XXX

…

Guards flanked her sides. It wasn't a surprise. She was still having outburst. There had been thirty-three that I knew of. Twelve of them directed toward me, eight toward Mitch, five toward Gale, three toward Finn, one toward Jo, and the others were directed toward hospital personnel. The injuries: seven broken ribs, four fingers, two noses, one dislocated shoulder, and an endless number of cuts and bruises. Despite it all, she was getting better. She was. She was throwing insults at Mitch. Undergoing tactic training sessions with Finn. Sitting uncomfortably with Jo. Having conversations with Coin and Boggs. I even saw her laugh during one of her sessions with Gale. With me, she could look me in the eye now for the entirety of our sessions and did not break contact. It had been thirteen days since her last outburst.

Yet, despite her violent outburst, she stood in the corner of District 13's training facilities. And besides the handcuffs, she looked like the rest of us in the hall. She wore the same attire: gray combat boots, gray pants, and a matching gray tank top. Her hair was in it's normal braid; I had rarely seen it like that since the Capitol got its grasp on her. She wasn't the Capitol's doll though, at least not anymore. The Capitol's rough play showed. Black, blue, purple, yellow... Bruises coated her skin, some singled out and others in groupings of sorts, some were results of her time spent in the Capitol weeks ago and others were of her own doing, symptoms of her outburst.

With the nod of the head from Boggs, the guard to left takes her by the handcuffs and frees her hands from the chains. Once done, the left guard steps back to where he stood beside her before. Then, Boggs motions for her to move. She does, but the guards stay standing beside the door. When Katniss reaches him, he nods and they exchange a few words before Boggs sends her over to where Mitchell stands with Finn.

After several minutes of silence, Jo finally speaks up beside me. The District 7 victor was... something. I had meet her a number of times before her arrival here in 13: my Victor Tour, in the observant room during Katniss's games Katniss's Victor Tour. All meetings were short lived. However, our exchange during Katniss's Victor Tour no doubt the most lively of the bunch. She had grabbed me by the crotch during one of the few moments neither Katniss or Mitch were by my side and told me to save myself before the Girl on Fire turned me to ash; then she laughed, let go of my crotch, and grabbed a glass of liquor from a passing avox.

I didn't get to truly meet Johanna Mason until I came back from the Capitol with Katniss. Jo along with the majority of the remaining victors, that weren't loyal to the Capitol, were brought to District 13 as war began to break out across the districts. Yet, a number of the victors retrieved didn't make the trip back to District 13. The victors from District 1, 2, and 8 stayed in their districts except for me. Beete and Wiress from 3, Finnick Odair and Annie Cresta from 4, and of course Jo from 7 were successfully retrieved. The hovercraft that retrieved the District 5 and 6 victors went down in a bombing in 6. The hovercraft that went for 10 and 11 was shot down by Capitol crafts on their way to District 12. Mitch made it to District 13 of course, along with a quarter of District 12's population... I suppose the kidnapping of Katniss got on Snow's last nerve and thus he called for an airstrike on the district; Mitch and Gale Hawthorne got as many people as they could to safety in the forest that bordered the district.

Jo was the odd one of the group that found a new resident in District 13. I found she was a mixture of Mitch, Finn, and the pre-Capitol Katniss. She wasn't bad to be around; she knew when not to poke the bear. Yet, she liked to talk. And as Katniss joined Mitchell and Finn, Jo opened her mouth. "Looks like the Capitol mutt has been let loose."

I do everything in my being not to rip her to shreds, and instead shot her a stern look.

"What," she laughs. "She's a nutcase, brute. You know she's not stable."

I nod. I know. She loses it sometimes. She doesn't know what's real or not. She doesn't know who she's supposed to trust. She cracks and the rage takes over. Snow poisoned her.

...

"Five, four, three, two, one."

Mitchell blows his whistle and Katniss releases her grip from around Jackson's neck. With a heavy sigh, Jackson rolls over onto her side, sucking in a deep breath of air. Katniss rolls off her back and onto her feet. It was her second win. She had beaten Finn and now Jackson. I had taken Jo and then Gale. Now, we were the only two that remained. Now, I had to fight Katniss.

Clapping her on the back, Boggs signals me over as Homes attends to Jackson and Mitchell retapes Katniss's wrist.

"Don't go easy, boy."

Not knowing what to say, I nod my head before stepping on to the mat. Mitchell exchanges a few words before motioning Katniss up onto the mat as well. Everyone surrounding the mat had their attention focussed on us. Boggs nods his head and Mitchell blows the whistle.

We begin.

Neither of us make any sudden movements. We're too smart for that, this wasn't the dash to the Cornucopia, there were no weapons awaiting us. We only had our hands. There would still be a bloodbath.

Katniss makes the first move. A swing to my right jaw. Her fist doesn't connect though. But, when her body rolls off mine, she thrust her elbow back, jamming it into my shoulder blade. The blow no doubt leaves a bruise, but it's not fatal enough to knock me off my feet or slow me down.

She didn't wait to throw the next punch. Her left fist connected with my lower back as I took my left leg and kicked in her knee causing her leg to lock up long enough for me to process my next move. She went down like a rock, falling toward. Yet, she didn't give in. As she went, she wrapped her arms around my legs and pulled them forward, taking me down with her.

As she attempted to unwrap herself from our tangled bodies, my fist connected with her side. Twice. Phased, I twisted my leg with hers before rolling over so she laid against the mat and I hovered above her. Before I can grasp for her hands, her fist connects with my throat. My breath catches.

Then, I'm on my back and Katniss is above me. Her legs locked with mine, she wraps her one hand around my throat while using her other hand to repeatedly hit me in the gut. And, in that moment, she was the girl from the games yet, this time instead of beating the life out of the boy from District 4 she was taking her rage out on me.

In one swift motion, I grab her hand before it connects with my side and sweep it up my body. I hit the wrist of her hand wrapped around my neck and catch it in my grasp. Then, using my legs I flip us over so her back is pressed against the mat. I straddle her waist, my legs locked with hers, my one hand I hold her hands over her hands above her head while I press the forearm of my other arm against her neck, slowing her breathing. In the background, Mitchell begins to count.

"Five, four, three, two, one."

...

Boggs stands at the front of the hall, his clipboard of test scores and field reports in hand. Coin stands two steps behind him; her gray District 13 suit pressed and her thin hair straightened to a point, looking awful as usual. Before them Mitchell, Homes, and Jackson stand, their backs facing me. Finn and Jo stand whispering to each other in the next row of people. Gale and Katniss behind them, silent with their arms crossed. And, Mitch and I stand in the back of the group. After a long moment, Boggs clears his throat.

"Congratulations. You all passed your test with flying colors. Welcome to Squad 451."

Mitch let's out a disappointed groan while Finn and Jo let out a roar of excitement.

"As members of this squad, you will each be assigned a specific position. The position you receive is that which is best suited to your skill set as shown through the test you have undergone."

Looking down at his clipboard, Boggs begins to read off the assignments.

"I will be acting as your commanding officer. I'll be leading the squad in the mission we are assigned.

Jackson will be second command. She will assisting me in leading the squad, and if anything were to happen to me, Jackson will take charge.

Homes will be in charge of navigation. He is quite familiar with the city's layout both above and below ground, and has been staying updated with it's enhancements.

Finnick will be assisting Homes with navigation as he is quite familiar with the city's layout due to his time spent in the Capitol.

Mitchell will be our medic. You have all taken courses concerning medical procedures in a war zone, but Mitchell has been a resident physician here in District 13.

Johanna and Haymitch will be in charge of our infantry. The only one that can overrule their field decisions regarding what type of weaponry should be used is me.

Gale will be acting as our engineer, coming in handy regarding the disarmament of any bombs or traps that we may across.

Katniss and Cato will be the squad's active snipers, they have proven to be our best shots as well as have shown to uphold the highest scores in hand to hand combat that our district has seen in years."

Bowing his head, Boggs lets his clipboard fall to his side. Yet, before a second can pass, Coin steps forward, clasping her hands in front of her. "Best of luck to you, Squad 451."

Despite her words, her encouragements one could say, I don't sense that she means what she says. Their empty. The snide look plastering her face tells me otherwise. It didn't matter though. I hadn't trust her from the beginning. Mitch had warned me. And so, I did what I had been doing since I arrived in 13, nodded my head and didn't say a word.