VIPER

31.

THEY had closed the curtains and sat back. The sound of a truck approached and they peaked out. Peacemakers made their way towards the building they were in previously.

Gunfire started and some of them fell back dead and some started shooting back.

"It's the Leegs," Finnick observed.

The Peacemakers fired a missile and the building exploded and crumbled to the ground.

The group looked away from the window as a siren went off along with the Capitol anthem.

Caesar Flickerman appeared looking serious, "Good afternoon. I'm Caesar Flickerman here with our continuing coverage of the defensive Capitol. Today as our Peacekeepers valiantly hold off the rebels, our story takes a surprising twist."

A video of the group popped up, "Katniss Everdeen, our once favourite daughter, has infiltrated the city with some of the Victors whose names are all too familiar. Finnick Odair, Lilith Viper and Peeta Mellark. Hmm. Clearly, some alliances don't last forever." The man said as the video showed Peeta pushing Mitchell into the oil and Finnick holding him back.

"Take a look at what happened just a moment ago when our Peacekeepers cornered Katniss Everdeen and her band of foolish rebels. Whatever arrogance brought this treacherous girl back to us, you are about to witness a great victory, not only for the Capitol but for Panem."

The video of the shooting and the building being blown up was shown and Lilith shook her head.

"So there you have it. Katniss Everdeen, the Girl on Fire. A girl who inspired so much violence seems to have met a violent end herself. Stay tuned for more information. Caesar Flickerman. Thank you." Caesar's pink head disappeared.

"So now that we're dead, what are we going to do?" Gale asked.

"Isn't it obvious? The next move is to kill me." Peeta replied, "I murdered one of our squad members. Katniss was right. I'm a mutt and it's only a matter of time before I snap again. I'm not in control. I need a nightlock pill, so I can die when I need to."

"If it gets to that point, I'll kill you myself," Gale replied.

A while later, they were eating some of the food that was in the house.

"I don't think I ever understood the Capitol until now," Gale said as he rolled a sweet in his hand, "You eat like this, you believe anything."

The anthem played again and they looked up. A canon boomed as Cressida's face showed. Then Castor's. And then everyone else's.

Finnick chuckled at his and Lilith rolled her eyes at hers.

"So Katniss Everdeen, a poor, unstable girl with nothing but a small talent with a bow and arrow is dead, "Snow said, "Not a thinker. Not a leader. Simply a face plucked from the masses. Was she valuable? She was extremely valuable to your rebellion because you have no vision. No true leader among you. You call yourself an alliance but we all saw what that means. Your soldiers are at each other's throats."

The video of Snow started breaking up before Coin appeared, "For those of you that don't know me please allow me to introduce myself. I am President Alma Coin, leader of the rebellion. I have interrupted a broadcast from your president in which he attempted to defame a brave young woman. A face picked from the masses, he called her, as if a leader - a true leader could be anything else.

"I had the privilege of knowing a small-town girl from the Seam in District 12 who survived the Hunger Games and the Quarter Quell, and rose up and turned a nation of slaves into an army. Dead or alive, Katniss Everdeen will remain the face of this revolution. She will have died for nothing," Coin said, her voice breaking.

"I had no idea I meant so much to her," Katniss said.

"Her vision and our will be realised. A free Panem with self-determination for all. And in her memory, we will all find the strength to rid Panem of its oppressors. Thank you. And be safe." The woman faded away and a picture of Katniss showed next, with the Mockingjay whistle and a banner saying REMEMBER THE MOCKINGJAY.

"Snow's in his mansion," Katniss said as she stood, "Where is that?" She placed the Holo on the table and they crowded around.

"That's us," Cressida pointed, "That's the city circle. It's at least 70, 75 blocks north."

"75 blocks?" Lilith asked in disbelief.

Cressida hummed and Katniss spoke, "Nobody knows we're alive. This is our chance. These buildings, do these look over Snow's gardens?"

"I..."

"They do," Messalla answered.

"If he goes outside at all I could get a clear shot," Katniss nodded.

Jackson stopped her train of thought, "We're getting ahead of ourselves here. Whether they're looking for us or not, we're pinned down. Hit that button. Scan for pods."

Thousands of red dots appeared on the hologram.

"Just about every ten steps," Finnick sighed.

"Yeah, that doesn't even show the new ones. We can't go anywhere in the streets," Gale said.

"And the rooftops are just as bad," Lilith added.

Pollux tapped Castor and motioned downwards.

"There might be another way," Castor said.