Out Of The Dark

Balcony (2)

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Date: 9th Feb

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Chapter 8

Peeta's POV

It takes a moment for the pain to register, but as soon as it does I can feel his hands wrap around my throat, and I-

"PEETA!" Finnick yells, swinging the door open to the room I was in. I try to push Gale off, but it's too hard until the orange floods my vision.

For once my thrashing out isn't random, or directed toward someone I love, or for anything too inherently evil. Perhaps what is about to happen isn't right, but it's better. It's defence, for myself and others.

My hands don't seem to move of my own accord, but the grip Gale and push him against the railings of the balcony

"You wouldn't do it," Gale snarls at me, through gritted teeth. "If I'm weak then we certainly both are."

I hear Boggs from behind me, telling me to put Gale down.

"You'll never understand what I feel for her, for Katniss." He looks over my shoulder, to where I assume Katniss is, and I am pushing him back against the railing, trying to bring his focus back.

"I won't understand, no. Because it's obsessive. It's intrusive, disgusting," I say, with the voice that is mine. But I don't understand quite why I'm saying it. Because he's a danger.

He laughs, and coughs up a little blood. "I'm sorry you don't understand love."

Everyone behind me is trying to stop me, but Gale interrupts with, "No, he's not going to do anything. Because you're also weak, aren't you? Just like Katniss is, and all of you. Just because I don't have as much willpower or whatever. You're all left crying from the nightmares. You're scared of getting hurt. And what's what you've gotten out of all of this? A stupid child. Was it even really necessary? With your stupid brain, Peeta, you probably don't even care about that child. She doesn't deserve a parent like you, and you don't deserve her."

The last thing I see is his twisted smile before I hurl him over the balcony.

And the orange retreats, letting me fall back to the ground and feel the pain wash over me. Voices are a blur in the background for a few seconds before the extremely loud, low sound that seems like it is puncturing my eardrums.

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Finnick's POV

The explosion certainly came as a shock, but we still had to act. Immediately, we are running out, Boggs is trying to drag Peeta away.

Once we are down the stairs, everyone else is concerned and also running. We run outside immediately, and Cressida shouts that she knows where to go.

Someone lags behind a bit, I don't know who. 

We are running for what seems like ages, before we come to a shop. I don't know what happens, but Cressida talks to someone in the shop and we are led down through a hole in the wall to a basement.

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Haymitch's POV

"You better come quickly," Plutarch says, somehow having opened my compartment door.

"I thought I locked that," I say, my speech slightly slurred.  "Please, kindly go away."

He raises an eyebrow. "It's pretty important."

I get up, failing to hide the empty spirit bottles under the bed. "All right, I'm coming."

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I stare at the body for a minute. "What... what happened?"

There are dark red stains on the wall all the way up to the ceiling, where it drips down. For once, colour against the grey. More red is pooled on the floor, and a couple people in white laboratory coats take photos of the scene.

Plutarch finally talks again, "Well, we suspect a blade to the throat, but there is no sign of the blade or, uh, the culprit." He scratches the back of his neck thoughtfully. "Must've been someone who wasn't happy with how she ran things."

"Well that doesn't exactly narrow it down, it's Coin," I say, gesturing to the grey coat and silvery hair that's stained with blood.

"I know. This is going to be tough."

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Katniss's POV

I try to focus on the Television to ignore everything that's gone on. 

Apparently, once we escaped the house where the black substance was, peacekeepers burnt it down. On the screen, it says that the fire got out of control and burned for a whole day, and it's only now that it's safe for them to go in.

And then the dreaded news. "The bodies of the rebels have not been found," the reporter says, "and now a message from your President."

It switches to the image of President Snow, the camera perfectly angled to it seems like his snake eyes are staring directly into mine. "Two days ago, a group of rebels that had entered the Capitol unlawfully were caught trespassing in a house. These rebels, we had believed to be dead, as the Peacekeepers kept a fire going on the house. Now, we believe these rebels have escaped, and are on their way to cause devastation in the Capitol. Some of these rebels include Victors Katniss Everdeen, Finnick Odair, Peeta Mellark and Johanna Mason. Another rebel believed to be in this group is Gale Hawthorne, friend to Katniss Everdeen." He isn't my friend, I think. And he certainly isn't alive. "Many people of Panem may have believed that such Victors would be in alliance with the Capitol, that they may have been safe to consort with. With a heavy heart, I now am afraid to inform you that they are not. May I remind you that all symbols of the Mockingjay are now banned, and anyone found consorting with the Rebels is now viewed as the enemy, a traitor. These rebels are not peaceful. They have been known to break into your houses, and often kill any inhabitants they find." Bile starts to push its way up my throat when he says this. An image of my arrow impaling someone's chest comes back to the front of my mind. "Anyone with any information on the whereabouts of any rebel groups is encouraged to come forward, to prevent all hell breaking loose on the Capitol. Keep our Panem strong."

He smiles his dark, twisted smile, revealing a little blood in the sides of his mouth. Somehow I feel I can smell the roses on his suit, sickly and sterile and too white.

I get one last glimpse of his slitted snake eyes before the seal of Panem returns to the screen.