FIRE ON FIRE ( cato hadley! )

chapter forty-nine

——☆ FIRE ON FIRE
chapter forty-nine: underground

THE GROUP WATCHED in silence as the Capitol television screen faded to black, leaving them to process what they had just witnessed. Katniss. Peeta. Lilia. Cato. Gale. Cressida. Pollux. Finnick. All of them. They were Fallen Tributes now.

For a moment, the weight of it all hung in the air. Then, Gale Hawthorne broke the silence, "So now that we're dead, what are we gonna do?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Peeta asked, his voice shaking. "The next move is to kill me. I murdered one of our squad members..."

The boy paused before continuing.

"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.

Gale's words hung in the air for a moment before Lilia spoke up.

"We could use this," Lilia replied. "If they think we're dead, they won't be looking for us."

"You're right," Cato agreed. "We have an advantage now."

Katniss pulled out the holo, illuminating the space around them with its pale blue light. Looking around at the group, she then asked, "Where's Snow's mansion?"

"That's us," Cressida answered, pointing at the blinking dot. "That's the city circle. Snow's mansion is at least seventy...seventy-five blocks north."

"Seventy-five blocks?" Cato asked, tone filled with annoyance.

Cressida nodded, the glow of the holo reflecting off her sharp features. "Uh-huh. But nobody knows we're alive. This is our chance."

"So we're walking?" Katniss asked.

Lilia's gaze shifted back to the buildings around them on the map. Using her finger, she began to trace the lines of the Capitol architecture. Then, she pressed a button, and the map expanded, showing the surrounding area in full detail.

"It seems like our only option," Lilia answered.

"Hit that button," Jackson instructed, and the screen shifted, revealing a series red markers. "There's a pod just about every ten steps."

"That doesn't even show the new ones," Gale said with a sigh. "So, we can't go anywhere in the streets. And the rooftops are just as bad."

That's when they realized, the path was impossible to move through. The Capitol had turned its own city into a death trap. Messalla, who had been watching quietly, squinted at the screen, the gears turning in his mind.

"There might be another way," he said.

Lilia turned to him. "What are you thinking?"

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The underground tunnels were a huge maze of dark, winding paths, wet with moisture and coated in dirt. The air was thick with an unpleasant scent, and there was an eerie silence that clung to the isolated atmosphere.

Of course, it had to be the tunnels.

"My brother knows these tunnels really well," Messala muttered, his voice echoing off the walls. He turned to face his brother, who remained silent, eyes scanning the shadows. "He worked sanitation down here. Right after they made him an Avox..."

The group moved forward, their footsteps slow and careful.

"Took him five years to find his way outta here. He didn't see the sun once."

Cato Hadley walked close to Lilia, keeping a step ahead of her, but close enough that he constantly brushed his arm against hers. It was like he was watching, waiting, ready to shield her from whatever danger came their way.

"We're not going to get lost down here, are we?" Lilia whispered to him.

"No," Cato quickly answered.

A deep rumbling suddenly vibrated the ground, growing louder by the second. A train was coming. A Capitol train.

Cato's body went stiff in an instant. His hand shot out, gripping Lilia's waist and pulling her sharply toward him. The rest of the group followed behind the two as they moved toward a wall, blocking them from the sight of the Peacekeepers.

The blonde boy stood above her, wedging her between the wall and his body. Lilia pressed her back against the stone, her breath catching at the sudden closeness, but Cato didn't move.

"We're too exposed here."

When the train finally passed, Cato didn't step away. His chest rose and fell with heavy breaths, and then, without warning, he turned to face her, his hand still resting against the wall above her head. His intense gaze softened, just for her.

"Looks clear," Jackson announced, pulling their gaze from one another. "Everybody okay?"

The group nodded in confirmation.

"I know somewhere else we can go," Messalla spoke up, waving them over to a nearby door.

The group quickly followed, desperately wanting to escape the open area. After entering into a small passageway and climbing down a series of ladders, they soon found themselves in an even darker atmosphere. It was pitch back.

"Alright, everybody, we're gonna stop here for a bit and get some rest, yeah?" Jackson spoke, setting down her backpack. "I'll take first watch."

Without a word, the group settled into their makeshift camp in the tunnels.

As Cato moved over to help chain up Peeta, Lilia leaned against the cold stone wall, trying to make herself comfortable. But, the darkness pressed in too close, suffocating her. Her chest tightened, and her breath quickened as she struggled to keep her panic at bay.

The tunnels felt too much like the Capitol cells. Black, silent, and filled with the weight of her own fears. She wrapped her arms around herself, nails digging into her skin, trying to ground herself. She wasn't there. Not anymore.

Suddenly, a shadow moved beside her.

Finnick.

The boy slid down the wall until he was seated next to her, his eyes fixed ahead as if he were struggling to find the right words. For a moment, neither of them spoke, just sitting in the silence of the tunnels.

"I heard what the Capitol had planned for you, Finnick finally spoke, his voice barely above a whisper. "About being sold. Like I was."

Lilia froze.

Finnick turned to face her, his jaw clenched. "I won't let that happen to you, Lilia. Never. They did that to me, but they won't touch you..."

There was a moment of silence.

"Before they died, I promised your parents that I would protect you."

Lilia looked up at the boy, the mention of her parents coming as a shock to her.

"You're my family, Lil," Finnick continued, opening his arms. "I love you."

Without hesitation, Lilia leaned into Finnick's arms and spoke into his chest, "I love you, Finnick."

"We're going to make them pay for what they did," Finnick finished, his voice hardening. "All of it. For everything they took from us."

Slowly, Lilia nodded, her throat tight. "We're going to make them pay," she whispered, echoing his vow.

The anger in her eyes matched his. Finnick was right. She wouldn't let them take anything more from her, not after everything she had lost.