CHAPTER SIXTEEN !
↳ 𝖒𝖚𝖙𝖙𝖘

"MY BROTHER KNOWS these tunnels really well- he worked sanitation down here. Right after they made him an Avox", Castor explained to them while they climbed down into the tunnels.

Pollux was leading the group further into the underground tunnels. He stopped when he looked down the tunnel, exhaling heavily.

"Hey- hey- you gonna be okay? Look at me- we're gonna get through this. I promise", Castor promised his brother.

Pollux nodded at him before they continued their way

"Took us five years to buy his way outta here- he didn't see the sun once", Castor told them while they watched how Pollux walked at the front of the group.

The tunnels were dim lit and Kathryn could swear that she could hear rats in the distance.

The group could hear a train in ten distance and quickly started running to take cover behind a wall while the train filled with Peacekeepers passed them by.

Katniss scanned the tunnel with the holo. "We're too exposed here", Katniss stated while she gave Pollux a look.

The blond man then motioned for them to follow after them and they made their way down the direction the train has came from.

He then lead them through one of the door to the right side and shortly after they climbed down another ladder.

Katniss held up the holo to scan the room for potential pods, "Looks clear."

The group walked through the large hall, past the large stone pillars and into a small passageway.

One of the pipes let out steam and everyone flinched back while they quickly took cover on the ground.

Kathryn could feel her heart beating against her rip cage. She slowly realized that nothing horrible had happened to my of them and exhaled deeply while they all got back up.

"Everyone okay?", Jackson questioned them loudly, checking if everyone was all right.

"Yeah."

After a small moment they slowly continued their way through a shaft where they could barely stand in. The water was standing up to their neck but after a while they could climb up into a tunnel that was dry.

"All right, we're gonna stop here for a bit and get some rest, yeah? I'll take first watch", Jackson instructed them while they all sat down on the dirty and cold ground.

Kathryn felt her legs hurting from walking all day when she slowly settled down.

"Hey, Peeta- just tuck in there", Finnick instructed him while he nodded at an empty space in-between Kathryn and himself.

"All right, settle in, everybody."

There was silence filling the room while Kathryn placed her head onto Finnick's shoulder.

The blond man leaned his head against Kathryn's head, breathing in her scent while he closed his eyes.

Kathryn wrapped her arms around his own while she rubbed her thumb over the back of his hand.

Kathryn could finally get a couple of hours sleep before she was awakened by Jackson switching watch with Katniss.

Katniss sat down on Peeta's opposite and started whispering to each other before they were interrupted by some weird sounds coming from somewhere far down the corridor.

"What is that?", Jackson questioned the other's while she sat up, her gaze on the dark corridor where the noises were coming from.

"We gotta go- we gotta get out of here now!", Peeta immediately started screaming at them. "Mutts- they released mutts!"

Jackson gave whom a warning look, "Keep your voice down!"

"Pollux, what's the fastest way out of here?", Katniss questioned Pollux while the man immediately started leading them through the tunnels.

"Come on! Go! Go!"

The tunnel was dark, not a single light was on and Gale shot a fire arrow through it, lighting up the darkness for them while they continued moving.

There were animal like sounds coming from not that far away and Kathryn felt her anxiety rise in her chest while she tried to control her breathing.

After a while there was a crack in the walls where they had to climb through one after the other.

Jackson was the last one to stay on the other side and just before she went to climb through, the mutts got to her. They were lunging at her and in the matter of seconds the woman was covered beneath them, she didn't even have time to scream.

Katniss immediately shot an explosive arrow at the mutts, setting them on fire before they quickly started running. "Move! Go! Go! Go! It's mutts!"

Kathryn felt like her heart was about to explode while she hurried down the slippery tunnels right after Pollux.

The mutts were growling and screeching loudly while they hunted them through the tunnels.

One of the mutts got to Castor and they immediately started firing at the mutt, killing every single one that came towards them but they still managed to kill Homes.

Katniss' seemed to panick by the fact that the mutts were killing their whole unit one after the other. So she shot another explosive arrow and the whole tunnel exploded, sending Kathryn to the in water covered ground.

The women exhaled deeply when she sat up, complete wet from the water. Her eyes widened when she realized that a mutt was coming straight towards her.

The brunette pointed her gun at it, and blew the mutts head off. She then quickly got onto her feet and helped Katniss, who was shooting arrows at the mutts that were surrounding them.

One has reached Katniss and lunges at her while she tried to push it away from her body as much as she could.

It's sharp teeth were charging at her relentlessly, but Peeta yanked the creature away from the brunette and Kathryn shot it in it's head.

Katniss had been thrown across the room and was now sitting in the water trying to regain her breath before she slowly got onto her feet.

Meanwhile Kathryn shot at every mutt that tried to go anywhere near her while Gale was standing besides her, doing the same.

To her right Finnick was impaling a mutt with his Trident, saving Katniss from being killed.

Cressida and Messalla suddenly appeared from one of the tunnels, also shooting as many mutts as they could.

Cressida then shot a mutt that was on top of Peeta, grabbing the man by his jacket, "Go! Go! Go!"

She shoved him towards a ladder and the blond woman climbed after Peeta up to another tunnel while she shot at the mutts that tried to attack them from beneath.

Finnick and Kathryn grabbed Katniss and brought her to the ladder, before they climbed up after her.

Finnick was the last one to climb up and Kathryn made sure that she had an eye on him while she fired at the mutts beneath them.

Her heart was beating fast while feared that Finnick wouldn't make it. The brunette was already in the tunnel above, watching how Finnick took the last couple of steps when a mutant jumped up and grabbed ahold of his leg.

Finnick immediately panicked but Kathryn immediately shot the mutant down and pulled Finnick up into the tunnel with all the strength she had left.

The man landed ontop of her, nearly crushing her beneath his weight, but Kathryn didn't care. She immediately wrapped her arms around the man's body, pressing him against her while she kissed very inch of his face.

Finnick tried to reassure her, "I'm okay- Kathryn."

"Never do that again", Kathryn stated while she still was still holding onto him, releasing a deep sight.

"Come on! Come on! Let's go!", Peeta's voice reached them while he pulled them up to their feet. "Keep moving! Keep moving!"

Kathryn had just let go of Finnick's hand when they entered the train station while the peacekeepers infront of them opened fire on the group.

The walls and the pillars were colored in an orange and the ground was grey while there were round circle lamps above their heads, lighting the train station up.

Kathryn's breath caught in her throat when she saw how a light beam shot out of the lamps above and vaporized Messalla.

The man's gun clattered to the floor, making Cressida turn towards him in shock. The woman had stopped walking while she stared at the dust that had remained on the floor.

Kathryn quickly grabbed the blond by her arm and pulled her along with her. "Keep going! Keep going!"

The beams continued shooting out from the lights above but they were able to outrun them.

That was when the floor behind them started to rip open. Blades came through the concrete and they were nearly impaled by them before they could save themselves.

Peeta and Katniss were stumbling to the ground after they had jumped to escape the blades.

Katniss immediately got onto her feet and wanted to continue, but Peeta remained laying on the ground. The man seemed to be highly on edge while he was talking to himself and rocking back and forth, holding his head.

"Peeta, come on!", Katniss immediately hurried towards him grabbing him by his jacket. "Peeta, we have to keep going!"

"I'm a mutt! I can't keep control!", the man screamed at her while he still held his head in his hands. "Leave me alone!"

He tried to push Katniss away from him, but the brunette wouldn't let him, "Yes, you can!"

"Leave me! I'm a mutt!"

"Look at me! Look at me!", Katniss screamed at him because she grabbed his head and pulled him towards her. Looking into his eyes she quickly pressed her lips onto his. When the two let go of each other she spoke, "Stay with me."

Peeta immediately nodded at her, "Always."

"Come on!-"

They then got onto their feet and started running once again.

Cressida was now at the front of the group, "I know where we are! I know a place! Up those stairs!" They quickly made their way upstairs and into the dark night.

Kathryn's eyes spotted a wanted picture of Finnick which they passed by quickly while running through the city.

They made their way over a courtyard, wanted pictures of them everywhere while Cressida knocked on the door of what seemed to be styling atelier.

"Someone's coming!", Peeta informed them and a moment later the door opened.

Cressida immediately made her way inside and the other's followed suit. "Shut the door! Shut the door!"

Katniss immediately pointed her bow and arrow at the woman, who revealed herself to them.

She has a roap on that was made of fur and her face was cover in black tattoos that made her look exactly like a tiger.

"No Katniss, it's okay- it's okay", Cressida told the brunette while she approached the woman. "Tigris, do you remember me? I'm with Plutarch's underground. We need your help."

"Clear!", Gales voice came from a room further inside the building.

The woman led them through her home and pulled back her carpet, revealing a door that lead into the underground.

"I know you- you were a stylist in the games", Katniss stated while she looked at the woman closely.

Tigris gracefully pulled back her hood, revealing her long brunette hair, "Until Snow decided I wasn't pretty enough anymore."

"I'm here to kill him", Katniss spoke while she held eye contact with her, but Tigris only smiled at her before she motioned for them to climb down the ladder.

When they entered the underground room, Kathryn recognized it as a storage room for fabrics and designs that weren't finished yet.

They laid down their weapons and took off their jackets. Kathryn felt herself calm down for the first time since the mutt attack.

"Gales gonna need stitches", Cressida informed them while she examined the wound on his neck.

Pollux loud sobbs could be heard in the other corner of the room. He had just lost his brother, Kathryn couldn't imagine the loss he was feeling right now. Her heart was still hurting for him.

"I made it up- all of it. There is no special mission form Coin. There's only my plan. Everyone's that's dead is dead because of me- I lied", Katniss suddenly confessed to them, a defeated expression plastered on her face while she looked at them in shame.

"Katniss- we know", Kathryn answered her while she looked at the woman. "We all knew", Cressida added while she stopped examining Gales wound.

"The soldiers from thirteen?", Katniss questioned her.

"They did, too- do you really believe that Jackson thought you had orders from Coin? She trusted Boggs and he clearly wanted you to go on", Cressida told her honestly.

"I never meant for this to happen- I failed- I- I killed them- I'm so sorry, Pollux. I'm so sorry", Katniss voice was only above a whisper when she said those words, her eyes wandering to the Avox, who had tears streaming down his face.

Peeta was sitting on a chair while he looked over at Katniss, his voice was now more content that before, "Glimmer, marvel, Mags, Clove, Wiress, Rue. What do all those deaths mean? They mean that our lives were never ours. There was no real life because we didn't have any choice. Our lives belong to Snow and our deaths do, too. But if you kill him, Katniss- if you'll end all of this, all those deaths, they mean something. Cinna, Boggs, Castor, Jackson. They chose this. They chose you."

Silence followed his speech, because everyone knew that there was truth to his words.

HOURS HAD PASSED by until they could hear bombing noises far away from their position. Everyone was pulled out of their sleep, staring up at the ceiling while Gale stood up.

"Mortar shells. It's not ours- the Peacekeepers must be shelling the rebels outside the city", he told them, while listening in.

"That's not outside the city", Cressida corrected him quietly while they all continued to stare at the ceiling for another ten minutes.

After the bombing has stopped Kathryn felt her eyes slowly falling shut once more, the exhaustion taking over hee body.

She snuggled further into Finnick's neck while she inhaled his familiar scent, just happy that the two had survived the day.

When the brunette opened her eyes once more, she was greeted by Gales voice. "The sun's coming up!", Gale informed them while he came downstairs. "There's some small-arms fire. Could be Paylor, maybe Lyme. The rebels are close."

"This is it" Cressida sighed deeply before an alarm went off and on the hologram appeared a message. 'Mandatory viewing'.

After a moment, Snow appeared on the screen infront of them, "To all Capitol citizens more than a half mile outside the city circle, I am announcing a mandatory evacuation. Come to the mansion. I am promising you shelter and sanctuary. All refugees, come to my home. There you will be provided with food, medicine, safety for your children, and you will have my solemn oath to protect you until my dying breath."

"Wish he'd hurry up with that last part" Cressida stated coldly while she stared at the hologram of the man in disgust.

"Our enemy is not like us. They do not share our values. They have never known our comfort and our sophistication. And they despise us for it. Make no mistake. They are not coming to liberat us. They are coming to destroy our way of life. They are coming to bury us."

"Is he still in the mansion?", Katniss immediately questioned Peeta when Snow disappeared from the monitor.

The blond man stared straight ahead as if he was in some kind of trance. Katniss gave him a questioning look while she called out his name, "Peeta?"

Peeta snapped out of his trance and answered her, "Yeah- I recognize the room."

Katniss then looked over at Cressida, "Where is that?"

"About five blocks away- were right here. Off the avenues. Mansions here", the blond told her while she trailed the way with her fingers.

Kathryn frowned at them, her eye on the paper map they had spread out on the floor, "What about the pods?"

"Well, they'll probably deactivate the pods around here for the residents' safety", Cressida told her while she circled one area with her finger.

"That could work. I could get close enough", Katniss realized when she exchanged a look with Gale. The man shook his head at her, "Every Peacekeeper's gonna be waiting."

"Next to our faces on every billboard", Cressida stated defeated.

"Snow's offering shelter to all the refugees", Katniss reminded her and that was how their plan was born.

Katniss and Gale would try to snuggle themselves inside the Capitol when they refugees where brought inside.

They knew that it was a long shot because there would be Peacekeepers everywhere, but it was their only shot to assassinate Snow.

In the morning Katniss and Gale got ready to slip out onto the streets undetected.

"Head straight north- there's gonna be thousands of refugees. Just get into that stream and don't look up", Cressida told them while Tigris brought them cloaks they could hide their faces under.

Cressida wrapped the cloak around Katniss body when the burned exchanged a look with Gale, "We got one shot." The man nodded at her, "Let's make it count."

Cressida stared into the brunette's eyes, "Good luck, Katniss." Katniss pulled her into a hug, her voice soft, "Thank you."

The two let go of each other and Katniss turned towards Pollux. "Pollux -"

The man spoke to her in sign language, his eyes showing the love he felt for all of them. Katniss and the other's couldn't understand what he was saying, but Kathryn and Katniss hugged him anyway.

Katniss then faced the stylist that had given them shelter, "Tigris, thank you for everything you've done." The stylist gave them a small nodd, but remained silent.

Kathryn then quickly pulled her into a tight hug, "Take care, Katniss."

The brunette smiled at her when they pulled away from each other, "I will."

She then hugged Finnick, who smirked at her, "Show him what you're made of." Katniss nodded her head at him before they were interrupted.

"Katniss let me come with you, okay? I can be a good distraction. They know my face", Peeta suddenly begged her. Katniss voice was firm when she answered him, "No- I'm not loosing you again."

"You'll be safer with us", Kathryn told him calmly while she exchanged a look with Peeta.

"What if Peacekeepers are searching the houses? And if he's captured?", Gale questioned Katniss. "Then give me a nightlock pill, okay? I'm not going back", Peeta immediately stated while he looked at them.

Gale then slowly pulled the pill out of his pocket and handed it over to Peeta. He eyed it for a moment and then put it away.

Katniss came to a stand infront of him and slowly freed the man off his chains while looking into his eyes, "Stay alive."

She then quickly pulled Peeta into a long and tight hug. "If I see you again, it's gonna be a different world."

Gale gave her a questioning look, "Ready, Katniss?"

The woman nodded while she pulled the hood over her head, "Let's go."