The rebellion of hope

Chapter 6

chaotic,that's the best way to describe the room now. Katniss seems tobe choking on her own grief,everyone is talking about what he said "dead by morning' , "Shut up!" Haymitch  yells,
"It's not some big

mystery! The boy's telling us we're about to be attacked. Here. In Thirteen."

"How would he have that information?"

"Why should we trust him?"

"How do you know?"

Haymitch gives a growl of frustration. "They're beating him bloody while we speak. What more do you

need? Katniss, help me out here!"

"Haymitch's right. I don't know where Peeta got the

"You don't know him," Haymitch says to Coin. "We do. Get your people ready."

information. Or if it's true. But he believes it is. And they're--"

"Of course, we have prepared for such a scenario. Although we have decades of

support for the assumption that further direct attacks on Thirteen would be counterproductive to the Capitol's

cause. Nuclear missiles would release radiation into the atmosphere, with incalculable environmental results.

Even routine bombing could badly damage our military compound, which we know they hope to regain. And, of

course, they invite a counterstrike. It is conceivable that, given our current alliance with the rebels, those would be

viewed as acceptable risks."

"You think so?" says Haymitch.

"I do. At any rate, we're overdue for a Level Five security drill," says Coin. "Let's proceed with the

lockdown." She begins to type rapidly on her keyboard, authorizing her decision. The moment she raises her

head, it begins.

Boggs guides Finnick ,Katniss and I out of Command, along the hall to a doorway, and onto a wide stairway.

Streams of people are converging to form a river that flows only downward. No one shrieks or tries to push

ahead. Even the children don't resist. We descend, flight after flight, speechless, because no word could be

heard above this sound.
Plutarch and Katniss talk but I can't hear them. all I am thinking of is how small this place is,I've always had this problem with small places,I feel like I'm suffocating in them. My breathing gets quick and I feel like the world is spinning around me. I feel someone's hands on my shoulder,"hey, are you okay?" Finnick asks with worry in his eyes, I shake my head,I am not fine,but i can't speak, he looks reluctant " can I--um touch you?" I nod my head,he holds my face in his hands, "Okay,breath with me,on one take a breath and on four let it out,ready?" I do as he told me and the entire time he stares directly into my eyes,I feel my breathing going back to normal,I let out a sigh,he lets go of my face and I wish he hadn't,I try to smile at him,"Thank you." I finally manage to say, "no problem." he says with a smile.
...
the bombs hit,my hands are clutching Finnick's,I usually hate human contact,but now I need it, Finnick,well he's just holding my hands and when we hear a sound,he squeezes my hand a bit.
.
since there's nothing else to do,Finnick and i talk,I learn that back at his district,he had a sister-like friend,her name is Annie,the Capitol has her now,"Finnick I really am sorry for what happened to you," I say while feeling abit ashamed of myself,sure life here in district 13 was not easy,but it was way better than whatb they had to experience at Panem,"don't be,it's not like it was your fault," he says trying to smile at me , i smile back and suddenly realize how close we are to one another,I clear my throat and pull back, I go to check on Katniss and the others.
.
Katniss is crying,i want to help her but i don't know how,finally i decide to help her by hugging her,everyone does it,but she pushes us away,and hugs Haymitch,she talks to him,i csn't hear much until she shouts "it's my fault!" and they inject her with something that makes her go to sleep.
.
Finnick loses it,i don't know what to do,i am completely frozen,finnaly i find myself and go to his side,he is crying, i don't know what to do,so i do exactly what he did to me,i hold his face in my hands,"Okay,breath with me,on one take a breath and on four let it out,ready?" i have memorized his words,i keeep looking directly into his eyes,and he does as i told him,after a while he stops crying and his breathing goes back to normal,just as he is feeling better,someone injects him with something and he passes out.
.
i have left my duties of protecting the Mockingjay , i'm currently with Finnick,since he seems to be better around me,they have assigned me to him and it's not like he isn't with Katniss at all,i can still keep an eye on her,even though she isn't my personal mission any more but she is our Mockingjay,she is evryone's mission.
i look at Finnick as he stirs awake, i don't know what to say,part of me wants to say good morning and another part of me wants to say how are you Finnick,so i panic and end up saying," good Finnick!" i cover my mouth as soon as i say it,he laughs and sits up, "actually,i am more naughty than good." he says trying to sound seductive and wiggles his eyebrows,i try to suppress my laugh but i end up laughing and it takes me a few moments to recover from it,he just watches me as i laugh,i don't really laugh very often,but i seem to be doing it more lately,it's probably because of this rebellion,this rebellion of hope.
.
Katniss has been interviewed,now it's Finnick's turn,President Snow used to...sell me...my body, that is," Finnick begins in a flat, removed tone. "I wasn't the
only one. If a victor is considered desirable, the president gives them as a reward or allows people to buy them for an exorbitant amount of money. If you refuse, he kills someone you love. So you do it."
I am in shock,I never knew nor expected this,I don't even know how to react right now,so I just stand feeling dumbfounded and listen
"I wasn't the only one, but I was the most popular," he says. "And perhaps the most defenseless, because the people I loved were so defenseless. To make themselves feel better, my patrons would make presents of money or jewelry, but I found a much more valuable form of payment." " secrets," he finally says, "And this is where you're going to want to stay tuned, President Snow, because so very many of them were about you. But let's begin with some of the others."
Finnick begins to weave a tapestry so rich in detail that you can't doubt its authenticity. Tales of strange sexual appetites, betrayals of the heart, bottomless greed, and bloody power plays. Drunken secrets whispered over damp pillow-cases in the dead of night. Finnick was someone bought and sold. A district slave. A handsome one, certainly, but in reality, harmless. Who would he tell? And who would believe him if he did? But some secrets are too delicious not to share. I don't know the people Finnick names--all seem to be prominent Capitol citizens--but I know, from listening to the chatter of my prep team, the attention the most mild slip in judgment can draw. If a bad haircut can lead to hours of gossip, what will charges of incest, back-stabbing, blackmail, and arson produce? Even as the waves of shock and recrimination roll over the Capitol, the people there will be waiting, as I am now, to hear about the president.
"And now, on to our good President Coriolanus Snow," says Finnick. "Such a young man when he rose to power. Such a clever one to keep it. How, you must ask yourself, did he do it? One word. That's all you really need to know. Poison." Finnick goes back to Snow's political ascension, which I know nothing of, and works his way up to the present, pointing out case after case of the mysterious deaths of Snow's adversaries or, even worse, his allies who had the potential to become threats. People dropping dead at a feast or slowly, inexplicably declining into shadows over a period of months. Blamed on bad shellfish, elusive viruses, or an overlooked weakness in the aorta. Snow drinking from the poisoned cup himself to deflect suspicion. But antidotes don't always work. They say that's why he wears the roses that reek of perfume. They say it's to cover the scent of blood from the mouth sores that will never heal. They say, they say, they say...Snow has a list and no one knows who will be next. I am very shocked about all this new information,it really is terrifying .