Into the Woods

Chapter Twenty Five

We see a column of smoke rising in the distance by the early afternoon of the next day. "See that?" I point, "Think that's their house?"

Gale looks down at the map machine, trying to gauge the distance. "Yeah," he agrees, "that looks about right. I think we'll be there in the hour."

I look up at him and nod before leading the way. I'm eager to get to Topaz and Boone's, and busy myself wondering what they'll be like. What they'll have to say about the rebellion, the Capitol, and Thirteen. Especially since Sylvie was so mysterious. I unconsciously touch her letter in my pocket as I twirl the question in my mind.

"Wait," Gale says as we're getting close.

"What?" I'm not worried about being cautious since these people are friends of Sylvie's. But the look on Gale's face tells me I should be.

"Does something seem...off to you?"

I stop, suddenly alert, and look around. The woods are quiet, perhaps too quiet, and there's a low humming in the distance and in the air, I detect the faint smell of smoke. At first I took the sound to be typical insect chatter, but the more I listen to it, I realize it's not. "Is that...Fire?"

Gale nods solemnly.

"You don't suppose they're having a large bonfire or something?"

Gale shakes his head solemnly and a frown breaks across his face. "If they are, it's an awfully big bonfire."

My eyes tell him I can't help but agree. The hunters in both of us snap on, and in an instant, we each have our weapons drawn. Gale signals to me to move to the left, and we both walk silently, being careful to hide behind trees as we slowly make our approach. The closer we get, the more certain we become: this smoke is not from a bonfire. The air gets heavy and harsher to breath and the sound of flames are roaring. Whatever is burning, it's huge. As we approaching the clearing, we see what we should have known: it's the house. And from the looks of it, it's been burning for a while. Parts are already falling in and the fire is fierce and high. I wonder where the people are. I can only hope they made it to safety and wonder what caused this. But as Gale and I move forward, the answer finds me.

I take one step and hear a crunch. The sound that leaves my throat when I look down is something between a gasp and a shriek. Gale turns to me in alarm. I lift my foot and see the remains of a charred skull, the bones blackened and twisted by heat. It's so small, my boot crushed nearly half of it in. I suddenly realize it belonged to a child.

"Only a Capitol weapon could have done this," I mutter, hand over my lips, both trembling, "fires don't...fires can't do this..."

Gale nods. "We shouldn't be out in the open like this." Gale grabs my arms and we fly to the edge of the forest. We've hardly taken cover when we see the first peacekeepers come around the side of the blazing structure. My arrow is in position as soon as they are. The image of the child's tarred skull still fresh in my mind, I don't hesitate to make my kill, but before I'm able to let my arrow fly, Gale stops me. He pushes my arrow down. I throw him a furious look, wondering what he's thinking. "Up in the tree, Catnip," he says as he bends his knee and curves his hand into a stirrup to help me up.

I throw him an indignant and furious look. If he thinks I'm going to hide in safety why he takes down the peacekeepers on his own, he's got another things coming. I open my mouth to protest, but Gale's silences me.

Even in this crisis, the faintest grin curves his lips. "You'll have a better vantage up there, Catnip," he explains, "it'll be easier to pick them off."

I'm so unbelievably attracted to him in this moment. As my anger quickly dissipates, I realize I'm slightly excited by all this. I lean in to kiss Gale deeply to let him know but quickly. I then sling my bow across my back and make my assent. When I'm securely perched in the tree, I signal down to Gale. I see four peacekeepers, a pair on each side of the house. Gale signals that he understands and moves forward, raising the gun he took off the last Peacekeeper we met in the woods.