Chapter 38: Rise Up
After a further two weeks of recovery, Katniss is finally allowed out of the hospital. The doctors are pleased with the progress she has made and think she is well enough to go home. Peeta is relieved. He wants to get Katniss home as soon as possible. It had been touch and go for a few days, so the fact that she is almost back to full health gives him reason to hope there will be no lasting effects from her experience. Katniss still has some pain in her shoulder and is weak from her ordeal.
Baby Prim had been happy to see Katniss when they finally brought her to the hospital. She put her arms out for Katniss as soon as she saw her and called "Mama". Katniss had been overwhelmed when Prim called her "Mama" for the first time. Peeta hugged them both and, when Prim saw their tears and then their laughter, she went between them both repeating "Dada", "Mama", in her singsong baby voice. They delighted in her and Katniss could see how Prim was growing up before her very eyes. Starting to talk, she had been crawling already and before they know it Prim will be up on her feet and leading them a merry chase. There was so much to look forward to when they got home.
Paylor's interrogation of Gale had ended. It was more of an offering than an interrogation. She had prepared her position before seeing him, but Gale had a way of challenging the status quo that would never sit comfortably with those in charge. He was a man of integrity and it was hard to deny the truth of what he was saying.
"Gale, you know you have acted in opposition to the Government and there needs to be consequences for that" she tells him.
"There would have been no need for my actions if you had been honest with the people in the first place. Katniss nearly died again thanks to the inaction of the Capitol and Snow is still out there, planning his next move" says Gale.
"We didn't know if he was still alive. How could we? With no body, it was impossible to tell what had happened to him" Paylor says.
"That's no excuse for not doing everything you could to find out what happened to him!" reacts Gale angrily. "Especially when people's lives are at risk".
"What do you think would have happened if people had found out Snow might not be dead. Do you think there would have been any moving forward with our New Panem? Do you think anyone would have taken the government seriously? Alma Coin was dead, thanks to the Mockingjay, and we were left to pick up the pieces. The people would have been very unforgiving if they thought this Government was not in control" she tells him.
"The fact is it could not be hidden forever. Sooner or later someone was going to find out that the Government had been deceiving them. They are still going to react".
"Well, we need to make sure that doesn't happen, Gale" says Paylor. He knows what is coming next. She is going to ask him to keep their secret. Their dirty little secret that almost killed Katniss.
"What are you suggesting?" he asks.
"I am suggesting that now we know Snow is still alive, we have a better chance of tracking him down. We have information that we didn't have before".
"Information which I got because you were not willing to poke the bear of the Capitol resistance".
"Be that as it may, we can now begin to plan more strategically how we can bring this whole thing to an end".
"How do you propose to do that?" Gale asks.
"That will require further discussion and we will include you in that discussion as well. So far, there are very few people who know about your encounter with Snow and that's the way we want to keep it. With you on board we will devise a plan which we hope will smoke him out again, only this time he won't get away. But it has to be kept top secret".
Gale doesn't like this. It smacks too much of what the Capitol has already been doing. Keeping things under wraps, not informing people, hiding their deceit.
"I am not going to keep quiet about this" he says. "People need to know what is going on".
"We will inform the people that need to know. That would include Katniss and Peeta. We will make sure they receive regular updates and we will also ensure extra forces are sent to District 12 for their safety".
This had been done before and Gale wasn't sure it would make any difference.
"I need to know they will be safe and I need to be part of the force that captures Snow" Gale says.
"You have my word on both those things" Paylor agrees. "For now, we want you to go back to District 12 until things settle down and you recover from your injury. We need you to be fit for this assignment and we need to work out what our strategy might be. We will call you back once we have determined that word has not gotten out about your discovery. If that happens, there could be a different outcome to my decision today".
That is a threat, Gale decides. He lets it go, if it means Paylor is going to free him and allow him to go back to District 12 for now. He wants to make sure Katniss will be OK and that the promised reinforcements will accompany the family back home.
Katniss and Peeta are delighted when they hear that Gale has been let out of prison and allowed to leave the Capitol to return to District 12 with them. They both know there is more to his release than anyone is saying right now, but they trust Gale and are sure he has his reasons for keeping Snow's reappearance under wraps. It is something they will be able to talk about on their return, without prying eyes to watch them and listening devices planted all around. Was there ever going to be a government that wasn't afraid of its people and their potential to rise up? Katniss didn't know. What she did know was that this needed to be brought to an end once and for all and she would take pleasure in getting the opportunity to kill Snow, again.
Authors note: Theme song for the end of this book in the series: Rise up – Andra Day.
If people would like me to continue the series, I would appreciate your feedback. This is the end of the 3rd book in the series and I am enjoying writing the stories, in fact I would find it hard to stop! If you are interested in continuing Peeta and Katniss' journey with me let me know. Thanks :)