Chapter 52
(Madge POV)
When the hovercraft lands, my stomach flip flops and my heart races so loudly I can hear it in my ears. The officer on the flight with me hands me the crate of food and shows me the envelope inside to give to Martin. He tells me we will walk through the trees together and then I will continue on to the train on my own and when I'm finished, he'll be waiting for me at the edge of the trees.
Our walk through the trees is a short one and he tells me I have 20 minutes tops before I need to be back no matter what or else he'll leave me here. I gulp when he says that because it never crossed my mind that something like that could happen, that I could be left behind by the hovercraft. I nod and head off towards the train, which I can see is busy being loaded with supplies.
As I step up on the steps of the train, a bead of sweat trickles down the back of my neck. I pretend I am just going about my duties and delivering the crate to the kitchen, keeping my head down as I walk past the only person I see inside the train. I step through the doors of the kitchen car and panic for a split second because I don't see anyone in there. It only last a split second though because right then Martin comes out of the walk in freezer. Relief floods through me and I take a step towards him and then I glance around to double check that we're alone before I go over next to him, setting the crate down on a countertop.
"Martin?" I say quietly, my voice sounding shaky.
He startles at the sound of his name and I suppose it's been a long time since he's heard anyone use it. He looks at me and his brows furrow together. I'm sure he's trying to figure out how I know his name and who I am. I reach up and pop the teeth cover out of my mouth.
"It's me, Madge Undersee. We met on the train not long ago, remember?" I ask.
He nods, still looking at me strangely. "I'm in disguise because I had to sneak on here to talk to you." I say in a whisper. I glance around again before continuing. "Obviously, I didn't die in the bombings of District 12. I ran away with some others and we found refuge in the new District 13. The community there is safe. They've agreed to rescue you and a few other people who need it. You can all have safe refuge and a good life in 13." I let it all flood out of my mouth quickly and I hope he is processing it as quickly as I'm saying it.
His eyes are wide and he's staring at me, waiting for me to continue. I glance around and then continue. "There is an envelope at the bottom of this crate that is for you to read in private. It will tell you what you need to do for the rescue to go off without a hitch. The safe rescue of everyone involved relies heavily on your cooperation with those instructions. Read it in private as soon as you can."
He takes the envelope out of the crate and slips it into the front of his uniform.
I reach out and place my hand over his. "It's crucial that you follow the instructions exactly as they say. Do you understand and are you good with this? Do you want to be rescued?"
He nods, eyes still wide.
"I have to go before anyone sees me but I will see you when you get to the new 13." I whisper and give him a smile before I slip the teeth back on and head out the door.
I head back down the hallway of the train car and hold my breath as a peacekeeper passes me. I think I'm in the clear but then I hear him call back to me.
"Hey you!"
I turn around and look at him, praying internally that my cheeks aren't too flushed red from fear. I don't speak but raise my brows as if to ask what he wants.
"You guys almost finished?" He asks.
I nod. "Almost." I say.
He accepts my answer and then goes into the kitchen. I pick up my pace and get off the train as quickly as I can. Outside, I look around to make sure no one is watching and then dart full speed towards the trees, wanting to conceal myself behind them as soon as I can. As promised, the officer is there waiting for me.
"You get everything taken care of?" He asks and I nod in response.
"Come on, let's get back to the craft." He says firmly and starts jogging towards where the hovercraft waits. I follow, keeping pace with him. I can't wait to get out of here and back to 13.
At the craft, the pilot tells us he's been given orders to hold in place and await further instruction.
"What does that mean?" I ask, my pulse quickening.
"We turn the engine off and we wait for further instruction." He replies.
"Why would they do that? Why would we have to wait? Is something wrong?" I ask in rapid succession not even waiting for an answer, feeling like I might faint.
"Calm down. It's probably nothing. There may just be another aircraft in the air path they don't want to see us and we're waiting for it to pass. They'll let us know when to go." The pilot tells me. He actually sounds a little annoyed that I'm on the verge of being hysterical. The two of them go to the far side of the craft and have a conversation at such a low tone that I can't hear what they're saying.
Not wanting to bother them or be in the way, I go and sit in my seat and close my eyes, making myself take slow deep breaths. I tell myself that this will all be fine, we will get cleared to fly out very soon. I tell myself that I'll be back in Gale's arms and out of Panem very soon. I remind myself that the pilot said it's probably nothing. Amidst my mental pep talk, I hear the door to the craft open and my eyes pop back open and I look up to see whats going on. It's the officer heading outside.
I look to where the pilot sits and he's busy jotting something down in a small book. I glance back to the door, curious where the officer went. I keep my eyes on the door and wait for him to step back inside but he doesn't. I wait, feeling time pass and feeling like he should be back but he isn't. I glance back over at the pilot and see him doing calculations for something. He seems really focused and I don't want to speak and interrupt him but their actions are making me nervous and no one is telling me anything. I focus on the door again and part of me wonders if I should go peek outside and see if the officer is out there.
The pilot slams his book down on the floor and I stare at him, now truly concerned. He stands and steps out the door leaving me all alone in my seat. I stand to follow him but my legs are so shaky that I have to sit back down. It's like I can't even feel them. I fight fearful tears from falling as I force myself to focus on breathing. Something is definetly wrong and they aren't telling me what's happening.
Moments later they both come back through the door, closing it behind them and taking their seats. Neither says a word and the pilot flips off the interior light that was on and now we sit in total darkness. I'm too afraid to speak, not sure what in the world is happening. The tears fall down my cheeks and I let them. If the Capitol has discovered we are here, we'll all be killed for sure. I do not understand why we can't just leave. Sitting here cannot be our best choice, can it? If I don't make it back, Gale will never ever forgive me for this, for leaving without telling him.
We sit like that for a long time, an hour probably, before I hear the pilot's communicator call to him. He answers and then I breathe out a long breath as I hear them say to take flight and then they give him a flight path to follow. He quickly fires everything up and before I have time to even think about it, we're up and going. I start to calm down knowing that soon I will be home to Gale and out of danger.
Before we land though, I hear an alarm go off and the control panel announces a warning that we are low on fuel and then I hear the pilot cussing under his breath. Low fuel? Why are we low on fuel? They knew exactly how far we would be going so why are we short on fuel? It doesn't make sense. I grip the buckle of my harness and shut my eyes as tight as I can.
I can feel the craft getting lower and lower in the air, are we falling from the sky? Is this what it feels like to crash when a hovercraft runs out of fuel? Where will we crash? In a district or the woods? In a empty field somewhere? Can we survive a crash? How far are we from 13? Does anyone at 13 know we are running out of fuel? If we crash and have to get back to 13 on foot, will the pilot or the officer know how to find their way to 13 on the ground? What if they don't survive the crash and I do? What then? What would I do? So many questions flood my mind and I can't slow down my breathing, my chest hurts and from I feel nauseous. Then everything goes black.
I wake and find myself in a bed. With a bandage on my head and a massive headache to boot. My eyes are blurry and I reach to rub them and find a tube attached to my arm. I blink, staring at it. My eyes start to clear up and I look around, wanting to know where I'm at. Did we crash? Had I fainted? Is that what happened?
The door to the room opens and Drew comes in. Seeing him brings so much relief because I know that means I'm back in 13 again. Whatever happened, I'm safe now.
"Hey, how are you feeling?" He asks.
"What happened to your face?" I ask, ignoring his question, seeing that he's got a bandage on the bridge of his nose and a bruise around his eye.
He shakes his head. "I asked you first."
"I have a headache, a really vicious one. Now what about your face?"
"I got in a little scuffle, it was nothing."
Gale. I bet it was Gale. Who else here would have cause to fight with him? I don't know if I even want to know what happened so I ask about my situation instead. "What happened to me? Did we crash?"
He laughs. "No, you didn't crash. Well, you did actually, but the hovercraft didn't."
"What?" I ask, rubbing my head as it pounds with pain.
"Hold on." He tells me then steps back out the door. A moment later a woman comes in and uses a syringe to put something into the tube in my arm. "That will help with the headache, dear." She tells me with a smile before she leaves.
"So here's what happened." Drew starts to explain as he sits in a chair facing my bed. "There was unexpected air traffic in the original flight path back so the craft had to take an alternate route back here and the fuel wasn't calculated for that extra distance. There was literally just enough to make it to the field before the mountain base but apparently when the warning alarms about the low fuel started going off, you panicked and started hyperventilating. Somehow, in your panic, you accidentally undid the buckle on your safety harness and then you passed out. With the harness undone, you took the landing hard and fell out of your seat, banging your head on both the seat and the floor as you fell. You've been out ever since."
"How long have I been out?" I ask, mortified at what he's just told me and terrified that I've been out for a very long time, leaving Gale to wonder where I am.
"About 4 or 5 hours."
I gasp. That amount of time plus the time I was already gone and there is no doubt in my mind that Gale is going crazy looking for me. "Where is Gale? Did you tell him I was here?"
"I don't know where he is but I held my promise to you and told him nothing about what you were doing except that you'd be back later today."
I close my eyes. I can't believe this. I feel awful. Poor Gale has to be going insane. "Did that have something to do with what happened to your face?" I ask, suddenly putting the pieces together.
He shrugs and doesn't say anything but I know it did. Gale literally tried to beat it out of him.
"Can I go to my room or do I have to stay here?" I ask, eager to go find Gale despite the way that I feel with my head right now.
"You're stuck here for 8 more hours of observation." He says gesturing to the two way mirrored wall. "They just want to be sure your head is okay since you hit it so hard."
I gasp again. I cannot leave Gale hanging for 8 more hours. "Can you go get Gale and bring him here please? Or well, maybe have someone else go get him please?" I ask.
He stares at me as if he wants to say something but he doesn't. Instead he gets up and goes to the door, turning back to me before he leaves. "I'll make sure he comes to see you. Get some rest though, okay?"
I nod as I yawn, the medicine kicking in hard and sleep pulling me under again.
When I wake again, Gale is there, sitting next to my bed, holding my hand.
"Hey pretty girl. You've got a lot of explaining to do." He tells me with a smile.