CHAPTER THIRTEEN!
↳ 𝖒𝖆𝖗𝖗𝖞 𝖒𝖊

A COUPLE OF days had went by and Kathryn could feel herself growing restless. She couldn't take living underground for much longer. So she hoped that there would be a change real soon.

It was very early in the morning and currently the brunette was laying on her bed, her thoughts with Peeta, who she puttied deeply. Snow had messed with his brain, modifying it so that Peeta though that Katniss was a mud from the Capitol that wanted to destroy them. That had been the reason for his attack on Katniss.

The brunette sighed deeply when she thought about how Katniss was feeling right now.

Suddenly someone placed a soft kiss on her shoulder, making her snap out of her thoughts.

"What are you thinking about, love?", Finnick questioned her curiously whilehe continued to kiss from her shoulder up to her neck.

Kathryn sighed deeply while she leaned into his kisses. "Nothing-"

Finnick immediately pulled her back and then rolled on top of her, trapping her under his body, a smirk playing on his lips, "Great-"

He then started kissing Kathryn and the brunette wrapped her arms around his neck before Finnick started kissing his way back down to her neck.

Kathryn sighed deeply before she slowly pushed him away, "I can't-"

"What's going on, Kathy?" Finnick immediately gave her questioning look.

"I'm just thinking about Katniss and Peeta- the have been through so much. And still they can't be together-", Kathryn stated while she looked into Finnick's eyes. She then place her head down his chest, "I guess, I just realized how lucky we are."

"We are very lucky", Finnick stated before silence fell over them. Kathryn listened to his heart beat, which was beating steady and strong into her ear.

"Marry me", Finnick suddenly stated, making Kathryn's head shoot up immediately while she gave him a disbelieving look. "What-"

"Mary me, Kathryn", the man repeated his sentence, a loving look in his eyes while he gazed at her.

"You want to marry me?", the woman questioned him while she sat up and looked down at Finnick, who was still laying.

The blond man sat up and looked at her, taking her hand in his. He rubbed circles into the back of her hand while he grabbed a box from his nightstand. It was a tiny black box and when he opened it, a gold ring with a white diamond was revealed to her.

Kathryn gasped while she stared at the ring infront of her.

"I thought about it for a while now- it was just never the right moment to ask with all the missions you've been on lately", the man spoke honestly while he looked into her eyes.

Kathryn remained silent, still shocked while she stared at Finnick, her mouth slightly hanging open.

"I don't want to think of a life without you in it- and especially right now, in this time, we have to cherrish every single moment with each other as long as we still can. And if hopefully someday far far in the future, the end comes- I want you to be the mother of my children and if someday hopefully in the far far furture the end comes, I want nobody but you standing by my side, holding my hand."

He still held Kathryn's hand in his while he ended, "Will you marry me, Kathy?"

Kathryn immediately started nodding her head before she started crying, "Yes. I wanna marry you." She then immediately fell into his arms and Finnick chuckled while he hugged her back. The two quickly kissed and he quickly pulled the ring onto her finger.

Kathryn couldn't describe the feelings she was experiencing right in that moment. She felt like the happiest person in the world.

After that she couldn't think about sleep and the two remained awake and disappeared under the covers until their alarm clock was ringing.

All Kathryn could do when she laid in one of the beds inside the hovercraft was eyeing the ring Finnick had pulled onto her finger only a few hours prior. She hadn't told her mother and siblings yet because she was expected to accompany Katniss and the other's to District two.

She couldn't stop smiling when she thought about Finnick, but her attention was soon captured by a conversation Beetee and Gale were having.

"This is another version of booby-trapping a resource", Kathryn could hear Gale explain to Beetee. The man nodded while he watched the monitor, "Right, I see."

"This one's designed to blind. The smoke clings to the eyes. That's an application of the hummingbird trap. You scare people so they flee in this direction into what they think is a safe haven", Gale explained to him while he motioned in the other direction.

Beetee nodded his head once more, "Two-itred explosion."

The brunette walked towards them while Gale explained further, "You allow people enough time to rush in, help the wounded, then-"

"A second bomb." Kathryn stated a little bit louder than she had intended to.

Gale met he eyes before he nodded his head, "Right.- Second one goes off here." He pointed at the monitor.

Katniss had also joined them, a sceptical expression on her face, "I guess there are no rules anymore about what a person can do to another person."

Gale pressed his lips into a thin line while he shot her an annoyed look, "I don't think Snow used any rulebook when he highjacked Peeta."

There was silence between them until Katniss and Kathryn made their way back to their beds, waiting for their arrival in District two.

Soon after, the hovercrafts landed in District two. And as soon as the metal door opened for them, they were greeted by a man. He was dressed in black and held a machine gun in his hands, despite that he smiled slightly, "Welcome to District two. I'm corporal Homes. You follow me, please."

They made their way over the courtyard before an explosion went off in the far distance.

The man in front of them chuckled slightly before he motioned for them to continue, "Don't worry- that's just how the loyalists say good morning."

He quickly lead them inside where they met with the leader of the rebellion in district two. It was a large woman with blond hair and pale skin. But her authority was clear by the way she moved and articulated herself.

"President Coin- we're indebt to you for the reinforcements and the Mockingjay. But I'm not sure that anyone outside of two knows what we've been ap against", the gigantic eoman stated calmly.

She pointed at the blue hologram infront of her, "This is the nut. The capitol's headquarters for all offensive operations. It's manned by both military and civilian personnel from District two. As you can see, the fortress lies so far beneath the bedrock, it's untouchable. Yesterday, we attempted to take the northeastern gate. The enemy countered from higher up and we were forced to pull back. We took heavy losses."

"Could we create a decoy? Send troop towards one gate, launch a staggered attack on another." One of the commanders recommended.

"Who's troops do you propose as a decoy, commander?", Commander Paylor from District eight asked him with a questioning look on her face.

"We have the Mockingjay - don't underestimate her. We could use her to enrode support. She may be able to say some of the loyalists", President Coin spoke, her face visible on a monitor infront of them.

"You've been underground for a long time, madam Coin. This isn't like the test of Panem. Support for the Capitol runs deep here." The lathe woman stated while she looked at the President.

"Then there's no sacrifice too great. We need to control the arsenal inside that fortress. Even with every district in this alliance, we are outgunned", President Coin voiced hee concerns.

"I won't commit my people to a ground assault just to pillage weapons", Commander Paylor stated while she looked at Coin.

The grey haired woman gave her a look, "Commander Paylor, your people have suffered more than just about anyone else at the hands of the Capitol."

Paylor gave her an agreeing nodd, but still remained firm, "Which is why I won't condone a mass suicide."

"If we don't take District two, we won't get into the capitol." Coin argued back at her.

"Would it be enough to disable the fortress- instead of taking it?", Gale suddenly questioned them, making everyone look at him. "What do you have in mind?"

The man straightened up before he spoke, "Think of it like a wolf den. You're not gonna fight your way in, so you've got two choices. You trap the wolves inside, or you flush'em out. If we can't attack straight on, the couldn't we use our hovercraft to strike around it. We'll use the mountains. We'll hit weak spots in the peaks."

Beetee immediately joined in, "We could design the bomb targets in sequence using seismic data."

"Trigger avalanches."

Gale continued to explain his idea, "Block all exits, cut off their supplies. You make it impossible for them to launch their hovercraft."

"Bury them alive." Commander Paylor stated, her face showing her dismay.

"We'd forfeit any chances to control the weapons", Coin stated calmly, pointing out thete mistake in their plan.

Gale nodded, "Yes, but we'd face a weakened capitol."

Kathryn could feel the frustration about what they were suggesting coming to the surface. But to her relief Boggs engaged into the conversation, "There's civilians in there- they should be given a chance to surrender. We could use one of the supply tunnels for the evacuees."

"It's a luxury we weren't given when they firebonbed twelve", Gale stated coldly while he gave Boggs a look.

Kathryn wanted to scream at the dark haired man, the rage building up inside her. He just wanted to see blood, this wasn't for freedom this was just him searching for vengeance.

"There's gotta be a better way", Katniss told Gale while she gave him a pleading look.

Coin nodded her head at them, "I suggest we try the avalanche, but leave the train tunnel alone. Civilians can escape into the square, where our armies will be waiting for their surrender."

Paylor nodded as well, "We should have every available medic standing by."

"And if they won't surrender?"

President Coin glanced over again Katniss, "Then we will need a compelling voice to persuade them."

It was almost night when Kathryn watched how the bombers descended into the air and started their attack on the nut.

Katniss stood behind her with Gale, silence filling the room.

"What's the difference, Katniss? - crushing the enemy in a mine or blowing them outta the sky with one of Beetee's arrows. It's the same thing", Gale said while he watched the bombers outside.

"We were under attack on District eight. And that hovercraft wasn't filled with civilians", Katniss immediately shot back at him, the disappointment visible on her face.

"It doesn't matter. Even if those civilians are just moppin' the floors, they're helping the enemy. And if they have to die, I can live with that", Gale stated coldly while he looked at yhe woman besides him. "No one who supports the Capitol is innocent."

Katniss looked up to him in disbelief, "With that kind of thinking, you can kill whoever you want. You can send kids off to the hunger games to keep the districts in line she then avoided eye contact with Gale.

Gale still looked at her, his face expression plain, "It's war, Katniss- sometimes killing isn't personal."

Kathryn spun around to him, her eyes boring into his while she felt her rage bubble up once more, "Killing is always personal. Trust me if someone knows, it's me!"

In that moment the bombing started and the people further down the hall started cheering while they watched the debris from the mountains burrying the nut under them.

THE GROUP WALKED through District two, climbing over the debris the bombers had left behind. Kathryn had a hard time watching what their bombers had did to the district and she just desperately hoped that there would be survivors.

"Don't worry Kathryn, there'll be survivors" Boggs told her when he saw the worried expression on her face.

"Let's focus on what it is you gotta say", Haymitch said to Katniss while he pulled out a piece of paper. "Now, Plutarch wrote a speech for you-"

"I'm not saying that", Katniss stated stubborn while she continued walking. Haymitch cleared his throat, "Okay- didn't think so. Let's, uh- but just remember, you're talking to everybody. Not just the rebels but the Capitol, the survivors in two. We want them to lay down their arms. So you might wanna experiment with a little sensitivity, warmth."

Katniss came to a stand and the man gave her a pat onto her shoulder before Boggs spoke, "Make it quick, you're exposed."

Kathryn watched how Katniss walked a little further to the train tunnel before she turned to Cressida and the cameras. "This is Katniss Everdeen. Speaking to all of the loyalists form the heart of Districts two."

"Survivors- inbound!", a few soldiers suddenly yelled loudly. "Ready! Ready! Guns up!"

Them a few light appeared in the distance and the sounds of train breaks could be heard.

Boggs and Kathryn immediately sprinted to Katniss and grabbed her but her arms before they dragged her back to the other's. "We gotta get you back. Come on!"

The train stopped not far away from them and the soldiers immediately shouted at the people to get onto the ground when they stepped foot out of the train.

"Put your weapons down now!"

The people got knot the ground after the soldiers kept screaming at them. Kathryn could see that they were scared.

Suddenly a man walked towards him, a gun in his hand.

Boggs immediately pointed his machine gun on him, "You- put your weapon down!"

The man just ignored him and Boggs screamed, "Drop the gun."

Suddenly shots went off and everyone threw themselves into the ground while Katniss stormed into the direction of the people. "Stop! Stop!"

She immediately ran towards the man that laid on the ground while Boggs instructed the rest, "Hold you fire!"

She immediately kneeled down next to the man, "He needs help!"

The man then suddenly grabbed her by the back of her head and held his gun to her throat.

Everyone immediately focused their attention on them, and Boggs screamed once more, "Drop it!"

"Give me one reason I shouldn't shoot you", the man told Katniss while he looked into her eyes.

Kathryn slowly pulled the knives out of her pockets while she slowly walked towards Katniss and the man from two.

"Drop the gun!"

There was silence between them before Katniss answered, "I can't- I guess that's the problem, isn't it? 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 answered her, his eyes still staring into hers.

"I am", Katniss answered him. "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 twelve, District two- we have no fight. Except the one the capitol gave us. Why are you fighting the rebels? We're neighbors- you're family-"

The man then quickly took the gun from her throat and threw it aside. And then there was silence between them who he liked to the ground.

Katniss then suddenly stood up and looked at the rest of the survivors. "These people are not your enemy! We all have one enemy- and that 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!"

Suddenly one of the survivors stood up and shot Katniss two times into her upper body.

The brunette immediately went to the ground and the man was killed immediately.

Kathryn immediately checked Katniss and kneeled down next to her. "Katniss!- can you hear me!" The brunette them made place for the medics who immediately checked up on Katniss.

Turned out the bullet didn't hit her because Cinna had made her costume bullet proof.

Kathryn was relieved when she heard the good news and when they arrived back in twelve she immediately visited Katniss in the hospital wing.

She slowly pulled the curtain back to see that the brunette was awake. Still a little bit loopy from the morphine but she could talk.

"Hey- how are you?" Kathryn slowly sat down on her bed while she eyed the brunette. "You had us worried there."

"It's okay just a bruised rip and lung. But I don't want to talk about it", Katniss stated while she looked at her, still a little weak.

Kathryn gave her a small smile while Katniss gaze wandered over her appearance. Her eyes then suddenly widened when she spotted the ring on Kathryn's finger.

"Is that-", she spoke before she stopped in the middle of her sentence.

Kathryn followed her gaze to the ring and the smile on her face only grew. "Mhm- Yes." She slowly nodded her head while she held up her hand for Katniss to take a good look at, "Finnick proposed yesterday."

"Congratulations", Katniss immediately smiled at her. "You both deserve happiness."

Kathryn slowly took Katniss hand in her own and gave it a squeeze. "Thank you."

Suddenly the curtain was pulled away again, this time harsher, making Kathryn and Katniss flinch.

"Well, there she is, the Mockingjay" Johanna stated while she gazed at Katniss.

Kathryn immediately made space for Johanna to sit down, who still was a little weak on her knees.

The woman took Kathryn's place on the bed, "Oh, that speech you gave. Oh man, feel. I mean I still have gooose bumps."

She grabbed Katniss arm and slowly pulled out the morphine before she reconnected it or her own arm.

Kathryn gave her a warning look, "Johanna."

The woman gave her a questioning look, "What?" She then glanced at Katniss, "You don't mind, do you? They cut off my supply of morphling. There's this head doctor that comes in and sees me every day, trying to help me to adjust to reality. Like some guy from this rabbit's Warren actually knows something about my reality."

The woman sighed deeply before she felt the morphine doing it's thing. She sighed deeply, "At least 20 times a session he tell me that I'm totally safe. Safe from the Capitol. Safe from Snow-"

She sighed once more, "What about you Mockingjay- do you feel totally safe?"

"Until I got shot", Katniss stated simply but Johanna scoffed at her. "Oh, please. The bullet didn't even touch you. Cinna saw to that. Of course, yout costume would be bulletproof. So what are your injuries?"

"Bruised ribs, bruised lung", Katniss stated quietly while Johnna examined her tag on her wrist.

"I'm surprised they haven't found you a new lung. I mean, I've got two- do you want one?", the woman spoke, the sarcasms clear in her voice. "I mean, it's everybody's job to keep you alive", she then stated simply.

"Is that why you hate me?", Katniss questioned her and Johanna nodded. "Partly- you're also a little hard to swallow. The whole tacky romance drama and the defender of the hopeless act. Even though it's not an act. Which makes it even more unbearable- feel free to take any of this personally."

"You should've been the Mockingjay. Nobody else would tell you what to say", Katniss suddenly stated. "But nobody likes me", Johanna told her honestly.

"They're afraid of you."

Johanna looked ag one of the photos of Katniss family while she spoke, "Maybe here- but in the Capitol you're the only thing they are scared of."

She then took another photo on her hands and Katniss spoke, "It's just stuff my family brought."

Johanna nodded before she slowly took the black pearl from Katniss nightstand.

"It's from Peeta", Johanna stated and Kathryn could remember when Peeta gave her this pearl in the arena. Katniss nodded, "Yeah."

Johanna sighed deeply before she sadly smiled at Katniss, "They messed us up pretty good, didn't they?"