❝your finger on my hairpin triggers❞

"ISLA," LEXA CALLED, SHAKING THE SHOULDERS OF THE SLEEPING GIRL. It took her doing that three more times for the blonde girl to stir. Isla shot up into a sitting position, her head whipping around. As soon as her eyes landed on Lexa, she stopped, finally able to breathe.

She felt tears running down her cheeks, and her entire body was sweaty. She looked around the room that she and Lexa had been moved to once she was discharged from the medical ward. There was a bunk bed and a small bathroom. She was in District 13. She was with the woman she loved. She was perfectly safe.

Her eyes met the Armada woman's once again as she rubbed circles on her lower back. The blonde girl just took deep breaths, listening to the soothing whispers coming out of the older female's mouth as she recalled what she was dreaming about before she was awoken.

She was back in the Capitol, strapped to that metal table as machines whirred all around her, ready to strike. She was being poked and prodded with hot metal and tasers, and every part of her body ached. Her screams filled the room, praying for the pain to stop, if only just for a moment.

"Hey, you're okay," Lexa assured her, and both of them slowly lied back down together. This had happened a lot ever since Isla and the others were rescued. According to Finnick, Annie was having nightmares as well. "You're okay. I'm right here."

"I never thought I'd have nightmares about anything other than the arena," Isla told her. Neither of them said anything else, but the Armada woman just ran her fingers through the blonde hair of the Angler woman until she fell back to sleep, and she didn't have another dream that night.

The next morning, Lexa left with Katniss and Gale to go to District 2. Isla was not totally sure why she had to go, but the Armada woman assured her that she would be just fine. It was Mockingjay business, and they just wanted to film a quick propo of Katniss speaking to the people of District 2.

Lexa stirred in her bed just as they were arriving over their destination, running a hand through her hair. She had not gotten much sleep, being away from the blonde girl that she just got back. It was okay, though, because she would rather her be safe in District 13 than be there with her.

"This is another version of booby trapping a resource," she heard Gale say, and she turned to see him talking to Beetee, pointing at things on a screen. She stood up, noticing that Katniss was headed over to them as well. "This one's meant to blind. The smoke clings to the eyes. That's an application of the hummingbird trap. We scare people, so they flee in this direction into what they think is a safe haven."

"Two-tiered explosion?" Lexa asked, causing them all to look up at her. She did not like that plan. Bombing was one thing, but tricking people into thinking they're safe and then hitting them again was brutal, especially since they were planning on using this on innocent people.

Gale nodded, and he could tell by the look on hers and Katniss's faces that they were not on board with that trap. "To allow people enough time to rush in and help the wounded, then a second bomb. The second one goes off here."

"I guess there are no rules anymore about what a person can do to another person," the Everdeen girl said, and Gale looked at her like she was being unfair.

"I don't think Snow used any rulebook when he hijacked Peeta," he responded before turning to Lexa. She knew what he was going to say, and she shot him a glare, warning him to not open his mouth. He did anyway. "Or when he strung Isla up in front of the entire country."

Lexa just turned around, heading back to her bed with a shake of her head, but not before yelling over her shoulder, "You're a dick, Hawthorne."

《✤》

LEXA WAS NOT SURE THAT GALE HAD A HEART. She used to think that she was heartless, but at least she wanted to try to allow innocent civilians to escape before they dumped hundreds of tons of dirt on them. Their plan was to cause an avalanche, filling the buildings with earth,

They kept a train tunnel open to allow civilians to escape and surrender, but Gale had been whining like a baby the entire time because 'that was not a luxury they had been given in 12,' like he just really wanted to be like the Capitol and Snow. They were innocent people just trying to survive. They should be given a chance to surrender.

As they arrived at the tunnel, waiting for the train carrying the survivors, Katniss was preparing for what she was going to say. Lexa stood back with a gun in her hand, ready to fire at anyone who tried to pull anything. Gale was lucky that she did not turn her gun on him. Then, she wouldn't have to listen to any more of his childish revenge plans.

Haymitch tried to give the Girl on Fire some tips and points about what she was going to say, but she all but smacked the cards out of his hands. He raised his arms in surrender, knowing that he couldn't tell her what to do. She turned around, and he stepped out of view of the camera as she began speaking. "This is Katniss Everdeen, speaking to all of the loyalists from the heart of District 2."

"Survivors inbound!" someone yelled, and Lexa stood straight up, watching the train come in through the scope of her gun. The train horn blew, and Boggs jogged up to Katniss, trying to guide her back to a spot behind their small army.

She walked back a few steps, but she turned around as the train stopped. Working people slowly began climbing out the vehicle, holding their hands over their heads as the rebels surrounded them. Lexa hung back by Katniss, tasked to keep her safe. There was yelling, so much yelling. "Put your weapons down now! Get on the ground! Put the weapons down!"

"You!" Lexa shouted as a man got out of the front of the train, and she spotted a gun in his hand. She moved to stand in front of Katniss, the gun shielding them both. The man continued to move toward them. "Put your weapon down! Drop it!"

All of a sudden there were gunshots, and the Everdeen girl pushed past Lexa to run over to the man that had just fallen to the ground. "Stop! Stop!" She crouched down in front of him. "He needs help!" But then he pulled out his gun and held it to her chin, grabbing her by the collar.

"Give me one reason I shouldn't shoot you," the man told Katniss as Boggs and multiple others told him to drop the gun.

"I can't. I guess that's the problem, isn't it?" Katniss responded, shaking her head slightly. "We blew up your mine. You burned my district to the ground. We each have every reason to want to kill each other. So if you wanna kill me, do it. Make Snow happy. I'm tired of killing his slaves for him."

"I'm not his slave," the man insisted angrily, shoving the gun further so that her head tilted back.

"I am. That's why I killed Cato. And he killed Thresh. And Thresh killed Clove. It just goes around and around. And who wins? Always Snow. I am done being a piece in his game. District 12, District 2. We have no fight. Except the one the capitol gave us. Why are you fighting the rebels? You're neighbors. You're family," she explained to him, and finally, he dropped the gun. She slowly stood up and addressed the camera and the rest of Two. "These people are not your enemy. We all have one enemy. And that's Snow. He corrupts everyone and everything. He turns the best of us against each other. Stop killing for him. Tonight, turn your weapons to the Capitol. Turn your weapons to Snow. Tonight, turn your weapons to the capitol. Turn your weapons to Snow."

Isla grinned from where she watched in District 13 because she could see Lexa in the corner of the screen with a small smile on her face. However, the blonde girl's grin dropped when she heard gunshots. She flinched when she saw Lexa fall to the ground. There was so much yelling in the cafeteria, and Finnick grabbed her arm to try and pull her away from the screen. But she just sat there, watching as everyone rushed to the Girl on Fire, who had also been shot. Katniss' armor was insane. She probably had nothing more than a broken rib, but they were covering her and carrying her away, leaving Lexa bleeding out on the ground.

"Someone help her!" Isla shouted, and all of a sudden, the screen went dark. She turned to the blonde man standing by her and his fiance who was with him. "Finnick, I am not losing her. I just got her back."

She was waiting on the tarmac when they landed. The doors immediately opened, and about a dozen people ran, pushing Katniss on a stretcher while a dozen more people ran after them. She had to push past them all to get to the second stretcher, which was pushed by two soldiers. Isla wanted to punch someone. Was Katniss really that important that her cracked rib was more critical than the freaking bullet in Lexa's abdomen?

"Lexa!" Isla shouted, and she turned to run alongside the gurney so that she could check out the injury.

The Armada woman looked up at her with a weak smile, trying to get her to calm down because she was very obviously panicking. She reached up and grabbed the blonde girl's hand. "Hey, hey, it's okay. It's just a graze."

"You could've gotten killed," Isla reminded her. She was assured that this mission was completely safe, that it was just filming and that there probably would not even be guns involved. She was an idiot for believing that. It was always dangerous, no matter where they went.

"But I didn't," the older woman reminded her, shaking her head. She was conscious and breathing, but there was definitely blood coating the sheets below her. "It's going to take a lot more than a gun to kill me."