A/N: Chapter 9! Finally got around to writing this, and it may seem a little rushed but I really want this movie to move along. More than halfway through now! Hope you all enjoy!
Sleep. I don't think I've truly slept well since Prim was captured. I think tonight was the closest I've gotten to a good night's sleep. Less than twenty four hours until I get to see them, if this plan goes well. And it will. I have faith. I don't know much about Colonel Boggs but he looks like he knows what he is doing.
I'm nervous for Gale though. Why Boggs allowed him to tag along on such a mission is beyond me. I don't even know if Gale knows how to shoot their guns yet. But I don't want to think negative thoughts.
My mother wheels me to the cafeteria when it's officially breakfast time. Apparently, there is a set schedule every day that each person in district thirteen must follow. Everything is calculated here, with nothing going to waste. Even our food portions are calculated to our body weight and health. President Coin keeps this place in check, that's for sure.
The food here is alright. Most of what I've had so far is practically tasteless, but it fills my stomach until the next meal so it will do. Even being in the Capitol for only a week, your body becomes accustomed to eating rich foods, whenever we pleased. It almost disgusts me that I even allowed myself to feel that way in the first place. I've been a victor for less than a year.
Breakfast is odd to say the least. Nobody sat with me, other than Haymitch, but all throughout the meal, random people I've never met before came up to me to either thank me for helping the rebellion, or compliment me for my bravery. I try to be cordial but after some time, it becomes annoying.
"Seems you're pretty famous here," Haymitch says with a knowing smirk. He knows I hate attention. I'd rather be left alone.
"I guess," I say, not in the mood for his sarcastic remarks and comments. He wants me to cheer up. I'm not sad, just not in the mood to talk. There is a lot on my mind, after all.
"You are all they've been talking about since we arrived yesterday," he says in a more serious tone. "I know it's a lot to process. And I know you never chose this too, but you give them all hope. Just… try to keep that in mind. After we rescue Prim and Peeta first though."
"I know," I say, trying my best to give him a smile that doesn't look fake. "I'll try Haymitch, it's just hard knowing that in a few hours we're going to watch an attempt to rescue them. If they fail, anything can happen to them."
After breakfast, Haymitch and I are called into the Command Center, to discuss some things before this rescue mission begins. Discuss what, I have no clue of.
Haymitch and I don't speak as he wheels me to the Command Center. I have nothing to say, and he knows it's best to let me be. He knocks on the door, then pushes my chair through it.
"Everdeen, Abernathy, please have a seat," President Coin says. Not on a first name basis, it seems. Boggs and Gale are not in the room with us, most likely preparing for the mission. "As you know, in roughly one hour our team will begin flying towards the Capitol. Seven men, including Gale Hawthorne, will be on that hovercraft. There will be live video feed from each of their helmets displayed on that screen, so we will be able to see and hear everything that occurs. If you would like to watch, you are more than welcome to. If not, we will inform you immediately after they make it back so you may see your loved ones, Everdeen."
"I'd like to stay and watch if that's alright with you," I say sincerely. I need to watch, to see if this plan works.
"As you wish," Coin says. "Beetee finished repairing the Capitol hovercraft we managed to secure earlier this morning. The hovercraft's cargo bay is being loaded now with explosive objects and combustible liquids. Whether it is shot out of the air or hits its intended building, it will be a distraction to any peacekeeper in the Capitol."
"I'm confident Prim and Peeta will be safe in district thirteen by dinner," Plutarch says with a small smile. "We'll show the rest of the districts today that the Capitol is not invincible. That with enough of us, Snow can be taken down."
"President Coin," Boggs says through her communicator. "The ship will be ready to take off in twenty minutes. Helmets will be turned on in thirty minutes. Over."
"Copy," Coin says. "When you're ready to take off, check in once more."
"Roger that," Boggs says. I turn to Haymitch.
"This is it," I say quietly. "They're coming back today."
Haymitch looks over at me and nods once.
Coin goes over the plan once more with us, answering any questions we may have while the district thirteen soldiers prepare to take off.
"We're ready," Boggs says into the communicator. "We'll be in the air in two minutes."
"Bring them home Boggs," President Coin says before turning the communicator off. The screen flickers on in front of us and one by one, the recordings on the helmets pop up for us to see, with each soldier's name underneath. I only recognize the names of Gale Hawthorne and Colonel Boggs on the screen. The rest are a mystery as to who they are, at least to me, but they're obviously well trained soldiers if Coin trusts them to be on this mission.
"Alright men and women, this is a rescue mission," Boggs says to the group in the hovercraft. Their cameras must have built in speakers as well, but it seems only Boggs' volume is on at the moment. "Our only mission is to rescue Primrose Everdeen and Peeta Mellark. The second we have secured them, our mission is complete, and we return to the hovercraft. If one of us does not make it back to the hovercraft for whatever reason, there is a pill in your left sleeve that will kill you instantly. You can bite through the sleeve. Do not let Snow take us alive if it comes down to it."
"We'll be arriving in five minutes!" a man from the cockpit of the hovercraft yells, most likely the pilot I'd assume. My heart is racing. This is it. Hope is all I can do at this point.
"The second we land, you all follow me, until I tell you to split up," Boggs says as he stands. He walks towards the back of the hovercraft, where the entrance will open and looks at Gale. "Are you ready Hawthorne?"
Gale stands up and nods. "Yes sir."
The hovercraft appears to land, but I can't see where yet. The big cargo door opens slowly, and through Boggs' helmet I can see that they aren't inside the Capitol. They're in the woods, maybe five minutes away from where we escaped with Haymitch.
My eyes stay focused on Boggs' screen. He'll be leading the way, and I don't want to miss a thing. Boggs stands at the bottom of the hovercraft, and turns towards his group once more.
"One last thing. In the Capitol, we show no mercy… Aim to kill."
I can see Haymitch smirk slightly from the corner of my eye. Boggs clearly doesn't mess around, and I like that too. He wants Peeta and Prim rescued just as badly as I do. I'm glad he's on our side.
Boggs leads the way in a quick jog towards the walls of the Capitol, getting closer and closer to the underground entrance. Nearly silent footsteps follow him. I haven't heard any explosions yet, so I'm assuming they're making good on time.
The Capitol hovercraft should be just minutes behind theirs hidden in the forest, and I'm sure one of the Capitol's defense systems will pick it up once it's in range on their radars. I don't know if Beetee was able to remove whatever tracking device it had in it, but even if he was able to, Snow probably has some other way of knowing where his stuff is. It may be the Capitol, but a hovercraft is an expensive thing to lose.
"Keep up Hawthorne," Boggs says. "We're almost there."
Gale isn't too far behind, but it's clear he isn't as acclimated to running this hard for this long. Sure, we've had to run from animals in the woods, but not like that. Surprisingly, Gale doesn't argue at all.
"Yes sir," he says as he picks up the pace. It's clear now how badly he wanted to be there.
Through Boggs' camera, I can see the wall. He turns around and makes sure everyone is with him before reaching the wall, and sliding the door open slowly. It looks untouched. I guess Snow didn't find out how we escaped. Or he did, and this is a trap.
Boggs lets everyone through the door before sliding it shut almost all the way. He clicks a button on his gun, turning a flashlight on, and pulls out a weird box that glows when he speaks to it. A map of the Capitol appears, just like the one in front of us in the Command Center. He flips a switch, converting it to an underground version of the same map.
A glowing orange dot appeared on the map in the Command Center once Boggs turned his map on. We'll be able to see the group's location still, while the cameras are too dark to visibly see anything.
"A holo," Plutarch says as Boggs and the rest of the group walk slowly down the hall. "Fine piece of technology. With a holo, we can see a holographic view of the Capitol, just like you see here. It can only be activated by Boggs, unless he transfers ownership to someone else in the group."
I nod, a silent 'thank you' for the explanation. We both turn back to the screen.
"Bombs are in place sir, we're ready to detonate," someone says into Boggs' communicator.
"The second you hear the hovercraft, set the bombs off," Boggs says quietly. "Make sure everyone gets away now. We don't need any unnecessary casualties."
"Copy, I hear the hovercraft now."
Boggs and the rest of the group pick up the pace, walking quickly towards the Tribute Center marked on the holo. As they reach the marked location, the ground appears to shake violently through the cameras. The bombs are starting to go off. Who knows if the hovercraft even made it inside the Capitol, but either way, a distraction was made hopefully.
Boggs pulls the 'hook' out, a gun shaped, four pronged device that will apparently open a big enough hole in the ceiling to fit through. I've never seen this device, so we'll see if it does work. I trust that it will though.
He aims at the ceiling and shoots the four pronged hook, connected to a black wire. It rips through the ceiling surprisingly easily. The hook retracts seconds later, pulling a chunk out of the ceiling. Smoke and debris fall, clouding the cameras for a moment.
"Masks on!" Boggs says as he pulls a gas mask off of his left hip and attaches it to his face. Each soldier does the same thing, strapping the masks to their face. Boggs takes a canister off of his right hip and shakes it before pulling the pin on it. A thick orange smoke slowly begins to pour out of the canister before he takes a step back and tosses it up into the hole in the ceiling. "Let's move!"
The masks will protect them from breathing in whatever orange smoke is leaking from the canister. It looks deadly.
One by one, they each quickly use the debris to climb up into the hole in the ceiling, and help one another get up too. The cameras are cloudy with the orange smoke everywhere, but from what I can make out, they're in a room I've seen before.
"That's the room Peeta and Prim were recorded in when Snow sent the hovercrafts," I say, more to myself than anyone else. "They're in the right place…"
"So this is what's under the Tribute Center," Haymitch says to himself as well.
Multiple peacekeepers are either dead or knocked out from the smoke. I'm not sure which yet. There are maybe twelve of them. If there are that many peacekeepers in that room alone, I'm nervous about how many are keeping guard of Peeta and Prim. This might not be as easy as anyone thought.
The district thirteen soldiers collectively walk towards a set of double doors, kicking the peacekeepers on the way to make sure none are still conscious. I can see Gale peek through the glass window of the right door, trying to get an idea of what's beyond them. "Hallway," he says. "Three doors on the right, two on the left. Looks like a trap if we get caught, this is the only entrance."
"Hawthorne, you stay with me, everyone else, split up and search these rooms. Leeg 1 and 2, stay back and keep watch while we search," Boggs says.
The two soldiers named Leeg 1 and 2 nod and turn around, preparing for any attack that may be coming. I'm assuming they're sisters.
Boggs kicks the doors in, aiming his gun right while two of the soldiers take the left. No peacekeepers are in the hallway, but you can never be too sure. Gale follows him to the last door on the right, getting ready to keep moving.
Soldier Mitchell is the first to kick his door down, and move into his assigned room, shooting two peacekeepers instantly. The dead peacekeepers don't bother me. But I'm almost sick to my stomach when I see her through the screen.
On Soldier Mitchell's screen, sits pale skinned Effie Trinket, tied to a rusted metal pole, behind a cell door. The whole room is lined with cells, with a prisoner in each one, some have two or three to a cell. Plutarch clicks a button, zooming in on Mitchell's camera footage. Dim, flickering lights flash on pools of blood in almost every cell, mixed with dirty water from broken pipes above. Every last one of them looks like they haven't eaten in weeks. Skin and bone is all you can see.
"Holy shit…" I hear him say through the audio.
"We have to rescue her," Haymitch says to Coin. Coin looks as if she wants to protest.
"We agreed on Peeta and Prim," Coin says firmly. "We only have seven soldiers. The more people we try to save, the more likely nobody makes it out alive."
"She's an asset!" Haymitch says, a little louder this time. "You want Katniss to do your propaganda videos, don't you? What'd you call them? Propos? Well who do you think taught Katniss how to act in front of the cameras during her interviews?"
"He's not wrong," Plutarch chimes in. "She could be valuable in that sense. She knows Katniss, at least, better than we do."
"If I have seven dead soldiers today because you want to save the escort, it's blood on your hands, not mine," Coin says quietly. "Mitchell, change of plans. Save the escort too," she says into the communicator.
"Copy," he says as he shoots the lock on the cell door, shattering it before opening the cell. She's in worse shape than I thought, and it hasn't been that long since they've been captured. Mitchell unties her quickly and throws her gently over his shoulder. He looks back once at the rest of the prisoners, all in worse condition than Effie, before running towards the exit. Plutarch clicks a button and zooms out, showing all of the screens again.
Through Gale's camera footage, I catch Mitchell gently put Effie down by the exit, making sure she isn't in the way if things turn ugly. The soldiers named Jackson and Homes are next to enter their respective rooms, shooting and killing the peacekeepers inside guarding the prisoners. Several more cells line the walls, filled with more prisoners. But we can't save them all.
"Find them yet?" Leeg 1 yells into the room. "We're running out of time! Peacekeepers will be here any minute!"
Jackson and Boggs both kick down the last two doors at the same time. Gunshots sound off from Boggs audio, and I can see them both shooting at peacekeepers. Jackson clears her room, while Boggs is having trouble fending them off. It seems to me as if there are more peacekeepers in his room than there were in any of the other ones combined.
Through Jackson's camera, I see the prisoners up close. My prep team, Cinna and Portia, all beaten and bloody. I almost throw up. Octavia is missing two of her fingers, sitting next to her with blood everywhere. Flavius looks like he was tortured with fire, burns cover his face and body. I don't see Venia, but I'm worried she's met a worse fate than just torture…
"I can't look…" I say quietly. It's been less than a month, yet they all look like they've been there for years, tortured for hours a day. I wish I could save them. Or at least, save Cinna and Portia. They did so much to save Peeta and me, to make us look in love, to make us look like Victors. It hurts my heart knowing this is where they've ended up, and it is partly my fault. I have to look away.
I turn my attention to Boggs, trying to get the images of burned skin and severed fingers out of my mind. It may be weeks before I eat another meal again. Or have a good night's rest, for that matter.
Boggs and Gale, on either side of the opened door, send shots into the room. This room is different. Every time they peek their heads into the room, I catch a glimpse. No cells line the walls of this room.
Gale shoots the last peacekeeper standing, and quickly moves into the room. I hear gunshots outside of the room, and quickly look at the Leeg cameras to see that peacekeepers are storming another doorway in the main room. They're running out of time, and very quickly.
I look back at Boggs' camera to see the room once more. A torture room, with knives and blades, chains and whips. A table with straps on it to hold the victims down. A tank full of water with wires flowing in and out of it. A door is on the other side of the room. I hope Peeta and Prim are in there.
Gale and Boggs both bolt for the door, knowing they are low on time. If they can't get Peeta and Prim out of the Capitol, then they have failed their mission.
One kick to the door and its metal frame swings open. Guns trained forward, looking for peacekeepers, but the room full of even more disgusting cells is empty of peacekeepers. The only people in the room are Peeta and Prim, huddled together in a single cell.
"Oh my God…" I whisper as Plutarch zooms in on Boggs' camera footage. "Peeta…"
Prim looks alright for the most part. She looks like she hasn't slept, and hasn't eaten a good meal in two weeks, but Peeta… He looks terrible.
Bruises and cuts cover his face and body, they have taken his prosthetic leg from him. The stump where his leg once was looks swollen and dry. From what I can see on the camera, he has two black eyes and a broken nose, a busted lip, bruising around his neck. It looks like fingers did that damage. He's been through a lot of torture for the short amount of time he's been there. And that is just what I can see. I'm sure there is far worse damage done inside of him mentally.
Gunshots flood the hallway outside of the room. "We don't have any more time, grab Prim and go!" Boggs says loudly. He shoots the lock on their cell door and opens it quickly. He throws Peeta over his shoulder, while Gale does the same for Prim, and together they both run towards the hall.
I hope they have enough time.
Boggs sees something I didn't before, and stops to grab it. Peeta's prosthetic leg, in the corner of the torture room. He puts Peeta down next to it and hands it to him. "Do you think you can run?" he asks.
"I'd better hope so," he says weakly as he straps the leg back in place and slowly stands up. He looks shaky. "It's been a week since they took my leg. I just need to get my bearings."
"Well do it quick, because the longer we take, the more likely we don't escape," Boggs says as he helps Peeta up and guides them out of the room, into the hallway. Through the double doors, it sounds like a warzone.
Peeta can barely run with the prosthetic leg anymore, and I'm sure his nonexistent diet while being tortured doesn't help him gain his strength back either. But that doesn't stop him from trying to keep up. Boggs looks back at Peeta once to see him grab a gun from one of the dead peacekeepers hands.
Through Boggs' camera, I watch as Gale moves to the side of the hallway, by the entrance door, making sure Prim doesn't get hit by any stray bullets. Effie is still unconscious next to him.
"How are we grabbing her too?" Gale asks Boggs over his shoulder.
He sends two shots before he responds. "I don't know if we can," he says as he moves back. "How long can you guys hold them off for?" He asks the squadron shooting at the peacekeepers.
"That isn't the issue!" Jackson yells. "We're sitting ducks here, any longer and this building is getting blown up! Snow isn't letting us get out of here alive! The peacekeepers are only a distraction!"
"Hope your masks are on!" he says as he pulls another canister off his hip and pulls the pin. He tosses it into the room where the peacekeepers are, and sends more shots. Some of the peacekeepers start dropping from the smoke. "Get underground!"
Boggs picks up Effie, and begins to lead the way, using coverfire to distract the peacekeepers as he runs along the wall towards the hole in the ground. Some of the peacekeepers have gas masks on but I can't see much through the camera footage with the orange tinted smoke, so I'm assuming they can't either. The rest of the soldiers follow closely behind, but when Jackson turns around to check for Peeta, I realize what she's realized.
Peeta doesn't have a gas mask on.
"Cover me Mitchell!" she yells as she turns back to get him. Mitchell sends shots towards the remaining group of peacekeepers, trying to buy her some time.
Boggs and Gale are in the tunnels now, running towards the exit with Prim and Effie. Leeg 1 and 2 aren't that far behind. Jackson and Mitchell need to get Peeta and move quickly before the smoke begins to clear up.
"Got him!" she yells as she throws an unconscious Peeta over her shoulder, and tries her best to keep moving towards the tunnels. He may not look like he's eaten much recently, but he still had a lot of muscle on him before. I'm sure he's still heavy compared to Prim and Effie.
Mitchell continues to coverfire for Jackson as she runs along the wall as well, reaching the tunnels just in time. The orange smoke has dispersed throughout the room enough that the peacekeepers can see again most likely. Some had gas masks on, so their breathing was unaffected.
The squadron continues running down the tunnels, with Boggs and Gale almost to the exit by now. As Mitchell and Jackson keep running, the ground violently shakes above them. I have no clue what is going on above ground, but whatever it is, it doesn't sound good.
Explosions can be heard from above, meaning Jackson was right. Snow would rather blow up the Tribute Center than allow them to escape.
They keep running. Boggs is seconds from the door when he looks back and watches it happen. Peacekeepers have made their way into the tunnels.
I watch through Boggs' camera as Peeta gets shot in his back.
"Peeta!" I say loudly as I stand up. I sit back down quickly, pain shooting through my foot. Is this the end? Is this really where I lose them?
It isn't over. They just need to get him to the hovercraft. I keep trying to tell myself that he isn't going to die. That they'll all make it. But even I know this is unlikely.
Boggs spins around when he sees Peeta take the bullet and shoots at the peacekeepers that shot him. Gale slides the door open quickly and shoots at the peacekeepers surrounding the exit. Leeg 1 helps him take care of the rest of the peacekeepers in the way.
Leeg 2 and Mitchell continue to shoot at the peacekeepers behind them. Peeta groans on the ground as Mitchell reaches him, still shooting at the peacekeepers. "Are you alright?" he asks as he checks his back.
"Leave me!" Peeta yells in pain. He's no longer unconscious, his adrenaline must be through the roof. I can see his eyes fill with unshed tears as he speaks. "I've done my job, as long as Prim lives. Make sure she makes it. And tell Katniss I'm sorry."
"Tell her yourself Peeta, I'm not letting you die today," Mitchell says as he picks Peeta up.
"Move!" Leeg 2 yells as she continues to shoot at the peacekeepers. She moves in front of Peeta and Mitchell. "Get him out of here!"
"What about you?" Mitchell yells. "Come on, we've got no time! Let's go!"
They both make a run for it, shooting over their shoulders as they near the door, but it's too late. I hear Leeg 2 fall to the ground, screaming in pain as she's shot. Mitchell and Peeta make it through the door in time, but she doesn't. She gave her life for this mission.
Leeg 1's camera is trained on the door as Gale slides it shut. She just watched her own sister die. I never want to imagine what that is like. My own tears start flowing, and no matter how hard I try to stop them, they keep coming.
"I'm sorry," Mitchell says as he pats her arm. She looks at him seriously, and tells him they have to keep moving.
"If we don't make it back, she died for nothing," she says as she turns around and runs.
Explosions continue behind them in the Capitol as they reach the woods. Peacekeepers chase them but they're too far ahead by the time they reach the hovercraft that the Peacekeepers can't reach them. The second they're all inside, the hovercraft starts flying.
Prim, Peeta, and Effie were all rescued, but at the cost of Leeg 2. I never even met her, and yet, I feel so sorry for her and her sister. She died saving my family. My thoughts are quickly pushed to the back of my mind.
"Taking fire!" someone from the cockpit yells as the hovercraft shakes. "Everyone strap in, I'm going to try to lose them!"
"What's going on?" Boggs yells back. I'd like to know the same.
"Capitol hovercraft is following us!" he yells back. "I'm trying to dodge but this ship is huge! It wasn't made for this!"
"Can you get us out of here?" Jackson yells. "One missile and we're all going to wind up dead!"
"We've already taken significant damage! I'll try something, but it might not work!"
Gale helps strap Prim and Effie into their seats, while Mitchell does the same for Peeta. Once they're all strapped in, the hovercraft shakes violently.
"We might not make it to 13!" The pilot yells.
I can't see what is going on outside of the hovercraft, but from the footage through the cameras, it looks like the pilot is jerking them all around trying to shake the Capitol pilots.
"How's your back Peeta?" Mitchell asks next to him as the hovercraft continues to shake. I think he wants to clear his own mind, as well as Peeta's.
"Numb," he replies. "I can barely feel it. That's a good thing, right?"
"It's not a bad thing," Mitchell says. "Could be from the knockout gas. Our doctors will fix you up when we're back."
"Do you think we'll make it?" Peeta asks seriously. He looks at Prim, sitting unconsciously in her seat across from him. "I did my best to protect her in there. I hope we make it."
"We will," he replies seriously.
A big explosion behind them ends the conversation. Part of the hovercraft is on fire from what I can see.
"We're out of time, I couldn't get rid of them!" the pilot yells.
"Keep us in the air, and when I tell you to, fly in a straight line," Boggs yells back. He unstraps himself and clings to the wall as he moves along towards the room behind the cockpit. Once he makes it to the doorway, I can see through his camera what he's thinking.
He grabs a large gun, and a rocket shaped bullet before making his way to the back of the hovercraft. "Mitchell, I need you to hold my legs so I don't fall out of the hovercraft when we open the cargo door."
"Got it," he says as he unstraps himself as well and makes his way over to Boggs, who is now laying on his stomach with the rocket launcher over his shoulder. Mitchell grabs his legs, making sure he won't fall out of the hovercraft.
"Jackson, can you press the button to open this door?" Boggs yells as he aims the launcher.
"Yes sir," she says as she unstraps herself and stands by the button, gripping the handle next to her. "Ready?"
"Do it," he says. "Fly in a straight line! I need the hovercraft behind us to shoot it!" he yells to the pilot.
"Copy!" he yells back. The cargo door begins to lift up, and the second I see the sky on Boggs' camera, he shoots. The hovercraft behind them tries to dodge the rocket, but it's way too late. Explosions rip through the Capitol hovercraft as it falls to the ground.
"Good thinking, but we have another problem," the pilot yells. "Both engines in this hovercraft are seizing. Everyone needs to parachute up."
"Leave the cargo door open then," Boggs says as he stands up and makes his way along the wall towards the same room he got the rocket launcher in. He pulls the parachute bags off the wall and starts throwing them to each soldier. Mitchell helps Peeta put his on.
"What about Prim and Effie?" Peeta asks. "They still aren't conscious."
"We'll get them," Jackson says as she and Leeg 1 pick them up from their seats. The hovercraft shakes again from another explosion on the opposite side this time.
"We've got to jump!" the pilot says. Leeg 1 holds Prim tight as she jumps from the hovercraft. Jackson does the same, holding Effie with one arm and the parachute release with the other. The pilot follows behind.
I watch through Jackson's camera as the group of soldiers all freefall, thousands of feet in the sky, until Boggs gives the signal to parachute. I can tell they're near District 13 because the trees are lined with snow. They really did it.
They completed their mission. Prim and Peeta are safe now, as long as they can get back here quickly.
Boggs leads the way through the sky, dodging trees as he gets closer to District 13. they land maybe fifteen minutes away.
"Unclip your parachutes and move, we're almost there," Boggs says as he does the same. Peeta's shirt is soaked with blood, but he's still moving, albeit slowly.
"Are you okay?" Gale asks Peeta as they take their parachutes off. Once I get a glimpse of the wound on Peeta's upper back, I realize how serious it is. Peeta doesn't get the chance to answer before he faints, falling to the ground. "Peeta!"
His adrenaline must have ran out. The weight of the situation is crushing me now, and all I want to do is cry, but I won't. I can't. I need to save him, or at least try.
I back away from the table and start wheeling my wheelchair out of the room. Haymitch quickly follows. "And where are you going, Sweetheart?" he asks.
"To get him back here," I say as he pushes me quickly through the halls. "I can't let him die."
"You're in no condition to be saving anyone," he says back. He isn't wrong, but I can't just sit in that room and watch as he bleeds out either.
"We need to go faster," is all I say. My mind is running rampant with the thoughts of Peeta dying. I don't want that to be anything more than just a nightmare. That can't be reality.
Haymitch continues to push me to the hospital wing, and I realize too late. The second I notice that he's taking me here, I try to stop the wheelchair, but it's no use.
"We need to go to Peeta!" I say exasperated.
"You'll see him when he gets here," Haymitch says as he passes through the doorway to the hospital wing. "The District 13 doctors and your mother will make sure he lives. I promise you that."
"I have to see him now!" I yell, thrashing around in my chair, trying to break free from Haymitch's grip. The rest of the people in this wing probably think I'm crazy. They aren't wrong. I think I am too. "Please Haymitch! He might be dead!"
My mother comes around the corner to help Haymitch. The last thing I remember is her stabbing me gently with a needle, instantly calming me until my vision fades into darkness.
A/N: I don't know if this chapter seemed rushed, I tried my best to make it seem smoothly. Some things to keep in mind.
1. I didn't want Peeta and Prim to be in Capitol possession for too long. Peeta's hijacking was a major part in Mockingjay, but I didn't want the same thing to happen to Peeta or Prim for my story. The less time they were in the Capitol, the more likely Snow didn't hijack either of them.
2. The rescue mission is probably the most difficult thing I've had to write for this story so far. With Katniss not being there, and only watching through a screen, it was hard to figure out ways for her to see everything happening. I really hope it made sense when you all read this chapter. Everything she saw was through the cameras on each soldiers helmet.
3. After being shot in the back, Peeta regains consciousness. I tried to explain it as best I could through Katniss. I'm not sure scientifically how this works, but the adrenaline rush mixed with the pain he got from being shot woke him back up.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I promise more will be coming! Big thank you to Meems04 for the reviews! That really made me want to keep writing so thank you!!
-JayOnFF