Tortured but Together (A Hunger Games Fanfiction) [UNDER EDITING]

Chapter Thirty-Eight

A/N: Usual PSA that the Hunger Games characters belong to Suzanne Collins and not to me. Also, we're in the final stretch of book 1 now!! And now, chapter 38!!

(Katniss POV)
There's only one person who could be at the door. And I doubt he's just here to discuss the weather. Trembling, I get up. All of this is happening because of me, and I'm determined not to run away anymore.

When I get to the door, I open it, and see President Snow and practically a whole army of peacekeepers. "I assume you know the reason for my visit, Miss Everdeen."

Show no fear, don't bow down, don't give up your wings. "Yes. I have a pretty good idea why you're here. I'm sure you'll still take it upon yourself to tell me though."

He walks a bit farther into the room. "You do still have quite the wit, Miss Everdeen. It's an admirable trait to be so cheeky, even in the face of danger. It shows a certain...strength of character."

"You say that like it's a bad thing sir, I thought you found strength of character admirable. Or at least more interesting than spineless obedience." I'm surprised by how steady my voice is; it wasn't that long ago that I would be terrified to speak to President Snow like this. It's probably that I've faced death so many times that I've learned to stop being afraid, that's probably why I'm acting as recklessly as I am.

Peeta and Annie walk in, drawn to the sound of our argument. Maybe they're here to stop me from saying something so treasonous that it'll get us all executed. Then again, the looks on their faces suggest otherwise. Is it possible that this is what we were thinking all along; is it possible that we were all thinking that we need to take down President Snow?

"Miss Everdeen, I would suggest you choose your next words very carefully, or they may very well be your last. You would make a very good avox, and, frankly, I'm growing tired of your insubordination. If you will not use your voice with more care, I'm afraid I must rob you of it altogether."

The room goes silent, we all know what happens to avoxes, and it isn't pretty. I could never talk again, never sing again, a large part of me would be gone. Still, shouldn't I be willing to sacrifice that much to bring him down?

Before I'm given a chance to answer, Annie speaks up. Sweet, caring, anxious Annie. "You do that and you'll just prove the districts right that you're a monster. It's the coward's way out, to silence your opponents like that."

"And what exactly do you plan to do Miss Cresta? You're hardly that valuable to me, the only reason I've kept you around is because you haven't been much of a bother. It wouldn't cause me to lose sleep at night to order one of my peacekeepers to put a bullet through your skull."

Quietly, I whisper, "I am the Mockingjay, and I will not be silenced." Then, raising my voice much louder, I repeat myself. "I am the Mockingjay, and I will not be silenced. You torture us and bomb us and send our children to die in the Hunger Games. If you say you're so determined to take us down, then that's fine, I'll bring you down with me. I'm the girl on fire, and fire always melts snow."

Peeta and Annie each put a hand on my shoulder, and I can tell that they stand with me. It's not true that I'm all alone; I don't need a whole army behind me to make a change.

"I know that district 13 abandoned you, without them, there's nothing to stop me from silencing the three of you for good."

Peeta speaks up next. "I'm the Mockingjay too, I may just be the boy with the bread to you, but I'm more than that. You bombed district 12, you murdered my family, and I'll never be able to sleep at night knowing that I'm standing by while you keep committing atrocities. Panem will rise, and we'll end your games once and for all. We're done playing nice."

President Snow lets out a dark chuckle. "And how exactly do you plan to do that? You have no weapons, no army, you are powerless."

Annie raises her chin up and meets his gaze head on. "We're only powerless if we let you take away our power. We've survived enough nightmares and met enough demons that we're far from weak. You've turned us into fighters, and I can't speak for Katniss or Peeta but I'm determined to see this through to the end."

Then, she whistles the four note mockingjay tune. Rue's tune, the one I haven't heard in so long. And while she does that, she raises her three fingers to the sky. It means admiration, it means respect, it means goodbye to someone you love...

Not more than five seconds later, she's dragged out of the room by the peacekeepers, and I doubt we'll ever see her again. One more person hurt by President Snow's schemes, but also one more person who refuses to stand down, no matter what it costs.

"Now do you two see what you've done? Poor Miss Cresta, brought into a fight she could never win. Brought into a fight that will be her end. Do you see now Miss Everdeen? Do you see what consequences come from your actions?"

Peeta wraps his arm around me tightly, seeming to think that if he lets go then he'll never see me again. "We won't defend a murderer, we won't defend the actions of a monster. Go ahead and make us martyrs, it'll just give district 13 one more reason to bring you and your precious Capitol tumbling to the ground until it's nothing more than a pile of rubble, just like district 12!"

"Mr. Mellark, I was hoping you would be the sensible one in this whole endeavor. I remember that our first meeting after the quarter quell you told me that we should stay at peace. You told me that no war would be worth the cost. So what do you say now, is there any price you won't pay to see this thing through to the end?"

"You'll kill us either way, I know that. You'd be seen as a coward if you didn't. So, since my fate is already sealed, I'm determined to go down fighting. Until the moment I take my last breath, I will keep fighting to free Panem from your cruel grip. And that President Snow, that is a promise."

President Snow's face looks about 17 different shades of red and purple, he's furious, and it wouldn't take a genius to be able to tell it. "And what of you Miss Everdeen, are you so determined to remain a fool? Are you so determined to keep playing this game? I've seen real war, I've witnessed things that would make your worst nightmares seem like a walk in wonderland in comparison. You and Mr. Mellark are children, foolish children who can't seem to learn that their disobedience will only cause them more pain."

I glare at him with the angriest look I can muster. He thinks we're children, does he? We were never aloud to be children, right from the start we had to fight to survive. He thinks that we don't know pain and suffering? Our whole district, the only home we've ever known is gone. And I have no doubt that the bones of all those who weren't fortunate enough to escape still lie scattered on the streets. Nobody still there would bother to give them a proper burial, but it's not like it would matter anyway. District 12 is gone, and all that's left is a gravesite.

"You call us children, you call us weak, and yet you send us to die in the games. You call us young, you call us foolish, but the fact is we never had a chance to be fools; if we ever tried to be then we would have died a million times over. You say that you've seen things we can't imagine, that we don't know what real war and loss is like? I stood by Rue while she died, and she was only twelve. Just like my sister."

"Miss Everdeen, I would highly advise you shut your mouth now, while you're still physically capable of it, in fact, if I were you I would...."

But I don't let him finish. I, Katniss Everdeen, a girl from the seam, from the bombed down district, interrupt the President of Panem. "I heard you tell your peacekeepers to bomb district 13, I heard you tell them to leave no survivors. So I have a message for you President Snow, and you're going to hear it whether you want to or not."

He scoffs, but I don't quiet down. Sing your song Mockingjay, sing your song for all those before you who never had the chance, I tell myself. "You can torture us, bomb us, and burn our districts to the ground. But do you see that? Do you see how many people stand against you now? Fire is catching, and if we burn, you burn with us!"