"My family?" I ask, not believing my ears.
"Yes," Alma assures me, "and they should be landing now. Best make your way to the hangar, Mr. Howell."
Hardly hiding my pure joy over the fact that my family is here safe, I practically sprint out of Command and to the elevators so that I may meet my family as soon as they touch ground.
I make it to the hangar and find my family looking rather tired as they step off of the aircraft. Not being able to hold back my happiness, I smile as wide as I can as I race toward them.
"Daniel!" my mother squeals, tears already pooling in her eyes.
"Mom!" I yell back, feeling the tears escape my eyes as well. I pull her into a huge embrace, and the rest of my family follows suit, gathering all around me. I can hardly breathe, but that doesn't matter right now. I hear multiple I love you's and I think that everyone is crying. After some time, everyone eventually lets go.
"Danny! Danny!" Maisie says, holding up her arms. Usually this means that she wants to ride on my back.
"No, Maisie, his back is very hurt-" my mother begins to tell her.
"No, I'm okay. I can take her," I assure her, and I pick up Maisie.
As we walk back to Command so that my family can be assigned a room and also their schedules, my father gives me a look. It's a look that means he needs to tell me something important, but now is definitely not the time.
We make it back to Command, but neither I nor Maisie need to go. My brother has barely said a word, which for him is weird. I brush it off, though. It's probably because District 13 is such a big change for him.
I let Maisie off of me and let her walk on her own. She grabs my hand, as she always does around people she doesn't know, and I decide to walk her back to my compartment. When we get inside, I rush to hide my Arena outfit in a drawer before Maisie can see it - I don't want her asking about the Games. Ever.
"Danny," Maisie begins, "I'm hungry."
"We'll go get some food in a minute. Right now I'm trying to find something," I reply.
"What?" Maisie asks.
"My book," I answer. It's more of a journal - my therapist gave it to me so I could write down good moments and remember them for when I have bad dreams and such. I wanted to write this all down, but no luck in finding it.
I look up to find Maisie on the floor.
"Uh...what are you doing?" I laugh.
"You didn't check under the bed," she says. Judging by her sigh a few moments later, I guess she didn't find it.
"It's okay," I tell her, "We'll find it later. Do you still want food?"
"Yeah! Yeah!" Maisie smiles. She eagerly takes my hand again as we walk down to the dining hall.
When we make it to the hall, I pick up Maisie so that she can see over the food counters. Maisie doesn't have a "calculated diet" yet, so that means she's allowed five pieces of food. She chooses some bread and fruit, as well as a cup of juice. In District 13, practically everyone knows who I am, though I would rather it not be that way. I ignore all of the weird glances as I sit down with Maisie.
Taking a gulp of juice, Maisie asks me between bites, "Where's Charlotte?"
Of all the things she could ask, it had to be about Charlotte. I sigh quietly. "She's in the Capitol. She'll be here soon."
"Really soon?" Maisie asks, getting excited.
"Really soon." I answer, even though I cannot be fully sure of that.
Charlotte POV
Nothing is real anymore. I can't feel my face, my body...nothing has any real substance to it. All of my senses are dull. I haven't seen my own reflection in days, and I know that I must have dropped at least another five pounds. My cheeks feel hollow. My legs are constantly weak and shaky.
I hate everyone. I hate them all for bringing me into this. I feel spite for my mother for bringing me into this god awful world. I feel spite for the Capitol for making me go into the Games. I even feel spite for Dan because he made me go along with his stupid plans. I hate him for it. I hate myself for it. None of this should have even happened.
If I could, I would pick myself up and just throw myself out of a window. However, since I am shackled to the bed yet again, I am forced to be subject to whatever horrible torture the Capitol wishes to inflict upon me. I can feel my blood boiling at just the thought of it.
If only the sun itself would just explode this whole planet, then maybe the suffering would end.
Dan POV
After being in my compartment for about fifteen minutes, Maisie falls asleep on the bed, so I put the covers over her and leave her be. I leave the compartment and go back to Command, making sure to lock my door behind me to keep Maisie safe.
I wait patiently outside the Command door, and it surprisingly isn't long before my family is allowed out of the room. I say hello to my family and whatnot, but quickly my father rushes them along while he stays back to talk to me.
"What is it?" I ask, becoming concerned.
"It's about Charlotte," my dad says.
"What about her?" I demand.
"Her father...he's dead..." my dad answers slowly.
"How did he die?" I ask solemnly.
"A peacekeeper dragged him out of his house. Burned the whole thing. Whipped him until he bled out," my dad explains, "Daniel, when she comes back, she'll have nothing left."
He's right. The only thing she'll have is me, and what is that, really? Someone as damaged from the Games as she is.
Now, I don't know what to think.
