Price of Rebellion (The Hunger Games)

Chapter Three

"Emma! Wake up!" I hear Rose say, shaking me awake.

"Rose? What's going on?" I wake up panicked. I look at the clock next to me, it's almost midnight.

"Mommy said there's a fight going on a few streets away. We have to go to the basement!" Rose says. Her cheeks are wet with tears but she isn't crying. She must have been crying before though. "Here's a box, collect any photos or valuables you find on your way down."

I guess with the battles and fights going on, Amber may want to save any valuables she has. We both start stripping tables and counters of every valuable item. Photo albums, jewelry, and others.

That's when the power goes out. Everything was moving so fast that Rose and I look at each other and freeze, unsure what to do next. It's pitch black and you can't see anything. You can hear a pin drop on the floor and feel the tension in the air. Rose and I jump to our feet when we hear a bang about a block away.

"Girls! Forget about everything! Take what you have and get in the basement!" I hear Amber yell from upstairs. She must be saving things from the bedrooms.

Rose leads me to the basement door, which at first I thought was a closet. We run downstairs into the cold basement, and we sit in a corner together. She breaks down and cries in my lap instantly.

"Shh... everything will be okay..." I whisper as I stroke her hair. Being downstairs in the basement, we can still hear fighting going on in the distance. "Here, you stay right here, and I'm going to help your mom." Rose nods, and I run up the steps. On the top of the steps I trip on a flashlight, which I turn on to find my way towards Amber.

"Amber!" I yell. The battle is getting closer, I am running out of time. I hear glass shatter upstairs and I start panicking, so I run up the stairs to the second floor. "Amber!" I say out of breath. I flash the light at the windows to find that one is shattered, and she lays on the floor with a bullet in her back. Without hesitating and with the adrenaline pumping through me, I pick her up and carry her down into the basement.

"Mommy!" Rose cries. I lay Amber down next to us.

"Rose, close the basement door." I say out of breath, not taking my eyes off of Amber. Rose grabs the flashlight out of my hands and I hear her run up the steps and a loud slam. I put my two fingers next to Amber's neck, she is still breathing. "Come on Amber, you can do this." I whisper with a single tear fall down my cheek.

"Emma," she says quietly and full of pain.

Rose returns and sets the flashlight down on the floor with the light pointed towards the ceiling, so it's more of a lantern than a flashlight. "Rose, the first aid kit is in that box can you-" Boom! We all are shaken by gunfire above us. By how loud that was, I can guess they are right above us.

"It's too late, I am not going to make it." Amber says quietly.

"Yes you can, I'll-" Boom! I face the facts. There is a bullet in her back, and she is losing a lot of blood, fast. She won't make it. I hold one hand, and Rose holds the other. My hands are covered in her blood from when I carried her, but I couldn't care less at the moment.

"Listen carefully. Things are going to happen, big things." Amber says.

"What things?" I ask.

"War." Amber whispers.

"War?" I repeat cautiously.

"Yes. Can you..." Boom! "Can you take care of Rose, for me?" Amber says. I know what she means, not just to take care of Rose, but to make sure she lives.

"Of course, it's the least I could do. You saved my life." I smile, trying to hold in the tears that would be streaming out if I didn't hold them back.

"Thank you." She smiles, and turns her head carefully towards Rose. "Rose, I love you so much. You have to be brave. I need you to be brave."

"I promise mommy," Rose cries.

"And you have to trust Emma," Amber adds on.

"I promise." Rose says, not taking her eyes off of Amber.

"I love you." Amber whispers. Rose leans down towards Amber, and Amber gives Rose a kiss.

"I love you too." Rose says back. Amber's closes her eyes, but she rubs her thumb around the back of Rose's hand as long as she can. Then her hand goes limp in my hand. I'm guessing the same happens in Rose's hand because Rose is crying harder than before.

"Rose," I say. "Come here." I open up my arms and she lays down in my lap. "I'm here for you now, don't worry."

"She's gone." I hear her say inbetween sobs. "Gone."

"I know, but remember what she told you to do?" I ask, my voice choked up.

"Be brave," she says, picking up her head and looks at me. "And to trust you."

"Yes, and when all of this is over, we will be safe." I force a smile.

"You think so?" Rose says wiping away her tears.

"I know so." I say. She lays back down next to me, and I think she fell asleep. I lean against the wall, and close my eyes. Now that I have settled down, my previous adrenaline is now being replaced with searing pain in my arm. I bite my lip and take deep breaths. My eyes are getting watery, but I have to stay calm. It's okay... I tell myself. It's okay...

I refuse to think about the events of what happened in this one day because I have to stay strong, for Rose's sake. With all of the things that happened today, my mind stays empty.

"Emma?" I hear her moments later.

"Yeah?"

"Where is your family?" She asks.

"My-" I stop mid sentence. I haven't seen them since this morning, before the attack. I haven't even thought about them until now. They probably think I am dead. I bury my face in my hands and start crying, my family thinks I am dead.

"Why are you crying?" She asks. "Are they dead from the explosion?"

"No, no they are probably okay. I just..." I say, wiping my tears away. "I think they think I'm dead."

"How... oh." She says.

"I'm sorry, I'm making this about me. You are being there for me, when I should be there for you..." I say.

"It's okay. I'm tired, so I'm going to go to sleep." Rose says, putting her head down in my lap.

"Okay," I say as I kiss her forehead. "Good night."

"Love you," Rose says quietly.

I smile, and say "I love you too."