CHAPTER 52

Mist Of The Past

Gunshots echoed far and wide through District Thirteen for roughly two minutes, enough time to send everyone in a frenzy. They had seen the Mockingjay being shot. Katniss had fallen back, the deafening gunshots striking her vest like lightning. Amidst the horror and the lurking anticipation, guns were pointed, people were hit, no matter from which side, and the supposed striker was killed on the spot, their last attempts at gripping fearfully onto life recorded for District Thirteen's people to cheer at.

Their pathetic end was cut short to give cue to one last distinctive shot of the Mockingjay, triumphantly lying unconscious on the ground surrounded by the wounded and the dead. Whether Katniss Everdeen survived or not, that one moment would forever live in District Thirteen's people's minds. Their eyes were stuck on the girl who lay like a corpse on her back, her eyes closed but her arm stretched out, as if her last wish, he last desire before death had been to grab onto something, perhaps someone. Could that be Peeta Mellark, whom the Capitol had left unrecognisable? Or could it be her never-to-be baby? Nobody turned to the side, no one cared for the cries that those who knew Katniss would never overlook. Prim had no way to pull herself together any longer—she had seen her older sister on the brink of death too many times, too many to withstand her actual death.

A heart-wrenching scream that could never belong to Prim shaky voice, thundered behind Navin. "THEO!"

Nightmares had attacked Navin's sleep throughout her stay in Thirteen. Some far worse than others. She often couldn't remember most of them upon waking up, only the shaken up feeling and the fleeting tears that welcomed her back to reality. However, the broadcast proved to delight in bringing everyone's worst nightmares into reality. Beside Katniss, hardly a metre or two behind her, Theo lay over his stomach. If he was breathing or moving went unnoticed by the camera. It didn't care. There were about seven potential corpses on the shot, but nobody cared. The Mockingjay was the centre of it all. She was theirs, and rightfully so she would b exploited even in death. District Thirteen wasn't abundant on powerful martyrs after all.

"NO!"

The world disappeared for a moment. Finnick's hand on hers went away like mist, his voice gone with the air, as if it had never existed. She tried to look around but couldn't. Her head was set forward, where rows upon rows of children had been displaced under the fearful midday sun. Without knowing why or how she moved to the aisle in between, running, stumbling, colliding against every and any of the people with blurry faces that dared to stand in her way. She didn't know where she was going, only that if she stopped it would be too late. But then why was she overcome with fear? What was she doing? Why were her hands shaking or her palms drenched in cold sweat?

I can't be afraid. Her mind was crowded with thoughts as such. It has to be. It can only be me.

A glowing yet blurry figure turned to her the moment she made it through the crowd. Its hair flowed innocently in the wind, its big and horrified eyes widened to see through the tears, and its sobs as audible as Prim's had been seconds ago. She stopped there, taking in the sight. Her last one, she was sure. But why? No sooner had she taken a step forward that the blurriness over the figure's face disappeared with the wind, much like the mist that had taken Finnick away from her. She ran to grab him, she couldn't lose somebody again. Again? When had she lost anyone?

Theo's puffy eyes got lost somewhere in hers, his tears and flushed faced begging for what he could never say out loud. "Save me. Die for me."

Navin found herself mumbling, "I volunteer," the moment her eyes blinked back to reality. "It's not fair. I volunteered. I did. What happened? Why did it come to this?"

Miss Everdeen showed Finnick a pitiful look upon Navin joining to Prim's heart-wrenching screams. Prim would eventually lower her sobs until there was nothing but whimpers left in her, she had an apparent strong belief on that, but one could never do the same for Navin. It hadn't been long since she had said it herself—her possible reactions couldn't be predicted, and therefore she was dangerous.

The needle pricked Navin's arm for no longer than a second, and it wasn't much longer before the sedatives knocked her out. Life carried on in Thirteen, the news of the Mockingjay's survival echoing throughout its hallways half an hour after the broadcast, no others mentioned, it wasn't worth it apparently.

Finnick sat at the chair beside his wife's hospital bed, the odd familiar feeling creeping up on him as he watched her sleep the sedative off. Doctors came over every so often, checking monitors, mumbling among themselves, but never giving him any updates. No news of Theo, Gianna, or Katniss, and no sight of anybody but the increasing weeping messes that Angel couldn't afford to spare time to soothe was in no way how he would have imagined the forever-awaited life away from the Capitol.

"Navin, wake up." He kissed her head softly, making sure nobody but his beloved wife would hear his nearing breaking point. "I beg you. Please, wake up and look at me. Call my name. Please… please, don't forget me again."

Despite his begging, Gianna would eventually appear despite her doctors' complaints and with a bandaged shoulder way before Navin were to wake up. Her appearance ripped the sorrowful air to bits, allowing the few who could spare the mental power to shed tears of joy at her arrival. Joe spun her in the air as if time had turned on itself, and who stay in front of him wasn't a full grown adult, but his young little child, forever dependent and innocent—a jewel hidden in plain sight.

"Theo's fine. He got a nasty bullet to the stomach, but he'll live after the doctors here patch him up," said Gianna before anybody could ask. "Katniss's lungs are bruised and her spleen is broken, but it's not life-threatening, so there's no need to worry either."

Silence couldn't go on forever. To appease her own mind, Librae spoke for the mentors that in a way or another felt out of place in the cramped room. "We should go check on them, then. Katniss will probably appreciate to have Prim at her side when she wakes up, and I'm sure Theo will want the same."

"And leave Navin alone?" Annie asked, her tone cold and distant.

"You'd rather leave your little brother all alone then?" Librae shot back, her voice attempting to remain compassionate and soft, but failing greatly at it.

Ron walked over to her before another word could be uttered and grasped her hand with his. "Let's go check on them first. You join when you can, Annie, don't worry about it. Either of them would understand if you stayed here or went over there."

Annie nodded calmly, her hands instinctively searching for Angel's. "I know."

The dullness of Thirteen's morning dawned on them with the momentary flickering lights. Seven in the morning, the start of everyone's schedules, and the perfect time to be blinded under the abrupt lighting of their surroundings.

Gianna and Joe had promised to come back to check on Navin and those who had stayed behind shortly after seeing Theo's and Katniss's condition. However, they had yet to appear. Navin awoke no sooner breakfast should have started, and upon calling for Finnick to stop crying all over her face, she was met with the quickest and warmest of hugs. Finnick had her in his grasp without ever letting go for could have been an eternity, yet at the time of parting felt no more than seconds.

Once either of them gathered their senses for long enough to recognise they were not alone, Mags could mumble her way through a decent explanation of the past hours—from the broadcast to the latest news of Theo's and Katniss's conditions. It took no time for them to decide to go pay a visit, which the doctors were not too fond of, but Annie was prompt to threaten with proceeding with another of their escapades, which Angel went as far as to promise to join in. They got permission sooner than ever before.

Before she could even take in her little brother's sleeping figure, Navin was attacked by another crushing hug, this time from her older sister. Gianna had her puffy eyes badly hidden behind her sloppily-cut short hair, but made no effort to control her sniffs when her arms locked around her, no matter the pain on her shoulder.

"I'm so glad you're alright," said Gianna. "Rhett wouldn't shut up about what we would have to do if you had forgotten all of us again. Not even Clem could keep him quiet."

"Fear not," her attempt at a light tone was finally not disregarded, and in fact got to make a few people smile, "I remember."

"Good." Gianna let go as she nodded, her cheeks flushing a faint reddish tone. "If you had forgotten it would have been OK, too. It's just… I've missed you, Navin. More than you could ever imagine. So, please, forget if you have to, but don't get out of my sight ever again."

"Shall I remind you that you were the one who enlisted to go with Katniss to District Two?" she asked.

Theo coughed softly, his eyelids fighting tooth and nail to pull apart. "Yeah, because we knew something would go wrong. And, guess what, we were right."

"You cheeky little…" Navin smiled, watching her father scoff at him playfully before carefully pulling him into a hug. "I guess it runs in the family."

For days to come, Theo was restrained to his bed in any way possible, as it seemed the urge to run away was something that ran in the family just as well as cheekiness did. The fifth attempt on his first morning left the doctors unable to do nothing more than place his bed next to Katniss, who already received daily visits from the same people as him, in the hopes that a full-day partner to whine about life with would suffice to keep him in check. Next day, Katniss and Johanna—in one of her continued visits—were found helping him sneak out of the room. That left the doctors with no other option than to assure both Katniss and Theo would be looked after by someone who would discourage them from escaping medical care.

Finnick hadn't listened to the term, the ramble had gone on for too long at that point for him to listen beyond 'please, be a babysitter to the two almost adult individuals that we can't contain'. Navin had yet to be discharged from her stay in the hospital, which had done nothing but increase in expected time since the broadcast, so he didn't put much of a fight against it. Only to get something out of it, of course.

The next day when he visited the hospital wing, he had the pleasure to spend it in chatting the hours away with Navin, Theo, and Katniss. Even days later, when Katniss' Head Doctor advised her to be up and moving, the same permits were given to the others as well.

About a week had gone by in a blur when Katniss could alleviate her frustration in something other than chatter. Part of hers and Theo's rehabilitation required short walks, which both had refused to proceed with within the long lifeless hallways of District Thirteen. Such stubbornness could be helpful at times. Before they knew it, they were allowed above ground, each having the authority to bring a person of their choosing with them.

To Navin it was her first time outside in forever. Finnick hadn't much of an enthusiasm, but his lips would do nothing other than pull themselves into a smile whenever he watched his wife's awe at the simplest things. On the day they reached a small spring, she was elated to see the overgrown grass flowing in the wind, or the trees swaying at its rhythm. It wasn't a particular paradise to the others, though seeing a way of life truly outside the horrors that held their homes captives was gratifying.

"You'll come tomorrow to Annie's and Angel's wedding, won't you, Katniss?" asked Navin, her hands submerged under the running water.

"Angel said I better be there," replied Katniss with a chuckle. "Wouldn't dream of not going. Plutarch wouldn't let me stay behind either."

Navin shrugged. "They still need the Mockingjay."

"I guess," said Katniss.

"Well." Navin smiled up at her friend and arched an eyebrow. "I heard it's going to be televised, so you better show how happy you are for them."

Katniss laughed the mockery off. "That won't be difficult at all."