philophobia

22

The nurses worked cautiously around the boy void of all emotion.

He remained bound by leather restraints, eyes open yet somehow narrowed, staring at his lap which was covered by a thin blanket.

It was unnerving to all how calm he was.

Not like Peeta who had been in a fit of hysterics since he awoke and attacked Katniss.

Five days Harley spent in solitude, with the exception of the nurses, as visions of harm plagued his mind. It was almost as if he was reliving the trauma, the torture, all of the pain. His episodes were caused by unknown factors. Hours went by of him being mute and awake, and yet, something inside of him would snap, and the screaming would start. Manic episodes, sometimes he would even be so afraid of his own mind he would try to knock himself out just to stop the chaos. They were averaging two to three episodes a day for those five days.

On this particular day, the sixth day of his return, Plutarch and Coin had decided to resort to their last plan in regaining Harley's consciousness and trust.

Harley was asleep when she entered the room and Plutarch signaled for the nurses to leave.

Gale and Boggs stood off to the side, armed with tranquilizers.

Plutarch, Emmett, Finnick, Haymitch, Katniss, and Johanna stood outside of his room, not entirely sure why they had all been gathered to witness Harley in his sleeping state.

"Who is that?"

Katniss's voice rang out as her gaze darted between Plutarch and the girl walking as soundlessly as she could towards Harley.

"Our last hope at getting Harley back" Haymitch was the one that responded.

Soft patterned steps neared him.

Blonde curls bounced with every step the grey-classed figure took toward the brave man she once knew.

Sea-foam eyes scanned him for any sense of reaction as she neared.

At the sound of the door sealing, Harley had awoken, looking around in confusion as he found no nurses grabbing at him. His head snapped to the side to face the child that ventured closer, hairs on the back of his neck at full mast, his eyes slowly going wide as he recognized the person before him.

"Hero" she greeted calmly.

"You're not real" he whispered.

"I am" she whispered back, reaching out to touch his hand.

At the contact, Harley's gaze moved to stare at their intertwined fingers, his thumb gently rubbing the backside of her hand as he soaked in the feeling of her flesh. She placed her other small hand on top of their connected grasp, as if to reassure him, and leaned closer to his face.

"I'm alone" she paused, a look of sadness crossing her innocent features. "Daddy died in a fire, Mama and my sisters fled before everything blew up. I was out in the fields when it all happened and Miss Coin found me."

"You can't be here" he shook his head.

"You're all I have left" she whimpered.

"No" Harley's vitals began to rise, the machines next to him emitting uneven noises as his heart rate increased, he began to twitch. Releasing her hand, Gale moved to pull the small girl away and three nurses rushed in.

"He's seizing!"

They lifted his lids to try and view his corneas, but they were absent, having rolled up into his head as his body violently shook.

"I didn't know he was seizure-prone" Katniss spoke up.

"Only when he's extremely anxious" Finnick stated.

"Which is almost never" Johanna added.

"Who was that?" Finnick sounded desperate as he grabbed ahold of Haymitch's arm. "I recognize her," Emmet's voice broke the unsettling silence.

"You do?"

"Yes," he paused at Finnick's question and glanced over at Plutarch for confirmation.

"Her name is Paisley Marie Atlas, she is seven years old and was found in the fields just outside of District Nine. She is Daisy's little sister, and that we know of, the only surviving member of her District," Plutarch confirmed.

The group held mixed emotions at the shocking revelation.

Harley had finally slipped back into his unconscious state and the two soldiers escorted Paisley back over to Plutarch, smiling down at her as she spoke so sweetly to them.

SEVEN-YEAR-OLD PAISLEY MARIE WHISP PLAYED BY YOUNG CHLOE LUKASIAK.