Hey guys! This is my second chapter! I am using some parts from the original story because I liked it because I'm only changing some parts. But my next chapter will come very soon because I was... INSPIRED while i was practicing the piano. When I get inspired, I write like a maniac because I have to get the ideas all on the paper. Hope you like it! SO read it and review it! I like getting feedback! Like am I doing anything wrong or should I include anything? Well either way, time to read! Also, this chapter is a lot longer than my other chapter and my other chapters will be because of the "inspiration."
Chapter 2:
It's been a week since I'd told everyone I would be the Mockingjay. It's been 5 days since Plutarch gave me the news that Peeta was definitely dead. I had cried for hours and the hole in my heart grew bigger and bigger. I tried to move on. Every day went by and my life moved on but it felt like a nightmare that I would never wake up from. During the day I'd pretend to be alright, but at night when no one could see, I'd cry myself to sleep and wake up from horrible nightmares. I complied with whatever they wanted me to do, which wasn't much. Mostly things like being there at the meetings, which occurred every day. Gale was appointed to be commissioner and even got a watch that would blink when we were supposed to arrive at the Control Room. I usually half listened to what was going on at the meetings since most of it wasn't directed to me. I never contributed towards the ideas, but no one seemed to mind except Gale, who insisted I participate in these meetings. Gale's the only one who notices my lackadaisical attitude and how I barely listened whenever someone spoke to me. He never questioned about it, until now.
We were walking back from another meeting when he put his hand on my arm to stop me. I looked up at him. He said to me, "Katniss… you've been really… different these days. It's hard not to notice. I know what you're going through but you have to know you're not going through it alone. I'm here for you. I always will be." I want to open up to him, to let him into my depressed world but it's hard to. I suddenly know what my mother had been going through when my father died. I wish I had never been so harsh to her. She must've wanted to be there for us but she couldn't. I decide I don't want to be like my mother, to have everyone give up on me. I whisper, "I just… I really miss Peeta." I choke when I say Peeta's name. Gale opens his arms and I gladly accept them. He gently strokes my hair and says, "It's alright Katniss. Even I miss him too. But you will have to move on, to let go of him. It's what he would've wanted." I nod and I start crying in his shoulder. I feel better knowing that Gale is here for me. The hole in my heart starts to mend. I let go of Gale and I say to him, "We better head back, before people start worrying." Gale nods and we start heading back. Gale stops me again and says, "It's dinner time. Everyone is in the Dining Room. Are you hungry right now?" I nod and we walk to the dining room holding hands.
When we arrive, everyone has already sat down and is already eating. The mood in the air is light and cheery. Prim smiles when she sees me and Gale walk in. Gale and I make our way up to the front of the room and receive our meals, a slice of bread, a turkey leg, and a side of potatoes. I sit down at our assigned table and Gale sits next to me. I suddenly felt so famished and I scarfed down the whole meal. Prim smiled and said, "I'm glad you got your appetite back." I'm still hungry though. I ask the lady who was serving dinner if I could get some more food. She shook her head and said that they needed to ration the food out so that everybody got the amount that their body needed every day and that it was my fault I'd skipped so many meals. I go back to the table and Prim slipped me a spoonful of potatoes. I shake my head and give them back to her. I can't take food from Prim. Then Gale slipped me half of his bread. I say to him, "No Gale. I can't take food away from you." He laughs lightly and says, "Fine. But if you don't eat it then I'll just throw it away so it'll be a waste." I frown but I end up eating the bread and a few more spoonful's of potatoes from Gale's plate. Then Gale, Rory, Posy, Vick, Hazelle, Prim, my mother, and I head back to our rooms. Everyone goes inside but Gale and I linger out in the hallway for a moment. He says quietly, "Plutarch said that we're going back to District 12 for a quick visit to see if there are any survivors. But I think he only said that so that we can go back and say goodbye to our home." I nod and think about all the things I want to go back for. Gale gives me a light kiss and then goes into his family's room and I return to mine with a new feeling of warmth.
In the morning Plutarch, Haymitch, Gale, and I go on a hovercraft and head out for District 12. Prim tries to convince me that she can go but I don't think she can handle seeing our home burnt in ashes or the dead bodies that are sure to be scattered in District 12.
We spend the whole ride in silence. When we arrive there, Haymitch gives me a talking device so that I can communicate with him in case there's danger. He won't get off. Good. I need to be here alone, apart from Gale. First I go to my old home in the Seam to see what's left of it. I find that it's completely ash. Next, Gale and I visit his home which is also completely ruined, except for one thing. It looks like a rock to me but Gale seems to know what it really is. He puts it to his mouth and blows. There's a high pitched noise that hurts my ears. Gale tells me, "It's a whistle that you blow in that attracts animals. My father carved it out of stone when I was really little." Gale places it in his pocket and we head out to Victor Village, which was spared of the bombing. I go to my home in Victor Village to find that the first floor was destroyed. I guess it wasn't a coincidence that my home was the only wrecked in Victor Village. I carefully go upstairs and smell something really familiar. It's the unmistakable smell of a rose. I go into my room and retrieve my father's edible plant book and his leather jacket. Then I spot a vase. I walk towards it and peer into it. As I suspected, there was a single red rose in there. The sight of the rose, which was obviously from President Snow and a message that he would find me, sends chills through my body. Behind the vase though, is an envelope. I pick it up then run downstairs. I say to Gale, "Let's leave. Now." He looks at me questioningly but doesn't refuse. We go to the area where the hovercraft is and climb up the ladder that was dropped.
On the hovercraft, my hand finds Gale's. He gives my hand a tight squeeze and smiles weakly. Then asks me, "How you doing Catnip?" I stare blankly at him say flatly, "President Snow left me a gift." Worry spreads over Gale's face. He asks, "What do you mean?" I tell Gale about the rose and how it I knew the rose held a secret meaning that only I could understand. Then I show Gale the envelope. His eyes widen and he says, "President Snow could've put some toxin or something in there." I shake my head and am about to open it when Haymitch puts his hand on the envelope. Then he takes it. He says, "I'll take that. We'll run some tests on it to see if there's poison in it." Then he walks away. I stare after him. I'm not sure how I feel right now. Should I be angry that he just took it away? No. Gale was right that there might be poison in there but I have a feeling that President Snow wouldn't poison what's inside of the envelope. No, if he killed me, he would make it more public and much more painful. But I did know that whatever was inside there was supposed to distract me from the rebellion.
I completely forget about the envelope until one day. I was almost asleep when I heard someone knocking on my door. I groan and open the door to find a flushed Gale standing in my doorway. He holds up the envelope to me and says out of breath, "Haymitch told me to give this to you right away. He said there was no poison." I delicately take the envelope out of Gale's hands. I thank him and I ask if he wants to come in and see what was inside the envelope with me. He nodded and we sit on a couch. I turn the light on and slowly open the envelope. I take a piece of paper from the envelope. It's a letter. I recognize the sloppy, rushed handwriting. Peeta wrote this. I read the letter.
Katniss-
By the time you read this letter, I'll already be dead. President Snow told me that I could write you one last letter. I think he wants to use it to unhinge you. I don't mind because I really want to let you know that I want you to be happy. I will be watching over you after I die and I want you to live your life happily with your family and Gale. I know you love him and that you can have a happy life. Don't worry about me. If you're happy, I'm happy. I will always love you and you know that. Please don't let me hold you back from a wonderful life that you deserve. I knew from the start that I could have never competed with Gale so live your life with him and know that that is what I want; for you to be happy.
Love,
Peeta
I watch as a teardrop hits the v in Love. The letter makes the pain I felt from learning about Peeta's death fresh and new. I see that Gale was reading the letter too. Even he looks like he's about to cry. I suddenly wish I didn't invite Gale in. I should've read this letter alone. I don't know if Gale says it to himself or me but he says, "He was wrong. It was me that could never compete with him. He's so perfect and even when he's dead he's still thinking of you and what's best for you. I never hated him as much as I wanted to. He was such a great guy. Now I'm going to fight for him and the children of Panem." Then Gale looks at me and says, "Katniss…" his voice trails off and I start sobbing. He pulls me into a hug and I realize something. I will never get over Peeta. I fall asleep in Gale's arms.
In the morning I wake up on my bed. My eyes are still a bit red from last night. How did I get here? Gale must've carried me. I get up and change. I've decided that Peeta was right. President Snow was trying to unhinge me. The problem was that it did unhinge me. I am glad though that Peeta will be watching over me. It felt good having a guardian angel. When did I become so weak though? When did I start crying? I used to be so good at keeping my face blank and expressionless. I make my face into a hard mask and then I go to the Control Room since I vaguely remember Gale mentioning I was supposed to in the morning. I arrive and see Beetee. He takes me and Gale to the armor room. Gale and I examine a very advanced looking bow. Then Beetee pulls out a simple looking bow for me. He tells me that he specially designed it for me and that he also designed a special trident for Finnick. Then he explains that he made 3 types of arrows. There were ones that exploded and ones that would light up on fire when they hit the target and normal arrows. Gale and I practice on the targets with the normal arrows. Then we head to the Dining Room for breakfast. The first thing I smell are something called sausages.
During breakfast I see Finnick. I have spoken to him in a while. I call him over and invite him to sit with us. He gladly joins but he refuses to eat the "sausages." I ask him why and he replies that they look too odd. This makes me laugh. They taste alright but I like the "bacon" we had yesterday more. I tell Finnick if he doesn't eat his 3 sausages then I will. He says I can help myself. I shrug and eat one of his. Then he eyes me carefully as I eat it. Then he picks one up and bites into it. Then he says, "I think I'm in love." I laugh again and realize I haven't laughed in such a long time. He gobbles up the rest of his sausages and I give him my last sausage since he gave me one of his. Gale passes Finnick a sausage and adds, "You can have mine." Finnick takes it and in return gives Gale his egg. Then Finnick stops eating and starts tying knots with a piece of rope I didn't know he even had. His eyes have a vacant look in them and he looks miserable. He must be worried about Annie. At least I know that Peeta is dead instead of having to wonder every day and have false hope. Suddenly Gale's watch starts beeping. We both stand up and head to the Control Room.
When we get there, Haymitch is drunk. Plutarch then tells us how Beetee manged to hack and be able to broadcast our own stuff onto every TV in Panem. President Coin says that they're going to film me speaking out against the Capitol and why we have to keep fighting. Then they bring out my prep team. I see Octavia, Flavius, and Venia. They look the same except without any makeup or ridiculous hair colors. Octavia smiles when she sees me and says, "Katniss!" They take me to my room where they bathe me and comb out my hair. Then I get dressed in the mockingjay costume that Cinna has designed. Then they apply a bit of makeup and use a bloody bandage to cover up my scar from when Johanna yanked the tracker device from my arm and make it look like I've been in recent combat. Venia affixes my mockingjay pin over my heart. I take up my bow and sheath of normal arrows that Beetee has made, knowing he would never let me walk around with the loaded ones. Plutarch walks in and examines me from head to toe. Then he says, "I think that does it."
Then I head over to the room we're shooting me saying whatever President Coin has planned. Finnick, who's been wandering around comes up to me and says with a hint of his old humor, "They'll either want to kill you, kiss you, or be with you." Then President Coin tells me my line. "People of Panem, we fight, we dare, we end our hunger for justice!" That's the line. I can tell that the people working on it are proud of the line they've created but to me it just sounds stupid and cheesy. I can't imagine actually saying it without using an imitated Capitol accent. Then someone calls "Action!" and I say with as much confidence I can muster and say, "People of Panem, we fight, we dare, we end our fight for justice!" There's silence on the set. It goes on. And on. Finally, the intercom crackles and Haymitch's acerbic laugh fills the studio. He contains himself just long enough to say, "And that, my friends, is how a revolution dies."
Everyone agrees that I was terrible. Even I know that. We all gather around at a circular table and Haymitch starts us off. "All right," Haymitch says "I want all of you to think of a time where Katniss Everdeen genuinely moved you. Not where you were jealous of her hairstyle, or her dress went up in flames, or when she made a half decent shot with an arrow. Not where Peeta was making you like her. I want to hear one moment where she made you feel something real." No one speaks and I'm beginning to feel like a terrible person when Octavia speaks up. "When she volunteered to take Prim's place in the reaping. Because I'm sure she thought she was going to die." Then the security guard named Boggs says, "When she sang that song. For the little girl who died." Then Haymitch says, "Who didn't get choked up by that?" Then more people speak up, one by one. Then Haymitch holds up a hand for silence and says, "So what do all those things have in common?" "They were all Katniss's," say Gale quietly, "No one told her what to do or say." Haymitch smiles and says, "Yes! They were all unscripted. So we should just put her in combat somewhere and film all of it and hope to get something good. We can film her all the time until we get a good clip." Then everyone around me nods. Then Venia speaks up, "But everyone thinks she's pregnant." Then Plutarch says, "We'll tell everyone she had a miscarriage." Then Gale asks, "What if she actually gets hurt?" "We won't actually be putting her in the front line or anything." Gale nods and then it's decided that we'll be going to District 8.
Then we're all dismissed. I see Finnick wandering around. I take in Finnick- his bare legs showing between his hospital gown and slippers. He appears in a state of agitation. "Katniss! They won't even let me go! I told them I was ok but they didn't even let me ride in the hovercraft!" I look at his unruly hair and the wild look in his eyes and note to myself that whoever said he couldn't go was right. Finnick was in no condition to go to a war. I don't want to hurt Finnick's feelings so I tell him, "Oh, but Beetee made such a wonderful weapon for you! He specially made a trident for you!" At the mention of a trident, it's as if the old Finnick resurfaces. "Really? What's it do?" I tell him, "I'm not sure but if it's like my bow and arrow then you are going to love it. You need to go train with it though." "Right. Of course. I guess I better go down there then." He says. "Finnick?" I say. "Maybe some pants?" He looks down at his legs and then he whips off his hospital gown, leaving him in only his underwear. "Why? Do you find this"- he strikes a ridiculously provocative pose- "distracting?" I can't help but laughing because it's funny, and it's funnier since it makes Boggs look so uncomfortable. Then Finnick walks off and then Boggs leads me to the hovercraft.
When we arrive in District 8, my eyes are horrified by what I see. Citizens are pushing the peacekeepers back further and further away from the district. That's not the most horrific part though. Lying on the streets are dead people and ones who aren't quite dead but are still in pain and are moaning. Some people's bodies have already started rotting but they aren't dead yet. It pains me just to watch this.
Hey! I hope you liked it! My next chapter should be coming tomorrow or the next day! Review! Review! I love getting feedback!
~the author of this story
"Friends would visit you everyday in jail.
Best friends would be in jail with you because they helped you commit the crime."