Chapter Six

The screaming was piercing, stretching out the length of the entire prison. In a cell at the very end, Johanna Mason stood dripping in water, pressed against the door defiantly, fighting to not give them what they wanted. She could hear the screaming from where she stood, the sound distant but twice as heartbreaking. She recognized the voice all to well.

The electric prod touched her skin.

Her voice joined the screams.

Annie Cresta was already part of it, her knuckles rubbing the skin of her forehead until it was raw as she tried to scream the pain and madness away.

Ava Green's voice wanted to get out but her lack of tongue wouldn't allow it. Her throat was raw and bleeding, a squeaky, scratchy sound being the only thing to come out. Tears leaked out of the corners, streaking down her cheeks and dripping off her face. Yesterday was supposed to be her fourteenth birthday. She wondered if her family remembered, where-ever they were.

And at the very top of the corridor, Semira Mellark stood outside the door of the biggest cell, picking at her nails. Inside Mya and Hunter were frantically mixing narcotics, trying to stop their captive from his confused yelling.

"Cato, run!" Eyes squeezed shut, face contorted. "Don't run Cato, burn in hell like you deserve!" Back arched, frenzied thrashing. "I love you Cato so, so much!" Heart wrenching scream. "I hope you die a painful death you selfish bastard!" Uncontrollable sobbing. "I don't understand, Cato, h-h-h-h-help me!"

"This is your fault!" Mya wrote. "I told you that forgetting to give him his dosages could be leathal!"

"Actually, you didn't," Hunter told her. "You just expected me to know!"

Mya rolled her eyes and bent over the boy struggling against his bindings. She grabbed his eyelid and forced it open, ignoring his screams of protest. The entire iris was turqourise now, only a slither of blue left. Irritated, she reached out and listed more ingredients for Hunter to add to the mixture.

"And he's given 13 a head start on our plan! A plan which is very likely going to fail now because your foolishness!" she added at the end.

"Oh shut up Mya, get off your high horse before you break your neck," Hunter muttered, grabbing the listed ingredients and mixing them in.

"Help me Cato!" their blond captive roared, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Will you shut up you whiny bitch?!" Hunter yelled. His old self was slowly coming back to him, his short temper and mood swings. Mya punctuated the point with a smack across the face. Sadly this only made the prisoner scream harder. His wrists were beginning to turn pink and chafe from the metal bindings strapped around them, his ankles already bleeding from his struggles. "God, this boy is going to be the death of my ear drums."

When the serum was mixed together, Hunter handed it to Mya, who ripped their prisoner's shirt up to his chin so she could inject the cure to the insane episode. Even though it was supposed to be inserted into the artery in the neck, if the need was drastic enough, it could be injected straight into the heart.

"You shouldn't scream for Cato, Peeta," Hunter said as the serum started to work into the boy's system. "He doesn't love you and wouldn't help you even if you screamed for him. Remember? You just missed your medication dosage, you're just confused."

Peeta's screaming slowly decreased until there was no sound. His chest heaved, his energy spent. He forced his eyes open again, the turqouise still there but rapidly fading. "Wh-what?" he asked, his voice cracked as it stung his raw throat.

"Your medication, remember? To regain your memory?" Hunter insisted.

A struggle to grasp the truth flashed across Peeta's eyes, confusion spreading across his face. Even though he still seemed disoreinated, he nodded. "Am I okay now?" he asked.

"Of course you are," Mya wrote. "You're okay now."

~xXx~

Cato watched the blonde girl wander around the bomb shelter aimlessly, her eyes blank and dazed. He lay on his side on the hospital bed, having nothing else to do but watch the girl as she walked around without a purpose. He remembered seeing her in the army ward while visiting Rye and recognized her as the girl who was hit by debris of the explosion that killed Wheat Mellark and injured Peeta's father and wasn't right of mind anymore. He knew that Peeta knew her at one point, because he had seen him talk to her at the Victory Tour party in 12.

She would sit beside people and introduce herself, shaking hands with them and trying to start a conversation. The citizens of 13 were weary of her and her state of mind so they wouldn't engage in anything with her. Cato thought it was quite sad, as every time he saw her, she was always on her own.

His body was heavy because of the sedative and he could barely move without having to put intense effort into it. He understood why they did what they did but he hated the fact that he had to be sedated in the first place. He was supposed to be holding up position as the Mockingjay and yet he had to be sedated twice now because he couldn't handle hard news involving Peeta. He had to learn to get his act together, for Peeta's sake. If he had the strength to fight this venom they were giving him, then Cato had to gather the strength to stand and fight as the Mockingjay.

"Hello."

Cato's eyes drifted up and he was surprised to see the blonde girl hovering by his bed. She sat down on her haunches so she was eye-level with him, her hospital clothes pooling around her on the floor. "Hello," Cato replied.

"I, Madge," the girl said, shoving her hand out and almost poking his eye out with her fingertips.

"Cato," Cato replied, shaking her outstretched hand.

Madge leaned forward so their noses were nearly pressed together. "You da Mockingjay bird," she whispered, her voice hushed and awed.

"Tragically," Cato answered. He wasn't uncomfortable because of her proximity, she didn't seem to be the sort who'd intentionally make someone feel awkward. It wasn't like she was trying to pull his eyelashes or poke his cheek. She was just staring at him with an intense gaze, the sort of gaze that made him feel like she was searching his soul.

"Ca-CA!" Madge yelled, intimidating a bird's call. Cato winced at how loud her voice was. She sat back and grinned a ludicris grin."That's not the right Mockingjay sound, they don't sound like birds, they don't go, ca-CA! They sing, like angels."

"Angels?" Cato asked.

"Angels in the sky, humming with notes, no words," Madge clarified. She lurched forward and grabbed Cato's face, her eyes frantic and desperate as she stared at him with a wild gaze. He was startled by her sudden movement, trying not to let it show on his face. "Birds not supposed to exist, a kick in the backside to the Capitol. A spit in the face, a laugh never heard. Ha! Never supposed to exist, never supposed to happen."

Was she ranting now? Oh god, was she going to have an episode right there in front of him? Was he supposed to do something? Calm her down?

"Remember da real enemy Mockingjay bird, don't let them drown you! Don't! Do the thing they were bred to do. Beat the opressor, watch the opressed, nothing is what is seems, help them, save them but be vigilant and keep the eyes sharp!"

"Okay, Madge, come on, back to bed." Primrose appeared, Kayla in close tow, and gently took Madge's elbow, helping her up and guiding her back to her hospital bed. The blonde girl kept muttering madly under her breath, repeating the word 'Mockingjay' over and over again.

While Primrose lead Madge back to bed, Kayla sat on the edge of Cato's bed. Her blonde hair was tied back in a messy bun, strands of hair sticking up everywhere. She nervously chewed on her thumbnail, an anxious habit she'd picked up as soon as the war began. "How's the course going?" Cato asked his sister.

"It's amazing Cato," Kayla said sincerely. She looked at him with bright but tired eyes. "But it's exhausting as well."

"Is it worth-while?"

Kayla nodded. "Oh yeah," she said. "I really can't wait until I can get my Medic badge like Prim. I can't wait to start helping people in need. It will maybe make up for my mistakes."

"Your mistakes?" Cato couldn't recall Kayla having a history of mistakes, nor did he ever think she would have felt that she had to make up for anything. "What mistakes have you made?"

Kayla shrugged. "Having ten boyfriends between ages ten to fourteen, knawing through boys like an intimacy hungry phriah. Training to kill people in the Hunger Games without remorse," she explained. She smiled weakly. "Forgetting to feed your goldfish and trying to replace it with a twin when it died."

Cato smiled, remembering how he immediately knew that the goldfish in the bowl was not his. He also remembered how his sister had fleeting, careless relationships with boys but he never thought it was something she felt she had to make up for, as most of the boys weren't even significent parts of her life. As for the training to kill in the Hunger Games thing . . . well, he was beginning to feel the same way about that.

She brushed her hair back from her face and looked at Cato. "Guess what Prim told me," she said.

"Um, your bellybutton can grow pineapples?" Cato guessed.

Kayla laughed and playfully thumped him. "No," she said. "She told me she can give me this medication that will cure my DID."

Despite his heavy body, Cato forced himself up onto his elbows. "What?" he asked slowly, wondering if he heard her right.

"Prim says she can cure my DID," Kayla repeated. She didn't look happy but she didn't look sad either. Cato wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel about it either.

"She's going to give you something to get rid of Jamie, Beth and Jack?"

Kayla nodded. "I'm not sure how to react," she replied. "I don't know whether I should do it. I mean, I knew this day would come eventually, but I don't know if Iwant to let them go anymore. They've been a part of my life for so long now, I'm worried it would feel like a part of me is missing once they're gone."

For as long as Cato could remember, Jamie, Beth and Jack were a part of his sister. It had been so long that he considered all three alters his siblings, even if they didn't get along a lot. Even though they plagued Kayla, drove her insane sometimes, made her suffer nightmares, they became a part of her. And Cato didn't know how she'd be able to cope without them, as she had grown to depend on them so much.

"It's ultimately your decision," he told her. "I don't want to tell you something and make you feel like my judgement is better than yours."

Kayla looked at the floor, her hair falling back into her face. "I don't know," she answered honestly. "Prim says I have time to think about it."

"Well, at least you don't have to answer immediately," Cato said. Kayla nodded, the movement sluggish, like she wasn't so sure. "You have time to consider your options and figure out what you really want to do."

"I suppose," Kayla mumbled.

"Hey," Cato nudged her with his knee so she'd look at him, "it's going to be okay, no matter what you decide." Kayla bit her lip and nodded, crawling up onto the bed and lying beside him. Cato wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin against her head, just like they used to do when they were kids. "We're all going to be okay."

~xXx~

"Peeta, this is Wayne."

Peeta smiled at the Capitol man, shaking his hand and nodding his head. "Pleased to meet you Wayne," he said. President Snow smiled as well, pleased with how the fundraiser ball had turned out. All proceeds were going to food and blankets for the fall-out shelters in case 13 decided to bomb them. He'd been meeting and greeting with Peeta all night, introducing him to all the major benefactors at the ball.

"The pleasure is all mine," Wayne replied. He wore a massive smile but it somehow seemed artficial. Peeta chalked it down to maybe one too many plastic surgery procedures.

"Wayne is a close friend of mine," Snow explained. "And even though I must go now, I trust you Peeta I'm leaving you in good hands, I assure you."

"I trust you dad," Peeta smiled, not worried about his father lying to him, especially about a topic as sensitive like leaving him alone with a strange. President Snow clapped his back and left with a bright grin on his face. Peeta was happy to see his dad so joyful for once. The war had been hitting him so hard.

"It's honestly lovely to meet you Mr Mellark," Wayne said, starting to lesuirely walk in the direction of the balcony. "I've heard many things."

"Good things, I hope," Peeta replied, putting his hands into his pockets and enjoying the clean, crisp feeling of the night air on the balcony. Wayne shut the doors behind them and joined him at the edge. He laughed.

"Don't worry, all good things," he said. He looked behind him at the party, where you could still see the others dancing through the glass doors. When he was assured that no one was going to hear them, he turned back to Peeta and said, "Listen, Mr Mellark, I've got something of great importance to tell you."

Peeta blinked, surprised by the man's urgency. "What is it?" he asked.

"I'm a rebel, a spy for District 13. I can tell you anything you need to know," Wayne said in a hushed whisper, speaking so fast Peeta could barely keep up. "Coin has been updating me, especially on the new Mockingjay, your partner Cato-"

"Ex partner," Peeta interuppted, a frown etched onto his features. "Why in the world would you think I'd want to know about 13, or Cato for that matter? You're lucky I'm not going straight to my father about your being a spy . . ."

Now it was Wayne's turn to frown in confusion. "I thought you were better, after the propaganda video where you warned 13 of the bombings?"

Peeta groaned, throwing his face into his hands. "Don't remind me," he said. "I missed a dosage of my medication and went nuts. It was so stupid of me. I was supposed to go to Hunter and I forgot. And I messed everything up for dad and his plans. I feel like such an idiot."

"So who's side are you on exactly?" Wayne asked, completely disoreintated.

"My father's obviously," Peeta answered. He regarded Wayne curiously. "Are there many of you . . . rebels . . . in the Capitol?"

Wayne shook his head. "I'm not sure I should tell you that, if you're sure you're on your father's side of the war . . ." He frowned. "Are you sure? Because what the soliders in 13 are aware of, you were kidnapped by President Snow and considered a traitor, like Johanna, Annie and Ava . . ."

"I'm not a traitor!" Peeta exclaimed. "I would never go against my father's word. He's family! I think you've been getting your information from a misleading source. I don't give a damn about 13. And, if you have the chance talk to your superiors, you can tell them exactly that. Oh, and P.S, tell Cato that he can shove his pretentious attitude and I'm no longer interested in being involved with such a sick son of a bitch!"

With that he turned and left the balcony, rejoining the party irritated and annoyed.

Wayne stood on the balcony, dumbstruck. He took out his PDA and tapped out a message to President Coin.

'We have a problem. The outburst last night was definitely because of the tracker jacker venom. He's lost everything he was before he was kidnapped, he is a completely different person. There is still a sliver of turquoise in his eye and he claims that Snow is his father. And honestly, I think he's too far gone to be saved.'

A/N: Hey guys there's a poll posted up onto my profile, can you all take a look and vote please? :)

Please R&R! :D