FINCH HIT THE GROUND, HER SCREAM STILL ECHOING OFF THE TREES. Wren watched as Clove fell down with her. In a flash, red and black mixed together.
"Get up!" Clove shouted panic spread throughout her entire body. She felt a sharp pain in her ankle but ignored it. "Red, please!"
Finch cried as Clove picked her up. For as small as Clove was she could carry a lot when needed.
The peacekeeper vehicle was merely forty feet away. Marvel helped Clove carry Finch as he noticed her slight limp.
By the time they reached the vehicle, everyone piled in. Clove kept the pressure on the gunshot wound. It was in a nasty spot, right in Finch's shoulder. It was a clean shot that went straight through.
"W-We have to stop somewhere. One of the Districts," Clove said with tears. "Which one is the closest?"
"Nine," Marvel told her. "We could stop in Nine."
"The Capitol would be looking for us there." Said one of the other nameless team members.
"They're going to find us anywhere," Wren said.
Cato got a good look at her. Wren was thin, mostly skin and bones, she was paler than she was, and the markings on her back made him livid.
"We can hide in the hayfields of Nine," suggested Marvel. "It's our only option."
"No, it's not," Wren said. "We can go to District Ten."
Everyone looked at one another.
"Are you sure?" Marvel asked.
"It's just past Nine, maybe a little south but we can make it." Wren looked at Finch, she was paling by the minute. "Hurry."
Cato pressed the gas harder and they were on their way to District Ten.
Up in the passenger seat, Wren finally felt like she could breathe. She looked at the moonlight as Cato drove. His blond hair looked lighter in the moonlight and Wren smiled as she saw the stars above him.
Cato reached over and grabbed her hand, he brought her knuckles to his lips and placed a kiss on them. "I'm so glad I got you back."
"Me too," Wren said, "Thank you."
"Guys!" Clove shouted in near tears. "She stopped breathing!"
Cato almost slammed on the brakes.
Marvel checked Finch's pulse, "Her pulse is low. My guess is that her body went into shock."
Cato continued driving, but said, "Start chest compressions!"
Marvel started compressions and Clove looked at the red hair on her head. She pushed a piece away before she pressed her lips onto hers and blew air in. As Marvel continued compressions, Clove continued mouth to mouth.
After five minutes, they got Finch's pulse up and she was breathing on her own.
"We need to get to Ten as fast as we can," Marvel told Cato. "Or she won't make it."
Clove ripped the bottom of her shirt off and pressed it over the shoulder wound. It quickly soaked up the blood.
"I-I think the bleeding is slowing," Clove said.
Wren turned around, "We have maybe two hours, is there anything back there that might help?"
Marvel looked around, shuffling through boxes. As he peered into one he found bandages and medication. "Found it!"
He handed the medication to Clove and carefully removed as much of her sleeve as he could. He gagged at the wound. Marvel held his breath as he cleaned the wound as best as he could before placing a gauze over it and wrapping it.
Finch weakly opened her eyes. Clove gasped. "Red, thank god, are you okay? Here, we have meds," she helped the girl sit up as much as she could to take the pills.
"Ow," Finch mumbled.
"You took a bullet for me," Clove said bewildered. Her mind was racing with all the possibilities as to why on earth would Finch do that for her.
"Yeah," Finch told her as she laid back down. The pain was worse. "I'd do anything for you."
...
They made it to District Ten with Finch still breathing. Clove never left her side. She watched every inhale and exhale that left Finch's body; every twitch, and movement.
The large hay fields of Ten kept the vehicle hidden as Wren led them to the barbed wire she knew was never turned on. Years ago, a young man was shoved into the fence by peacekeepers; they never fixed the electrical current.
Cato admired the night sky in Ten. It was the same as Two, but entirely different at the same time. The stars seemed brighter in the field rather than being masked slightly by the smog from the Capitol.
The fencing was sharp and Cato was shocked as to how rough Ten was. The homes were tiny, wooden, and most likely rotting. Fields of livestock surrounded them. He looked around more and noticed that there were many barrels of water outside of the home.
"Wren," he caught her attention. He pointed at a barrel, "Why do you guys have those?"
"Not many homes in Ten have showers," she said as if it was common knowledge. "Thankfully, mine did. But many people, men, women, and children, bathe outside."
"Even in the cold?" Marvel jumped in. Wren nodded.
Once they were in, Wren knew where to go. She was thankful she lived on the outskirts of Ten pointing toward the Capitol.
She rushed them to the nearest apothecary. The apothecary was running, to their luck. An elderly man was inside. They carried Finch in and he got to work.
"My, my, Wren Eldrid," said someone from the shadows. Madam Ringfeild came into view. "You look too thin."
Wren ran to her and hugged her. Madam Ringfeild was the mayor of District Ten.
"Madam Ringfeild, thank you. Thank you for letting us stay," Wren told her.
"My dear, I'm doing Panem a favor. Get food, get rest, but you leave once this girl is able. We've missed you running around town, but for the sake of Panem, you must fight in this war."
"You know about the war?" Cato asked making his presence known and placing his left hand on Wren's shoulder, his wedding band noticeable.
"Ah, I see. I believe a congratulations is in order?" The older woman said. Wren smiled.
As Finch rested, the group ate and bantered. Cato noticed Wren's appetite was slowly coming back as she tried not to eat too much to upset her stomach.
"Wren, honey," Cato whispered.
"Hmm?"
"Can we talk after dinner?"
She nodded. She knew he would ask her what happened.
After dinner, Wren led Cato to the back of the apothecary away from the group. Dozens of herbs and medications surrounded them. The room smelled like fresh peppermint to hide the decaying or dying individuals that kept the place running.
Cato touched her cheek softly, "What did they do to you, my Wren," he muttered.
"I handled it," she said. "It's not the first time."
"Being whipped?" Cato asked. He was shocked, he never knew his wife had been whipped before.
"In Ten," she told him. "When I was thirteen. Right in the public square. I got two lashes for taking an extra piece of bread for William."
Cato pulled her in gently. He was terrified he'd break her. Her body was thinner than before, almost as if they starved her. Her hair was brittle, her skin paler than usual, and her eyes sunken in slightly. "I'm so sorry," he said as he held her softly.
The very people he wanted to be when he was younger hurt her. Growing up in Ten, they hurt her; in the Games, they hurt her; and holding her hostage, they hurt her. Cato felt as if he was seeing red, he was out for blood.
"Snow was going to execute me tomorrow morning, well this morning," Wren said into Cato's chest. He stroked her hair lightly, admiring the frail brown strands that moved through his fingers.
"I'm going to kill him," Cato told her sternly. "For everything he did to you."
"What about what he did to you?" Wren asked looking up at him. She felt Cato kiss her forehead.
"I'll get revenge for that too, my love."
...
Morning came faster than the group expected. Throughout the night, Clove worked on contacting Thirteen to send out another aircraft. By four in the morning, she made contact, by four thirty, an aircraft was sent their way.
"You're lucky it went right through," the gentlemen told Clove- the same man that patched up Finch's shoulder. "The others got to rest, but you didn't. You stayed by her side the entire night."
He was observant, Clove noted. She didn't say anything to him; her facial expression of pursed lips was enough for him.
"You must really like her," he said with a ghost of a smile. "Love is a rare thing nowadays my dear. Love within a war is beautiful. Very rare indeed."
He walked away from Clove leaving her to sit beside Finch. She grabbed Finch's hand and rubbed the pad of her thumb against her pale knuckles.
"I love you, Red," Clove whispered. "I've never felt this way for anyone so strongly," she breathed in deeply, "I love you."
Silence. That filled her ears for a brief two minutes.
Finch's breathing picked up, her eyes opened moments after; she smiled.
"I love you too, Trefoil."
Clove leaned forward and kissed Finch.
After fights, after hiding, feeling shameful, and near-death experiences, Finch allowed herself to be at ease. She felt whole kissing Clove. Soon guilt consumed her.
Tears began to fall down her cheeks as she pulled away from the kiss. "I'm so sorry. For how I acted, for treating you that way. I never should have hidden us."
"You were wrong to hide us," Clove agreed, "but you were scared, and I understand. You didn't have to go through it alone. That's why I'm here. I'm here for you. I love you, Red."
Finch leaned forward to signal she wanted another kiss. In between pecks, she whispered countless 'I love you's' to Clove. Clove felt her heart grow with each one she heard.
...
District Thirteen's aircraft landed on the outskirts of Ten. Wren looked at her home- her past home. Memories flooded her mind as she looked at the fields from the aircraft.
"Wren," Cato said, "you ready?"
Wren faced her new home. Wherever he went was her home. She nodded and accepted his outstretched hand. Once she was in the aircraft, Cato kissed her head and held her tight.
"I missed you so much," he mumbled into her hair. Wren could feel a tear hit her head.
"Me too," she hugged him back as hard as she could.
They took their places and strapped in. Wren held Cato's hand as they began to take off.
A few seats down, Wren saw Clove and Finch holding hands. She nudged Cato and nodded in their direction.
"What are we looking at?" Marvel asked from Cato's other side. He leaned forward. "Awe. I knew they'd end up together. I was rooting for them."
Wren chuckled. "Man I missed you," she told him.
"Missed you too, sis." Marvel looked at her. "Cato met my parents," he told her randomly.
"What?" Wren asked.
"Yeah," Cato said, "it was odd."
"My Dad pointed a gun at him."
"A gun!"
"I was fine," Cato calmed her down. "Besides, there was no clip. No clip, no bullets."
"How did you catch that?" Marvel asked him.
"I'm observant," Cato said with a smirk before gasping at the sudden movement of the aircraft.
Air turbulence caused them to shake slightly. Wren gripped the bars holding her in place. She shut her eyes so tightly she thought they might become permanently stuck that way. Her brain rattled and a nightmare of a memory hit her.
A peacekeeper grabbed her shoulders so hard bruises formed within minutes. He shoved her to the ground.
"What is Thirteen hiding?" He shouted.
"I don't know!" Wren shouted back.
She groaned as his foot connected with her stomach. She tried to curl into a ball, but he wouldn't let her. He grabbed her shoulders again causing her to wince in pain. He shook her, her head moved as if her spinal cord had become detached.
"What are they planning?" he seethed.
Wren glared at him before spitting onto his mask. Her saliva covered a majority of his mask. He dropped her to the ground. As she landed hard on her hip, he took off his mask. His hair was grey, but his eyes were a striking brown. They were so brown with anger they boarded the line of brown and black. He bent down.
"Just tell me what they're hiding. Where they're hiding. Who they're hiding? Make this easier on yourself."
She shook her head at him. She would never give away the direct location of her family. His eyes narrowed into slits as he removed his baton from his belt. He pressed a button and a small whip appeared at the end of the weapon.
In that moment, Wren knew she'd be harmed by her very weapon of choice.
Wren blinked. She looked at Cato who was watching her like a hawk.
"This war needs to happen. We need to take down the Capitol."