DISCLAIMER: HG characters do not belong to me.
Words not spoken in English will be italicized.
Chapter 20-Thoughts of the Past
Katniss didn't speak to Gale on the walk back to the Comanche village. Once they arrived, all eyes were on Gale and his group. The glances and stares he and his team received were making him uncomfortable. During the rebellion, going into the other districts, most of the looks he received were looks of hope and gratitude, not always, but the looks weren't like this.
It was pretty apparent they were not wanted here.
He could tell the difference between the two tribes. The Comanche had more horses and their attire was different. Their skin appeared a little darker and their faces had a more round characteristic. Even though the Sioux were currently staying with the Comanche, it appeared that lines were drawn. The Sioux set up their camp far off to the right of the main village. Gale realized this is why the stationary cameras didn't pick up images of Trent and Sequoyah. Or the images that were picked up were so far away it would impossible to see that it was them. He also noticed none of the two tribes were interacting with each other.
Gale looked around at the village, it was a pretty spread out area, he believed there were 4 cameras here but he would need to contact the President to be sure. He tried to remember what the images he had seen of this tribe looked like, maybe then he could look around and pick out those areas. At least then they would have an idea where to start looking.
While looking around, deep in thought, Gale started to hear loud voices to the left of him. He turned to see a Comanche tribe member yelling and pointing at him. He then saw one of the men that rode with Katniss into the village with them come over and began trying to settle the man down. It didn't appear to be working.
Gale saw Katniss slowly approach, he could tell she couldn't understand what the Comanche tribe member was saying. She spoke a few sentences that Gale of course could not understand. He noticed his squad looking at her in surprise. The Comanche man looked at Katniss in anger and started approaching her, Gale instinctively reached for his weapon but didn't draw it. The man got up in Katniss's face and started yelling. The man she knew quickly came over to stand between them. Finally, another man yelled something out that stopped everyone. The man was very tall and was older, he had a large head piece on with feathers going down almost to his feet. Gale assumed this man was the leader of the Sioux. After he spoke the Comanche man grunted and walked off.
After about an hour of looking around and searching, Gale wasn't able to find anything. He approached Katniss and said, "I'm not having any luck, I tried to remember what the images looked like the last time I saw them but nothing is refreshing my memory. I'm going to need to radio the main base my unit came from and send a message to the President asking where the cameras are. Is there someone I can go in private to do this?"
"You can use my tepee" Katniss responded.
Gale nodded and then said, "I need my team to set up camp, where should we do this?"
"Uh—let me find out" Katniss then ran off in the direction of the other camp. Gale returned to his team and the seven of them just sat, not making much conversation because of the continued stares and glances that were constantly coming their way.
Katniss returned about 15 minutes later and said, "Ok, both tribes want your team in the outskirts of the village, right where the river begins."
"That's fine" Gale replied.
Katniss then grew more serious, "The Comanche also want your weapons."
"What? No, that is not happening" Gale said incredulously.
"They don't trust you."
"No shit, we've noticed, they have done nothing but stare at us since we got here."
"I get why you are angry, I didn't want to tell you this earlier but, the reason I need your help so badly with finding these cameras is because the Comanche will not allow Trent and Sequoyah to leave unless I find these cameras and destroy them. Rain told me the Comanche have for years taken people captive, the people they have taken from Panem were never released. I'm afraid if I don't follow through, not only will they not allow your soldiers to leave, I don't think they will allow me to leave. And I don't have Rain to protect me anymore."
"Her tribe will protect you."
Katniss hesitated before answering, "I think they would yes, but, I don't know for sure, if some of the men die trying to protect me, the others might not and leave. Not all the men in the tribe like me, only the ones you've seen me with do."
"Look, I'm sorry but we are not giving our weapons up. We will be far enough away from them I don't see why this is a problem. And as for them holding Trent and Sequoyah captive, that's not going to happen. I am sending them back to the Capitol no matter what."
"You would risk starting a battle?" Katniss asked starting to frown.
"I would hope your friend could talk to them for me."
"I think that is easier said than done Gale."
"Can't the man who came out with that large head piece talk to the leader of this tribe?"
"It doesn't work like that, this tribe doesn't have a single leader they have councils instead."
"So have your friend talk to the council."
"The council made the decision Gale!" Katniss shot him an irritated look. "I'm not talking to you about this anymore, either you will give up your weapons or you won't. If you chose not to cooperate, you run the risk of endangering innocent lives here. Would Paylor want that?" Katniss spat.
Gale shook his head in disbelief, but he knew she was right. "Alright" he answered.
"Look, I'm going to ask that your weapons be stored in my tepee, I will ask after you use it to contact your main base. That way, you will know where the weapons are, should you need to get to them quickly. I have a lot of room in there now that Rain is gone."
Gale thought this was a good compromise and said, "Okay that could work."
Katniss escorted Gale to her tepee while his team stayed back. When Gale walked in, he was shocked at how warm it was. He saw two backpacks on the floor, he assumed one was for Katniss and the other was Rain's. He saw her sleeping blankets and saw an object hanging above. He walked over to it and stared at it.
"They call it a dreamcatcher, they are supposed to take away bad dreams and thoughts and only allow good thoughts to enter your mind. A tribe member here made it for me to help with my nightmares."
Gale turned and looked at Katniss. He shouldn't be surprised to hear she was still having nightmares but he was, he figured after all of these years the trauma would have settled. He then realized if it had, she wouldn't be all the way up here in the wilderness looking for help. "Does it work?"
"Yes, as long as I have the object with me, no bad dreams, I can actually sleep soundly at night without waking up screaming."
Gale was skeptical such a thing could work, but he was glad to hear that she wasn't being haunted by her dreams anymore.
He continued to look around and said, "Yes, this would be a good place to keep our stuff."
"Good. I'll go relay the message and then ask if I can keep them. As soon as you are done in here go back to your team, I'll meet you there."
Once she left Gale radioed the main base. He had Woodard call the Capitol, explaining that it was urgent. He was able to speak with the President and then he radioed Gale back and relayed Paylor's message. He was given the coordinates of where the stationary cameras were and was told Paylor would be sending two smaller hovercrafts to the main base. Once Barnes and Green were released to him he was to radio call to have them picked up immediately. The hovercraft would be taking them to the Capitol right away and will not be stopping in District 9. The second hovercraft would stay with Gale's group. Both hovercrafts will be there by tomorrow morning.
Gale walked out of Katniss's tepee, casually looking around to make sure none of the Comanche tribe members were watching, but all he saw were Sioux tribe members. He jogged back to his team and found Katniss there standing off to the side from where they sat.
He quickly walked up to her and said, "Good news, I was able to get the coordinates from the President. But, we can't take the cameras down until tomorrow. Once they are taken down I will need to take Sequoyah and Trent immediately."
She nodded and said, "Weapons?"
He looked behind Katniss and saw members of both the Sioux and Comanche, intensely staring at him.
He sighed and walked over his squad. He huddled them all together in a small circle and said, "We have to give our weapons over, it is the only way we will be able to get Barnes and Green back."
One of the tribe members said, "But sir, what if they attack us?"
"They won't, for one we are going to be setting up camp on the outskirts of the village, we can take turn keeping watch if that would make some of you more comfortable."
He could see from the looks on their faces they seemed satisfied with that suggestion. "It is settled then. Come on."
All seven squad members placed their weapons in front of Katniss. He saw Katniss turn to both tribes, waiting for the next move. A Comanche man nodded to Katniss's friend and the Sioux began picking up the weapons and carrying them away. He knew where.
That night, the tribe decided to have another ceremony, it was part of the grieving process for the tribe for losing Rain and Otter. Katniss didn't feel like partaking in dancing tonight, instead she just watched sitting next to Morning Sun. She started to become overwhelmed with emotion, but this time instead of getting up and wanting to dance with the tribe, she wanted to run away and hide. Morning Sun sensed Katniss's uneasiness and said, "You should go talk to your friend—the tall one."
Katniss snickered, "He's not my friend, not anymore."
"Sometimes we lose our way, losing the people that mattered most in the process, but if someone can find that person again, continue on as if you were never parted, than that's a true friend. It would be unwise to let that person go."
Katniss gave Morning Sun a small smile. She couldn't deny that she has lost her way, she forced herself to remember all that she had learned since coming here. She figured it wouldn't hurt to talk to Gale.
She walked to the outskirts of the camp and saw small tents set up. She saw someone sitting keeping watch. As she got closer she saw it was Gale. His head whipped to attention as she approached, she put her hands up in the air and said, "It's just me."
"My unit feels it would be safer if we take turns keeping watch" he responded.
"So you took first watch?"
"Of course."
She asked if they could talk in private, he walked her across the river so they could sit but still be in view of his unit. Her lower legs got wet from walking across the river. She started to shiver, Gale took off his outer jacket and gave it to her. She placed it around her lower legs.
"Thanks" she said,
"No problem" he responded. "So what did you want to talk about?" His tone was not harsh, but it was not friendly either. Katniss couldn't help but feel as though he was addressing her in a professional manner to keep his emotions in check.
"What do you know about Sequoyah?"
Gale shrugged, "Not a whole lot, she's from District 11, she was the top of her class in training, she's 19, and apparently she was willing to risk her future for Trent. Why do you ask?"
"She reminds me of someone, you don't know much else?"
"No, she and Trent pretty much kept to themselves, I knew something was going on for a while but I decided to overlook it. I would have thought they would have been more careful. It is a lot easier to take measures to prevent these things now unlike before."
Katniss nodded. She was very aware of this. Due to her fierce determination to not have a child she had been getting annual birth control implants. These methods used to be only available to residents of the Capitol. One of the first things Paylor did when she became President was overturn this, making sure all hospitals and medical clinics in all 12 districts have the implants available.
"This can't be what you wanted to talk to me about." Gale pressed.
Katniss sighed, that was just like Gale, getting to the point, and she couldn't blame him she was the same way. She used to think that was why he was not a good match for her, because they were so alike. Now, she wasn't so sure.
"No. I came here because, I wanted to-say I'm sorry." She forced the words out.
"For what?"
"For blaming you earlier for Rain's death. I was wrong to do that. The truth is, I killed her."
"What?" Gale cried.
"Not in the actual sense, but it is because of me she is dead. The Jay Hunters were after me, she was an innocent victim. They found us when the two of us were talking alone."
"That's not your fault."
"Everyone I love and care for, get taken from me. My father, Prim, Cinna, Finnick, Madge, and now Rain. Even Rue I cared for, even though we were only together for a short while. I take no pleasure in life because I know everything could be taken away all at once. Rain's death is yet another reminder of that. I have a repetitive habit of repeating in my mind every act of kindness I have ever seen. It is the only way I am able to function. Otherwise, I would end up like my mother was when my father died." Her eyes began water but the tears did not fall.
Gale looked at her intently, hearing these words made him realize Haymitch was not exaggerating when he said she was not well mentally. He saw it earlier today, but her words chilled him.
"I need to tell you something. There's a reason I was chosen to come here. Haymitch asked the President, he said that he felt I was the only person he trusted to keep you safe."
Katniss turned and looked at him, her eyes perking up at Haymitch's name.
"He also said that he heard from Peeta why you were going to the wild territory, he asked me to stay away from you. He said Peeta told him that you couldn't be around people from your past. That you needed to be here alone to work through your grief. This is why I never revealed myself. It is not part of some conspiracy."
Katniss nodded her head and said, "Why are stationary cameras here?"
"They have been here since Snow was in power, in fact, I think the cameras have been around a lot longer than that. The Capitol has always known about the five tribes who live in the wild territory. I believe instead of attacking, the Capitol just wanted to spy, make sure the Natives were not planning an uprising."
Katniss caught Gale's comment about there being five tribes, she wondered which two have been able to hide their existence from the Capitol. She chose to remain silent. Instead she said, "And Paylor didn't turn the cameras off when she became President?"
"She wanted to keep watch, for the Native's safety, the militia groups started pretty much the minute the President took office. She had no idea if Panem's residents would start crossing the fence."
Katniss was still skeptical about Paylor. There was something about this whole thing that didn't sit right with her.
She decided to change the subject instead.
"Do you remember our joke, pods forever?"
Gale chuckled, he hadn't thought about that joke between them in years. "Yeah I remember."
"A few months before I left 12 I was walking in the woods and I happened upon it. I had almost forgotten about it."
"That day seems like such a long time ago" he responded.
"Yes, it does. I cried the day I saw it."
"Why?"
"Because it reminded me of what we had, what our friendship was, I wanted it back at that moment, I wanted it back so badly."
Gale sighed. He was tired of these games with her. One minute she screams she hates him, the next she confesses she wants their friendship back.
"Katniss, what do you want from me?"
She turned and looked at him, it was similar to the look she gave him during the rebellion when they were kissing in District 2 and he asked her what she was thinking and she said she didn't know.
"I want to know why you never came to see me. In the Capitol after Prim died, and why you never came to see me in District 12 after I returned?
His eyes shot to the ground. "I couldn't face you after Prim died. The guilt was too strong. I let you down, you and your mom. I was a coward and I'm sorry."
"Why didn't you come after?"
"I thought you made it pretty clear when you said goodbye to me that was it. We were done—forever."
"I was a mess after Prim died, I didn't leave my living room. Greasy Sae had to feed me or else I would have slowly starved to death. I needed you, and you weren't there for me."
"I'm sorry, but I couldn't be that person I was before after Prim died. I was never what you wanted, I knew that, the second time you went into that arena with Peeta was the day I lost you. After the rebellion ended, I needed to live my life for me. I heard Peeta had gone back. Why would I come? Goodbye means just that, goodbye. So don't sit here and tell me that I wasn't there for you. If you had called, I would have come. I would have dropped everything and come for you. You know that."
"I guess that answers that" she responded icily.
"I have moved on, I thought we both have. I am sorry you are so unhappy. But that's not my problem, not anymore."
"You admitted you still have feelings for me."
"Just because I have feelings does not mean I want to act on them. You saw that carving on the tree and you longed for the past, I often see things in my daily life that reminded me of what we had. But I have chosen to focus on the future. I think you should do that as well."
"I don't know if I have a future." She responded in a flat tone.
"What do you mean by that comment?" Gale demanded.
"The militia groups. I heard there are a lot them."
"There are, but we have been watching them. We will never stop watching them."
"I am going to need you to talk to Paylor about getting the coordinates for all of the cameras. They all need to be taken down."
"Okay, I can do that tomorrow."
"The Capitol needs to stay out of the wild territory. I won't have any more innocent people dying because of me."
"I can't promise anything, but I will talk to her" he said in a sincere tone.
"Thanks" Katniss then handed his jacket back to him and walked off, not looking back.
