I press my face against the clear window. Can this even be possible? My heart is beating unbelievably fast. Nick is sitting up the hospital bed and if I stand really still I can hear talking inside of the room. I am sitting on my knees on a chair that was under the window. I press my ears up and listen. It's Nick's voice I hear first.
"Where's Hailey?" His voice is groggily like he just woke up, which I think he did. I get shaky hearing him talk. I want to run into the room and go into his arms, but the thought of President Crowe in the room terrifies me.
"Close your mouth and relax Nick." I think the woman says that because I remember President Crowe's voice from the hovercraft three days ago. Nick doesn't listen and his eyes get so intense.
"NO. Where is Hailey!" I want to scream I'm right here Nick! I want to make his confusion wash away from his mind.
"Nicholas, please, stop thinking about that girl for one second." That was the eerie voice of President Crowe. Nick looks up to him like he is ready to argue. President Crowe puts his hand up in front of Nick's face. "Yes I know it's impossible, don't worry we can fix that." The tone in his voice is so devious and frightening. As soon as his says this heart skips a beat for a second because I know the President's plan now. One word echo's through my mind. Hijacked.
President Crowe glances at the woman and she nods her head and turns towards the big machine. I can't let them do that to Nick, to take his memories. It would be so painful to see him looking at me with confusion, not knowing who I was and our history, I rather have him be dead.
Without thinking, and acting on impulse I throw the chair that I was sitting on into the big glass window. The glass shatters over me and I duck down immediately. What was I thinking? I'm so stupid! I hear President Crowe yell and I hear their footsteps run out of the door of the room. So again acting without thinking I stand up and hop over the open window. I'm pretty sure I cut my bare feet with the glass I landed on.
When I look up I crouch down and look at Nick, he is looking at me with widened eyes. It's so nice to see his gray eyes again. I look back to see the woman and President Crowe walking down the narrow hallway away from this room.
"Nick." I run up to him putting my hand on his arm.
"Hailey." Hearing him say my name fills me with so much joy that I feel like all the past day of pain and misery has been erased. All my thoughts and worries have dissolved away.
"What's going on? I thought you were dead!" I say fighting the tears back.
"Oh he was." I hear behind me making me jump. I turn my head quick to the door way, how did he get back so quick. President Crowe stands tall in the door frame staring into my eyes. "What's with you people, I swear I honestly don't know how my grandfather dealt with your parents." He looks angry and is staring only at me.
"What did you do to Nick." I say trying to keep my voice straight and solid so he doesn't know I am intimidated by him.
"I brought him back to life." He answers like this was totally normal and he brought people back from the dead daily.
"And you were going to hijack him?" I say.
"You could say that, yes." I stand up from crouching on the floor over Nick and get closer to President Crowe. I look into his eyes.
"Why! What did he do to you!" I feel the anger forming through my body. I probably sound like a little kid arguing with an elder man but I didn't know how else to word the point I wanted to bring up with him.
"Relax Ms. Mellark, you bring up a good point, yes" he steps out the door, "Come, follow me." He motions to me, I turn looking back at Nick who looks so confused. He stands up quickly and steps besides me grabbing my hand. We walk side by side behind the president; my legs feel weak because I'm not sure what I just got myself into. What problems will occur from following him down this hallway?
We get to a door that is right next to the room Nick was in. He opens the door slowly to show stairs. Nick lets go of my hand and lets me walk first down the stairs, I let President Crowe get in front of me a little bit because I get antsy being that close to him. When we get to the bottom of the stairs is another door, whatever was down here was to never be found. The door had a lock on it half the size of the door itself. President Crowe turns and looks at us.
"What's in this room, is my attempt to be prepared, unlike my grandfather." I never knew President Snow, but I'm pretty sure he was prepared at all times during the rebellion. The way we learned about him in school, he was described as a frightful brilliant leader. He unlocks the door and we walk in.
There is small glass cubicles all lined up against the wall. I'm scared to look at first, but I have to look, forced by temptation. When I turn my head I see a boy in the glass, the boy looks familiar. When I realize who this boy is I can't stop myself from gasping. It's the District 1 tribute.
"Why would you do this." I say as I walk a little further to see Andric, the District 2 tribute. They are just staring at me with blank expressions, of course they are, they don't know who I am. There memories have been erased, they don't know what they are doing locked up by President Crowe. I stop walking when I see the District 3 tributes because soon after that would be District 4, and I couldn't bear to see Jace and Keanan with no memories of me or each other.
"Like I said, so I could be prepared." President Crowe swallows and I glance at Nick who has the same look of horror on his face. "If there was going to be a rebellion, I wanted to be ready, so the Capitol would stay strong, unlike when Snow ruled." I'm looking at President Crowe without anything coming out of my mouth; I have no idea how to put what I am thinking in to words.
"That is completely sick! These people have families!" Nick says what I couldn't work out to say. President face transforms into a smile that chills my spine. He doesn't say anything else and we don't move forward anymore, even if we did I wouldn't. I can't stand to see the tributes that were supposed to be dead, alive and staring at me.
President Crowe leads us back up the stairs and through the door I entered before I found the room with Nick. We walk the opposite way of my room and I suddenly am thinking of my mother who said she would be back to my room later. I don't run away from President Crowe because I'm so scared if I do one thing wrong he will take Nick from me. He takes us to a big room that has a desk, it must be his office. He takes a seat behind his desk.
"What are you going to do with all of them?" Nick asks calmly, president looks at the both of us and sighs.
"Well thanks to your girlfriend, I will have to destroy them." I look at Nick from the corner of my eye. His mouth is open is shock like he doesn't know what to say.
"You're just going to kill them!" I say looking back at President Crowe's face, he shakes his head
"Well I can't risk you going around telling everybody my plans now can I?" President Crowe is right. Besides the fact that his plan could be ruined by Nick and I, if Crowe was going keep them alive without their memories, I rather them be dead. But then there was the topic of Nick and what President Crowe's plan was for his future.
When I look at Crowe's face part of him looks troubled but another part shows the confident part of him that intimidated me so much.
"Ms. Mellark, Mr. Hawthorne, let's say we make a deal." When he says deal it makes my heart leap. I should never make a deal with him; just the idea of being banded with Crowe frightens me. But I don't say anything I keep my head forward and my expression blank.
"Hailey, I'll let you keep Nick and his memories if the two of you keep your mouth shut about my plan. You tell no one." I can feel the intensity of Nick's eyes on me. I was prepared to shoot down any offer Crowe made but I can't even think about shooting it down now. If I say no, Nick will be a mindless body, with no memories. I feel Nick's hand graze over mine but I keep my eyes on Crowe's face.
"Deal." I say more confident that I feel. My legs feel feeble and I feel like I am about to faint. I don't think about the consequences that will come along with this deal. But I do think about my parents, what would mom and dad do if I came back with Nick alive by my side? "What about my parents?" President Crowe rolls his eyes and sighs like he knew I would ask this.
After negotiating with him, he told us that I could tell my parents, but not Nick's. Nick seems upset but I think he was just excited he got to keep his memories and be with me. I know that's what I was mostly thinking of.
"What about the audience, the victor interviews…" Nick says looking at Crowe with caution on his face.
"Well, Hailey, that is where you need to put your acting skill to work." Everything President Crowe says is in code and I have to wait until he explains what he means by acting. He tells us that he has a plan, of course he does. I will have to act like I never found Nick alive, like I would never imagine Nick would come back into my life.
When we are done talking with the President it feels like I made a deal with the devil, I'm not sure how Nick feels because we are too busy embracing each other. We leave the office, Nick holding me in his arm and I can't help but wonder what trouble I have started for myself in the future.
Hello! I'm sorry I left you guys with a terrible cliffhanger for so long, but I was having writers block and more terrible stuff like that! Anyway the story is almost over and I wanted to say now that I appreciate every single review I've gotten, especially the few of you that review every chapter of mine. It means so much, and you can ask anyone of my friends in real life and they will tell you, all I do is type and write this story. I literary check my phone every second during school to see if I get a new review, and I know I might not have the best grammar, but it means so much that I got as much readers as I did, so thank you so much. Alright sappiness over (: