Always: A Hunger Games Fanfiction

Chapter 50

***This chapter is a flashback of Peeta being tortured. It doesn't effect the book, so you don't HAVE to read it. Enjoy!

Peeta's flashback

Darkness surrounds me. Where am I? I try moving my hands but they're tied behind me. I feel a cold, hard floor beneath me. A faint scream echoes in this room. It's coming from somewhere close, but not here. A woman's scream. Katniss? Had she been brought here to? No, it doesn't sound like Katniss's scream. But where is she? Dead? Maybe.

All I can remember is running in the arena, and a hovercraft lowering towards me. I thought somehow maybe I won the Games. It was the worst feeling I'vee ever had. Because if I won, it meant Katniss was dead. I yelled for her. I thought she might have even called back but I could have just been imagining it. I couldn't run away and look for her either because something knocked me out. It wasn't a person, but maybe I was shot with some type of sleeping bullet. I'd seen them before. And that was it.

Another scream bounces off the walls. Whoever it is, I'm next. What would they do? Torture me until I told them something? But what am I supposed to tell them? I have no idea what happened.

The door opens, letting a small amount of light stream in. I completely see my cell now. It's tiny, and dull. The walls and floors are a hideous metallic color. It's empty except for me. The left wall is barred, instead of solid. I see a girl, lying motionless on the floor in the room beside me. My eyes adjust and I realize who it is. Johanna Mason. If they got us, maybe they got the others too; Finnick, Beetee, Katniss, and the rest of the careers, if they survived.

A man walks into my cell. He has a syringe in his hand. Maybe it will kill me. But I know I won't be that lucky. As much as it terrifies me, I know if Snow does have me, he won't kill me. He'll torture me, beat me. He won't kill me. 

I shy away from him, trying to move and run, but the handcuffs are chained to one of the bars on the wall. The man takes my arm and inserts the syringe to my neck. I groan and clutch the ground. The pain gets worse every second. I yell as the man left. But he leaves the door wide open. He brings in a screen. I can barely see it. Purple and green dots spot my vision. The colors swirl before my eyes. I've felt this before. When I was stung by the tracker jackers in the arena. I see spiders crawl around on the wall, and dog barks coming from all around me.

The man puts the screen in front of my eyes, but I still can't see it. It feels like it's thousands of feet away. I see the man's mouth move, but I can't hear what he's saying. What are they trying to do? I scream and clench my fists. The screen turns on and lights up the cell.

It's us in the arena. We're standing around the big tree. I see myself standing beside Finnick. Katniss is protesting splitting up. Why are they showing me this? But then I realized that Katniss really did want to split up all along. She knew that I would end up here or dead. She wanted me dead. How did I not see it? No. This can't be possible. Katniss wouldn't hurt me, not on purpose. 

I can just barely see anything anymore. The colors begin to close in on my vision, until everything goes dark.

***

I wake up again. I have no way of knowing what time it is, or how long I've been asleep. I can't see Johanna either. I watch men come into my cell, unable to move. Or maybe I don't want to move. They pull me up to my feet, and I'm forced to walk. I don't want to think about where I have to go.

These guards lead me to a gloomy hallway. One of them takes off their helmet. "You have an interview with Caesar Flickerman in an hour. They're bombing District 13 tonight."

A million questions enter my mind. "District 13 is gone," I say.

"No it isn't. They're hiding underground. Don't tell them directly. Give them hints. You have to save those people," he says. I shake my head.

"This is a dream. I'm hallucinating still," I say.

"Peeta. You have to do this. Katniss is in 13," he replies. I felt a twinge of pain in my heart when he said her name. If Katniss is in 13, that means she isn't here and she isn't dead. I'm not quite sure of what I feel about it, actually. I'm confused and I feel like my mind is arguing. I can't get it to stop. 

"Fine. I'll do it," I say, without thinking. "But why do I need another interview?"

"Snow wants to scare Katniss. To try and lure her here so he can kill her." Well, that doesn't add up. Why would Katniss come here? To kill me? The arguing is back again, louder than ever. 

"You have to try and stop the war. Even if you don't want to, try and convince them. Snow might actually go easier on you if you act like you're on his side."

"Okay. But why are you helping me?" I ask.

"We're a part of the rebel's side. We're 13's spies."

"Then why can't you just get me out if here?" I plead. I want so badly to escape. I can't take the beatings, the shockings, the dying. I can't take it anymore. 

"That isn't our job. Besides, we'll need more than two people to get you out. This place is heavily guarded," he says. "Now, lets get you to your interview."

I nod, a thousand questions still racing in my mind that I want to ask. How am I supposed to warn 13 without telling them? I can barely even think, let alone give a speech.

***

I wake up, dazed. I don't remember anything after the interview. No, I remember seeing red. I remember that I was hit. I saw my blood. 

I try to get up and run when another man comes in. He holds cords in his hands. He ties them around my arms and presses a button on a controller he holds. I scream and fall to the ground hard. They're electrocuting me again. It's my punishment for warning 13. Maybe that guard really did work for the Capitol. They knew I would be tortured. After about 5 times of being electrocuted, the person takes away the wires.

I can't move at all. It can barely breath. My arms are bright red. I can't tell if it's blood or not. I know right away what was going to happen when the man came back with a syringe and the screen. But why? He poked me with a syringe and I cry out, closing my eyes tight. I try my hardest not to cry. I don't want them to see it. I can't hold back the tears anymore. They fall, uncontrollably. "Please. Please don't! Please!" I cry.

The screen turns on. As the videos play, the more I realize how horrible Katniss really is. I saved her and other District 13 citizens, and now I'm here. I'm being tortured. Because of her. She's safe. I'm here. She did it. It's her fault. She's going to try and kill me. But I can't let her. I have to kill her first.

Every night after that is the same. Going insane from the venom they give ne. Sometimes worse. I'd be electrocuted and whipped until I give them the answers I didn't know. I almost die several times. I'm not sure how long it's been. I was left near the door of my cell last night, and I can't bring myself to move. It hurts too much. That's when I hear the guards talking outside. I only catch a few words, but I somehow piece together that I'm going to be rescued and taken back to 13. They have a plan. They say that I have to kill it, the terrible muttation that was created to destroy me. Katniss Everdeen. I make it my goal to kill her the first time I see her. She's nothing more than a disgusting mutt.

I hope you liked it! Thank you all so much! I had absolutely no idea I could ever get to over 20K reads! My goal was like 1K, but you guess stuck with my story, so thank you sososososo much! Thank you for getting me to chapter 50! This book is for you! <3