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Waking up to the sound of screams was a daily routine after six weeks on the Capitol. Peeta Mellark, the poor boy from Twelve who had no idea about the rebellion, was being tortured to punish Katniss Everdeen, the Mockingjay, and face of the rebellion.
Dove wasn't in a better condition, though. President Snow realised right away that she knew nothing other than what she had deducted during the arena. Nothing else, nothing more. Neither Finnick nor anyone else from her family would risk her safety by telling her rebel secrets. However, not having the information didn't save her either. Just like Peeta, she was being tortured to punish her loved ones, or at least the ones still alive.
"I'm genuinely sorry, Miss Ogilvy. But there were no signs of your family in Four. They must be on the pile of dead bodies already." President Snow told her, a sly smile on his face, after Peeta's first interview weeks ago.
Her siblings. Her mother. Annie. Theo. Five people she loved. Dead. Nothing to be done about them. Although, if she compared death to her situation, they could be considered the lucky ones.
Death was the last step. Quick or slow. Painless or painful. There was nothing else after that. But not for Peeta or Dove. Every day, they were tortured until falling unconscious. Each with a different kind of torture.
Dove's was simple. They filled a tank with poisonous fog and left her there until she fainted. Then they filled a bath with water and tossed her body inside. How many times had she begged them to kill her? Too many to count. Her strength to carry on, to keep herself alive, had been long-lost.
Only in her brief moments of sanity, she remembered the promise she had made Finnick swear. Maybe she would never see him again, nor her precious necklace. However, maybe didn't mean it was certain. There was a chance. Not probable. Too little to count in a normal situation. But that was the beauty of her position. It was not a normal. Dove was desperate to hold on onto anything. And hope was the only thing left for her. She had lost everything else.
Peeta's torture, however, was more complicated. Only a couple of weeks ago, they had realised what they were doing to him. At midnight, when their grasp of reality was stronger than the rest of the day, they chatted. Sometimes they brought up past stories from their childhood. In others, they talked about their games.
It was Peeta's phrase "She tried to kill me the very first day in the arena" that shocked Dove because it wasn't true. They spent all night recalling things, trying to differentiate between reality and the Capitol's invention. It wasn't completely futile, but it wasn't too helpful either. Every day that passed, new memories were brought up to be discussed.
The majority were about Katniss, none of them good. The more days passed, the worse they became. But not all were about her. Some had other people. Finnick, Johanna, Haymitch, and his family were the most common of those.
Footsteps left the room, which gave her from ten to fifteen minutes to check on Peeta until the Capitol people came back to torture her. Dove crawled her way to the wall that separated Peeta's cell from hers. "Peeta . . ." She whispered, her damaged throat not letting her talk any louder.
"I'm here . . . not unconscious yet." He breathed out. Dove heard the familiar noise of crawling in her direction. She took her arm out through the bars to grasp one of Peeta's cell bars. "I think they're being nicer today because of the interview."
"I heard I'll be with you in it," Dove commented softly, taking a few seconds before speaking again. "I'm exhausted. I don't know how much longer I can take it. Half of my family is dead, the other is in Thirteen, but I'll never see them again. . . I have no one left."
"You still have me. I'm not sure if it's real or not, but I have this memory in which you told me the true meaning of family, didn't you? It doesn't feel like something they would alter," Peeta questioned, taking her hand from the bar to hold it with his own.
"Family are those people who you fight for, and those willing to fight for you." She recited under her breath, coughing badly as she snickered. "I am willing to fight for you, Peeta. What about you? Family?" She added, chuckling between her coughs as she heard Peeta snigger.
"Yeah. Family. At least, I've got someone Katniss couldn't kill, nor die because of my stupidity." He muttered. "We'll get out of here, you'll see."
"Peeta, that's not true. Katniss didn't kill them, and you did nothing wrong either. And, if we do get out of here, it'll be as corpses. Or maybe, if the Rebels win, we will at least be sentenced to a quick death. Frankly, I would prefer that over the torture." She stated, clenching his hand tightly as a thought ran through her head. "I just hope that if Snow gets his hands on Finnick somehow, I could take his place. That's my only wish. I die, not Finnick. I already had that decided since the Quarter Quell's announcement, anyway."
"Dove, when did you start loving Finnick?" Peeta questioned after a few seconds of silence, gripping her hand tightly to hold on to the little sanity that was left in him.
"I don't exactly remember falling in love with him. I just remember one day I was holding his hand and loathed the moment I'd have to let go," Dove replied with a chuckle as she realised what she had just told him. "Actually, our relationship started with mutual pity. He was broken, in need of a hand to hold, and I was there, a little broken, in need of someone to comprehend me. Pity became understanding. Understanding became care. And soon, I was frightened at the idea of not having him by my side. I was absolutely terrified that one day I would never see his smile again. Quite funny that the moment has come, but I'm no longer frightened."
"What do you mean, you're not frightened?" He asked, resting his body on the bars as he squeezed her hand.
"He's safe. Even if the rebels lose the war, they've lived on Thirteen for seventy-five years. I think they could pull that off again. Or at least I hope so," she chuckled, watching as the door burst open. Two Capitol people carried the gas tank, while another brought a bucket filled with water. "Too bad. We have to end this beautiful conversation, Peeta. I'll see you after regaining consciousness."
They forcefully pulled her body from the wall, obligating her to let go of Peeta's hand, while he begged them to stop. The gas tank had glass walls, letting her see her surroundings. Although it wasn't for too long as the gas filled her vision, burning her entire body, not even letting her cry or scream properly. Time passed, and people came and went, but her pain was constant. At least, until the darkness finally gobbled her up.
"Dove!" Peeta's screams woke her up, causing her to sit up abruptly. "Dove!" He continued to scream, but she couldn't see him. There was nothing near her reach, only a dark sea engulfing her boots. The voice stopped. Peeta wasn't screaming, although the silence was just as horrifying. Had they finally killed him?
"Peeta!" Dove shouted, keeping herself still to hear his voice. Again, no reply. "Peeta!" She ran in any direction, no longer caring about where that could lead her. However, Peeta never replied, or at least she couldn't hear him as Finnick's cry reached her ears.
He was nowhere near. The voice came from all directions, and the dark sticky mass was raising from her boots to her knees, which made walking difficult. "Finnick!" No reply, again. "Why are you doing this to me!? Where are they!? Finnick! Peeta!"
It was so sudden that she almost missed it, but how could she? Not every day one saw themselves killing their family. It was horrifying. Finnick, dead. Peeta, begging for his life. Her family was already dead, their corpses surrounding her. No, I didn't. I didn't kill them. Dove repeated in her mind, seeing as the scene repeated, again and again.
"Dove, please." Those were Peeta's last words before her trident pierced his chest. A cannon sounded as his body fell to the ground, lifeless. "Dove. . . Dove." Peeta's voice said, although it didn't come from his corpse. It felt distant, almost like in another dimension.
Dove opened her eyes abruptly, gasping for air as she sat up. "Hey . . . It's OK. It's me, Peeta." Peeta reassured her, stroking her arm as she let out a loud sigh.
"Peeta . . ." She said, her voice surprisingly smooth as her arms wrapped themselves around his neck. Tears ran down her cheeks as the memories resurfaced. "I killed you . . . I killed Finnick. . . my family."
"No. You didn't, Dove. I'm here, OK? I'm alive. Finnick is too. They used my torture on you while you were half-conscious." Peeta whispered, wrapping his arms around her waist as she cried to her heart's content on his shoulder. "They allowed me to enter. Not sure why, but better not to ask. It's only until we leave for the interview, though."
"It wasn't real, then? Finnick's alive? I didn't kill him? You didn't beg me for your life?" Dove asked, her breathing too rapid to pronounce words correctly. He got a hand to the back of her head, stroking it as he soothed her.
"It's not real. Finnick's alive. You didn't kill him. And I didn't beg for my life. It's all a lie." He answered just as the door opened.
"Interview with President Snow." A Peacekeeper announced. They ended up in a pure white room. In the middle, there were two plain tables, a white outfit resting on each one.
A crew of Capitol people grabbed them, cleaned them, and put make-up on their wounds. However, they couldn't hide the obvious marks of torture or the worrying loss of weight, which in Dove's case was severe. After getting dressed, they were given notes, although a text would be right beside the camera in case they forgot what to say. "Another ceasefire call?" Peeta muttered under his breath.
"It's because of what we heard. Remember? I think we're distractions," Dove whispered to him. Entering onstage was morally crushing. President Snow waited for them on his podium, motioning for them to sit on the couch right in front of him.
Dove got her now straight hair over her shoulder to sit. If there was anything she hated the most from her Capitol transformation, it was her hair. She always whined about her daily problems with the bushy mess of her hair, but now she wished she could continue to have those problems. As she watched the television right beside the camera, it took her some seconds to convince herself the woman reflected was herself.
Her hair was perfectly straight. The only remaining factor from before was the blood-red colour, which seemed like it would never leave her side. Her eyes weren't the same lively green, but a greyish and darker one. Her face and body marked her bones with ease. She wore a dress that couldn't draw any attention from the obvious fog scabs on her body. And her pale skin made her look like a corpse. One who breathed and talked, but at the end of the day, still dead.
President Snow greeted the nation before the camera pointed at Dove and Peeta, whose metal leg's foot tapped out an irregular beat. Her hand slipped to his, trying to comfort him in the simplest and least troublesome way she could think of.
Before the actual discussion would start, President Snow asked her to sing for Panem. He wanted to show on which side the Capitol's Songbird was. From her seat, she nodded, thinking of any songs she could sing without getting herself in trouble.
"It's been a long day without you, my friend.
And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again," Dove sang. Her mind did not let her forget her family as she continued the song. Her eyes ended up landing on Peeta as she sang a few lines. The irony of having someone to consider family thanks to the Capitol and its tortures was sort of hilarious to her.
Snow wanted them broken, scared, and submissive. And he received all that in a way he wasn't expecting. They were broken, sure, but they were also ready to fight. They were scared but found strength in each other. They were submissive, but only to protect those who they loved.
"How can we not talk about family when family's all that we got?
Everything I went through, you were standing there by my side.
And now you gon' be with me for the last ride." Dove looked back to the camera, which glitched for a split second, as she continued singing.
"First, you both go out your way and the vibe is feeling strong.
And what's small turned to a friendship, a friendship turned to a bond.
And that bond will never be broken, the love will never get lost." Her eyes were still glued to her image on the television, which flickered, and her face was suddenly overlapped with a short video from the rebels. "So remember me when I'm gone . . ." Dove stopped singing. It wasn't just any rebel propaganda. Melo was in it. He was alive. In Thirteen.
"He's alive . . ." She muttered, her eyes wide as she continued staring at the television. The Rebellion's videos overlapped her performance a couple more times before her face was on again. Her mother and sister were next to Katniss in one video, while Finnick spoke about Rue in another.
"You lied to me," Dove said, her eyes looking straight at President Snow as she raised her voice. "You lied to me. You told me they were dead!"
"Miss Ogilvy, I never said that. I only mentioned we found no signs of them in Four. My guess about them being in the pile of dead bodies was just that, a guess. I never informed you of their death or of their survival." President Snow replied calmly, his lips forming a faint smirk.
"You sick fuck." Dove spat, getting up from her seat to walk towards him, although Peeta's arms stopped her before she could take a second step. "Peeta, let me go. Let me go!" She hissed, struggling to break free from his grasp.
"Miss Ogilvy, if you don't calm down, I fear you'll have to be guided back to your chambers," Snow warned, causing Dove to stop struggling.
Don't make me laugh. What chambers? Do you mean that stupid cell? She thought, breathing in and out calmly to stop her rage from showing. "Peeta, let me go." She repeated, this time with a peaceful tone.
Peeta complied, taking her hand to guide her back to her seat, where he began to say his speech about the ceasefire. With a frustrated tone, he explained the need for it and immediately listed all rebel related problems. A broken dam in Seven. A derailed train with a pool of toxic waste spilling from the tank cars. Those and much more, just as a brief clip of Katniss over some ruins caught his attention. The rebels were at it again.
When the image was back at him, he tried his best to pick up his speech, talking about the bombing of a water purification plant. But a much-unexpected clip of Melo talking about Alder cut him off. "Melo . . ." Dove whispered, tears leaving her eyes as the anger subdued to a powerful feeling of relief. "He's really alive . . ."
A battle between the rebels and the Capitol broadcasting forces suddenly started. Finnick appeared, talking about a tribute from Six. Then Ron, who appeared directly with Katniss in some clips of Twelve. They were alive. And if they were, there was a great possibility that the rest were too. Annie, Mags, Muscida, Theo, Rhett . . . Alive! Dove thought.
"The rebels are clearly attempting to disrupt the dissemination of information they find incriminating, but both truth and justice will reign. The full broadcast will resume when security has been reinstated. Peeta, Dove, given tonight's demonstration, do you have any parting thoughts for Katniss Everdeen or Finnick Odair?" President Snow said.
Dove couldn't form a single thought that wasn't about her family's survival. However, she had to wake up. Thirteen, where her family was, would be under attack in no time. But, by the time she realised, Peeta was already battling his way with words. "No one's safe. Not here in the Capitol. Not in the districts. And you . . . In Thirteen . . ." He took a few seconds to inhale, knowing perfectly well what he would get himself into, although Dove didn't let him as she finished the phrase for him.
"You'll be dead by morning!" She shouted. Peeta joined right after, uttering warnings that didn't seem to get through. "We're distractions! Hide! Be safe!"
"End it!" President Snow ordered. A few Peacekeepers grabbed Peeta's shoulders, trying to get him to come with them, although he struggled with all his might.
"What are you going to do to him!? Let him go! I was the one who warned them, take me, not him! Let him go! Let him go! Peeta!" Dove cried, her two hands grasping Peeta's tightly as she tried to stop the Peacekeepers from carrying him out of the room.
"Dove!" Peeta managed to shout, but it was too late. A Peacekeeper had already hit her head, leaving her unconscious on the floor. "Dove! No! Let me go! Let me go! Dove!"
The last moments from the Capitol's broadcast were absolute hell. Peeta continued struggling to approach Dove's unconscious body, whose blood and hair had reached the fallen camera's range of view. In the end, he got hit too, causing more blood to fill the camera's sight.
Then, silence. Horrible and long silence that only became worse as the Capitol's transmission ended abruptly. No explanation. No sight of the Victor's still alive. Nothing whatsoever.
In Thirteen, Finnick's tight grip on Katniss' hand became stronger, trying to hold on to something as reality slowly got away from his reach. "Shut up!" Haymitch yelled, getting everyone's attention to him. "It's not some big mystery! The kids are telling us we're about to be attacked. Here. In Thirteen."
As the warning's trustfulness was questioned, Melo, who had the same broken expression as him, took Finnick's free hand. They were barely holding on. For the surrounding people. For their family. And for Katniss, who desperately needed someone to lean on.
"They're beating them bloody while we speak. What more do you need? You three, help me out here!" Haymitch said in exasperation. Finnick and Melo had many things to say, each worse than the last. Accusations towards Thirteen and its people for not believing Dove when she had risked her safety to warn them. Insults could be exchanged. An argument could start. But then, Dove's effort would have truly been for nothing. So they remained quiet.
"Haymitch's right. I don't know where Peeta and Dove got the information. Or if it's true. But they believe it is. And they're-" Katniss stopped explaining, holding Finnick's hand tighter as she found it difficult to explain what was obvious to everyone. Peeta and Dove were being tortured. Right there and then, while in Thirteen, they still argued whether or not their warning was true.
"You don't know them," Haymitch said directly to Coin. "We do. Get your people ready." He added, pointing from Katniss to Melo. The three victors still holding hands to not give in to their living nightmares.
"Of course, we have prepared for such a scenario. Although we have decades of support for the assumption that further direct attacks on Thirteen would be counterproductive to the Capitol's cause. Nuclear missiles would release radiation into the atmosphere, with incalculable environmental results. Even routine bombing could badly damage our military compound, which we know they hope to regain. And, of course, they invite a counterstrike. It is conceivable that, given our current alliance with the rebels, those would be viewed as acceptable risks." Coin said.
"You think so?" Haymitch replied, his subtle irony not reaching Thirteen's comprehension.
"I do. At any rate, we're overdue for a Level Five security drill," said Coin. "Let's proceed with the lockdown." She typed on her keyboard, and the moment she raised her head, the sound began.
Boggs got the three young victors out of Command, guiding them along the hall to a doorway and to a wide stairway. People were all around, but no one panicked. Everyone descended rapidly, but did not create any potential problems by running or pushing each other. As they reached the bunker, Boggs stopped them in their tracks, motioning them to scan their schedules. It was a way to know who was left to arrive and who was already there.
Once inside, Finnick and Melo excused themselves to their own cavern, which represented the compartment they shared, while Katniss walked to her own. In 306, there were four bunks, which would leave two people to sleep on the floor, and a ground-level cube space for storage. A piece of white paper rested on the storage box. Bunker Protocol. "That will be helpful if this collapses on us," Melo muttered sarcastically, taking a seat next to Finnick in one bed to read the paper.
1. Make sure all members of your Compartment are accounted for.
"Well, we're the first ones to get here in general. Mags is old and will need help. Then there's Muscida, who will be helping Mags for sure. Ron, who I have no idea where he is, but I doubt he'll take much longer. And Librae, who should come down from Command at any second." Finnick whispered to Melo, taking one quick glance outside to see if their family was anywhere in sight, but they weren't.
2. Go to the Supply Station and secure one pack for each member of your Compartment. Ready your Living Area. Return pack(s).
"Ugh. Where's that, anyway?" Melo whined, looking at Finnick, who shrugged. They turned to look outside again, watching as Katniss walked somewhere decisively. "Let's follow her." The two boys did so, reaching a point where only a few people were there.
"Three each?" Finnick asked, turning around to show Melo the six packs that they had to carry. Melo only nodded and took three from him. Back in their space, they opened the packs. Each of them had a thin mattress, bedding, two sets of grey clothing, a toothbrush, a comb, and a torch.
"Now to return the packs. . ." Melo said, grabbing three as Finnick copied his action. When they were back, there was only protocol number three to follow.
3. Await for further instructions.
"Where are the rest?" Melo questioned under his breath, staring at the door, where people appeared every second. He eventually gave up, looking to the ground as the interview replayed in his head. Dove's deterioration, her trembling hand seeking Peeta's comfort, her absolute rage at finding she had been lied about her family's wellbeing, and, worst of all, her bloodied figure after trying to defend Peeta. "Dove . . ."
"Go to Annie's and I's compartment. We'll stay here." Angel's comforting voice told them, sitting right in front of them. "Here you won't be able to cry. Go there. Don't worry, it's all already prepared. Let me join you sometimes with the excuse to check on you, though."
"Thanks, Angel. Thank you so much," Finnick muttered, his hands clenched together in front of his mouth, the bloodied scene would never get off his head. Dove's desperate cries, the sound of a sudden hit followed by the thud of her body falling to the floor. Her blood and hair reaching the camera's sight before anyone could form a single thought of what was going on. All of that was glued to his brain.
"I'll go later. First, I want to make sure everyone else is all right." Melo said, raising his head to see his friend in a much worse situation than he was.
"Hey, I went back to your compartment for this. I made sure to get the photos and shells, too. I've got everything." Angel announced, leaving Dove's songbook on Finnick's lap.
Finnick traced the book's cover with his fingers. Dove's old, quick and silly handwriting was the only thing notorious about it. The text had capital letters in the middle of it. They were spread almost randomly and written in red, while the other normal ones had a bright green colour.
Two simple drawings of dandelions were on each side of the title, decorating the bright brown cover, which led directly to the first song "Sea".
As Finnick skipped through the songs he had already read, Melo and Angel were concentrated on the titles. After yesterday's song, which was heartbreaking to say the least, the title didn't get much better. "See you again." Finnick read quietly, his eyes not leaving the page as he read the song Dove had just sung during the interview.
"She wrote that when she was fifteen years old?" He wondered out loud. He scanned the page, looking for any signs of a date, or anything that could set exactly when she wrote that, but there was none. After all, Dove wasn't known for keeping track of time neatly on her notes.
"It was written during your first visit, Finnick. It's notorious once you read the next song." Angel said, clenching her hands in front of her found and moving slightly forward in her seat. "You'll see it better on the rest of the songs. But I don't think she ever thought she would live for too long. The last ones are simple goodbyes to every and each one of us. . ."
"We didn't read those, and you shouldn't either. Much less now." Melo joined in, rubbing Finnick's back to comfort him.
"Why not?" Finnick asked simply. He wanted to read whatever Dove had written for him. More now that he had seen her state than ever.
"Because you'll subconsciously give up. You'll be discouraged. You'll think it's a lost cause." Angel intervened, letting her hands fall on her lap. "She's alive. We're going to win this fucking war and bring her back home. . . I can't wait until I see Katniss shot an arrow through that bastard Snow's heart, considering he has one."
"We'll get her back," Melo and Finnick repeated under their breath, taking a second to let their pent-up anger, sorrow, and confusion turn into deep hatred towards President Snow. If there was anything they could do to assist Katniss kill him, they would do it.
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