Tigris comes back into the main area of the shop with one last coat in her arms as Cressida's giving us the last details on the plan.
"Head straight North." The film director tells us. "There's gonna be thousands of refugees. Just get into that stream and don't look up."
"We got one shot." Katniss says, looking at Gale as Tigris pulls the cloak over his shoulders.
"Let's make it count." He replies.
"Good luck, Katniss." Cressida whispers, pulling the Mockingkay into one final hug.
"Thank you."
Pollux peers through the glass of the door, looking at the street outside. He and Cressida aren't coming with us. They aren't soldiers, after all, even if they've held together through everything we've faced so far to get here. I'm a little sad to say goodbye to them, but I completely understand their reasoning. They've done their part. It's up to Peeta, Katniss, Gale, and I to finish the job. The rest of the squad will not have died in vain.
"Pollux." Katniss says.
He turns to face her, taking a few steps closer. He signs to her, probably wishing her luck as well.
She pulls the mute man into a hug.
Finally, the Mockingjay addresses the shopkeeper herself. "Tigris, thank you for everything you've done."
The stylist clasps her hands together and dips her head.
"I can't believe this is it." Peeta murmurs, shaking his head gently. "After everything we've been through, it's finally going to end. What happens next?"
"It's been a long ride." I pat his shoulder. "But whatever happens next, we'll look out for each other. All of us. That's what survivors do."
The boy gives a small smile. "Thanks, Haymitch. For everything. You've always been a great mentor. I can't imagine it being any other way."
"Neither can I." I tell him with a grim smile of my own.
Katniss pulls me into a hug, which I return. She doesn't say anything, but she doesn't need to either. Peeta spoke for her. "Any last advice?"
I repeat the words I said to her in the elevator before the Quell. "Stay alive."
She smiles weakly.
It's quiet for a moment, everyone in the room glancing between the others. No one wants to be the first to step out that door, out into the Capitol street. Because we don't know what'll happen next. We might not even succeed. We might not even survive. I can see the doubt in even Gale. But the mission must be completed, for every single person who ever died because of the Games, because of Snow. This is for them, and for those who've yet to fall under his rule.
"Ready, Catnip?" Gale asks, prompting her and Peeta to lead the way.
"Yeah." She says, and I can see her swallow uneasily. She jerks her head at Peeta. "Let's go."
He nods. "Okay."
The pair of tributes flip on the hoods of their cloaks and approach the door. Katniss grabs her bow and slips it behind the folds of her disguise. Peeta beside her, her hands hesitates on the doorknob. Then she opens it.
"Hey, Catnip." Gale calls.
She turns to look at him over her shoulder.
"Good luck out there."
The Mockingjay doesn't reply.
I don't remember ever feeling prouder of either Katniss or Peeta as I watch them step out into the streets of the Capitol. Not even when they came back from the Games. My heart swells as I watch them leave.
I hope I live to see them again when all of this is finally over.
*X*
Gale and I walk through the masses of Capitol citizens seeking refuge at Snow's mansion. We don't talk to each other, for neither of us really knows one another other than through what Katniss has told us about the other. But it's fine. I don't really want to talk to him anyway.
"By order of President Snow, all residents must proceed to the Presidential Estate." A voice announces. "Please, continue to move forward in a calm and orderly fashion. Additional food, medicine, and clothing will be provided upon arrival."
The voice moves on to repeat what it's just said. I ignore it.
While a good number of the refugees are well-dressed citizens, a great many are wearing clothing that almost makes them look like they've come from the Districts. We almost stand out, and it makes me a tad more uneasy than I already am. I can tell Gale feels the same, for his shoulders are tense. Peacekeepers line the streets, overseeing the evacuation. We keep our hoods over our heads and look down as we stroll along with the crowd, trying not to get noticed.
"Is that it?" Gale mutters to me, glancing ahead at something.
I look up slightly, spotting the mansion dead ahead. "Yeah."
"About time. I really don't like this."
"Trust me when I say I don't either."
There are a load more of Peacekeepers standing on the stairs up to the building's entrance, some standing in the archways leading up the front yard. I spare an unnerved glance up at some that stand on one of their military trucks, noting the rifles in their hands as we pass by them. It's as if they know we're here somewhere.
A child slips by, hurrying forward. I spot it slip by the disguised Katniss and Peeta. I see another, one in a yellow jacket, look directly at the pair from where her mother carries her. The girl doesn't appear to say anything, to alert anyone of rebel presence.
I frown as Katniss and Peeta turn around, walking back towards us. Gale glances at me with a puzzled look and I shrug, narrowing my eyes to look further past the pair of tributes. I almost stop in my tracks as I stop some Peacekeepers lifting the hoods of some of the citizens to confirm their identities. When they turn around again, I know that there's more checking behind us. Things just got a whole lot more difficult.
I swallow, fingering my knife where it rests in my pocket. "We need to get out of here."
"Yeah, I know." Gale says, having noticed the Peacekeepers too. I see him reaching for a concealed weapon of his own.
I see a Peacekeeper reach out and grab Katniss's shoulder.
The ground shakes as something blows up. Everyone nearby falls to the ground, alarmed; many even cry out in fear.
"It's the rebels!" Someone shouts.
The end has well and truly begun now.
I turn at the sound of gunfire, watching a nearby Peacekeeper's body jerk as it takes some hits and falls to the street. I narrow my eyes through the smoke, seeing a whole group of refugees starting towards the mansion with guns. Yep, we're definitely in the center of everything!
While a few citizens rise up and try to gun away, the majority are smart enough to stay low to the ground and not move. Gale and I are among them. I think I see Katniss and Peeta too, ducking as the Peacekeepers behind them fire away at the invading rebels. A balcony explodes above us and debris falls down into the crowd, along with a few Peacekeeper bodies. I spot Katniss looking at the little girl in the yellow coat, who's standing over someone and screaming. I see Peeta haul her to her feet as the pair begin to move again.
Gale grabs my arm. "Come on!"
We climb to our feet and race through the gunfire, hoping not to get hit. As a Peacekeeper truck explodes, we leap over a barricade and sit down with our backs against it. We flip off our hoods, for hell's broke loose and there's no reason to hide anymore. I spot Peeta and Katniss ahead, the boy knocking out one of the white-armored men and stealing his gun. They dart off, towards the mansion.
"Come on, come on!" Gale hauls me to my feet again and we race off after them, hopping barricades and fallen bodies.
We race beneath a bridge, which explodes as it takes a rocket almost immediately after. It takes my all to remain on my feet as I stumble after my companion. As we enter an area of the street that's populated with more Peacekeepers than rebels, Gale opens fire on some of them.
There's yet another explosion in front of us, the back of a truck lifting up in the air. I watch as Katniss and Peeta leap out of the way as it smashes down where they'd been taking cover behind it. On one side, Peeta struggles to fight off Peacekeepers. On the other, Katniss reaches for her bow and climbs to her feet as she notches an arrow.
He begs her to shoot him.
But Gale's faster.
The Peacekeepers surrounding the young Victor fall like flies and Peeta falls to the ground in surprise. He gets up again and retrieves his gun as we race up to his side.
"Thanks." He gasps.
"Keep moving!" Gale calls to Katniss.
I wipe my hair from my sweaty forehead as we start running towards the gates of the mansion once more. I notice that Katniss isn't with us and stop our little group.
"Where is she?" I ask them, scanning with chaos for her blue cloak.
"There!" Peeta says suddenly, pointing to a figure resting against the flipped truck.
"Stay here!" I snap, leaving the two boys to wait as I rush to retrieve Katniss.
I scramble through the panicking citizens and the debris that litters the ground, skirting a giant spike that had been catapulted out by the rebels. I slip once or twice, but I don't let it discourage me. I made a promise to Peeta, a promise to protect Katniss. And I intend to keep it.
I skid to a halt beside her, crouching down behind the flipped vehicle. I can see her chest heaving, her pale face.
"Come on!" I say.
"I can't...Haymitch, I can't..." She whispers between breaths. "It's too much."
"If I can handle this, you can." I hold my hand out to her. "Come on, we have to move!"
I can see her take a shaky breath as she grasps my hand and nods.
I haul Katniss to her feet and keep a tight rip on her wrist as we race back through the flying debris to reach Gale and Peeta.
Something blows up behind us and we're sent flying, her wrist torn from my tight grip. I cough against the smoke as I struggle to stay conscious. I can feel blood slicking the side of my face near my ear. I shake my head to try to snap from my gaze, but a new wave of dizziness overwhelms me and I nearly collapse as I manage to get to my hands and knees. I brace myself on a ducking citizen to haul myself back up to my feet. I stumble, but regain my balance. I spot Gale and Peeta helping Katniss up and hurry across the clearing to them.
We rejoin the refugees in the mad dash to the mansion, dodging giant balls of spikes as they're catapulted towards the Peacekeepers from down the street. There's a fearful mob halted at the gates and we struggle to stay together as we push through them, our hoods covering our faces once more.
"Stay calm. Bring your children forward." A Peacekeeper orders. "The gates will open momentarily. The children will be received first. Stay calm. Bring your children forward."
We climb up onto the side of an abandoned military truck to get a better look, peering over the heads of the terrified citizens. At the closed gates, Peacekeepers are tearing children away from their parents. The children cry out for their parents, struggling to fight back against the Peacekeepers to no avail. There's a group of children being held back from the other citizens by armed Peacekeepers.
And I know that there's something wrong here.
We look to the skies at the sound of an incoming military hovercraft. The Panem logo is displaced on the bottom of it. It slows down as it passes over us. I freeze at what it drops.
Silver parachutes carry down little containers.
Now, I have no doubt that this invasion is the seventy-sixth Games.
And this? This is the finale twist.
The parachutes are not bringing gifts, despite the joyful cries of the citizens. And the chiming bells, they're the death tolls.
I would know. This isn't my first time in the Games; it's not even my second. I'm a veteran at this by now.
I hold my breath as the first few people reach up to pluck the drops from the air.
The air above the children grows dark as the parachutes explode before our eyes into black smoke. We're thrown from the side of the truck to the ground, laying amongst the citizens as they cry out in sudden alarm.
My ears ring a little as I blink my eyes open and lift my head groggily. Gale's already gotten up, his eyes wide in horror. Peeta grabs Katniss's arm and helps her to sit up. She appears equally as dazed as I am.
As we get up, I notice that most everyone is low to the ground. I see a rebel soldier carrying the unmoving body of a child, medics rushing over to where the rest lay.
Snow would bomb children. The sick bastard always did punish them for the faults of the rest of the Districts. And the end of the rebellion, it comes down to something as horrific as this...I should have known.
As we observe the scene, a mortified Katniss starts towards the dead children. Peeta's covering his mouth, too horrified to follow her. Gale's jaw is set grimly. All I feel is numb and helpless, my hands hanging limply at my sides as I stare at the scene.
Even the Peacekeepers set aside their helmets and join the medics in hurrying over the fallen children, looking as shocked as all the rest. They didn't know. I realize that Snow's finally crossed the line, that this all ends because of what he's done. His own Peacekeepers are going to be the ones to bring him in. It's a cruelly ironic world.
"Prim?" I hear Katniss say. I glance over at her just in time to see one of the medics, a girl herself, look up at her sister. "Primrose! Prim!"
The war ends as the parachutes give off one last, synchronized explosion and the site lights up one last time.