“What do you see?” Coin asked me. I watched the screen in her office, eyebrow raised, but said nothing. She knew exactly what I saw. I saw Katniss Everdeen, the girl on fire. I saw her allies. Peeta Mellark. Finnick Odair. Johanna Mason. Beetee Latier.

 “Victors,” I replied.

 “And you know this better than anyone…what are victors good at?”

 “Winning?” I asked wearily. I wasn’t in the mood for her guessing games.

 “Influencing,” she hissed “Your mother influenced people.”

 “Influences,” I corrected “Present tense.”

 “Don’t try my patience, Karissa. I know how much you want to get out of the District. I’m giving you the chance. Take it or leave it, but if you want to be a part of this, I suggest you don’t get on the wrong side of me. Why do you think I’ve chosen you and not your brother?”

 The comment about Elliott hurt. She was implying that she’d rather have Elliott on her team than me, but he wasn’t reliable enough. I’m just as good I thought I’ll prove it to her.

 “Katniss Everdeen, most of all, is an influence,” Coin continued “And with the Districts beginning to rebel-”

 “Wait, what?” I said. Coin often kept us in the dark about what went on outside District 13. The only knowledge of outside life I had was from watching the Hunger Games. It was new information to me.

 “It’s not important to you,” Coin said “All you need to know is we’re getting her out that arena. Alive. I want my best soldiers on the mission. You’re one of them, Karissa. The others will be arriving here soon to go over the plan.”

 We resided into silence. I didn’t want to make any more conversation than necessary with that woman. As I watched the Games take place on the screen, questions whirled through my mind. How were we going to get them out? How had they managed to keep the plan a secret for so long? Which Districts were rebelling?

 The door opened and a young man marched in, a gun attached to his belt. He wore a District 13 uniform, yet I’d never seen him before. At least not in the District. His face was hardened by his frown, a little stubble growing on his youthful face. I stood and he saluted me.

 “Soldier Karissa,” he greeted me formally “I’m Gale Hawthorne.”

 I saluted him back quickly “I know you. You’re Katniss Everdeen’s cousin.” It finally clicked. I’d seen him on the family interviews during the Games.

 “Not cousin,” he said sharply, looking slightly offended “My…friend.”

 I nodded, not wishing to get on the wrong side of him. His face softened a little, though he still did not smile.

 “I’m from District 12,” he told me “Not that there’s anything left of it now…the Capitol have burnt it to the ground.”

 “I’m sorry,” I said. Though District 13 wasn’t much, it was my home. I’d hate to see it destroyed in the same way. Had I been alive during mother’s rebellion, I don’t think I could have handled it.

 “I managed to get some people out. At least not everything was lost,” he murmured, as though looking for light in the situation. “And now I’m one of the leaders in this mission. I’ll be your commander. I understand that you’re more experienced than me, but I know the plans well. If you’d like to follow me, we can begin to discuss the operation.”

 I looked to Coin, who had been waiting on the side lines, for confirmation. She nodded curtly and busied herself looking through some files at her desk. Gale flashed me a flicker of a smile and I followed him out into the hall. He walked fast, and his strides were bigger than mine. I found myself jogging to keep up.

 “So,” he said as we walked. I didn’t know where we were going, but Gale seemed confident in his direction “You’re pretty young to be such a high ranked soldier. What did you do to get your merits?”

 “I worked hard,” I said “And natural talent I suppose.”

 “Not at all modest, are you?”

 “Why should I be? I take pride in my skill. I get it from my mother,” I said, shrugging.

 “Your mother?”

 “She led a rebellion before I was born, but it failed. She’s an unsung hero.”

 “Is that so,” he said a little sceptically “How is it I’ve never heard of this rebellion before?”

 “Coin keeps it quiet. She sees it as a failure. Even though it actually saved our District from nuclear war,” I replied “My mother and Coin don’t see eye to eye. Coin took over as leader from her. They’re naturally rivals. But mother is a hero in my eyes. An inspiration. She won the Games, you know.”

 “No one wins the Games. Not really,” Gale said darkly. I didn’t ask him what he meant. I had a feeling he meant nothing good. He swiped a hand over an electronic pad to open a door, a grim look on his face as we entered another meeting room. I wondered how it must feel, his friend in the arena for the second time in two years. I wondered if he was her lover before Peeta came along.

 The room held around twenty soldiers and several medical staff, some from District 13, and some I didn’t recognize. They lazily saluted us as we entered. They were seemingly tired, and I supposed they’d been working on the mission for quite some time. I wondered why I hadn’t been involved earlier. Gale strode towards the huge glass table in the middle and people began to crowd around him. They looked up to him, I realised. He slammed his hand onto the table.

 “Alright,” he said, his voice rough “We’re leaving in two hours. I want each and every one of you to get some sleep. We’ll eat on the hovercraft and we can go over the plans again. Am I clear?”

 Everyone nodded and murmured yes, even me, though I had no clue what was going on.

 “Karissa, you can stay in here with me,” Gale told me as the others filed out the room “Coin has me under orders not to interact with anyone else.”

 She doesn’t want me telling my family the plans I realised. No wonder. She knew Elliott might find a way to thwart the operation. And mother would want to get involved. My family was dangerous to Coin’s reputation. Perhaps she should be more wary of me I thought she underestimates what I can do. I could ruin her. But I knew I wouldn’t. I wanted the rebellion to work. Even if it meant obeying Coin’s every word.

 I settled down on a plush red couch and rested my head, but I couldn’t sleep, not even after Gale’s breathing grew heavy and filled the room with the soothing sounds of sleep. I paced up and down a little, and ate a piece an apple provided by a fruit bowl, but I was restless and vaguely irritated. I was excited for the mission and wanted it to begin. I tried getting out the room, but the door had been locked. I frowned. Coin was really making an effort to keep me contained. Did I really pose that much of a threat? Her system was fragile, I realised. Waiting to crumble if someone pushed too hard.

 When Gale woke, he found me staring at the door. He looked faintly embarrassed.

 “Coin’s orders,” he mumbled. “Come on. Let’s go.”

 We climbed stair after stair to make it to the surface of District 13, where a hovercraft awaited. Gale caught me looking at the craft in awe. I’d seen hovercrafts on television, but I’d never been in such close proximity to one. Not that I knew of, at least. It seemed Coin had plenty of secrets tucked away in her sleeve.

 Gale and I climbed aboard together. The inside of the hovercraft was plain, with white walls and flooring, with metal benches lining the sides. A table stood in the middle of the floor, various tart, cakes and coloured drinks laid neatly on its surface. I turned a pasty over in my hand, sniffed a drink delicately. They didn’t look natural to me. I wasn’t sure they were safe to consume. Gale muttered something under his breath.

 “They said they’d get some breakfast for us,” he muttered “Bloody Capitol food, that’s what this is.”

  I put the delicacies back down. I wasn’t hungry anymore.

  More soldiers followed us on board. I took a seat on one of the benches, and Gale handed me a gun. It wasn’t the sort I usually trained with, but I quickly familiarised it, learned to like the feel of it in my hands.

 “Hopefully you won’t need to use it,” Gale said to me. I didn’t have chance to respond as a boy bumped shoulders with me, and when I looked back, Gale was gone.

 “Hush up!” Gale called, and the room fell quiet. I could feel the hovercraft moving, lifting everyone off the ground into the air.

 “Here’s the deal. First team, me, Boggs, Holmes, Jackson…Verona-Grey,” Gale said. My ears pricked up at the sound of my name “We’ll get you set up with parachutes, in case we need to get anyone out the arena. But that shouldn’t be the case. We’re all set to get them out,” Gale said “Even so, we will be stationed in the doorway, ready to open fire. The rest of you, take positions around the perimeter of the craft. As you already know, the windows are set in war mode, and a hole in them has been made so you can open fire if necessary. Good luck, everyone. Remember, in the event of an emergency, make your way to the escape pod. It’s located in the centre of the ship.”

 The soldiers around me saluted him, and Gale ushered me to follow him. Some watched me leave the room in resent. I don’t think they thought I deserved to be such a major player in the mission, when I’d only just got involved. I gritted my teeth. This is what I’ve worked hard for I thought I deserve to be here as much as they do. I’m coming, Girl on Fire. I’m gonna get you out.