Fawn In The Dawn | Peeta Mellark

fifteen

Kat and I stood in the elevator, heading to the loading dock. We walked through the missiles, dodging all personal, and as the ships dock was being pulled up, we hopped on, seating ourselves behind a shipment crate.

Both of us drifted asleep for just a little while, and when we arrived and the bridge came down, we exited, walking directly down the middle. It did not take long until we had been noticed by nearly everyone. Whispers of 'the mockingjay' rang in our ears. We stopped and looked as everyone kissed their three fingers and raised them. And suddenly, Gale approached us, and we followed him into the crowd and to the tents, seating ourselves. "You plan on leaving." He not asked, but told her. She nodded.

"You know me." She said, zipping her pack up. I sat across them, staring off into the distance. "I have to do this, Gale." She insisted to him. "I understand you have to stay with your Unit, but I wouldn't stop you if you came with me." She told him, hoping he would.

"Hawthorne, Everdeen, Stark, come meet your new Unit." A woman shouted to us, causing me to jump in my seat. We stood up and walked over to her, curiously. " I'm Lt. Jackson, and this is your squad. Second Lieutenant Mitchell, these two are the Leeg sisters - first Combat Division, and this is Corporal Homes." We smiled to them all and behind Homes I noticed a familiar face approaching.

"Finn?" I shouted, peering around the people, and Katniss looked over. We both quickly ran to him, excited he was here as well.

"Are you with us?" Kat asked, excited and hopeful.

"Looks like it." He smiled, putting his arm around my back as we walked back over to the squad.

"Am I gonna have to fight your battles for you, Finn?" I joked, winking at him.

"I'd sure hope so. Wouldn't want anyone else to defend my honor except you and that katana." He commented back, playfully.

"Gather around." Another familiar voice boomed and we looked to see Boggs aproaching with Katniss's film crew. "Squad 451, you're my unit. Lt. Jackson is my second in command." He began, not even questioning why or how we got here. Figured Coin already knew the second we stepped off that shipment ship, and clearly, she knew Katniss would do her own thing, and that I'd always have my friends back. "Each of you are elite in some form of combat, yet we are a non combat unit. So we follow days behind the front line troops." He informed.

"You're the on screen, star squad of a sort." Cressida said.

"Seriously? We're the show dogs?" I scoffed, a little annoyed at all the propaganda filming we kept having to do. At this point, that was all we seemed good for.

"So, we don't fight?" Gale said, bothered by this, as well.

"You'll do whatever you're ordered to do, Soldier." Boggs commented back to him.

"Cool, talent's gone to waste." I muttered, rolling my eyes to myself.

"Hey, watch the attitude." Lt. Jackson snapped at me and I was honestly just unphased by it at this point.

"We're shooting footage to be aired. We will be in a war zone though, so we need to be careful. If captured, you'll be given a nightlock pill." Boggs said.

"So we kill ourselves. Got it." I commented. I could tell I was pissing Boggs and Lt. Jackson off so I decided to stand further back and kick some rocks around, to keep myself busy and from becoming more of a nuisance. As everyone liked to inform me, my mouth got me in the most trouble.

I was then handed a pill and a dirty look by Lt. Jackson, but I slipped it into my pocket anyways.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 76th Hunger Games." Finnick looked at me and muttered.

"And may the odds be ever in your favor." I muttered back.