29 | THE BEYOND
SONG PREFERENCE: Willow by Jasmine Thompson
| THE CAPITOL; UNKNOWN |
one month ago
The walls were white, he had first realized when he woke up. The tarnished suit he wore in the arena was burned to a crisp with holes from the acid fog and the electrical lightening tree. He then saw the bars around the white walls, taking note that these bars were almost all around him, like a cage.
He sat up quickly, not caring that he could have a concussion or pass out from the sudden movement. He didn't care. He didn't care because of what he confirmed when he saw the person who was locked opposite him in the cage across from his. He started crawling toward the bars.
Johanna.
Her body was slumped against the one bare wall she had in her cell, a few good cuts scattered around her face, but she was breathing and that's all that mattered. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," she spoke lowly, "they're electric."
He sat back, inching away from the bars. The height of the cell was a good six feet, letting him stand just enough if he wanted to. He rested his elbows on his knees as he squinted at her. The light was blinding inside the room they were in, resembling sunlight reflecting off of fresh snow.
"Where are we?" He asked.
Johanna didn't sound okay, she didn't sound like herself as she answered with a twisted smile in her voice. "Take a guess."
He furrowed his brow in deep concern, and then, as if being hit in the head with a pile of bricks, it came to him. "No." His voice was dark as his heart plummeted in his chest. "No, this isn't right." He murmured. He could feeling his mind reeling. They were supposed to get us out.
Johanna let out a loud chuckle, smirking to herself as she stared across from her at the clumps of hair they took from her head earlier that day. "Let the games begin, Finnick Odair."
***
| DISTRICT 13; ABOVE |
She noticed how fresh the air was above Thirteen compared to the filtered air that went through the ventilation system underground. There was something different about this air; the way it warmed her skin and the smell of new grass mixed into its subtle breezes. Greyson didn't mind it, no, instead she wished she could do this everyday with Katniss and Gale. She wished everyday was just as perfect as this one, where the sun was just beginning to rise and the vegetation was slick wet with dew.
Yet something felt like it was missing, and she couldn't deny that she hadn't thought about wanting to share this moment with Finnick too.
Greyson had suggested that she was better down by the stream where she could teach them to catch fish, instead of using her bow to shoot larger game. Even going into her second month coming out of the arena, she still had nightmares of killing children and fallen victors. She didn't like to use her weapon if only during a life or death situation. Katniss didn't seem to mind.
Katniss was crouched down against a concealing shrub with her arrow ready to fly towards its mark, which happened to be a deer. The creature raised its head in their direction, but didn't run like they had expected it to. Katniss lowered her bow. "It's not even afraid of us," she muttered.
Gale helped her stand up. "It's 'cause they've never been hunted before. It's almost not fair."
Greyson could hear the river from a short distance, the rushing of water filling up her heart. It had been so long since she felt a natural spring run through the spaces of her fingers. It reminded her of home, or what once was her home.
For awhile, Greyson taught Katniss and Gale the way of catching fish properly, laughing a few times as Gale almost fell into the river on occasion. After a few more tries, Greyson sat propped against a rock with the two, eyeing them from the corner of her eye as she watched Katniss lay her head on Gale's broad shoulder. She didn't say anything about it.
A minute went by before his communicuff beeped, signaling them back. "They want us back," Gale confirmed.
On the way back, Katniss walked with Greyson, quietly talking to one another. Greyson realized she liked the company of the younger girl and that it made her feel a little more comfortable that she wasn't going through this alone. She also realized how alone she's actually been throughout the war. She's so used to having Finnick by her side that sleeping alone at night to battle with her demons has made her long for his strong embrace and his solacing words that he would whisper in her ear when he felt her stir even the slightest bit. She missed having someone.
Gale pressed the button inside the elevator, saying something about them wanting the three in command. Greyson shared a troubled look with Katniss. Whenever they wanted them in command nothing good ever came out of it.
"Alright," Katniss said. "I gotta drop these off." She showed him their game and Gale nodded.
Getting off of the elevator, Greyson stopped in the middle of the hallway as she heard the space be engulfed with the voice of Peeta Mellark, except this time, he wasn't the same caring boy she had met in the arena. This version looked like the bones of someone she once knew.
"He's changed so much already," Katniss commented under the voices on the television. "What are they doing to him?"
"A sweet gesture for a girl who has inspired such violence. You must love her very much to be able to forgive her." Caesar replied to Peeta. Greyson wanted to do nothing more than to shove his brightly colored hair into a bucket of acid.
Greyson looked at Peeta and bit the inside of her cheek. "He's shaking."
"I don't think that I could." Caesar continued in a scolding tone. "Unless, of course, Peeta, you think that perhaps she's being forced into saying things that she doesn't even understand."
"Yeah," Peeta said in a small voice. "Yeah, that's exactly what I think."
He's so skinny, Greyson whispered in her head as she took in the hollow cheekbones and thin hands of Peeta.
"Even his voice is different," Katniss remarked as she inched her way closer to the screen, a grimace cast on her face.
"I think they're using her to whip up the rebels. I doubt she even knows what's happening and what's really at stake." Peeta said, his voice rising.
"Now, Peeta, I doubt that the rebels will ever let her see this." Greyson rolled her eyes. "But if they do, what would you say to her? To Katniss Everdeen, the once sweet Katniss Everdeen. What would you say?"
Peeta blinked and looked to the camera, staring right through to them. "I would . . . I would tell her to think for herself."
"Yes," Caesar urged him to go on.
In Peeta's eyes, Greyson could see that he had been holding back tears this entire time, that the redness in them wasn't just from lack of sleep, but emotion. He let a couple of tears slip carelessly down his face. "Don't be a fool, Katniss. I know you never wanted the rebellion. The things that you did in the Games were never intended to start all of this. The rebels have made you into something that you're not, something that could destroy all of us. So if you have any power or any say in what they do or how they use you; please, please, urge them to stop this war before it's too late, and ask yourself, can you trust the people you're working with? Do you know what they really want?"
Greyson sucked in a shaky breath as the video ended with Caesar talking and thanking Peeta, not bothering to listen in anymore. She couldn't believe they had him saying stuff like that, that they were most likely torturing him to say them. Her mind drifted to all the possible ways they could have gotten him to say those false things, and she inwardly shuddered. He was just a boy, an innocent who didn't deserve to be in this much pain. But deep down she knew they didn't care, not because they were heartless, but because these were the same people who created the very thing that would destroy them.
A/N: look at me popping out updates. I'm sick and I'm not enjoying it, but I. thought I'd be nice and give you another update. I've also noticed that this story has been going a little slow and I haven't been getting as many responses to this story as I would like, which is why I'm going to try to update at least twice a week from now on until this story is finished. And yes, I know I suck at updating and this is going to be a challenge, but if writers can update long ass chapters five times a week for multiple stories then I can do this small little adjustment. (this story is aLMOST AT 60K WTF).
also, I'd love for you to comment at least one thing you liked about this chapter, because I've also noticed that there haven't been as many comments lately and that makes me kinda sad bc I love this story. thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed :) xx