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33.

THERE was nothing but the quiet, rhythmic sound of water falling as Katniss sat on watch. An unusual sound caused her to look up.

She stood quietly and slipped past where Finnick and Lilith lay. She accidentally brushed the woman's foot and she inhaled deeply as she awoke.

"Sorry," Katniss apologised.

"It's fine I'm a light sleeper," Lilith mumbled. The sound echoed once more and Lilith looked into the abyss, "What was that?"

"I don't know. I'm going to look," Katniss replied. The girl used the Holo's torch to try and see what was causing the noise. It echoed louder and Peeta gasped awake.

"Katniss?"

A series of light bangs and hisses awoke the rest of the group.

"What is that?" Jackson asked.

"We gotta go we gotta get out of here now!" Peeta said hurriedly, "Come on they released the mutts!"

"Holmes, what's the fastest way out?" Katniss asked.

The man instructed them to go and they dropped back down into the water carefully. Gale fired an incendiary arrow and it illuminated the tunnel.

They advanced cautiously as hisses echoed. Lilith pulled the two katanas from her back as Gale fired another arrow around the corner.

They waded through the waist-high water before Pollux climbed through a small opening in the wall. He motioned for them to wait as he checked it out.

They held their breaths as he walked out of view but exhaled when he motioned for them to come.

It was a small opening so only one could go at a time. As Lilith walked through she saw Jackson searching the area suspiciously. The older woman was about to come through before she turned and shone her light on the path.

White Capitol mutts screeched as they attacked her and one tried to climb through.

Katniss fired an arrow and as it collided with the stone it exploded, throwing her back.

They ran as quickly as they could through the small tunnel before the mutts burst through an opening and attacked Castor.

"Castor!"

Shots were fired and the mutts screeched. Katniss fired another explosive arrow and the tunnel blew.

"Come on! Move!" Finnick yelled.

They came upon a ladder and they ascended. Katniss fired arrows into each tunnel and they all caught on fire.

The group were struggling. These things weren't responding to gunfire and that was the main thing they had.

Lilith swung at one and stabbed it in the heart. She turned and advanced towards another that had Finnick pinned down she shoved the katana through its skull and Finnick rolled it off of him.

The two fought beside each other until they saw Peeta and Katniss struggling.

Finnick went over to Katniss and Lilith to Peeta. She killed the mutts around him and helped him up.

"Go, go, go, go, go!" Cressida yelled as she came through one of the tunnels. They had seemingly lost her a bit behind.

"Katniss!" Finnick threw his trident and it pierced the abdomen of a mutt he advanced towards the ladder and urged Lilith to go up

"Finnick!" A mutt dragged her back into the water. It clawed at her viciously and water rushed down her throat as her mouth involuntarily opened to scream.

A moment later it fell limp and Finnick pulled her out, "Go! I'm right behind you." A mutt tackled him into the water and he raised his knife.

"Lilith come on!" Katniss yelled.

Finnick got to the ladder and urged her to go up higher. She looked over the landing as Finnick climbed up. A mutt jumped up and grabbed him.

"Finnick!"

They dragged him into the water and his screams echoed through the tunnel. The noxious scent of metallic blood flooded the air and the appalling sound of tearing flesh echoed.

"Finnick!"

"Nightlock. Nightlock. Nightlock," Katniss dropped the Holo into the chaos and it exploded.

"Come on, come on. Keep moving!"

They exited into the underground train tunnels and were ambushed by Peacekeepers. They ran forward and fired shots. Suddenly Holmes disintegrated before Lilith's eyes.

"Keep going," she told Cressida, who had stopped. As they ran they avoided the beaming lights that were determined to kill them.

The concrete cracked behind them and Lilith ran faster. Her legs burned before she stopped and saw Katniss urging Peeta to continue.

"I'm a mutt!"

"We have to keep going!"

"Leave me I'm a mutt!

"Look at me! Look at me." Peeta looked up at her and she kissed him. That only made Lilith's heart hurt more and she turned away.

The two got up and they continued to run. As they rounded the corner, Cressida yelled, "I know where we are. I know a place. Up those stairs."

They mounted the steps and came up onto the city. Lilith passed a poster of Finnick and tears streamed down her face.

"Keep going," Cressida urged. They ran into a square and she banged on a door.

"Someone's coming," Peeta said.

As the door opened they ran in quickly.

Lilith immediately raised her katana to the strange-looking woman, "No, Lilith it's ok. It's ok."

She lowed her weapon as the door shut.

"Tigress do you remember me?" Cressida asked, "I'm with Plutarch's underground. We need your help."

"Clear," Gale reported.

The woman glanced at Lilith and Katniss before walking towards another part of the room. She opened a hatch in the ground.

"I know you. You're a stylist in the Games," Katniss said.

The woman took down her hood, "Until Snow decided I wasn't pretty enough anymore."

"I'm here to kill him," Katniss told her.

"We're here to kill him," Lilith corrected. The woman smiled and they descended into the basement. Lilith sat on one of the many crates and held her head in her hands.

As tears welled up in her eyes, her breathing became fast. Numbness rushed over her, and all she could do was sit there in excruciating anguish as if her heart had been wrenched from her chest and slashed into a million tiny pieces.

As she tried to disguise her feelings, bile swelled in her throat, but the obvious quiver in her breath and hands gave her away instantly. The sound of his terrified and pained screams rang in her ears, and the moments leading up to them played out in her head in an endless loop.

"Lilith?"

"Lilith?" Katniss approached her and touched her shoulder.

"Get off of me! This is your fault! Everything is your fault! He's dead because of you!"

"I know," Katniss whispered, "I know. I kill- I killed them. I killed Finnick. I'm sorry Lilith, Pollux. I'm so sorry."

"You should be," Lilith replied mindlessly. Her jaw clenched as Peeta talked to Katniss. She turned around and walked into the corner of the room to silently mull over the past events.