Hunger Games - From the Ashes

Chapter One - Unhinged

My eyes snapped open from another nightmare. A nightmare that involved Peeta dying. Months I had been here months since I had seen him and it was driving me crazy, I couldn't think properly. I longed for the days where all I had to worry about was eating and making sure my siblings were healthy and happy. I snapped my head around and looked from side to side in the hospital room. I got out of bed my feet hitting the cold floor as I went. No one can see me no one gets it. They drug me to stop my outbursts.

I grab anything I can one of them was a scalpel I had to go somewhere quiet, some where numbingly silent. There were vents in district 13. I found it on a previous run out. I sat down and grabbed my hair. My long brown dull hair. Peeta said he like it long. Peeta, Peeta. I was having one of my episodes Calm down...How.

"Start Simple." I muttered grabbing my hair I hacked off the long strands. "Start with what you know is true. My Name is Lily Mellark. My Home is District 12, I was in the hunger games I escaped. Peeta is my husband...Peeta, Peeta was left behind." I heard Clacking which caused me to stop. I saw a torch light and hid.

"Mrs Mellark? You can't be in here?" the nurse called

"I had a nightmare, just five more minutes." Came my broken voice.

"You need to sleep. We can help you sleep." I shook my head not want them to do anything

"Just five more minutes." I cried I heard them come close.

"No! No! Don't touch me just five....No! Get off me!" I repeated as the lifted me up and took me back. I yelled and cried wanting to be left alone.

"Lily, Lily calm down."

"Mrs, Mrs Everdeen." I saw the kind light haired woman give me a pity smile "Tell them to leave me alone, I promise I won't be bad I promise." She shushed me a I was laid back on the bed. She took my hand and put something small and round I looked and it was Peeta's pearl. I calmed as they sent me to sleep.

Waking up again I still had the pearl in my hand. I began to play with it going over everything I knew in my head. That was until I heard someone crying. Sitting up I lifted the covers and slipped out of bed again. This time slowly towards the door. Opening it the crying got louder to the room next to me. Sitting down with a small bit of rope was...

"Finnick." I snapped looking at the man who I woke up to instead of the man who should have been there. He looked up towards me then back down.

"I wanted to go back for Peeta and Johanna but, I, uh.... I couldn't move. They have Annie, too. They took her. She's uh..." he sniffled "She's in the capitol. I wish she was dead. I wish they were all dead and we were too." That struck something in me to loose some of the anger towards him.

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A couple of days later I was released. Kat and Rosie had come to see me.

"Why did you cut your hair?" Rosie asked as Kat finished what I had started but this time with proper scissors

"I needed to be done." I replied hollowly. When Katniss hand finished she brushed my newly cut hair.

"Mrs Mellark." I turned my head slowly to a man standing in the door way "Colonel Boggs, District 13's head of security. I know you've been discharged but president Coin's requested to meet with you first."

"Is there any news?" I asked hopefully

"I've only been asked to escort you." I nodded slightly and stood up from the bed. Squeezing their hands a little I left with Boggs. He pulled the doors of the elevator and it sent up. I looked at him for a second taking everything I could about his features and posture, wondering whether he was someone to be trusted or at arms length. Then out of the corner of my eye I saw people and levels upon levels. A whole city of people built under ground.

"We were always told there was nothing left of 13." I said

"Capitol bombed the surface to rubble. But we're military so we learned to survive down here. Preparing, training. The war never stopped for us." When we reached the bottom. People that I believe to not have existed walking about their normal lives. Not paying attention to the girl with the short hair. Boggs led me through the compound to a conference room where The first person I saw was Beetee. He was not longer standing like the last time I saw him awake. Instead he was now in a wheelchair. That however did not stop him from looking wise yet solemnly at me.

"There she is, our girl on fire." I heard Heavensbee's voice. Looking towards him he was approaching me with a woman who had different shades of grey hair and silver eyes. She carried herself with air of importance.

"Madam President may I present you with the Mockingjay ." She took my hand and gently shook it.

"What a honour it is to meet with you. You're a courageous young woman. I know how disorienting this must be. And I can't Imagine what it's like to live through the atrocities of those games." Laying it on a bit thick aren't we?

"Lily, President Alama Coin."

"Please know how welcome you are. I hope you find some comfort with us. We've known loss in 13 too."

"This is history. Right here at this table." I looked at Beetee his chair and then at him. He held out his hand and gestured for me to sit.

"I apologise. I wish you had more time to recover, but unfortunately, we don't have that luxury. Please have a seat." I sat down and she shifted closer .

"Are you aware of what's happened." I shook my head "When you made that speech and fired your arrow at the force field you electrified the nation. There have been riots and uprisings and strikes in seven districts. We believe that if we keep this energy going we can unify the districts against the Capitol. But if we don't, if we let it dissipate, we could be waiting another 75 years for this opportunity. Everyone in 13 is ready for this."

"What about Peeta? Is he alive?" I asked speaking for the first time since we met.

"I don't know. I wish that I did but there is no way for me to contact my operatives inside the Capitol." Havensbee told me

"The Capitol has always suppressed communication between the districts. But I know their system very well. I managed to break through. All we need is the right message." Beetee informed me.

"Lily, here's what we need to do. We need to show them the Mockingjay is alive and well and willing to stand up and join this fight. 'Cause we need every district to stand up to the Capitol. They way you did. So we're gonna shoot a series of propaganda clips. propos, I like to call them on the Mockingjay. Spreads the word that we're gonna stoke the fire of this rebellion. The fire that the mockingjay stared." I heard his words but I couldn't look at him in anyway but a betrayer.

"You left him there. You left Peeta in that arena to die." I stated truthfully what in my mind had become tormentingly clear.

"Lily, there are so many..." I slammed my hands down on the table

"Peeta was the one that was supposed to live."

"Miss Hawthorne."

"It's Mellark. Lily Mellark." I snapped at her she corrected her posture then her sentence

"Mrs Mellark. This revolution is about everyone. It's about all of us and we need a voice." I leaned forward.

"Then you should have saved Peeta." I walked out with Boggs in tow