Return to the Sea (Gale Hawthorne x OC)

Chapter 27

Sorry for the very long wait for this chapter. I think the song above fits this chapter in a way. If you're planning on watching Game of Thrones, don't watch the video, but play it and listen to the song if you want.
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When he pushed the button, a buzzing sound came from no where. I was so confused but I took a step back and turned around, running behind the others.

"I know where we are!" Cressida yelled. "I know a place. Up those stairs."

So, we went up those stairs. But this feeling inside of me started to come out of no where. I couldn't recognize it. When we reached the top of the stairs, a wanted sign with a picture of Finnick on it. My chest tightened as I saw it, but Gale put his his hand on my lower back and pushed me away from the screen.

We ran past allies and made it to this abandoned courtyard with pillars. On the pillars were wanted signs and pictures of all of us. We went across to a shop and Cressida started pounding on the door.

The feeling got stronger. I recognized it as fear. It got harder to breathe and I couldn't move. The voices started fading out and my heart started speeding up. My breathing became shallow and fast. I didn't know what to do.

Then Gale stood in front of me. He put a hand on my left cheek, the other being pressed against his neck, making me look up at him.

"Hey, your okay. Take deep breathes with me, alright?" He leaned his forehead against mine and started to take deep breathes.

I closed my eyes and focused on his breathing, trying to match mine with his. It took a while, but soon my breathing was normal and the fear I felt wasn't as strong but is still there. I then opened my eyes to see his grey orbs already looking at me. Then he leaned down and gave me a sweet kiss.

He pulled back and slipped his hand in mine and pulled me inside the shop. He left my side to go check and make sure it wasn't infested with peacekeepers.

"No, Katniss. It's okay. It's okay." Cressida said making Katniss put down her bow. "Tigris, do you remember me? I'm with Plutarch's underground. We need your help."

Tigris. That name sounded familiar. Then it hit me. Alexei talks fondly about her all the time. She looked at Cressida to Katniss. Then she slightly nodded her head and led us to the back of the shop.

She bent down and moved a rug away to reveal a hatch. She lifted the hatch up which led to stairs going down.

"I know you. You were a stylist in the Games." Katniss stated.

Tigris took off her hood. "Until Snow decided I wasn't pretty enough anymore."

"I'm here to kill him."

Tigris smiled slightly. Everyone started to make there way down, starting with Katniss. Since I was the last one down, behind Gale, Tigris lightly grabbed my arm making me turn towards her.

"You're Ceto, right?"

I nodded.

"Alexei talked very highly of you. Almost as if you were his daughter." She said.

"Is he..." I trailed off.

She nodded grimly. "The Capitol killed him after you were rescued. But before he died, he wanted me to give you this whenever I met you."

She reached in her pocket and pulled out a aqua sea glass bracelet. The one the little girl, Dylan, made. But, instead of the gold chain, it was back to its original leather. She handed it to me with a small smile.

"Thank you." I whispered.

I turned back towards the stairs and made my way down. Once I reached the floor, I looked back up to see the hatch closing. I turned around and saw that it was just filled with clothes and other materials. I made my way over to Gale and Cressida. I sat down against Gale's leg and leaned my head back against his knee, closing my eyes. Then I remembered that Finnick gave me something. I searched in my side pockets of my pants until I found it. I pulled it out to see Finnick's shark tooth necklace. We had found it on the beach once when we were younger collecting seashells and seaweed. He took it to his Games to which I believed saved him. Then, next to the shark tooth, was his wedding band attached to a chain.

"Gale's gonna need stitches." Cressida quietly stated.

I looked up put the two items back in my pocket and grabbed Gale's hand and squeezed it causing him to squeeze back.

"I made it up." Katniss said. "All of it. There is no special mission from Coin. There's only my plan. Everyone that's dead is dead because of me. I lied."

"We know. We all knew." Cressida confessed.

"The soldiers from 13?"

"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."

"I never meant for this to happen. I failed. I...I killed them. I killed Finnick. I'm sorry, Pollux, Ceto. I'm so sorry."

"Glimmer, Marvel, Mags...Clove, Wiress, Rue." Peeta spoke up. "What do all of those deaths mean? They I mean that our lives will never hours. 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 end all of this, all those deaths, they mean something. Cinna, Boggs, Castor, Jackson, Finnick. They chose this. They chose you."

Katniss nodded and sat next to Peeta. Soon enough, the adrenaline wore off making my arm start to sting. I got up and took my vest and jacket off.

"Let me have a look at that." Cressida said.

I let her have access to my arm. She nodded and didn't say anything. She got some water and poured it on some gauze before cleaning the wound. After it was clean, she wrapped it up and went to back to tending to Gale. I said a small thanks and walked over to a dark area. I pulled out a soft animal fur and sat down on it. I pulled out a knife and balanced it between my fingers, humming a soft lullaby my mom sang when I was little.
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The song above is the lullaby she hums