||ODDS|| Newt x Reader In The Hunger Games

33. Louder Than Bombs

We landed in district 12 the next morning. The grounds were scattered with rubble and ashes, the atmosphere thick with sorrow and dust. The only buildings left standing were the ones in the Victor's village.

Katniss and Gale looked around their district with pained expressions. I felt a sudden wave of empathy for them. It's one of the worst things that could happen to someone, losing the place they once called home.

"Katniss, call you tell us what happened here?" Cressida asked, as she directed the cameras to point towards the mockingjay.

Instead of Katniss replying, Gale spoke up, "We were all standing here." The crew turned towards him as he continued. "Watching the games when you fired that arrow. The screens went dark. Nobody had any idea what happened. Peacekeepers forced us back into our homes. For maybe an hour, the town was just dead quiet. Little past 9 we heard their trucks pulling out. All of them, every single peacekeeper. And I knew what that meant. Me and a couple of guys from the mines, we started pulling people from their houses and tried to get them to the fence line but a lotta people were scared of the forest. So they headed up onto the road. Make a break for it that way." He said pointing down a path, and began walking along it. "915 of us made it to the fence. Then we watched as the bombers circled back towards the road."

We climbed up a steep pile of rocks and debris and came face to face with a sight so horrid, that tears were threatening to spill from my eyes. "They fire bombed them as they ran away." Thousands and thousands of burnt skeletons lay scattered across the wide stretch of road. Gale knelt down on one knee and took in the view with sadness and guilt. "915 out of 10,000. I should've grabbed people, I should've dragged them with me. Some of the kids I could've carried." He said, his voice cracking.

"You saved so many people, Gale." Cressida said in a kind voice. "Without you, there would be no district 12. Not even the memory of it."

We were enveloped with sombre silence, and Katniss placed a comforting hand on Gale's shoulder.
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We sat on some rocks on the banks of a large lake, the trees swaying in the mild breeze while the chirping of birds echoed through the air. I took in a deep breath, relishing the calmness that surrounded us.

I removed my boots and rolled up my pants till my knees, before making my way over to the water. I let my feet dangle in the coolness of the lake as I plopped down on a ledge.

A bird whizzed past my head and landed a few feet behind Katniss and Pollux. He pointed towards the bird and tapped on his mockingjay pin.

Katniss nodded in affirmation. "Yup, that's a mockingjay."

I smiled at the little black bird before whistling a tune, specifically, the mockingjay's tune. The bird repeated it and withing seconds, over a hundred birds began to imitate it. The sounds bounced off the trees and rocks and the peaceful silence was disrupted.

"Well, now they'll never shut up." Gale said.

"Sorry about that." I replied with a chuckle.

Pollux gestured something to Katniss. She looked at him with raised eyebrows and asked, "You want me to sing?"

He smiled widely and nodded with enthusiasm. She gave a hesitant smile before turning around. Taking a deep breath, she began to sing.

"Are you, are you

Coming to the tree
Where they strung up a man
They say who murdered three
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met at midnight
In the hanging tree"