abugsaunt- Well, wait no more. And I don't mean for you to cry, although to have such an emotion makes me feel like the story is having a strong effect, which is a good thing I'd say.
DrarryFrerard- Thank you. I'm definitely putting Cato and your little uke sweetheart through the wringer.
sysi huhu- I've updated! Anything can happen when the author is cruel enough ;)
HungerWho37- Awesome! Glad to have my "first reviewer ever" back with me. I'd hate to make you cry.
Pale Is The New Tan- Ooh, thank you. I always like to put you on the edge. But, I agree. Cato's too hot to die... or is he? Dun dun DUNNN!
Peeta followed blindly behind Boggs as they raced through the underground maze of tunnels, reaching ever closer to the mansion. Even with extraordinary caution, they couldn't prepare for the newly hidden pods not detected by Boggs' Holo.
They tripped one pod that spewed black goo with toxic gas seeping noxiously from it. It blocked the path the Holo had instructed them to take and they were now going down an uncharted passageway. Boggs' longer stride had landed him several yards ahead when his boot triggered yet another pod. The pod detonated, creating a concentrated blast that appeared to consume the commanding soldier. The shockwave reached Peeta and the young blonde was violently thrown into the wall. He could neither see nor hear anything as his senses reeled from the blast. When he came too, he crawled forward to find his wounded leader. Boggs was hit hard by the mortar from the explosion, severing both legs. He was bleeding out fast. The excruciating pain etched along his rugged face was too much for Peeta to bear.
"We have to stop the bleeding," Peeta grunted as he rummaged through his supplies. The first aid kit was for child's play compared to the carnage that lay before him.
"Don't bother, Peeta," Boggs groaned. "I'm as good as dead."
"Don't say that!" Peeta bit back, tears starting to flow. "I won't let that happen. I'll get help."
"No one can help me now. You have to carry on without me. But you can't go back up above ground by yourself. You need cover. Go back and get Cato and the others. They've proved themselves worthy. I know they'll have your back."
Boggs struggled then with every ounce of strength he had left to transfer the prime security clearance of the Holo over to Peeta. The rebel teen could barely sputter out his name into the device amid his debilitating sobs as a green light trapped and scanned his body.
Boggs handed him the Holo. "Take it, Peeta. Keep going. I believe in you." And with those last words, the life left the good commander's eyes.
Peeta just kneeled there, motionless, clutching the Holo in a death grip as he fought to regain his sanity. He finally bent over, placed his hand on Boggs' face to close his lifeless eyes, and stood before him. "Thank you, for everything," he whispered as his three fingers came to his lips and then outstretched to salute the fallen soldier. The young boy turned and ran back to the shaft to retrieve back up.
As Peeta approached the entrance to the shaft, he didn't hear the sound of gunfire. Assuming all the mutts had just been successfully killed, he rushed in to find the three Careers strangely huddled together. Clove was crying.
"Don't go to sleep," he could hear the normally abrasive girl plead. He shined his flashlight over to them and saw the three covered in blood; Cato's blood. He flew to the fading boy's side and cupped his bloody cheek. At every corner, it seemed Peeta's life was morphing into nothing more than a never-ending nightmare.
"He's still alive," Marvel assured him. "Just unconscious. One of the mutts wasn't dead. Blitz attack. We were just getting ready to find you."
Peeta leaned over the sleeping boy. "Stay with me," he whimpered, grasping the taller blonde's limp hand. "Please, Cato. Stay with me."
Cato's face only continued to grow paler; the pressure from Marvel's hand was only doing so much to slow the hemorrhaging.
Peeta still spoke to Cato, hoping he could somehow get through. His tears were falling on the boy's sallow face, mixing with his blood."I know you didn't hear me before when I left and I don't know if you can hear me now; I was trying to tell you that I loved you. And I meant it. I love you. I love you. I love you. Please, don't leave me."
Clove placed a hand on Peeta's shoulder. "His pulse is weak, but it's there. He's strong, Peeta. If we can find him help soon enough, he'll pull through. I just know it."
"Take him back to where you came," Peeta pleaded. "There has to be first responders there aiding the parachute victims by now. They'll get him the help he needs. Please, you have to hurry."
"And what? Just leave you and Boggs to face Snow by yourselves? What are you planning to do?" Marvel inquired.
Peeta didn't have it in him to admit that Boggs was already dead. "I'm gonna kill that son of a bitch; that's what I'm planning to do" Peeta declared through hot tears. "The sooner this ends, the sooner you and Clove will be safe again; the sooner Cato will be safe too. I'll do whatever it takes. I'll risk it all."
The plan wasn't up for debate as Peeta helped Marvel get a better grip on Cato's body before picking him up and carrying him out of the shaft. Marvel promised Peeta he'd get Cato out, while Clove walked faithfully beside him, leaning over to keep pressure on her district partner's neck. Peeta reprogrammed his Holo and heartbreakingly parted ways with the Careers. Unable to retreat and face Coin's wrath, the only thing left for him to do was move forward and risk it all to get Snow and end this forsaken war. For Peeta, it was worth his life.
The Holo slowly guided him through the sewer to the aboveground entrance closest to the mansion. Peeta hurled himself up the rungs of the ladder to sweet freedom as light from above met his eyes. He had managed to safely navigate underground all the way to the rebels' front line.
The front line of soldiers had managed to push their way into the heart of the city. They had breached the Capitol's first line of defense and now thousands of Capitol civilians were running and screaming madly as they tried to escape the firefight. The throng of people, thrashing about, unarmed and frightened, were screaming and scurrying towards any means of shelter. They were caught in the crossfire and many of their bodies littered no man's land as the war raged on. Peeta made it to the front and took his position. He joined alongside some familiar faces: soldiers Jackson, Holmes, Leeg 1 and 2, and even Gale. The highly praised soldiers were certainly shocked to see him.
"Where's your team, Soldier Mellark?" Jackson called out to him.
"They fell back at the underground tunnels," was all Peeta could muster to tell her.
He saw a look of deep pain across Jackson's furrowed brow. He knew she and Boggs were close comrades, but her immense grief suggested his commander meant more to her than just as a friend. Peeta's heart ached but he simply lifted his gun up and helped push the front line forward.
Gale called out to him amid the fire fight. "Katniss?" was all he could manage.
"Alive," Peeta shouted bluntly as his hand never left the trigger. In all honesty, he really didn't know.
The front line tirelessly pushed their way into the City Circle. It seemed so long ago that Peeta was atop a chariot, parading through these very streets in his façade of flames alongside Katniss. Now the flames around him were real. No one was chanting his name this time. Only the sound of gunfire and the screaming of bombs and the dying filled the Circle now.
Through the smoke and debris Peeta could just make out Snow's mansion, ominously challenging him across the wide expanse of the City Circle. There were so many more civilians packed in the circle, despondent with nowhere else to go. It was clear that many Capitol citizens were delusional enough to believe Snow would care for them and let them seek refuge in his mansion. They were all shut out of the grand building and riots were breaking out.
"I have to complete my mission," Peeta told his fellow soldiers. "Are you with me?"
The group agreed adamantly and guarded the young rebel as they made their way closer to the mass of rioting citizens outside the mansion. Gale had taken the initiative to search the bodies of fallen civilians and he stole their clothes and passed them around to Peeta, Jackson, and the others. Disguised in tasteless Capitol garb, they weaseled their way through the riots to one of the mansion's side walls. Lined all around the building were peacekeepers. It was now or never. They had to infiltrate.
Peeta took out the Holo and prepared to use it one last time. "Get down," he warned the others. The soldiers laid low on the ground as Peeta cocked his arm back.
"Nightlock! Nightlock! Nightlock!" He shouted as he hurled the Holo towards the rush of peacekeepers guarding the side wall. The Holo's explosion rocked the side of the mansion, sending pieces of building as well as peacekeepers flying towards them. The human chest being a cavity, the impact of the detonation exploded the peacekeepers' bodies; their own bones becoming shrapnel to lodge in the other peacekeepers around them.
Gale, Jackson, and the others rose up from the ground and followed Peeta into the newly gaping hole of the mansion. They silently crept through the glorious halls, weapons drawn and at the ready. Each room was checked out and cleared until they came across a closed door, light seeping underneath the crack.
"On my count," Jackson whispered to the group. "One, two, three!"
Gale kicked in the door and the soldiers rushed in to find Seneca Crane alone and cowering behind a computer. His eyes grew wide as he fell out of his chair and met Peeta's glare.
"I should have known you'd come for me one day, you little punk," Seneca sneered through trembling lips. Peeta just held his gaze, hiding the burning hatred he felt for the man. He refused to let the evil bastard see just how much he affected him. That piece of shit had tried to burn him and Katniss alive back in the arena; all from the comfort and safety of his little gameroom. Comfort and safety were two things Peeta insured Seneca would never have again.
Without a word, the young rebel lifted his gun and shot the Gamemaker point blank. The bullet lodged between Seneca's eyes, hurling his body backwards from the impact. Peeta didn't even wince. The sound of the shot attracted some unwanted attention as peacekeepers could be heard coming down the hall.
"Finish your mission, Soldier Mellark," Jackson insisted. "We'll stay back and keep the enemy off your tail."
Peeta stared into the eyes of each comrade, unwilling to leave them behind to face the uncertainty.
"Go, Peeta," Gale nudged him.
"Thank you," Peeta softly replied, a warm smile of genuine gratitude gracing his lips. He graciously took the escape they offered him as the group of soldiers stayed behind to stave off the slow influx of peacekeepers coming into the mansion. Peeta found himself warily ascending a grand staircase, all alone.
Peeta crept through the upper level of the mansion, eyes trained on the slightest of movement. The halls were eerily silent. As he turned a corner, he discovered one door left wide open; the light shining into the hall as if inviting the young boy in. Snow had to be in there. Peeta held his breath as he defensively moved in for the attack. He had found his holy grail. There sat President Coriolanus Snow in an adorned armchair in the corner of what could only be assumed as his bedroom. The entire room was decorated with the most lavish of art and furniture. A gigantic plush bed draped with a silk canopy above it was the focal point of the room. On the opposite side hung a large golden-framed mirror above a pearl-encrusted vanity table. Peeta saw none of this as his eyes were trained only on Snow. He drew his weapon and started forward when he was suddenly blindsided by a powerful blow. The impact knocked his gun clear out of his hands as he fell violently to the floor. Seeing stars, Peeta painfully looked up to witness his assailant; a monstrous man in a spotless peacekeeper uniform.
Peeta was left all alone. No backup and now no weapon. The only thing standing between him and Snow was this peacekeeper. He was no ordinary peacekeeper. He was a giant of a man the likes of which Peeta had never seen. He was much larger than Cato, even larger than Thresh. A part of Peeta seriously considered that the "man" wasn't a man at all; he was more like another muttation, genetically engineered by the Capitol to be the ultimate bodyguard. How was a 16 year-old kid supposed to get past this brick wall of a beast?
Snow spoke from his chair. "I must admit, my child, I'm incredibly impressed you've made it this far, given the obstacles you've had to overcome. Nevertheless, your journey ends here. I've promised this fine gentleman that he could have the honor of dealing with you personally."
The giant peacekeeper slowly encroached on the young boy, smiling hungrily before speaking to him. "You know, Peeta, before this whole 'rebellion' shit went down, I had already known I'd be spending time with you one-on-one. Granted, this wasn't the way I had initially anticipated it on happening, but life is quirky sometimes. Wouldn't you agree?"
Still reeling from the powerful punch, Peeta decided to buy himself some time by humoring the man. "Agreed. So, how exactly did you 'initially anticipate' on meeting me?"
The peacekeeper smirked. "Well, with that training score you got and the number of sponsors lined up to help you in case of emergency, I was confident you would emerge as Victor from the arena."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence but I fail to see your point," Peeta scoffed. "If I had won, I would've returned home. I certainly wouldn't have spent a moment more than I had to in this shitty Capitol, especially with fuckin' peacekeepers like you everywhere."
"That's what you think, love," the beastly man snickered. "Didn't you watch your little buddy Finnick's propo? Everything he said was true. Victors don't get to just 'go home.' There are things expected of them. They're a hot commodity when they win and the Capitol people want their fill. For the right price, President Snow lets them. Now, I've been the President's personal bodyguard for years. I've earned special 'privileges.' If you survived the arena, I was already promised an evening with you."
Peeta felt bile rising in the back of his throat. "You're fuckin' delusional if you'd think for a second I'd let you touch me."
"Hmm, I don't think there's much you could do to stop me, babe. Besides, I've heard that line before. That's what all the victors say at first. But that's before they know that they either do what they're told or their loved ones die. You now know that's how the handsome Finnick Odair got to be known as the Capitol 'whore.' He's been a favorite amongst the Capitol people for nearly 10 years. You would have been too if you hadn't fuckin' ruined everything with this stupid rebellion. Hell, while you were still in the arena, President Snow was already lining up offers from the most prestigious men and women of the Capitol. You were going for a lot of money, darling. You were nothing more than a prize to be passed around. And the fine president here was going to pass you to me first. The things I'd do to you..."
"All the more reason to take this son of a bitch down," Peeta hissed as he glanced in Snow's direction. The bastard just shot him a sickly sweet smile. He was clearly enjoying the show. "It doesn't matter anyway. My family's dead now, so there is no leverage anymore. You'll get me over my dead body."
"That can be arranged."
The peacekeeper lunged at Peeta then, who lithely dodged the towering man's advance. The man yielded sheer power behind his punches, but his size made him slow. Peeta thought if he could just keep dodging him long enough, the beast would tire himself out and he would get the opportunity to reach for his gun. The young rebel kept backing away until his boot caught on a turned-up part of a rug just as the monster threw another punch. Peeta tried to keep his balance while getting out of the way.
Unfortunately, he didn't move fast enough and the peacekeeper managed to connect his fist to Peeta's face. The power behind the mammoth-of-a-man's punch left Peeta dazed, tasting the blood now oozing from his mouth. He was stunned long enough for the peacekeeper to grab him by the neck and pick him up. The smaller boy was left dangling, his air cut off by the large hands strangling his throat. The peacekeeper brought Peeta face-to-face with his steely black eyes.
"By the time I'm done with you, bitch, you're gonna be begging for death."
"Fuck you!" Peeta managed to choke out before spitting blood right into the peacekeeper's face, enraging the man. The giant monster threw Peeta across the room, slamming his young body into the mirror above the vanity table and shattering it to pieces. The boy fell onto the table and tumbled off, landing painfully on the floor amid the pieces of broken mirror. As Peeta struggled to pull himself up, he felt a burning radiating on the back of his shoulder. Reaching towards the pain, he pulled out a large shard of mirror embedded into his shoulder blade. Peeta caught a glimpse of himself in the shard of mirror he pulled from his body. The glass was covered in his own blood, yet his reflection showed through the crimson. He saw himself, all alone, but very much alive. He was still alive. The look in his sapphire eyes burned brightly with the fight that he had held his entire life. He was the only one left to avenge his family, his friends, and his brothers-in-arms. It was time to show the world what he stood for. And looking up into the soulless and snake-like eyes of Snow watching across the room, he knew he wouldn't stand for this anymore. He stood for freedom, equality, and a good, peaceful life for every district. A good life for him and Cato. I'll fight to my last breath to get it.
Peeta was suddenly pulled from his silent declaration by the Peacekeeper violently grabbing his ankle and dragging him across the floor. The peacekeeper straddled the boy but didn't notice that Peeta still held the bloody shard of mirror in his hand. As the man began to hungrily tear the waistline of Peeta's pants, the young boy screamed and jammed the splinter of glass deep into the monster's jugular. The glass went much deeper than what the mutt's claw managed to do to Cato. A geyser of blood erupted from the peacekeeper's neck as he stumbled off Peeta and clamored to staunch the violent flow. Peeta merely backed away and watched as the peacekeeper slowly collapsed onto the ground and twitched, his blood seeping into the lush carpet at an astounding rate. It wasn't long till the monster stopped moving altogether. Good riddance.
Wounded and dazed, Peeta slowly turned to face an angry yet resigned President Snow still sitting in his chair.
"Well, my child, it seems the odds were in your favor after all. That is, until Coin finds you."
"What are you talking about?" Peeta questioned, although he already knew.
"I have eyes in my streets, you know. I saw those parachutes falling from the hovercraft. Haven't you noticed that there hasn't been a single Capitol craft in the air? We lost the majority of our fleet in the dogfight during the bombing of 12. We were forced to ground the last of them. That wasn't us who bombed your squad; that was your dear President Coin."
"I don't believe you," Peeta bit back. The problem was, he did.
"Think now, child. If I had access to a hovercraft, do you really believe I'd still be here? My dear, foolish boy. What do you think is going to happen to you when all this is over? You refused to be a pawn for my games so instead you naively stumbled into becoming a pawn for someone else's. "
"Coin wouldn't do that. I've done nothing but helped her in this war. Why would she betray me now?"
"Indeed, you have helped her. Tremendously. The problem is you've gained too much influence through doing that. You have more of an influence on this war than any other rebel, even her. So what do you think is going to happen to you once this war is over? People are going to name you as the hero of this rebellion. They're going to put you on a pedestal above President Coin. I'm sure you know just as well as I that she doesn't share the spotlight with anyone. She saved you from that arena because she could use you. Once your usefulness runs out, she's going to kill you."
Peeta couldn't argue because he knew the man was right. Coin had even told him in the beginning he was the face of the rebellion. When the rebellion ended, what use would he be to her? He would be better off dead and he knew Coin wouldn't mind arranging that. Snow had given him the reason behind the parachute attack that he and the others were looking for. But what Snow said next took the severity of the situation to the next level.
"And the districts have been fighting for so long now. They may have claimed victory, but it came at a great cost. The districts are so weak now and the Capitol is too. Coin's plan worked perfectly. My city has exhausted all of its resources by battling the districts that it just couldn't stand a chance against a fresh-faced and unscathed district 13. And the rest of the districts are in no condition to fight off district 13 now either."
"The districts don't need to fight off 13," Peeta fought back, confused. "They're not the enemy; they're allies."
"That's just what Coin wanted everyone to think. Once she claims victory over my city, she'll order her troops to go after controlling the districts too. I believe I did your little district 12 a favor by destroying it before 13 got its hands on it."
The mention of his obliterated home boiled Peeta's blood. "We were promised that victory would mean independence for the districts, not simply trading one dictator for another."
"Didn't you take history in school, child? District 13 was the one that started the Dark Days long ago. They started it only to let the other districts take the fall when it failed. They even made a deal with us to play dead in exchange for immunity. All these years, the other districts have been forced to send their children to die as punishment for what 13 began. Coin doesn't care about you or any of the districts. All she wants is power. That's one of the many things her and I have in common. I promise you, boy, you can kill me like I know you want to, but nothing will change. Nothing ever changes."
Peeta could no longer take the crushing blow of the tyrant's words so he moved forward to kill the snake with his bare hands. Just then, he felt a friendly pressure on his shoulder, gently holding him back.
"Don't give him the satisfaction of a quick, merciful death," Jackson spoke low as her hand rested on the boy. "The front lines have made it here, including the rest of your squad. The peacekeepers have surrendered and the civilian riots have been contained. The Capitol has fallen. Let's walk out with Snow, alive in our hands, for everyone to see."
As the doors to the mansion opened, a sea of joyous rebels cheered and they cleared a path for Peeta, Jackson, Gale, and the others to walk through with President Snow as their prisoner. Pollux pushed through the celebratory crowd to capture the moment on film as history was being made. The live feed from his camera unknowingly went straight to Coin…