hunted • haymitch abernathy

eleven

eleven; KEEP THE MOCKINGJAY SAFE

A noise caught Ember's attention and her head snapped up, the muscles in her arm tensing, ready to throw her glass at the intruder.

Straining her ears, she listened intently for the sound of the footsteps coming closing and her fingers tightened around the fragile glass and as the steps changed course around the corner, Ember spun on her heel and raised her hand.

"Christ Ember!" A familiar voice shouted upon witnessing the woman alert and ready for a fight.

Ember's shoulder's sagged in relief, allowing her grip on the glass to loosen and her arm to drop back to her side, "Don't scare me like that, H. Announce yourself or something."

Haymitch slowly nodded, his eyes softening at the look on her face and he walked further across the rooftop and leant against the railing that Ember had previously stood against before she had heard the door to the rooftop staircase open.

"Just needed the walk, didn't think anyone would be up here." He murmured when Ember had relaxed completely, allowing herself to turn back and lean against the railing, her arm brushing up against Haymitch's as she moved the glass into her right hand and took a sip, grimacing at the taste of the liquor, "Never pegged you as much of a drinker."

"I'm not." She huffed out, "Needed to take the edge off."

Haymitch chuckled, "Because that worked."

"Shut up." She nudged him when he gestured to the corner where he nearly got a face full of glass, though she couldn't contain the smile that gave away her amusement as they fell into a comfortable silence as they gazed out at the centre square of the Capitol that was buzzing with life as citizens walked freely and contently despite the late hour.

Ember knew with certainty that if she was were, the people of her District would never dare set foot outside of their homes past ten o'clock, she could remember her and her friends accidentally forgetting the time and racing one another home in terror as though it had happened yesterday and not a lifetime ago. Eyes wide and hearts pounding as they felt every Peacekeeper they passed itching for them not to make it home so they'd have some entertainment. She could even remember the limp her friend and neighbour Tex had for six months even though he was at his front door as curfew descended upon them.

It infuriated Ember knowing that her people had been punished for not being in their homes at a certain hour but the Capitol's citizens waltzed about freely at midnight, even conversing with the Peacekeepers who wandered the streets below them with their weapons holstered.

Her fingers clenched into fists when her eyes found a billboard flashing with the faces of the victor's who were once more tributes, with their assessment scores blazed above their heads alongside their odds in the betting pool.

"You weren't in your room." He spoke after a moment and her hand relaxed as she glanced up at the man who was already gazing at her.

"Oh, crap." The realisation struck her quickly, "The interview had me all fired up and I forgot, I'm so sorry."

"It's fine, the interviews were intense, all of them." He responded with a grin, "You gave a good speech, had the crowd pissed as all hell."

"Not as much as Peeta's." She grinned up at him, "You have any sway in that?"

She chuckled as he raised his hand and pinched his thumb and forefinger close together, "The tiniest, what can I say though? The kid is damn good at making that crowd feel for him."

Ember remembered the first time she had seen Peeta Mellark on Caesar Flickerman's couch, the softness to his responses and his declaration that had the audience in shambles still to this day, and helped kickstart the restlessness she had been feeling within her district all the way to her brother's response to their sister's death.

Anarchy was the only way to describe the streets of District 8 in those three days before the Capitol brought the bomb down on the biggest factory in the District and Ember still remembered the smell of smoke and burning flesh, the sounds of the screams of the workers who had only been injured by last and hadn't died upon the impact of the blast. Bodies took days, weeks even, to identify if they were recognisable at all.

Ember found herself hoping that Bondi had gone quickly in the first blast, that she hadn't felt the heat on her flesh or the pain in her body, and that she was at peace with Paige.

"He does." She murmured, shaking herself from her thoughts, "What did you need to talk with me about?"

Haymitch gazed at her for a moment as if he had known that her thoughts had wandered to a dark place momentarily and he opened his mouth to comment on the fact before he paused and closed it, not wanting to have her angry with him.

Not when she was entering the arena in the morning.

Ember took another sip of her drink before she handed the glass to Haymitch who finished it in one swig, sighing contently at the taste as he inched even closer to the woman if that were possible and lowered his voice to a soft murmur, "I have a plan."

She raised an eyebrow in question but before she could even open her mouth to ask for more details, she heard the door open once more and, like with Haymitch, Ember tensed cautiously as she peered over her shoulder in time to see a Peacekeeper round the corner and narrow his eyes at the close pair.

"What are you doing up here?" He barked out and Ember's lip curled up into a sneer.

"Discussing the possibility of an alliance between 12 and 8." Haymitch answered smoothly, "Amongst other more, uh, personal activities."

Ember fought the grin fighting to break free on her face as the Peacekeeper failed to hide his surprise at Haymitch's innuendo.

"Back to your rooms." He ordered angrily and Ember giggled when Haymitch tipped an imaginary hat in acknowledgement.

"Guess that there's no chance of a nightcap then." He sighed and Ember could swear she heard genuine disappointment, that she definitely reciprocated.

"Afraid not, H." She responded, turning on the sadness for the Peacekeeper's benefit

She nearly flinched in surprise when his lips made contact with her cheek, frustratingly close to the corner of her lips. His stubble gently scratched at her skin in a pleasant way and shivers went up her spine as he softly whispered in her ear, "Keep the Mockingjay safe and be sure align yourself with anyone wearing gold." Haymitch removed himself from her personal space and made his way toward where the Peacekeeper still stood, raising his voice as he called, "Goodnight darling."

When he disappeared around the corner, the Peacekeeper spun to where Ember still stood, frozen in place and feeling tingles where Haymitch had kissed her cheek, the sensation making her feel twenty years younger and giggling with her friends because Dax Sienna had asked her to sit with him at lunch.

"Bed."

She raised her hands in defence, "I'm going, I'm going."

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hi, it's been a hot minute and i'm so sorry for that!! i had a sudden motivation while i was submitting my exam tonight so here's a brand new chapter! lockdown had me completely unmotivated and i think i only posted one chapter for hunted during victoria's lockdown and by the time it was over, i was working two jobs and going to university so i barely had any time to write and when i did, it was for others books but i missed getting into ember's mindset and i really hope this chapter was worth the wait

also thank you so much for all the hype this book has gotten in the last month or so, the comments and messages i've been receiving have been so so lovely!!

thanks for reading!

~r