CHAPTER 3.4
'Sweat blooded and I'm stranded.
See if I can stand it.
Drinkin' in the shallow water.'
Wrenching open the one eye that hadn't been swollen shut, Indiana groaned at the harsh lighting in the cellblock (the only benefit of it was that it informed the girl it was daytime). True to his threat, Snow had ensured that Indiana was punished for her act of defiance. Forcing herself into a sitting position, her vision blurred and the world tilted violently, causing her to lie back down on the bed. Fighting the nausea that swirled within her, the fair-haired girl tried to ignore the pain coursing through her body.
Memories of excruciating pain and murky shadows fought their way to Indiana's consciousness and try as she might the young woman no longer had the strength to keep them at bay. Thankfully, before her mind delved into a deep sleep plagued by monsters wearing human skin, a worried voice brought her back to the surface.
"Indie? Oh god. Indie, please, wake up. Look at me."
Tilting her head to the side (it more lolled than tilted), her left eye opened enough that she was able to see Peeta's concerned face. Luckily, he was looking far better than he had the past few days. President Snow must have let him have a few days free from torture due to him doing what was requested of him.
Taking in the battered and bruised face that belonged to Indiana Summers, Peeta had to resist the urge to vomit. One eye was swollen shut, puffy and black whilst the other one was bloodshot. A gash sliced down the side of her face, crusted with dried blood, and bruises made her face look more like a checkerboard than a human. The boy from District Twelve was immensely grateful for the fact that he was unable to see the rest of her body, although he imagined it was far worse than her face due to the way she was clutching her ribs and grimacing.
"P-P-Pe-." Indiana's throat was still raw from all the screaming.
Nodding gratefully at the jug of room temperature water that Peeta slid between the bars, she gulped it down greedily before continuing to talk. "Did they punish you? Are you hurt?"
Smiling at the selflessness of the woman, Peeta shook his head. Whilst she acted tough and fierce to the rest of the world, Indiana was secretly sweet and kind. Her heart bigger than her knowledge of combat.
"Thanks to you, no. Your act of defiance made mine pale in comparison. Why would you do that? How could you endanger yourself like that?"
"Let's be honest, Peeta, no matter what we say or do, they'll never kill us. They can't. Panem loves us too much. Our deaths would cause the riot that Snow's trying to prevent. I refuse to let Snow beat me into defiance."
"You can't keep letting them hurt you, Indie. It doesn't matter whether they kill you or not when they can still hurt you in numerous ways. Don't let them break you."
"Do you think we'll ever get back to them?" Indiana asked, a tremor in her voice as Cato's smiling handsome face popped into her head.
"If I know Cato, then I know he's not going to rest until you are back in his arms."
Smiling at the kind boy, Indiana resisted the urge to mention that Katniss would also do the same for him. Over the weeks, it had only been a small change but every time Katniss' name was mentioned, Peeta tensed slightly. The muscles in his jaw ticked and a darkness pooled in his blue eyes; a darkness not associated with pain but pure anger. Out of fear for the consequences, Indiana had taken to keeping the younger girl's name out of their conversations.
Leaning her head against the cool wall, Indiana relaxed slightly at the sound of Peeta's calming voice describing the beauty of a sunset to the prisoners of the Capitol. All of them were praying that they would be able to a see a true sunset someday soon instead of the inside of a cell or torture chamber.
Waking up alone had quickly become one of Indiana's biggest fears; 1) because it meant she had been separated from Cato for yet another day and 2) it meant her friends were chained to a table somewhere being hurt in unspeakable ways.
Being alone meant there was no distractions to chase away the memories. No distractions to fight the illusions of happiness and horror as they merged together. She was alone. Abandoned with the memory of her fiancé and the life they could've possibly had together if life had been less cruel. Left behind with the memories of those who had died and she had murdered. She was left alone, recalling happier times with her aunt and uncle when they had spent joyful days together teaching Indiana how to handle and fight with weapons; she'd almost sliced off Gloss' ear at one point. However, even her happiest memories with her family were overshadowed by the connotation of death.
A smile slid onto her face as she got lost in memories of her uncle teaching her to paint, her aunt teaching her to read, baking cookies with Marvel. Laughing to herself through the tears, Indiana wished she could be with them all – to go back to when times were simpler.
"It doesn't do well to dwell on the past. It only brings pain and longing."
Shooting up at the cheerful voice, she ignored the burning of her fractured ribs and rushed to the young man now miraculously stood in her cell.
"I thought you'd left me," she lightly scolded, placing her hand on his cheek.
Marvelling at the smooth fleshy skin beneath her hand, Indiana was unable to comprehend how he was there with her. It defied the laws of biology. She had believed him to be gone forever, out of reach until death reunited him, yet there he was.
"How many times must I promise you that I'll never leave you before you begin to believe me?"
"There's so much I wish to talk about with you but for now, could you lay beside me please? I don't want to sleep alone."
"I'd do anything for you, Short Stuff."
Sliding into the single bed, he placed a sweet kiss on her temple before bidding her a good sleep. Promising that he would fight away the bad dreams, Marvel wrapped her tightly in his arms and smiled when she relaxed against his chest.
"Will you be here when I wake?" Indiana gazed into his light blue eyes, drinking in the features of his face that hadn't aged a day.
She received no response.
Waking up alone put Cato in a foul mood every morning. It was just another reminder that he was spending another day without Indiana, and that District Thirteen had made no attempts to rescue the imprisoned. Converting his rage into energy, Cato zoomed through his morning routine and was about to wash away the workout sweat when a knock at the door forced him to put a shirt on and turn off the water.
"You missed breakfast. Again." Finnick's disapproval was evident in both his voice and his face.
"I lost track of time."
"For the fourth time this week," he muttered under his breath but loud enough that Cato would be able to hear him.
Punching his friend lightly on the shoulder, Cato widened his door enough to allow Finnick to enter his lonely living space. Shaking his head, Finnick explained that they had to get to Command. And fast.
"Why? Unless they have news about Indiana, I have no desire to be in a room with those people." Cato said, anger swirling within his stomach.
"Because Katniss is going to announce that she will be the Mockingjay."
Abandoning the idea of a shower, the man from Two shoved his feet into his boots and slung his jacket on as he rushed out the door, slamming it shut behind him and Finnick. The man from Four could barely keep up with his muscular friend as he stormed down the hallways to the room used for official meetings.
"I will be your Mockingjay." Katniss announced to the room full of people.
There was no response from Coin – she just continued to watch Katniss with her usual blank expression. Looking out at the crowd, Katniss caught Cato's icy blue eyes. Nodding at her, he shot her an encouraging smile, filling Katniss with the confidence she needed to continue with her proposal. If the man she had murdered had faith in her then she could have faith in her self.
"However, I have a few conditions. My sister gets to keep her cat."
Conversation broke out at that. Half of the room considered the cat to be of no issue at all – after all, it was only a small animal. The other half believed it would serve to be nothing but a nuisance, providing unnecessary difficulties and problems. Eventually, they all agreed that the cat could stay so long as the Everdeen's took full responsibility for it.
"I want to hunt. With Gale. Out in the woods. We'll use our own bows and give the kitchen anything we catch."
Plutarch struck up an objection to that one, babbling on about security and danger but Coin cut him off, ensuring Katniss abided to the terms of hunting. Coin's eyes never left Katniss as she waited for the next condition, her face devoid of any emotion. Sucking in a deep breath, and after another reassuring nod from Cato, Katniss informed them of the final, the biggest and the most important condition.
"When the war is over, Peeta will be pardoned," she demanded. "No form of punishment will be inflicted. The same goes for the other tributes; Johanna, Annie, Enobaria, and more importantly, Indiana."
"No."
Cato's hands instinctively clenched into fists, his fingers digging into his palm hard enough to leave bruises. Finnick swayed slightly, subtly bumping his shoulder into Cato's – a subtle gesture of comfort and a warning to keep his temper in check.
"Yes." Katniss seethed. "It's not their fault that you abandoned them in that arena. Who knows what's being done to them in the Capitol?"
"They will be tried with the other war criminals and treated as the tribunal sees fit," said Coin, tone never wavering from flat and uncaring.
"They will be granted with immunity!" Katniss stood, voice loud and icy fury seeping in. "You will personally pledge this in front of the entire population of District Thirteen and the remainder of Twelve, today. It will be recorded for future generations to see. You will hold yourself and your government responsible for their safety, or you will find yourself another Mockingjay!"
And, as Coin agreed to the terms and the recorded announcement, Cato and Finnick came to an agreement that they had never been more grateful for Katniss Everdeen. Pressing three fingers to their lips, they raised them high in the air. Katniss smiled at the two men and in that moment, the three of them had never felt more connected.
'Make me feel like someone else.
You got me talkin' in my sleep.
I don't wanna come back down.
I don't wanna touch the ground.'
