Chapter 22: Pieces (I)
It is a week since the discovery of the rose bush planted on top of Prim's grave. Katniss has not been herself ever since. She seems to have retreated into her dark past, the past of the Games and the Rebellion. Peeta is finding it hard to reach her there.
"Katniss" he says gently.
"Hmmm?" she replies.
"Prim is crying. She needs to be fed".
Katniss is lying on their bed and doesn't move. She can't. It feels like all the strength has been drained out of her body. How can someone dead and gone sap life out of the living? Snow is not even a real presence anymore. What is a presence, Katniss knows, is the evil he represented. That evil had set out to destroy her and Peeta. It had almost succeeded. She can't lose him again. She can't lose Prim. She can't lose anyone else. Unable to confront the evil, with so much to lose, Katniss retreats into herself. It took everything she had to fight it the last time. Now she feels she has nothing left to give.
"Come on Katniss" says Peeta as he lifts baby Prim out of her cot. He carries her over to Katniss and Prim's cries get louder.
"I can't" she says.
"Yes, you can. Please, Katniss! Prim needs you".
Katniss has been needed by too many people. Even baby Prim is making demands she can't meet right now. Her milk is beginning to dry up, due to the shock of their discovery. and she knows Prim is not getting what she needs from her. Katniss feels like a bad mother. As Peeta tries to hand Prim to her, Katniss shouts at him:
"Leave me alone!"
Peeta has never seen Katniss like this before and is taken aback at her anger. Prim is becoming very distressed. He decides he will need to get some advice from the apothecary in the village, to see if there is something he can get to help Katniss and also to find out what he can do about feeding Prim properly. She has been eating some solid food, but still takes milk from the breast and Peeta needs to know what might be a good substitute for that. He knows Katniss can't help the way she is feeling and Peeta is trying not to be angry with her, but Prim needs her. He needs her.
Peeta gathers Prim up to take her for a walk into the village, hoping that will distract her while he tries to work out what he is going to do. Katniss stays on the bed and doesn't move to say goodbye to them before they head out the door.
On the way into the village, Peeta sees Gale. He's on duty and Peeta decides to stop him and tell him about Katniss. She seems to be beyond anyone's reach right now and Peeta wonders if Gale has any news about the rose bush that was planted on Prim's grave.
"Gale. I need to talk to you about Katniss. She's hasn't been herself since we found that rose bush. She's stopped feeding Prim and can't seem to get out of bed right now. Have you found out anything about the rose bush?"
Gale is also concerned. He knows Katniss is not doing well because Haymitch has already told him as much . Gale wonders if Katniss has finally reached her breaking point. Like the berries in the arena, that helped to bring down the fragile system of the Capitol, was it possible that a simple rose bush could bring down the Rebellion's Mockingjay? He had seen that possibility once before, in District 13, after the bombing. When Katniss thought Snow was going to kill Peeta. It completely immobilized her. The sheer terror at the idea of losing Peeta had overwhelmed her.
"Peeta, I am planning a trip to the Capitol in the next couple of weeks to try and find out the latest on the Resistance. I also want to get an update on the missing Peacekeepers. So far, we have no idea who could have done this and I have my men keeping an eye out for any strangers in the town".
"It has to be someone who was in the village at the time. Maybe someone noticed a stranger last week. Have you asked people about what they saw then?"
"We have, and no one has reported seeing anyone or anything suspicious. But we haven't stopped looking Peeta".
Peeta believed him. Gale would not want Katniss to suffer any more either.
"Thank you, Gale. Can you let me know if you hear anything?" he says.
"I will" Gale replies and looks with concern after Peeta as he heads up to the Apothecary with Prim.
Gale and his men have questioned the townsfolk and they have not been able to turn up anything remotely suspicious. But, that wasn't saying much, considering two of his own Peacekeepers had hijacked Peeta without Gale even being aware of the plot. He promises himself he will do everything he can to find out who is behind this and why.