Chapter 7
Hello Hello, I hope you are all doing well, and if you've made it this far, you must be at least somewhat enjoying this story. In which case I'll keep writing until I deem it finished. This will be the Katniss side of the last chapter's end, and a little into what happens after that for Johanna. The Catching Fire portion will then be officially over! Onward, lesbian angst!
I will also be taking many more creative liberties that stray away from the original story. Anyways,
Enjoy!
Litost: A state of agony and torment created by the sudden sight of one's own misery.
The walk to the lightning tree was awkwardly quiet, with just the sound of twigs snapping and leaves scuffling. I think everyone was so caught up in their own thoughts and anxieties that it felt like we were walking on trapeze wire. Everyone on edge.
Then the light beamed in the sky that showcases the faces of the fallen tributes, and I sneak a glance at Johanna when Blight appears. Her face is solemn, and a quick look around tells me everyone else is as well. I feel it too, and this unified solemnity far outweighed the anxieties of before.
With now stern faces, the group turns back around and continues on to the tree.
We walk for quite a while and as we finally get close, I can feel the paranoia creep up on me, which begins to give way to the anxiety that I fought off earlier. When we arrive, we all help wrap the wire around the tree and ensure that it will conduct properly. Then Beetee looks at me and instructs me to go with Johanna to the beach with the coil. I can feel my heart leap immediately, panic setting in and I jerk my head to and from Johanna to Peeta to Beetee. Being separated from Peeta was not expected, and would definitely hinder the plan we made on the beach.
Johanna's face remained passive, though her eyes appeared concerned, and Peeta must have read my panicked eyes as he spoke up for himself to go with us. "I'm gonna go with them as guard."
Beetee was quick to rebuttal, "No, no, no. You're staying here to protect me…and the tree."
'What? That doesn't make any sense. Why can't Finnick and Johanna protect Beetee?'
Peeta must have been thinking the same thing as he argued once more with Beetee that Finnick could protect him alone. I chime in that Johanna could also stay and protect him.
The three of them share a look before they aggressively try to intimidate us into going along with it. I'm fuming inside because I can't understand why they're fighting this, but then I think that they may also be wondering the same thing about us. I consider arguing one more time, but it's the input from Johanna: "It's his plan, and we all agreed to it.", along with the look in her eyes that makes me grit my teeth and eventually cave in.
Before we depart, I feel as if I need to form a last-second plan so I go to Peeta and make it seem like I'm giving him a heartfelt goodbye. When I go to hug him, I wrap my arms around his head so it will mask my face and lips as I whisper "If we're betrayed, meet me at the cornucopia."
He gives me a steeled look that says he understands. I say "I'll see you at midnight", and turn around right as Johanna declares "All right, let's go!" with a slight twinge of irritation. She picks up the coil and starts walking into the jungle, so I fall in line behind her.
We hike for a while in silence, and I know I just need to let my irritation fade away. It's not Johanna's fault that I'm in this situation, but I'm continuously irked by the fact that they are obviously hiding something. Everyone. I feel afraid to put my trust in others to begin with, and being separated from Peeta (the only person I know I trust here) leaves me feeling extra uneasy.
Johanna hasn't given me a reason to distrust her yet, and I'm hoping it stays that way.
As we walk and unravel the coil, we take turns with the burden of holding it. We would also help each other over the more difficult spots of terrain.
'We work well together. I wonder if we would go together in other areas like this.'
All of a sudden she says "You know, I'm sure Beetee had his reasons for separating us like he did. He's a really smart guy, and I hope you know his intentions aren't evil or anything.."
I feel the ire rise up in my throat, and before I know it I'm reacting to that anger as I spit out "No, I hardly know Beetee at all, so how could I ever know his true intentions? Just because he's smart doesn't mean he's right, or that he's trustworthy, especially here. Why should I believe that you all have our best interests at heart?"
Yikes. I can tell that I took it a bit too far with the harsh tone I used, but I genuinely need to know the answer to why I should trust them. She seems to think for a moment before going to speak, but in that moment my arm is jerked back by the wire suddenly going taut. I yank on it a few times, hoping beyond hope that it is just caught on something. "There's something-" I begin to say but the wire I was pulling on slackens like it was cut, and I stumble backwards.
I register that it's most likely an enemy, so I jump up and ready my bow before drawing an arrow…only to get hit in the back of the head so hard that I barely retain consciousness as I hit the ground. I'm disoriented and I manage to flip onto my back before feebly attempting to get up and get my bearings.
Before I can even try, Johanna has straddled me and is holding my arm. At first I think she's attempting to shield me or help me, but then I feel a searing pain drag down my arm. I realize she's cutting into me, and in my muddled state of confusion and pain I fight with all I can to get her off of me.
'What the FUCK!? How could she do this to me?! ...I can't believe I thought I could trust her!'
She has leaned down and is whispering things to me while I fight her, but all I could make out was "..Can you hear me? Go to the lightning tree, Peeta should be there too…"
This makes me more confused than ever, and I open my eyes and direct them at hers with as much focus as I can muster. She looks right back at me, and there's no ill intent in her eyes.
'Why would she try to help me now!?...damn…beautiful….bitc-'...Darkness.
"Take care of yourself, Everdeen..."
When I wake up again, the first thing I notice is the splitting headache I have. The next set of things I notice is that I'm all alone, it's dark, and I have a huge gash in my arm. I take a few calming breaths and try to think past the pain.
The cut on my arm seems to be where the tracker was located. 'So…she cut out my tracker..why?...and where in the hell did she go?'
I remember that enemies arrived, and Johanna knocked me out to apparently cut out my tracker, then either attempted to fight the enemies, ally with them, or just plain run. I remember that she told me to go back to the lightning tree, because Peeta would be there.
The memory of me telling Peeta to meet at the cornucopia if things go awry flashes through my throbbing head.
'Ugh, I can't think straight! I need to find Peeta or figure out where Johanna went.'
I stand up on wobbly legs and I start to notice other things about my body and senses besides the pain, like the feeling of something sticky and wet on my neck. I reach up and wipe my hand across my neck only to draw it back and see blood, but I don't feel any wound or pain in that area.
I realize that Johanna must have wiped the blood on my neck, but why? To make it appear as if I was fatally wounded? That would mean that she was attempting to draw them away from me.
'So she was trying to help me!'
I breathe out a tiny sigh of relief at this thought, and I can only pray to whatever god is out there that I'm right. If I am right, that should mean that Finnick wouldn't betray us either, and they may still be at the tree. I grab my bow and sling it over my shoulder, along with the quiver and two arrows that I have left.
I can see the strobing thunderclouds gathering overhead, and I know that midnight must be close. I find a sturdy semi-straight stick on the ground that I can use as a walking stick for balance and begin my hike back to the tree, following the wire we unwrapped on the way.
I try not to dwell on the whereabouts of Johanna and whether or not she's okay. We can figure that out once we regroup. 'Besides, I'm sure she's fine…she's incredibly strong and resilient..'
The thunder is starting to pick up and the clouds are thicker than ever, so I decide to abandon the walking stick. I'm starting to feel more clear-headed and can walk okay on my own now. I pick up my pace and begin jogging towards the tree.
When it's finally in sight, I start a full on run, dodging trees left and right, stumbling a few times. I keep running until I come crashing out of the brush and into the open area surrounding the tree, and I look up just in time to see…nobody. There's nobody here.
'Where are they!? They should be here! At the very least Beetee should!'
I put my hands on my knees and catch my breath before circling around the tree, and I lose my breath all over again when I see a figure on the ground.
It's Beetee, he's unconscious and has something lying on the ground beside him. I walk over and kneel next to him, reaching my arm out and placing my fingers on his throat to check for a pulse. I pause a moment with my eyes closed, and sure enough it's there, a strong heartbeat.
I'm relieved but I'm still very confused. Where are the others? And what was Beetee trying to do?
I look to the ground for the object, and I can see that it is a medium sized stick with a shaved and pointed tip. The wire that's wrapped around the tree was partially wrapped around the stick, with many yards of slack in between. 'What was he making?'
Right as I think this, another rumbling of thunder vibrates through my body and the surrounding area. This causes the answer to explode in my brain, and right away I begin working on wrapping the wire around one of my arrows instead of the stick.
The clouds above resemble fluffy strobe lights with the amount of flashings they contain, and I know for sure that it's now or never. I finish wrapping the arrow and I pull my bow off and around my body to position the arrow in it. I have it in the bow, and I pull it back as far as the string will let me. Determination and fear are ringing in my ears with the thunder, and I can barely register Finnick to my left screaming at me before I release my fingers from the arrow and it goes flying.
The lightning comes down with a deafening *KATOW*, blowing both myself and Finnick away from the tree. The electricity climbs up the wire, just as I intended, just as Beetee intended, and for the first time I'm realizing just as they may all have intended.
Once again everything starts to fade out, and I am lying prone on the ground. I want to go to sleep so badly, the exhaustion is too real, but right when I am about to let myself drift off, I hear that voice I like. The one that's like a blade and bandage in one. "Katniss! Katniss!"
I can feel myself being lifted off of the ground, and I managed to crack my eyes open just enough to see her below me. She's reaching up for me, and I pull every teaspoon of energy left in this ragdoll body of mine to lift my hand towards her too. She starts smiling and laughing then, and I can no longer keep myself from succumbing to total darkness.
When I open my eyes again, it's to a gray ceiling and fluorescent lights. I slowly gauge whether or not I can move my extremities. I can wiggle my toes and fingers, and I can bend my arms and legs. I go to sit up and once again I can feel that splitting pain in my head. I look down at my arm and it seems to have been bandaged by someone. I have an oxygen mask wrapped around my face that I pull off gingerly.
I look to my left and I see Beetee lying unconscious next to me. He also seems to have had his wounds treated. I start looking around and notice we're onboard an aircraft, similar to the ones that brought us to the arena.
I also notice a medical kit left open by the door, and I rush to open it and check the contents for some sort of weapon. I'm not entirely sure who picked us up, so I want to be ready just in case. I find a needle with some unknown liquid inside and I take it.
I cautiously make my way down the hallway until I come to a door that I can faintly hear voices behind. I recognize one of them to be Haymitch, and when I inch just a bit too close, the door automatically opens in front of me.
Standing in the room around a table is Plutarch, Haymitch, and Finnick. That's it. No Peeta, no Johanna. The first thing Haymitch says to me is "G'mornin sweetheart.." with a slightly guilty look on his face.
Rage fills me and I allow it to blind me as I rush at him with the needle in hand. He blocks my wrist with his forearm and forces me back into the wall so he can pin my wrists above my head.
"You and a syringe against the Capitol, see this is why nobody lets you make the plans." Haymitch says through his struggling to take the syringe from me.
Finnick looks at me with pleading eyes, "Stop, please just stop and listen."
Haymitch begins to release me as he says "We couldn't let you know what was going on with Snow watching, it was too risky." I decide to shove him off of me the rest of the way and the first words out of my mouth are "Where's Peeta?"
Plutarch has the audacity to say "Katniss, you have always been our mission from the beginning. The plan was always to get you out, and half of the tributes were in on it. This is the revolution. You are the Mockingjay." He pauses before continuing "And we are on our way to district 13 right now."
I have to clench my fists as tightly as possible so as to not assault this man. He completely ignored my question in favor of some dumb monologue about the revolution. So I repeat myself, "Where's Peeta!?"
Haymitch decides to answer me instead, "He still had his tracker in his arm, and Johanna cut yours out…" He looks towards the ground at that.
I'm processing everything as quickly as I can, and one thing I know for certain is that neither of them are here. "Where are they?"
His eyes shift away before replying "...The Capitol. They got him and Johanna…"
'Oh no…I think I'm gonna puke..'
If the Capitol has them then it's worse than I thought. I'm certain they will be tortured. I feel the anger again and I lash out towards Haymitch with my hand across his face in a hard slap before I start swinging at him with both arms screaming "You son of a bitch! You said you would get him out! You promised me you would save him over me!" Haymitch is trying his best to hold me off when I feel a prick in my back, and I realize Plutarch has just injected me with tranquilizer. My vision goes black yet again as my body slumps to the floor.
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This is becoming something of a deja vu situation it seems. I am coming out of unconsciousness slowly but surely, checking all of my extremities for movement. I see a figure approaching me from the left and I jerk my head over to see that it's none other than Gale.
He sits down next to me and forces a smile, and I know he can tell that I'm surprised to see him.
"Hey Katnip, you're okay, you've just been asleep for a few days." He looks at me gently as he speaks.
'A few days!? Shit! That means Peeta and Johanna have been in the Capitol for a few days if they haven't been rescued.'
"Are we home?" I didn't recognize this place as any place I had ever seen in 12 before.
His face changes all of a sudden to one of grief, and he glances away as if nervous to tell me what he needs to tell me. This causes my anxiety to spike and I fear the worst, so I coax him to speak again. "Gale. Where's Prim?"
He looks back up at me, "She's alive…so is your mom, I got them out in time."
I'm confused at this, so I ask "Got them out..?"
He forlornly looks at me and says "After the games, they sent in hovercrafts and started dropping firebombs.."
What was he talking about? That couldn't be possible, I've only been asleep for what feels like a few hours. "Are they in 12?"
He looks like he hates being himself right now, "Katniss…there is no district 12…it's all gone."
After he speaks, I take a moment just to absorb what he's said, and it's as if the dam in my head caved and all of the emotions that I had been keeping separate and delegated in my head burst forth at once. I feel sadness over my district and over Peeta and Johanna being taken, I feel relief that my family made it out of 12 alive, fear over what's to come and what needs to be done, and most of all rage. Rage at President Snow and all of the horrors that he's committed while sporting that pristine white suit.
I can feel the adrenaline rush through my system and I tighten all of my muscles as if he were in front of me and I was literally ripping his head off with my bare hands.
'I'll destroy him. I'll get Johanna and Peeta back, and I won't die until I see his blood on my hands.'
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*SPLASH!*
"G'morning Mason, hope you got some good sleep!" The old white peacekeeper says cheerily as he tosses a bucket of water at me, literally. It hits me in the leg and the water sloshes out and on my side and abdomen.
"Well I wouldn't exactly call two hours 'good sleep', but gee, thanks!" I say sarcastically as I wipe the water out of my eyes and kick the bucket away irritably.
"Ah ah ah, I wouldn't lose my temper if I were you, especially after what happened last week. And you should be grateful, I brought you a delicious, nutritious meal." As he says this, he throws the metal plate of food he was holding in one hand like a frisbee at my feet, and it clatters and clangs on the ground. The green-brown slop of food it was carrying slings and splatters on the floor in front of me. "Enjoy! I'll be back soon to collect you for today's…activities."
'How long has it been? Three weeks? A month? I'm starting to lose track of time, as well as my sense of self.'
I was captured by the Capitol at the end of the games, and when I woke up I was in this glaringly white prison cell. Every day has been a new brand of torture, and it's all I can do just to stay semi-sane. Peeta was also captured, and I think Annie too a few days after we were. Peeta's cell is across the hall from mine, and I can hear him, sometimes screaming or crying, sometimes laughing strangely.
The really fucked up part about Capitol torture is that they have the same technologies as in the arena, so it's really only limited by their imagination. Which unfortunately is very creative.
Earlier today…or…yesterday? They made all of the floor and wall panels of the cell become white hot for a solid two hours. The 'bed', if you can call it that, is made of steel and lies only two feet off of the ground, so the heat traveled through it well. I prevented myself from getting too many burns by taking my shirt and pants off and balling them up, then standing on them. It was still nearly unbearable. I got several burns and my skin dried up severely. That's why the bucket of water the pig threw was actually not unwelcome.
I sit up and rub as much of the water around my skin as possible. I take the tattered shirt off that's now wet and wring the water into my mouth by twisting the shirt. It doesn't taste good, as this is the same shirt I've had on since I've been here and they changed me into it, but it is such a relief to my desert of a throat right now that I don't care.
I look at the slop of food on the ground, and I have to swallow my disgust at the sight and smell of it. It's obviously all of the leftover food parts that went into feeding the peacekeepers, with things like onion roots and skin, moldy parts of cheese that they cut off, the grease, blood and fat from cooking meat, and eggshells, to name a few.
I pick a clump out of the pile on the floor and try to remove some of the gravy-like substance in order to see what it might be. This time it's the bottom rooted part of an old carrot, and I'll take it. I chew the carrot as fast as I can without allowing myself to taste too much. I eat whatever else I can from the pile before going over to the bucket on the ground and checking to see if it had any drops of water left. Luckily, there were about 15 drops of water in it that I gulped down desperately.
I put my wet shirt back on gingerly, and went back to my steel bed to lie down with my eyes closed for as long as I had left to right now.
I figure while I'm trying to rest, I'll go over my ritual of sorts that's supposed to keep me sane. First, I mentally go over everything that happened in the arena. Not just the important events towards the end, but the entire time. When Katniss and I were in the water, when she went off on me over Wiress, when we went walking along the shore, even the tense walk we shared before I knocked her out.
Okay, admittedly I think about Katniss a lot. Though, the most helpful memory of mine is watching her get lifted out of the arena, knowing that I did what I intended and accomplished the mission. I need to hold onto that memory so that I can continue holding onto hope.
The second part of my ritual is to imagine my family and the people I knew from District 7. I remember how they cared about me and the little interactions and core memories I gained as a child there. I solidify this in my head as much as possible, because I know they will try to jumble and erase my memories to suit their plans.
The third and final part of my ritual is pressing my thumbnail into my forearm so hard that it leaves a bruise and indent in my arm. All the better if I can break skin and make it a scab or scar that will remain. I didn't begin doing this third part until maybe a week and a half into it. I don't know when the days begin or end, so I perform this part every time they bring me food, because I'm assuming the guards are on order to feed me once a day.
I look at my forearm and the 16 marks I have there, and I press my thumbnail as hard as I can stand into the next blank space.
As soon as I release the pressure, I hear the door down the hallway open and footsteps start making their way to my cell. I keep a calm demeanor and a straight face as two peacekeepers appear at the door and unlock it to enter.
"Hey ladies, I was starting to wonder if you were gonna leave me all by my lonesome today." I say with a smug smile.
The old geezer from earlier responds, "Don't worry Mason, you'll have good company today." The two of them come towards me and I stand with my arms out in front of me, knowing they'll put restraints on me before walking me out, as per usual.
"Oh goodie, with any luck the President himself could come see me!" I say with an eye roll as they click the restraints around my wrists and push me to the doorway.
"Hah, you're luckier than you know." He says with an evil smile that makes my stomach turn. We walk down the hallway with their hands on the backs of my arms, guiding me to the destination.
My mind is racing with the prospect that I'm being taken to Snow. Why? The only reason I could think of would be to try and break me for information on Katniss and the rebellion, or use me for the Capitol's whims.
We take several turns and walk for quite a ways through a multitude of corridors before coming to one large intricately carved door. The large peacekeeper that isn't the ugly old bastard moves forward and knocks on the door using the large rose shaped knocker.
The door opens slowly, sweeping into the dimly lit room. Snow is at a desk with his hands clasped together on the surface, looking proud of himself.
"Good morning, Ms. Mason. I trust you're enjoying your stay here at the Capitol?" He says as he motions for me to take a seat in front of the desk, right before dismissing the guards from the room.
"Oh yeah, being in the 'submerged salt water cell with electric eels' spa day was my favorite one yet!" I say with an obvious attitude and fake smile.
"Now, now, Johanna. I would think that at least is much better than being made to be the Capitol's 'pleasurable plaything', so to speak. Wouldn't you agree?" He picks up his glass of liquor in front of him and brings it to his lips, but before taking the sip he says "Though, that can still very easily become a reality. Unless…you change your mind about telling us what you know about Plutarch, Everdeen, and the rebellion."
I grit my teeth at the horrific thought of becoming a plaything for these disgusting dung beetles, but I keep my gaze steady. "Hah, please. It doesn't matter what you do to me, I'll never tell you anything about Katniss or the rebellion."
He lets a smile slowly spread across his face as he looks over his glass at me. "I find your valiant effort to protect Ms. Everdeen rather intriguing, seeing as you didn't even know her before the last games. I asked myself the other day, 'Why would Johanna Mason of all people, put her neck on the line for this coal covered girl from District 12, without gaining anything for herself?'" He stands up and walks across the room to a wall of very large cabinets and drawers. He opens one of the drawers and pulls out a small silver object.
As he walks back to his chair, he presses a button on the little remote and a cubed-screen TV is revealed behind one of the cabinets.
"You see, these thoughts prompted me to review all of the footage recovered in the last games. And what we found was quite interesting indeed."
My stomach drops at his words, and I begin to feel the nerves creep up on me. "Wow, I guess you have nothing better to do with your time, huh?" I say just to force confidence.
"Oh I assure you, this was using my time wisely." He presses another button on the remote and footage from the game starts playing. It's Katniss and I in the water by the cornucopia, wading closely while waiting on the others. I guess I didn't realize just how intimate we looked, nearly kissing. My heart beats hard seeing it.
He presses a button and another scene pops up that is Katniss and I walking along the beach, smiling and talking, flirting even. Honestly watching these makes the emotions well up inside of me and threaten to come out of my eyes. I squeeze my hand into a fist as hard as I can to avoid tears, but I soak up those images of her with all of my might. Her face, her hair, her voice, and her smile. What he doesn't know is that those videos would get me through another whole month here.
"After watching these, I realized that the reason you're fighting so hard is because you love her." He leans forward and re-clasps his hands before resting his chin on them. "Just like poor Peeta does. Well, I thought I would break the news of yesterday's events myself." He directs the remote at the television and turns on the next video. It's a video of Katniss standing in front of a crowd of people, seemingly attempting to rally them together, right before she's suddenly speared in the chest by a bullet and knocked to the ground. The crowd rushes towards her and a bomb is dropped in the background. The video then cuts out.
"What did you do you fucking BASTARD!" I am so enraged I try to lunge out of my chair at him, but restraints dart out of the chair and keep me held down. Snow presses a button under his desk and electricity shoots through the chair and into my body for two seconds before he releases it. "I figured you would have a…strong reaction. Don't worry Ms. Mason, this war is almost over. I want you to go back to your cell and re-evaluate your situation and what you'd like to do about it before your next…spa day." He smiles darkly and presses another button that opens the doors that I came through, then motions for them to come and take me away.
My brain is foggy and my skin is burning, while my muscles are spasming uncontrollably. I still manage to grit my teeth as they're lifting me out of the chair and growl "I'm going to fucking rip your little micro-penis off and make you choke to death on it."
They drag me away aggressively and force me to stand upright before walking me back to my cell with grips on my arms. When we make it there they simultaneously throw me into the cell, and the old geezer says "We'll be back soon for your daily treatment" before they turn across the hall and unlock the cell that houses Peeta. "Wakey wakey Melark, it's your turn to have a lucky day today." I can hear Peeta stand up and walk towards the door without a word, then step out and begin walking with the guards guiding him by the arms like they did me. But they didn't restrain Peeta, and I have to wonder if he's just become a complacent Capitol zombie.
'They're probably taking him to see Snow and have the same interaction'
I can't bring myself to care, I'm just grateful to be left alone momentarily. I get up off of the floor and go lie on my ice cold steel bed with my back to the camera and doorway. I take a long deep inhale, then I just let the tears flow. I cry as silently as I can, gripping the side of the bed like my life depended on it. 'What in the hell do I do now? If that video was real then…can the rebellion ever succeed? What is the likelihood that she survived a sniper bullet to the chest? Not great…'
I'm starting to rapidly lose the little hope that I had left, and I mourn the loss of Katniss and these blossoming feelings I've grown for her. I hadn't actually thought that I loved her until Snow said it. I thought to argue the statement but I'm not sure that he's wrong. I don't know what exactly loving someone romantically entails, and I still barely know her, but I know that the potential for love is there in leaps and bounds.
Except now it's gone forever.
I try to run through my sane ritual in my head, but thinking of her only hurts now. I scream at the top of my lungs and bang my fists on the bed.
My only reason for living now consists of making good on the threat I gave Snow before being carried out of his quarters. If the rebellion really does fall, the only future I have in the Capitol is as a sex slave or a prisoner. I don't want to live that life, but where would I run away to? How? Things are seeming more bleak by the second.
I don't know how much time passes while I just lay and let the tears fall. Eventually I can hear footsteps coming back down the hallway, and I sit up and wipe my eyes as best I can.
I can hear them open Peeta's cell and let him walk into it before shutting and locking the door. I brace myself for whatever torture is about to come as they turn towards my cell and look at me.
"Well Mason it seems like this really is your lucky day. Snow told us to take it easy on you today, so you have a clear head to think on what you discussed." He says with one eyebrow raised, like he doesn't believe I deserve it. "But he didn't say to leave you in peace. So we're gonna look through the old box of tricks and try and find a…milder event for you today." He flashes an evil grin, before looking at the other peacekeeper and gently hitting him on the arm while chuckling, trying to get the guy to join in on the amusement. The other peacekeeper just continues to stand stoically, and the old bastard just rolls his eyes and says "Ugh, let's go you stick in the mud."
They turn and walk away, and I am trying to run through all of the scenarios they could do, and how I would combat them. Then about five minutes later, a high pitch ringing started to appear. At first I thought it was in my ear, but it's coming from the room, and it's getting louder.
I stand up and try to rip some small pieces of my shirt off and twist them before letting them soak in my mouth for just a few seconds. I put them in my ears to help muffle the sharp noise that is still getting louder. It only helps a little, but it's better than nothing.
Right when my ear drums begin to hurt, I look through the small window of my door to Peeta's cell, and he's already standing there staring at me.
I'm a little startled and creeped out by the fact that he seemed to be waiting on me to look through the window, but I have my hands covering my ears as I stare back with one eyebrow raised.
He looks like utter dog shit right now to be honest. His cheeks are hollowed out and he has a multitude of bags under his eyes. He begins to slowly move his mouth, and I have to move closer to the door to make out what he's trying to say.
I keep walking around while holding my ears so it doesn't look too much like we're communicating. When I look at him and concentrate, I mostly see what he's slowly saying, "Snow has had me ##### propos for the Capitol. While recording ######, the rebellion interrupted our broadcast ### ##### own propo. Katniss was alive. The rebellion is still alive."
My eyes widen as far as they will go, and my heart feels like it's going to explode. It's as if I am not even affected by the deafening whine anymore, and maybe I have gone deaf, but I don't care. 'Katniss is alive! It's not hopeless. We still have a chance!'
I pull my hands away from my ears, only to see that they have blood on them. My ear drums must have ruptured, and the sight of the blood makes me aware of the pain. I look at Peeta and mouth a "Thank you". He nods and we both turn and go to other areas of our cells.
I collapse on the steel bed and pull my bloodied ear plugs out quickly in favor of new 'clean' ones. I close my eyes and wait out the ringing for another hour or so before it ends.
As soon as it's over, I remove the ear plugs and attempt to fall asleep, for however long I have. I drift off with a smile on my face, thinking of all the ways I would offer Snow's head on a platter to Katniss.
