No Hope Left-A Mockingjay Story

Chapter 23

"How long have we been here?"
I lift my head and look at Enobaria.
"What?" I ask.
"How long have we been here?" she repeats. I shrug and lean my forhead on my right forearm again. Neil tries to be more helpful.
"A month and a half," he guesses. "Give or take."
Johanna, who is currently lying in the middle of her cell, snorts.
"Does it matter?" she asks. I can't blame her for being so negative. Neil blows out heavily from his mouth. I am too tired to look up at him. If I do, I will also have to look at Darius. And despite the fact that it isn't Darius' fault, I don't want to look at him right now. It's my fault he has his fingers cut off. I have used up all my chalk and therefore used up any way for me to relieve my pain and anxiety. I slowly drag the palm of my right hand across the ground. When I first arrived, the ground was clean and smooth. Now, it was littered with spots of blood and faded drawings. At least it looks prettier than Darius' cell.
"They're not coming for us," Neil whispers.
"Hm?" I ask.
"I thought they'd rescue us," he says quietly. "I thought that Brett and I were too valuable to lose..."
"You are," Johanna assures him. I give her a weird look. What has got her to start talking like that? I smile slightly. Maybe she fancies Neil. My smile fades when Hadrius walks back in.
Whatever hope I have left fades when I see the next guard walk through the door. With a giant bruise below his right eye, a light limp, and a vengeful expression, Vince looks like a completely different person. He limps over to my cell. He is carrying my metal leg with him. He opens my cell and shoves it to me. With shaking fingers I manage to strap it back on. Vince roughly pulls me up and drags me out the cell. My stump aches a bit as I adjust to walking on two legs again. Once the doors close behind us, Vince lets go of me.
"Sorry about that," he says. I gape at him.
"You're...apologizing to me?"
Vince starts walking. "Yes."
I catch up with him. "But...but I-"
"I don't hold you responsible for what you did yesterday. You weren't yourself."
We approach the all too familiar hallway, but Vince pushes me down another one that I've never noticed before.
"Where are we going?" I ask. Vince doesn't answer me. Instead, he stops at a door that says restricted access. There is a security machine attached to the door. He takes out an ID card and swipes it through the security machine. The door swings open and Vince pushes me inside. The room is filled with monitors, all glowing blue. They are the only source of light in the room. Vince shuts the door behind him.
"Why...does President Snow..." I sputter.
"No. And I would prefer to keep it that way," Vince says. He sits down in front of one of the monitors and start to type something on a sleek black keyboard. The monitor shows a logo I've never seem before, but the number thirteen, which is in the logo, answers my unasked question.
"You're with the rebels," I say.
"No, I'm not," Vince says. "District Thirteen and I aren't on the friendliest terms."
I watch as he types some more stuff and the monitor asks him to please wait.
"So...why are you doing this?"
"Because it's what's right."
I shift on my feet uncomfortably.
"Peeta, go stand guard by the door. There shouldn't be any guards right now, but just in case."
I shuffle over to the door and lean my ear against it. Outside is eerily quiet. I wonder what would happen if Snow found out about this. Scratch that, I don't want to think about it.
"Can you hear me?" Vince says. I turn my head in his direction and see that the monitor is showing obscure figures. One of them looks strangely familiar.
"Who...Capitol...message," someone said.
"This is Vince Morgan! I work at the Tribute Center. I have information."
"Vince...what..."
Vinve curses under his breath and types something else. The monitor blanks out for a second before the shapes become clearer. I see a man with a goatee and balding head. Behind him are some other people. The man with the goatee looks very familiar.
"Can you hear me now?" Vince asks.
"Yes, we can," the goatee man says.
"Vince Morgan? What information do you have?"
"Snow wants to hijack Peeta. You must rescue him."
I look on in confusion.
"Vince," the goatee man says. "How can you be so sure?"
"Because I saw it! I'm one of Peeta's guards. I don't have much time."
"How are they?"
"Bad," Vince says angrily. "Hurry up if you don't want another one of them to die. I have a feeling the next time someone dies, I won't be helping you."
Vince shuts off the transmission and quickly stands up.
"Come on, Mellark. We have a hijacking session to get to."