Author's Notes~
Chapter three came quickly if I do say so myself. :D Thanks to the people who reviewed so far! -hands out cookies- More reviews are always appreciated. I'm not as picky about reviews for this story as I normally am since I'm writing this for myself as well, but they're very motivating. :) So if you have time to spare, please review! :)
Rise From Ashes
Chapter Three
"Katniss?"
He received no answer at first. Gently he nudged her, "Katniss?" he tried again.
"Mmm…?" Katniss groaned softly, slowly blinking her eyes open, "We there…?" she asked, stifling a yawn as she tiredly rubbed her eyes.
"Just about," answered Gale, nodding towards the window.
Katniss peeked out, seeing that the craft was slowly lowering towards the ground. It was a slow, gradual move. Landing a craft near the Capitol without drawing unwanted attention was, at the very least, a difficult task.
"Must be some skilled pilot up there," Katniss commented drowsily, still trying to wake up.
When the craft landed, Winslet looked over to the passengers and wasted no time, "Let's move quickly."
Katniss nodded, bolting quickly to her feet just as Gale did, trying not to stumble as she did so. They all made quick work of collecting their things and departing from the hovercraft.
"The aircraft will be taken back to District Twelve," Hughes explained as he exited behind Katniss, "It's not needed here, so it shouldn't be here."
"Let's get a move on." Winslet called over her shoulder, making her way through the trees towards the outskirts of the Capitol.
"And keep close," added Hughes, "Just don't do anything…suspicious."
"Great advice…." Katniss grunted, "In all honesty, I don't think we look stupid enough to qualify as normal."
"Just make sure you're not recognized and we can get by." Hughes nodded to her, tossing a cloak into her hands, "Put that on,"
Katniss did as she was told, looking skeptically at Hughes, "And this doesn't look suspicious?"
"Looks better than the Mockingjay roaming around the Capitol, don't you think?" Hughes pointed out with a knowing grin.
"Yeah, I suppose so…" Katniss sighed. But I still feel ridiculous…well, then maybe I will fit right in.
The group made their way into the Capitol, getting themselves lost in the crowd, relying on Winslet and Hughes to be able to lead the way to the rebel base. The sea of bright hair colors and crazy facial makeup nearly gave Katniss a headache.
Katniss used the hood of the cloak to ensure her face wouldn't be seen. With Hughes on one side and, to her displeasure, Haymitch on the other side, Katniss was fairly sure she was safe.
Now that she was actually standing – moving – in the Capitol, Katniss was feeling her heart pick up the pace. She tried to keep her eyes down and in sight of Winslet and Hughes in front of her, wanting to get to the rebel base as quickly as possible.
They then came to a sudden halt and the group was lead down a different path, slipping away from the crowd between a couple of buildings, moving down the alleyway.
Katniss wrinkled her nose in disgust, "What's that smell?" she asked as she covered her nose.
"Capitol people love to eat, but they don't like to keep all the food down." Finnick answered with a sly grin.
"Oh…that's right…" Katniss recalled, suddenly feeling more aware of where she stepped. D-Disgusting!
They made a left turn and headed down a flight of stone, cracked stairs. "They sure don't pay much mind to their alleys," commented Katniss.
"Which is why we do," Hughes responded as he halted beside Winslet. At the base of the stairs, Katniss was rather surprised to see a small garden in the dark place. It wasn't much; some grass and pretty flowers were taken care of in the small area.
"A…garden…?" Gale spoke, obviously just as surprised at Katniss had been.
"We got to have some nice things in this dreadful place, don't we?" smiled Winslet, giving three knocks on the door – no more no less – in short musical pattern.
The door then opened and standing at the entrance was a small woman, a woman shorter than Winslet, with dirty blonde hair tied back in a long braid, though several strands of hair stuck out from it. She looked around Katniss's age, give or take a year or two.
For just a brief moment, her rich brown eyes looked over the group before a small smile spread across her face, "Winslet…Hughes…" she nodded to the both of them before looking to Katniss, "And you must be our Mockingjay."
"Or Katniss works too." Katniss said with a sigh.
Winslet then stepped forward, "Willow," she greeted the girl, "Is Brooks here?"
"I am," a new voice came from behind Willow. Willow looked back and nodded to the man. He has a much more muscular build compared to Hughes, but he still had a slender form and his skin was tan.
"Well come in then," Brooks urged with a slight grin, "I was wondering when you'd be arriving, Winslet. I figured it'd be any moment now."
His dark blue eyes looked then to Katniss, "And you're the Mockingjay?"
Katniss silently groaned at being called that yet again. But that's who I am, that's who I need to be…
"Katniss," she nodded to Brooks, introducing herself.
"No need to introduce yourself; not someone as well known as you," grinned Brooks, shaking his head.
"Right," Katniss sighed as Winslet approached Brooks, "We have things to talk about, don't we?"
Brooks nodded, "Of course," he looked to the rest, "Give them what they need, Willow."
The girl nodded as Winslet, Hughes and Brooks headed into the other room. The base itself was dark, even with the windows open not much light came in. Willow had them seated in the room off to the side of the entrance. It was an open space, though the furniture felt and looked old.
"So this is the rebel base?" Gale asked, looking to Willow.
"One of them," smiled Willow, "There are several set up throughout the Capitol, and we set up new ones whenever the chance is given."
"Remaining in a single place can't be afforded, it's always smart to have various places for shelter," added Haymitch, who had his arms folded from where he sat on his chair.
"What exactly is your plan of action?" Finnick questioned, leaning back on the couch with his arms folded behind his head, kicking his feet up on the coffee table.
"Well, I'm not exactly told all the details…" Willow began, "But I know that the basic plan of action is to tear the Capitol down from the inside, that's why we have all these bases being set up too."
"And what of President Snow?" Katniss asked, looking to Willow with a stern gaze.
Willow was slightly taken aback, "Uh…well…I don't know…" she admitted.
Katniss sighed and looked downwards. After everything President Snow has done, death was nothing short of what he deserved. And I want to be the one to kill him...For everything he's done…
Images of Peeta being tortured for whatever reason…or of Cinna from when he was dragged away. Now the thoughts made her angrier than anything else.
"Katniss…?" she felt Gale's hand rest on hers, it was then did she realize she had been trembling.
"I'm going to kill him, Gale…." Katniss muttered under her breath.
"You won't see me stopping you," Gale nodded to her.
"But you might see me," Haymitch pitched in, looking over to where Katniss and Gale sat on the couch.
Katniss glared at her mentor, "I-!" but Haymitch went on before she could say much more, "Which do you want, Kantniss: revenge or justice?"
Katniss paused, biting down on her lip. The answer should be obvious she knew, but she couldn't help but lust for revenge against President Snow…for all the damage he has done.
She was saved from answering when Winslet, Hughes and Brooks re-entered the room, commanding the attention of everyone else in the room.
Brooks stepped forward, "We decided that the first thing we should get out of the way are hostages the Capitol has."
Katniss's eyes went wide, "Hostages…? You mean…?"
Brooks nodded, "Yes, the Victors that weren't rescued from the arena and anybody else we might find. We can't afford them being used as leverages."
"And it's a perfect opportunity to really be able to dig deep into the Capitol," added Winslet.
Katniss jumped to her feet instantly, "Then let's go already! We're wasting time when Peeta and Johanna are possibly being tortured or killed as we speak!" Though Katniss wasn't much fond of Johanna, she knew Johanna didn't deserve whatever President Snow might be doing to her.
"A rescue mission isn't as easy as that." Snapped Brooks, "But I assure you we won't wait long. We've had people tracking down secured areas of the Capitol for quite a while now, and we believe we know where everyone might be kept."
"Well how do we get in?" Finnick asked sternly, suddenly into the conversation. And Katniss knew why: Annie.
"Isn't there a sewer?" Willow inquired, "I know they have quite a sewer system,"
"There is," nodded Brooks, "And our best chance of getting in. The only other way in is through the front door, and I don't have to tell you how risky that would be."
"I don't think it's that easy…" Katniss said suspiciously, which surprised some since she just wanted to go just a moment ago, "Capitol people are dumb, but they're at least smarter than that. Getting in through the sewers would be too easy!"
Brooks looked over Katniss curiously, "You certainly have a point there. But don't worry about that, we've taken everything into consideration. If they have guards down there, we'll have to use violence. In the sewer, this won't be too difficult. Just leave things to us and wait here."
Katniss's eyes flashed, "Wait here?" she hissed, "Forget it! You want me to be your Mockingjay, don't you? Am I actually going to do something or am I just a pretty face for the public?"
"But you-"
"I'm going." Katniss said firmly, "I didn't come to the Capitol for moral support."
Brooks grinned, "I like that attitude…alright, you'll come. How soon will you be ready?"
"Tomorrow."
Author's Notes~
Reviews please~ :) Hope you enjoyed!