Don't own Hunger Games.
The next few weeks are long, at least to me. I don't bother trying to exert myself since I want out of this bed, so I do everything the doctor wants me to. Sleeping isn't something I like doing, but I brace through it. Some nights are worse than others, but I'm starting to learn when I've awakened and when I'm still dreaming. I haven't attacked anyone since the first day thankfully.
My friends and family keep me company often, distracting me by giving be tidbits of what happened when I was pulled from the Games, maybe play a card game, info about how the war's going, and just talking about random things. One conversation moved from food, to alcohol, to sketching, and stopped at funny stories of my mom's life.
I haven't had another episode since the first day, for which I'm grateful for. I'm still depressed in a way, but it's a lot less now. Which brings me to the war.
For one reason or another, it's stopped. Ever since Twelve was bombed, the fighting has come to a complete halt. No reason is given for why, but the most logical conclusion for me it that they're trying to cement their hold on their territory, and gather solutions for reorganizing their forces after losing a decent amount of soldiers in Twelve.
Kind of had a feeling that would bite them in the ass.
All that aside, I need to talk to Nlron. He hasn't come to see me as much as I would expect, only about four times. He looks down in the dumps when he sees me, and I know the exact reason why.
It probably hurts to look at a person who reminds him of Fash.
I was shocked, to say the least when she told me about Nlron and herself. Never in a million years would I have thought they would have something like that with each other. Fash always chasited Nlron for his dirty comments and his sometimes idiotic nature. He criticized her for being too much of a daredevil and risk taker. They always made smart remarks at one another.
And then I find out she's been with him at least for a few months. Likely longer since she wouldn't have sex with anyone unless she trusted them wholeheartedly and truly did care for them like that. How did I not notice anything? Unless all those smart remarks was their way of saying 'I love you.'
To say nothing that she was pregnant...
I don't think he knows that.
I need to talk to him.
Thankfully, I can do that now. Because of my careful nature these past few weeks, I've healed a little sooner than expected, so they allow me to walk. I can't walk alone though; my mom or Salaya are always present when I do, and I have a cane to use. Joy, another one. But still, happy that I'm out of bed, even if I couldn't exactly stand for a long time.
I was wearing actual clothes today. Just a simple black t-shirt and sweats with slippers, black cane in hand, my mom following close behind. I've no idea where Nlron would be, so I decide to find Peeta. He may not even be able to speak with me though since I don't know if he's even here or not since he's a soldier now.
I wander about the white halls, passing other doctors and patients. Most give me nods and smiles, which I return.
Many of the patients here are soldiers who have been wounded. I notice some are missing body part; arms, legs, or just chunks. The wounds have been tended to very well though, given we don't have the facilities that the Capitol has. Many of these men and women will fight again, though any who are missing limbs are out of the fight. In terms of actual fighting anyway.
Peeta is still here, though he's also in the hospital for a wound. Not really too bad compared to some of these guys.
"The hell happened to you? You look like you crawled through barb wire." I ask him. He's shirtless, a doctor directly behind him, using twisters on his back.
"Ah, small skirmish with the Capitol. Took out a hovercraft that was on the ground. I was close enough to take some shrapnel. Ow!" He takes a quick glance back before looking at me again.
"And I see you're still a wuss when it comes to pain." I smirk.
"Give me some credit though. I took it like a pro before the adrenaline ran out. Not everyone can be a damage sponge like you."
"Sure they can. Just ignore it."
"Ignore it?" He says skeptically. He frowns afterwards and sarcastically remarks. "That's easy."
I chuckle and shake my head. I stop quickly though when I remember why I came to find him.
"Peeta, do you know where Nlron is?"
Peeta sobers up quickly, and I just catch the pain in his eyes before he hides it. The sadness on his face doesn't disappear though. "He's in his room. D-12A. Been there for awhile."
"Thanks." I reply as I began walking. But Peeta's not done.
"Alto?"
I pause. "Yes?"
"Just be careful around him. He hasn't been himself after...everything."
"Okay."
It's slow going walking out of the hospital and into the barracks. Now the barracks were simply rooms in the building for the people that now lived here; either refugees or soldiers currently stationed here. Each unit held a family or a group of eight. All it was is beds, with a dresser or two for clothes. Food was served at the mess hall that was in another building entirely, while bathrooms were just outside.
It was a few minutes before we found room D-12A. My only guess as to why they would name it after our district is to keep tabs on us. I turn to my mom. "Can you just stay out here? This is something I need to tell him alone."
"Of course." She states simply as she takes a step and stands next to the door.
Breath in...
Breath out...
I give the door three solid knocks.
...
...
"Nlron?" I knock again.
...
"Nlron? Please, open up." I knock again.
...
'Click'
I hear the door unlock, but he doesn't open it himself. I stand there for a few seconds to be sure before turning the knob and entering the room, gently closing the door behind me.
The room is bland, no surprise there. The walls are bare, a dull cement grey. Seven beds occupy the room, four against the right wall while three are on the left, with two dressers against the back wall. All the bed's sheets are thrown about, their occupants having not bothered to fix it. And on the farthest bed is Nlron.
He doesn't look at me, simply stares down at the ground. He knows why I'm here and isn't looking forward to it. He may not even want to hear it considering all things.
"Hey Alto." He states simply.
"Hey." I reply just as simply.
...
...
"Nlron," I start. "I came here to-"
"Just shut up Alto." He says.
I expected this.
"We need to talk about this Nlron."
"We don't need to talk about anything." He sound a little angry.
"Really? So is their another reason you're just sitting here by yourself in this room?"
"Shut up Alto."
I breath out through my nose. "Nlron, this isn't healthy. And she wouldn't want you to-"
"And how would you know what she wouldn't want?" He raises his voice.
I'm trying not to sound angry. "Nlron, you need to remember that she was my friend. Like a sister to me. I know her well enough that I know she wouldn't want anyone mourning her."
"That she'd want us to be happy and remember the good times we spent together? That she's in a better place?" Nlron says sarcastically. "Unlike you, I don't believe in that religious crap."
I groan lightly. "Nlron, I'm trying to help you."
He finally stands. "I think you've done plenty of that already, thank you."
"What's that suppose to mean?" I know very well what he's implying.
"What do you think?" He's in front of me now.
"I'm not responsible for what happened in there."
To tell you the truth, I was expecting our conversation to come to this. It was always a way for him to cope, to release his anger.
I only have enough time to see a flash of anger on his face before my own found a fist into it's right cheek. Even knowing that he was going to hit me, I didn't defend myself. Unfortunately, since I'm still getting use to walking again, I can't keep my balance, and fall against the door hard.
He's not done since he tackles me. We actually bust the door open, scareing the hell out of my mom and anyone who was nearby.
"Stay out of this!" I scream aloud. No one needed to stop this.
We rolled a few times, Nlron trying to get another hit on me, but I'm not letting him. My legs may have trouble keeping me up, but my upper body is still in fairly good shape. The first one was free, the others he'll have to work for.
"You're not responsible!?" He yells, pinning me to the ground, throwing another fist. I simply grab the fist and hold onto it. I'm not trying to fight him. "They why did she end up in there!?"
"She volunteered!"
"Because they picked Madge! Someone close to Katniss! She died in there because of you!" He throws another fist with his free hand, and I do the same as I did before. "If you hadn't of pulled those damn barriers in your Games, she wouldn't have died! She'd still be here!"
I don't respond. Saying anything might make him even more angry. That and I kind of don't see any way to respond to it.
"She'd still be alive! She'd still be here! The Old Man wouldn't have died! This damn war would have never started and torn this country apart!"
"This war would have happened with or without me!" I shout back. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen Nlron! We were desperate in my Games and that's when the berries were pulled! Do you think I expected the Capitol to target Katniss and myself? No! I just wanted to go home!"
"Thanks to you, home doesn't exist anymore!"
I toss him to my left, and he lands painfully. I pick myself up to a sitting position, but stare at nothing but the ground.
"I know that Nlron... I know that... it burned, along with everything else in that district that I loved." My voice strains. "And all I could do was watch. The Old Man's gone. Fash is gone. Rue is gone. All of them... They're dead because of me."
I look up at him, sad eyes staring into his. "I want to help you Nlron. You're my friend, and right now you're suffering. I won't pretend I know how it feels to lose someone so close to you, but you need to remember that she was my sister. If you don't want to even look at me, I understand. But at least let me say what she wanted me to tell you."
Nlron's attention is immediately given to me. I stare back at the ground, breathing shaky and eyes starting to sting.
"She said...she loves you...and that she's sorry about everything...especially..."
"...t-the baby..."
I hear his sharp exhale at the last word, and I look back up to him. His eyes are wide, staring at me like I had risen from the grave. He stares at me like that for a good half minute before his face takes on the most painful of looks. His eyes hold tears, but they soon fall down his face as he looks at his limp hands.
"T-t-the baby?" He whispers in a pained wheeze. "T-the b-baby... O-oh god, the b-b-baby..."
He gives a low moan, something like a wounded animal would give. Even with my weak legs, I make it to his sitting form quickly and wrap my arms around him, his own wrapping around me in response.
"I'm s-so sorry... I'm so sorry..." Tears flow freely from my eyes as well, because Nlron isn't too far from fact. Had we not pulled those berries, Fash would still be here.
A lot of people would still be here.
"They've cemented their hold on D-1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 10. They've been gathering forces however. We've found small probing forces on the outskirts of nine and eleven."
"Testing our strength are they." The older man rubbed his chin. "I want all districts on high alert. We don't know what they'll do next. Best be ready for anything."
"You think they'll bomb again?" One soldier asked.
The commander shook his head. "No. They might want to, but they need these districts. Twelve was an accident; they were too occupied trying to kill one man to remember that they used that coal too. They have other means to obtain energy, but it'll only last them so long. I doubt they have much in coal reserves since they never expected this would happen. We just have to push them, make them use more energy than they can sustain."
"What's the next course of action sir?"
"We need a foothold in two. If we can take the district from the Capitol, we effectively destabilize their military. But the force in seven is too small to take it alone. We have to get through D-10 first."
"They've made that district a fortress. Using it as a buffer to protect their districts and the Capitol itself. Taking it is going to cost many lives."
"Such is war. That's our best bet. If we don't go through with it, this war will last much longer, and even more lives will be lost. But we won't undertake this operation until the Capitol makes it's move. I want more forces in nine and eleven."
"Yes sir."
The commander glanced at a second soldier. "How's the Phoenix?"
"From what I've heard, happy to start walking again. Doctors say he'll be back a hundred percent in another week or two. He seems eager."
"By your tone, you don't like it."
"When he recovers, he'll be joining the army."
The commander looked at the table before him. "Eager to fight? That's not like him. He of all people should know what fighting out there is... Oh, I see."
"Sir?"
"It's his nature it seems. He knows he's a symbol, something that can inspire, and knowing a man who fought tooth and nail to protect those he cared for, he doesn't want to sit around in the safety of the district while his loved ones are fighting." He shook his head. "Crazy bastard. I'd like to meet him."
"Now sir?"
"No, give him time." He looked again at the projection of Panem, contemplating.
"It'd be nice to finally met him."
"They want me to what now?"
"They want to make a promo. For the war effort."
I roll my eyes. "What war effort? In case you've forgotten, thirteen doesn't have a district in their grasp."
"And that's why they need the promo. To raise moral." Haymitch is irritable to begin with, but after coming to thirteen and having to go without liquor for a few weeks, he's downright unbearable.
"And how the hell do we do that? If it's something I have to say, it's not going to work. You know how bad I am at acting."
"It's not like we have much choice."
"Katniss, he's obviously not going to leave it alone until you do it. Might as well just get it out of the way." Flora says from behind me.
"Fine." I groan.
"Filming starts tomorrow. I get you when it's time." He simply waves at us before closing the door behind him.
"This is going to end so badly. They won't be able to air it because of how bad it is."
"You really think you're that bad?" Flora glances up from her book. "How'd you survive the Victory Tour?"
"Alto was the one that always had the right words. That was always enough. He could persuade almost anyone he talked to. I just tried not to act like I didn't loathed the situation. Or the people. Or anything really."
"Well...ah...good luck with that." She replied.
"Thanks." I glare at the wall.
