A/N: Wow! It's been an incredible journey. 8 months, 249 pages, 67,156 words- this is one of the proudest accomplishments of my life. I'll let you know before you read that this is the last chapter of Flying Sparks :'( So sad, I know, but please read, review, SAVOR, and enjoy this last bit. Thanks!

(27)

I don't know what's happening anymore. My senses turn off. I don't hear my own screams. I don't notice as Leanore drops the guns and begins to walk off. I hardly realize that Finnick is charging up the hill after her, that he has his weapon in a position that could kill her. Instead, I drop to the ground and find myself burst into tears.

The smell of blood is fresh in the air. I look around and see so many lifeless bodies on the ground. Wasted lives, I think. The Capitol soldiers have shot so many of them dead. They begin marching off to the hovercraft in lines. Their job here is done. Deep down I know that we have lost. We put up a good fight, but it only takes a look at my patch to know that it is over. The ninth dot is still red, but I don't see how that matters anymore. I have lost my will to live.

I hobble up the hill and lay down next to Gale. I face him and start talking to him. "Remember all those years ago when we discussed our hunting? We both said that hunting for fresh game was worth the risks associated with it. It would be better to be shot than to starve. Well now this was a different hunt with different game, game I'm starving for. You were shot, Gale, but I sure as hell know that I'm not going to starve. I'm going to keep hunting," I say, tears coating my eyes.

"You never got to enjoy life, did you? You spend all of this time fighting to keep your family alive and the end result is this. Your brothers were murdered by flowers, who knows where your mother and sister are and you've been… you've been…." I can't finish my sentence. "Your whole life has been danger, risk, pain and unrequited love. I am truly sorry, Gale." I finish my hysterical speech and stand up to go.

I can't bear to look at him anymore, can't stand to see the blood… so I walk away without another word. I don't know where I'm going, but I fall into a daze and a soldier takes me by the arm and pulls me into the hovercraft. I don't put up a fight. Whatever comes next is probably something necessary. Just another consequence of a fair loss.

I wish I was in my head for the next hour. I wish I was able to experience emotion when the soldiers shot at Annie, when she was hit and when Finnick went to fight back. I wish that I could have stopped him, but he foolishly took them all on and didn't live to tell the tale. I don't even hear the splitting of his neck, but I see it. The torn flesh of someone so beautiful, someone who I'd become friends with sends shivers up my spine. I wish I understood what was happening when Peyton Hawthorne tore me away from the soldiers, when my father came running down the hovercraft, yelling and screaming at us to run. I wish I was able to understand that we were running for our lives, but I didn't care. When we ran away from the hovercraft and the rebels that were still alive took shelter in the houses, I didn't understand what was happening.

Then there was the explosion, the realization of what has happened, the darkening of the 16th dot and I wake from my nonresponsive state. It takes one look out the window to see that the Capitol hovercraft has been blown to pieces. My jaw drops and I feel my father wrap his arms around me. I stop breathing, taking it all in.

"We've won, Kat," he says in my ear.

My brain refuses to believe it. Could it really be possible? The explosion of the hovercraft must have killed Snow and all those soldiers. Looking at my patch, it appears Plutarch didn't make it either. I spend a few minutes staring out the window, trying to comprehend what has just happened. Annie is gone, Beetee and Effie are gone, Finnick sacrificed himself for the woman he loved, Gale sacrificed himself for his best friend, Haymitch was killed by the very weapon that he sparked rebellion with, Leanore has died with the rest of the Capitol, died a traitor who will never be rewarded, Plutarch died taking down the Capitol. That's a lot to think about.

It isn't long before my motherly instinct kicks in and I turn to my father asking where Revelyn is. For a moment, his look is uncertain and I feel life slipping away from me. Then we hear a quiet knock on the door. He gets up and opens it. On the other side of the door is a shaken Madge with my daughter in her hands.

"I… I was able to save her," Madge pronounces slowly. "Leanore… went mad."

"I think she was always mad," I say, standing up to take Revelyn from her hands. My sweet baby girl is sleeping soundly. "I am forever in debt to you, Madge," I tell her.

She just stands in the doorway, looking down at her feet. She must know about Gale. Of course she does. Gale. My heart crashes. To distract myself, I ask, "How's Prim? And Peeta, where is he?"

"Prim is completely unharmed. She's in a room by herself. I figured she needed some time to take it all in. And Peeta? He's just fine," my father speaks up. "We put him down on a bed to rest a bit."

"There was something with Revelyn that I thought you should see," Madge says, handing me a sheet of paper. "It's in Leanore's hand writing. I think she sang it to Revelyn."

I take the paper and unfold it, reading aloud the words of a lullaby:

"Hush little baby, there's nothing to say

Mommy's gonna kill you a mockingjay.

And if that mockingjay won't die,

Mommy's gonna destroy all their lives.

And if their lives won't be destroyed,

Mommy's gonna fall into a void.

And when it all is said and done,

We'll know for sure the Capitol won."

I shiver at the end. I know there's no way my daughter understood this, but the fact that Leanore had been singing it to her disturbs me greatly.

"Katniss… what's with your arm?" my father says gently.

Before he had said anything, I thought I was doing a pretty good job with ignoring the pain I was feeling in my arm. I figured it was more important that my daughter was alright than to go off and worry about myself.

"I got shot," I say, almost as if discussing the weather.

Madge's eyes widen and my father appears stunned. He asks me to sit down and remove the wrappings from my arm. When he sees the injury, he says that I need to go to the hospital level underground. He walks me outside and I see the ash remains of the hovercraft. I can hardly believe it still. Everything that has happened seems like a dream to me, or more of a nightmare.

We go to Level 23: Medical Attention Center. Of course, there is no one there, so my father sends a signal for a paramedic. Soon I am in a hospital-like setting. With my wound and the dirt all over my body, I feel like I'm coming out of the Hunger Games all over again. These past three years have been filled with death for me. Death and pain. The list goes on and on. They give me a shot that puts me to sleep. I'm grateful for an escape.

When I wake again, I know I've been asleep for a few days. My first thought is how Revelyn got along without me, but the first people I see are Peeta and her. He walks into my room with her in his arms. My arm is bandaged. I wish I could hold her, but the doctors advise me not to.

"Hey," Peeta says, looking at me. He grabs the hand of my uninjured arm. "How you doing?" he asks.

"I'm fine," I say. "I don't understand what the big fuss is about."

He laughs lightly, "Yeah…"

I watch him for a moment. The way he is interacting with Revelyn is so sweet. He lets her hold his fingers and doesn't mind the baby drool that gets all over them. He strokes her face back and forth and plays with her black hair which has grown in a bit.

That's when it hits me. Out of nowhere, I remember going to Level One and hearing things in the black glass. Voices were telling me to go back to District 12. I know it's crazy, but I think that I should. So without any hesitation, I tell Peeta about it.

"You think that the gems in the glass were… speaking to you?" Peeta asks.

"Yes. I'm sure of it. I need to go back. Someone is there waiting for us. Someone who everyone believes to be dead, but isn't," I tell him.

"You're convinced about this?" he questions.

"Yes, I am."

A few days later, Peeta, Madge, Prim and I begin our journey to the District 12 ruins, leaving Revelyn with my father. We don't pack many supplies, figuring that we won't be staying long. On the trip, I get time to bond with all three of them. Peeta and I try to imagine a brighter future with no Capitol. Madge and I mourn the deaths of those lost. I get closer with my sister through many conversations. After a two day trek, we arrive in District 12.

Peeta walks over to the remains of the bakery and I think I see him shed a tear. Prim gravitates to our home. I follow Madge. Parts of her house are still standing. She walks inside and I swear I hear a voice. We both walk in further and I see movement. I finally decide to call out, "We're here for you! Everyone thinks you've died, but you haven't."

Peeta and Prim hear my calls and join Madge and me. Peeta grabs my hand and squeezes it to give me some confidence. The person who steps out of the shadows of Madge's home is not at all who I was expecting or hoping for, but seeing them brings all these fresh new questions to my mind. I need to know everything.

"Mother?" Madge says, mouth agape. The woman in front of me is unmistakably Maysilee Donner.

END OF BOOK THREE

A/N: It would be cruel to end a book like that... so don't worry. There will be an epilogue :)

Thanks to everyone who voted for me in the Countdown to Mockingjay contest. I really appreciate it and guess what? - I won 1st Place in the Complete category!