"He's going to be alright." The doctor's words echoed in my head. I couldn't believe them at first. I had been preparing myself for Peeta's death, but somehow he had found the strength to survive. Relief watched over me, and the tears found their way into my eyes again, only this time they were tears of joy.
"But…" The doctor started. I knew there would be a but. Nothing would ever work out perfectly. "He had severe head trauma. As is usually the case, we aren't sure how his memory will be affected." Suddenly, my heart dropped into my stomach. It was everything I had feared about his rescue from the Capitol. I wouldn't be able to escape it. What if he didn't know who I was? What if he didn't remember everything that had happened between us?
"Can I…can I see him?" I asked cautiously, my voice catching in my throat.
"Yes you can. He should be awake now." I followed the doctor through the double doors and through a maze of narrow hallways until we stopped outside of room 3215. I looked through the window and saw Peeta laying there peacefully. His eyes were closed as if he was just sleeping. I smiled slightly as I thought about those nights I had watched him sleep next to me. I wondered if that would happen now if he didn't remember me.
"I guess not…" The doctor said apologetically. "He should be awake. We took him off of anesthesia a while ago." A nurse walked out of the room and softly closed the door, a worried look strewn across her face. She turned towards the doctor and began to speak, but noticed me and her face went blank.
"Are you the patient's wife?" The nurse said skeptically. "Because only family is sup
"No…we aren't related. He's my…we're…" I didn't know what we were exactly. I had never had to explain it to anyone. The people on the team didn't talk about it or question us. I guess I was Peeta's girlfriend, but it was different. It had never been clearly defined, so I wasn't sure how to answer her.
"This is Katniss Everdeen." The doctor answered for me. The nurse's face immediately changed. She looked confused for a moment, but then I guess she realized that Peeta and I were practically family.
"I'm..I'm sorry. I didn't know. You can stay of course. He isn't awake, but you can go in there with him." She said hurriedly. "Dr. Young, can I talk to you in private?" I took that as my cue to leave, so I walked into Peeta's room and closed the door. I nervously crossed the room to his bed. There was a chair in the corner and I pulled it over to the side of the bed.
"Peeta." I whispered his name and took his hand in mine. His face was bruised and bloodied, and there was a wrap around his head. I could see that his nose had been broken, but they had set it back in place and there was a small bandage over it. Seeing him like this made me want to track down Gale and kill him. The last time I had seen Peeta look this bad was during the first games, when I had uncovered him from the river, and even then he was up and talking to me at least.
Unlike back in the arena, there was nothing I could do here. I could bring him food or clean his wounds or take care of him. Thirteen did all of that. We were supposed to be safe here. I wasn't supposed to have to protect him, yet here we were, in a hospital room. I sighed and stroked his arm. "Peeta…come back to me. I need you." I whispered.
I lifted my hand up to his forehead and ran it through his hair. I sat like that for a long time, holding Peeta's hand and running my fingers through his hair. I knew Peeta would come back to me. He always did. Every time I thought Peeta was going to slip away, he came back stronger than ever. First it was in the cave, when I was sure he would die of blood poisoning. Then it was during the second games, when his heart stopped because of the barrier. Then finally when he was captured and tortured by the Capitol. He would pull out of this. He had to. I noticed that Peeta was shaking. I hadn't felt it at first because it had been so subtle, but I could feel his hand shake in mine. Then, his leg twitched underneath the blanket. I thought at first he was waking up, but then his leg kept twitching methodically every minute or so. His head turned back and forth and he groaned. It looked like he was in so much pain.
Why wasn't he waking up? The doctor had said he should be up by now. The surgery was done and had been successful, so shouldn't Peeta be awake and talking? I was frustrated. I had been sitting in this room for hours, then before that I had been sitting in the waiting room for even longer, and yet still no one kept me informed on anything. Because Peeta had no family, I was closest to him out of anyone, and yet no one thought it was important to keep me in the loop. I finally pressed the nurse call button, determined to get information.
I waited for another half and hour, pressing the button every few minutes, then I let out an exasperated sigh and got up. I let go of Peeta's hand and stormed out into the hallway. I didn't want to leave him, but he needed help, and no one was coming on their own accord. I walked in the direction I had seen the doctor and nurse go. I ended up in the lobby of the hospital wing, and I went to the front desk to question them.
"Excuse me. My name is Katniss Everdeen. My boyfriend Peeta Mellark is a patient, and he was supposed to be awake by now. He's shaking and his limbs are twitching. He keeps groaining in pain, and I'm starting to get concerned, and I've been pressing the call button for the past half an hour, but no one has come."
The woman at the desk looked at me with a sickly sweet smile, then said, "I'm sorry ma'am, but you'll just have to wait for the doctor to return. I can't give away any information to non-family members without his consent. If you'll just go back to the room and wait, I'm sure he'll be—"
"I don't want to wait!" I yelled, gaining the attention of everyone in the waiting area. "Its been hours, and I haven't heard one word. Why is it that I give everything to this cause, and no one has the decency to just answer me when I ask a simple question? Is the doctor too busy to be bothered with his patients? There is obviously something wrong, and he needs help now! I can't just sit around and wait—" I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned around. There was Haymitch staring back at me.
"Calm down, Katniss." He said angrily. "Come with me." He pulled my arm and dragged me down the hallway. We walked for a while, then went through a sliding metal door into a dimly lit room. Haymitch pressed a code into a panel on the wall, and another door slid open. I was disoriented for a second, before I realized we were in the control room. Standing around a table were Commander Jacobs, our entire squad, President Coin, and the last person I expected to see, Gale.
When I saw him, I felt all of the anger that I had been holding in rise up inside of me. I couldn't think, all I felt was rage. Before I realized exactly what I was doing, I lunged at him. I didn't know what I was going to do, all I knew was that I wanted to hurt him. Before I could reach him, two of Coin's guards holding my arms.
"Let me go!" I yelled. My training kicked in, and I lashed out my leg and kicked one of the guards in the knee. He yelled in pain and his hands dropped to hold his injured leg. I lashed my arm around and before the other guard realized what was happening, I had hand off of my arm and in a lock-hold. I twisted my hand around and felt his elbow break. He fell down next to the other guard and I turned back towards Gale, but Haymitch was there standing in front of me.
"Katniss!" He yelled, putting his hands on my shoulders and looking me in the eyes. "They're not the enemy. I know you're angry, but try to control yourself, sweetheart." I grunted and shoved his hands off of me. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. There were other guards standing warily with their weapons raised. I closed my hands into fists and looked at President Coin.
"I'm fine. Tell them to relax." I said through gritted teeth. She waved at them and they pointed their weapons back at the ground. "How could you do that?" I said, turning my attention towards Gale. "How could you hurt him like that? He never did anything to you. I didn't think someone could be so selfish, least of all you. You were my best friend. You're supposed to protect me. You're…you're supposed to…" Then I realized just how upset I was. Gale was supposed to be there for me. He was supposed to support me in every way. When had he become this person? When had he changed from the lovable guy who just wanted me to be safe into this terrible human being?
"And now I guess nothings going to be done?" I said to the entire room, looking from Haymitch to Coin, then at each member of my team. "I guess he's just going to get off scotch free even thought he almost killed someone?"
"It was just a training exercise gone wrong, nothing more." There was no expression on Coin's face besides cold disdain. "He didn't realize he was hurting Peeta, and it just went a little too far. Gale will be put on probation, but he is too valuable to lose. He will continue training with his unit. You need every man you can get."
My mouth dropped open. I looked at Commander Jacobs. "How can you let this happen? You know it was on purpose…you know he did it on purpose." Jacobs clenched his jaw and his hands tightened at his sides. I saw a look of pure anger cross his face, but it quickly disappeared and was replaced with a look of attempted indifference.
"It's like she said." He answered painfully. "It was just a training accident." Then I realized what was happening. Gale had become President Coin's little pet. He was the insider into our training group. It was clear that Jacobs had no love for Coin, so to prevent him from disobeying her, she had essentially planted a "spy" into our group. Of course he wouldn't get punished. She wouldn't allow it. She was playing it off as some sort of an accident, and as I looked at the faces surrounding me, I realized that no one would argue. Finnick had his hands in his pockets, his eyes fixated on some distant point halfway across the room. Furman and Johanna both had their arms crossed and hard looks on their faces. Craig had a snarl on her face. I thought maybe she would speak up, that maybe I could convince her to stick with me, but she wouldn't look at me, she just stared at the table in front of her.
I shook my head and looked away. It made me want to storm out, or cry, or scream, or all three at the same time, but I didn't. I just stood there wishing so badly I was strong enough to go against all of them, but I knew that was a battle that I could never win, so I just stayed silent.
"So Ms. Everdeen." Coin said, drawing attention back to herself. "While youe were occupied, the Capitol decided to launch a counter attack on us. We blew up their main supply line, so they retaliated. They attacked our base in district seven, and they've taken our men hostage there. They're also holding all of the citizens for ransom."
"Every day they send us a new execution video." Jacobs said, looking up for the first time. As he looked into my eyes, I saw something I didn't expect, shame. He was ashamed that he couldn't stand up for me, for Peeta. I felt bad for him. There was nothing he could do really. If he disobeyed Coin, he would be removed as leader of our squad, and he had to know that we needed him. He was in a bad position, and I knew that he hated being powerless like this. "Sometimes it's a soldier, sometimes it's a citizen. They usually start with beating them, then they set them on fire. They record every second of it and send the videos to us."
"So what are we going to do?" I asked him.
He began to answer me, but Coin interrupted him. "We're sending you in. Squad 451, along with some other District soldiers, is going to go into seven and rescue the hostages. You leave tomorrow morning."
"Wait. Shouldn't we wait until Peeta wakes up and recovers? You said it yourself, we need every man we can get, and Peeta is the smartest soldier we have. Our team operates best when its whole." I was convinced they would listen to me on this. We could wait a few days. I knew that sacrificing the lives of those hostages would be terrible, but it would be hard without Peeta. All of our tactical operations were built around having seven people. There was no plan that worked with six. As I looked eagerly at Jacobs, he just stared at the floor. "It can't be too long. The doctor said he would be awake soon, then with the treatment he'll get, he should be ready to go in a few days." No one would respond to me.
"Sweetheart." It was Haymitch who finally spoke up. Normally he only called me sweetheart when he was being sarcastic, but this was softer. He spoke to me like he might a small child. I knew where I had heard that voice before. It was the same voice my mother had used when she told Prim and I that our father had died. "We don't know…we don't know when Peeta is going to wake up. Or even…even if he will."
"But they said…the doctor told me he would wake up. He said he was fine. He said the surgery went perfectly. How can he not wake up—"
"He just…won't. When they took him off the anesthetic he should've woken up, but he didn't. The nurse was concerned, so she told the doctor and they monitored the machine hooked up to his brain. There is activity, but not a lot. They aren't sure what is going to happen to him." I looked away in disbelief. How could he be telling me this? Peeta was supposed to be fine. I thought maybe he would have some memory problems. I thought the worst thing I would have to deal with was making him love me again, but now they didn't know if he would wake up. "Katniss…Katniss look at me. Please." I felt his hands on my shoulders again. He shook me, but I could feel the shutters close. I shut them all out. The world was muted again. I didn't care about them. They hurt Peeta. It was all of their faults for not stopping Gale and for not standing up to Coin. I wished they would all just go away and leave me alone. I wished it was one of them who was hurt and not Peeta. Peeta would stick up for them, but they couldn't do it for him.
I looked at Gale, and I saw he was staring at me. I expected him to look away and pretend like he hadn't been, but he just kept staring into my eyes. I hated him, but when I looked at him, I didn't see a smug smile or a triumphant grin, instead, I saw remorse. His eyes were slightly squinted and his brow was furrowed. Then I saw tears fill his eyes. I could see his lips move, like he was speaking to me, and the world came back to me.
"Katniss…I…I'm so sorry." A single tear rolled down his cheek. Coin snapped her head back to stare at him, anger written all over her face. "What I did was wrong. I wasn't thinking, I wasn't…I'm sorry. I didn't know this would happen. I just lost control—" Coin grabbed his arm and he looked at her. She glared at him, and I saw fear creep into his face. He wiped his hand across his eyes, then stared at the ground in front of him. I realized that it was her fault. He controlled him. She had clearly fed his anger, had planted the seeds for this rage. There was nothing he could do. I knew I was still angry at Gale for what he had done, but I also knew I was more angry at him for letting himself be controlled by this woman. She was no better than Snow. At that moment, I knew that I could never let her win. We had to overthrow the Capitol, but then I had to overthrow her. She couldn't rule us. Nothing would change.
"So tomorrow morning?" I said, turning towards Jacobs.
He nodded at me. "We better get going team." He said, looking at all of us. "It's been a long couple of days, and we all need our rest before tomorrow. I'll brief you on the hovercraft." He turned and walked out of the room, and the rest of our team followed. Gale stayed behind with Coin, and I was walking out the door, I hesitated and turned back towards him. He looked up at me, and I could tell that the brief moment of remorse was gone. My Gale was gone. This was Coin's Gale, but I would do anything I could to change that. I took one last look at him and stepped out the door, following my team.
"I think I'm going to go visit Peeta." I said when I caught up with my team. They said goodbye and they would see me when I got back. I tried to remember how Haymitch had taken me, here from the hospital, but that would require me to go back through the control room. I decided to try a shortcut I was pretty sure would get me back to the hospital. I turned left and headed down a small, dimly lit corridor. It was a service hallway, so not a lot of people were passing through it. I had discovered many of these when I first came to thirteen and spent my days roaming around finding somewhere to be alone. I made a sharp right, but I saw Coin and Gale walking towards me. I turned quickly into a small closet, and quietly shut the door. I was worried they had seen me. I didn't really want to be alone with the two of them in this deserted hallway, so I just held my breath and waited. I could hear their voices. It seemed like they were having a heated argument.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to slip. It was an accident." I heard Gale say.
"Well you showed weakness, and you made it clear to everyone that it was no accident, although I'm sure they already knew that. You slipped Gale. How could you almost kill the Mellark boy in training? You knew we were planning on disposing of him anyway, but you let your emotions and jealousy get in the way." I had to put my hand over my mouth to stop myself from gasping. Dispose of him? So they were planning on killing Peeta. They walked past my closet, but paused right outside. I could see them through tiny slits in the door.
"I just…I loved her first. I don't know why she would choose him. He's weak." Gale looked upset.
"I don't understand why that girl has you both so riled up. She's so simple. Let him have her Gale. You're better than her. You deserve something…more." Then I saw her hand reach up and stroke his hair. My eyes widened.
"I know." He reached back and touched her lips with his thumb, holding her face in his hand. "I just—" But he never got his sentence out. Coin reached up and touched her lips to his. He looked like he was going to pull away, but he gave in and pulled her towards him. Her hands gripped his hair and he wrapped his arms around her. Eventually she pulled away from him.
"And you have one. So there is no reason to fret over Katniss Everdeen. Eventually she will be gone, and you won't have to feel jealous anymore." She said with a wicked smile.
"Wait. Katniss? You won't hurt her. You said you wouldn't." He pushed her away.
She scoffed at him and rolled her eyes in disgust. "All in good time, Gale. All of your problems will be gone." Then she kissed him on the lips and walked away. He stayed where he was, staring at the ground. "Well, are you going to come with me, or just stand there?" For a second I thought he would defy her, but he turned around and walked off.
I didn't move a muscle. I could barely even breath as I processed what I had just seen. Gale was in it deeper than I thought with Coin. They're relationship was deeper than I had thought, and she had total control over him, but more importantly she was planning on taking care of all of his problems. She was going to kill Peeta. She was going to kill me, and if I didn't stop her, she was going to be the downfall of us all.