The doors to the hovercraft opened and the entire crew stepped out into the land of district 2. It was a large district, as one might expect, composed of a series of villages spread across the mountains.
The surrounding environment now, however, was very similar to that of 8. Broken buildings, rubble and glass shards lay across the grounds in greeting as we stepped down from the plane.
"Welcome to district 2." A man with a machine gun in his hands greeted us. "I'm corporal Holmes. Follow me, please."
We walked along with him towards a big building, when suddenly, a loud blast shattered through the air and the ground beneath us rumbled. Instinctively, I stepped closer to Newt and took his hand in mine.
"Don't worry." The corporal said with a grin. "That's how the loyalists say 'Good morning'."
The building, which seemed to be the town hall, had tall white pillars that ran along the walls of the room, and in the centre of the ceiling hung a huge chandelier, the diamonds and ornaments on it reflected the rising sun's light in every direction.
I was admiring the ornate decorations in the room when a tall woman with cropped blond hair along with a familiar face, commander Paylor, walked towards us with a smile.
"It's a pleasure to have you all here." The former said. "I'm Ricia Lyme, commander of 2. Let me take you on a virtual tour of what we're dealing with. Come along." We went into a large room, and on the conference table situated in the middle, there were many hologram projectors. "Look out of the window. See that large mountain over there? That's the heart of the Capitol's military. You're here to help us take it down."
She then proceeded by educating us about the structure and the layout of the system inside the mountain. To say it was impenetrable was an understatement. The entrance was heavily guarded with peacekeepers and militarized weapons incase of an incoming attack.
Various ideas, suggestions and plans were thrown about the room, in trying to find a way through the mountain. I stood beside Katniss, who seemed equally uninterested and clueless about the conversations taking place in front of us.
"Put President Coin through." Lyme directed. A minute later, Coin joined the meeting, her face appearing on a large screen.
"President Coin, we are indebted to you for the reinforcements and the mockingjay. But I'm not sure that anyone outside of 2 knows what we've been up against. This is The Nut." She pointed to the hologram of the mountain. "The Capitol's headquarters for all offensive operations. It's manned by both military and civilian personnel of district 2. As you can see, the fortress lies so far beneath the bedrock, it's untouchable. Yesterday, we attempted to take the northeastern gate. The enemy countered from higher up and we were forced to pull back. We took heavy losses."
"Could we create a decoy?" Someone suggested. "Send troops towards one gate, launch a staggered attack on another."
"Whose troops do you propose as a decoy, commander?" Paylor asked, a pointed tone in her voice.
"We have the mockingjay." Coin finally spoke up. "Don't underestimate her. We could use her to erode support. She may be able to sway some of the loyalists."
"You've been underground a long time, Madam Coin." Lyme said. "This isn't like the rest of Panem. Support for the Capitol runs deep here."
"Then there is no sacrifice too great. We need to control the arsenal inside that fortress. Even with every district in our alliance, we are outgunned."
"I won't commit my people to ground assault just to pillage weapons." Paylor defended.
"Commander Paylor, your people have suffered more than just about anyone else at the hands of the Capitol."
"Which is why I won't condone a mass suicide."
"If we don't take district 2, we won't be able to get into the Capitol."
The quarrel was cut off by Newt asking, "Would it be enough to disable the fortress instead of taking it?"
"What do you have in mind?" Lyme inquired.
"Think of it like a wolf's den. You're not gonna fight your way in, so you have two choices. Trap the wolves inside or you flush 'em out. I prefer the latter."
"If we can't attack straight on," Gale supplied, "Then couldn't we use the hovercrafts to strike around it? We'll use the mountains. Hit the weak spots in the peaks."
"Trigger avalanches." Lyme concluded.
"Block all exits. Cut off their supplies. Make it impossible for them to launch their hovercrafts."
I raised my eyebrows. "And bury them alive?"
"We'd forfeit any chance of controlling the weapons." Coin said.
"Yes, but we'd face a weakened Capitol." Beetee assured.
"There are civilians in there." Boggs spoke up for the first time. "They should be given the chance to surrender. Use one of the supply tunnels for the evacuees."
"It's a luxury we weren't given when they fire bombed 12." Gale said pointedly.
"There's got be another way." Katniss tried to reason.
"I suggest we try the avalanche, but leave the train tunnel alone. Civilians can escape into the square, where our armies will be waiting for their surrender."
"And if they won't surrender?"
"Then we will need a compelling voice to persuade them."
I turned to look at Katniss, her expressions showing distaste to the plan. But she regained her composure and shrugged. "Fine, I'll wait at the square with the army."
"Good. Let's get this mission rolling."
*****
A subconscious frown tugged my lips as I stood in front of the shattered glass windows, the shards reminding me that we were in the warzone now.
Newt and I watched the hovercrafts rise up into the air with a rumble, before flying towards the massive hill in the middle of the district. I flinched when the bombs began to drop.
"So many civilians..." I voiced my thoughts out.
"You know we don't have any other choice, love." He mumbled. The sun had began to set in district two and the sky would've been a beautiful purple rather than a murky grey, had it not been for the dust and smoke that floated heavily through the air.
"I hope this war ends soon."
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They didn't give me a bow and quiver this time. They gave me a gun. Castor laughed at my incredulous expression.
They trust me with a gun? I don't trust myself with a gun.
Beetee suggested that Finnick and I learned how to use a gun before leaving district 13, and so we did. We managed to get a hang of it within a week, except I hated every single time I pulled the trigger. It was too loud and the recoil was tough to control.
The camera crew and I sat by a pile of wreckage, waiting for Katniss to arrive. I carefully examined the gun in my hands, checking every few minutes whether the safety was still on. Once we spotted her walking down the narrow path towards the tunnels, we stood up to get ready for filming. She stood in front of the mouth of the tunnel where the rail tracks ran out, its metal rusted.
Cressida signalled for the filming to start and Katniss turned towards us and spoke in a firm voice. "The is Katniss Everdeen, speaking to all of the loyalists from the heart of district 2."
The ground trembled slightly beneath our feet as moving light seeped out from the back of the tunnel, a train progressing towards us.
"Survivors!" Someone shouted. "Inbound!"
"Ready! Ready! Guns up!"
My grip around the handle of the gun tightened as I walked forward and grabbed Katniss's arm, pulling her away from the approaching carriage. The rebels surrounded the train and raised their weapons, ready to fire at the smallest gesture of violence from the survivors. The train screeched to a halt and I winced at the noice, an annoying ring lingering in my ears.
People got down from the carriage, some holding their hands up while others pointed out firearms at the rebels. "Put your weapons down now!"
A tall man stumbled towards us, his gun directly pointed at Katniss. Boggs stepped in front of her and his loud voice boomed as he yelled, "You! Drop it!"
Suddenly gunshots rang through the air and I instinctively grabbed Katniss's arm, trying to crouched down. But being the spontaneous, life risking, danger seeking, adrenaline junkie she is, she wrenched her hand from my grip and ran towards the gunshots shouting, "Stop! Stop! He needs help!" I cursed under my breath and ran after her, only to be stopped by Boggs who pushed me behind himself, shielding me.
"Hold your fire!" Boggs bellowed.
The man grabbed onto Katniss's vest and pulled her against him, pressing the gun against her jaw. I was close enough to hear when he spoke, "Give me one reason I shouldn't shoot you."
"I can't." She whispered with a sneer. Her eyes softened and she let out a breath. "I guess that's the problem, isn't it? We blew up your mine. You burned my district to the ground. We each have every reason to want to kill each other. So if you want to kill me, do it." It took every ounce of my willpower not to smack myself in the face. "Make Snow happy. I'm tired of killing his slaves for him."
"I'm not his slave." The man said, his voice shaking.
"I am. That's why I killed Cato. That's why he killed Thresh. Who killed Clove. It just goes around and around. And who wins? Always Snow. I'm done being a piece in his game. District 2, District 12, we have no fight except the one the Capitol gave us. Why are you fighting the rebels? You're neighbours. You're family."
He lowered his gun and stepped back. Katniss stood up taller and looked towards the crowd of survivors. "These people are not your enemies. We all have one enemy and that's Snow. He turns the best of us against eachother. Stop killing for him! Tonight, turn your weapons to the Capitol. Turn your weapons to Snow."
Suddenly, one of the survivors picked up his weapon and before anyone could stop him, he pulled the trigger. The bullet pierced through the air and hit Katniss in the stomach, who fell down immediately, unconscious. Without hesitation, I lifted my gun and shot the man in the shoulder as more ammunitions were fired around us. I knelt down besides Katniss and felt for a pulse, and found it to be beating slowly.
"The costume is bulletproof!" Boggs yelled over the chaos. Of course it is. A pair of medical professionals came in and lifted Katniss's body onto a stretcher, before carrying her away towards shelter. "Go with them. We wouldn't want another Victor getting hit by a bullet."
"I'll leave when I don't hear anymore gunshots." I grumbled before firing my gun at another one of the attackers.
"Alright, soldier. Just don't die."
*****
"Miss (Y/n), are you hurt?" Commander Paylor asked, her eyebrows furrowed.
"Not much." I wheezed while sitting down on the make shift bed, clutching the right side of my stomach where one of the violent survivors managed to land a hit on me. "Just a bit bruised."
"Better get it checked out by the medical team as soon as possible, okay?" She said and I nodded.
With her mouth pulled into a tight line, she went to check up on the others. Moments later Newt and Natasha walked up to me, a frown of concern on the former's lips.
"Boggs told me you took a hit to the ribs?"
"Yeah. It's not a big deal, I can manage."
He grinned before squatting in front of me, his eyes levelling my own. "Of course you can handle a bruise, I never doubted that." He brushed his fingers along my jaw, making me smile. "We're going back to 13 in the morning. Get a few hours of rest, yeah? You were extremely brave out there today." He said placing a kiss on my forehead.
I let out a small laugh. "Brave or stupid for risking my life in a crossfire?"
"A little bit of both." He chuckled, while gently pushing my shoulders back so I rested against the bed. I didn't protest as a tired yawn escaped my lips, fatigue catching up with today's events. "Good night, love." He whispered before going towards the main hall, presumably to talk to Commander Lyme.
My eyes wandered around the room to see many of the rebels being treated to their wounds. I saw Gale looking over Katniss's knocked out form, as doctors worked on healing her.
Nat shuffled on her feet beside me, my attention now focused on her. I gave a small smile in greeting but her blue eyes looked troubled as she placed a hand over my own. "I was so worried."
"I'm alright, I promise." I said, reassuringly. "I just need to get some sleep." I ended with another yawn, causing her to let out a small laugh.
"I guess I came in a bit too late, I'll talk to you tomorrow morning, kay?"
I gave a nod, sleepily.
The last thing I remembered was the sheets being pulled up to my neck and a tender kiss on my head before I was pulled into a dreamless slumber.
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A/n: So sorry for the late update! School and studies literally give me no free time😭