Hunger Games - From the Ashes

Chapter Six - District 8

The steps I took were cautious and silent. I looked at everyone, old and young, children to the wise of years. Ill and injured and well. All in one. It also dawned on me that they were all in here because of the Capitol and Me. I started all of this, I stoked a unstable fire and these people paid the price. Now I was supposed to 'Inspire them'. Nurses were comforting their families, friends and neighbours. Breath, In and out, In and out. I needed to cry and wanted to cry and turn everything back so that this would never happen.

They began to notice that I was there, slowly the able stood staring in awe that I was here. Why? I was nobody special. I was just a girl with a loud mouth and a attitude. It became silent and more people stood to see me properly.

"Lily Mellark." I turned around and saw a confused yet in wonder a girl about the same age as me. "What are you doing here?" She asked

"I..I came to see you. All of you." I told her

"What about the baby?" Another woman asked I looked at her in pity. Peeta's lie, the one he hoped would save us but didn't. Suddenly it didn't see so funny anymore. They looked to the two of us as hope I couldn't bare to say it was made up.

"I lost it." I told her.

"Are you fighting Lily?" A boy maybe a year or so younger than me with a gun on his shoulder and a bleeding wound on his neck. Made me face him. "You here to fight with us?" I had no idea why people wanted me to be the face or why I was chosen, but the small things of protecting Rosie and Kat made them see something different in me. Maybe it is what Peeta sees in me. Which turned my frame of mind.

"I am...I will." He kissed three fingers and raised them up to me in support soon everyone was copying and showing their support of me. These people chose me to lead and fight for them. For them, for Peeta and for my family I wouldn't let them down.

This just got real

A little girl ran up and wrapped her arms around me. I returned it and looked down as she looked up. I saw tears usher in her eyes. I crouched down to her level.

"Hey." I wiped away the tears. "Don't be sad."

"They want to hurt us." She whimpered, so I made her look at me gently.

"I won't let that happen." She hugged me once again and I looked to Gale and Kat. I took the little girl back to her guardian and we left the make shift hospital.

"Mom's gonna be proud of you when she sees the footage." Gale wrapped one arm around me "Will this play in the districts?" he asked Cressida.

"It'll be tattooed on their eyes." She replied

"We've got a problem." Boggs stoped us in our tracks

"What kind of problem?" Kat wondered

"Incoming bombers from the north. We need to find cover now." Gales hand shofted down to grab my hand.

"There's a bunker in here." Why were they coming? I thought there was nothing left to bomb. That what it was somewhat less hazardous. We followed Paylor as the siren rang out. We followed her down the corridors.

"Straight ahead and down the stairs." She told us, But I diverted when I heard gunfire. I broke off from my brother and team as I ran to see what was going on. Boggs yelled at me to get back but I looked out of a massive hole in one of the walls. Some of the people hid behind a car and were taking shots at Hovercrafts. In return they bombed them. Gale tackled me down covering me from the blast.

Ringing in my ears shocked me as I stood up trying to gain composure. Everything was muffled as my ears hadn't caught up with the rest of me.

"Lily, are you okay?" Boggs asked it sounded like he was in a tunnel. I shook my head to see if that helped. When it did come back I heard the crumbling of stone and I looked up the tower that once had stood was falling towards us.

"Move!" Gale gripped my arm and we ran in the opposite direction of the crash. When he let go I ran to another opening to get a look at what had just happened. The hovercrafts were circling back around.

"They're going after something towards the south." Gale breathed

"That's towards the hospital. The circling back around. Come on." I took off to try and get to higher ground. We ran into one derelict building and up the stairs. Just as we got to the open, their fired at soldiers on the roof tops. One had gone past and I trailed it till the second came back firing almost catching us. An explosion caused a huge cloud of smoke as I realised what the target was.

"That's the hospital. They're targeting the hospital. All those people." I drew one of my red arrows, now was the time to see Beetee's hard work. I pulled back and settled my breathing waiting for the moment. they started shooting again and just as the got close I fired as did my brother. The one I shot crashed into the other and they sent it into the remaining tower that stood. Once I was sure it was down I took Gales hand and we headed back for the others .

"Oh!" I held my stomach in horror seeing the blaze of where the hospital and people once were.

"Help them! Help them! Get them out!" I shouted running closer. But Gale pulled me back into him. Tears began to show as I thought of all those innocent people who had been murdered in cold blood. They didn't do anything wrong.

"Lily! Lily can you tell everyone what you're seeing right now? Lily, what do you want to say." Cressida called to me as Gale let me go. I watched the roaring blaze a moment longer before turning around slowly. Cressida pointed to Pollux's camera.

"I want the rebels to know that I'm alive. That I'm in district 8 where the Capitol just bombed a hospital. Filled with unarmed men, women and children. There will be no survivors. If you think for one second that the Capitol will ever treat us fairly, you're lying to yourselves. Because we know who they are and what they do. This is what they do! We have to fight back!" I turned to Castor.

"I have a message for President Snow. You can torture us, bomb us, kidnap the people we love and burn our districts to the ground. But do you see that." I pointed to the fire behind me

"Fire is catching and if we burn, you burn with us!" I aimed my sighed back at the slaughter of fire and my knees buckled in.