| THE LOVE HE HATES | HUNGER GAMES | COMPLETED

21 | THE RESCUE

     ATHENA HAD THOUGHT about death countless times since winning the Games, but she always had Aeschylus there to take those thoughts away.

However, without him, those thoughts stayed. They never left her mind. It was something she suddenly seemed to desire. A way to escape the hell she was currently in.

And each day she was trapped in the Capitol, the more desirable death seemed.

Her mind, body and soul was broken. She no longer screamed at the physical or mental pain the Capitol forced upon her. She just sat there and took it, even when they realised she was beyond broken, they kept going.

President Snow wanted her so past broken, that she was barely alive. It was a punishment, for not only her but for his grandson, who had run from the Capitol and joined District Thirteen. Hurting Athena meant hurting Aeschylus, and Snow knew how to do it.

Athena sat slumped in her bed, staring blankly at the wall. The familiar sounds of buzzing and the faint screams of people she thought she knew, played distantly in the background. She barely felt herself breathing, she didn't notice when she blinked or the way her body swayed slightly as she subconsciously rocked herself for comfort.

Then a distance boom, unusual to the familiar sounds Athena was used to. Her eyes slowly, and somewhat painfully, moved towards the locked door of the medical room. The sounds transformed into footsteps as Athena got to her feet, she almost fell as she barely had any strength to stand. She held onto the side of the bed, staring at the door.

Then it opened, and for a few moments Athena thought doctors would rush to her, inject her, beat her, do what they usually did. But instead, her eyes landed on dark uniforms and one particular man who had his hand raised towards her.

"Athena."

The voice was so familiar to her, so comforting. Her eyes squinted slightly, trying to recognise the face of the man as he stepped towards her slowly. Then it hit her and tears sprung to her eyes. She stepped away from the bed, losing her only source of stability, and took a few painful steps before collapsing to the floor. The man got to her in time to stop her from hitting her head. Athena looked up at him, one hand resting on the side of his face as she stared at him in hope and relief. 

"Henry?" Her voice was so broken and quiet after not using it for so long.

The man, Henry, nodded. He had tears in his own eyes as he stared at the broken young woman. His friend. He scooped her into his arms as she began to sob, her fear leaving her as she felt the comfort of the former Peacekeepers arms. They left the room and Athena, already overwhelmed, attempted to look around but could take nothing in.

They ran out of the building and then into a hovercraft, similar to the one that had taken Athena into the Games. She grabbed onto Henry's uniform, closing her eyes tightly as they went inside, memories flashing in her brain. But Henry gently lowered her to the ground, and she reluctantly opened her eyes, coming face to face with Johanna. 

Johanna had seemed to lost all of her hair, she didn't know if it was due to medical reasons or if the Capitol just decided to do it. The Victor smiled softly as her, shuffling over to hug Athena. The pair hugged as two more broken people were brought onto the hovercraft by, what Athena assumed was, District Thirteen rebels. Annie, Finnick's love, joined the small group of girls sporting a bright smile at their rescue. 

But Athena's eyes landed on the unconscious Peeta Mellark, she remembered that she was last with him. The boy looked worse than her, bruises, sunken eyes, malnourished. She felt a sense of guilt, she hadn't been able to protect him and so he had to go through everything, even though she could've prevented it and ensured he went to District Thirteen with Katniss.

The travel to Thirteen wasn't too long, which was good considering everyone that had been recused were in desperate need of medical attention. Athena stayed sat beside Johanna, their hands linked together until the moment they arrived. All but Peeta, were rushed to get medical attention. Athena sat quietly as they checked over her, gave her pain medication and cleaned up some cuts she had received. 

Her eyes went to the doors as they were pushed open to reveal Katniss, Finnick, Haymitch and Bellona. Katniss looked over at Athena, her eyes softening at the sight of her, then they went to Johanna before she eventually went to Gale, a man from her district who aided in their rescue. As soon as Annie saw Finnick, she pulled every bit of medical equipment off of her and jumped into his arms.

Bellona slowly made her way over to Athena, giving her a small hug. "Hey."

"You don't smell like alcohol." Athena's voice was still quiet and broken.

The mentor chuckled lightly, her hand brushing over Athena's unbrushed and unkempt hair. "Can't drink it here, it's been hell."

The girl let out a small smile and gently leaned into her touch. The pair's attention turned to the door once more as another person came in. Aeschylus scanned the room in a panic, of course he was happy that everyone had been rescued, but his mind only cared about Athena. His eyes landed on her and he walked towards her.

However, Athena grabbed onto Bellona, fear running through her as Aeschylus came closer to her. Bellona was confused by her actions, why was Athena scared of the man she loved. Athena moved behind her more, her breathing quicker and more panicked. 

Aeschylus stopped in his tracks, seeing the fear in her eyes. He immediately knew what happened, the Capitol had done the same thing to Athena that they had to Peeta. They had made her afraid of him, but it seemed for her it was just fear rather than the fear and aggression Peeta had.

"Athena." His voice was soft as he spoke. "Athena it's me."

She simply shook her head, continuing to hide behind Bellona. Haymitch walked to Aeschylus, his hand wrapped around his shoulder. This was done for two reasons, to show Athena that Chy wouldn't hurt anyone but to also offer comfort to Chy who was hurt by her actions. Aeschylus didn't blame Athena for hurting him, he knew it was his grandfather that was to blame.