| THE LOVE HE HATES | HUNGER GAMES | COMPLETED

27 | THE DEATHS

     ATHENA FELT EVEN more broken, she had lost one of her closest friends. She watched two members of the group be killed by the mutts. She didn't even realise she was being dragged by Chy and Peeta, she didn't realise her feet were running. But her mind became clear when shots rang out.

Chy pulled Athena to his side as they hid behind some pillars. Peacekeepers were shooting at them, it was clear by the release of mutts that Snow knew they were alive. The Peacekeepers had been sent to finish off those who managed to escape the creatures. Athena's hand flew to her now empty holster, she must have dropped the pistol during the explosion. Instead her hand went to her long sword that had been strapped to her back.

Most of the Peacekeepers had been taken out by the group, Athena launched the sword with a yell towards the last one, watching it bury into his chest. She then walked over, yanking it back out and staring at the blood dripping from it. Every time she killed, she thought about all the wasted lives she had to watch die.

Finnick. Castor. Jackson. Boggs. Henry. Her mother. Jason.

It made her angry, she wanted to avenge them.

Athena ducked when a few more Peacekeepers arrived and began to shoot at them, the small group turned to run. But the Capitol wasn't done yet. The used the fixtures above to kill off some of the remaining group, Athena didn't really see who as she ran, too worried about herself and Chy. The floor then began to fall under them, Athena pushed her legs faster. They all jumped to safety, but Peeta fell to the floor.

"Peeta we have to keep going!" Katniss pleaded, dropping to her knees beside him.

Peeta held his head. "I'm a mutt! I can't keep control!"

"Yes you can!"

"I'm a mutt! Leave me!"

"Look at me! Look at me." Katniss crashed her lips onto Peeta's. He seemed to calm down quickly at the feeling. "Stay with me."

"Always."

The pair got to their feet and they ran, following Chy as he shouted that he knew where he was and could find them safety. Athena felt her heart sink as she spotted a poster with Finnick's face plastered on it, the word wanted under it. Pollux gently pushed her shoulder to keep her running.

Chy pounded on the door to a clothing shop, when the door opened everyone ran inside. The person quickly shut the door behind them. Chy was quick to step in front of the person when Katniss aimed her arrow at them.

He raised his hands. "Katniss, it's okay. It's my aunt, Tigris." He turned to the woman. "We need your help."

The woman, Tigris, looked much like her name. She was tattooed with stripes, had wired whiskers from her nose and her eyes were shifty. But she nodded at her great nephew and moved deep into her shop. She showed them a trapdoor, an area of safety.

"I know you." Katniss spoke, getting Tigris' attention. "You were a stylist in the Games."

"Until Snow decided I wasn't pretty enough anymore." She replied, showing off more of her tattoos.

"I'm here to kill him."

Chy had made it clear that he wanted his grandfather dead, he had hurt so many people and he had hurt Athena, the woman he loved. But to tell Snow's closest cousin, the girl who grew up with him and look after him in many ways, and through means that hurt her more than Snow would ever know, was a whole other thing.

But Tigris had lone been past helping the boy she knew, he had turned into a man of hatred and greed. She had the same sentiments at her great nephew and Katniss. She wanted him dead.

The group began to climb down, but Chy spoke to his aunt while the others left. Before Athena could step down to follow, Tigris placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I hope we can meet again, properly. I would love to speak to the girl who stole my nephews heart." She spoke sincerely.

Athena gave a small smile, a genuine one she didn't think she would ever be able to give again. "Same, it would be nice,"

The two followed the group after Chy said goodbye and hugged his aunt. It had been a while since he had seen her, but he visited her often before the rebellion happened. It was against his grandfathers wishes as Tigris knew many things about the President that would not be good if they got out. She was lucky she had not been turned into an Avox.

The group sat in silence for a few minutes in the basement, before soft sobs echoed. Everyone turned to Pollux, the realisation of what had just happened and how many they had lost. Pollux had lost his brother, the only family he had left.

Athena felt tears prick to her own eyes, Finnick's screams bouncing around in her head and making her ears ring.

"I made it up." Katniss suddenly spoke. "All of it. There is no special mission from Coin. There's only my plan. Everyone that's dead is dead because of me. I lied."

"We know." Cressida replied. "We all knew."

"The soldiers from 13."

"They did, too. Did you really believe that Jackson thought you had orders from Coin? She trusted Boggs and Henry, and they clearly wanted you to go on."

"I never meant for this to happen. I failed. I...I killed them. I killed Finnick. I'm sorry, Pollux. Athena...I'm so sorry."

"Glimmer, Marvel, Mags...Clove, Wiress, Rue. What do all those deaths mean?" Peeta spoke. "They mean that our lives were never ours. There was no real life because we didn't have any choice. Our lives belong to Snow and our deaths do, too. But if you kill him, Katniss...if you end all of this...all those deaths, they mean something. Cinna, Boggs, Henry, Castor, Jackson, Finnick. They chose this. They chose you."