Mockingjay: Peeta's POV

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

Seconds later a window shatters. The laughter around me turns to panicked screams. Blood stains the paving stones under my feet. Smoke covers up the fake smoke made by the special effects.

A second explosion goes off. My ears ring, making it harder to hear. The explosions remind me of the torture I was in because of the Capitol. It reminds me of the Games.

Control yourself. Stay calm. The Capitol isn't doing anything besides killing innocent people. Killing innocent people . . .

Finnick's voice breaks through into my mind. He gestures to the end of block where we entered. Black, oily matter begins oozing from the street, creating a thick wall of darkness. It's not a liquid or a gas. It has to be lethal. It's from the Capitol. What else are we to expect? It heads toward where we entered. No use escaping that way. We won't make it.

Another explosion. Keep yourself calm. They aren't trying to kill you. These guys are on your side. Try to keep your mind clear.

It's no use. They're all mutts. Mutts assigned by the Capitol to kill me. Katniss. Katniss is the closest to me. I yank her down, holding my gun aloft to smash in her skull. She rolls at the last second, the butt of my gun crashing down upon the street. It cracks the paving stone I strike.

Someone tackles me. I get my feet under them, launching them away from me. A loud snap sounds as the body touches the ground farther down the block. More people surround me. More mutts of the Capitol. There are too many for me to fight off. They hold me down. Restraining me.

I'm carried into a nearby building, cuffs are slapped on my wrists. No, this is so there is no chance for me to fight back. They're trying to kill me. I'm shoved into a dark room. A closet. The lock on the door is clicked behind me, enclosing me this small cramped room. I maneuver around getting my feet by the door. I begin kicking at the door. Trying to get the door to bust open. My energy fades. My mind comes back to reality.

Why am I kicking at a door? Why am I in a closet? Did I lose control?

~M:PPOV~

A beeping sound rouses me. Where am I? This isn't the closet I was in earlier. A TV is on nearby, showing footage from earlier. Boggs getting his legs blown off. A voice describes what is happening on screen. I see myself on screen hurling Katniss to the ground. That crazy look in my eyes. I try to slam my gun down onto Katniss but she rolls away. Mitchell tries to restrain me but I launch him down the street. He is instantly encased in barbed wire, leaving him bloodily and dying. The last shot shown is of Gale trying to free Mitchell from the barbed wire.

A reporter appears on screen, pronouncing Finnick, Gale, Boggs, Cressida, Katniss, and myself dead.

"There's no aerial footage. Boggs must have been right about their hovercraft capacity." I hear someone say.

But I'm to distracted by my own actions. Why did I attack Katniss? Why did I kill a member of my squad? Why couldn't I control myself? I went back into the mind set I had before I was told what happened to me.

"So, now that we're dead, what's are next move?" Gale asks.

I turn my head, still in the lying position I've been in since I heard the beeping noise. "Isn't it obvious?" I push myself up into a sitting position. It's hard and painful but I manage. "Our next move . . . is to kill me." 

Edited