Defenders: The Fighters of 13. Pt 1

Chapter 4

Jem's POV

Peeta's painting is beautiful. It's not even finished yet but the sky is just like he pulled it out of my mind. I could stare at it all day; it's almost enough to get my mind away from what's been happening to me, my family, the monsters, the mutts, and all the confusion. The door opens and I expect it to be a doctor or nurse, but instead it's someone I haven't seen since before the games.

It's Beth...no her real name is Annie. She smiles at me and I get up and hug her "I'm so sorry Jem..."

She holds me in her arms and I breathe in her sent, a strange yet familiar smell of a sea breeze and honeysuckle. The tears slowly begin to drip onto her jumpsuit, "I missed you."

She gently rubs my back and runs her fingers through my short hair, just like mom used to "I missed you too, we all have."

We stay there for who knows how long, and she holds me as I cry; she's the only person here I can trust, the only one who's shoulder I can cry on. Finally we let go; I look up at her and realize she was crying as well, but not because she felt bad for me, but because she understands and feels the same pain of losing my family as I do.

"They're gone...Mom, dad...Grace..." Annie tearfully nods, confirming the fact.

"Finn and Levi went back for them, but it was too late, the house was empty." She pulls something from her pocket "But Finn found this; he knew you would want it."

It's a picture of our family, me, Grace, mom, and dad, smiling and happy, taken a few months before I went to the games. I look at Annie and then to the one way glass "Is he there?"

"Yes, he is." I nod and hesitantly walk toward it.

"Thank you...for the picture..." Annie comes over and places a gentle hand on my shoulder. I look back and smile at her, giving her another tight hug.

The door opens and someone walks in, I half expect it to be him, but it's not Finn, it's Peeta. He smiles at Annie and I. "Hello Annie, Jem. I came to work on the painting."

"Okay," I look at Annie "Will you help me with it?"

Her smile gets bigger "Of course."

That's the one problem with the painting, Peeta asks me questions about it, and I tell him. But the moment I look back on those memories of it, he appears, his face clear in my head. Then the visions change and warp. Peeta helps me come back from it and back to focus on the painting.

"Okay Jem, we left off at the ocean." Peeta says, getting his brush wet and dipping it into the blue paint. "Describe it to me."

I nod and sit on the bed, Annie sits beside me; closing my eyes I picture the ocean at sunrise "There are hardly any waves, just small ones that gently brush the shore. And the sky is reflected in the waves in a strange way, it's hazy and rippled."

Peeta puts his brush to the canvas and begins. We continue and the painting comes alive with each brush stroke. Annie helps me describe it, adding to what I couldn't.

"Can you tell me some more?" Peeta asks as we watch him. Annie continues, each brush stroke pulling memories of 4 to the front of my thoughts. Grace and I discovering the hidden cove as kids, a picnic with my family on the beach, falling from that tree and landing on Dath, going there every day to see him...his face is clear in my head, smiling, the face suddenly changes to Karter. Wait what?? Karter smiling wickedly at me, his eyes cruel and lustful. No, Dath...happy, laughing...murderous. Teeth sharp, eyes glowing with controlled rage. He's going to kill me. He's a mutt! He's going to kill me!