Mockingjay: What If......

Chapter 11 - Katniss

My new "quarters" turned out to be the torture chambers. The whole thing disgusted me. You could smell the blood, and see it everywhere. There were a lot of wooden torture machines that looked like they hadn't been used in years.

The only thing that looked like it had been used recently was an assortment of whips hanging on a rack in one corner. The blood on them looked fresher and brighter. Probably Gale's.

I regretted that thought as soon as it crossed my mind. I needed to start thinking positive. Oh, who was I kidding? I was about to watch my friends be tortured and die, and I was telling myself to think positive?

There was nothing positive about this situation. I had done something stupid, and my loved ones were going to pay for it. If only there was a way for them to escape! But who would warn them? Peeta and Prim would surely be her primary targets. They were the only ones who knew the truth.

Peeta. He must have gotten the note by now. How would he react? I regretted writing some of the things I wrote, but there was no going back now. In Coin's office, I almost thought I still had feelings for him.

But I didn't really feel attracted to him. Not like that. I was just confused. Right? I had not a shadow of a doubt that I still loved Gale, but I had felt.... something. It was nothing though. I felt sorry for him, that was all. Not that it mattered anyway. I had a feeling he and I would be dead within a month.

All thoughts of Peeta and Gale ceased when the guards shoved me to the ground. I cried out in pain, the sharp glass digging deeply into my skin. If Coin didn't kill me, I realized, I would probably die of blood loss. They forced me to kneel, and chained me to a large pillar in the center of the room.

This reminded me all too much of the day Thread had whipped Gale in the square. It really wasn't that much of a surprise when one of the guards grabbed a whip from the rack and walked back over to me.

The thing that surprised me was the look on his face when he drew back the whip to strike. He looked reluctant, sad even. I would have spoken to him if he could've responded, but he was an avox. I gritted my teeth and waited for him to strike.

I wish I could tell you the first lash was the worst. I wanted to restrain myself from crying out. Not give Coin the satisfaction of knowing how much pain I was in. But after about ten lashes, I had lost whatever resolve I had at first. Before long, I passed out from pain, blood loss, and sheer exhaustion.

Sorry this chapter is so short guys, but I needed to put it in. The next chapter will be kind of an extension of this one. Hope you're enjoying the story, and don't forget to vote! -Katrina