The Murderess - Rewrite

Chapter 35

Boggs tells us it's almost September.

The sunlight bathes my face as Finnick pulls me to the surface, our small group stepping out over the debris that litters the forest floor. Around us are craters, and Boggs assures us that anyone on the first ten levels would likely have been killed.

I hold a protective hand over my belly as we move further out, Boggs and Gale leading the way. "Can you rebuild it?" asks Gale.

"Not anytime soon," says Boggs. "That one didn't get much. A few backup generators and a poultry farm. We'll just seal it off."

The trees disappear as we enter the area inside the fence. The craters are ringed with a mixture of old and new rubble. Before the bombing, very little of the current Thirteen was above ground. A few guard stations, the training area, about a foot of the top floor of Katniss's building where her new compartment provided an exit for Buttercup.

"How much of an edge did the boy's warning give you?" asks Haymitch.

"About ten minutes before our own systems would've detected the missiles," says Boggs.

"But it did help, right?" Katniss asks hopefully.

"Absolutely," Boggs replies. "Civilian evacuation was completed. Seconds count when you're under attack. Ten minutes meant lives saved."

Cressida suggests filming segments in front of the ruins of the old Justice Building. As we approach what used to be the grand entrance, Gale points out something and the whole party slows down. I hold my arm out to stop Katniss from going any further when I see the ground strewn with fresh pink and red roses.

"Don't touch them!" yells Katniss. "They're for me!"

I can smell them, horribly sweet and so painfully artificial. "They're from Snow," I say quietly, when the others seem confused as to their placement and significance.

"Flowers for a pair of lovers," says Katniss weakly. "Peeta."

Finnick is the only one brave enough to get close, tapping them with his foot, then crushing one. The roses appear to be harmless, even slightly wilted. They were probably dropped here after the last bombing. Boggs calls for a crew to come and carry them away. I see Katniss trembling as each individual rose is picked up, a reminder from Snow that he has Peeta, that he holds something that can break her.

"He's alive," I whisper. "He has to be. Katniss, you're okay. Peeta will be okay."

She shakes her head both in disbelief and in refusal for herself to continue this way. She tries to remember what we're here for. "So, what exactly do you need from me again?"

Cressida speaks carefully, "Just a few quick lines that show you're alive and still fighting."

"Okay." She takes her position and stares at the camera for several seconds. "I'm sorry, I've got nothing."

Cressida can see as clearly as the rest of us that she's not doing well. "You feeling okay?" Even though Katniss nods, she pulls a small cloth from her pocket and blots her face. "How about we do the old Q-and-A thing?"

"Yeah, that would help, I think." She crosses her arms and before my eyes I can see her shutting down. Even when Finnick gives her an encouraging thumbs-up, she doesn't seem to feel any better.

Cressida gets back in position. "So, Katniss. You've survived the Capitol bombing of Thirteen. How did it compare with what you experienced on the ground in Eight?"

Katniss tries to respond. "We were so far underground this time, there was no real danger. Thirteen's alive and well and so am–" her voice cuts itself off.