she had demanded the key because she feared that Peeta would hurt her, but that explanation didn't seem quite right to me. Perhaps, despite everything Peeta had done to endanger our squad, some part of Katniss was still concerned for his safety. Perhaps it was the rest of us that she didn't trust enough to treat Peeta fairly.

As we followed our squad out of the apartment and through the passageway into the underground tunnel system, Jackson beckoned me over to guard Peeta with her. Jackson walked at his right shoulder, and I followed him just behind his left. I noticed Peeta tense when we entered the dark, enclosed space, and put my hand on his shoulder to steady him. Come on, Peeta. Keep it together.

"My brother worked down here after he became an avox," I heard Castor explaining. "Took five years before we were able to buy his way up to ground level. Didn't see the sun once."

Peeta straightened, and turned to Pollux with a smile. "Well, then you just became our most valuable asset."

As we walked along, Peeta began to whistle under his breath, a happy tune that he must have picked up as a child in District 12. I wondered whether he was actually cheerful, or if he was only trying to distract himself from his fear. But Jackson, still on high alert, quietly ordered him to stop. Peeta dropped his tune mid-breath, and continued to walk along in dejected silence.

~X~

Some hours later, we settled down in a warm room off the tunnel system. I left Peeta and Jackson, and settled against one of the cement walls to catch some rest. I was nearly asleep when I felt a warm head fall onto my shoulder. I inhaled Katniss' woodsy scent and readjusted my body to make her sleeping form more comfortable. In the silence of the room, I leaned over to kiss her forehead, but she didn't wake.


Short chapter, I know :( But two updates in 24 hours? That's not too shabby, if I do say so myself ;)

Life at school gets busy. Really, really busy. And since you guys are the best, I always feel bad about slow updates. So, in anticipation of a semester where I won't have time to write often, I may or may not have drafted something like... the next 25 chapters?

Going to shoot for very frequent updates in the next few weeks as I read things over and churn out the part of Gale's Amaranth that I've been most excited to write. Don't forget to "Follow" so that you don't miss a single one!

Peace & best wishes :)