A/N: Hello guys! Here is the sequel to '100'. Sorry I'm late posting, I had to write my manuscript out lol. Anyway, enough from me :) Hope u all enjoy!
-also, language in this chapter. just letting you know in case you don't like that-
Be the Mockingjay. My mother's parting words stick in my mind, as memories of the golden pin and the black and white birds and long hours spent in the woods with my mother flood my memory. I quickly lay down and pretend to sleep as the footsteps near; I might be able to hear more information if I can eavesdrop. I hear muffled voices from the hallway.
"Is Haymitch ok?" Mother.
"Nah, he'll be right. He's a tough bloke." This from someone with a strange accent.
"Are they awake?" Father.
The door bursts open and someone crosses over to my bedside, shaking me by the shoulders.
"Oy, Willow." The strange-accented lady barks. I pretend to wake up, and sit in my bed, before tumbling straight out as I see my parents. My bare feet catch on the floor as I hurtle into my parent's arms. We hug each other tight, before I address the strange lady.
"Who are you?" I question, looking straight at her.
She chuckles. "I'm Rynn Coin, love, and welcome to 13!"
I must look extremely confused, because my parents rush to explain. Basically everything that Oceana told me. So I was right to trust her; I knew I was. Usually, you can gauge people's intentions.
"You knew the whole time?" I whisper.
They both nod.
"We didn't know you would be reaped; that was just the Capitol trying to get rid of you, sweetie." My mother announces bluntly.
Father hurriedly adds; "But we always wanted you to be the Mockingjay. Of course, it will be your choice if y-"
I cut him off. "Yes. 100% yes. I will be the Mockingjay." A bright smile crosses my face and I run around the room, before slipping and landing on the floor.
"I'm ok." I call out, as multiple people come over to grab me. It's only now that I notice the bandage on my left shin, where the snake bit me. I feel a similar one across my right arm, and look down to see it stained with red. My tracker.
Rynn confirms my suspicions, then goes to shake Oceana 'awake,' which leads to her shoving Rynn away and sleepily rubbing her eyes, and then her right arm, which is also bandaged, along with her left knee, which has a brace on it. I vaguely remember her limping onto the hovercraft as we escaped.
We all jump at the sound of a metallic voice over the speakers. "Prepare for landing. Prepare for landing. Safety protocol 995, patients prepare for landing. Rynn to Support, Rynn to Support, prepare for landing." The voice cuts out and I'm being pushed into my bed by a medical team that has materialized out of nowhere.
They strap the bed to some hooks in the wall, and then belt me in with restraints at my waist, wrists, and legs. The team then rushes to do the same for the other 'patients', and takes their seat on the opposite wall.
I overhear Oceana and Rynn's conversation.
"Where are my parents?" Oceana asks sadly.
I hear Rynn sigh. "They're held up in Four, kid. They'll be back next week."
The room goes silent.
In five minutes, once the craft has landed, the medical staff repeat the same procedure and give me some clothes to change into; a basic gray jumpsuit with black boots and a scarf. I look around to see everyone waking up and following us as we make our way out the door. We marvel at the sight.
Not that much to see, really, but a couple of people milling around and a bit of a heavily reinforced building about 10 meters high showing through the dusty ground. People funnel in and out of double doors at the base of this building, all of them dressed identically to us.
It's a real shock to see 13 alive and, dare I say, thriving? Wow.
I hear slow footsteps come up beside me and it becomes clear that this is Rynn.
"Well, girls," she says in her strange accent, "Welcome to District 13."
—
I'm assigned a compartment to live in. My roommate is Oceana. Compartment 224. Apparently, there is a max of only three people to one Compartment, so I have to room with Oceana.
I don't mind, though. She's the only friend I have left. All my other friends are back in Twelve, including Maysilee. I feel a pang of sadness in my chest as I think of her, the only friend that I could always count on. But I have Oceana now. She's not so bad.
Oceana Odair is small, with sandy hair and green eyes. I've never seen anyone with such beautiful green eyes before. As a matter of fact, I've never seen anyone with green eyes before. Her mother is Annie Cresta, and I've been told by my mother that her father is Finnick Odair, and he and my mother were friends. Annie and Finnick are married and live across the hall with Oceana's brother. Ever since they found out their other son, Hunter, died, they've been sad and moping around the Base. Oceana cries into her pillow at night, and often wakes up screaming for him to run.
In the months that follow, the same routine follows day in, day out. Wake up. Attend a meeting in Command, the tech and control center of District 13. Meet with Rynn to discuss my role. Training with other fifteen-year-old-girls. Talk to father and mother, and ask Rye about his new school. Dinner. Reflection in my Compartment with Oceana and Sani, who was just discharged from the hospital and has moved in. Sleep. Repeat.
Of course, it varies. But I know my life is different now.
When I wake up one morning months later, Rynn is pacing in the hall. I change into a new uniform and go out to meet her. She grins excitedly at me as I yawn and rub my eyes.
"Willow, guess what? Exciting news! There's been a breakthrough in District One!" This is exciting news. For weeks, we've been communicating with their rebel sector, and now the people are finally joining us.
"Awesome!" I exclaim.
Rynn smiles, and then her expression turns serious. "They want you there for motivation, and to shoot a couple videos with you in them to show their population and the rest of Panem."
I consider this. "Of course I'll go, but how will they air me on the television? Doesn't the Capitol have control over what airs?"
Rynn smirks. "Not if we got him." She points behind me to a very old man in a wheelchair.
He nods towards me. "Hi, Willow. I'm Beetee Lavier."
When I still don't recognise him, he clarifies. "I was in the second Quell with your mother."
"Oh."
Rynn steps in. "Beetee is a technological whiz from 3. He'll be able to air you on any Capitol telly."
I smile. "Nice to meet you."
"You too. There's someone else I want you to meet, too." Beetee struggles with his wheelchair for a second, and Rynn helps him swivel it around to face the door. I guess the tiles are a bit sticky because of the rubber. "You can come in now!" He shouts.
Across the hall, one of the shiny metal doors open and out walks… Mase? He's wearing a freshly pressed, gray, District 13 uniform, and his brown hair is a little too long in the front and falls into his eyes. A grin spreads across my face.
"Mase!" I don't think twice; I run into his arms. After a moment's hesitation, he squeezes me back in a warm hug. Mase smells like lavender soap and beeswax. He smells like the woods.
"But, how?" I whisper in his ear.
"They thought I was dead. Almost was. See, it's a really long story, and I'll tell you later, but basically I was resuscitated and sent to 13. I'm a lucky man." His breath rustles the hair on my neck.
"Ah, the little shit is back from above?" Rynn claps him on the back affectionately after I step back.
He chuckles, gives me a toothy grin, and shakes Rynn's hand . "Yeah. Finished our mission with the food restocking earlier than expected. Now I can come with you guys!"
"To District One?" My heart does a dance, and my stomach flutters. I don't know why I want him to come so badly, but I do.
"Yes. I hope that's ok?"
Rynn smiles, and leans against the wall. "Of course, my boy. Let's go to District One."
—
I say goodbye to my parents, who hug me tight and make sure to tell me 'not to do anything foolish.' Brushing them off, I make my way over to where Rye sits on the floor. I crouch down next to him, and make him look in my eyes.
"Rye, I'll be back in no time, and I'll make sure to stay in one piece. Do you have any idea what kind of security I will be placed under? Nothing will happen to me." I chuckle and poke him in the stomach gently, garnering a giggle.
"Can you bring me a diamond?" He asks shyly. District One is luxury, so I might be able to. I will do almost anything for the kid.
"We'll see." I give his little hand a squeeze. "See you soon, Rye."
I'm about to leave when there is a knock on the door. Mother answers it.
"Prim!" She screams out, as she hugs Aunt Primrose. "I thought you were in Twelve!" They laugh and Aunt Primrose sets down a big box onto the floor, a cloud of dust billowing up around it.
"I just came by to say hello, and goodbye to Willow."
She turns to me. "Willow, you got this. Ok, honey?" Aunt Prim gives a wave of her hand. "Eh, who am I kidding. This one's great with words."
She winks at me. "Just like her father." and with a slight smile, turns back to my parents. I take this as my cue to leave.
"Willow, wait!" My father calls. Mom walks over and fastens something onto my uniform.
"You're the Mockingjay. Own it." She smiles and kisses me on the forehead before walking back over and burying her face in father's shirt.
"Go get 'em, sweetheart." My father says, patting mom's back with one hand and placing a kiss in her hair. I nod and leave the room. But not before they pull me in for a final group hug.
On the metal-covered, heavily-armoured hovercraft, I see Aliza. She looks drab in her gray jumpsuit, but her purple eyes and hair still shines, although dimmer than usual. She hands me a bulletproof vest and some beautiful armor that looks very well made by someone who clearly knew what they were doing.
I notice her nails, purple paint chipping off, and feel slightly sorry for her, being deprived of her Capitol lifestyle. But who cares now? The armor feels as good as it looks. It was made, I'm informed, by someone named Cinna, who died defending the rebel cause. Apparently he was my mother's stylist, and very important to her.
I hug Aliza, thanking her as she gives me a light touch of makeup under my eyes, and then we sit down. Mase walks up the collapsible staircase and sits in the seat next to me. We watch as two guards pull the stairs inside and fold them up, and then we stare at the dusty, weed-ridden ground as the hovercraft is lifted into the sky.
"It's prettier than the base, huh?" Mase comments.
"Yeah." I'm mesmerised; and I can't look away. Eventually, we float up into the clouds and I lean my head back on the wall.
"So, how are you still alive?" I ask him. Realising the question could be interpreted as borderline rude, I rephrase. "I mean, uh, how… what happened?"
Luckily, he's not the easily offended type. Mase laughs. "Ok, but I warn you, it's a long story."
"I'm bored anyway. Go for it."
He nods. I am actually very curious to hear. "So, I woke up with broken ribs on a rebel hovercraft. They apparently replicated what they were going to do the last Quarter Quell," he pauses, considering. "Your parent's Games, I believe."
I nod. "Their second Games."
His eyebrows raise, and he continues. "Wow. Anyway, after I woke up they told me that they were taking me to District 13. Of course, I didn't believe them and tried to escape, but when we arrived, I saw they weren't lying." Another pause. "They brought me back to life with a new defibrillator; me and a couple others."
My eyes widen. "There's others?"
Mase nods with a smile, and leans over his knees. "Yep. About 10 of us Victors offspring left, I believe."
The thought of more dead people sends waves of pain through my chest. I think of my mother's nightmares. She wakes up screaming, shouting names that I don't recognise. Sometimes, I catch her and father sitting on the couch at midnight after one of his attacks, or one of her nightmares. They drink warm milk and comfort each other, while I read Rye stories to distract him from the crying. Afterwards, father usually comes into our rooms to make sure we're ok. I pretend to be asleep on the chair in Rye's room while father tucks him in. Then I'll fall asleep on the carpet and wake up the next morning with him curled up next to me, our cat Tulip purring a few feet away.
It sucks. All of it. And if a revolution will put my parents and the citizens of Panem at peace, then I'll do anything. Absolutely anything to take them down; hell, I'll die for it.
"I hate them. I fucking hate them." I blurt out.
"The Capitol?" He asks, turning to look at me. I nod vigorously, feeling my blood boil.
"Every inch of their land, every expression on their painted faces. I want them dead."
Mase furrows his brow, and considers my answer. "They'll get their justice, Will, they'll get it." He gives me a sly grin and steeples his fingers. "I'll make sure of it."
Some of the anger bubbles away, and reduces itself to a dull simmer. A laugh bursts out of my throat, high-pitched and maniacal. But I feel better, and a little calmer. "Me too."
I think I fell asleep, because next thing I know, I'm leaning on Mase's shoulder. His arms are around me, and his head rests on top of mine. He's asleep as well. The hovercraft is mostly empty now, save a few guards and passengers on the other side of the room. I heard muffled voices in the room over, where Rynn's strange accent is clear, even through the padded metal walls. Having Mase's strong, warm arms around me feels nice and I don't want to move. And why should I? He's asleep, and when he wakes up I'll be embarrassed, but right now, he's none the wiser, and seems to be ok with having me leaning on him. His arms pull me closer, and he sighs onto my hair. I feel the muscles of his chest relax as he readjusts, and I can tell he's awake. I'm about to get up and apologise, but he shifts his right arm so my head lies in the crook of it, and strokes my hair away from my face. I practice my pretend-sleeping and regulate my breathing, focusing on not fluttering my eyelids.
"You're so beautiful." He whispers.
Fighting the urge to widen my eyes in shock, I stay silent. Mase just said I'm beautiful. Why do I like that? I shouldn't feel happy about that. But I do, and the sensation is wonderful. I can't help it; I smile.
"Now you're even prettier." He's even softer this time, but I still make it out. He finishes brushing my hair, and drops one hand off my face. The other hand rests on my shoulders, sending warmth over the bare skin of my arm.
—
"Willow, we're here!" Rynn exclaims, shaking my shoulders vigorously. I'm now leaning on cold plastic where Mase's lap was, and I feel the loss. Did I dream that whole thing? Surely not. Sitting painfully, I drag my hands over my face. I hear the loud voice over the intercom telling us to prepare for landing, so I strap myself into my seat. The hovercraft lands with a cloud of dust, and the door opens slowly. I jump onto the ground and wait for the cloud to clear before stepping out further.
District One is far more beautiful than coal-tinged District Twelve or monotone-gray District Thirteen. The ground seemingly sparkles. I follow Rynn as she walks straight ahead, and I notice a tiny diamond lying in front of me. When no one's looking, I scoop it up and shove it in my pocket. Rye's going to be over the moon. I smile to myself and run to catch up to Rynn and the rest of the group of people who have come here. We walk about five miles. I look, and notice that Mase is chatting to Rynn a few metres ahead.
I feel a tap on my shoulder. Jumping back, I notice that it's just Oceana. I immediately hug her. "What are you doing here?" I ask, pulling back.
"They said that I could come. Probably because I made such a fuss that they had to agree."
I laugh.
Oceana gives a toss of her hair and smiles. "Worth it." We both laugh.
Rynn comes up behind us and grabs our hands, pulling us forward.
"We're on a mission! There's no time for stuffing around. We aren't babies around here."
I roll my eyes and yank my hand free, tucking my hair behind my ear and placing both my hands straight down by my sides, marching forward with my squad. I'm starting to get tired, and I debate about whether or not to ask Rynn where we're going, but I decide that this would only confirm the idea that I'm a useless baby. So I keep it shut.
We must have walked at least seven kilometers when Rynn says that we're here. Finally, I think to myself, but smile pleasantly instead of repeating it. Rynn leads us to a dark, damp, secluded building surrounded by trees. I try not to look disgusted as I catch a glimpse of the mold climbing the outside of the old building. Everyone else just walks through the creaky door, so I make haste to follow.
This building is already occupied. It doesn't seem to bother anybody else that there is apparently a meeting taking place. Instead, a lady who looks to be about 30 stands up and hugs Rynn.
"Hey, Abby! Long time no see!" Rynn exclaims to the woman. Abby has an eyepatch on, and is sporting a sling on her right arm. Still, she's smiling, so she can't be that injured. Or maybe she is. I don't know.
"Hello Rynn. You brought her?" Abby says expectantly whilst hugging Rynn. They both have the same strange accent.
Rynn pulls back. "Yes, she's right there, actually." Pointing in my direction. I realize that everyone is staring at me, including various strangers seated around a large table. They all look pretty beaten up.
"H- ahem - Hi here." I manage.
Abby raises an eyebrow.
I steel myself. "Excuse me, if I may ask, where are we?" The confidence in my voice shocks me.
"Well, we're currently at the rebel base in One." She says to me with a quizzical look. It's kind of creepy, really. I feel Oceana squeeze my hand, and I stare cooly back at Abby.
Abby takes a breath, and glances at Rynn, before continuing. "Now, sweetie,"
I raise my eyebrow. "Yes-"
Abby cuts me off. "I wasn't asking for a response." This takes me aback, but I just nod and keep my composure.
"You're going to cooperate, aren't you?" There's a hint of something in her voice; I don't know what it is, but I don't like it.
I nod suspiciously.
Abby smirks slyly. "Because if you aren't," she twirls her wrist and looks down at her close-bitten fingernails, before fixing her creepy eyes on me and driving the point home.
"Everyone is replaceable."