Disclaimer: I own very little.

Chapter Fifty-Two: Empty

Never before, not even during the Games, had my feet taken me so far so quickly. Of course, I could have taken an escort of some sort, but it would take too long for the call and the vehicle to arrive. In times such as these, time is certainly of the essence. I pictured myself throwing open the doors to the security building and putting this whole thing away.

Wouldn't that be splendid?

To simply, walk in there and whisk Seneca out of their grip, explain to President Snow that he was wrong about my husband, and stroll off to proceed with the happy life we dreamt of. Life never seemed to work itself out that way, however. Especially not in a city under the wicked rule of President Snow. Nearly every scenario that I played in my mind with a hope of a happier ending only brought me closer to the reality which lie ahead.

It wasn't until I was running up the stairs of the building, to the 3rd floor, that the severity of everything hit me. When I reached the destination, I stood at the end of the hall, catching my breath as I watched the many bodies walking slowly away from me.

"Stop!" The single word leaving my lips seemed to echo down the corridor of the 3rd floor hallway in the security building.

I had sprinted as quickly as my feet would allow me to see this moment. As I stood, the only noise I could hear was the steady inhale and exhale of my breath. Beneath my feet, the beauteous copper-stone lined the floor to compliment the shimmering metallic walls. It was not the beauty of this room, however, that was to be admired. There was nothing estimable about this corridor; it was rather the opposite. I saw a pair of glass doors that cut this corridor off nearly half-way. On the other side of this barrier was a tall set of gold doors. Though I didn't know for sure, this was presumably their destination.

My heart paused for an instant as the guards loosened their grip on their prisoner's arm just long enough for his eye to catch mine.

"Seneca," I whimpered, feeling wetness swell in my eyes as my feet carried me to their side.

At first, their natural resistance was to stand in front of their prisoner, but the adrenaline rush in my body kicked in before their boundary could keep me in place.

"President Snow's orders give me permission to see him one last time," I growled, just as one of their hands came down on my forearm.

The man clad in the white uniform held my gaze and opened his mouth to refute, but before he could the other held his ear piece and placed a hand on his partner. They looked at each other, clearly just being hit with this news before swallowing their pride and stepping away.

"You've five minutes, Mrs. Crane," One said sternly, spitting it out as if he were disappointed he didn't get to break up a reunion.

And suddenly, they didn't matter. In that instant, Seneca's arms encircled my body as I embraced him tight. I rested my head on his shoulder as tears streamed out of my eyes and onto his shoulder. Behind him, I saw the doors through which he would be led through. I couldn't allow myself to think on that; I had to enjoy this moment with him now.

"Where is Obadiah, Savera?" Seneca muttered in my ear, running his fingers through my hair and down my back.

I cleared my throat," He's with Crystal. I couldn't bring him here. I didn't think it would be-"

"Shh, we don't have time for that. You made the right decision just…listen to me for these next few moments, alright?" He asked, pulling me back to place his hands on my shoulders and look straight into my eyes. "Crystal is the best person he could be with. I can't tell you here, but I need you to do what Crystal says after this. It is incredibly important that you do so."

I furrowed my brow at him, perplexed," Seneca, what-"

"Just trust me that she knows what she's doing," He whispered harshly, his eyes begging for my consent. "I know you think that now I'm not listening to you, but please know that I am. Please know that I've done all this for you; you will see it soon."

He knew from the look in my eyes that I wasn't entirely thrilled about this. He could tell that I doubted the young woman from the first moment she stood in the doorway and I was just to trust her for some strange reason? He knew me too well to know that I would want more of an answer than just that; however, time was not on our side. We both could also feel the ever bearing weight of the crunch bearing down upon us.

"Seneca, why did you put yourself through all this?" I sobbed, barely able to enunciate my words among the tears soaking my face and clothes. "Why can't you just be honest with me now? Why are there so many secrets between us?"

The steady stroke of his hand on my back was of little comfort as he quieted me and muttered," Savera, I know that all of this doesn't make sense now, but even to this moment I know that there's something good in this city. We can bring out the good. Katniss and Peeta have already stared it. They're not secrets, either. You'll understand why I could never mention them soon. I swear it."

I wanted to understand all of his dedication to what appeared to be a suicide mission. As much as I would like to say that I found the answers in his eyes, small smirk, or rhythm of the circles he was drawing on my back, I did not. It was still an incomprehensible mystery in which I was weaved into.

His hand stopped at my cheek," I don't expect you to understand now."

"Why can't you tell me?" I asked, feeling him tense up. "I don't want you to d-"

I couldn't utter the phrase. I couldn't say the one word. His eyes could see the fear of that word in my eyes. He could sense what I was saying and I know that had he not been as scared of what would happen had he told me; he would have told me everything. He bit down hard on his lip, looking down. I tried to hold his gaze, but he just shook his head severely. When I saw his piercing blue eyes again, they were brimming with tears.

"Just don't let this all be in vain, Savera," He begged, grabbing both of my hands. "Please, just do as I say and trust Crystal. Don't do anything rash and-"

He couldn't finish his phrase. His eyes drifted to the Peacekeepers standing around us. Instinctively, I tightened my grip on his arm, but we both knew what was coming. Five minutes, after all, was not much time to say goodbye to someone whom you've shared your life of us were now a weeping mess, but before he could let out another word, I felt the Peacekeeper's grip on my arm, pulling me away.

"Seneca, please," I begged, not letting go of his arm. I kept a firm grip on him, though he was slowly being pulled from me. "Please, just tell me something more. I know how passionate you are about this and I-"

"I love you, Savera," He replied simply, refusing to tell me, though I knew he wanted to. "Tell Obadiah the same. Every day. Never let him think that his father didn't love him."

At this point, I was barely keeping a grip on his hand. And in that horrific moment, I lost my grasp on Seneca as they pulled him closer to the tall doors, through which, I knew lay his death. An overwhelming amount of grief filled me as the distance between us grew.

"Seneca, tell me!" I insisted, sounding deranged, but I hardly cared. I had to know more to this story. I had to know what he was keeping from me from his lips. "Please!"

"I love you," He repeated, shaking his head as if to tell me one final time that he would not tell what I desired to know.

As much as I pushed and pulled, I couldn't break free of the man's grasp. From a distance, I could see into the room Seneca was being taken into. He was looking much more composed now, as if he was accepting his fate. I, however, couldn't have been more hysterical. Just as they turned the corner to enter the hallway leading to his death, I cried out one last time.

"I love you, Seneca! I love you," I kept on repeating myself over and over, hardly realizing what I was saying anymore. My brain was spinning so much that it was nearly all I could say.

There were no more words from Seneca's lips. I met his eyes one last time before he nodded to me and turned his head to meet the fate waiting ahead. When the glass doors closed off the hallway, the man's grasp on me loosened and I found that it was only his support that was keeping me upright for I immediately dropped the ground. Without much grace, I picked myself up and ran toward the glass doors, wishing they were just as they appeared: transparent. I wished I could simply thrust myself through the doors and stop all of this. Instead of bursting through the barrier, I was reminded with the reality of the glass door's invisible force against me. They were not so far away when I pounded my fist against the door. Seneca glanced back, for just a moment. In his sharp eyes, I was reminded of the first moment when I saw him. My heart stopped for a second; he still had the same effect on me as he did then. This look he was giving me made me both intensely in love with him, but also fiercely angry that he couldn't just live a safe life instead.

However, I reminded myself that had he lived a safe life…then I may not have been alive.

The words kept on leaving my lips, the same words over and over. All over, I felt nothing. In fact, I was too much in shock to even feel the immense pain I should have agonized over. The guards behind me were still standing there for I could feel their presence, but they didn't stop me from placing my hand against the glass. I kept my palm against the cool, glass and stretched out my fingers, wishing that he could just be back in a matter of seconds.

Though his eyes kept hold of mine as he was ushered toward the tall, gold doors at the end of the hallway, I knew he would never be back. I knew that my outstretched hand would be always as it was there against the glass: alone.

Even so, he kept my gaze until they reached the door. They forced him toward the door as my outstretched hand turned to a fist and the tears continued streaming down my face. I could not make out what was inside this room that they were leading him through, but through the glass his eyes still held onto mine. His lips mouthed the three single words before he turned to face what fate had handed him.

As the sound of the second set of doors slamming echoed through the hallways, my body tensed up and all emotion seemed to freeze inside my body. It was as though I was incapable of feeling anything, really. My hand dropped from the door and the Peacekeepers who escorted Seneca were walking stoically back toward the door. When the glass doors opened and they were only inches from me, I hardly even acknowledged their presence. I could feel the emptiness of their gazes as they moved along as if nothing was wrong.

After all, for them it was just business.

Slowly, I ran my fingers through my hair and paced around the hallway before finding a wall and sliding down until I was seated firmly on the ground. It was in this place that I sobbed harder than I ever had in my life.


Perhaps, I was there for minutes. Perhaps, hours. I hadn't much of a sense of time.

The last thing I needed was to be interrupted. I didn't want to talk to anyone and I was fairly certain that I presented myself in a non-approachable way, but that didn't stop someone from coming up to me and crouching in front of me. For several minutes, I could feel the presence of this person, but I refused to look at them. Couldn't they at least let me mourn in peace?

"Savera," The voice spoke softly, placing a hand on my knee.

Instantly, I recognized it as Crystal's voice. With blurred vision, I looked at her, probably looking like a mess, as she smiled comfortingly. I said nothing, but only looked at her then looked back down, not knowing what to do. My mental state was so scattered that it was a feat I could even process who she was.

"Savera, we must go," She spoke firmly and clearly.

I furrowed my brow, wiping away tears still lingering.

"I know. I need to be home with-"

"That's not what I mean," She said, still as firm as before. "I mean we must leave the Capitol. Now."

This was a bold statement even for a normal day. Immediately, my brain starting racing about why she was saying this and what could have happened. Slowly, I uncurled myself from my ball and held her gaze, curious about what was going on.

"Where is Obadiah? Is he safe?" I asked, spouting out the questions quickly.

"Yes, he is safe for now, but we are working on a very limited time frame. We have reason to believe that President Snow is making a threat against your life. Your brother was able to find a weak spot in security for a brief amount of time; just long enough for us to escape," She spat out rapidly.

This was completely shocking. I swallowed hard and tried to understand all that she had just said. The one thing I could clearly comprehend was," My brother is alive?"

A smile came to her lips," Yes, he is alive. And he is very quick at learning how to run a computer. Looks like you weren't the only one in the family."

"How do you-"

"That is a long story that we truly do not have time for," She said plainly, offering her hand to me. "But to give you a brief description: I have never truly been a Capitol citizen. I was sent her by the leaders in District Thirteen to work alongside you and Seneca."

I stared at her hand for a long moment. She was from District Thirteen? Hadn't it been long destroyed? She said this so casually as though it were nothing special. For some reason, my head went to the empty wing of the security building which I had passed so many times. Everyone had always lead me to believe that there was nothing in there, but if Crystal said was true, then I knew it all to be lies. Was it possible that there could be an organization running which the Capitol did not worry about? My instinct was to think that she was lying, but Seneca had told me to trust her. Seneca had always trusted her and I was always wary of her. I can't really explain what I thought about her in that split second, but all I know is that my brain continued to play Seneca's words over and over in my head telling me to trust her. My brain was fighting with every fiber of its being for me to shake my head and just walk away from her, returning to my life in the Capitol without following her ridiculous plan. However, my heart couldn't help but think of the potential pain that remained in the Capitol if we stayed. It was telling me adamantly to reach out and grab her hand.

I followed my heart and allowed her to pull me to my feet.

"You weren't kidding about my brother? I didn't just imagine you saying that Ostro was alive," I confirmed, looking straight at her.

Another wide smile came to her lips," He really is alive, Savera. As is your mother and, in fact,-"

She didn't mean anything by her last two words, or at least, I don't think she meant to, but her eyes glanced over at the glass doors which contained the room in which Seneca was being kept. I was probably overanalyzing this gesture which she immediately covered up by clearing her throat and starting to walk the other way. I knew she would not comment on the matter if I called her out on it, but something was clearly going on.

"Where is the breach in security?" I asked as I sprinted to try and keep up with her.

She let out a sigh," Savera, it's going to be much easier if you don't ask any questions now."

"That's hardly fair, Crystal," I retorted as we nearly ran out of the security building.

"In time, you'll know, okay?" She answered as she placed a finger in her ear, listening closely to whoever was trying to talk to her through her communicator device. She spat out several strange code words as we maneuvered our way to the exit of the security building and entered the vast city once more. Crystal was extra careful to lead us through the back alleys and less travelled routes. She was hardly paying any attention to me, but rather focused entirely on the directions she was being given.

In my head, there were literally thousands of questions I had. I tried to clarify all that had happened in the last twenty-four hours. Crystal Vox, the girl I had trusted to watch my son, was a spy for District Thirteen, my brother whom I thought I would never see again was in cahoots with her, my mother was somehow still alive, my son was somewhere with her people, President Snow was plotting to take our lives, and Seneca, my husband, was dead.

Oh, and I was hoping that I was placing my trust in the right person. I was also hoping that she really did wish for the best for Obadiah and me and had not simply fooled Seneca.

Some of my uncertainties would be solved when we reached the edge of the Capitol. Once there, we met several men who were wearing very obscure Capitol clothing. One of them had bright purple hair that was spiked up in every which way while the other had brown hair that was simply slicked back. From the back, neither of them looked familiar, but from Crystal's reaction you would have thought they were close friends.

"Thank God you're both here. Any problems with the computers?" She asked the brown-haired one, who kept his head down as he tapped away on his tablet.

"No, but Ostro isn't here yet," The purple-headed one answered, scratching his head profusely. "Can I take this thing off yet?"

"It looks lovely on you, I don't see the issue," Crystal commented on what I presumed to be a hair piece.

The man shot a glare at Crystal," Well, I'm glad you like it, Layla."

Layla? As if my mind weren't jumbled enough as was, he had to call Crystal by something other than the one thing I was sure of with her: her name. I immediately furrowed my brow and she saw my confusion, but continued to babble on.

"Oh, how rude of me. Savera, this is Steele and Tomas," She introduced quickly, both of them simply nodded to me and made a polite, short comment.

"Layla?" I asked, turning my attention to her.

Immediately, she dropped her head and ran her fingers through her hair, finding the awkwardness of this situation. I could tell how uncomfortable this was for her, but she had avoided all of my other questions thus far.

"You didn't think I'd come here with my real name if I were a spy, did you?" she asked, looking directly at me. "My real name obviously isn't Crystal…it was just a cover. You can understand that, right Savera?"

Before I could answer, the one with brown hair, whose name was Tomas began muttering something incorrigible under his breath as he began tapping furiously. All of our eyes were on him as he continued to tap away," Ostro better get here quick."

Just as he said this, the other one opened his mouth to comment. However, neither of them could get a word in for the door to one of the nearby buildings was thrown open and out came my brother dressed in a very fashion-forward lime green trench coat and matching pants (as if he were truly a Capitol man) with Obadiah perched on his hip. He was sprinting and nearly out of breath as he came running up to us. He nearly tossed the child into my arms, whom I immediately pulled tight to me and kissed his head.

"Good to see you again, sister," Ostro greeted hurriedly with a smile on his face. "Though this wasn't the reunion I pictured, it truly is wonderful to see you. For now, we haven't any time. Let us get out of here. Come on!"

We all took this as notion that we were no longer trying to fit in, but simply trying to beat the clock. As we were running, Layla spoke to him.

"You ran into trouble, I presume?" She asked, pushing through the few people loitering around the street.

"Snow's men got there right when you left," He spat back at her. "It wasn't an easy encounter."

She said nothing in response, but we simply kept on running. Obadiah was spewing out all sorts of gibberish that I hadn't the mental focus or patience to answer. We ran block after block before finally coming to one of the older shops on the end of town. The Capitol had very few places that were "out of style" and this was certainly one of the few. In my head, I thought that we would be going through the store, but rather we proceeded to the back of the store. I noticed Ostro allowing all of us to walk in front of him as we passed along the back of the store.

His head jerked in every direction, as if checking for something. This store was situated along the back wall that surrounded the city; I watched as Layla and the two men began to pull away bricks that kept the wall upright. I dared not ask what exactly they were doing as I could gather so much from what they were doing.

"You took out the security cameras back here?" I asked Ostro, as he continued to look around.

"This whole district is down," He answered shortly, still looking around, as if distracted.

"Impressive," I replied, adjusting Obadiah on my hip.

He smirked at me as the other three pulled out the last bricks they needed with these strange tools that I haven't a clue where they got from, to form their passage to the outside world.

"Ready?" Layla asked, looking back at the three of us.

I looked at the little break now formed in the Capitol's grand fortress around the city. This little passage to the outside world was the glimmer of hope that these people needed. It was a simple concept really to bust a hole in a wall, but it was such a complex one, as well. The Capitol worked tirelessly to make sure there was only enough hope to keep people positive, but not enough to ever inspire those to rebel, or rather, drill a hole in their wall of power. Of course, not one of the others saw the symbolic meaning in this action, but perhaps they would one day.

Ahead of us, I could gather, would not be an easy trip. Behind us, would be anarchy when they discovered we were gone. I could almost imagine President Snow in his office when the news was being broken to him. Of course, now, they had neglected their security enough in celebration of the winners of the Hunger Games. He thought he could simply dispose of the Crane family and enjoy his wealth. Now, he not only had Katniss and Peeta to worry about. I would not allow him to go unpunished for what he did to my husband.

Therefore, I held on tight to my child and didn't look back on the city. I simply kept my head up, took a deep breath in, and listened to his last words in my head.

Trust Crystal.

A/N: Alright, so there you have it. Eventually (probably later this year), I will be writing a sequel to this story. However, now I need to focus on finishing my Harry Potter story, which I have put on hold. If you're a fan of HP, then I urge you to check it out and thanks to everyone who has read this story. It has been a fun story to write and I hope you all have enjoyed it as much as I have. Please, let me know what you thought of this chapter and the rest of the story.