I don't own The Hunger Games. There isn't many chapters left now, but there will be another one! :)
Two Days Later:
"Shit." Johanna mutters as her axe collides against the metal wall in the tunnel, sending a clanging noise thundering down the tunnels but making no difference. The wall fills the tunnel from the ceiling to the floor, so we can't go over or under it. It's shatter proof, Johanna's axe and Trent's sword have proved that. It is as if the Capitol knew we were coming and put this wall up, but how could they have known?
"It's okay. I saw another tunnel about five metres back." Katniss says. I don't know how she always manages to keep her cool in moments like this, but I wish I was the same.
"The map only shows us where the other tunnels are. It doesn't show us what's above them. We could be walking straight into Snow's bedroom." Trent frowns.
"Show me the map." Katniss says. When Johanna hands it to her, she taps a tunnel. "This is the one I saw. I know where it leads. It had a special marking on the roof above it that I recognize."
"Fine, we'll take that one. But if we get lost I'm eating you first, Katniss." Johanna says, deadly serious.
"I'll keep that in mind." Katniss laughs. We all turn around and follow her back towards the tunnel. It's colder than the rest of the pipes and tunnels, but I know that that means we are getting closer to day light. Soon I will be reunited with my father, and Finlay will get to meet his own.
We have not been walking for long when we reach a covered hole in the ceiling. Trent pushes the cover aside. He gets down on his hands and knees and says,
"Katniss, you seem to know where we are. You go first." My mother climbs on Trent's back and hauls herself into the room above.
"All clear." She yells down to us. Johanna goes up next, axe drawn, and then Finlay. Trent stands up and all but throws me into the room. I clamp my hands to my mouth to stifle my scream as I am lifted into the air. I end my on my back, staring up at the dark ceiling. The room is shallow and not very wide. Fur pelts lay scattered on the floor, some made into beds. Empty food tins, bloody tissues and even a needle lay near the pelts, and there is a tap in one corner. There is a small television in the opposite corner. From where I am laying I can see a first aid kit, and there is a stair case at the back of the room.
"Make yourselves comfortable, you can sleep on the fur. If you need to refill your bottles the tap contains drinking water. Lillia-Primrose, you come with me." Katniss says, offering me a hand. I accept it and she pulls me up. I follow her up the staircase, and she pushes the door open with a creak. I pull a knife out of one of my pockets and step into the room after her. It looks to me like there was once a shop here. A counter is in front of us, and empty silver rails line the walls.
"Tigris must have died." Katniss mutters.
"Is this where you hid during the rebellion?" I ask.
"Yes. She helped us when we were at our most vulnerable. We would've died for sure without her."
"'We'? Who else was here?" Katniss has told me about this place, but never her company. I know that it hurts her to talk about all the people who died for the cause whilst following her.
"Me, Cressida, Pollux and Gale. Boggs, Finnick and Jackson were dead. Both of the Leegs, Messala and the others were already gone, too." She sighs, fiddling with her braid.
"Do I want to know why there are bloody tissues in the cellar?" I smile weakly, thinking of Gale, of his son Michael.
"They could be from Gale; he had stitches in his neck. Or it could be from Peeta. His handcuffs were rubbing against his wrists and causing them to bleed." Right. Because my father used to be crazy. Because Snow hijacked him. Because he didn't die in the Quarter Quell like planned. Another thing to add to my list of reasons to kill Snow. So far, I have five solid reasons. 1. Michael died because Snow started the Hunger Games. 2. He hijacked my father. 3. He came to my house to ask me to prostitute myself. 4. He shad my brother shot. 5. He caused so much pain to my mother.
"We should get back to the others." I say, and she nods in response. I make my way back down the staircase, and Katniss flips the light on when we get to the bottom.
"So what's the plan?" Johanna asks, throwing herself down onto a bed of fox pelts.
"We leave in the morning. This place is only five blocks from Snow's mansion. We'll walk until we find an entrance into the pipes that lead us to the cavern. We'll follow it, it should lead us straight there." Katniss says.
"We're going into the sewers? Nasty."
"It's not for long, Johanna. But we need some cloaks or something to hide our faces when we walk out of the shop. We can make some out of the pelts. I have a needle and thread in my pack."
"Lillia and I can do that. You old people need your rest." Finlay grins. Johanna throws a pelt at him.
When we are sure that everyone is asleep, we turn the television on and get to work on the remaining pelts. The only channel we can pick up is Capitol TV, and a re-run of a Hunger Games is about to start. The image of the Capitol seal fades from the television, and my face appears. This is a re-run of my Games. Of all 98 Games to choose from, they chose mine.
"You okay?" Finlay asks as the gong sounds and I see myself take down Horatio. I look over to where Trent is; making sure that he is fast asleep. Thankfully, he is.
"Yes." I lie. Finlay isn't an idiot, and over these past few days he has become my friend. He raises an eyebrow at me suspiciously.
"No." I say.
"We can turn it off, if you want…"
"No. I have to watch this." I tell him. I re-stitch the pelts into cloaks and watch my Games at the same time. I get to watch the parts that I never saw. The alliances between other tributes, the girl from 8's knife skills, and Crystal saving Michael's life from the boy from 10. I wince when I see the girl from 7's axe collide with my face. How it didn't kill me, I will never know. My fingers trace the red scar on my cheek.
"Don't scratch." Finlay says, and he realises what he has said when I look at him with pain in my eyes. Michael had said the exact same thing to me before he died.
"I'm sorry, I…"
"It's okay." My fingers go back to the needle and thread. I look up again when I hear Michael yelling my name and racing towards me with Straw and Melody. I watch this scene for the first time, they didn't show it on the recap in my interview and I was unconscious when it happened. Melody tries to stab me, and Michael knocks her out of the way. I was right. He didn't sleep, didn't even move the whole time I was out. He held my hand, and only let go when I stirred and woke up. I watch the whole heart-breaking re-run right up until I am announced Victor. Then, done with the cloaks, I switch the television off.
"Do you think about him much?" Finlay asks.
"All the time."
"He would've wanted you to be happy." With that, Finlay piles the cloaks up and falls asleep on them. I make my own bed out of leftover pelts and lay down on it, knowing I will get no sleep. I will be plagued of thought of Michael, and I am certain that if I sleep I will get more nightmares. Instead, I stay awake all night as my boy from 2 had once done for me.