CHAPTER 26! I want to thank everyone who has kept up with this fanfic for so many chapters! It's getting towards the end :'(. But the last books are gonna be so much fun! I'm so excited! Anyway, enjoy this chapter!
The morning of the feast, I head to the Cornucopia. At first I think I'm in the wrong location, then a table raises up from the ground. I scoff.
"Overdramatic much?" On the table sit backpacks with District numbers on them. 2, 11, 12. I ready my bow. I quickly glance around to be sure no one else is here yet. Looks safe. I sprint towards the table. A knife whizzes past my head. Shit. I shoot a bow at Clove, the chick from 2. I hit her in her left arm. It's not her throwing arm, but it does slow her down. I have just enough time to grab my backpack.
As I turn a knife slashes across my eyebrow. Blood starts to gush, blurring my vision.
"Bitch." I curse as I wipe some of it off. "This just got personal."
She was probably expecting me to shoot an arrow or something. That would be logical. But my anger is irrational and instead I grab her backpack that's lying on the table behind me. I swing it around and whack her across her head. She stumbles back, off balance.
"You chose the wrong girl to piss off." I say angrily. Clove smiles. But before she can pick up one of her knives, I ram myself into her. She probably wasn't expecting that. I take advantage of her surprise, and shove her to the ground. She's dropped one of her knives. I pick it up. Then I turn it upside down and hit her across the head with the butt of the knife. The expression on Clove's face is a mixture of confusion and fear.
"This is for Rue you little shit." I say, while hitting her once again on the head with the butt of the knife. It works and Clove lies there, unconscious but not dead. I spit some blood from my mouth and take my backpack and Clove's. I hate to condone violence, but it feels really satisfying. I hate that chick.
Then I see Thresh standing at the edge of the tall grass. He just nods at me. He's letting me go. I give him a thumbs up and then run into the forest. It was stupid to take Cato's backpack. He'll probably come running after me. I don't care though because nothing will bring me more joy than dropping that backpack into the nearest steam. Or burning it. Or feeding it to a lion. Or dropping it into a wormhole. The possibilities are endless.
"Katniss!" Peeta greets me as I enter the cave. "Is that Cato's backpack?!"
"Maybe. I was thinking we could use it for firewood? But look, I also got the medicine!" I say, holding up a needle. I stick it into Peeta's arm.
"See, that wasn't so bad." I tell him. Why do I feel dizzy?
"Katniss, you're bleeding." Peeta says, sounding concerned. I laugh because he's the one who's dying. Then I pass out from blood loss.
"Katniss."
"Uhh…No more ice-cream. STOP! You need to get the monkeys..the monkeys…" I mumble. Strong arms shake me awake. "AH!"
"Katniss. You were dreaming. Are you alright?" Peeta says, staring deeply into my eyes. It makes me uncomfortable.
"Yeah. Just a weird dream. With monkeys…" I shiver. "What happened?"
"You passed out from blood loss." Peeta says. As I sit up, I notice I was sleeping in a pool of blood.
"Hm…Wait! Peeta, you're alive!" I exclaim.
"Whatever you did worked. The swelling has gone down a lot." Peeta says.
"That's good to hear. Hopefully we'll be able to take on Cato soon." I say.
"And what are we going to do about Thresh?" Peeta asks. I don't say anything. In all honesty, I was just going to let him die like he did in the book (aka getting horribly ripped to shreds by werewolves/deadtribute mutation thingies). Then I start thinking about how he let me live, and how I let Rue die.
"Maybe we could…team up?" I ask. Peeta looks at me like I'm insane.
"Katniss, team up in the final four? He'll turn on us as soon as Cato's dead."
"Fine. Okay, you're right." I say. Yet I keep thinking about it.
"So, we take Cato out. Shouldn't be too hard. There's two of us and only one of him." I comment. Plus because I'm Katniss I have the benefit of plot armor, and wings.
"We could make a fire." Peeta says.
"Yeah. And lure Cato in. And kill him. And I know just where to do it." I say, with a mischievous smile.
I start to get nervous as we wander through the woods. I hope this plan works better than my last one.
"Why are we going to the tall grass?" Peeta asks.
"Because I know the best spot where we can ambush Cato." I lie.
"I think here would be just as good a place." Peeta complains. He falls behind a little bit, because of his bad leg. I wait for him.
Then, I feel someone tap me on the shoulder. I spin around, bow and arrow ready. But no one's there. I stare for a moment and then lower my bow.
"That was weird." I comment. Then I notice some nightlock berries at my feet. I pick them up. "These could be helpful."
"Can I have one?" Peeta asks once he's caught up to me.
"No. They're poisonous." I explain. "They could be useful though."
"Whatever. Katniss, are we almost there?"
"Yes." I say. But I'm a little worried. It's almost nightfall. By the time we get to the tall grass, it's after sunset.
"So, where is this place Katniss?" Peeta asks.
"Uhh. Nearby. Right around here somewhere." I lie.
"Why are you lying?"
"I'm not lying!"
"You're such a bad liar."
"I am-"
"What are you doing here?" A third voice interrupts us. Peeta and I turn to see Thresh holding a rock. He's ready to kill both of us.
"Please don't hurt us! Let me just explain." I start. Peeta turns to me, looking betrayed.
"Katniss, why did you lead us here?" He asks.
"Look, we need to head to the Cornucopia. Now. All three of us." I say urgently.
"Why do you expect me to fall for such a foolish trap?" Thresh asks.
"It's not a trap. You saved me. Now it's my turn to save you." I tell him. I notice the moon has risen.
"I let you go because you tried to save Rue. We were even." Thresh says.
"Enough! Will you two start heading to the Cornucopia?!" I yell. Thresh is ready to throw the rock, when there's a sickening growl from in the darkness. He stops.
"I told you, now will you start running?" I yell. Thresh and Peeta take off. I run after them. We get out of the tall grass, as I hear the sound of running feet behind me. I'm out of breath, but I keep running. All I can think about is getting to that Cornucopia. Something snaps at me, and just misses my leg. I just keep running. I see Thresh has reached the Cornucopia and has climbed up to safety. I reach him, and he helps me up. Then my stomach drops.
"Peeta!" I yell at him. He's still a few feet from the Cornucopia and the muttations are gaining on him. He's not going to make it. Without hesitating (for once) I unfurl my wings and take off. I don't register the shock on Peeta's face as I grab him and pull him up away from the mutts.
"K-Katniss. You have w-w-w" I ignore him and land with a thud onto the Cornucopia. It's a messy landing. I roll to absorb the shock. When I look up, I'm met with three pairs of eyes staring at me. Cato, Thresh, and Peeta are dead silent. Only the mutts barking below make any noise.
"Well…This is awkward." I say with a smile, trying to break the tension. They just continue to stare.
"Don't tell me you've never seen wings before? It's not that uncommon." I say.
"Normal people don't have wings." Cato says. I glare at him.
"So maybe most normal people don't have wings. I would say at least 5% of the population has wings." I point out.
"I don't actually think that's correct-"
"YES. FINE. I HAVE WINGS AND AM A COMPLETE FREAK OF NATURE. CAN WE GET OVER IT?" I beg. Then I notice the mutts retreating. Everyone else is too busy trying to comprehend my wings.
"Wings…like feather wings?" Cato asks. I ignore him.
"Why are the mutts retreating? Four of us are still alive." I say. Something is wrong here.
"Katniss, you should have told me…" Peeta says.
"Not right now. We need to get out of here." I command. I have a bad feeling about this. My feeling is explained when hovercrafts appear. They start to head towards us.
"Time to leave." I say.
"Katniss, the Capitol!" Peeta warns. "They'll want your wings."
"Yes. But unfortunately for them, I'm not going to come that easily." I say. I aim my bow for the engine of the nearest hovercraft. I really hope this works. I let loose the arrow and it flies to the engine, perfectly taking it out. The hovercraft explodes in a fury ball.
"Holy-. I didn't think that would actually work." I ready another arrow. I take down another hovercraft. I aim for my third. Then I see a well-aimed net coming right at me. Suddenly someone shoves into me. I'm knocked off my feet, and I completely fall off the Cornucopia. Both me and my assailant land with a thud. The breath is knocked out of me.
I look up to see Cato, picking up one of the spears in the Cornucopia. I reach for an arrow, but I see they've fallen a few feet away. I don't have time to get them. Then, to my amazement, Cato throws the spear at an oncoming hovercraft. My mouth drops open. It hits the engine and the craft goes down. That means Cato just saved my life by knocking me out of the way of the net, and by stopping that hovercraft. I stand for a moment with my mouth a jar. Soon Thresh has joined him.
I come back to my senses to help. But I realize there's no way the four of us will be able to fend off the entire Capitol. We need to get out of here. But how?
Wait. We're surrounded by hovercrafts and I have wings. I'm an idiot.
I take off towards a still functioning hovercraft. There are two pilots inside. I realize I left my arrows outside. Idiot. Instead I take the berries and start throwing them at the pilots. I get one of the pilots in the eye. It gives me enough time to take him out. The other one slips on some berry juice. He hits his head on the ground and is unconscious. I look at the berries. I didn't think I would end up using them like that.
I land the hovercraft. I wave at Peeta from the inside. He waves back at me, amazed. Cato, Thresh, and Peeta run inside.
"You know how to pilot this?" Thresh asks.
"It's just like in Mario Kart."
"What?"
"She says stuff like that." Peeta explains. "You get used to it." I laugh at that.
Then we take off. Luckily, they were nice enough to leave the hatch that lets the hovercrafts into the arena open. We fly through it, and we're outside. We fight through some other hovercrafts, but there aren't that many. It seems the Capitol wasn't expecting a full-fledged escape from the arena till the sequel, Catching Fire.
"Everyone, take out your trackers." I command. I grab a knife, and cut mine out. Everyone else follows suit.
"Katniss, where are we going?" Peeta asks.
"District 13." I say.
"What?"
"District 13. It wasn't destroyed. And we're not supposed to know about it till the next book, but I'm going to jump ahead a bit." I say. Soon enough I see the ruins of the District ahead. We land.
"No one's here." Cato observes.
"Just give it a second." I say. Sure enough, a few seconds later a squadron of troops appear from the ruins.
"Drop your weapons!" One of them yells. "Come out slowly with your arms raised!"
We do as he says. As we climb out of the hovercraft, the troops drop their weapons.
"Katniss?" The leader asks.
"Yeah. And you may want to start referring to me as The Mockingjay. Trust me, it'll catch on."
"How did you escape the arena?"
"It's a long story which I can tell you later. For now we need shelter."
"Of course!" We're led inside. Everyone gaps at us. Four tributes that are not in the arena and not dead. It's unheard of. We're stitched up and we explain our situation. They're very accommodating. We're given food and beds to sleep in. It feels fantastic after sleeping on the ground and in trees.
I think about everything that's happened in the past 24 hours. I was able to save both Thresh and Cato (that was unexpected)! I can't think of a better way to honor Rue's memory. Plus I got to piss of the Capitol. That's nice.
Then I think about Haymitch and Effie. I imagine their reactions to my wings. I laugh. Then I wonder if they're alright. I hope so. I would feel guilty if I got them killed. And my family. Well, Katniss's family. I hope they're okay too.
My thought are interrupted when Peeta enters my room.
"Katniss, how are you feeling?"
"Peeta, can I talk to you?"
"Of course. What's the matter?"
"I…I have to leave soon. But I want to be sure someone will watch out for my family. And Haymitch. And Effie." I try to explain.
"Why are you leaving?"
"…how do I explain this? I'm not really Katniss. I'm from a different place, that's far away from here. And I need to go back."
"But why?"
"There's nothing here for me anymore." I say.
"But, we could make something." Peeta says. He takes my hand. This gesture makes me sad.
"Wow, did you get that line from a romcom? But anyway, I can't. I have to keep going. Peeta, when I'm gone can you please watch over Haymitch and Effie. Make sure they make it to District 13? And my family? And watch out for Thresh and Cato." I'm not sure what'll happen to Thresh or Cato because I've changed their history. Peeta looks away from me. I'm worried he'll say no.
"Alright. But Katniss…or, what should I call you?"
"Katniss is fine. Or you could call me the Mockingjay." Seeing as I can't remember my real name. Plus the Mockingjay sounds epic.
"Katniss, I'll do this for you, but in return can you do something for me?" Peeta asks.
"Alright." I hope I won't regret this. Peeta pulls out a dandelion.
"A dandelion?"
"Yeah. It's so when you get stressed out you can do your strange flower rubbing thing."
"Wow. Thank you. That's actually really touching." I say.
"I hope it makes you feel better. And so you can remember me." He says. I give him a gentle kiss on the cheek.
"Now, how on earth could I forget you and your strange cake camouflage, Peeta?" I say. And then I reach for the door. Just before I leave though, I look back and say, "But seriously, The Mockingjay. It'll catch on."
Thanks for reading! I'm so excited people are still keeping up with this story! Please keep reviewing! (I secretly feed off of people's life forces through reviews). SO REVIEW! AND KEEP READING YO! Next up is LOTR. It's gonna be epic.