Defenders of Panem (Being Rewritten)

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

I feel like my heart is racing when the footsteps stop and the door slowly opens. Two figures emerge from the door.

"Woah!!"

"HOLY SHIT!!!!"

"Collin! Karter!" I exclaim, recognizing the figures.

"Don't shoot me!" Karter says cowering behind Collin, only his dark hair visible. Collin's sword is drawn, ready for an attack while Karter hides. Karter has never been the best at fighting, he's the brains of our team.

"Why were you going to shoot me?" Collin asks Meg with an eyebrow raised and smirk on his lips.

I can imagine Meg's eye roll as she relaxes her string. "I wasn't planning on shooting YOU. For all I knew, you were a Peacekeeper or Capitol Soldier. We can't afford to be unprepared." She turns around and sits back in her seat. Bow across her lap, legs stretched out. I relax too, and go to sit back down again when I see Dath and Collin still staring at each other. Karter still hasn't moved from his place behind Collin.

I call out Dath's name, but he doesn't move. Doesn't even acknowledge that I've spoken to him. He continues to glare at Collin. "Dath come sit." but he still doesn't move. Meg takes an interest now, turning to look back at Collin.

"What, you don't trust us?" Collin asks, raising his sword. Too far.

"Guys put the weapons down!" I say as calmly as I can while still wanting to knock their heads together for refusing to be in the same room for five minutes! I glance at Meg, who still looks towards Collin with an amused expression on her face.

"Let's just say I have trust issues." Dath says darkly while raising his trident. Yep, it's Collin.

"I guess you could say that I do too." Collin replies, taking a step towards Dath. They've hated each other the moment they met one another. Over the last few years, they've gotten less aggressive towards one another and have been able to tolerate each other once they were placed on the same squad. Until earlier this year, during a mission to the Capitol. There was an incident that ended with us losing a teammate. Since then, they've regressed and have gone back to hating each other.

"Guys! Stop IT!!!" I say, stepping in front of Dath and successfully putting myself between them.

"Come on Jem, let 'em fight! I want to see this!" Meg says with a smile on her face. I give her a stern look. She rolls her eyes again. "Whatever." She mumbles. "Collin! Get your ass over here and sit down. Dath, sit your happy ass next to Jem, and Karter. For the love of God, stop cowering and sit down on the other side of Jem. It's not that damn hard to walk in a room and sit down!" Everyone just looks at her for a second before following her instructions, not really wanting to piss her off. Meg's our squad leader, whether we like it or not. She's been through extensive training to become the new Mockingjay-the reincarnated symbol of the rebellion. Collin sits down next to Meg and they instantly start conversing.

"Sooo.... Karter, how's District Three?" I ask, turning to him. Karter is taller than me but not quite as tall as Collin who is at least 6'3. He's obviously nervous about something since he is tying and untying a piece of rope. He picked up the habit after seeing me do it over the years. Something's up.

"Three's been okay. Nothing really exciting." He says, his hands shaking and a vein in his temple throbbing. That's when I know he's lying. He's never been a good liar, and he has some easy tells.

"Karter?" I rest my hand on his, and I can feel the other's gazes on me. I need to comfort my friend. I can feel Dath tense next to me at the simple action, but I choose to ignore it. This is about Karter. "Is there something wrong?"

Karter's eyes start to tear up. Whatever he's keeping back, it must be bad. I've hardly ever seen Karter cry, and he only cries when something is personal.

Meg and Collin have ceased talking, taking in the teary and red eyes of Karter. I know they trust Karter, but sometimes I feel like it's only me and Chrystal that see him as an actual friend. Chrystal is the last member of our group.

"Karter, can you tell me." He glances around the room nervously, barely taking a notice of the rest of the team.

I pull my hand away as he puts the rope away, "I'll tell you later, we should start the meeting."

"No we can't, Chrystal isn't here yet." Dath chimes in. I can feel him relax now that I've removed my hand from Karter's and leaned back closer to him. Everyone's so tense today.

Chrystal Cleer, as previously mentioned, is the final member of the squad. She is from District Six, and is the most recent member to our group. She was the replacement for Ryan after he was killed last spring. She's by far the nicest and pulls her own weight. She is an expert survivalist and an excellent sniper.

"She's not coming." Meg says, adjusting her bow on her lap. "She had a family emergency or something."

"Then let's get started." Collin suggests, draping his arm on the back of the couch and over Meg's shoulder.