Snow's Reign

Part 10

"Peeta! Peeta!" My voice reappeared in a time of desperate need. "Peeta! Peeta!" I was too busy shouting Peeta! that I didn't look where I was going an almost stepped on him. Again.

"Katniss?" He was weak, almost dead from the blast. It appeared that only I survived unscathed. I helped him up, using two hands to pull his muscly arm from the wreck. He didn't need a lot of support; the worst he'd received was a rather large bruise on his left arm. I started to walk away.

"Peeta, I need your help. We need to go outside-" I stopped in mid-sentence when I realised he wasn't following me. "Peeta! Peeta stop scaring me! Peeta!"

He looked up earnestly to me. "Katniss," his voiced mumbled shakily, "I'm not leaving. I'm not going to leave these wounded people."

Gawping, I just stared at Peeta. How could he say such a thing? The enemy was getting away and he was doing nothing about it. I finally regained the knowledge of how to speak.

"P-Peeta? How could you say that? I mean, Snow's getting away! I just saw him and I know how to kill him! We could end this, all of this." I gestured around us and tried to put my arms around him but he backed away with an emotion written on his face that was not unlike disgust.

"How could I say that to you? How could you say that to me? These people need help!" He waved his arms in exasperation.

"B-but I-I thought it-" I couldn't finish. Peeta was right, but I couldn't bring myself to say so. I just so badly wanted Snow dead.

"Thought what? That we'd be able to corner Snow and kill him? Repay him for the pain he brought our families and the other tributes? Really Katniss?"

I wanted to scream at him. I yearned to hurt him for everything he just said. Snow deserved to die. But Peeta carried on.

"You know what Katniss? I don't know if I can trust you."

"Please Peeta, don't say that. Of course you can trust me." The tears streamed down my face. Peeta walked up to me, grabbed my wrists and pushed them against me.

"No, I can't! We never saw Snow! Only you saw Snow! How can I trust you when I don't know what's real or not real?" He was angry and he was hurting me. The tears were now blinding me, some full of pain, others full of emotion.

"Peeta, get off me." His grip was tightening and he was pulling my hands towards my neck, choking me. My throat was enclosing, my lungs compressing. I could barely breathe. I had to scream. "PEETA GET OFF ME!"

He jumped back startled. My wrists burned and bleed, my wind pipe returning to it's normal shape but my eyes still wet and my voice still hoarse. I didn't want Peeta anymore. He'd hurt before, not physically but mentally. He didn't remember me at first. We'd got him back but he'd hated me. He'd wanted me dead.

I turned and left Peeta gobsmacked. He obviously hadn't expected our argument to end up like that. But, neither had I.

I ran and returned to were I had come from, expecting to see copter still on the roof of the ancient roof. Things didn't just seem to be going my way.

It had gone. I hadn't heard it, seen it; it was no where to be found. Searching the skies I desperately wished Peeta was with me. Emptiness grew inside me, clawing at my memories and emotions. Deep down, I knew I was lost without Peeta. I didn't realise that before, especially before the Hunger Games. Who else would I run to?

Pondering on my own self-pity I didn't even notice the emerging voices until the very last minute. I ducked behind a large mound of debris when I saw a door in the distance spring open. I only caught some of the conversation.

"What do you mean it took off without us?" It was a man's voice. Whose, I didn't get the opportunity to see.

"Well, the helicopter flew off the roof and-" It was a timid and shy voice, man or woman. I couldn't tell, but that's the problem with recruiting boys whose voices haven't even broken yet. Easily mistaken for girls. She/He was interrupted by the more manly one.

"I know what it means! I just want to know why god dammit!" Anger was sweating off this man; even from a distance away, I swear I could smell it.

A squeal emerged from the other voice, fear heavily repleted into the unfortunate person who caught the full blast of the exasperated man. I knew that I definitely did not want to be in his/her shoes.

Again, came an even more exasperated voice, louder and extremely powerful. The bellow could have knocked over house with a sound more intense than the thought of death. I shivered, sending a cool wave of fear through my spine, and, if you listened closely, beneath the vociferating was the cringing sound of my skin crackling.

"Boo." Came a voice behind me. I actually jumped and was quite scared until I turned around and saw who it was. "Hey, sweetheart."

Haymitch Abernathy was probably the most unpredictable man in Panem. On the day of my reaping, Haymitch arrived drunk and collapsed whilst falling off the stage. That was funny, but this, was most definitely not.

"Haymitch! What are you doing here!?" I was genuinely shocked to find him behind me.

"What do you think? I saw you fight with Peeta (surprise, surprise) but I knew this time you were right."

"Wait, what? I was right? But Peeta said-" I stopped as I realised that the angry man had stopped shouting. Oh oh.

"Stephens!" Then more quietly, "Alert security, we have been breached." The young body quickly shuffled away, in fear of the booming man and in relief from being excused from his presence. The crunch of debris became louder and I realised the sound was heading in our direction.

"You can come out now Miss Everdeen, I know you're there. No point hiding or security will remove you themselves. And I'd like to have... Let's say, a small chat with you and your rebel friends." I could see him from where we were, just stood there, not unlike a simple old man. Not the man who destroyed the lives of hundreds just for a game, not a man of mischief, not the man that smelt of roses and blood, but a man unarmed and innocent.

"Katniss..." came a whsiper in my ear. I jumped; I'd forgotten Haymitch was still with me. I looked at Haymitch, into his drunkard eyes and saw a plan. We both thought of it at the same time, our minds in sync. Staring into those eyes once more for reassurance, I stood up from where I was and began to walk to the President.

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Quite long. Actually very long. Don't forget to vote or comment your thoughts (no hate please). I don't even know if anyone will read this far.....