Lethal Charm - THG [1]

36

"My brother knows these tunnels really well," said Castor as he descended the ladder and joined the others at the bottom. The brothers had brought the unit to the underground sewer tunnels that ran through the entire Capitol and had no pods in them at all, "he worked sanitation down here. Right after they made him an avox."

They followed Pollux as he silently walked ahead, pausing as he turned the corner to the entrance of a large tunnel which would lead them down to the sewer entrance. He adjusted his armoured vest, breathing deeply.

"Hey. Hey, you gonna be okay?" Castor asked his brother gently, "Look at me. Look at me." Pollux shakily turned his head to face his brother. Knox couldn't help but feel like they were all intruding on a private moment between the brothers and averted her gaze to the wall, "We're gonna get through this. I promise."

The group held back with Castor as Pollux walked forward some more alone. "Took us five years to buy his way outta here," Castor told them, "he didn't see the sun once."

Led by Pollux and Katniss with the holo, the unit made their way through the train tunnel, following the directions of the former while the latter checked for pods. The sound of a train startled them into a run and they quickly rushed to take cover as the train passed them by.

"We're too exposed here," said Katniss and Pollux pointed them towards a door at the other side of the tunnel. The group moved quickly towards it before another train could come and disrupt them once more.

⚔️

The ground air was damp and smelled strongly of chemicals. The further they walked underground the darker and narrower it got. The dim lighting of the tunnel as they moved further did nothing to get rid of the shadows looming over them.

They entered a small corridor, lined with thick metal pipes and carefully made their way through it. When she was about halfway through, a stream of hot steam blasted out of the pipe to her left and almost got her face had she not ducked.

"Everyone okay?" Jackson called out from the rear of the group.

Katniss looked back at Knox who gave her a nod as she pushed the hair away from her face, "yeah," the girl called out before continuing onward.

⚔️

Knox hadn't ever considered in joining the fight to end Snow that she'd be wading through sewer water up to her chest. When they'd reached the end of the first corridor they'd had to descend a small set of stairs straight into water that was at least five foot deep.

Knox removed her sheath from her back and held the swords above the water as she carefully waded forward in front of Peeta, acting as a barrier between him and Katniss should he snap once more.

The water level eventually lowered as they covered more distance and soon enough it was barely up to their ankles.

After hours of walking through the wet and dingy tunnels, they came upon a fork in the tunnel. The side tunnel led off to a raised metal platform which was most likely used by maintenance workers.

"Alright everyone," Jackson called out, "we're gonna stop here for a bit and get some rest, yeah? I'll take first watch,"

"Hey Peeta," said Knox as the group climbed up one by one onto the platform, she turned behind her to the boy, "just tuck in there," she told him, pointing to the corner of the platform.

"Alright settle in everybody," said Jackson.

Knox sat down opposite Peeta, leaning her back against the railing while Finnick sat down beside him. She laid her head back against the cold metal, unbothered by the water dampening the back of her hair, and allowed her eyes to fall shut though she didn't sleep.

Despite the exhaustion she felt she remained awake for a while before she was pulled from her thoughts by Jackson's voice, "Knox?" The woman whispered to avoid waking any of the others, "Your watch."

Knox nodded and sat up from her slumped position as Jackson stepped away and settled into a gap between Homes and Cressida.

It was deadly quiet, only the sound of running water could be heard over the soft breathing of the others sleeping around her.

She didn't expect to hear a voice and jumped slightly when Peeta spoke from in front of her.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. Knox lifted her gaze towards him, a frown on her face, "for what?" She asked.

"You've been demoted from soldier to glorified babysitter," Peeta clarified, "and also I busted your lip," Knox shook her head with a snicker, brushing her thumb over the cut on her lip, "don't worry about it kid." She assured him.

"You saved my life in the bloodbath." He stated abruptly, "Real or not real?"

"Real." She told him, "And from the poison fog," she gave him a teasing nudge with her foot to which he cracked a small smile.

"Thank you," he thanked her sincerely, catching her by surprise, "not just for that, but, for everything."

"Oh, come on don't get all soft on me now." She teased, "I don't do it for a thank you,"

"Then why? I've never done anything for you in return,"

Knox shook her head, "you're a kid. Both of you are," she said, her gaze trailing to Katniss, "Everyone keeps forgetting that. You can't handle this, no matter how much you try, no matter how much everyone else is relying on you too."

"And if you help me handle everything, who helps you?" Peeta asked. Knox shook her head once again, "I'm not a kid."

"You were."

"And now I'm not," she cut in, "that's how ageing works. Now, enough with the angst, get some sleep okay?"

With a dejected nod, Peeta rested his head against the side of the railing, not closing his eyes because he knew that sleep would be as torturous as being awake.

⚔️

Knox bent down slightly and grabbed Katniss' shoulder, nudging her awake, "Katniss," she whispered, "you're on watch now."

The girl nodded and stood, walking toward the corner of the platform opposite Peeta while Knox sat down in the place where Katniss had previously been sitting.

She leaned her head back against the railing, holding her sheathed swords on her lap and allowed her eyes to drift shut. Her exhaustion caused her to fall into a light sleep quite quickly which she didn't fight, allowing herself some long-awaited rest.

A/N We're reaching the grand finale of this book soon and I am very nervous about everyone's reactions. I have no idea whether you guys will hate it or appreciate it. -H