A.N. Omg this is our 50th chapter!! Can you believe it guys! I'd like to say a huge thanks to all my supporters from the beginning, can't believe y'all have stuck around! A big thanks to good_with_the_bow Everlark10 breezykb DeathByMockingjay for being such big supporters of the story. I love all of my readers!
"Are you okay?" Gale whispers to me as we step off of the elevator and I nod my head, trying to ignore the pain in my lower abdomen. I know this pain, I've felt this pain. But there isn't any blood, which means I'm not having a miscarriage. Not yet at least. But the cramping is there and Peeta's hand isn't here to hold.
"Yeah, come on let's go." I straighten up ignoring the protesting from my body and walk towards the door.
The sight before me is a lush meadow, full of the deepest green grass that looks soft and springy. Real trees grow and tower above the scene. Flowering plants are scattered about, giving even more life and color to the place. Hummingbirds flit from flower to flower.
I've now found my refuge. I wonder if Beetee will allow me to sneak in here and hide.
Speaking of Beetee, I spot him sitting frozen in his wheelchair as he watches a fluorescent green hummingbird sip nectar from a lovely orange blossom. Beetee looks up at us when the bird flies away to another flower, and waves for us to join him.
I don't need to be told twice. Gale must see my excitement, not that I'm really doing much to disguise it, because I catch him trying to suppress his smile. The air is surprisingly cool and breathable, which is a wonderful change. I know it's all in my head, but we're so far underground in 13 that I sometimes feel as though the air is suffocating me with its staleness.
"Aren't they magnificent?" Beetee asks excitedly. Though his skin still retains a sickly pallor, his eyes are bright with acuity and delight. "13 has been studying their aerodynamics here for years. Forward and backward flight, and speeds up to sixty miles per hour. If only I could build you wings like these, Katniss!"
"I doubt I could manage them, Beetee," I say with a small smile. "Especially now."
"Ah, yes!" Beetee looks under his ill-fitting glasses to sneak a glance at my growing stomach. "How are you? It's regrettable that I can't see you more often, but I'm needed here."
"I'm as good as I can be," I say truthfully. "Given the circumstances."
"No intelligence of Peeta?" Beetee asks, and I shrug, trying to squash the pain in my chest.
"Not that I know of."
"I've been keeping a special eye on communications," Beetee reassures me. "If I hear or see anything, I'll be sure to let you know."
It's wonderful to know that he's still my ally, even out of the arena. "Thanks, Beetee."
Another hummingbird flits in between us before darting off and Beetee shakes his head. "Incredible creatures," he murmurs. "Do you think you could shoot one with an arrow, Katniss?"
I raise my eyebrows dubiously. "I doubt it. Too small."
"You could snare them, maybe," Gale suggests, his face taking on a contemplative expression that is calm and calculating. "Take a net with a very fine mesh. Enclose an area and leave a mouth of a couple square feet. Bait the inside with nectar flowers. While they're feeding, snap the mouth shut. They'd fly away from the noise but only encounter the far side of the net."
"Would that work?" Beetee wonders.
"I don't know," Gale shrugs casually. Always so modest. "Just an idea. They might outsmart it."
"They might, they are extremely intelligent birds." He says and watches as they fly around the room.
"Beetee, I was told that you have a weapon for me?" I ask trying to speed things along, so that I can go lie down.
"Ah yes, right over here. And I have one for you too." He says pointing towards Gale, as he rolls his wheelchair towards a security guard.
"How's Finnick doing?" He asks me.
I frown sadly, thinking of the distant, tormented look that seems to be perpetually on Finnick's handsome face. "He's having concentration problems," I understate.
Beetee sees through it, though my answer was obviously transparent. "Concentration problems, eh?" Beetee sighs. "If you knew what Finnick's been though the last few years, you'd know how remarkable it is that he's still with us at all. Tell him I've been working on a new trident for him, though, will you? Something to distract him a little."
I nod. Distraction is good. Maybe working with his new trident will give Finnick some incentive to get better. "I'll tell him."
Beetee leads us to a hallway that's guarded by four guards. Their hard expressions remind me of the Peacekeepers in District 11 on the Victory Tour. Harsh and shoving. I can imagine Peeta standing right beside me like he had been that day, his arm wrapped tightly around my waist, glaring at the Peacekeepers.
It's my job to protect you.
Somehow I get the feeling he'd say the same thing now. Especially when I have to go through DNA scans and fingerprint scans. Not to mention I get frisked. That, Peeta would have definitely had a problem with. As it is, the guards are lucky that I didn't punch them in the face.
Eventually, we're allowed through. Honestly, I have no idea why they deem such security measures necessary. I can't imagine anyone from 13 breaching security . . . or breaking any rule for that matter. These are people who glare at you if you use a full sheet of paper to write a single sentence.
Maybe Coin is secretly paranoid . . . or maybe the extra measures are due to the influx of immigrants. Probably the latter. However my anger subsides when we finally enter into a room full of armor. It's in this place that I can breathe again.
Gale heads towards the wall Steiger ahead and picks up a bow that has scopes and other gadgets on it. His face lights up as he looks through it and places it on his arm.
"That doesn't seem very fair to the deer." I tell him and he scowls.
"I wouldn't be using it on a deer, would I?" He retorts and I look at my shoes. Beetee leaves the room to get my bow, and once he is out of sight I turn towards Gale.
"So it's going to be easy for you to kill people? You're just going to shoot them like an animal, and not even wonder if they have a family?" I ask him and he sets the weapon down.
"This is war, Katniss. If you sign up, you have a 50% chance of dying and a 50% chance of living. I'm not dying so if someone gets in my way, I'll kill them." I stare at the man I call my best friend and wonder where he went inside of this stranger's body, that is obsessed with war.
Beetee returns with a long, black case over his lap. "For you," he says and motions for me to take it. I can't help the puzzled smile that stretches across my lips. What's so special about this bow? What has Beetee's genius brain come up with? I take the case from him and set it on the floor, flipping open the clasps on the sides and then lifting the lid. "Oh," I breathe in surprise as my fingers unthinkingly stroke the bow. Nestled in the maroon velvet-lined case is my bow. It's completely black and sleek-looking and yet radiates power and danger. It's a force to be reckoned with, and a beautiful one at that.
I lift it carefully from it's confines and I have to admire Beetee's craftsmanship, as well as his aesthetic taste. The balance is perfect. The curves of the bow are elegant and precise, alluding to wings extended in flight. But there's something else. Something odd. The bow is vibrating in my hands. It feels alive. I press it to my cheek just to make sure I'm not imagining things and a hum goes through my body.
"What's it doing?" I ask Beetee.
"Saying hello," he replies with a grin. "It heard your voice."
"It recognizes my voice?"
"Only your voice." Beetee looks very proud of himself and I can't help but find it cute. "You see, they wanted me to design a bow based purely on looks. As part of your costume, you know? But I kept thinking, What a waste. I mean, what if you do need it sometime? As more than a fashion accessory?" Beetee pauses, glancing at my obvious pregnant belly. "Of course, it's just a precaution."
"Thanks for the thought, Beetee," I smile in gratitude, and Beetee takes my response as permission to continue.
"Anyway, so I left the outside simple, and left the inside to my imagination. Best explained in practice, though. Want to try those out?"
"Yeah!" I laugh and stand quickly with it in my hand, but stop; clutching the bow to my stomach, hoping the pain will stop.
"Are you feeling ill?" Beetee asks me and I smile while shaking my head.
Gale and I spend the rest of the hour at the shooting range, shooting arrow after arrow into the targets. Not only are the bows remarkable, but the arrows are as well. With Beetee's weapons, I can accurately shoot at a hundred yards. I have three types of arrows to choose from in my arsenal—razor sharp, incendiary, and explosive. He even color-coded them for me so I know which is which by sight. I can override the bow with a command, though I have no idea why I would do so. To deactivate the bow, all I have to do is say, "Goodnight." Then it will wait until the sound of my voice wakes it once again.
When Gale and I leave the specials defense area, I look at my arm and see that I'm due in the remake center. This is it, this is when I leave for district 8 and I price to Coin that I'm getting my husband back. Gale leaves to get ready and I walk alone to the room. In the silent moments like these, I can here Peeta whispering to me. Almost like he's making conversation, but then I realize he's gone. He's not here. And I'm alone.
My prep team is already waiting and they have me dressed in my costume within twenty minutes. An armband is given to me to cover the scar on my forearm, and I scowl as I situate it properly. Flavius's hands are in my hair, making it look tousled, but still natural. Venia applies just the barest hint of makeup to my face. Simple foundation, a little blush, some mascara and a natural pink lipstick complete my not-so-polished, yet natural-put-together-look.
I couldn't care less at this point.
The moment I'm done, I'm hustled to Special Defense to meet with Beetee. Since I'll technically be in a battlezone, Beetee is helping me with the armor Cinna designed. There's a helmet of a supple material that's interwoven with a precious metal that fits close to my head. It can be drawn back like a hood if I don't want it up full-time. I'm happy with a vest that reinforces the protection over my vital organs. A small, white earpiece attaches to my collar by a thin wire—my means of communicating with Haymitch. Beetee secures a gas mask to my belt, explaining as he works, "If you see anyone dropping for reasons you can't explain, put it on immediately," he says.
Lastly, he attaches a sheath divided into three sections onto my back. Each section houses a different type of arrow. "Just remember: Right side, fire. Left side, explosive. Center, regular," he reminds me and I nod. "You shouldn't need them, but better safe than sorry."
Yes. Definitely better safe than sorry. A bubble of doubt, no, a huge cloud of doubt floats hauntingly in the back of my mind. This could all go so horribly wrong in a second. And if I get hurt or die, I condemn the baby as well. Then, should Peeta miraculously survive his imprisonment—if the rebels win the war—he would have lost the reason he fought to survive due to my own recklessness. I can't do that to him.
But at the same time, I can't knowingly do something that could end all possibilities of ever having him in my arms again, especially when there's still hope.
Boggs arrives right on time, and as we're waiting for the elevator to arrive to take us to the Airborne Division, Finnick suddenly appears, wild-eyed and agitated. "Katniss, they won't let me go! I told them I'm fine, but they won't even let me ride in the hovercraft!"
I bite my lip as I take in Finnick's disheveled appearance. His bare legs peeking out of his hospital gown, his wild eyes shining too brightly, his rope knotted around his fingers, and his hair that's in disarray. Any plea I give to his case will not be heard. But I can't bring myself to disappoint him completely, so I try a new tactic.
"Oh, I completely forgot," I say, slapping a hand on my forehead. "I was supposed to tell you to head to Special Weaponry. Beetee has a new trident for you."
At the word trident he perks up, looking like the old Finnick. "Really?" he asks with excitement. "What does it do?"
I shrug. "Don't know, but if it's anything like my bow and arrows, you're going to love it." I pause for a minute as I add pointedly, "You'll have to train with it, though."
Finnick nods. "Right. Of course. I guess I better get down there."
He turns to go, but I stop him. "Finnick?" I try to fight a smile. "Maybe some pants?"
It's as if he's just now realized the outfit he's been sporting for weeks. Suddenly, he rips off his gown, leaving him in just his underwear, and strikes a ridiculously pose. "Why?" he asks with a leer. "Do you find this . . . distracting?"
The laugh that escapes me is entirely genuine, a rarity these days. Partly, I'm laughing because honestly the situation is quite funny. Especially the uncomfortable look currently on Boggs's face. But I'm also laughing in relief, because at least I know that the old Finnick isn't completely gone. This is the Finnick I met in the Quarter Quell.
"Maybe if you were Peeta," I say with a sad smile. Though honestly, if Peeta were currently in Finnick's pose, I don't think I'd be able to keep from bursting into uncontrollable laughter. He smiles and runs off down the hall, hopefully to find some pants.
"Sorry about that." I tell Boggs and he just nods his head.
"Don't be," he says. "I thought you handled that. . .well." He adds.
"You're a brave women, reckless at times but still brave." I look up at him stunned at what he said and I shake my head.
"I had to do this, I couldn't loose him."
"And if it costs your life?" Well he certainly doesn't beat around the bush.
I look down at my hand, at the pearl I have wrapped in between my fingers and I wonder what Peeta would do. "Then I can only hope that he'll forgive me."
A.N. So I hope y'all liked this chapter! And I will try and update again soon! See ya next week. Also a few people that have been super nice and great friends of mine are joshhutchersonlover2 and teaandwriting and dillpickle37
I also would like to thank thehungergamescatnip for being the first person ever to comment on my story. It was forever ago, but I'd like to think it helped the story grow! So thank you!!
Only one more I swear! But a HUGE thank you to my close friend luckyones_ for convincing me to get the app so long ago. I wouldn't be publishing my 50th chapter if it weren't for you. Love you lots homie. ❤️
Quote from the next chapter comes from....Rye!!
"Oh, I don't know 'bout him, but I think we can all agree I'm pretty smokin'."