The Rebellion

The Mockingjay

Even in another district, is still hard to go to sleep with the nightmares waking you up. I can't imagine Posy. The Games reappear in our heads and there's nothing we can do. I slide out of bed and set my feet on the cold floor of our room. My mother and Prim share the same bed, I get my own since we don't all fit and who can sleep with my while I trash around because of my nightmares. Peeta comes to mind, he's the only one who can help me sleep. The only thing I wish for right now is his comfort. I walk to my wooden dresser against the wall next to our closet filled with all the stuff that surveyed the bombing in 12, and take out a small box that holds the token that Peeta gave me from the arena. A pearl. I sit with my legs crossed on my warm bed and find myself rubbing the small soft surface of the pearl. I miss Peeta. That's all can think of now. What kills me the most is that he think we're all dead. That I'm dead.

"Katniss?" I hear a voice whisper softly to me. Prim's awake. "Are you okay?"

"Yes. Just nightmares. Go back to bed." I say. But Prim crawls out of bed and sits next to me with her feet crossed. I stare at the pearl as I feel Prim's hands on my shoulder and then on my hands.

"You're cold." She says and pulls a blanket around us, bringing heat to my body. I've missed this moments that I had with Prim. I remember when she was little, her shirt used to stick out like a duck's tail and she wore her hair in French braids. Now, she's being trained to become a nurse along with Posy and bunch of other girls that surveyed the bombing and other's from District 13. She usually now wears her hair in braided bun or in ponytail with a small braid attached to it, or maybe sometimes she lets it fall back in waves down her back. But this moment now, is feeling like the day I volunteered to take Prim's place in the games.

"Is there anything wrong?" Prim asks me in a worried tone. I shake my head.

"You can tell me. I'm your sister. I can keep secrets from mother." Prim says. I hesitate.

"I'm going to agree on becoming the Mockingjay." I say.

"In which way?"

"Like, I want to. . . But I also feel forced too." I say as I close my hand into a fist with the pearl inside. "It's the only way I can help the rebels defeat Snow. But I'm afraid that if we do win, Peeta would be executed for being a traitor." Prim thinks it over.

"I don't think you know how important you are to the cause, Katniss." Prim says. "You're very important. And important people get what they want, and if you want to keep Peeta safe from the rebels, you can. You can demand Peeta for immunity and they have to agree to it. But the only problem is, how do you know their going to keep their word?" That worries me.

"I'll have to do it in public. To make that happen, everyone must know I'm alive. I'll make Coin announce it to the entire population of District 13." I say. Prim nods.

"That's good. It'll be much harder for them to back out on their promises." Prim says. I smile.

"I should come to you for advise more often, little duck." I say.

"I wish you would." Prim unwraps herself from the blanket and climbs back to her bed with mother.

"Katniss?"

"Yeah?" I ask as I lie back in bed.

"If you can demand for anything. . . Can you ask for a new cat?" Prim asks me. I know she knows that Buttercup died in the bombing, but I didn't think she would want another cat.

"Anything for you, Prim." I say.

"Thank you, Katniss." Prim says. "You should get some sleep." And I do. I wake up the next morning at 6am where I take my time getting dressed in gray pants and white shirt tucked in like everyone else's. Breakfast starts exactly at 7:00am and I must be at Command by 7:30am. Just like it says on my schedule. In District 13, the citizens are put on a strict schedule everyday printed on their forearm. On the schedule, it shows what that person needs to do. It shows the specific activity, and the time showed in 24-hour time. Certain activities that are scheduled every morning are breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Other activities are the Command, where citizens of District 13 write down what they want changed or added to the schedule. The schedule also depends on the age. If you are a child or a teenager, you go to school where you study classes on history or other subjects. That's where Prim, Posy, Vick, Rory and other kids that survive the bombing are forced to go. If you are old enough to work, you work in the kitchen, or the hospital. Maybe even on their underground farms. During the day, you are arranged a strict 30 minute down time with family. People are not allowed to have outside pets, as a precaution. But since I'll become the Mockingjay, I'll demand a cat for Prim. My mother, Prim and I leave our room and head down to breakfast where citizens of 13 are already dining. I see breakfast is its usual dependable self. A bowl of hot grain, a cup of milk, and a small scoop of fruit or vegetables. Today, mashed turnips. All of it comes from their underground farms. Mother, Prim and I slide our ID card, which contains some sort of ID number, in front of a sensor and slide our trays along the metal shelf and receive our serving of food. Serving size is based on your age, height, body type, health and amount of physical labor required by your schedule. The people from 12 have gotten slightly larger portions than the natives of 13 in an effort of bringing us up to weight. People are starting to look healthier. Prim, mother and I set our trays in the table that has being assigned with the Hawthornes. We start digging on our food as Gale and his family walk in. Gale sets down his tray next to me after a few minutes. Post seats in front of Prim who seats next to me, Vick and Rory across the table and Hazelle next to my mother. I finish my turnips and in my mind I beg for more but I can't. I try not to stare at Gale's turnips but before I can look away he takes a spoonful of them and dumps them in my bowl.

"Happy?" Gale asks me with a playful smile.

"That's probably illegal." I say but I barely even listen to my own words since I'm already scooping up turnips. Gale shrugs and goes back to his bowl. District 13 has very strict rules about their food. Apparently, in the early days, there was some incident of food hoarding. If we don't finish our food and want to save it for later, we can't take out of the dining room. 10 minutes later, Prim, Posy, Vick and Rory leave the dining room along with other kids to attend school. My mother and Hazelle then leave to work at the hospital. Most women work there while men and other women work in the kitchen or in security. Others are forced to work in the underground farms. Gale and I are left alone with 10 minutes to spare.

"What do you have first?" Gale asks me.

"Command." I say remembering my schedule. "You?"

"Nuclear History Class." Gale answers.

"Would you walk me to Command?" I ask. The thought of facing Coin alone makes me nervous.

"All right. You know, if they don't throw me out before I even make it to the door." Gale says. We leave our trays on a pile with all the others and head out the dining room and down the hall to Command. I find Coin, Plutarch, Haymitch and Finnick assembled by the table along with all their people. I take a seat and luckily there's an empty seat next to me where Gale sits. The sight of him raises some eyebrows but no one throws him out.

"Welcome, Katniss." Coin says.

"Thank you." I say with a grin.

"How are you these days?" Plutarch asks me.

"Fine." I say. "Can I get a piece of paper and a pencil?" Coin personally hands me the supplies and everyone waits in silence while I write down my list.

1. Prim's cat.

2. Hunting.

3. Peeta's immunity.

4. Announced in public.

5. Gale.

The list is too small. Think. Shouldn't I be asking for more? My family? The people that made it alive? Gale's family? I suddenly feel my skin itch with ashes of the dead, my shoe making contact with a skull, the scent of rubble and fire. . . I close my eyes and my fingers star scribbling down something in the paper. I open my eyes and in wobbly words is written "KILL PRESIDENT SNOW"