A/N: It's been so long!! I promise I'm still working on this! Write a review when you've finished this chapter, the more reviews I get, the faster I write!
Prim is in the Capitol. They didn't get her out in time. Plutarch had one mission, and he failed. Prim is still in the Capitol.
"Plutarch, what the fuck!" Haymitch says loudly. Peeta tells him to quiet down. "Prim? Of all people, Prim was the one you guys left in the Capitol?" He says a little quieter this time.
"I know!" Plutarch says into the communicator. "Minutes before our meeting ended, peacekeepers were sent to the Tribute Center to retrieve Prim to 'play' with Snow's granddaughter. She wasn't even in the Tribute Center when the hovercraft arrived. What was I supposed to do? Snow was two steps ahead of us."
I'm speechless. Beyond speechless. I can't breathe. Primrose… stuck in the Capitol. Who knows what President Snow will do to her. I don't even realize I'm crying until Peeta wipes my tears and hugs me, holding me and letting me cry it out.
"I don't know," Haymitch says a little more sympathetic this time. This plan was supposed to work. Not even thirty minutes in and we've failed. "Do we go back for her?"
"No," Plutarch says quickly. "Snow will kill you all. He'll televise it, announcing your lack of loyalty to the Capitol, sentence you to death for treason, and publicly execute all four of you, which includes Prim, just in case Katniss gets any heroic ideas."
"Then what options are left?" Haymitch says. Plutarch doesn't answer for a few seconds.
"Keep running," he says finally. "Knowing Snow, he doesn't even care about you three anymore. He has Prim, so you three might actually be able to make it to district eight with no trouble. I know it'll be hard, but you can't go back for Prim. We'll form a plan once you arrive in district thirteen."
"He can't be serious," Peeta says quietly. "Prim's in the Capitol. We're going back."
"No," Haymitch says back. I wish he wasn't saying this right now. "This is the last thing we wanted to happen, but… he's right. The second we give ourselves up to Snow, we're all dead. That doesn't do any of us any good. The best way to protect Prim is to get as far away as possible."
"I'll go back then," I say. I need to make sure she's safe. I'm not leaving my sister behind.
"Katniss," Haymitch says. "Trust me Sweetheart, if we could rescue her right now, we would," he says. More tears stream down my cheeks. "I'd take her place in a heartbeat. But I can't…"
"If they catch you, you and Prim will both be killed," Peeta says to me. He turns to Haymitch. "But he wouldn't kill me. If I went back-"
"Peeta," I say quietly. "I can't lose you too… I need you with me."
"Plutarch, we're on our way, but you had better start thinking of ways to get her back," Haymitch says, annoyed, into the communicator. "Over and out."
"Will do, Haymitch. And Katniss… I'm sorry," he says quietly. "Good luck. Over and out."
"Let's go," I say, not wanting to think about what we have to do. Not wanting to think about the fact that Prim is stuck in the Capitol while we run from her. Something in my mind tells me this is the right thing to do. This is the best way to keep Prim safe. Snow can't hurt her, not when he needs her to get to me.
Haymitch leads the way, starting our jog towards district eight. It will take days, maybe even a week or two. The second we get there, we're getting Prim out of the Capitol. They want their Mockingjay, I want my sister back. That's the only way I cooperate.
It's getting darker by the minute, and lighting a fire or using flashlights so close to the Capitol walls is risky. We're going to have to spend this night in the dark. We're a couple miles from the Capitol at this point, but it is still risky. We decide against both.
"Let's set up camp here," Haymitch says. We're between two trees, and thankfully, Haymitch has a tent in his bag. "Katniss, you'll take the first watch. Peeta will take the second watch, and I'll take the third watch. Tomorrow, we're going to be running for a while. We'll look for water and food as well."
"Sounds good," Peeta says as he helps Haymitch set up the tent. It isn't long before Haymitch and Peeta are in the tent, attempting to get some sleep while I keep watch with my bow in hand.
Haymitch is very trusting of me. If I didn't know what President Snow was capable of, I'd be on my way back to the Capitol right now.
I try not to think about Prim as I look into the night sky, shimmering stars surrounding the moon. A clear, dark sky, almost daunting in a way, yet so… ethereal.
I convert my thoughts to the rest of the group we came to the Capitol with. Gale, Hazelle, Rory, my mother, Posy… I wonder how they're all taking Prim's capture. Gale's probably as angry as Peeta is, wanting to go back for her. Plutarch probably already explained why they can't.
My mother and Hazelle are probably as distraught as I am. Hazelle knows how it feels to lose a child, I'm hoping she can help my mother grieve without shutting down on them like she did when my father died.
Rosy probably doesn't even understand yet. Maybe she does, but not fully. She probably understands that she'll never see Vick again, but I don't know if she understands why that is. I hope not. I hope her mind can stay innocent a little while longer. Growing up too fast was something Gale and I did so that our younger siblings wouldn't have to.
Gale and I have always had an unspoken deal, an unspoken promise to always take care of one another's family in case something happened to one of us. I hope he's keeping true to that promise, taking care of my mother in this time of need.
I wonder if they have even made it to district thirteen yet. It's been hours, and those hovercrafts are fast, but they may still be in the air.
A couple of hours pass without incident. No mutts, no hovercrafts… Not even a squirrel. It's quiet out here. I decide it's time for Peeta to start his watch.
"Peeta?" I whisper as I pull the tent door apart. He looks so peaceful when he sleeps. Not always though. Sometimes, his face scrunches up when he's having a nightmare, but not at the moment. He's laying next to an empty sleeping bag, probably too hot for him to sleep in. He always keeps the window open for the cold night air to cool his room, but we're outside, so there isn't much he can do other than sleep without the sleeping bag.
He rouses and looks at me with tired eyes. He smiles a little when he sees me, a smile I love to see. "Time for me to keep watch?"
I nod and smile sadly. "I'm sorry," I whisper as I swap places with him, laying in the sleeping bag inside the tent. He may not have needed to sleep with the bag, but it is pretty cold tonight.
Peeta attempts to leave the tent without waking Haymitch, but his metal leg gets caught on Haymitch's bag, causing Peeta to trip and fall. Thankfully, Haymitch isn't drunk. Drunk Haymitch waking up normally involved a knife being swung at the person attempting to wake him up, and one time, he actually got Peeta in arm with the knife. It wasn't too deep but my mother did have to bandage it up for him.
But Haymitch has stopped that habit, thankfully. He still does sleep with the knife, but he doesn't wake up trying to kill us anymore.
"Good morning," Haymitch grumbles quietly. He sits up.
"You can still sleep for a couple hours," Peeta says. "Katniss and I are just swapping now."
"Maybe in a little," he says as he climbs out of the tent along with Peeta. "Won't be able to sleep right now anyway."
"Get some sleep Katniss, I love you," Peeta says as he starts to zip the tent up. I smile.
"I will," I say. "I love you." He smiles and zips the tent up fully.
Sleep finds me, but not without trouble. Nightmares surround my dreams, and all of them feature one person. Prim.
When I wake up, it's still dark out. I see no light shining through the tent's walls, but I have no idea what time it is. I don't see Haymitch or Peeta in the tent, so I'm assuming I haven't slept long, maybe an hour.
I definitely won't be finding sleep any time soon either. Not with looming thoughts of Prim running rapidly through my mind. I guess I could go let Peeta sleep for a few more hours if he wanted to. It doesn't hurt to have one of us get some more rest. If I can't, he should.
I unzip the tent and look for Peeta. Haymitch is a few feet away, sitting on a log from a fallen tree, opening and closing his knife. He looks deep in thought, but I don't see Peeta.
He looks over at me as I step out of the tent, and I can see by the slight change in facial expression that something is up.
"Where is he?" I ask. He shakes his head slowly.
"Someone has to keep Prim safe," he says quietly. I can feel my eyes widen.
No.
Peeta.
"Who's idea was it?" I ask, venom in my words. I'm pissed. Beyond pissed.
"His," Haymitch says as he stands. "Come on Katniss, you're smarter than this."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I yell more than ask.
"You didn't expect him to do this? I knew the moment I woke up he was planning something, I could see it in his eyes," Haymitch says.
"Get your things together, we're stopping him," I say as I go back to the tent to grab my bow. "He couldn't have made it back yet." Haymitch's words stop me.
"Listen to me Sweetheart, and listen good. You need to understand something," he starts. "He made his choice, now we have to make ours. Do you want to destroy the entire rebellion before it even starts, or do you want to see us all make it out of this war alive? Because if we go back towards the Capitol, we will be risking everything we've worked for."
"That is Peeta we're talking about! We're talking about Prim! Do you really think I care about the rebellion right now?" I say loudly. "I care about saving them!"
"Then you need to listen to me," Haymitch says. "We are not going back for him. Out of us three, he is the least likely to be killed by Snow when they find him. Which means he will keep Prim safe. You need to trust him, and you need to trust me."
"Stop with that," I say, ready for this conversation to be over. "Stop trying to manipulate me. I do trust you, I trust you both, but it's hard to run away when the two people I love most are in the Capitol. I don't know what they'll do to them. I don't know if they're okay right now."
"They are," Haymitch says. "I trust that boy, he'll make sure they survive whatever is coming their way. I feel better about Prim, knowing Peeta is there. You should too."
"Your plan didn't work out the way you all thought," I say quietly. "How do we know Snow hasn't already killed them both?"
"He needs them. He needs Prim to get to you, and he needs Peeta to get to Panem," Haymitch replies, this time, very confident in his own answer. Almost like he's positive he's right about this.
"Okay. Well, are you going back to sleep, or can we start walking?" I ask, no longer in the mood to talk. The sooner we get to District eight, the faster we can rescue Peeta and Prim.
"Let's go," he says as he stands up, and begins to pack up our belongings.
Running is pointless. It is a waste of energy at this point in our journey, with no peacekeepers around. At least Haymitch was right about that. Snow doesn't care about us anymore, now that he has Prim. I wonder if Peeta's even made it back to the Capitol yet.
While there are not any peacekeepers, there are plenty of mutts to take their places. Hordes of them it seems, and trying to avoid them in these woods is nearly impossible. The further away from the Capitol we get, the more mutts we see. It's almost as if Snow has some sort of invisible barrier blocking the mutts from their city. It wouldn't be surprising, given the technology we've seen displayed in both the Games and the Capitol itself.
"We're close to district two," Haymitch says, a tear in his eyes. Probably thinking about John. The brutal way he was killed. "It could be smart to get some guns. We might need them."
"You're probably right," I say, knowing neither of us want to go back there. Was it really two weeks ago that we saw John die? Has it really only been that long? It feels like we've lived a lifetime already.
Without another word, Haymitch veers a little to the right and continues walking. I don't want to talk either. Talking about district two only brings back bad memories. Cato in the games. Peeta losing his leg. John and the mutts.
Haymitch's unintentionally crunchy footsteps on the rocky path into district two distract me from my thoughts. None of the men from last time greet us as we walk through the streets surrounded by buildings on either side. The mutts aren't here either, it seems. Of course, it seemed that way the last time we were here, before we were ambushed. My hand clutches my bow tightly just in case.
Surprisingly, nothing out of the ordinary happens as we reach the Justice Building. The two guards on top of the building spot us and tell the people inside to open the doors. The man that walks out of them I remember from last time. Will, I think his name was.
"'Mitch? I thought you guys made it to the Capitol?" He asks as he gives Haymitch a hug. "We saw you on the television, getting interviewed just a few days ago!"
"Change of plans. We're headed to thirteen ourselves," Haymitch says. "Snow wants all of the victors dead. If we stayed any longer, he was going to put us in the third quarter quell."
"And if that happens, there could only be one winner," Will says, almost in disbelief.
"And district twelve wouldn't be the winner, I'm sure of that," Haymitch says.
"I want to come with you guys," Will says after a few seconds of silence. "After what happened to John, I want to help… Help the rebellion. I want to end this war."
"What about district two?" I ask. "They need you."
"District two has plenty of great leaders. They have even more great citizens. They will be okay," he replies. "What's the plan 'Mitch?"
"The mutts are leaving the districts from what we can see. There's way more in the woods than a few weeks ago. We need to get to district eight, from there district thirteen will pick us up in a hovercraft and take us to thirteen, where we begin planning," Haymitch says. "We stopped here for some guns. If things go badly, at least we could use them as a last resort to buy us some time with the mutts."
"Lucky for you," Will says as he walks past a few people sitting in chairs talking, "we have plenty of guns."
He pushes a door open, a door I recognize all too well. This is the room the peacekeepers escort the tributes that are selected for the games to.
It feels like just yesterday, I was in this room, feeling so afraid for the future. Scared to see Prim because I was convinced mentally that it would be the last time. I sat in this very seat in front of me, now covered in weapons of all kinds, and waited for my family to walk in.
Haymitch puts a hand on my shoulder, understanding what I'm feeling right now. So many memories, no matter where I am, no matter what district. So many terrible memories. My mind is scarred for life from these games.
"Grab what you need, I think it'd be smart to get a move on sooner rather than later. The quicker we move, the less mutts we'll run into, I'm hoping," Haymitch says to Will. "Sweetheart, are you okay?"
"Yes," I say, wiping a tear. "I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize," Haymitch says quietly. "Everyone seems to forget you're only seventeen years old. Sometimes, myself included. I'm sorry you've been put through any of this at such a young age. It isn't fair."
"Thank you," is all I can say. I give him a hug before grabbing a gun for myself. A small one that I secure tightly in the strap around my thigh, and a bigger one to hold. I'm better with a bow, but a bow only shoots one arrow at a time.
Haymitch and Will grab bigger guns than I did. Will takes some ammo from the ammunition box next to the pile of guns and helps load up our weapons. He puts some loaded magazines into Haymitch's bag.
The door we entered swings open, scaring me slightly. "Come quick, the television," is all the woman that opened the door says. We quickly follow, not sure what's going on.
The second we reach the crowd formed around the television in the main hall, I gasp. I didn't know what to expect, but this certainly wasn't it.
Prim and Peeta.
They're dressed up, both in all white. Prim wears a white dress with primroses on the shoulder straps, a dress only Cinna could have made. I thought he was in district thirteen. Was he not a part of that group?
Peeta wears a white suit, but what catches my eye is not the choice of clothing for him, not like Prim. What catches my eyes on Peeta is his eyes. They look sunken in, almost as if he hadn't slept in days. He looks as if he's wearing makeup to cover bruises on his face as well. Prim doesn't look as bad as he does.
"Peeta," I whisper quietly. What are they doing to him? In just a few days he looks like the shell of the boy he was. He's shaking as well. Two peacekeepers stand behind them with large metal pipes in each of their hands. Prim and Peeta are both handcuffed as well.
"Katniss Everdeen," I hear Snow's icy voice rip through the television speakers as he steps into frame, standing behind Prim and Peeta, between each peacekeeper. "If you're watching, I want you to turn yourself in. No harm will be done to your sister."
"He's lying!" Peeta yells. "They're on their wa-"
The peacekeeper behind Peeta swings the metal pipe at Peeta's head, knocking him out of the chair. He's out of frame, I can't see him anymore. Prim screams.
"Peeta!" I cry.
"We told you to keep your mouth shut!" The peacekeeper yells as he brings the metal pipe back down, most likely connecting with Peeta again. Prim looks terrified.
"End it!" President Snow yells as the camera gets knocked over, revealing the bloody mess and Peeta laying on the floor, now unconscious. The feed cuts out seconds later.
"Peeta!" I yell. "Peeta!"
"Plutarch," Haymitch says into his communicator as I cry. "You better have a plan to get Peeta and Prim out. Because we're running out of time! He might be dead!"
"I saw Haymitch, I saw," Plutarch says. "We're working on it. I promise, we'll have something by the time you're here. Where are you guys?"
"District two, we stopped for some guns," Haymitch says.
"Haymitch, we have other issues. Three Capitol hovercrafts seem to be on their way to district two. Peeta was warning us. They were using that broadcast as a distraction, to keep you there. You need to get out of there."
"Shit," Haymitch says. "Okay, thank you Plutarch." He turns his communicator off and looks at me as I cry. "I'm sorry Sweetheart. We're going to get them back."
"What are they doing to him?" I cry. "They're torturing him!"
"I know Katniss," Haymitch says quietly. "I'm sorry."
"How could you let him go!" I scream.
"I didn't want to!" Haymitch yells back. "Do you think I wanted any of this? Do you think I told him to go back? No! He wanted to! He planned this!"
I've never seen Haymitch so angry. I guess I'm not the only one who's allowed to be distressed after seeing that.
"I'm sorry Haymitch," I sob. "I just… Seeing that… I mean, there was so much blood…"
"I promise you Katniss, we are going to get him back," Haymitch says. "I need you to get it together though. I know that was hard to watch, but that just makes me want to win this war so much more. Snow wants to scare you. Don't let him."
I sniffle one last time before standing up and wiping my tears. I'm supposed to be the face of the rebellion. Haymitch is right.
"Let's get going then, before those hovercrafts get here," I say. Haymitch and Will lead us out of the Justice Building quickly. Will doesn't speak and neither does Haymitch. I certainly don't. Not after what I saw on the television.
I hope Peeta is still alive.
Haymitch's communicator beeps, letting him know Plutarch is on the other side. "Haymitch, are you guys still in Two?"
"Yes," Haymitch says. "We're running now, trying for the woods."
"They'll be there in less than two minutes," Plutarch says into the communicator. "Beetee is watching their radar, and they are moving fast… You won't have time to make it to the woods."
"I hear them!" I say loudly as we run. I am so thankful for the Capitol's hearing device they implanted in my ear after the Games.
Haymitch and Will both keep running, following me closely as the whirring sound gets louder. "I hear them too!" Will yells as he runs. "We need to hide!"
We probably have a minute before they get here, with how loud they sound. The louder the engine is, the faster they are flying, and these hovercrafts are barreling towards us.
Will takes the lead as we run. "In here!" he yells as he slips into a building maybe four minutes from the Justice Building. Haymitch and I slip through the door and shut it behind us.
"We're sitting ducks in here!" I whisper.
"Do you have a better idea?" Will asks. "Because we're running out of time. We need to think of something now. We're close to the woods but we can't move, or we'll be killed."
"We need to get upstairs, we can worry about escaping once we know where they are," Haymitch says. He leads us up, towards the third floor where he opens a door and guides us inside. "Do you see anything?" He asks as he looks out of the window in the living room.
Will goes into the bathroom to the left and looks out of that window. "I don't see a thing, and I can't hear the hovercraft anymore."
"I can," I say quietly. "Out of my left ear, I still hear the hum of the engine. It's still in the sky."
"They're waiting for us to come out," Haymitch says quietly. "But I don't think they know which building we're in, or a bomb would've been dropped already."
The television behind us turns on. President Snow's face with an evil smile, as if we've already been caught. "Katniss Everdeen, this game you're playing is over. You've ran far enough. I don't want to see innocent people die for your insubordination."
A camera turns to Prim and Peeta, sitting in the chairs they were in just minutes ago. Prim looks terrified, and Peeta looks confused and in pain. Blood soaked his suit, but it doesn't look like he's bleeding anymore.
"He's still alive…" I whisper.
Haymitch laughs a little. "Of course he is," he says. "It'll take a little more than that to kill him."
The camera turns back to Snow. "You can save these people in district two, Katniss. Give yourself up, and everyone lives. Make a decision, but know, the blood will be on your hands."
"What does that mean?" I ask. "He's going to kill these people?"
"Plutarch," Haymitch says into the communicator.
"Haymitch, how far are you from the Nut?" Plutarch asks. Will's eyes light up.
"Maybe a couple blocks away," Will says as he stands up. "I think I have a plan. I don't think you'll like it."
"Let's hear it," Haymitch says.
"They can't kill Katniss, not if she surrenders," Will starts. Of course this plan involves me. Why wouldn't it? "She'll be a martyr if they kill her. Snow wants to capture her instead. Katniss, you'll need to surrender yourself."
"She can't do that!" Haymitch says.
"Just listen," Will says to quiet Haymitch down. "Me and you will be on our way to the Nut by the time the hovercraft sees her. We're going to shoot that baby right out of the sky."
"If this fails…" Plutarch says through the communicator.
"It won't fail," Haymitch says. "But we need to move, before Snow gives orders to burn this district to the ground."
The three of us quickly run downstairs. My heart is racing, my palms are getting sweatier by the second. If they're wrong about Snow not wanting to kill me, or if they can't make it to the Nut in time, I'll be captured.
"Haymitch, if you're too late, still shoot," I say as they head for the backdoor. "They'll kill me in the Capitol. I'll be dead either way. I'd rather be a martyr than a symbol of what happens to a rebel."
"We won't be too late," Haymitch says. Then he's gone with Will. We didn't have time to think through our last plan, and look where that got us. Prim and Peeta, still in the Capitol, getting tortured and beaten. And now, we're executing another rushed plan that probably won't work.
I wish I had everyone else's optimism, because clearly, they believe everything will be just fine.
I don't.
But we have to do something. I step outside of the building with my hands in the air and slowly continue walking into the vacant street, waiting for the hovercraft to drop a bomb on me or capture me for a far worse fate. I look up and see the hovercraft, slowly descending toward me. "It's now or never Haymitch, shoot this thing," I whisper to myself.
The closer it gets to landing, the less hope I have that they'll make it in time. I need to keep it in the air.
I slowly back away from where the hovercraft is landing and start running. I can see whoever is flying it wasn't expecting this, because the hovercraft jerks upward.
Perfect.
I start running towards the Nut. The less time the hovercraft has to dodge the missile Haymitch should be sending any second now, the better. If I can get close enough to the Nut, while running in a straight path, they should have no problem taking this thing down.
I beeline for the Nut, looking back every so often at the hovercraft to see that it's gaining on me and fast. "Come on Haymitch!" I yell. Seconds later, I see and hear the missile come out of the side of the mountain.
I fall to the ground as the missile connects with the hovercraft. The explosion shakes the ground below me, and fire rains from the sky. I get back to my feet and run, trying to avoid the falling debris as the majority of the aircraft hits the ground, knocking me back to my knees.
Smoke floods the sky as Haymitch and Will run back out of the Nut. Haymitch smiles when he sees me. "Told you that would work."
"Barely!" I say with a small smile.
"I hate to ruin this small victory, but we still have two other aircrafts to deal with," Will says.
"Plutarch, do you have a location for the other two hovercrafts? We can't see them," Haymitch says into the communicator.
"It looks like one disappeared. It must have landed, because we can't see it," he says. "But the other is headed for district thirteen."
"Shit!" Haymitch says. "We aren't clear yet, we need to go. Okay Plutarch, get district thirteen ready for an attack. We're getting the hell out of district two."
"Good idea," Plutarch says. "Stay safe Haymitch."
Haymitch leads the way out of district two, trying our best to keep a look out for the missing hovercraft. It doesn't take us even five minutes before we find it. Well, until they find us.
"Stop right there!"
Peacekeepers.
A/N: Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Please review! -JayOnFF
