Blaine Abernathy: a Canary Caged

Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games or the original characters other than Blaine and the secondary characters I created. This chapter was inspired by an episode of Nikita.


Chapter 57: Trust Me

Blaine's POV

I felt so weak.

So defeated.

I know I will not make it out of here alive. Even if President Snow wanted me alive, my soul is long gone. He can remake me and put in a new eye…I will no longer be myself. A canary. That is what I will always be. I was able to flutter in my cage, but now my wings have been clipped.

My friends are dead.

Even if one of them managed to get out, the arena would have also shattered their soul.

Nor would I be able to face Haymitch.

He would notice a change in me.

Unless he thinks I'm dead.

Damon should kill me already. I'm tired. I'm done. Heaven or hell, I just want out. Either be reunited with my mother again or oblivion. Just anywhere but here.

No longer able to move my body. All I could feel was utter pain. A pain that has made me numb as it lingers all around.

The noise continues to scream into my ears. Filter out all the sounds. Every time it blared, my body felt rage. A moment after I was conscious, a monitor appeared. It flicked, showing the faces of all the victors. Voices were talking, yet they were indistinctive. They were telling me to do something, yet the buzzing continued. Flashes of the victors and violence.

Threat.

Threat.

Threat.

Eliminate.

Threat.

All the energy I had vanished as I fell into darkness. The noise continued while the voices whispered in my ears.

.o0o.

The noise stopped.

The door opens.

There was a scuffle.

Slamming.

A groan of protest.

More noises.

"Why don't you see your work up close and personal," Damon murmured.

A sharp intake of breath.

"Even your actions have consequences," Damon continued. "Let it sink in. See it in person."

The sound of footsteps, the door open, then closed.

The blaring noise did not return.

Only the sound of heavy breathing.

The heavy breathing continued in different tones and paces. As the person stared at me. A curse word escaped his lips, impossible to tell what it was. Until he went back to breathing. Seeing what has been done to me.

"Blaine…" he called out.

That voice…

"Blaine," he continued. "Blaine, you have to wake up."

No, no, I do not want to wake up. The moment I wake, there will be more pain. I don't want more pain. I want to stay in the dark. Even if it was just a moment.

"Blaine!" his voice raised. "Open your eyes, Blaine."

No, I can't.

"Blaine!" he pleaded. "It's me, Cinna. Open your eyes for me."

Cinna, I thought.

What little strength I had allowed me to wake.

I stirred, mustering the strength to open my lone eye. Everything was in a haze, a blur, unable to see properly. The room was still dimly lit.

"That's it," Cinna murmured.

When my vision finally focused, I saw Cinna. Even with half my vision gone, I could see him there. He was tied to a metal chair. His wrist was bound by zip ties, revealing his hands. Some of his fingers were dislocated and broken, while a few were cut on the first joint of his ring finger and pinky gone. Blood. Bone. Torn skin. My sight lingered up to see more blood, a stab wound on his shoulder. Deep cuts along his arms. Until I reach his face. His face was swollen as his right eye was sealed shut, his lip was split, and scabbing on any available exposed skin.

A wave of guilt in seeing him in such a condition. And then I remember how he had gotten all those wounds. Remembering that we were in this mess because of him. He showed his emotions to President Snow and the others, but it seems the cause for the rebellion was not enough.

All the negative emotions filled me to the brim with a vengeful urge. I want to hurt him. I so badly wanted to hurt him. My body began to shake as I started to heave. He used me. I love him, and he used me.

Used me.

"You son of a bitch," I hissed bitterly.

"What?" Cinna whispered, surprised. His green eyes, which were not bruised, widened.

"You dumb, stupid Capitol son of a bitch." I seethed with more venom.

"Blaine," He started.

"You gave up everything you wanted," I interrupted. "For a little girl who doesn't know how to play with fire."

"You and everyone were in danger."

"No, you put everyone in danger!" I exclaimed, feeling tears flowing into my left eye socket. "I am a lost cause as the rest of us victors. You sacrificed yourself for her! For a stupid, irrational girl, for Katniss!"

"You are not a lost cause." He scolded, trying to break through the restraints. "Katniss hardly has anything to do with this."

"Shut up. Just shut the fuck up." I groaned, shaking my head while taking a deep breath to tolerate the pain. "So typical. You're supposed to do the right thing? Can't you ever be selfish. Caring Cinna! You just had to give yourself up for a brat like you're some kinda martyr. Like you had to create the Girl on Fire, make Katniss unforgettable. Why can't you express yourself like any normal Capitol scum? Why can't you just say, 'This is what I want? I don't care if it's wrong.' If you wanted to help somebody, you could've helped me!"

The atmosphere changed in the cell as it was engrossed in complete silence. I panted, loathing my anger while Cinna sat there. His face held his typical neutral expression. However, his green eyes betrayed him, for tears veiled them. Those once soulful green eyes were watery if he was about to cry.

"You think I can't be selfish?" he whispered loudly. "This is the most selfish thing I've ever done. I'm sorry this happened to you. I didn't predict this outcome. But I did this because I cared for the woman who captured my heart. The woman who was innocent. She was sent into the arena and came out broken. I hoped it never happened, but it did, and I don't want you to suffer anymore."

I laughed hysterically because I'd been suffering for who knows how long. Until the broken laughter turned into sobs.

"I did this because I love you." He confessed.

I mentally screamed, practically sobbing to hear him confess such words that seemed foreign to me. I knew I felt for him but couldn't trust him anymore. How can you trust somebody who knows you personally but doesn't have the same exchange? Then again, I was a hypocrite. Even though he knew my truth, I didn't tell him. He knew everything about me, and I can't tell if he actually meant it or if he used me. Manipulate me like all the men from the Capitol.

"Don't say that," I cried, shaking my head, "Don't say that. Shut up, please. I can't take it."

"No, for I need to tell you this."

"You don't know who I am!" I exclaimed. "If you did, you could never love me."

"That is where you are wrong," Cinna stated. "I know exactly who you are."

I shook my head in disagreement as more tears continued to burn. "I'm a monster, Cinna. I have evil inside me. I have killed people. People died because of me."

Like those in the mining accident.

The people President Snow ordered me to assassinate.

The tributes I killed.

There is nothing good inside me. All my innocence was gone, and I have been masking to please others. To please Haymitch. To please Finnick and Johanna. To please President Snow. To please everyone but myself.

"Maybe you are, but the evil is just a part. A part of who you are. It's not all of you." He tried to reason, staring into my eye. "Blaine, all you did was out of fear. The fear we know that we can't accept. And that's why I love you, every single piece of you."

"We're gonna die." I sobbed.

"Then we die," he said sincerely. "Together."

I sobbed in a breath.

The door opened, revealing a smug Damon. He walked over to me, cradling my wither cheek, while pulling out a flashlight and examining the left eye socket. I closed my eyes from the brightness, trying to look away. It hurt as he continued to examine the wound, "No damage to the rectus muscles, good."

I swear there is something wrong with Damon. As if he had multiple personalities.

He removed the flashlight, turning it off and securing it to his belt. Afterward, made his way over to Cinna, staring at him. Cinna glared at him. Suddenly, Damon punches Cinna directly in the face.

"No!" I screamed, leaping forward only to have the restraints tighten around my wrist. Damon pulled out the remote and triggered another shot of electricity. The current shot through my body directly into the spinal cord, causing it to arch. A moment later, I semi-collapsed, panting, if not twitching some.

"Now there she is," Damon smirked. "However, this isn't about you, but him."

"Stop it," Cinna yelled. "Leave her out of this!"

Damon faced Cinna, placing a hand on his shoulder where the wound was. Cinna groaned from that. "Cinna, you've been an elusive character these past three days. Unable to break. I personally gave you a sampler, but that didn't work. So, I thought, why not watch your lover suffer. You almost had me on your feelings for Blaine…to be futile. Until I gouge her eye out. Now I'm curious…will you snap if I torture her in person?"

Cinna remained silent, looking straight into my eye. Damon smirked, giving a hard squeeze that made Cinna groan. Giving a shove, Damon made his way over to me. He roughly grabbed my chin to look at him.

"They say the eyes are the gateway to the soul. Too bad Blaine hardly has a soul." He murmured. "The Lady from the Ashes. A victor's daughter, destined to die…"

Both his hands went to my ears, caressing the snowdrop earrings. I whimpered as it hurt. Suddenly, he gripped each piece and yanked them off, tearing my earlobes. I cried out in agony as blood gushed out.

"No!" Cinna yelled; his eyes widened.

Damon turned around, holding the jewelry, taking one up to his eyes, examining them. "I wondered if these earrings were how you spied on her. I even wonder if there was a tracker."

He dropped the earrings and stomped on them, "Three days is more than enough for a rescue."

Cinna stared at his foot and then back at him.

"The rebels don't care," Damon murmured. "They've never cared."

He walked around until he stood behind Cinna, putting his hands on his shoulders, "Let's make a deal. You tell me everything I want to know, and I will end all this. "

Cinna panted as he stared at me.

"You tell me everything, and I will let Blaine go." Damon continued. "She can go straight into remake. Straight into surgery, where a new eye is waiting. You want that." He gripped Cinna's jaw. "Look at her. Look what you did to her."

Cinna growled, trying to free his face as he was forced to look at me.

"You did this to her," Damon murmured. "And we can fix her."

I panted, afraid that Damon would snap Cinna's neck.

"We can even make her forget all about this." Damon offered. "Save her from all the trauma that'll haunt her."

The expression Cinna had wavered as if he was considering it. That he was willing to give up on the insurgents to save me. He was willing to give up in order for me to forget. Even with the remake, even if my memories are altered, it doesn't stop this possible war. President Snow will use me. And I would rather die than be used again.

"Cinna," I whispered, shaking my head.

Cinna realized that I had accepted death. He might understand what my fate would be after this. Even with the promise… I will never be free.

Damon caught this and sighed, "You leave me no choice."

He made his way over to me, "A rebel is like a snake. You leave it alone and not tread on it. But if you come too close, the snake will wait for the perfect opportunity to strike." His calloused hand cradles my cheek. "And how do you stop a snake from biting? You grab them by the neck and hold on tight."

Instantly, Damon grabbed my neck in both hands and started to choke me. Cinna practically jumped, almost falling out of his seat. I gagged, trying to break free from Damon's hold, feeling my windpipes closing as my lungs screamed for air.

"Three minutes till the brain loses oxygen, causing the brain cells to shrivel and the body to malfunction," Damon informed. "Five minutes means death." His grip tightened, and I gasped. "So, tick tock, Cinna. Who do you work for? Who are the other insurgents? Locations? Codes? Combinations?"

"I told you! I don't know!" Cinna growled. "I received anonymous letters."

"I don't believe the shit you gave me." Damon then punched me in the stomach, striking the diaphragm. "Three minutes."

"Snow won't approve if you kill her," Cinna warned.

"President Snow is not here," Damon snickered.

I stared at Damon through my lone eye. The look on his neutral face said that was not going to happen. Damon would go to any lengths to get the information, even if it meant killing people and terminating the bodies. There was no moral in his existence. He can act human, yet he isn't human. If you manage to be on Damon's good side, be prepared for the stab in the back. The only thing he is dedicated to is his country and his leader. Those below him are nothing but the bottom of the food chain.

"Today's recent deaths are Colton, Chaff, and Brutus." He murmured sincerely. I sobbed to hear Chaff was dead. Chaff was like an uncle to me when growing up. He was my father's best friend, and now he is dead. "Two minutes- make it one."

My lungs were begging for air. As I gagged, I felt my neck tighten. A slight ringing in my ear while a dizziness consumed me.

"Midas bank!" Cinna bellowed.

"What?" Damon asked, slightly bemused as he let go of my neck to face Cinna.

I coughed, gasping for air.

"What was that?"

"It's the bank where an account holds a hard drive of all the insurgents," Cinna answered. "I don't know much other than guarding the hard drive and interpreting messages."

Damon, convinced, walked towards Cinna and stared intensely into his eyes. "I'm listening."

"The bank is called Midas in the upper part of the Capitol, Private room. Account S-14, the combination is 20-0-8."

"You're a guardian," Damon murmured. "You insurgents are very deceivable."

"Got to keep your eyes wide open." Cinna sneered. "Now let her go. She has no part in any of this."

"I will let her go after withdrawing the account," Damon assured and left the room immediately.

What the hell just happened? I thought.

Did Cinna give up his belief and duty to me? I don't understand. How can he let President Snow and Damon torture us and break every bone in our body until now? Cinna glared at the door and then sighed, looking up in concern.

"Ci-" I choked on air, my throat hurting.

"Don't talk," Cinna warned gently. "Are you okay?"

I shook my head, coughing a little.

"Blaine, I need you to trust me." He murmured softly. "Something might happen, but remember what Haymitch said. 'Remember who your enemy is.'"

I stared at him, confused, exhausted, and downright numb. Why is he bringing Haymitch into the conversation when there's a possibility we're going to die? How did he know what Haymitch said when he wasn't even there?

"Trust me," he whispered.

Those green eyes pleaded to trust him. So, I followed my gut and trusted Cinna. Only exhaustion took over. As I thought, about the names of the current tributes.

Enobaria

Beetee

Finnick

Johanna

Katniss

Peeta.

.o0o.

There was a loud explosion.

I was startled awake. The lights flickered as the room shook. Cinna tensed from the noise, then sighed in relief as he turned his attention to me. The alarms blaring, with the flickering of red. I was still disoriented. Peacekeepers were running in the halls, and total chaos.

Suddenly, the door burst open, entering two Peacekeepers. All white and guns at the ready as they survey the room, shooting out the cameras.

"Clear," a woman's voice said.

They touch their arm cuff as the white of the peacekeeper's uniform turns black.

"Cinna Pontmercy?" the woman asked.

Cinna nodded as the Soldier grabbed a pocket knife and cut the zip ties. Cinna stood up, rubbing his wrist, and stumbled towards me. He tried to remove the restraints but struggled. The second Soldier came over to help him. Immediately, I fell into Cinna's arms, exhausted and unable to move. But that didn't stop him from kissing the top of my head, and he embraced me tightly. "Trust me."

"We need to hurry, sir." The second Soldier said that a male tossed a bag full of clothes.

The woman opened it to reveal Avox's uniforms.

"Can she move?" the female Soldier asked.

"No," Cinna answered, opening the bag, though he winced repeatedly.

Everything was discombobulated, and it was impossible to focus as I felt my body forced into an Avox uniform. My entire body felt numb, so exhausted to argue, as whoever pulled my hair in a tight bun and messily applied the standard white makeup while blood stained the fabrics. Afterward, Cinna got dressed in the uniform.

"The guard withdrew the black box and triggered the bomb. Your appearance will make you think you two were caught in the blast." The female Soldier said. "We need to leave before the flames pick up."

"Can she stand?" the male Soldier asked.

I tried to stand up only to plunder to the ground. Fortunately, the guy who asked caught me in his arms. Cinna struggled with the decision but told the Soldier to carry me. The two black uniform soldiers nodded, raising their left arms. I got a better look at their cuffs, the metallic arm bands, and the dialing codes that turned their uniforms from black to white. They now looked like actual Peacekeepers.

We waited for the halls to clear as we hurried to escape. Yet one of the soldiers tossed in a canister in the interrogation room. We ran when another bomb went off. My head hurt, and my vision was disabled to fully comprehend what was happening. Relying on my other senses to smell smoke and gunpowder while hearing panic everywhere of scrambling feet, yells, water dripping, and things falling apart. I was fading in and out, seeing the chaos. I would space out, only to wake now and then to a loud crash or the soldiers arguing over directions.

"Hold it, you two!" A capital accent ordered, and everyone froze. A Peacekeeper with a different standard helmet symbolizing his authority as the head approached us. "Who do you have there?"

"Two Avox survivors from the sub-levels, sir." The female Soldier said. "We found them under the rubble."

The head peacekeeper arched a brow, leaning forward to examine me. I curled my tongue back in case he ordered me to examine my mouth. Followed by keeping my lips sealed tight. He pulled back what felt like forever of his intense stare, "Take them to intensive care and watch them. I have some questions."

"Yes sir," both soldiers said and made an about phase leaving the complex.

I blacked out again.

.o0o.

The next time I woke again, I felt my body being moved. My body pressed against another person. As the person held me close to his form. The faint scent of Cinna's cologne filled my senses. A blanket was soon wrapped around us.

The metal floor vibrated, suggesting it was a vehicle from the engine starting. Slowly, I opened my eye to see Cinna talking to the two soldiers in hush tones as the female Soldier sat in front of us, holding a device.

"I need to check for tracker," she said.

Cinna nodded as he carefully adjusted us to be scanned. I whimpered as pain stung my body. The device hovered over us before stopping at my left bicep as it dings. She took out a knife. Panicked, I tried to move away, yet Cinna kept a hold. The woman took my arm and started cutting into my flesh to get the tracker out. A sharp, agonizing pain seared in that I nearly screamed. Cinna tightens his hold, trying to comfort me.

The woman yanked the tracker out and smashed it. "They used a fucking implant as a tracker."

I was panting, unable to respond as she bandaged my arm.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

The male Soldier removed his helmet, though the golden braids stood out. It was the limo driver Simon sent. He lifted his cuff, typing on it, which created a holographic screen.

"I'm receiving Intel from Simon. The rebels have infiltrated the arena and managed to get most of the surviving victors out…."

"Who did they get?" Cinna asked.

"Katniss Everdeen, Finnick Odair, and Beetee Latier," the male Soldier said. "However, the Capitol captured Peeta Mellark, Johanna Mason, and Enobaria Ripper."

Wait…did he say the rebels infiltrated the arena. That they got half of the tributes out while the Capitol got them. I panicked, thinking about Haymitch and the others.

"My…dad…" I managed to say. "The… others…"

The male Soldier tapped on the screen, "Heavensbee got Abernathy out. Simon managed to get Lyme, Wade, Miya, Acre, and Hacker. Varick hasn't reported anything else yet."

What will happen to the other victors who came to mentor? What about the victors who were back in their districts?

Cinna nodded as he continued to hold me in his arms. My eyes became heavy as I listened to his breathing. Trying to grasp the fact that we were no longer in the cell. That we were no longer under Damon's abuse.

Just as I was about to fall unconscious when I heard them say.

"The rebels had disconnected the shell box. "

"What?"

"Varick's saying they are ending the alliance."

After hearing that, I lost consciousness.


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