Fighting (Sequel to Fate)

Chapter 25

Katniss P.O.V.

When we walk close enough to see the destruction from the blast we heard, my heart sinks. A huge building has collapsed in on itself, and the fire is bellowing up from the top.

I start coughing, so Peeta quickly guides me away from the flames and over to a half-standing concrete structure.

"Stay here," Peeta tells me quietly as he makes me crouch down a little bit. "Stay low. You holler for me if you see any trouble at all."

I nod my head, and Peeta gives me a quick kiss before walking over to the soldiers.

Another small pain runs through my stomach again, and I rest a hand over the spot where our baby lies.

"Alirght, little one," I whisper. "You've got to stop that. You've got your Daddy worried about both of us, and you're not helping to calm my nerves any."

After a few minutes, I see Peeta walking towards me again with an expression on his face that I've never seen before.

"What's wrong?" I ask him.

Peeta kneels down beside of me and takes a deep breath before quietly replying.

"The majority of the victims were innocent children," Peeta says as if he's a million miles away at the moment. "There were a few adults, but most of them…" He shakes his head.

"Children, Katniss," Peeta says as he looks down at my stomach. Peeta's eyes fill with tears as he begins to shake his head again. "Can you imagine…"

I can tell that Peeta is at a rare lost for words at the moment.

"I can't imagine it," I tell Peeta softly. "And I don't want to."

"Who could bomb a building knowing that there's kids in there?"

"You know who, Peeta. The same man who could bomb an entire District and feel no remorse. The same man who sent twenty four kids to the arena every year to fight to the death…"

Another explosion just a few feet away from us knocks us both off our feet, sending me crashing into Peeta.

"Are you alright?" Peeta asks me anxiously as he helps to get me back to my crouched position once more.

"I'm fine," I tell Peeta as I nod my head quickly at him. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Don't worry about me," he says sincerely. "I'll be just fine as long as you are."

Gunfire rings out, and the other soldiers quickly take shelter in an old abandoned building.

"We're not safe here," Peeta tells me worriedly. He looks over at the building across from us and nods his head towards it. "Run."

"What?" I ask as I turn to face Peeta. I see him take his gun and make sure that it's loaded.

"Run," he repeats.

"Peeta, they're shooting at us."

"I know," he says. "But I've got you covered."

"Peeta, I… I don't know Wh-What if you…" Peeta wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me close to him before pressing his lips to mine. He pulls back and looks intensely into my eyes.

"Go."

"What if you're hit?"

"That's what I've got the bullet proof vest on for so I'll be protected."

"But that vest does not protect your arms or your head or…"

"Katniss," Peeta says fiercely. "Just go. I'll be fine."