We end up going to the woods before we go. Cressida wanted to see it. Then I mention the lake that I once met Bonnie and Twill at. Where I learned to swim. I later cursed myself. Why did I mention that? Of course they wanted a look.

So we hike the hour's walk to get there, then, finally, sit down and eat our lunch on the rocks beside the water, reflecting off the sunny blue sky.

I drink basically all my flask water as everyone else eats. My appetite never recovered from the last games. Then I feel Pollux nudging me. He gestures up to he birds in the sky. I instantly recognise them.

"Yeah," I nod and smile. "That's a mockingjay."

He smiles widely and lets out a low whistle. They copy it, one bird to the other, until the whole sky is singing.

"Now they'll never shut up," Gale rolls his eyes.

"How about you shut up?" I snap at him, turning to Pollux.

And suddenly, he's gesturing to me again. Words... coming out of a mouth...?

"You want me to sing?" I finally make sense of the mixed messages. He nods.

I try to think of a song. There's a few that are circulating my brain, all tributes to my father, but I know that the one I choose will drive the Capitol crazy.

"Are you, are you, coming to the tree?

Where they strung up a man, they say who murdered three

Strange things did happen there, no stranger would it be

If we met, at midnight, in the hanging tree

Are you, are you, coming to the tree?

Where a dead man called out, for his love to flee

Strange things did happen there, no stranger would it be

If we met, at midnight, in the hanging tree

Are you, are you, coming to the tree?

Where I told you to run, so we'd both be free

Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it be

If we met, at midnight, in the hanging tree

Are you, are you, coming to the tree?

Wear a necklace of hope, side by side with me

Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it be

If we met, as midnight, in the hanging tree."

I stop, slowly panting as the mockingjays start to copy the song. Well at least-

Oh. Oh no. About three metres away from me, Cressida and Castor stand. Cressida's in glee and Castor's got his helmet with cameras on either side on. I curse internally.

"That was brilliant!" Cressida grinned. "Where do you come up with this stuff?"

"I wasn't doing it for the cameras," I say, lowering my head. But I remember how I learned it clear as day in my head.

My father had been singing to Gale, newborn Rory and me when Gale asked him to sing something that wasn't some 'stupid soppy love song'. I had laughed as my father shook his head.

So he sung us that song. A song that defied the Capitol. It was still a love song, but Gale didn't care. Neither of us did.

That was when my mother got home. She had yelled at my father and scared the three of us to death. She had scared us to death, then spoke more softly, telling us to forget every word.

So, of course, from then, every word was, from that day on, branded into my brain.

As we start to leave the woods, Gale taps me on the shoulder. "I remember that day. The day that mother shouted at us, that father sung us that song."

I looked down. "I miss him, Gale. I miss him so much. And I've tried to hide it all these years but..."

I trail off as he lifts my head up. "Willow... I get it. You've lost the two most important people in your life."

"He was just buried away," I admit. "I had buried him under all the pent up emotions that I'd felt going into the games. But today... he came back up."

"Come on," Gale puts an arm round my shoulders. "I know you and I fight a lot but I don't like seeing you like this, Willow. You should know that."

I decide not to answer. And when we split up in the hovercraft, I'm still silent. But I don't like seeing him like I am, either.

☘︎☘︎☘︎

I'm sitting in the dining hall eating with Rory and Prim when Boggs comes to see me. "Willow, you're wanted in command."

I look to my brother and his (probably by now) girlfriend. They both mouth "bye" to me and I wave before getting up and following Boggs.

When we get to command, I hear a voice I instantly recognise.

"Tonight, we have received reports of derailed trains, of grainaries on fire, and of a savage attack, on the hydroelectric dam in District Five."

Austin sits alone on a seat, camera pointed at him. His eyes are dark and gloomy, his hair carefully styled back and a silver suit sits on his body. "Oh, what have they done to you?" I whisper to myself, my hand covering my mouth.

"I'm begging for restraint, and decency," he goes on in a monotone. But his eyes are ever so slightly teary.

Suddenly, I see Beetee, with Gale sat beside him. We lock eyes for a second before the former speaks in a low voice. "We interrupt your regularly scheduled horse manure, to being you..."

Suddenly, it's not Austin but me on the screen, and I'm singing and looking at the ashes of Twelve.

"...Coming to the tree

Where they strung up a man, they say who murdered three..."

"That's it, that's our footage!" Coin says urgently.

"Beetee's in," Plutarch adds.

And, just as quick as I arrived, Austin comes back on. But he's distracted. "Willow...?" He asks.

"He sees it, he sees our propo," Coin says quickly. Then I'm back on screen.

"...Strange things did happen here no stranger would it be..."

Austin comes back with his eyes glossy. "Willow, are you there?"

"Austin," I say in a whispery voice, running forwards.

Suddenly, Ceasar Flickerman, who is there but off camera, speaks up. "Austin, please continue, you were telling us about these savage attacks."

"Yeah," Austin looks down. "The attack on the dam, was a callous, and inhuman act of destruction-"

"Where a dead man called out, for his love to flee..."

The screen quickly flashes from me to Austin. He's nearly crying by now. "Think about it. How will this end? What will be left? No one can survive this. Not here in the Capitol, not anywhere in the Districts..."

Suddenly, his face changes, like he's going to say something important. "They're coming, Willow! They're gonna kill everyone! And in District Thirteen you'll be dead by morning!"

They try to pull him away before he delivers this, but it fails as we've already heard every word. The screen quickly switches to the Capitol seal.

But not before I get to see a small spatter of blood.

"He's warning us, that was a warning," Haymitch says immediately.

"Yes it was," Boggs' eyes are still fixed on the screen.

I turn, a few tears on my face. "We have to get him out before they kill him-"

"Is there anything in the air?" Coin asks. Clearly my worries are not priority.

"Nothing on doppler, ma'am," somebody at the controls replies.

"He was in the mansion, he could've over heard something," Coin points out.

"Possibly," Plutarch nods, face going white.

Coin looks from him to Beetee to Boggs to me. "It's time for an air raid drill."

A lever is pulled and suddenly, an alarm is going off. There's a woman on the intercom, speaking urgently. "This is a code red alert. Please proceed to your nearest stairwell and descend to level forty."

I run out of command and down a stairwell that, already, multiple people are cramming into. I, however, run to the dining hall first. "Prim! Vick! Posy? Rory!"

I have to make sure they're okay.

"Blast doors will be sealed in six minutes."

"PRIM! RORY!"

I join a line of people headed for the bunker. Maybe they're already there, who knows? I try to remain calm, but I can't, this is impossible.

I run down the stairs as fast as I can, when suddenly, the first bomb hits. It must've done something to some pipes because soon, I am soaked in water.

Finally, the blast doors are in sight and I run through them, arriving in the bunker. I remember that, ages back when we first arrived in Thirteen, Coin told me that the Hawthorne's and the Everdeen's beds are together. So at least I'll know if everyone's alright.

I run through the big room, looking for the tag on the beds that say Hawthorne - Everdeen.

"Willow!"

Finally, I see Mrs Everdeen, my mother, Vick and Posy sitting on the beds labelled with our names. Gale and Katniss will be along soon, as they were still in command when I left. But they weren't who I was worried about.

Where was Prim and Rory?

"Where's Rory? And Prim!" I burst out.

My mother tells me in a quiet voice. "We thought they went to find you."

"Blast doors will close in two minutes."

"They must still be on the stairs," my mother concludes.

"There's no one on the stairs-" I begin. And I know this is true. And suddenly, also, I know the reason why they're not there.

"They went back for the cat!"

I run back away from them as I see Katniss run towards me. I ignore her, though, as she stares at me weirdly.

I run out the blast doors and ignore the yelling guards, then run halfway back up the stairs.

"Prim! PRIM! RORY!"

I get drenched again but I don't care. My little brother and my (practical) little sister have to be okay. "PRIM!"

"Blast doors will close in thirty seconds."

They're not going to make it- "RORY! PRIM!"

"Willow!"

Suddenly, I hear her voice, and I see her, Rory and Gale running down the stairs, Buttercup in Prim's hands. "Willow!"

"Blast doors will close in fifteen seconds."

"GET THE HELL DOWN HERE!" I shout to the three of them. I can't loose any of them.

"Blast doors will close in ten seconds.

"Ten..."

"COME ON!"

"Nine..."

"Eight..."

"Seven..."

"HOLD THE DOORS!"

"Six..."

But they were already shutting-

"Five..."

"Hold the doors!" I shout again.

"Four..."

Prim, Gale and Rory are running wildly, just down the stairs.

"Three..."

Prim runs through.

"Two..."

Rory and I follow her-

"One."

Gale slips through just as the doors bang shut together.

"Blast doors now sealed. Evacuation complete."

I held Prim and Rory by the arms, shouting. "You went back for the cat? What were you thinking?!"

"We couldn't leave him!" Rory fights back.

"I wasn't going to!" Prim cries. "I couldn't live with myself!"

I pull them both into a hug, panting. "I know."

Suddenly, a blast explodes above us. Prim jumps and I try to console her, but it's no use. This is the nightmare never wanted.

"Let's go."

We go back to the bunker. I sit on the bed with Posy in my arms. Prim and Rory sit beside me and Gale on the other side of Rory. My mother, Vick and the other two Everdeens sit on the opposite bed.

Suddenly a blast so big comes that it blows out all the lights, and we have to turn on the lamps beside our beds. As the next round comes, I urgently speak up. "Prim, talk about something, anything."

She turns towards me. "They've promoted me at the hospital. They're training me to be a doctor."

I speak encouragingly. "They'd be stupid not to." She's really growing up. I don't know whether to cry because I'm sad or smile because I'm happy. Everyone around me is changing.

For better or for worse.