Song Suggestion: 2WEI- "Survivor" (Destiny's Child cover)
Thank You: Alexxis T. Swan, Cat Beats, FAN-actic-ionary, Kim, Figsy, Rachel, downwego, anonymous, PaulinaDragona, and Sophia Nicole
A/N: I posted the first chapter to my Harry Potter fic! It's Draco/ Hermione, if that's your ship. Go and check it out and let me know your thoughts!
2nd A/N: This chapter has its dark moments, but by this point that's normal for the fic. If you've lasted this long, I assume you trust me as a writer to make everything work out semi-alright in the end.
Hell Fire
After five minutes, her whole body glistened with sweat. After ten, it dripped from her body and sizzled against the ground. After fifteen, she smelt burnt rubber.
"What's that smell?" Hannibal asked. Prim sniffed, suddenly recognizing the scent that had slowly crept up on her. The fumes gave her a sharp, heady headache. It pounded behind her eyes.
"I think it's our shoes," Prim said.
She picked up the bottom of her shoe and flicked her flashlight down. The soles started to look like gummy slime, as if it would slide right off.
"It's melting them," Prim said in terrified awe.
"Let's pick up the pace then, unless we want the trash chutes to brand us," Brutus said.
He didn't have to tell them twice. After that, they set their pace at a run.
Fifteen Minutes Later
They heard popping first.
"What's that?" Hannibal asked.
The group stopped to listen.
Pop. Pop. Pop.
"It's igniting." Prim's stomach jumped to her throat in a primal fear.
"We still have another thirty minutes. It shouldn't start this early," Brutus said.
"Maybe the devil noticed us." Hannibal attempted a joke, but no one laughed, and his voice warbled.
"What do we do?" Katla asked.
"Climb out," Ivanka said. She sounded scared as well. It was so unusual to hear in her voice, it caused an ominous shiver down Prim's spine.
"That would be suicide," Katla answered. "We don't know where'd we'd exit. Not to mention—"
"I'd rather be shot than burned alive."
Prim hated that she agreed with the career.
"Hush," Brutus said. "I need to think."
A gas smell drifted along the hallways, morphing into a stench burned into every mammal's brain, instantly twisting on fight or flight—the smell of fire, coming closer. She wanted to bound away like a rabbit but stayed put trying to think of what to do. If they ran the wrong way, they'd be trapped in the tunnels, running straight into the flames.
"How far until we reach our destination?" Prim asked, her heart jumping in time with her fear.
"It should just be right ahead," Brutus pointed. "Ten chutes straight and then you turn right and go three chutes down. I'd say five minutes…if we hurry."
"But we don't have five minutes," Morris interrupted.
Prim's flashlight landed on Brutus, illuminating his face. His scars pulled down in severe frown lines.
"I noticed a control panel about thirty feet back," Brutus said, voice like steel. "They have them around, for the maintenance workers. There might be another up ahead, but I don't think this mission can take that chance. Not when I can already feel the heat at my back. Someone needs to go shut it off before it burns us all alive."
"There's only one problem." Lorcan adjusted his pack on his shoulder. "We need the codes first. Not to mention whoever goes is unlikely to come back."
"Problem solved," Brutus answered in a low, almost quiet voice. "I already know the codes to the tunnels."
"Then tell me them, and I'll go do it," Prim said. "I'm the useless part of this operation. If anybody sacrifices themselves, it should be me."
Brutus looked her in the eyes for the first time the whole conversation. His eyes were warm, and he reached out a hand and cupped the side of her face.
"No, that would be too complicated. Not when there's so little time… And you're not useless, which is why I must go. I'm old and past—"
"I'm not going to let you die!" What he offered was a suicide mission. He knew this. She knew this. Everyone knew this. If the fires didn't kill him, the smoke inhalation would. Even here it choked them. Trapped in a metal tunnel with nowhere to escape it. He would stop the flames consuming the tunnels, but he'd be too close to the source to escape unscathed. And without the grappling hook in Lorcan's bag, there would be no way to exit before the fires started on schedule. "My mother would—"
"Your mother is the reason I have to do this," he said in a firm voice. "I've broken many things in my lifetime. It never gave me anything in return. For the first time I was able to put something back together and—" he was unable to finish whatever thought he had. "I think I've always been searching for death, for something to die for. And I finally think I've found it. Don't try and stop me."
He leaned down and kissed the top of her head and then forcefully shoved her backwards into Lorcan's arms who caught her in surprise.
"Don't let her do something stupid—like try and save me."
Lorcan hesitated but then tightened his grip around Prim's waist.
"Go! There's no more time," Brutus yelled. The fires lit the tunnels in the distance.
Prim kicked and screamed and begged, but it was no use. Lorcan dragged her away the opposite direction. Her melting shoes left a slimy trail on the metal as he slid her away, and when that became too cumbersome, he reached down and threw her over his shoulder, giving no response to her hysteria.
Tears streamed down Prim's cheeks.
"No," she choked on air, looking up to see Brutus still staring. "I love you!"
In response, Brutus brought three fingers to his lips, kissed them and raised them into the air.
"Your mother always wanted to know why I helped her." His voice echoed down the tunnel. "Tell her I Iiked her looking at me, as if I was something worth looking at."
Prim remembered him tilting her mother's head into the light the first night they met, looking surprised, almost struck by something he saw in her blank eyes, and then proclaiming, "I know how to wake a woman." As if it was a challenge he couldn't pass up.
Brutus gave Prim a sad smile, his silhouette outlined by a hazy orange and then twisted his hulking form and ran towards the flames, disappearing in the hellish darkness.
Five Minutes Later
Morris almost led them down the wrong tunnel, before Lorcan noticed.
"We're going the wrong way," he said. "We needed to turn there, like Brutus told us."
Morris twisted with a snarl.
"He got it wrong. We originally planned to go this way. Not sure why he changed it, but I'm sticking to what we got."
Lorcan cocked his head, holding the man's piercing glare for a whole minute without wilting. He placed Prim on her feet but kept an arm planted around her waist in case she got hero urges and ran down the tunnels. Something in her felt irreparably broken, but her survival instinct perked up just enough to listen to the argument.
"Well, I'm going by what Brutus said. And so are the others. If you go your way, you'll go alone."
"Is that how this is? The little boy gets a few days of training and suddenly thinks he knows best. It's a tale as old as a world. You should listen to your elders, son, before you extinguish yourself."
Lorcan's cheeks flushed easily, so they turned bright red with the insult, but he stood his ground.
"Brutus is my elder, and I trust him." Lorcan looked Morris up and down with suspicion. "But I don't know you, and I don't trust you either."
The air in the tunnel strangled them, and the tension added to the suffocation.
"Ugh," Ivanka said, breaking the tension. "Just choose a destination". She flicked her knife in her hand and pointed it at both in a threatening manner. "Let's make this quick. Which entrance is closer?"
The madness glinted behind her eyes, much like it did in Jace's.
"Brutus' way," Lorcan said with a blink.
Ivanka gave a smile that did not look friendly or trustworthy and turned going the way Lorcan pointed. She looked over her shoulder.
"The next person who delays me will experience some version of pain."
The rest followed behind her, not wanting to test the theory. Morris grumbled and gave a sharp look to Lorcan.
"Watch your step boy, lest you take a tumble."
Five Minutes Later
When they reached the chute that went into the Avox quarters of Snow's compound, they realized the fires hadn't devoured them yet.
"So the old man really did it?" Hannibal asked.
Morris nodded, grim-faced.
"The fires would have already overtaken us, if he hadn't."
"Do you think he survived?" Katla asked.
Prim wanted to beg for a sliver of hope the man she considered more of a father than her real father survived the inferno. Lorcan let go of her, but her bones felt wobbly with shock and loss.
"Not likely," Morris answered. "But the bastard's tough as old leather. If anything can survive hell, it'd be him. Now let's get out of here, before the devil sends his demons with the flames."
Prim dried her tears with the sleeve of her shirt. And then sucked in a breath and moved forward. Brutus sacrificed himself for the mission, and she had to complete it.
"It's time to change," Morris said.
In unison, they stripped down to their underwear, leaving the clothes they had on before crumpled on the ground for the incinerator. They pulled out their new uniform from their packs and slipped it on, a replica of a Capitol guard. With their helmet on, it would disguise them.
Lorcan rifled around in his bag and brought out a special gun that shot out a grappling hook. Lux assured them it was infused with strong magnets and would stick even with incredible weight bearing down. As they peered up, they noticed their first spot of luck—the chute door was open. Though it made their mission easier, they also had to be cautious. If it was open, it meant people might be up there.
"Who's up first?" Hannibal asked.
Morris grabbed Prim's upper arm and dragged her over to the entrance.
"The Mockingjay." He pointed up. "Brutus may not think you're useless, but I disagree. You'd be the lightest blow to our cause."
The truth stung her pride, but she remembered stepping into the cave in the games, lacking her main senses with no assurance of a light at the end. If she could do that, she could do this.
"He's right," Prim said.
"Fuck off with that," Lorcan said. "What happens if there's Capitol soldiers up there?"
"Lux gave me a candy store of weapons." Prim reached around to her pack and pulled out a pen that shot lasers. She requested it as a joke, but it turns out he really had something like it. She clipped the top over the zipper of her shirt, which was made from a fabric strong enough to deflect bullets. Though Lux warned her getting shot would still hurt.
Lorcan sighed, giving his consent. He aimed the grappling hook gun and shot it. It latched onto the top with a light ping as the magnets sucked to the metal siding. Lorcan unclipped the bottom end from the gun and attached it to Prim's belt loop. After, she glanced up, realizing she'd have to climb the rope. They had to do something similar as children in gym class. She sucked at it. She barely made it up then and had little hope it would be easy now.
"Ugh," Prim said, lifting herself. Lorcan helped by boosting her bottom half.
It was a test of willpower. Her fingers slipped with sweat and blood as her burned fingers rubbed against the fibers. Prim cried and whispered her complaints but a few moments later, using her melted, gummy shoes against the metal chute for leverage, she angled herself at the top and heaved herself over the side.
Prim panted against the ground. A blast of cool air struck her skin, and she vowed she would never again take for granted central AC. She sucked in a long, cleansing breath, free of smoke and burnt rubber.
A shuffling sound brought Prim to her feet. When she looked around, she found the source—a skinny girl, so thin she looked like a walking skeleton with just a thin layer of skin on top. She wore a white dress, with eyebrows colored an electric green. When she opened her mouth, nothing exited except silence.
She had seen these poor creatures before during her brief captivity in the capitol cells before the games. She tried talking to a boy that brought her food, until one day he opened his mouth to show her he had no tongue.
The Avox trembled in the corner, huddling her legs against her body.
They stared at each other for a long time before Prim whispered.
"I know you can't speak, but please don't alert anyone." Prim saw her spindly fingers hovering over a small yellow button on the inside of her shirt sleeve. "Please… my name is Primrose Everdeen and—"
The Avox leaped for her, grabbing her arm in a surprising iron hold. Prim almost wrestled away from her, but she heard footsteps coming toward the door to the basement room. Startled, Prim didn't fight back as the girl hustled her into a small closet, housing towels, flinging her in and shut the door.
"But my friends…" Prim whispered, looking through the crack between the doors. "They're still down there."
The Avox placed a hand to her lips, crinkling her face into a sorrowful expression and shook her head. The girl walked back over to a corner and lowered herself again in fear, as if trying to blend into the white walls behind her. Her hands shook and she gave one glace to Prim's closet with a pleading expression, as if asking for an apology.
Prim understood immediately: the girl already pressed the button before she could stop her. She probably pressed it a long time ago, hearing the clanging going up the chute. The rest of the crew had not scaled metal chute walls, still waiting on her signal. They had ten minutes left until the fires began again, and she needed to figure out some way to get the guards that were coming to go away, so her friends could come up without danger.
The footsteps clicked against the floor outside. The door handle jiggled. Next came the jangle of keys, the metal slipping into the keyhole. A click of the lock, coming undone.
A thought came to Prim that disturbed her: they locked the Avox down here to work. Prim wondered how long it had been since she'd been granted leave outside these four walls. Based on her pale skin and haggard appearance, Prim surmised it had been a long time.
The door opened and in walked six Capitol guards. And with them was a man wearing a tailored suit, glasses perched on his nose, with his blond hair slicked back perfectly. Prim held in a surprised squeak of fear as Cassius gave a quick sweep of the room with his calculating eyes. His gaze stopped briefly on her hiding place, and Prim attempted to push herself as far back as possible, before flicking past to land on the girl.
"You rang," he drawled. "I know you can't speak, but there must be some way for you to communicate. There's someone here, isn't there? Or at the least, you heard something."
The Avox curled into herself, clutching at her knees. She shivered and shook her head. No.
Cassius' leather dress shoes clicked against the cement floor until he stood before the poor girl. If possible, her trembling increased. He crouched down, placing his elbows on his knees.
He reached out and grabbed her trembling hand and held it firmly in his own. "You have two choices, wretched creature. One: you can show me who you're hiding. Or two: I find who you're hiding, and I'll rip off your lips to go with your tongue."
The Avox flinched. When Cassius let go of her fingers, she pointed them to the basement chute and then tapped her ear.
They're down there. I hear them.
Cassius's lips curled in delight.
"I knew you'd see sense."
He got up out of the crouch and walked over to the chute. He ran his finger over the grappling hook stuck to the inside with magnets, and he smirked, knowing he caught what he looked for.
"I've got you trapped," he screamed down the tunnel. It echoed in the room, and Prim knew the group heard it. "So come up now, or you'll face a particularly gruesome death."
Five Minutes Later
Hannibal hurled himself over the edge, face red and body sweat-drenched. Soot darkened parts of his skin. He had burns on his hand, like she did, and his shoes were almost melted away. He heaved a couple moments, breathing in the sweet, glorious air, before turning his face upward, snarling at his oldest brother.
"I've been waiting for you to join me." Cassius held out his hand to help him up, but Hannibal swatted it away and stood on his own, crossing his arms.
"You said it yourself," Hannibal said. "You're not my brother anymore. Now you're nothing to me."
Prim doubted he meant anything that came out of his mouth. No matter what, they were brothers, even if they hurt each other in irreparable ways. There was still the cord that wrapped around them of shared blood.
Cassius' usually cool façade cracked a little. He withdrew his hand, looking slapped.
"If that's how you want it," he said. "Maybe once you hear Snow's offer, you'll change your mind."
In response, Hannibal spat on the floor and said nothing else.
Katla pushed herself over next. When she saw who waited for her, her eyes rounded in surprise and then narrowed in anger.
"Should have guessed it was you."
Cassius turned on Hannibal in a fury.
"You stupid, irresponsible fuckup," he said. "Why didn't you leave her with mother?"
Hannibal shrugged.
"It's hard to tell her no." Hannibal's hard exterior melted, and his cheeks tinged with pink. Suddenly, he seemed what he really was: nineteen facing his first real challenge in life. Everything had been handed to him to this point. The only struggle was the brief nursery battle and getting Katla to fall in love with him.
Cassius pinched the bridge of his nose. Prim wondered why he cared so much, when he was giving the rest of his family up for slaughter.
Lorcan burst over the edge next, interrupting the family feud.
"Fresh air." He sucked in a big gulp of and then he opened his eyes, looking unsurprised.
"Thought you would find us, smart bastard." Lorcan panted against the ground. "I'm just glad to get out of those tunnels. Remind me to skip them on the next vacation."
Cassius crossed his arms and clicked his fingers against his forearm in thought.
"Weren't you the one I sent to kill Prim?"
Lorcan gave a mock salute. "Correct, nerd Carthage."
"Did you complete your mission, or will I have to execute you for insurrection?"
"She's buzzard food."
"I don't believe you. Let's see what else crawls up from the depths."
Lorcan's face flickered with hatred a moment, but Cassius no longer paid attention to him.
Ivanka pulled herself up next, and with Cassius distracted, Lorcan looked around the room. He settled on the closet, the only thing in the room that could hide a person. He gave a shake of his head. No, he told her. Don't do anything stupid.
"Ivanka Green, the famed bloody queen of training camps," Cassius said in greeting. She somehow seemed bored and didn't respond.
Prim gripped her pen. She had to do something. As quietly as possible, she reached around in her back, taking out a black glass ball. Lux never got around to explaining what it did beyond telling her to slam it into the ground if she felt cornered. She almost pulled out the whistler but decided against it. It would be too powerful for close quarters.
Morris pulled himself up last, grunting and groaning. His red beard matched his face as he panted against the floor.
When Cassius gave a hand to help him up, the burly man grabbed it and righted himself.
"You never showed," Cassius said.
"Better late than never," Morris answered. "Turning the incinerator on was a shrewd move. Lit a fire on our ass."
Prim drew back, feeling punched. Morris betrayed them, or was going to, if Lorcan hadn't led them the right way. Somehow Brutus knew as well.
"Who ended up turning it off?"
"Brutus," Morris said. "And a good thing too, because I think he suspected something."
"Excellent." Cassius lips curled into a smile. "Just as I hoped. I slipped him the codes long ago. In the end, he would have been too difficult to subdue."
"Traitor!" Hannibal yelled, lunging at Morris. Lorcan bodied him backward. They were of similar size and build, so it worked. Hannibal calmed down.
"Don't be stupid," Lorcan said. "Not when we're outnumbered."
"Why side with him?" Hannibal seethed again.
"Reasons," Morris shrugged. He frowned, the beard concealing the rest of his emotions.
"Don't be too hard on him," Cassius said, "We captured his wife during the wedding battle. He didn't have much choice? Did you?" He asked Morris.
In response, Morris grunted.
"It's too bad you serve no more use." Cassius pulled out a gun, placed it to Morris' temple, and before the red-giant could retaliate pulled the trigger, splattering blood and brain matter across the room. His large body collapsed with a thunk. Prim flinched, smothering her surprise with her free hand.
"Fuck," Hannibal said. Katla trembled. Lorcan tightened his jaw. Ivanka still looked bored.
In a rush of anger, Hannibal lunged forward again, heedless of consequences. The guards grabbed his shoulders and pinned him to the wall. Hannibal bared his teeth and the cords in his neck tightened but did nothing else to retaliate. The fight left him as fast as it came.
Cassius casually walked forward, as if he didn't just kill someone in cold blood, placing both hands in his pockets. He got within a few feet of his brother, staring at him hard.
"Where is the Mockingjay?"
"Dead," Hannibal said, pointing his chin at Lorcan. "Like he said."
Cassius furrowed his eyebrows.
"Our spies informed us differently, so you need to tell the truth. I'm about to turn on the incinerator. If she's still down there, she'll burn."
Cassius gave a signal to the guards, and they released his brother. Hannibal shook off the arms and glared.
"Go ahead. She's not with us."
Cassius' eye twitched and flickered under his glasses, roving around the expressions in the room, until he seemed to decide something.
"Very well." He reached in his pocket and pulled out a tablet. "The fires are now lit. She's going to burn alive in a few seconds if you want to save her."
Prim held in a gasp. It felt like someone ripped out her guts. If Brutus managed to survive, he was surely dead now. She heard the fire rattle the metal of the chute. The heat invaded the cool air, strangling it into submission.
Not long after the fire began to roar, Cassius adjusted his glasses.
"That answers one question," he said. "The Mockingjay was not in the tunnels. I doubt you could manage to look quite so unaffected, if she were." He turned and scanned the room. "And neither do I believe the lie about her staying with her children. She loves them, but she would not be left behind. She wouldn't be able to live with herself, even if the mission succeeded."
Prim hated that he understood her.
Cassius glanced at the closet, holding the towels. The only thing large enough in the room to hide someone. Prim knew it would happen, but his gaze caused her heart to spasm and her lungs to sputter rattled breaths. Cassius walked closer, until he stood in front of the closet, glancing between the crack.
"If you fight, someone will get hurt, and I'll make sure it's someone you love," he warned. "So when I open this door, you will give up without resistance. There is no need for more bloodshed, but I will indulge you, if you insist. Easy or hard, Primrose. Easy or hard."
He tugged the door open.
"Hard," Prim gave a quick fuck-you smirk before slamming the black glass ball into the ground. It shattered with a blast of air, knocking her back into the towels. The cotton linens fell on her head. When she gathered her bearings and jumped to her feet, she realized the whole room was dark. Whatever was in the ball somehow expanded until it filled the whole room. Again, she felt like she was back in the cave, blinded with only her hearing to guide her. But this time, she had toys.
Prim slammed on her helmet and flicked on the night vision. The world came into focus, green and hazy.
A gun went off. She saw a guard waving one erratically in fear. Luckily, it hit no one.
"No shooting," Cassius shouted. "Snow wants them alive!"
A glance around the room told her most of her crew followed instinct and slammed on their own helmets.
"Run!" Prim screamed. In response, the crew bolted for the door. The guards attempted to grapple, but unable to see, they managed to outmaneuver them and into the hallway.
Cassius was on the ground in front of her, in her way from exiting. He managed to grab her left ankle.
"You bitch," he seethed, "Always fucking everything up." His grip turned painful. "Don't let them escape," Cassius shouted. But they already did, leaving Prim behind.
Prim attempted to tug out of Cassius' hold to follow, but his grip was unrelenting. She ripped off the laser pen and aimed it Cassius, pressing the top button. Nothing happened. She pressed two times before realizing the weapon was broken. Fucking Lux.
She needed to think fast.
Do something unexpected, Cato's advice rung in her ears. Prim remembered the way Cato buried a knife in his leg. It must still hurt.
Exploit the weakness. She almost heard Cato speaking to her.
She gripped her useless laser pen and reached down and stabbed Cassius in his thigh, right into his wound. He crumpled forward with a low howl, letting go of her ankle in his agony.
She catapulted over him and sprinted out of the room, dodging the remaining guards, tucking and twisting out of their blind lunges forward.
By the time she passed the threshold of the door, the darkness was already dissipating. The others were too far in front of her, besides Lorcan. He limped on his bad ankle, unable to keep up.
When she caught up to him, he ripped off his helmet and grimaced, slowing his pace to a slow jog.
"You need to find the control room," he wheezed, in pain. "Go on without me. I'll just slow you down."
"I'm not leaving you."
Prim's breath felt labored. She never was in the best of shape to begin with, but after the babies, she had no time to devote to training or exercise. The knot in her ribs reminded her of that fact.
Prim no longer saw the rest of the group. There seemed to be no one in these bottom floors. They passed two Avoxes who held back in the shadows, neither helping or hindering their progress.
Lorcan skidded to a stop and sat down.
"I can't go on." He leaned back as if he was relaxing on a sandy beach, giving her the same look Theodora did just moment before her death, one of calm acceptance.
She went over and tugged on his shoulders, unwilling to see another friend die for her.
"Get up," she begged.
"No." Lorcan shoved her away. "Stop trying to save people. Morris was wrong. You're the most important piece on the board, the one everyone wants. I'll kill myself right now if it keeps you from being a martyr."
She believed him. Lorcan never lied about violence. She wanted to scream and kick her heels like she did with Brutus. When she looked up, she saw a wall of white guards coming down the hallway. She only had moments, and she already knew she would lose the battle to convince him. He backed her into a terrible corner.
"Snow won't kill me…not yet." Lorcan said softly. "They want us alive."
He lied. Snow didn't care about keeping Lorcan alive. Cassius could blow his brains out, like Morris, and no one would care.
"End this, Prim," Lorcan said. "I know you will."
With one last glance at her friend sprawled on the ground, Prim twisted and began again her sprint down the hallway. She followed the twists and turns, passing people and open doors. Prim couldn't outrun the guards, not for long. She heard the clicking of boots behind her, but they were far enough away that maybe she could evade them.
A green light hovered in one of the rooms. Recognizing the DNA heat signature on the map in her helmet, Prim twisted into an open room to her right. It had double doors, and when she entered, she realized it was used as a meeting room of some sort. Prim did not see the other person hiding with her. Having no time to waste, Prim dived behind the curtains, pressing herself against the glass of a window.
The view stunned her. The night sky twinkled, made hazy by the orange glow of street lights. Snow's compound sat on a top of a hill, giving a spectacular view of the Capitol. Houses lined the streets with quaint trees and green patches of grass. It reminded her of the videos she viewed in Cato's study of the ancients, with their picturesque flowered gardens and clean, uniform homes. Except these streets were empty of life and people. The citizens of Panem huddled for protection in their darkened houses, hiding in closets and under beds for the monsters to pass them by, just like she was.
In the distance, she saw the district army approaching, already fighting in pockets against the Capitol. Lux began his battling ram against the outer boundaries of the capitol. Prim sucked in an astonished breath at the sheer size of the approaching army, much larger than she thought it would be. The slaves outnumbered the masters by thousands.
It just reminded Prim that despite civilization attempting to create another Utopia, the fire inched closer, waiting to destroy it. Looking at the beauty, Prim almost regretted the eventual destruction, and then shook her head. In the end, sometimes humanity, like a forest, needed to be scorched to the ground to grow again correctly.
Her reflections were interrupted by the capitol soldiers entering the room.
"You think she came in here?"
"The tracks stopped here, so unless she was carried this is where she is."
Tracks? Prim glanced down at her gummy shoes and realized the melted rubber left a trail of breadcrumbs.
Prim listened to her pounding heart and short, jerky breaths, willing her body functions to cease until the threat diminished. But nothing worked, because melted, gummy shoes could be seen. The soldiers flung the curtain away. It was a foolish hiding spot to begin with. About ten soldiers stood in the room with their helmets on, looking like bugs needing to be squashed.
"You were right," the one to the right said. "This was the right room. Primrose Everdeen, you are under arrest. Put your hands up. No sudden movements."
Prim decided she didn't want to go quietly. Her inched her hand to the whistler hidden in her pocket. Before she could pull it out, the door slammed shut. Ivanka gave her Cheshire grin and tilted her head to the side.
"Or the wrong room." she licked her lips. "It depends on your perspective."
She held up her hand, revealing a set of knives.
"Catch!" She chunked one. It flew straight and true, embedding itself into a peacekeepers neck. And then she released them all, looking like silver lightning exiting her fingers. Prim barley saw the movements, but she heard the grunts and small screams as the metal found its mark. Thunk Thunk Thunk. All kill shots. The soldiers crumpled like a row of dominos, until only one was left standing, the only on without a helmet, a knife sticking out of his gut like a needle in a pincushion. He cradled his stomach, looking down in disbelief. Ivanka calmly walked forward, grabbed the hilt, twisted, and then yanked it out. Like a puppet without its strings, the man collapsed.
In just a few short seconds, Ivanka Green killed ten men.
She took the knife and licked it.
"It's as sweet as I thought." Her face looked rapturous.
Prim shook off her brief horror, reminding herself that this cold, efficient killing was the exact reason she brought Ivanka on the mission. It was why she entered this room, seeing her green dot.
"Let's get out of here," Prim said. "There will be more and soon."
Ivanka gave a great sigh.
"It's a shame I can't take something to remember this by."
Prim went cold, remembering Jace's necklace of severed ears. And then she sighed, knowing she had to give something to get something.
"We can come back later after we win, and you can take what you want."
Ivanka tilted her head at Prim, giving her a strange look.
"You're very… surprising," she said. "I like to be surprised."
Ivanka walked to the door, opened it and was promptly shot in the chest.
"Then it's a good thing I like to give surprises." Cassius said, still hidden from view.
Ivanka looked down at her stomach in much the same way that the capitol-soldier did, staring at the crater the bullet made, as if wondering how best to shore it. Only at the end did her mind register her death. She glanced up sharply, mouth slack, eyes pleading, then she crumpled, much like the man she killed. In the end, all people die the same, raging against the dark, surprised it was subduing them.
Cassius walked in, stepping over the body. Prim felt whiplashed, unable to comprehend the quick turn of events. Cornered, saved, then cornered again. He wasn't alone. He held Lorcan in his grasp, arms bound behind his back. Cassius wore a cold expression.
"The more you run and hide…" He pressed a gun to Lorcan's temple. "The angrier I become. Come now, be the little martyr I know you are."
"Don't do what he wants."
Prim reached into her jacket pocket and brought out the whistler, a little too late. Her hesitancy revealed that she wouldn't use it, not when it meant the death of her friend. Cassius saw this. An edge of his mouth lifted in a smile, as if she was a kitten trying to swat at a string.
"Very bad advice," Cassius said. He took a step in the room. In response, she turned the gun to her temple. Cassius stilled, not expecting that, and it told her more than words. He may not believe she'd kill Lorcan, but he believed she'd kill herself.
Snow wants them alive.
Prim's mind unraveled, and she attempted to put it back together to find the missing pieces. Why would Snow want them alive? Why not just kill her and be done with it? It did give her a certain amount of leverage.
"How about a bargain," she said.
Cassius did not like this. His smile turned into a sneer.
"State the terms."
"I lay down my weapon and come quietly, as long as Lorcan is left alive and unharmed, mentally and physically."
Cassius' eyes narrowed in thought.
"The Mockingjay for a worthless soldier? I think I win in the bargain. On my District's honor, I promise to keep him alive and unharmed. I'll even let him go back to District 2 in peace"
Prim understood that her life was protected. At least for a little bit, but the same protection didn't extend to her friend, which is why she needed to save him. Because Cassius would have killed him no matter what, and Prim couldn't bear the thought. Lorcan began to struggle and cursed Prim for her stupidity.
"Shall we put him in chains in the meantime. It seems the little soldier doesn't like the terms."
"No, he'll just hurt himself. Here, I'll drug him," Prim said. She reached into her bag. The soldiers tensed around the room, probably thinking she'd take out a weapon, but there was no need. She grabbed a tightly capped syringe Lux gave her for emergencies.
"Don't do it," Lorcan said. "Stop being you for once. I'm not worth anything. You are. You're the key to winning on both sides. If he has you, they'll lose hope. We'll lose the war."
"You need to trust me, for once." Prim walked forward and placed the needle on his arm. She wasn't sure she even believed her own words. "I hope you forgive me."
She pressed in and Lorcan went slack almost instantly. Two Capitol soldiers held him up by his arms, dragging him out of the room, his face going limp as the drugs raced through his system, pulling him under. His final look to her showed he began to hate her in that moment.
Cassius held out his hand to her, eyeing her as if trying to see through any flaws in the plan. This is too easy, he must be thinking.
Prim let her shiver of dread be seen.
"Bring me to Snow." Prim reached out and took his hand. It tightened like a noose.
The flaw he overlooked: she had no plans on honoring her agreement. Not to a man that held no honor in the first place.
Ten Minutes Later
"One small detour," Cassius said. "I need to check if the children are behaving. One in particular tends to be disobedient when denied what he wants."
Prim walked by his side. He did not restrain her. He had no need to. Three guards strolled beside her. She had nowhere to run or fight.
He turned into a room and she followed, stopping short when she saw Hannibal and Katla standing with several guards pointing their weapons at Hannibal. They held hands. Prim remembered his promise.
"If you die, I die."
"They've told me you're being… unruly."
"Fuck you," Hannibal said back.
Cassius rolled his eyes.
"Always so unimaginative in your insults. Some things will never change, little brother."
"You really need to stop calling me…" He words trailed off when he noticed Prim standing behind Cassius. His eyes widened and then he sagged a little, as if losing energy.
"As you can see, I captured the little bird and put her back in the cage. Your plan crumbled and so will the rebellion. This is the point you see sense and start obeying"
Hannibal clenched his teeth together. He wore his emotions so freely, unlike Cato, and she saw the fury rising from his body.
"Again, fuck you."
"Do I need to remind you—" he stopped abruptly because in his distraction Prim grabbed the gun on his side and placed it to his back. Cassius' spine straightened.
The guards around the room almost jumped into action, but Cassius waved them down. They stood to the side. One gun trained on Hannibal, and two on Prim.
"A kill shot, right to the kidneys" Prim said. "Tell that to your guards who are attempting to alert someone."
The capitol soldier dropped his hand that inched its way to the yellow button.
"You won't be able to kill me," Cassius said. "I'm still Cato's brother, despite everything. I doubt he'd forgive you. I'm not sure you have it in you."
"The last person who underestimated me is now in a grave."
Cassius tipped his head back and laughed, showing his disdain despite the danger to his person.
"You're an odd paradox now. A little bird with claws, some mishmash creature, but you're only halfway prepared for the world I come from."
His foot went back and caught her around the ankles, yanked forward, and toppled her. He caught her on the way down, twisting the gun from her fingers.
A grin spread on her face, from ear to ear. It was now Prim's turn to tip her head back and laugh because the gun to his back wasn't a threat, it was a distraction. Both him and the guards were looking at her, when they should have paid more attention to other people.
The real threat used the distraction to push the button on the side of the bracelet Hannibal gave her. The metal burst outward, rearranging until it formed into a gun that encased Katla's hand. Her body shook as she aimed it at the closest guard. Without hesitation she fired, but the kickback caused her to miss. Hannibal's warning struck true. Katla was untrained, and it showed.
"Shit," she said and raised it to shoot again, but instead of firing, it made a clicking sound. "It's jammed," Katla said. She looked up in horror to see the guard already had his gun trained on her.
"No," Cassius demanded.
The bullet exited with a bang. It struck Katla in the chest, catapulting her backward. She slammed into the wall and bent to the ground like a doll. Her eyes rolled back, instantly unconscious.
Hannibal roared at the sight. Unable to break the ties around his wrists, he flung them around as a hammer, striking the guard closest to him in the face. The man dropped like lead with the incredible force. Hannibal reached down and ripped the knife out of the man's belt then slammed it into the next guard's neck, slicing so deep, a geyser of blood spewed out.
"Stop," Cassius said in the confusion.
Katla's alright, Prim wanted to scream, but her mouth was dry, and her throat filled with fear. She's wearing a bullet proof vest. But the words never exited her lips. Not in time.
The final guard aimed his gun at Hannibal and fired.
Hannibal crumpled backwards, his arms loose. His flesh slapped against the hard ground. At first Prim did not see the injury, thinking the bullet struck his chest, like Katla. Until Cassius gasped. Blood pooled beside Hannibal's head, an open wound near his temple, right under his shown curls. The bullet did not look like it entered, but it took off some of his skull, leaving his brain exposed.
"No," Cassius bellowed, scrambling forward. He cradled his brother's head in his lap. Cassius pressed his hand over the potentially fatal blow, attempting to cauterize it. Hannibal's body began to seizure. In his panic, Cassius reached into his pocket and pulled out both a vial of liquid and a white packet that he ripped open with his teeth. "Don't die. Please don't die," he rasped, the agony broke his usual composure.
He tipped the powder over the wound, and Prim saw that it helped stem the bleeding, sealing the wound. After that, he tipped Hannibal's mouth open and poured the liquid inside, much like Hannibal did to Cato once upon a time.
"Drink," he said, but most of it dribbled out the side of his mouth. "Call for help," Cassius demanded to the shivering Capitol guard that shot Hannibal. The soldier obliged pressing a button and speaking into a microphone asking for medical help. Once done, the shivering guard looked up only long enough for Cassius to train a vengeful gun on him and press the trigger. The bullet blasted into his neck, killing him instantly.
Prim scooted forward, willing to help, though there wasn't so much she could do. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she couldn't catch her breath in her scared grief, as if mourning someone not even dead yet. It was a brain wound. There was only so far even Capitol medicine extended.
"What can I do?" Prim inched over, but she overestimated Cassius' goodwill. He glared at her. Tears spilled over icy blue eyes, and white teeth flashed at her.
"This is all your fucking fault. It's always your fucking fault," he seethed. Before she could wiggle away, finally understanding the danger. He reached out his hand and slammed the butt of his gun on her temple.
There was an explosion of lights behind her eyes before all went dark.