Disclaimer: I literally feel so motivated to write right now what is this.
Leaving my family was hard. So damn hard. The fact that they're going to wake up and I'm gone kills me. And don't even get me started on leaving Madge.
We've been on this stupid hovercraft for an hour. No one has said a word. It's as quiet as the woods in the morning on a cold day. We're all lost in our own thoughts.
Katniss sits next to me, with Finnick on my other side. He's clutching a picture of Annie, from their wedding. Katniss keeps fiddling with her pin. Our backpacks are under our seats, and weapons on the wall across from us.
The atmosphere is tense. Everyone is tense. We don't know what to except. We could land in an empty field, with no one around. We could land in the middle of battle, no one knows. Boggs won't tell us. He's been working with that screen thing since before we got on the hovercraft.
I can't even think straight. I'm so nervous about this. Anything could go wrong at anytime. No one knows what could happen.
My thoughts stray to my family, how Posy is probably waking up by now and realizing that I'm gone. My heart aches for my baby sister. She has no idea about the big picture of this whole thing. Rory and Vick know, I just don't think they know what to think about it. Ma just doesn't want anything to happen. And Madge..
I pull my thoughts away from my girlfriend. I already miss her and I've been gone not even three hours. I swallow thickly and rest on my elbows. I love this girl so much, I don't have a clue as to what I'm going to do about not seeing her for a while. I'm not sure if I can send letters, or if she'll even receive them.
Katniss nudges me and I glance at her. She looks so tired.
"What?" I ask quietly.
"Look," She says, and points out the window. Complete destruction is what I see. Not even a complete city, but destruction. Bodies are littered everywhere, blood stains the ground. Buildings burn with no end, ash and smoke flies around in the air. Factories and houses collapse as we fly over. "District 3." She mutters, grey eyes scanning the ground. "We're getting closer." I swallow again.
"They've destroyed everything." I growl, my hands curling into fists, my blood boiling. This is why I want to fight. To get revenge for this. For the inhumanity of the Capitol. All of the struggles Panem has been through is because of them. Everything we've been through is all because of their stupid decisions and how they need everything.
I'm not only fighting for my country, but for my family. I want Posy to continue to grow up in a country that doesn't live in fear. I want Rory and Vick and my mom to be able to see daylight again. And most of all I want to be able to raise my own kids in a place that's stable and isn't fighting for freedom.
I force the thoughts of what could happen if I make it out of this and think about what could be coming. My strategic brain can't stop thinking of different scenarios of what could go on when we land, or how the war could go down.
I doze, only to be awoken by Boggs yelling at us to stand.
"Soldier Hawthorne, get up and grab your stuff. We're departing from the craft."
"Yessir." I say quickly, grabbing my pack and my weapons, and walking into camp.
It's nothing like I expected. It's orderly. It's set up in a deserted location, outside of the Capitol, in a grassy area. They've cleared all of the grass. The hovercrafts land in the forest, and the only way out of the station is through the train tunnel. We've been informed that the trains are no longer running.
The medical teams are also here. They're being deployed to other stations that the Rebel's have gained control of as we arrive.
Each squad gets its own group of tents, and a fire pit. Every soldier gets another pack, one with sleeping supplies, extra cargo, and other necessities in case we get stuck on the front lines over night.
Our squad lines up, and the medical team does last minute checks on us before we're put at ease. We stand in order for another few minutes, before Boggs motions is forward.
"Everyone has one tent mate." He reads off the names, and I find I'm with Finnick. He gives me a curt nod and I respond the same way. We're dismissed for free time.
It turns out letters will be delivered home, but not to other squads. I deflate when I hear the news. When Madge arrives here, I'll already be gone, moved deeper in. I'll be one step ahead of her at all times.
Finnick and I are assigned to get the fire started for our dinner tonight and we begrudgingly start. We're quiet until I speak. "How far along is Annie?"
"Three months." He replies quickly, his eyes shining. He always does this when I mention Annie being pregnant.
"You'll be there." I tell him and he nods.
"Hopefully. Part of me wants to get hurt so I can just go back and be there for her during this."
"We need you here, too." I tell him as the fire sparks.
"I know. Duty to the country, y'know?" He says sarcastically and puts another log on the fire and it crackles to life. It'll take a while for it to get hotter and actually give us warmth.
Boggs come over and we immediately stand rigid. "At ease, soldiers." We relax slightly and he stares at the fire. "It's not pretty out there. Our squad departs from the camp the day the second wave arrives here. They will follow us the whole time, but never reach us." We nod in understanding. Like I said, one step ahead.
"At this point in the war, we are two steps ahead of the Capitol armies. We have several inside guys, and they are relaying information to us, and feeding fake information to the Capitol. We will remain two steps ahead of the Capitol. Understand?" He gives us both stern looks.
"Yessir." Finnick replies, and Boggs salutes us before dismissing us. We retreat into our tent and dig through our bags. Finnick pulls the picture of Annie out and puts it in the inside of his jacket, before zipping up the pocket. "Just in case." He says when he notices me looking at him. I nod in understanding and pull my pack towards me.
Quickly, I dig through the pack to find the pictures and the bracelet. I run my fingers over the faded, rough fabric and put that into the pocket, just as Finnick has done.
I stare at the pictures of my family and my dad for a few seconds before doing the same. When I find the picture of Madge, I smile a little before putting it in the pocket as well.
I lay down on the small pillow they gave me and listen to the scratching of a pencil on paper as Finnick writes home.
I probably should, but I can't bring myself to do it yet. I don't even know what I would say. I miss you? I wish I was home? They all know those things. I sigh and listen to the noises outside of the tent.
People keep walking and I can hear people practice shooting somewhere off in the distance. My bow and gun sit in the corner, at the edge of the mat and sleeping bag. I try to ignore the nagging in the back of my mind about writing a letter, and the feeling in the pit of my stomach that says something is wrong.
Not even twenty minutes later, does Katniss poke her head in.
"Meeting." I look at Finnick. This can't be good.
"We're coming." I say, sitting up and cracking my back. I can feel the rocks and sticks even under the mat. This is going to be a long war.
Our squad meets around the fire. I look around at the faces of the people I'll be fighting with. Katniss and Finnick. Boggs and Cressida. Caster and Pollux. Jackson and Leeg. Several more that I can't name. Several people that could die at anytime in the war.
"Our squad's moving in first in three days time. We will go underground through the tunnel. Then, we will arrive in one of the streets." He holds up the Pod and the holographic image appears in front of us. The glow reflects on everyone's face. "This is the street. Every orange dot is a pod we must denotate or avoid. One false step could result in a blow or an entire street being destroyed. Our goal is not to destroy everything, but to get through what they throw at us. We do not want to cause more trouble than there already is."
He taps on the screen and the image zooms out to show the entire Capitol. It's so huge. My eyes are trying to see everything at once, form a strategy to get through their defenses.
Boggs is a step ahead of me. "Soldier Hawthorne."
"Yessir." I say, standing rigid once again.
"At ease. You will help Jackson devise a strategy to get to the city circle. Am I understood?"
"Yessir." I repeat, sitting back down.
He closes the Pod and the images disappear. "This is not going to be an easy war to win, soldiers. It is going to take several battles to win. Remember that each battle won, means once step closer to the end. Hope is stronger than fear. Hope is on our side." He pauses for dramatic effect. "The country is depending on us. We must fight for them. For our freedom. Don't let one failed mission bring down your spirits. Keep the faith." He looks at each of us, his gaze landing on Katniss longer. "Get some sleep. We start at dawn. Dismissed."
The day we enter the Capitol is the day that all hell breaks loose. The second we emerge onto the street, we're being shot at.
"They knew we were coming!" Finnick hisses as the two of us dive behind a dumpster. The smell of gunpowder erupts into the air as bullets rain down on us. I hear Boggs bellowing for us to advance forward.
I pull my gun from my back and load it quickly with as many bullets as I can. Finnick starts shooting at something and I follow his gaze. It's one of the machines that are coming towards us.
"Left!" I shout, and Jackson and Leeg get the idea before shooting. I see Katniss behind a building with Boggs, who's tapping something on the Pod. Katniss is using her special arrows that blow up on contact. I just hope she doesn't miss.
The machine shoots flaming balls at us and the dumpster blows up and Finnick and I roll away. I end up behind a mailbox.
"Break ranks!" Jackson yells and we scatter from each other. Spreading out is the best we can do right now, confuse it.
We're all on different sides of the street, focusing on the giant death pod coming towards us. Leeg and Cressida work on the pods that litter the ground. Pollux and Castor use the defense shield we thought of back in 13. It seems to work, because the pod freezes, and we take the opportunity to advance closer.
I scan the machine for any kinks in the armor.
"Someone has to get inside! It's the only way to stop it!" I hear Finnick shout from across the street.
"It's not possible! It would notice the figure before they even got close!" Someone yells back and my mind can't focus.
"Then we just have to distract it long enough for someone to get close!" I bellow, and Boggs' eyes widen.
"Hawthorne! Use formation 413!" My mind reels. Formation 413 is an offensive attack. It should give a person time to climb onto the leg.
I charge out into the open street and watch as the monster's eyes lock onto me.
"You want me? Come and get me." I mutter when it shoots at me. The bullets nearly skin my hide, but I hit the deck in time. Cressida and Pollux run in circles, distracting the thing. I vaguely see someone charging towards the thing to get inside. I pull up and grab a fallen gun, shooting at the things eyes. I'm assuming the head is where the brain is. That's where the person needs to get.
I almost let out a sigh of relief when the person gets inside. But we're not done yet.
"Everdeen! Pod on the left flank!" Boggs yells at Katniss shoots, and the pod denotates, sending sparks everywhere. I hear Finnick scream in pain when the spark hits him.
"They burn! Stay away from them!" He yells and I duck when one races towards me. It hits a building behind me and it catches fire.
That's when the machine stops. We lower our weapons slightly and all stand in shock, breathing in smoke and ash and whatever horrible stuff is in the air as the machine itself falls over and sparks.
"Hit the deck!" Jackson bellows and we all dive towards the ground, our hands over our heads as the thing collapses onto a building.
Debris rain down on us. Boards and bricks hit my back and my hands, furniture crushes things, metal lands and sparks some more. Pods are set off. There are explosions everywhere. Smoke fills the air. I can't see a thing. I hear screaming and hisses of pain and desperation.
The explosions stop after ten long minutes. We stay down until the smoke clears slightly. I'm coughing severely and my throat burns. I'm swallowing fire. I lift my head to find my squad mates standing on their wobbly legs.
When the smoke clears around the machine, we see that it's completely destroyed. You can kind of tell what was what, but other than that, it's unrecognizable.
"Holy shit." Finnick mumbles, inching towards it.
"Person inside is dead, aren't they." Katniss says, but it's more like a statement than a question. Boggs nods slowly, swallowing.
"He is." Our squad deflates. Not even two days into fighting and we've already lost one.
We honor the fallen soldier and find his body in the rubble. His head is bashed in, and his limbs are twisted.
"He died fighting." Finnick says solemnly. Katniss gives the man the three fingers salute, and I send him off with the salute as well.
Boggs sends a message back to base that we've lost one and we move his body away from the rubble. Finnick and I get him into a building that still stands by itself and cover him with a blanket.
When we emerge again, we find our squad standing by the tunnel that brought us here. Two more squad's have come through. We close it off for now.
Boggs gathers us all together. "This isn't going to be easy, soldiers. One street down. Twenty to go."
A/N: You guys are lucky that I'm in a writing mood. I'm totally neglecting my homework for y'all so be happy. I'm trying to get all of the chapters written this week and then post them after I've edited them and such.
I was watching The Hunger Games the other day on tv, and I realized that Snow basically sets up the Catching Fire trailer. In the scene where he's talking to Seneca Crane in the rose garden he even says "Hope is stronger than fear". Like what the heck.