Return of the Mockingjay

Chapter 62

You could hear a pin drop in the silence that follows. Only the gurgling noise from Atticus pierces the air as his own blood rises into his throat. At such close range my arrow completely impaled him with the head sticking out through his back. He clutches at his neck and looks at me in disbelief before his eyes finally roll back and he falls flat on his back dead.

"Open fire!" orders one of the soldiers from up on top of one of the buildings.

There's a hale of gunfire as the soldiers up on the surrounding buildings open up on us. The squad and I retreat into the general safety of the drop ship but Lyndon and the Rapiers are caught out in the open and take cover among some abandoned vehicles that are parked around the complex. Plutarch quickly wheels Beetee inside the main building while generals Darius and Remus run for cover. In a showing of complete anger Johanna steps forward with her rifle and screams as she guns down both the generals. The bullet holes stitch across their pristine uniforms as they stumble and fall to the ground. In a single flash moment we've wiped out the military leadership, me with an arrow and Johanna with her gun. There's explosions as the soldiers above throw down grenades onto the hiding Rapiers who are trying to return fire. A car explodes in flames and we watch in horror as Viper and Swader are thrown through the air. If we do nothing then the Rapiers will eventually get wiped out we must help them somehow. Gale and Blane both run out into the gunfire and pull Swader inside the dropship, his right leg broken and shredded from the blast. He just grits his teeth at the pain as he lays on the deck as Steph and Cressida get to work on stemming the bleeding.
Viper has managed to crawl away to cover but he's bleeding from his face and neck.

"We've gotta do something!" yells Johanna over the noise.

I look at Peeta and he just nods knowing that we can't just stand by and do nothing. I pull an explosive arrow from my sheath, twist the head to arm it and order the others to cover me. Gale, Blane and Johanna run out from cover and open fire on the soldiers on the surrounding buildings who immediately cower down from the onslaught of bullets. I step out and aim my arrow at the base of the nearest building hoping that the blast will make the floors above collapse in on themselves. I release my arrow and there's a huge explosion on impact and for a second I can't see anything but smoke and flames but when it clears all that's left is a pile of rubble with the bodies of Atticus's men littered among the wreckage. I turn to attack the other side of the compound where more of Atticus's men are attacking the Rapiers but find they're already throwing down their guns and putting their hands in the air. Why are they surrendering, we're so heavily outnumbered?

Only now after the shooting has stopped do I hear a hovercraft. Turning round I see it uncloaking and hovering right behind us just above the smoking remains of the first building. It's guns and missiles trained on the soldiers who are now dropping to their knees with their hands behind their heads. From nowhere Alek has somehow managed to find a loyal pilot who would help us and it's him who has saved us.

Cressida and Johanna run forward to take the soldiers prisoner while the rest of us walk out into the sunshine. The whole area looks like a war zone, burning vehicles, dead bodies and clouds of smoke cover the area. Steph runs forward to help Viper and Conrad leaps from behind cover to help her. Lyndon is still missing however and I call his name hoping he'll appear from behind a burning car or something but there's no reply.

"Over here!" yells Blane as he crouches down behind a wrecked armoured car.
Peeta and I rush over to see Lyndon propped up against the vehicle with blood seeping from a wound in his chest, his face is pale, too pale.

"Keep your eyes open Ross, stay with us!" yells Blane as he pulls open Lyndon's shirt exposing the tree bullet holes in his chest. Peeta looks at me with tears welling in his eyes as we both know that our friend is dying. There's no way he'll survive unless we do something.

I crouch down in front of him "We need to get him to the dropship" I say as I grab his arm but as I turn to the others for help I feel Lyndon's weak hand grip my arm. I turn back and make eye contact with him, he slowly shakes his head and forces a weak grin.
"It's too late Katniss, l'll be fine just here" he says quietly.

"Lyndon no, you can't go" I say holding his hand in mine. "You can't leave, we need you" I say as I start to sob.

He smiles again "everybody dies Katniss and my time is now. I want you to know how proud I am of you and Peeta. I'm happy...........that you can at last go home"

"Lyndon...." I sob

"It's been an honour to be your friend...." he says weakly before his eyes lose their focus and I feel the strength leave his hand. I look through the tears at his sightless eyes and Peeta reaches across and runs his hand over Lyndon's face closing his eyes. I stand up and turn to Peeta and he throws his arms around me as I sob at the loss of another friend. There's a group around us who witnessed the sad scene. Gale, Steph, Alek, Flux and Conrad who are the only uninjured Rapiers left. I feel sorrow and anger but there's no one left to vent out my frustration on. Generals Atticus, Remus and Darius are all dead with Odin's corpse lying face down in the shadow of the dropship. Even the soldiers who litter the ruins of the fallen building are not enough to satisfy my craving for revenge. Lyndon is dead, and there's nothing I can do about it.

*

The last thing I do before I leave the mutt farm is to release Cato from his mutt tube. In the 24 hours since we put him inside he'd aged just as he said the tributes did when they we're in the growing tubes. Instead of a an 18 year old he looks more like a young man in his mid twenties. He certainly looks older than me anyway.

Gale lowers the tube into the floor so we can pull him out from the fluid, the robot arm releases the mask from his face and his eyes immediately flick open and look around the room in shock. He starts to panic, his arms flailing around and his eyes darting around as if he's frightened of something. I rush to the side of his tube and his eyes meet mine and he starts to relax with him just treading water while he looks at me from his tube.

"You're okay Cato, just relax everything's fine" I say soothingly.

"I thought you were dead, someone tried to shoot you, I stood in front of you. What happened?"

"You saved me Cato, again. We brought you here to get you back in your growing tube to heal you. it seems to of worked"

He looks down through the fluid to look at his wounds which are now just small round scars that mark his skin, with him being a mutt these wounds will most likely fade and disappear too.

Gale and Blane reach into the fluid and pull him out with Johanna draping a towel around his shoulders.

"So what happens now, are we still fighting?"

"No Cato, much has changed since you got shot in the Capitol, the war is over and you're free"