The Avox (ON HOLD)

Chapter 9- A Shared Hatred

*HEY GUYS! SO, SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG TO UPLOAD THIS CHAPTER. AND I KNOW THERE ARE NOT 5 VOTES ON CHAPTER 8, BUT I DECIDED TO UPLOAD THIS CHAPTER ANYWAYS! ;) STILL, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, VOTE AND COMMENT ON THE CHAPTERS AND THANKS FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT! ENJOY!! :)*

*OH, YA, ONE LAST THING, SORRY. PLEASE, PLEASE READ THE NOTE AT THE END OF THE STORY, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO ME. THANKS YOU! :)*

“EVERYBODY, UP!” I hear Paylor yell as I jerk up into a sitting position. I rub my eyes, adjusting them to the light, and get dressed into my uniform. “Katniss, are you ready?” Paylor asks, poking her head around my door. “Almost,” I say, “I’ll be there in a flash.” She nods and shuts the door. I sit back on the bed, taking deep breaths in through my nose, and out through my mouth. That was my way of relaxing when I was nervous. I take one more deep breath and tie my hair up. I stick it into my cap, and walk out the door.

As I walk out to the town square, the hundreds of soldiers, all dressed in green and brown navy uniforms that are identical to mine, swarm as they try and find their groups. I stand on my tip-toes and see the number “14” on a sign being held up by someone who I couldn’t see through the parade of soldiers. I walk over to the sign, and see the rest of my group. All of them being extremely buff men. As I get closer to them, I see the general of my group. The one and only, Peeta Mellark.

This has to be a mistake, I think, as I pace back and forth. I can’t let him see my face. He will recognize me instantly, and I will be sent back home. There was no way I was letting that happen. I walk away from my group, and search for Paylor. I see her talking to the general of group 5. “Paylor, I need to talk to you.” I say. She smiles apologetically to the general and turns towards me. “Yes?” she asks. “Paylor, you have to let me switch groups. Peeta is the leader of my group, and I can’t risk letting him see me.” I say, my voice shaking. “Katniss, I’m sorry. There’s nothing I can do. The groups have already been filled and I can’t risk something going wrong because you want to switch groups. Just make sure he doesn’t see your face, and you’ll be fine.” she says. She gives me a reassuring pat on the back and walks away.

Walking back to my group, I try and think of ways that I can avoid looking at Peeta, and I bump into someone. “Ow!” I say, clutching my wounded arm and looking at it. “Sorry, I’m a klutz.”  I hear the person say. I continue examining my arm, and as the person walks away, I glance up to see who it was. Peeta. I need to be more careful…that was a close call, I think. As soon as I reach my group, I hear Paylor’s voice. “Everyone! Listen up! This army is not professional, and I know that nobody will be replying with “Yes, Ma’am” or “Yes, Sir.” But, I know that everyone will still do as their general instructs them to do. Am I correct?” she asks. We all nod our heads. I look around and see familiar faces. Probably from when Peeta and I were on the tour around Panem after our first Hunger Games trip. These people are all volunteers, and they give everything they have to make sure that 13UDP is safe. They are all heroes.

As Peeta approaches our group again, I look down at the floor, hiding my face. “Everyone get in a single-file line. We will be going over to the supply house and getting our weapons. Follow me and stay close.” Peeta yells over the other generals. He turns around and starts walking towards a small, green field. We follow him, and as we approach, a large, square building appears in the distance. We reach it, and walk inside. “Everyone will receive two weapons. Since this is not a traditional army, we will have knives. Will they be necessary? I don’t know. But keep them on your belts at all times.” Peeta yells. As we walk further into the building, I look down. As Peeta said, there is a belt around my waist, and attached to it is a holster for our knives. We stop at a counter that has the number “14” marked on the wall next to it. Behind the counter is a small man with a long beard and big, round eyes. “Peeta Mellark?” he asks Peeta. Peeta nods in return and the man opens a small door for access to the counter. Peeta walks in and closes the door behind him.