Author's Note: This chapter will be in Peeta's POV. Originally I wanted this entire story a Katniss POV, but I feel it's stronger to include the events in this chapter rather than summarize by dialogue. As always, thanks for reading and let me know what you think. :)
When I realized I wasn't going to die was when Katniss put the Nightlock berries in my hand. In that moment, I felt like a man because I had beat the Games and I had Katniss next to me. I thought we would go home and everything would be better. That was before my leg was amputated off, before I knew Katniss didn't feel the same as me, and before Haymitch informed us that despite surviving, the Capitol still owned me. Then I started feeling like a naive boy, scared to sleep at night.
Since being home, I've wanted to not only feel like a man again, but actually be a man. I want to be brave and strong and true to my myself. Katniss can protect herself, I know that, but I want to prove myself a worthy ally; someone to fight beside her, not for her. Instead I hid in my house or at the bakery, too dumbfounded to even approach her.
When Gale acted like the thought of me helping him was ridiculous, I was angry. I couldn't believe that Katniss' best friend would judge me for what happened in the Games. It made me all the more angry that there was a nagging part of my brain that thought he might be right. What if I was useless and just another person to protect?
But I saw the fire in Katniss' eyes and the look of disappointment on her mother and sister's faces. That encouraged me to shove my anger back down inside of me and step forward to be a man. Fear makes us all say and do awful things. I know I need to get my family and I know neither Gale or I should go by ourselves. I would have gone even if he said no.
That's how I ended up here, jogging with one good leg and one prosthetic that I'm just getting used to. Gale is ahead of me and I am breathing heavily. I guess I haven't exercised all that much since the Games and am more out of shape than I can remember being before.
We come upon a hill and once I drag myself to the top, I notice that Gale has stopped. From the top of the hill, I can see the rest of the town. Now I know why he has stopped. Down below us is a chaotic nightmare.
My eyes catch the Town Center first, where the reaping is held. Many people must have run out of their homes and into town after Snow's announcement. There are hundreds of people running in every direction. There are kids crying for their parents and spouses hollering for their families. People are screaming, in fright or pain, I'm not sure. It's probably both.
In the middle of all the chaos, a big, rectangular metal case disturbs the ground, like it's been dropped there out of the sky. It's looks like a train boxcar, only metal and it's door is ajar. It seems that everyone must be running from whatever was inside.
"Shit!" I hear Gale mummer under his breath.
That's when I remember the story he and Katniss told. In one of the other rebelling districts, hovercrafts dumped a giant container into their town center and outside came dead mutations of past victors, programmed to kill everyone in sight. I gulp. I can't believe this is really happening.
My eye catches what I think is a woman. From this distance they all look small. She falls to the ground and though there is at least a dozen people who saw her, they ignore her and continue running. She tries to pick herself up, but more people just shove past her until I see her crouched on the ground with her hands sheltering her head. Someone must have accidentally kicked her and everyone else just tramples over her.
It looks like they are running away from a boy who looks my age. He isn't moving as fast as everyone else, but his movements are lazy and erratic with no sort of rhythm, like he's not even really alive. He must be one of the dead ones.
I hear the woman scream, loud and high pitch. The boy is down on the ground attacking her and though she tries to push and kick him away, but he won't let her go. While everyone else runs away, I see a mop of black hair rush up behind the dead boy. I exhale deeply when I realize that a man is there to help the woman. The man knocks him over the head with what looks like a shovel. It should have knocked him out, but the next moment the dead boy is up and shambles toward the man. Even from this distance, I can see blood all around the woman. I only hope she'll be okay.
The man steps backwards and swings his arm again, and the shovel hits the boy in the face. It's like the dead boy feels no pain because he just keeps advancing for the man. That's when the man swings one more time and the boy falls to the ground. The man rushes towards him, leans over, shovel in hand, and repeatedly bangs his head. The man backs away and runs to the woman. All around the dead boy is blood and my stomach churns. I'm glad I don't have to see that boy's head bashed in, dead or not.
I'm swept by a wave of nausea. I don't think I would be able to bash someone's head in like that. Even watching from this distance is hard to handle.
"We need to be quick," Gale says. "While that mess stays down there."
I nod my head. "Let's go and get those weapons first," I say.
I want to go straight to my family, but I know my mother would have the door locked and everyone huddled upstairs. They should be safe and I'll be more useful with weapons to protect everyone.
"We'll go around the long way. Follow me," he says, and turns to the left in the opposite direction of the Merchant homes and the school. I don't hesitate. He may be an ass to me but I trust his instincts.
We're jogging down a path I've never been before. It's mostly dirt and rocks with overgrown weeds, but every so often I see small bushes of blue flowers I've never seen before. Instead of fanning out, the pedals are longer and shaped like a funnel. Despite myself, the faintest hint of a smile forms on my lips. The more we run, the screams and shouts fade to a quiet buzzing of background noise and I feel free. My stub is dully aching, but I ignore it.
I wonder how Gale knows of this trail, but it must be from hunting. If it seemed too risky to go through the town to sell illegal game, he and Katniss must have traveled along here. I think of the blue flowers, the setting sun, and how Gale and Katniss might have walked along here together, sharing their secrets and becoming close. I feel a sting of jealousy.
When I look up, it feels like my heart dropped down into my stomach. I skid across the loose gravel and nearly slip backwards. I flail my arms out and manage to regain my balance before falling on my ass. Gale is gaining a decent lead on me, but I'm grateful he didn't hear me almost fall. I pick up my pace and let all my thoughts and the rest of the world fade into the background.
When we reach level ground, I know we're in the Seam. There's an evident layer of coal dust surrounding everything. It leaves a dull gray and grimy look to the place. It's no wonder the cameras never show this part of District 12 to Panem. They'd never show what it's actually like, or how they leave their people to starve.
We come upon a small, wooden house. It looks just as shabby as the rest, except this one looks abandoned. When Gale jumps up to the door and opens it, I realize this must be Katniss' old home. It's silly but I feel nervous about entering it and seeing where she went to when I watched her walk home every day. This is the place where she grew up and saved her family. I walk through the open door after Gale and quickly shut it behind me.
Despite the obvious humbleness of the place, I imagine it would have felt like home to her. Maybe at some point Mrs. Everdeen and Prim tried to decorate it. The sound of Gale's boots stomping against the wood brings me out of my thoughts. He strides towards a door in the corner and I follow him.
Behind the door is a single bedroom with moth-eaten curtains and two beds. Gale is leaning down in a closet. He swings the strap of what must be the Peacekeeper gun around his shoulder and attaches a hunting knife on his pants with his shirt tucked behind it. He straps a bag around his back, probably for hunting. Then he holds out Katniss' bow and sheath of arrows.
"Hold on to these," he demands.
I take a few steps towards him and extend my arm to grab them from him. Before I have time to examine it up close, he brushes past me and is out the bedroom door. I sling the sheath of arrows around my shoulder and follow him out the door.
He's already running when I shut the door, and I find it hard to keep up with him. A sudden stitch in my side slows me down and I know I have a cramp. I force my legs to continue moving but it's hard to stifle my groan. It's not long until Gale slows his pace and I catch up to him. Along the way, I haven't seen many people outside. Hopefully they weren't all in town...
Gale climbs up old steps that must belong to his house. A few seconds later, I reach the top and hitch over, breathing heavily.
"Thought you said you could keep up," he grumbles. I narrow my eyes at him and stand up straight. I hate how much taller he is than me, but I'm happy to note that he is breathing heavily, too.
"I'm here, aren't I?"
I think I hear movement from behind me, but then again it's hard to hear anything over my breathing. Gale stares at me with a stony expression.
"I'm going to make this quick," he says, stepping towards the door. "You better move it faster when we leave. If we're getting your family, I'm not risking mine to wait for you."
"We're getting my family no matter what," I yell.
He ignores me and enters his house. I'm starting to think he just enjoys being an ass to make me mad. I don't know whether or not I should go inside, but the door isn't shut and it feels eery outside, so I enter.
I see Gale wrap his arms around an older woman who must be his mom. Three younger siblings rush to his side, two boys and one girl. They all have the same olive skin, black hair and grey eyes.
"I'm so glad you're safe," his mother sighs.
I lean against the door, willing myself to become invisible. I look away, trying to not impose on their moment as a family.
"Listen," I hear him say. His voice is more gentle than I've ever heard. "We have to get out of here. Now and quick."
One of his brothers starts to speak, but Gale cuts him off. "No time for questions, Rory. Grab some clothes. Hurry!"
Gale tosses me his game bag, I'm caught off guard but manage to catch it. "Grab any food in the cabinets," he says and rushes off to the bedroom.
I open the cabinet doors. They're mostly empty, but I manage to collect a few cans of food and stuff them inside the bag. When I zip it back up, I hear Gale and his family enter the room. I extend the bag out and he grabs it from my hands. I think I hear him mummer "thanks," but it was so faint I'm not sure. His little sister hold his free hand and he looks at me.
"You're gonna lead the way," he indicates me. I nod at him. "Ma, I want you keep the boys close and keep up with him. Hopefully the town will be cleared out when we get there."
I hope he's right. The sooner we get my family and get back to the Victor Village, the better. I never thought I'd actually want to be there. I take a deep breath and try to release my nerves with it. His family looks scared, but then again, I'm scared too.
I hurry to the door and open it. The sun is setting on the horizon and dusk is fast approaching. I breathe in the beauty of the sky, with multiple shades of oranges and purples. Then I feel scorched, like this day shouldn't be allowed to look beautiful. In a short distance, I see the meadow and the dingy fence.
I jog that way, knowing that it leads out of the Seam and into the town. If we cut directly through the town and past the Mayor's house, we'll reach the bakery. Gale and his family trail behind me. Despite myself, every few seconds my head turns to glance behind me, just to make sure everyone is still there. Something about being by myself like this unnerves me.
Behind the trees, in the distance beyond the fence, I think I see movement. My legs stop and I squint my eyes against the sun. It must have been an animal or something running from all the commotion of the past half hour. I'm sure I hear Gale talking, but it just sounds like a blur of words I can't decipher. I extend my arm behind me and hold up my hand in silence.
"I thought I...saw something," I say.
"You thought you saw something?" Gale yells. "We don't have time to waste here, Mellark!"
I whip around. "I know what I saw, Hawthorne!" I see his siblings all avert their eyes towards the ground and I immediately feel guilty for yelling. My mother would have slapped me upside the head for that. I sigh. "I'm just trying to make sure we're all safe, okay."
"All you're doing is slowing us down," he retorts. We glare at each other. His little sister has let go of his hand and is hugging their mom's leg.
"I'm just trying to help."
"I don't want your help," he says.
"Gale!" his mother says. I think she's going to reprimand him for yelling, but I notice her index finger is raised and she's pointing to the fence. I turn my head and my stomach drops.
I was right about seeing something, but I was completely wrong about thinking it might have been an animal running away. It's not an animal and it's not just one. Just shy of the fence by the meadow is a large group of people, dead people, scattered in the area. It's unmistakable that they are attracted to the sound and hurrying towards us.
There must be a few dozen of them at least, and I wonder why there are so many of them in the forest. Then I wonder how many more of them there could be wondering around in there.
Seeing them up close disgusts me. They're pale and decomposing, like their skin is peeling off of their bones. Then I feel a sadness, because they were once people just like me, with lives of their own. They were loved once and now they are just lifeless and dangerous. It really is like the Games, only on a bigger scale. I know if I become one of them, I'm just another product of the Capitol, only in a different way. It seems I spend all my energy lately just trying to avoid the clutches of the Capitol.
They are grouping together against the fence and the force against it is causing it to lean. I know it won't be long until the fence gives and they enter the district.
"Let's cut through the back way," Gale says, leading his family back the way we came.
We break into a sprint, Gale leading the way and I bring up the rear. I hear the sound of gravel crunching behind us and know the fence must be falling quickly. Gale is faster than the rest of us, and his little sister is lagging behind, in front of me. His mom has the two younger brothers gripping each of her hands.
Gale glances behind him and slows down. He backtracks and grabs his little sister by the hand. I never noticed how many Seam houses there are here on the outskirts of the district. Gale leans down and grabs his sister by the waist with one arm and holds her close to him.
"Oh, shit," I say. "Turn around!"
Gale refocuses his attention in front of him and curses under his breath. In front of us, a small group of the dead ones are shuffling towards us. They're moaning loudly and I notice that up ahead the fence is broken down. I suddenly feel very exposed.
I turn around and start back towards Gale's house, but the fence by the meadow has officially broken down. I skid briefly on the gravel when I halt to a stop. All those dead people that were in the forest are getting closer to us by the second. I feel trapped in the middle, not sure which way to go. From both directions, they are closing in on us.
A man with dark, pale skin reaches out for me. A chunk of his jaw is missing from his face, like it's been blown off. He looks scorched, with blisters scarring his skin. The smell is overwhelming. He reaches out and grasps my shirt and his strength startles me. I yelp and shove him away from me and he falls to the ground.
"Over here," Gale says. He turns in the direction of the Seam houses and away from the fence. I run faster than I've probably ever run before. He leads us through the sides of the Seam homes and I am completely lost. I had no idea the Seam homes could be so close to one another, so the whole area seems like a maze.
Someone screams and it sounds like it came from the area that we just left by the fence. The sound echoes through the roads. I chance a look behind me and see that the dead people aren't far behind us. Men are running out of their homes now and hollering to neighbors.
"What's all the noise? We're supposed to be quiet," one man says.
"What the hell - did the fence come down?" another man asks. His eyes are bulging as he sees the crowd of dead people chasing after us. I see him run away and back into his house.
The roads are no longer quiet here in the Seam. All around us, there's people yelling and screaming, doors banging and glass breaking. Families are flooding out of their houses, and children are crying. The once eery quietness of the Seam is now filled with movement and terror. It seems all the chaos has scattered across the whole district.
Most of the dead ones chasing us from the fence has become distracted by all the commotion, but some are determined to chase after us. We come upon what looks like a main dirt road within the neighborhood and Gale stops for a moment. He's looking in all directions, taking everything in. To the left, I know will lead us directly to Town and to the right, the mining shafts.
The way we need to go is crowded. Families are being chased out of their homes and most seem to be migrating to that area. I never realized how many people actually live in the Seam. I hear a small child crying. I want to go help, but I know I wouldn't be able to make it through that mob of people littering the main road.
Gale slips into an alleyway, his little sister hoisted on his hip. He ushers his family to follow, and his mother, trying to grasp her two son's hands in her own, is moving slow. Her sons run in front of her, and she lags behind, right beside me. I feel hands tugging at my shirt, but I wiggle the hands off me. I can feel my heart pounding in my ears.
We're so close to where Gale is standing, reaching his hand out to pull his family in. I urge them to go faster, scared I might slip and fall. Gale grabs one of his brothers and pulls him inside. The other one runs in right after. I hear a young girl scream from in the alleyway and know it must be Gale's sister. He whips his head to his sister, but I don't miss the terrified look on his face.
I hear a yelp from Gale's mother as she falls to the ground and groans in pain. On instinct, I stop and rush towards her. One of the dead people is crouching down and pulling on her feet. She frantically kicks her legs, trying to release his grasp on her. I hear her scream just as I reach her and pry the hands from her and shove him away. I pull her up from the ground until she's on her feet.
"Go!" I shout.
When I turn around, I notice that the dead person who was trying to hurt her was only a kid. He couldn't be older than thirteen. The curls in his hair are knotted and overgrown. He growls and reaches towards me, gripping my collar. I stare into his eyes, and it unnerves me how his eyes look at me back without actually seeing me. I shove the kid off of me so hard that I stumble back.
The boy grabs my leg and his mouth is inches away from my skin. I kick his face with my prosthetic and I cringe when I hear the thump of my boot colliding with his jaw. I continue kicking and I feel his grip loosening.
I can see two more pairs of feet and they're leaning down towards me. With one final kick, the boy finally releases me. I'm not sure if I killed him. Two dead women are hovering over me. I drop Katniss' bow from my hand and I hold one off of me with each arm. I grit my teeth and muster all my strength, but my arms are shaking from strain. My strength is quickly draining and I can feel them getting closer to me.
I can't breathe. I close my eyes, knowing I'm going to die. If I'm going to die like this, their bloody, sunken faces and snapping jaws aren't the last thing I want to see. I just hope Gale or Haymitch might try to keep my family alive for me.
I hear a loud crack by my ear and my eyelids pop open. It takes a second to register that a heavy weight is no longer straining my left arm. I catch sight of Gale next to me, bringing his leg back down from kicking the dead woman off me. I move my free arm and use both to shove the other woman away from me. My left and finds the bow again and I clutch it to me.
I see Gale beat the dead women with the back of the Peacekeeper gun. I don't know if they're dead, but at least for now, they aren't coming after me. I inhale deeply. My back aches from falling on the arrows but, thanks to Gale, at least I'm not dead.
He hovers above me and I wonder what he's doing when I see him reach his right arm down in front of me. I look at his hand before clasping his hand with my own. He pulls me to my feet and releases my hand. I lean on his shoulder to balance myself, but then quickly let go.
"T-thanks...thank you," I say.
He nods his head and rushes back towards the alleyway. When the state of the outside world closes in on me again, I stop thinking and I chase after him.
I enter the alleyway and sigh in relief when I see his family is okay. His mother, tears in her eyes, envelops me in a hug.
"Thank you," she whispers in my ear. Over her shoulder, I see Gale looking at us. For once, his stare isn't filled with hostility. I just hug her back. What else can you say to the person who saved your life?