Tortured but Together (A Hunger Games Fanfiction) [UNDER EDITING]

Chapter Thirty-Nine

A/N: Usual PSA that the Hunger Games characters belong to Suzanne Collins and not to me. Also, sorry for the long wait in between updates, I got some writers block and got distracted and other stuff came up but I'm back now!! And now, without further ado, enjoy!

(Also, there are some slight spoilers for A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes so if you don't want to be spoiled, don't read the last paragraph for Peeta's POV! You won't miss anything important, just thought I'd put this here to try and stop accidental spoilers!)

(Peeta POV)
The room becomes deathly silent, we could practically hear a pin drop at this point, or at least I know I could.

"And this is your final decision? This decision to be traitors despite all the Capitol has done for the both of you?" President Snow sounds disgusted, as if our very presence and existence is abhorrent to him.

"Yes, it is," Katniss and I say in unison.

"Very well then. I suppose I'm not left with any other choice."

Peacekeepers march in and drag me and Katniss off in separate directions before we even have a chance to process what's happening. "Katniss! Kat!" I shout her name, but it doesn't do any good.

At least twenty peacekeepers flank me as I'm led through the hallways, and I can't help but think that I'm being led to an execution. With that thought in mind, I hold my head high, I won't let my last minutes be ones filled with fear and cowardice.

The doors to the now familiar personal office of President Snow bang open and shut in quick succession, leaving just the two of us in the room once more. I'm not sure why, but I'm reminded of my first visit here, something about this whole situation seems a little bit too familiar.

"Mr. Mellark, do you know what the most dangerous thing in the world is? Maybe you would care to take a guess."

I cross my arms over my chest, I'm in no mood to have a hypothetical conversation. "People like you who can bomb a whole district to the ground and not seem to feel any guilt," I snarl.

"Incorrect. The most dangerous thing in the world, is freedom."

"Freedom isn't even in the top ten! There's disease and war and poverty and hunger and you and your Capitol...too many things to list! And you say freedom is dangerous? Freedom, of all things?"

"Yes, I do say that Mr. Mellark. Freedom breeds chaos, and chaos leads to things not working as they should. Freedom leads to disarray, disagreements, with freedom comes anarchy. People are naturally violent in nature, and so the laws do their best to keep that under wraps. In fact, you should thank me for all I've done."

"You want me to thank you for destroying my home? My life? For taking away my family and my bakery and my peace of mind? For making me and Katniss suffer in the Hunger Games, twice? No, I have nothing to thank you for. Some small part of me hoped I would find a small bit of humanity in you, but I was wrong! You care for no one and nothing but yourself, no wonder people don't love you! How could they love a cruel and twisted man like you? They can't!"

He gets a bit of a wistful look on his face for a minute. "You make a good point Mr. Mellark. Freedom is not the most dangerous thing there is. No, that top spot belongs to love. Love makes people fight battles they can never win, and destroy themselves and everyone around them in the process."

"You're wrong. Love gives people strength, it gives them hope. So how can it be anything but good?"

"Mr. Mellark, you're still just a child. Sometimes love simply isn't meant to be, and it must be sacrificed to achieve greatness."

"You say that as if you loved someone once, and they loved you too."

"Because I did. I was a boy, about your age, and I met a girl. I was her mentor in the tenth Hunger Games, we talked, fell in love, and she won. At that point, I was on top of the world, believing anything was possible, that the two of us could be together and live a wonderful life. I was so convinced of that in fact, that I nearly ruined any chance of making a future and a name for myself. Luckily, I opened my eyes in time. I hope you will one day be able to say the same Mr. Mellark, because otherwise you, just like Miss Everdeen, will have a bullet straight through your head."
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(Katniss POV)
Even though there must be at least twenty peacekeepers escorting me, I fight back. Like I told President Snow, if I'm going down, I'm taking him and his Capitol down with me. I'm going down swinging, just like a Mockingjay.

"Stop fighting, you won't stop us, only delay us. Either way, you won't accomplish anything."

In response to the peacekeeper's retort, I spit in his eye. They will not break me, and I will not submit. "I'll accomplish knowing that I'm not a whimpering coward. And that's enough to satisfy me."

"You're a fool. A silly, childish fool. It's a wonder you've survived this long."

I snarl. I'll make them pay for their comments, in one way or another I'll make all of them pay. "I know I'm headed to my death, but nothing you say will make me afraid. The old Panem will fall, no matter how many Mockingjays you kill."

One of the peacekeepers lets out a dark chuckle. "Death? Oh, you're wrong Miss Everdeen. Your suffering has only just begun. No, you're to be kept alive. The Capitol is nowhere near done with you yet."

I'm more than a little confused now. I'm not headed to my death? What other schemes could this place be plotting, what other tricks could they be planning to pull?

"If I'm not going to die then what are you going to do? You can never silence me, surely you must realize that by now."

The peacekeepers drag me down another set of hallways. "We don't need to silence you, just a part of you. The part that isn't willing to cooperate. You won't lose your voice, you'll just lose...control of it."

"I'll never spit out your Capitol lies! I'd rather die! I'd die before I let you or anyone else tell me what to say!"

"It's a good thing that it isn't up to you then." An automatic door opens, and I'm led into a waiting room. Sitting on one of the chairs in the back, is Annie. If there weren't peacekeepers here with me, I would most likely cry in relief. Annie's alive, they haven't killed her.

I rush over to her, and wrap her in a hug. "I thought you were dead. I'm so glad you're not. What did they do to you Annie?"

Her mouth opens, but no sound comes out. Then, she speaks but it sounds oddly disjointed. "I'm fine Katniss. I just got a little overwhelmed but I'm better now, really. We got it all wrong before Katniss, the Capitol isn't our enemy, it's our ally. The Capitol is our friend."

Immediately, I get suspicious. Annie's voice sounds so deadpan, it doesn't even sound like she came up with the words she's saying. Something is definitely wrong here, very wrong. This is too scripted, too planned.

"Annie. This isn't you. You aren't their puppet," I say in as calm of a voice as I can manage.

"I'm fine Katniss. I just got a little overwhelmed but I'm better now, really. We got it all wrong before Katniss, the Capitol isn't our enemy, it's our ally. The Capitol is our friend."

That's exactly what she said just a second ago, the same tone, the same pauses, it sounds identical. Turning to look at the peacekeeper behind me, I can see him pressing a button angrily and every time he presses it, Annie repeats her little speech. It doesn't make any sense unless...

"I'm fine Katniss, really."

Then it finally hits me. Somehow, the Capitol managed to turn Annie into a human version of a jabberjay. And, somehow, my gut tells me that they're about to do the same to me.