Mercenary63: Thank you- yes it will be a Gadge story! I always imagined Darius as a bit of a playboy and wanted to capture something I shipped for a while. My heart is with Gadge though.
Here is a one-shot that probably be rewritten in a couple days but I wanted to get it out there.
She hates falling asleep in silence. She hated hearing every noise in her apartment. She hates being alone with her thoughts, with her grief. Her solution was to keep the TV on low and invested in an alarm system.
It was five in the morning on a Wednesday when she heard him. She woke up slowly and checked the clock, confused. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes and yawned. Then her body went rigid.
"We're doing all that we can." She stared at the TV in front of her. "Even if it's not enough, we have to try to make some effort." The face talking in front of her was so familiar it gave her chills; she searched for the remote and turned it up.
"Gale," she squeaked. She read the headline at the bottom of the screen. Commanding Officer, Gale Hawthorne. Discussing district clean up, Capitol pods and bomb removal.
There was an undetonated bomb just outside her apartment in the Capitol. Next screen was a phone number. "We want everyone to help us pin point removal areas and continually call in with destruction complaints." Gale said in the background, "we don't have a reliable system yet to show all the destruction and pods."
She threw herself off the bed and ran to her desk grabbing a pad of paper and a pencil. She ran back and quickly wrote down the number. It had felt like years since she has seen anyone recognizable. She glued herself to the edge of her bed, a few tears streaming down her face as she watched the end of the interview.
"Thank you for your time, Officer Hawthorne," the interviewer said.
"It was my pleasure," he nodded towards him. She noticed that he still had the same severe jaw and ominous brow. They changed the subject and Gale was gone. She felt deflated, tossing herself back against the bed.
She allowed herself three deep breaths and a sob and then she got up. She washed her face, brushed her teeth and put in earrings, her normal morning routine. She glanced at the clock, only thirty minutes had gone by and the sun hadn't even come up. She worked at nine. Tossing on a pair of leggings and a sweatshirt, she dragged her hair into a ponytail and was ready to go out.
She was the only one left in her apartment complex. The others had either fled to other districts, fought or were killed. Half the apartment complex was gone and crumbling anyway. None of her co-workers told her to get out before it crumbled away completely so she assumed it was safe enough.
She never took the elevator because it stopped working periodically and she wasn't able to access the third floor anymore to just continue to the fourth even if you pressed the button more than once. Part of the stairs opened to the outside but she didn't care. It was a constant reminder of what she lived through. What she had seen.
She pushed open the front doors, letting the early morning chill course through her. It was dangerous to run in the downtown but she had laid out a three mile route for her to run. She needed the activity sometimes. It let her relieve her extra adrenaline which stopped her panic attacks.
Taking off, she jogged through her planned path, passing the undetonated bomb. She thought about Gale and his crew coming for it. She should call; she was the only one in the area. When they called for all citizens to join Snow, she refused. She sat on the floor of her closet and hoped that someone would find her.
That never happened. In fact, it saved her life. If she had known it was a suicide mission, maybe she had gone. It was the fact that at any moment she could die. She didn't exactly want to end her own life but it was more like she wasn't afraid to die or go out of her way to avoid it. The apartment, the bomb, the runs, the walk to work, everything she knew was dangerous she encouraged.
It was as if she were waiting for someone to tell her it wasn't safe. What she was doing was dangerous and even foolish. She was waiting for someone to care. Someone to tell her she wasn't thinking. Maybe Gale would do that for her. Or maybe he wouldn't, he hasn't cared before.
Her thoughts were silent for the rest of her run in the destructed downtown. Her feet pounded on the broken pavement and her hair bounced over her shoulder and back repeatedly. Her lungs screamed and her thighs told her to take a break but she continued pushing herself all the way back to her apartment.
She leaned over her knees and breathed and coughed with exhaustion. She glanced up at the crumbling building with wonder and questioned living there for a moment. She got over it and tossed her hair back over her shoulder, tightening her ponytail. She entered the building and took the stairs two at a time, getting them over with and entered her apartment, turning off her protecting alarm.
She stood in her apartment for a minute just glancing around. It was a small space practically a studio. The only enclosed space was the bathroom, and only a pony wall separated the bedroom from the living room and kitchen. She removed her shoes and dropped them onto the tray next to the door.
She dragged the band out of her hair and let her hair flop against her back. Once inside the bathroom, she undressed and hopped in the shower, letting the warm water wash over her. It didn't last long and eventually she was shivering, goosebumps rising on her skin. She turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, grabbing her towel from the rack.
The cold air shocks her as the bathroom door swings open. She takes her time walking to the bed, thoughts spilling like crashing waves in her head. When she finally reaches it, she can't help but stare down the numbers. Clinging to her towel with one hand she used the other to pick up her pad of paper. She thought about his voice and the familiarity of his face. She dropped the towel and wandered over to the landline. She held the receiver to her ear and listened to the dial tone for a while but she finally punched the numbers.
Of course it wasn't him who answered. After introductions and pleasantries, she got down to business. "I'm calling about the message on the news this morning, the clean up portion. I have an undetonated bomb just outside my apartment." She leaned against the wall, still nude. "It makes me nervous," she added, lying.
"Of course it does." The gentleman agreed, "Where is it that you live?" She told him and sighed, glancing down at the water still dripping off her from the shower.
"I was under the impression that building was abandoned." He told her honestly.
"What made you think that?" She asked playing around. The man on the line laughed but he quickly covered it with a coughing fit.
"Well," he said recovering, "considering half of it is gone, we thought it was safe to assume."
"Two things," she says holding up her fingers in front of her, "one is I still live here and plan on living here (unless someone tells me otherwise) so the bomb better be removed. Two- I guess three things but two is I get to watch and be a part in its removal and three is I personally request Officer Hawthorne to also be at the removal."
His response was delayed but he cleared his throat finally and addressed all of her points. "I'm not asking you to leave or that you're in danger." She huffed but did not argue, again just another person who didn't really care. We will remove the bomb as soon as possible. I'm not sure if you will be able to help with the removal but you are allowed to watch. Officer Hawthorne would be present."
"Thank you, I have another question though," she said.
"I have one for you as well," he said.
"When would you be able to remove this?" She asked him.
"I would say an hour or so," he told her. She glanced down at her unclothed body and nodded.
"Sounds good," she agreed.
"My turn," he said and paused taking a breath, "do you know Officer Hawthorne or are you just some rabid fan?"
"I wasn't aware Gale Hawthorne had any fans," She said.
"Then you do know him," the man said on the line.
"Too well," she answered and sighed, "An hour?" She asked to confirm.
"An hour," he confirmed. She hung up. She thought about pouring herself a glass of wine but decided drying off and getting dressed was a better idea. After a while, she trifled through her drawers looking for something to wear. Picking out something proved harder than she thought.
Each article of clothing made her something else. A dress would put her back as the way he had known her as the pristine Mayor's daughter, too much denim and leather would be trying too hard to look seam, and bright colors would make her look too Capitol. She just wanted to be any other person. Unfortunately, she knew she wasn't.
She ended up choosing a light blue cut-off sweater, high waisted jeans cuffed up, and pink wedge boots to match her Capitol highlights. Staring at her reflection in the mirror, it looked like she tried too hard. She hit her forehead against the wall next to the mirror. Glancing down at the time, she decided that it was too late to change. She grabbed her keys and headed down to what was left of the lobby and waited.
"Miss?" She glanced up, recognizing the voice from the earlier phone call. She must have dozed off waiting for them to arrive. She shook her head and tried to look alive.
"Yes," she nodded, following him out of the building.
"I forgot to ask your name earlier-" he said and rubbed the back of his neck, clearly embarrassed.
"Oh," she started to answer but was cut off by a third party,
"Madge Undersee?" They both glanced over to see Gale, walking towards them.
"You look like you've seen a ghost," she tells him. Even with tall boots she barely passes his shoulders.
"I have," he said and reached out, touching her arm. They both stare at his hand and after a matter of seconds; he drops it back to his side.
"I think they're waiting for your directions," Madge finally remarks, glancing at his fellow soldiers. He glances back,
"We're not done here," he tells her, gesturing between them.
"I know," she says and tries to hold back a smile. It's at least two hours before the bomb is out of the area and secured but Madge is sure it was only a couple of minutes. Gale warned her that he wasn't quite satisfied with their reunion and was back to her side on the curb. He extended his hand towards her and helped her to her feet.
"So you live here?" He asked.
"Yep," Madge nodded, and glanced up at the building with him.
"Seems pretty dangerous to me," he murmured.
"After all I've been through…" she starts.
"You deserve somewhere safe," he finishes, "not this dump." She stares.
"You know… most people let me finish my sentences." Gale tries to hold back a smile.
"Go on," he nods.
"After all I've been through, this place doesn't seem dangerous to me."
"And I'm saying that after all you've… we've… been through…" Gale clears his throat, "you and I deserve to live in a place that isn't crumbling around us."
"Regardless if it's the Seam or Twelve this apartment building," she starts but Gale cuts her off again.
"What are you trying to prove?" He asks, "Risking your life carelessly isn't brave or noble. It's stupid. Now all I'm saying is that you deserve a place that isn't dangerous, you don't deserve to just sit there and wallow next to an undetonated bomb in a partially destroyed building. I'm saying is that this is careless. You're better than that, Townie." His chest heaves with the adrenaline.
"I've been waiting for someone to tell me that for months now," she finally tells him.
"What?" He asks.
"All I've wanted was for someone to care," it's barely a whisper but he hears it.
"Care about what?" He asks.
"Me…" Madge shrugs and brushes a stray hair behind her ear, "I just wanted someone to say that I wasn't safe, that I needed to be safe. No one…" her breath hitches.
"Madge…" her name sounds foreign on his lips, "are your parents?" He can't finish the question.
"Dead." She finishes for him, and nods, "my father had just put me onto the train with a few other town children set towards the Capitol when someone shot him in the back of the head. I was the only one to make it to the city." He stares. "I haven't seen someone familiar since the bombing," she tells him. "I heard your voice on the news and…"
"I'm here," he says, cutting off her sentence, "you'll be safe."
She glanced up at him, a smile playing at her lips, "most people let me finish my sentences."
"I'm not most people."
"No," she says, grinning now, "you're not."
It's the implication that's something going on between Gale and Madge.
Review PLEASE :)