Safe With Mellark: Phoenix Reborn
She had been beaten, tortured, and had her tongue cut out; finally, she was going to be burnt alive. Her name was Willow Safe, Peeta's best friend, and there was nothing she would not do to help the rebellion.
The sequel to Safe With Mellark.
Prologue- Five Minutes Sooner
Willow had seen something bad happening to her, as soon as she was told of her purpose in the Capitol. The only problem was she was certain that she could avoid it, if she put it off for long enough. Of course, she knew that continuing with helping the Capitol rewriting Peeta's memories would ruin him, but she also thought she'd be able to help him remember everything that was actually true. Therefore, when she thought she knew that the rebels would come, she began her work.
All the days leading up to it, however, had been full of nothing. She couldn't plan anything when she actually knew no details. No, instead, she just sat back and watched as her best friend was still tortured. Then, eventually, when she knew it was nearing the end of their time in the Capitol, she was called back to Peeta's side. At first, she had to act as she was meant to, but she knew she could try to attempt to bring him back to reality the next time.
The only thing she did not anticipate, when thinking about how she would handle the situation, even how Peeta would react, was how the Capitol would react. She did expect them to do something, even if it was just pulling her away. In fact, she kind of hoped for a situation like that, as she thought it would make it seem as if the Capitol had something to hide. She just didn't realise to what extreme they would respond with.
So, all too suddenly, Willow heard herself telling her best friend all that he wasn't meant to know. She was telling him the truth, but that wasn't allowed. And they weren't impressed with what she was doing. Of course, primarily, they needed to stop her talking. But, after all, she was a traitor, too. The Capitol had means they could use, which would give them an opportunity to punish her for both, at the same time.
Turning her into an avox was the perfect idea. Not only would it stop her from telling Peeta anything else that he wasn't allowed to know, but it was the punishment always given to traitors, if they had not been killed, before the opportunity arose. The Capitol just took advantage of the fact that she was silent a little more than Willow thought they would. They took it as the perfect moment for "Katniss" to kill her.
And she was to be killed by flames. She was to be killed by the same thing that had brought Katniss any influential power. Even though Katniss had no real relationship to her. No, making Peeta believe that she was their daughter would ruin him more. Either way, he would have hurt. But hurting and killing the daughter he never had would mean that he hated Katniss even more. It gave the Capitol the ideal reason to kill the traitor.
However, they did not consider how long they had to kill her, as well as how long killing her would take. Also, they did not seem to realise that making her an avox would not leave her completely silent. She was still able to scream- she could scream as much as anyone in pain could- which meant that other people could hear her. And that meant that the rebels that were entering the building ran in her direction, to save whoever was hurting so badly.
By the time they entered the room, though, Willow had inhaled enough smoke to cause her to fall unconscious. Yet, the flames continued to engulf her body. She was not dead after all, so there was no need to halt what was still killing. So, some of the rebels went to stop the flames, some took out the doctors and bodyguards that were there, and some went to help Peeta, who was watching the murder, with horrified eyes.
When they managed to wipe the flames out and the smoke had cleared, a limp body was revealed. Peeta wanted to run forward, as the body was that of his best friend or daughter, but something that the guards had injected into his arm was working too quickly. He nearly passed out immediately. But, first, he had to watch the first person to the girl's side, who was desperate, too, to believe she was still alive. And Peeta knew that that person was Gale Hawthorne.
To the contrary of all that Peeta had begun to recently believe, Gale had not married Katniss, nor had he done anything with her, that Peeta hated him for. No, they were both too wrapped up in their own remorse. For they were both worried that they had lost the one that they cared for the most. In fact, Gale was beginning to admit- as Katniss' feelings were clear- that he was falling in love with the girl that was being held captive in the Capitol. And, when he came to rescue her, he saw her being killed.
Of course, he was at Willow's side as soon as the flames cleared, and he realised that it was her. And, although the flames had obviously burnt the girl, they had not consumed her whole body. There was still a part of her that was unmarred. With that, he was desperate to get the rest of it to look as beautiful as it once had. But he knew that she would have to be taken to a doctor immediately, for that to even begin to happen.
So, without thinking, he cut the ropes that held her in place, so she fell into his arms. Then, he picked her up and began to follow away the soldiers that were carrying Peeta, after he passed out. However, as Willow fell into a position that barely filled Gale's arms, a heavy hand stopped Gale, as he walked, a look of pity on the older man's face.
"She's gone, Mr Hawthorne," he stated. "You saw what it was like, you heard her screaming, and then you heard her screams stop. There's nothing we can do to help her."
As soon as the words left his commander's lips, the tears that he had been holding back for months brimmed at Gale's eyes, and he began to shake his head. "Sir, she's still alive. I know she is. Please, you can't make me leave her here."
Sighing, the older man shook his head, too, and tried to take the girl out of Gale's arms, when he held her closer to him. "Our doctors are good, but they can't bring people back to life," argued the commander, frowning the slightest bit. "You're asking for a miracle. Unfortunately, the only ones who seem capable of doing that are here, in the Capitol. Unless you have forgotten, we are hardly on speaking terms with them. Don't make yourself believe in something that can never be tru-"
"She's not dead!" interrupted Gale without thinking, his voice a shout.
At the sudden outburst, the commander hardly looked pleased, but it was soon ignored when the two men heard the faintest sounding cough. Looking down, they saw that the girl's lips moving slightly, forming unclear words. But it meant she was alive, all the same. And it was a sign that even the adamant commander could not miss.
Even so, he still pressed two fingers to her neck, to feel a pulse. And it was there. Whether or not it was weak, it was still there. She was most definitely alive. But, if she didn't get medical attention soon, he knew she might stay in that privileged position for long.
"Get her back to the hovercraft," the commander instructed, waving his hand on. "Mr Mellark's there already, and they're just bringing in Miss Mason and Miss Cresta. We'll get going soon."
Ever so grateful, Gale walked away from the commander, to where they had come from, the girl held protectively in his arms. He entered the vehicle behind most of the other soldiers, including the two other prisoners his commander had mentioned. But, instead of sending a glance in any of their directions, to see if they would be alright, he just carried Willow through, to lie her down, on some of the only free area of floor.
However, the first time he actually cried was when he sat beside her, once the hovercraft had finally taken off. Without really thinking, he had moved her head, so that it was resting on his lap. Then, he had wrapped his hands around hers. But, by doing that, he could feel how faint her pulse was, only just manage to flutter through. And the thought of maybe losing her affected him more than he had previously realised it would.
But he tried, more than anything, not to think of maybe losing her. And he did not think about how it was taking a long time to get back to the hospital. And he definitely did not think of how it was becoming more and more difficult to feel the pulse in her wrist. Instead he focussed on a series of 'what if's. After all, when she survived, there were so many things he wanted to say to her, so many things he wanted them to do together. Why couldn't he imagine them all happening?
In that way, he filled most of their journey back. Until, when he noticed that the hovercraft was beginning to descend, he gathered Willow back into his arms and got to his feet. Standing in front of where it would open, ready to run to the hospital, as soon as it landed, no one stopped him. Luckily, it was only the youngest girl that was in real danger. Everyone else could be treated a little later or, even, not at all. As most of them were only a little shaken up.
However, for the sake of Willow's life, Gale ran all the way down to the hospital. Not once did he stop to answer any of the questions thrown his way, or even give an explanation for his odd behaviour. Except, on top of everything else, he was also painfully aware that people were desperate to catch a glimpse of the body he was carrying. Yet, he knew that Willow wouldn't have wanted anyone to stare at her, when she was in such a vulnerable state. So he didn't let them.
No one had been expecting the hovercraft to make such a sudden return, though, so there was only one doctor there, when Gale arrived. Although, technically, she was still a nurse. But Gale knew she could be trusted with anyone. Especially the girl he cared so much about. So he carefully put Willow down on the bed, before he went to get Prim's help.
As soon as Prim saw the panicked look on Gale's face, she asked, "Gale, what happened?"
"I- She- Flames- Alive- Nearly- Willow..." After forming many sentences that did not flow, Gale just gave up on speaking, so that he could lead the young nurse to Willow's side, instead.
Immediately, Prim crouched down, next to Willow, so she could begin to examine her. Then, she repeated her earlier question, whilst she glanced up, to look at Gale. "Just, this time, can you give me a little more detail?"
Gale sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed, with his face in his hands, to cover the tears. "We got there and- and we could hear this screaming. So we ran- I ran. And there were flames. But the person had- had stopped screaming. Except the flames kept...going. Until we turned them off. And Willow was there. No one believed m- They thought she was- she had died... But I brought her here-"
For a brief second, Prim rested a gentle hand on Gale's shoulder, before she moved it away, so she could look at Willow.
"Will she be...okay?" whispered Gale after a few minutes of silence, before the other soldiers would enter the room. But he still didn't dare to look back, to see her so hurt, for longer than necessary.
"I'll do all that I physically can," promised Prim, falling silent once again, as the soldiers began to carry everyone else in, too.
As the remaining captives from the Capitol were put down on the other empty beds, many more nurses and doctors came in, after them. Most went to Peeta, Johanna and Annie, but Prim's mother spotted her and ran to her side.
Fortunately, by the time that the woman had finished asking all her questions, Prim had already managed to answer them all. She didn't think it fair for Gale to go through that trauma for a third time.
But, even so, Gale did not leave Willow's side. If what happened at the Capitol was ever mentioned, he just shut himself off to reality, for a few minutes. Then, when he began to focus, once more, on the hospital wall, occasionally reaching back to stroke Willow's wrist, he tried to relax. After all, he knew his tension would neither help Willow, nor himself. And Prim and her mother were doing everything they were able to.
But he didn't move away once, all the time that Willow was being treated. It was because, mainly, he felt that he was to blame. He should have tried to get there faster, when he heard screams. He should have made them go to the Capitol days before. He should have protected her more before. All he could do, though, was just wish she'd recover, and then recover quickly. He was scared to think of what would happen otherwise.
When it began to fall dark, as the lights were dimmed and many of the doctors or nurses lessened their work, Prim stopped attending Willow, for just a few minutes. Gale had readjusted himself a while ago, so he was sitting on the floor, with his head near to Willow's. But he had kept his eyes tightly squeezed shut, whilst his hand would still eventually brush against Willow's.
"Gale?" Prim called quietly, crouching down, next to him. "Have a break now. Go and get some food. Sleep for a bit. It can't be very comfortable down there."
Slowly, Gale raised his head, blinking his tear-filled Seam eyes. "I don't want to- to miss her. What if-"
"If she wakes up, we'll come and get you," agreed Prim. "We're doing everything we can, I promise."
Gale stayed silent for a moment or two, weighing the option up in his head. "I'll be back in the morning," he eventually decides.
And that would be when she would wake.