The rest of the room goes into a panic around me. But Haymitch manages to rise above them all with shouts of "Shut up! It's not some big mystery! The boy's telling us we're about to be attacked, here, in Thirteen." Questions arose from all sides, voices I haven't even heard.
"They're beating him bloody while we speak. What more do you need? Katniss, help me out here!" Haymitch shouts in frustration.
"Haymitch's right. I don't know where Peeta got the information or if it's true but he believes it is and they're-" she stops, not able to finish.
"You don't know him. We do. Get your people ready," Haymitch commands them. Coin speaks next.
"Of course, we have prepared for such a scenario. Although we have decades of support for the assumption that further direct attacks on Thirteen would be counterproductive to the Capitol's cause. Nuclear missiles would release radiation into the atmosphere, with incalculable environmental results. Even routine bombing could badly damage our military compound, which we know they hope to regain. And, of course, they invite a counterstrike. It is conceivable that, given our current alliance with the rebels, those would be viewed as acceptable risks."
"You think so?" Haymitch says. I think the both of us feel the same way about Coin. There is something strange about her.
"I do. At any rate, we're overdue for a Level Five security drill. Let's proceed with the lockdown." Then, it begins, the loud sirens unlike anything else I've ever heard. Boggs leads Katniss and I out of Command and into a wide stairway, where many people have already came towards. We go deeper and deeper and my ears begin to pop. We are told where to go after this, the same letter as our compartment. Katniss is an E, I am a G. We are separated now. I'm alone, which makes the first step easy to make sure everyone has arrived in your room. Done. Then, we go to the supply station and secure one pack for each member and ready the living area.
I find this station fairly easy, considering everyone is there. I just take one pack and empty its contents in my little square. It contains a mattress, bedding, two sets of gray clothing, a toothbrush, a comb, a rope and a flashlight. I make the bed and then return the kit. As I watch, no one else has the rope, but one of my doctors stops by, telling me that in case I should feel the need to do the same tying exercise as before. I guess I still am one of her patients even if from a distance. Some people give me looks as to where I got the rope, but I don't care. I learned to block out other people's emotions toward me a long time ago. This goes on for quite a bit while everyone gets their things ready and I tie my rope.
"Thank you everyone for your exemplary evacuation of the upper levels. This is not a drill, we repeat not a drill. Peeta Mellark, District 12 victor, has possibly made a televised reference to an attack on 13 tonight." Coin says over the speaker. She barely has time to sign off before the first bomb hits.
It shakes my insides, just like the explosion in the arena, which seems like years ago, but it was only maybe, what three months? I've lost track of time. The lights go out and I strengthen my grip on the rope. A generator turns on and a little glow of light comes up in the room, like the candles we sometimes have when the waves get really large and crash hard onto the land, snapping down the electric wires. A baby cries from far away, but something shuts it up immediately, right after the second cry.
"Apparently, Peeta Mellark's information was sound and we owe him a great debt of gratitude. Sensors indicate the first missile was not nuclear, but very powerful. We expect more will follow. For the duration of the attack, citizens are to stay in their assigned areas unless otherwise notified," Coin says over the speaker. Then, more silence follows.
Four more bombs over the rest of the night arrive. They are so spread out that you find comfort for a moment, and then the next one knocks you over. Coin doesn't speak about these though, just another one of her assistants tells us that they aren't nuclear, just powerful, four times over. Sometimes we are allowed to get up and move, so I take little walks around the perimeter, but no one says a word to me. I'm given food and time to bathe, so I guess my little adventure in solitude isn't that bad.
Except for the solitude part.
This will be the last chapter for a week or so because I'm going on vacation without Internet or free time. I have not abandoned this story! Hopefully you all review and blow up my inbox :) Seriously, do it and thanks for reading!