Sorry about the cliffhanger in the last chapter. But here is the next one, hope you like it!
Chapter 16 - The hardest part.
PEETA POV-
Blood splatters the floor next to the camera. A yelp of pain by what I know to be Katniss and then everything goes black. My heart is beating so fast that I feel like its going to pop out of my chest. I never expected anything like that from Katniss. All I expected was a stupid, boring videoof 12. I dont understand why it is mandatory to everyone in the Capitol but now I'm kind of glad that I watched it. Was that blood Katniss' Or was it the person behind the camera's. I'm gonna have to find out who that was.
I think my body has actually frozen. The screen switches to Caesar Flickerman, he looks rushed. He wasnt meant to be on till later but after that little stunt, Im surprised they didnt just shut the show off. "What the hell is she playing at?" Finnick say beside me. I had almost forgotten that he was there. Why wouldnt he be here? You're sharing the same hotel room idiot! Plus with the mandatory viewing neither of us had any charges tonight.
"I dont know but I need to call her." I shoot up from the sofa. She might not even be at home, infact she probably isnt after what just happened. I have no idea where the Peackeepers took her but I know that it cant be good. I dial the number that I've memorized and feel Finnick's presence at my side, worried maybe? I hear the phone ring all the way through until it finally beeps and asks me if I want to leave a message so I do. "Katniss! What the hell do you think you are playing at? Do you want to get yourself killed?" Is all I say and then I dial Haymitch's number. This time someone picks up. "Haymitch?"
"Peeta? Why are you calling me?" He sounds bored. He clearly has no idea what is going on.
"Did you not just watch the tv?" I ask. He seems to have picked up on my rushed tone and turns serious.
"No, what happened?" He asks.
"Well, your genius of a neice just signed her death sentence by telling the rest of the country to rise up against the Capitol. On National Tv!" I shout.
"What!" He screams down the phone. All me and Haymitch have been doing over the past couple of months has been trying to keep Katniss out of trouble and the one minute we arent watching her, she pulls a stunt like this. Its as if she wants to be killed, If she hasnt already been killed. Wouldnt surprise me.
"The Peacekeepers showed up and took her somewhere." I say to him and there is silence for a while before I speak again. "You have to find her Haymitch!" Thats when the line goes dead. Hopefully he has gone to find her.
"She'll be alright Peet." Finnick says to me. I feel his hand pat me on the back and I turn around, nodding at him. I can still feel my heart pounding in my chest but I'm trying my best to ignore it. What if she's not alright? What if the peacekeepers are bringing her to the Capitol to face the president? There is no way that she could survive whatever he has in store for her. I know I'm gonna pay for this but I pick up the phone again and ring the Bakery. I'm not allowed to ring anyone other than the Victors Village houses but its possible.
"Leaven?" I ask into the phone, recognising the voice.
"Peeta! What the hell was Katniss thinking? She will get herself killed!" Its good to know that he was actually watching the tv, unlike Haymitch.
"Have you seen her?" I ask him.
"Yeh, 2 peacekeepers where dragging her and Toni Johnson through the town square. Me and Dad went out to try and stop them and one of the peacekeepers broke dads nose. Thats when Rye showed up and helped dad back inside. They are currently trying to come up with a plan to get her out of there. We think they took her to the cells underneath the Justice Building." I'm taken back by Rye helping but I'm also very thankful, we need all the help that we can get but I cant let any of them get involved.
"No, Lev, I dont want any of you to get involved, Haymitch is going to sort it out. Just promise me that you wont try anything?" I ask.
"Okay fine but if she isnt out of there by the time you get back, we are doing something." He says and I agree. If she isnt out of there by the time that I get back then all hell is going to break loose.
KATNISS POV-
Its dark and cold and I have no idea where I am. I woke up a few minutes ago and I'm still trying to figure out where I am and why my head hurts so much. Nobody has come to see me and for some reason I cant stand up. My legs feel too week but there is somthing else. I use my hand to stroke down my leg, eventually coming to my ankle where I feel metal. Shackles? A metal thing that goes round my ankle and I'm pretty sure I can feel a chain coming off it. My hand flies to my belly in fear. I feel the really small bump that shows me my baby is completely fine. I'm not sure I am though.
I try to drag myself forward to the door of what I can only assume is a cell but the chains that have my foot ratlle so loudly that I have to stop. "Katniss?" I hear from my right, scaring me. But then I recognise the voice. The last voice I heard before I was knocked out.
"Toni?" I ask into the darkness. Her face appears at the bars. She looks a mess. Her hair is all messed up. There is dirt all over her face from the floor probably. The lack of sleep is visible on her face and she looks as if she hasnt eaten anything in days. We are all used to starvation but we still get tiny buts of food here and there, not no food whatsoever.
"You hurt?" She asks.
"No, just my head. How long have we been here?" I ask. She looks like she's been here for ages but I dont remember waking up since that day.
"3 days now. You where completely out of it. The Mayor had someone come in to see if you where still alive a couple of times. They must have hit you pretty hard." She says to me.
"I'm sorry that I got you put here Toni." I say. I feel nothing but guilt with this whole situation. Right from the beginning I had risked her life and I was just being selfish.
"Its fine, it was for a good cause. I think what you said really could have made a different Katniss. I have a feeling that they will listen to you." She says and I feel a smile appear on my lips.
"I dont think Peeta will though. He's going to kill me after a stunt like this." I hear her laugh.
"I think he is probably going to wait until the baby is born for that to be honest." No its my turn to laugh.
I think back to the last time that someone was put in these cells and to my knowledge its never happeneds but I think I remember Uncle Haymitch telling me when I was younger that they havent been used since he was really young and that was because of a very terrible tragedy. Apparently a man slaughtered a young woman out in town one night and everyone was uder curfew until he was found and he was the last person to be locked up in these cells. Apparenlty he lived in here for a couple of months before the firing squad came and killed him. I think I remember finding out that he was called Waze because everyone in school had called him Waze the Blaze. He had been an on going joke the entire time I was in school.
That night, (or atleast what I think is night, Its all the same in here) Toni sleeps and I stay awake, thinking about a way to get out of here. Uncle Haymitch would let me stay in here. Peeta wouldnt either and I bet they where both watching the show when it happened. It wouldnt surprise me if Peeta bought a train ticket and is on his way back home right now. No, he cant do that. He's got to stay the whole time or we could have a repeat of last time and we dont want that now. That is the last thing that we want.
I'm starting to feel the weekness of hunger again and this time its not good. If I was tired then I would just ignore it and go to sleep but I'm not tired so I have to stay awake to go through it. If I get out of here, this isnt going to be good for the baby. Peeta isnt going to be happy if this affects his daughter. He isnt going to be happy at all to be honest.
"Katniss?" I hear someone ask. This time its a male voice and its coming from the door. "Its Mayor Undersee. Cover your eyes a second." I'm confused but then the room floods with light. It takes a couple of seconds for my eyes to adjust and I look over at Toni to find her still asleep.
"What do you want?" I ask. I cant believe he actually came down here. He is the one that is in charge of all felonies which means that he put me here.
"I'm sorry that this happened to you. If it was up to me then I'd send you home but President Snow controls this whole situation. If there is anything you want just let me know. Me and Haymitch are working on your release. You should be out of here in no time." He says and I nod.
"Would you be able to get Toni some food? And can I have some water?" I ask him. He said I can ask for anything so I am. "Alos can I please have a lamp or something because I hate sitting in the dark."
"What about the big light?" He asks.
"No because Toni is trying to sleep so I only want a small light please?" I ask he he nods before stepping away from the doors.
"I'll be back down shortly." He leaves the light on as he goes and I turn around to find my way back to my bed. The cell is a mess and the back wall is scorched black. Wait, Waze the blaze was killed in his cell. Does that mean that I am in the very cell that Waze the Blaze occupied? The very thought gives me shivers. Its that why it smells strange in here? I knew it smelt of something burning and I'm surprised that after all these years, it still smells of burning and decay. I had once overheard one of the boys at school say that they left his body down here but just dumped it in on of the end cells. The thought makes me cringe and my body itch.
When The Mayor returns, I'm falling asleep and he opens the cell door to bring me over my stuff. Behind him is my Uncle Haymitch. I try to get up to hug him but the shackle on my ankle weighs me down again. He sees what I'm trying to do and comes over to hug me instead. "What where you playing at?" He asks as soon as my heead hits his shoudler. "Peeta is going out of his mind." He says to me and I shake my head.
"I dont know. He had to pay." I say into his jacket.
"I know but you could have got yourself killed." He pulls away from me and reaches round to pull a bag off his back. "I brought you and your friend some blankets. It probably gets pretty cold down here during the night." He hands me the bag and I smile. "Right, anyway I've got to go, Your mother wants to talk to me."
"Okay, can you tell Prim that I love her?" I ask he nods. Then just like that both of them are gone and I'm sat in the dark with just a small reading light to show the water, food and bag infront of me. I open the bag to pull out the blankets to find clothes aswell. My mother must have given them too him. But there is also 1 of Peeta's shirts which he must have got from Peeta's unless he left it behind at mine but I think it is the one that he was wearing the day he left before he got changed for the train, which I still dont understand why he did. It still smells of him. There is also some clothes in here that I dont recognise. They might have got them off Toni's father.
"Toni?" I ask through the bars. She stirs slightly. "Toni, wake up."
"What wrong?" She asks groggily.
"We got presents." I say with a tiny laugh. She pulls herself up as I slide one of the plates under the bars into her cell. The Mayor had brought enough food for us both and enough water for us both too. I make sure that the lid on the bottle of water is tight enough before sliding that under aswell. "My Uncle brought us some clothes too and some blankets." I slide 2 blankets under as he brought us 4 and her share of the clothes.
"Did they give you any indication of when we are getting out of this place?" She asks I shake my head.
"They said they are doing all they can but President Snow controls this whole situation now." I say and she sighs.
"We could be in here for years at this rate." She replies.
"No, dont worry, we wont be in here for longer than a week. If we are still in here when Peeta gets back, he will do all he can to get us out." I say and she nods after a second. I trust Peeta and I trust that he would do all he can. He might already be doing all that he can to get us out.
PEETA POV
I made a deal with Snow a couple of days ago that he will let Katniss go but he has put more women on my list. Im on about 3 a day now. But its all worth it to get Katniss out. I only have 5 days left here and then I will be able to go home to her. My promise to Snow was that I will keep her out of trouble, which I believe that I can do. Hopefully anyway.
I've only got 4 days left here, hopefully thats enough to get Katniss out of the cells. Snow told me that if I dont follow my schedule, then Katniss will be in more trouble. I dont doubt that he will bring her to the Capitol and I'm afraid that he will. If I fall slightly out of place then that could be it for Katniss. I dont doubt that he will kill her. He doesnt need her for anything and in his eyes, he probably thinks that it could solve everything when it couldnt. The country have already seen her speech.
"I'll see you some other time?" A woman asks behind me as I pull my shoes on.
"Oh I dont doubt it. How could I not see my perfect girl again?" I ask. I think I've perfected that seduction technique that Finnick has been teaching me. Atleast I'll never have to go through one of his lessons again, talking seductively to Finnick is by far the weirdest thing I have ever done. "I've got to get going now. I'll see you again." I say and she pulls me down, smashing her lips into mine and I breathe in trying to think of Katniss but I cant. Everything that this woman is, is everything that Katniss is not. "Hey-" I pull away and she looks at me. "-You're husbands gonna be back soon."
"Yeh you're right. Dont want him to mess up that pretty little face of yours." I wink at her and walk out the door as quickly as I can. Running down the stairs and jumping into the limo that has been appointed to me until I'm on the train home.
"Bad day Peeta?" Max, my driver asks. His real name is Maximus, typical Capitol name but he hates it and prefers for everyone to call him Max which I like. The driver I had last time I was here, wouldnt shut up about getting his hair done. I mostly just fell asleep in the back of the car.
"The worst. I think I'm looking forward to getting in my bed." I say and hear him laughing before we set off back to the hotel where Finnick has probably got back for the night. It is almost 2 in the morning after all.
Back in the hotel, I'm swarmed by Camera's. Max has to help me through them all. I'm pretty sure he elbows a couple of them out the way. Finally I get inside though and sneak up the stairs and into the suite. It sounds empty as I lean against the door taking a breathe. Then Finnick walks around the corner from the Kitchen holding a cup. "I was wondering when you where going to get back." He says.
"Yeh, Mrs Ammon wouldnt let me leave. One day her husband is going to bust her. Boy will that be the day." I say and he replies with a laugh. "I thought you would already be in bed?" I walk further into the room after locking the door and take a seat on the sofa, overlooking the tv.
"No, I couldnt sleep. Here." He hands me the cup in his hands and I look into it to find a brew. Finnick has had it easy here this time. Only 3 charges so far. I think thats because I'm getting them all. "I think maybe you should get some sleep."
"Yeh, I think I should. I've got to be up early in the morning to meet that woman... Whats her name?" I ask. I have an interview with a woman at 9 tomorrow morning about a book that she is writing about the Victors. Finnick has his meeting at 5 tomorrow evening and on top of that he has to go and see President Snow and go to dinner with one of his charges. I have 4 charges tomorrow after my meeting with that woman. I think I should wake up with enough time to have a shower in the morning. I smell like perfume from 2 different women.
"Lilith Syrio." He says and I nod in thanks. I've had to remember so many names that I completely forgot hers.
"Yeh her, anyway I think I'm just going to quickly ring Haymitch and then I'm going to bed." I pull myself up from the sofa and pat Finnick on the back. "I'll see you tomorrow probably." he replies with a laugh and I drag myself over to the phone. It rings a couple of times before I hear a voice that is definitely not Haymitch's. "Hello?" I ask.
"Peeta? Its Evelyn. Haymitch is still at the Justice Building with the Mayor." She replies. That explains the voice that obviously isnt Haymitch.
"How's it going with her?" I ask, referring to Katniss.
"Alright, I suppose. They let me down this morning to see her, to check on the baby's health and everything and luckily the baby is fine. Katniss isnt though. She is starving, her back is covered in bruises from something but she wont tell me what." Fear rushes through me as she carries on. "The Mayor informs me that you ar doing all you can to help and Katniss cant be released until you come home?"
"Yeh, I made a deal with President Snow and I have to keep her in line when I return, which shouldnt be too hard." I say with a small laugh but she doesnt return it.
"Listen, Peeta, I know that you arent in the Capitol for some meeting. I dont know what you are doing but I know that it isnt good. Just be careful but keep it up for Katniss' sake." I knew that someone would figure it out eventually but I didnt expect it to be here. "When you returned last time you where different and a meeting wouldnt do that and if it was a meeting that Haymitch would have gone. I know that him and Katniss know what you are doing there and trust me I wont ask them about it. If you dont want anyone to know then thats up to you but you should also know that your family suspect something aswell."
"I thought they would eventually. I'll tell them when I get back. You aswell. Just promise me that you wont look at me any differently and trust me I didnt plan this or anything, it just happened." I say to her.
"I promise." She replies.
"Anyway, I better be going, I've got to get to sleep, its been a really long day and I've got another really long day tomorrow." I say.
"Yeh, you get to sleep. Goodnight Peeta." She says.
"Goodnight Evelyn." I reply and she hangs up. I drag myself to my bedroom and fall asleep almost instantly, still with my clothes on.
I can see a row of cells. Katniss is one of them, another one is occupied by who I'm guessing is Toni. I look through the bars at Katniss and call her name but she doesnt look up. Her eyes are cast down at the floor, she's playing with the dust that has settled infront of her. This seems so real, as if I'm some kind of ghost watching over her. I shout her name again and this time she looks up. Hope fills me up but a second later I realise that she isnt looking at me, she's looking towards the door.
She pulls herself up to her feet and drags herself over to the cell door, inches frome me. A cell door between us as light floods the room. The Mayor walks in with 2 peacekeepers. This cant be good. Mayor Undersee looks scared and one of the peacekeepers is holding a whip. I try to stand in their way, to stop them getting at Katniss, demand what is going on but they dont hear me.
The Mayor opens the door and I move aside. The peacekeepers follow him into the cell and Toni comes to attention, holding onto the bars. "Katniss Everdeen, Toni Johnson, by order of the President, you have both been sentenced to 30 lashes each." There is a look of sorrow in the Mayor's face as he says this. Katniss sinks back into the cell but the Peacekeepers follow her. My heart starts to beat faster as the whip unfolds and the Peacekeeper that isnt holding the whip pulls up the back of her shirt and straps her into the shackles on the back wall.
I try to leap forward and stand infront of the whip as it descends on her but I hit something hard as I try to get into the Cell. Something is stopping me from going in. I'm gonna have to face this. But how can I? I couldnt even face it the first time. Watching her get whipped in the town square? It was horrible. Last time she was pregnant too but we didnt know then, now we do and for some reason that makes a massive difference. What if something happens to Hope? What if something happens to Katniss that I wont know about and be too far away to control?
I close my eyes as the Peacekeeper snaps the whip against Katniss' back and her scream ripples through my head. I try to use Finnick's technique of blocking everything out but nothing could block out them screams. Another huge scream and I find the need to get out of here as quick as I can. I want to be there for her at the same time though but I know that I cant.
About 20 lashes in, Katniss' screams stop sounding like screams and are more like groans of pain. I know she is trying to hide the pain as best as she can for Toni's sake. Toni has to go through this in a minute and Katniss doesnt want her to know how much it hurts even though she can probably already guess. Its not that hard to guess how much stuff like this hurts. I open my eyes to look at her, she has sunk to the floor now and is looking at the Mayor with pleading eyes.
25 lashes in, her eyes are closed and her body is limp. Probably passed out from the pain. Toni is sitting in the opposite corner of her cell, tears streaming down her face.I just want to get out of here.
27 lashes in, nothing has changed. The Mayor is leaving the cell with the other peacekeeper to get Toni ready. I really do feel sorry for her. She isnt meant to be caught up in this mess and yet she is. Now she has to pay the price for something that wasnt her fault at all. Its not her fault she's caught up in this, its not even Katniss', its President Snow's, he has turned everyone against him.
The last lash comes and I let out a sigh of relief, he has finally finished. He undoes the shackles on the wall and Katniss slumps down, her head hitting the made up bed. He leaves her there and moves onto Toni. The Mayor quickly swoops in to get her into her bed and covers up with the blankets that I'm pretty sure are from my house but I dont know who brought them here. He locks the cell door behind him and stays outside Toni's cell whilst the peacekeepers do what they need too. Just as the whip descends, everything goes black.
I shoot up in my bed, covered in sweat. It was just a dream. I'm so happy about that but at the same time it felt so real and I dont know why. Something tells me that Katniss is in real trouble. I quickly untangle myself from the sheets and walk out the door, still fully dressed from the day before. The suite is empty which doesnt surprise me at all. Looking up at the grand clock I find that its 4:12am. I know I wanted to be up early but not this early. I dont actually have anything to do for 5 hours but I know I wont be able to go back to sleep after that nightmare. I must have only had about an hours sleep.
KATNISS POV
When the hell am I getting out of this place? I dont even know how long I have been here anymore. It feels like years and yet I think that it is only a couple of days at the same time. Time is so messed up down here.
I woke up only a couple of hours ago after I was whipped. Which I didnt see coming at all. Toni is still asleep after hers. My body is in so much pain that I dont think I would be able to get up to see if she is okay but as long as I can hear her breathing, I feel slightly better. I dragged her into the mess, the least I could do is make sure she survives. Thats one thing that has been worrying me. I was on national tv, if Snow got me killed and I just dissapeared, people would notice but if Toni dissapeared not many people would care and I cant let that happen.
PEETA POV
I'm on the train back to 12, finally! Finnick left last night, he was more than happy to leave as it meant that he could get back to Annie. I'm extremely happy to be going home too. As soon as I get off the train, I am going straight to the Justice Building. I need to get Katniss out of that place. As promised by Snow, I am the only one that can get her out. I'm gonna quickly drop my stuff off in the Bakery and run to the Justice Building.
In 5 minutes, I'll be stopping at the train station. I'm eagerly awaiting it at the door to the train, ready to jump off as soon as we stop. Finnick's charge yesterday worked for the president and she told him that because of what Katniss did, rebellions have been sparked all over the country. Snow is trying to contain them but I dont think he is doing a very good job. From what I hear and what I see, its even starting in parts of the Capitol. It probably wont be long until they have a full blown rebellion on their hands and part of me doesnt want that to happen because it didnt go well the first time whats to say we wont all be killed again this time? But then something needs to be done about all this, The Hunger Games cant go on forever and everyone in the districts knows that. The Capitol however, is going to take a lot more convincing.
The train jolts to a quick stop and I pick up the bag at my side as an attendant comes and unlocks the door for me. I dont know why but only they are able to unlock the doors now. It never used to be that way, it used to be that anyone could get off at any time. Something tells me that its Haymitch's fault, mine too. On my Victory Tour and On Delly and Gale's everytime we had to talk to him, he pulled the door open and dragged us out. The train stopped automatically when the door was open so its not like we where going to die or anything.
I quickly jump off the train, seeing that nobody is here to welcome me home. Makes sense considering last time, the only person here was Katniss and she is a little tied up at the moment. I find myself running out of the train station gates, past a couple people from the Mines as they drop off a batch of coal and almost stumble into the Town Square after tripping on a rock or something, I wasnt really paying attention. I get a few strange looks of somepeople as I make a beeline for the Bakery to drop my stuff.
I walk through the door and drop my bags behind the counter. "Hey Peet." Brooke says from the register.
"Cant talk now. Look after my stuff, I'll be back soon, first I'm going to get Katniss." She nods quickly and I turn to leave.
"Tell her we miss her." Leaven says behind me as I hear a door shut.
"I'm bringing her back here, tell her yourself. Lev, will you please go and get Evelyn and Prim, I have a horrible feeling that Katniss is going to need a healer." He nods and I leave the doors, setting off running for the Town Square. Not a couple of strides in, I'm knocked backwards. My head collided with something hard and knocked me straight backwards.
I look up to see Rye offering me a hand. "Sorry Brother." He says with a smile and my eyes narrow and the strange niceness. "Nice to see you're back." I pull myself up, ignoring his hand and watch him. Gina stands behind him looking worried. Its nice to know that she actually has emotions.
"Yeh, sorry cant talk now. I've got to get Katniss out." I say and he pats me on the shoulder before moving aside for me to carry on. I can feel his eyes on the back of my head as I run up the stairs of the Justice Building, feeling the fear hit me just like it did that day that I was reaped, same stage, same steps, same person. It all feels so strange to back on here.
"Peeta. Thank god!" I hear someone say and I look up from my thoughts to see Haymitch standing at the door. "I didnt know how much longer she was going to be able to stand." He drags me inside before I even have a chance to carry on walking.
The mayor is sitting at a desk, filing through some papers. "Mayor Undersee? I'm here to collect Katniss." I say and he looks up to me.
"Ah, Mr Mellark. At last you finally showed up." He motions for me to follow him and I do. Haymitch right behind me. "Now, she has been down here for a week and a half now and she might look horrible and I promise you that me and Haymitch tried to do everything we could but we didnt even have much food as it was with all the cut downs. Madge even had to give up a couple of meals which she was happy to do. Haymitch helped all he could but we couldnt do much, I couldnt go against the president. I hope you understand that. Plus, we will have to get in touch with Toni's dad because I dont think you will be able to handle both of them." I nod and he opens the door that leads down into the basement where the cells are. I've never been down here before and I've never actually had a reason too. I can feel my heart beating with fear over what I am actually going to find and what Katniss is going to look like. This is in no way going to be good.
The smell hits me as soon as I walk through the door. I dont know if it is from Katniss or Toni or if it has been here this entire time but the whole place smells of flesh. Burning flesh, rotting flesh, any type of flesh that you can think about. My mind wonders back to all the rumours that used to go around the kids about that Waze guy and all the other people that apparenlty used to get locked down here for months on end. I hope to god that the smell is from them and not from recent events. I heard that they dont clean it down here and I know that there are no windows so for all I know, it could be from years ago.
The next sense that comes into play is my hearing. I can hear mumbling, more like whispering. I recognise one of the voices as Katniss but the other one is so unfamiliar that I know its Toni. I only knew of her, I never talked to her unless I was a child and dont remember it. "How long?" Katniss asks as we descend down the stairs slowly as to not fall. It light but the stairs are steep and made of stone.
"Dont know, could be years. Cant remember." The second voice mumbles. I recognise the pain in both voices, from recent inflicted pain? What has happened to them down here?
"Hopefully we get out soon." Katniss says.
Thats when I decide that it might be a good idea to let her know that I'm here to get her out. "Katniss?" I ask down the stairs. "Its me." I say when I dont get a reply. By now we have reached the bottom of the stairs and I can see her in her cell. She looks really weak, Her face is pale and she has bags under her eyes from lack of sleep. Her right foot is shackled to the wall behind her. Her hair is sticking up in every way possible and she is almost falling asleep. "Oh my god." I mumble in the direction of Haymitch and I catch him nod in sympathy out of the corner of my eye.
The Mayor fumbles with the key and opens the door to her cell, followed by Toni's who is helped by Haymitch. "Peeta? Are you real?" She asks, I nod. The look in her eyes shows someone who has been going insane after being locked up for years. She's only been here for a week and a half, what the hell did they do to her. "I was so scared!" She cries and I fall beside her, waiting for the Mayor to undo her shackle. "Every night, I heard voices, I dont know why but they kept trying to talk to me and I tried to shut them out but it got harder. And I saw you, when I was whipped the first time, You where stood at the gate and I reached out for you but you ignored me..." The tears fall from her eyes and I pull her to me, my mind racing over my nightmare a coupe nights back when I saw her being whipped... Why did she see me? It was a nightmare... Wait, she said the first time, how many times have they done that too her?
"Its gonna be alright Katniss, you are getting out of here." I say to comfort her and she looks up at me with a smile on her face. A smile full of sadness and happiness at the same time.
10 minutes later, I'm walking her back up the stairs to sit and wait for Toni's dad. She refused to let Toni stay here by herself so we will be in the waiting room with them. I'm not sure how Mr Johnson is going to react with Katniss after Toni is in here because of a stupid deicison that Katniss made. He wont try and stand up to Haymitch though which is good because he wouldnt let anything happen. Hopefully it isnt that horrible.
By the time that he shows up, Katniss has fallen asleep on my shoulder. He looks worried but not annoyed in any way. Which I'm glad about. His face turns to sadness when he sees his daughter, fighting for her consciousness in Haymitch's arms. He falls down in the seat next to her and switches people, now leaning on her father. "Haymitch, thank you." He says. "Mr Mellark, you too."
"Please, its Peeta... And it was no problem. I'm sorry for what Katniss did." I take a shot.
"I am not holding anything against Katniss, she has always known what she is doing. This isnt her fault." He replies, helping his daughter up onto her unsteady feet. "Anyway, I'll see you later. I'm guessing Katniss will probably want to come and see Toni when she is better just make sure you tell her that she is welcome anytime." Then he's gone out the door.
"Well that was unexpected." Haymitch says and I laugh along. "Shall we get Katniss home?" I nod and Haymitch stands up. I follow him and pick Katniss up, finally walking out of the Justice Building. The square is deserted now. I'm not sure if it was before because I wasnt really paying attention but I do know that I didnt have to push past that many people to get here.
At the Bakery, Evelyn and Prim are already here. Dad, Leaven, Rye and Brooke are all sitting with them waiting and when I enter the room, Evelyn and Prim stand up, making room for me to put Katniss on the sofa to rest. "Where's Holly?" I ask my father as Evelyn and Prim get to work on Katniss.
"She is upstairs, didnt want her around when Katniss got here." Leaven says and I nod in understanding. She would never understand this at all.
"Peet, I need to talk to you." Haymitch says behind me and before I can say anything, he drags me out of the room and into the kitchen. "What happened in the Capitol? I know you know something about the Districts." How did he have any idea about that? Haymitch is the one that knows everything before everyone but there is no way that he could know this.
"Okay, after the video was cast all throughout Panem, nobody could cut the feed, I dont know what happened. Finn told me that they had some kind of mess up in the control room and that the video didnt come through properly in the Capitol so they didnt know what it was but since then, the Districts have been rebelling. All of them bar 2, District 1 and 2. The first to go was 8. People in the Capitol are even Rebelling. I think this is it Haymitch and they are all after Katniss. Either to kill her or to follow her, either way, we have to keep her hidden. She is moving into mine as soon as we are married and I can keep her safe there and whenever I am here, you can watch her." I say to him and he seems to be thinking it over for a second before answering.
"Okay thats a good idea but what are we going to do about the games, he is obviously going to target Katniss and there is nothing we can do." He says.
"Then we save her. Me and you have atleast enough power to try and get her out and some of the other tributes might want to save her after the video." I reply. I had completely forgotten about the games that are less than a month away.
"Okay, we can deal with it if it comes, just promise me that you wont do anything stupid?" Haymitch says to me and I nod. "Good. For the record, I'm really glad that you are marrying her instead of Rye, I never trusted him." He laughs slightly which I easily return. Its good that I got permission of her Uncle, after all, she doesnt have her father anymore so he is the only one that can question the boyfriends.
"Thats good, thanks Haymitch." I reply and he smiles before we walk back inside. I take a seat next to Brooke, watching Katniss. I really hope she wakes up soon, I dont think I can stand one more minute of this.
My mind travels back to what she promised we would do when I got back and it definitely wasnt this. It was meant to be the happiest day of our lives but instead, we are bringing her back to health after spending almost 2 weeks underground. This is the last thing I expected to be doing today.
That night, we are all sitting around the fire, when Katniss finally wakes up. At first she looks startled, not knowing where she is. I'm not surprised. The thing that does surprise me though, is that Rye is the first one to react when her eyes open. He drops down infront of the sofa that she is lying on, taking her face in his hands. He hasnt left her side all day, not even when Gina was at the door wanting him, he refused to leave. I'm glad that he finally came to his senses even if it is late.
"How are you? You feeling alright?" Rye asks her. I pull myself up to stand behind him, somewhere Katniss can see me.
"I've been better." She mumbles, taking his hand so that he can help her up. I'd say I feel jealous but I think the jealousy has all but gone with Rye now. Katniss knows what he did was wrong even if she doesnt realise it yet. She will get over him because I know Katniss and I know that she would never be able to forgive something like this.
"I'll go and get you some water." He says to her and runs off towards the kitchen. Thats when I drop next to her and take her hand.
"I dont want to sound like a jerk, but what the hell where you thinking? You have no idea how many charges I had to make sure you got out of there!" I shout at her.
"How many?" She asks. I know that she is worried.
"4 almost everyday and thats more than Finnick has ever had!" I shout again. There is anger in my voice but it dies out when she pulls me to her, kissing me hard.
"I'm sorry." She says in my ear.
"Peeta?" Someone says behind me and I pull away from Katniss, turning around to Leaven who is facing me, along with Brooke and Dad. Haymitch and Evelyn are watching me too. Prim, however went upstairs to get Holly in her pyjamas and put her to bed. "What are charges?" He asks and out of the corner of my eye, I see Haymitch's head drop. I think about lying but when Katniss takes my hand, I know that I need to tell them the truth.
"Okay, fine. I know that you have all been wondering what I have been doing in the Capitol. I thought I would be able to keep the lie up for longer but with Haymitch not going to the Capitol it was hard to say that it was Victor business." I say to them.
"What are you trying to say Peeta?" Dad asks. His face holds worry now and I can feel my fear rising.
"President Snow... Sells...my body..." I say and the only sound I hear is Brooke gasping.
"What?" Leaven asks, pain in his voice.
"Its not what you think. I dont do it because I want to, I do it because I have to. If I dont, then you all die and I cant let that happen. Finnick taught me how to shut it all out and deal with it, like it was an ordinary thing but I'm still getting used to it. Katniss and Haymitch already know, I had to tell them. I couldnt keep it from either of them but I need you to promise me that this wont get around because I cant bare for people to know what I am. It hurts too much just having you lot know what I am. You dont understand how ashamed I am of myself. I feel dirty every single day, the thought of the women in the Capitol makes me cringe everytime and I think its slowly sending me insane. I thought that if I told you then you would hate me." I say to them all. Brooke has tears in her eyes, which I can feel in my own eyes too. Leaven looks pained. Dad looks worried. "I'm sorry, I didnt have a choice."
The next thing I know, I'm being engulfed in arms by Dad, Leaven and Brooke, thats when I finally let myself cry. "Oh, son its alright. I understand and I'm so sorry about it." Dad says. "Please tell me that he doesnt want you over there any time before the reaping?" I shake my head. "Good."
"No, I have a 50/50 chance of being in the games remember, he is giving me this time to spend with family." I say, realising just how unlike President Snow that sounds.
"Oh yeh I forgot." Dad replies, hugging me again. "Have you talking to Delly recently?"
"No, Why?" I ask, confused slightly.
"I think Katniss will be able to tell you what it is tomorrow." I turn towards Katniss as she looks at the floor, confusion written on her face. A minute passed and realisation dawns.
"Its Gale's 19th birthday tomorrow." She says and I almost hear my heart drop into my stomach. "I cant believe its come so fast. That means the reaping is in 4 weeks."
"Oh god." I say, falling into the seat next to Katniss. The reaping. The one thing I'm dreading most. Delly will have to go back into the games and after everything she has been through that is the last thing she deserves. Either me or Haymitch will go in and I will definitely volunteer for Haymitch. Katniss has a good shot at going in after what she has done, which means I will be going in the arena with my fiancee and my baby.
"Sorry, I took so long, I couldnt find a glass." Rye says, appearing at the door again, holding a cup of water, which he hands to Katniss and retreats back towards the wall. "Whats going on?"
"Peeta is a male prostitute in the Capitol." Leaven says a little too quickly, "And the reaping is in 4 weeks, plus Gale's birthday is tomorrow." He adds on and we all look at Rye to see nothing but confusion. I dont think he kows how to process all that to be honest. "You cant tell anyone about Peeta. Especially Gina. She has no right to know at all." Rye nods slowly. "Promise me you wont tell her!"
"I promise. I wont tell her, you're right, she doesnt have a right to know. She's no good at keeping secrets anyway." Rye says and dissapears out the door again.
"Look thats not it." Dad says, pulling us all out of our silence. "Delly came by a couple of days ago to tell me this. The Hawthornes are gone."
"What do you mean gone?" Katniss asks.
"Taken off in the middle of the night or something. Delly said that she went over and the place was empty, everything was still there but they where gone. Somebody had told her that he saw them take off into the woods because Posy was screaming after leaving her teddy behind. They took off the day after Vick died."
"Wait, what?" I ask.
"Vick, was in the Hob when it was blown up, oh god you really have missed alot." I nod and he goes on. "Romulus Thread put forward a whole lot more rules. He got the firing squad on anyone that was engaging in illegal acts, which meant the Hob. He got the whole thing blown up. Vick was there, seeing if anyone wanted their clothes washed by his Mother. A couple people up town got killed, He had the mines closed until further notice, putting a lot of people out of work. Everyone in the Town Square now has to keep their shops open until 10pm. We open at 5am and close at 10pm. Its been really hard but we came up with a plan so that we only have to work half the day and you two can work the other half but we dont have to talk about that now."
"I cant believe he's dead." Katniss says behind me and I hear her sobbing. "Its just... They've lost so much already." I drop down next to her and pull her towards me, her tears soaking my shirt.
"I know, its alright." I try to console her but I can feel my own tears coming. At some point I need to talk to Delly about this.
"Peeta, I want to go to their house." Katniss says pulling away from me.
"Why?" I ask.
"I want to get Posy's teddy. I know she will be missing it and I have a feeling that I am going to see them again. Maybe I can save it for her." She says, tears still streaming down her face.
"Maybe later Katniss. When you're better." She nods and buries herself in my shirt again.
"Holly is in - " Prim walks through the door and stops talking when she see's everyone. "Is everything alright?" She asks.
"I dont think anything will ever by alright again." Katniss says and Prim smiles sadly. "We know everything Prim. Everything that happened." She turns to me and begins to speak. "Look Peeta. The Hawthornes dissapearing off into the woods. It wasnt a coincidence. It was Gale I know it was. He must be still alive."
"Katniss, you're upset I understand that-" I start but she pushed my hands away and carries on.
"No, Peeta you dont understand. Me and Gale had a pact. If anything ever happened then we would get our families out and into the woods. Gale had never told his family that pact and I know them, they wouldnt just go off into the woods by themselves. Not with Posy. Not unless they had a hunter with them, a hunter like Gale. He must be alive and I know where he is. The lake. We promised to meet there with our families." She says and something deep inside me is telling me that its true. I dont want to believe it though. Gale was dead, they even have his remains. How can he be alive? and in the woods no less? He could have survived all this time in the woods because that is what he does. I have no doubt that he would survive and if he stayed at the lake, it would be easy to survive. But I took Katniss there for her birthday and there wasnt anyone there then.
"But what about when we went for your birthday? There was no signs of anyone being there?" I ask her.
"I dont know but first thing after I'm better I'm going there to find out. Will you come with me?" She asks and I nod.
"Of course Katniss." I say to her with a smile.
Gale's birthday passes really slowly. Every minute of it, Katniss spends crying, remembering all the times she had with him. Its honestly the hardest thing I have ever had to watch. In the morning, I have to work the Bakery until 3pm, after that though, I get to take Katniss back to my house. Evelyn says that her wounds should be healed in about 2 days and she just needs rest and food and she should be fine. Thats at least one piece of good news for a while. That night, Katniss hardly sleeps. I find myself nodding off into sleep whilst Katniss is still sitting up in bed staring at the opposite wall. I eventaully realise that she probably wants to be alone, so I leave her too it. Besides I've got to be up early in the morning to get to the Bakery and Katniss has been given the job of looking after Holly for the day.
3 days later, we decide to finally get married. Its a quite affair, just me and her. We didnt want to invite anyone and I got Holly to stay at the Bakery for the night so that we could have the night to ourselves. I got the papers from the Mayor yesterday after work and yesterday was meant to be our wedding day but when I got back, Katniss was already asleep on the sofa. So here we are, sitting infront of the fire, waiting for the bread to cook, just talking. When the oven finally dings, I can feel my excitement bubbling over the top. I'm actually going to marry Katniss Everdeen, the girl I've been in love with all my life.
"You ready?" I ask once I've sat back down across from her.
"I've never been more ready for anything in my life." She replies, giving me a kick kiss.
"Okay well I guess this is it then." I reply and she smiles.
"Lets do it. " Her face lights up and I cant help but smile back. "You go first." She says and I feel my tongue go dry. The words falling away. I cant remember what I was going to say at all. Just say something Peeta!
"Okay... Katniss Everdeen... I have loved you since I was 5, the first day of school. I'd known you before that but they day was the first time you ever sang infront of me and from that moment on I knew that I had to have you beside me through all my troubles and victories. It was hard to think of a life without you. You are the light in my life and I've never been more happy that I have been with you. In a couple of months, our tiny little family will grow and I cant wait for that day. It will be the day I finally realise that I have you forever." I take the piece of bread in my hand and motion for her to go.
"Peeta Mellark, Me and you have been through a rollercoaster of a couple of years and I cant think of anyone else I would have rather spent it with. Watching you in your games was horrible. I realised a couple of days ago that I was only with your brother because I didnt think you would be coming back and then you did and I hadnt realised how much I loved you but I do, Peeta, I so do. You are the one and only person I love. The one person that I want to share everything with. The one person that I want to wake up to every single morning. I cant wait for the day when our little daughter comes running in in the morning, jumping on the bed to wake us up. That right there is my new dream. I never wanted kids but then I found out that I was having a child with you and I knew that I wanted nothing more. I love you Peeta Mellark, always." She says and I have to hold my mouth closed. My mouth has gone completely dry now and I can fell my heart beating so fast.
I motion towards the bread in both of our hands and I bring mine up to her lips, she does the same. "This for 7 year old Katniss and Peeta at Finnick Odairs Victory tour who promised to marry eachother one day." I say, remembering the memory fondly.
"I didnt know you remembered that?" Katniss says, her hand falling slightly.
"How could I forget. The most beautiful girl in Panem agreed to marry me." I reply and we both eat the bread, chewing it until its completely gone and sharing a kiss before we sign the papers.
And just like Katniss Everdeen becomes Katniss Mellark. My Katniss Mellark. Mr and Mrs Mellark. Peeta and Katniss Mellark.
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