The Other Slip

Chapter 18

I walk through the quiet hallways of District 13, while everyone is busy in some way, following the schedule on their arm. I never have followed that schedule, and there's no reason to start now. Our propo in District 8 has done very well, so I'm signed off from Mockingjay duties for a while. My slow footsteps echo around me. I look down at my feet and avoid walking on the thin lines between the tiles. I freeze. Bright lights flash all around me, a loud shrieking sound repeatedly making me shudder. People flood the hallways, shoving my paralyzed body around to get through. I finally snap out of it when Peeta shakes me and drags me with him. My feet are functional enough again to walk on their own, and I follow the crowd down the stairs. Everyone is as calm and quiet as they were during drills. Eventually, I am pushed inside a large room, made of stone and metal beams.

-"Katniss, what were you doing just standing there?!" I turn around to see Gale, who was apparently behind me all this time. I just look down and keep gasping for air.

-"Come on, we need to go find your quarter." Peeta says, guiding me with him. I take rapid, small steps to keep up with his long strides. He brings me to a small room with a bunk bed and a storage block.

-"We're some of the first to arrive, so you just need to wait for your mother and Prim now." He leaves to his own quarters, where I know he is alone. I tell myself I'll go see him after, but for now, I need to wait for the rest of my compartment members. After just a few minutes, they still haven't arrived, and a large boom shakes the stone walls. I do the one thing I know I shouldn't do: panick. Because I know that by now, they are closing the doors. They are rolling the large metal doors and they will never be opened again. Primrose and my mother both work in the hospital, so they must have been held back to help patients there. I run outside of my compartment, but I'm too late. Through the inch wide gap between the two doors, I see large debris has already fallen, probably crushing people, and blocking the access to anyone who is left out.

I don't scream, or cry, or do anything really. I just stand there, my lips parted slightly. They say death hits you like a train wreck, but I know by now that they are wrong. It's more like a gas chamber, slowly filling up until you just can't breathe anymore. The realization doesn't hit immediately. Though I still won't be prepared when it will.

-"Citizens of District 13," President Coins voice resonates through the speakers, "The Capitol has sent bombing planes. We unfortunately did not have enough time to get our entire population in the safety bunker. The type of bomb the attackers are using is unknown for the meantime, but we will update you with information once we learn more. Thank you."

Peeta runs out of a hallway, and runs to me. He knows that they didn't make it in the bunker. In the safety of his arms, I start crying. Crying because of the uncertainty. Crying because of all the doubt. Crying because of the lack of hope in my heart.

-"We don't know anything for sure yet, Katniss," Peeta mumbles in my ear reassuringly, "We don't know if the bombs are strong. We don't know how many bombs they have. They may have found a safe place, shielded from the danger."

As much as I want to let go, to start moving on, because I know it is easier that way, Peeta is right. I cannot move on, now that he gave me hope.

-"Can I stay in your compartment?" I mumble in his chest, "I don't want to stay alone in mine."

-"Of course," he smiles, "Come with me."

He tucks me into bed and climbs on the top bunker. I slide my fingers down the parallel bars and ask myself the obvious question: are my sister and mother alive?