Deep in the Meadow

|12| stay strong

"Hahaha!!" I wake up to hear West's ugly laugh from the training room.
I sit up in my bared cell, combing through my tangled hair with my fingers. It's the same cell that I've been in since I've gotten captured. Surly Peeta has figured out a way to rescue me by now.

Wait.

Then the memories all come flooding back at me all at once.

I was rescued.

Peeta rescued me.

We got up to the hovercraft where Willow and Rye were.

West stole our children from us.

Peeta and I went unconscious.

As I regain all the memories of what must of been yesterday, I frantically stand up, scared to death that West might of already killed my little duck and cinnamon roll. But I quickly realize that he didn't.

In the cell right beside me, to the right, is where Willow lies. She rests on the table in the middle, and by the way it looks, she hasn't woken yet. The table has been lowered so she can climb on and off it easily.

In the cell to the right of hers, is Rye. His table was replaced with a crib, and a stray milk bottle is littered on the floor probably from when a worker tried to calm his midnight shrieking. It's too bad only me and Peeta can calm him. For we are the only ones who know what to do. We sing him "Deep in the Meadow" to ward off the nightmares he gets.

In the cell to the right of Rye, is Peeta. He twists and turns in his sleep, and a ting of pain hits me knowing that I can't comfort him because he is three cells away.
Willow and Rye are in between us.

"Well, well. Look at the pretty little family!" West yells from across the gym. Kennedy follows close behind as they make their way over to us.

"Don't even think about placing a finger on my kids." I say trying to remain calm as they come to a stop a few feet away from our adjoined cells. West puts his hands on his hips as he examines my family, sweeping his head left to right.

Peeta stirs again. Then he jerks awake. At first he rubs his neck and sits up, not very sure where he is. But as he looks around and spots Rye in a cell beside him, then Willow, then me, he gasps.

"Katniss!" He yells standing and looking around. The realization hits him as he finds that he is back in the torture gym in a cell. And I can tell that he recalls what happened yesterday and that the one person in front of him is West.

"Whoa, whoa." Calms West.
"No need to get all riled up." He smirks evilly.

"What do you want with us?!" Peeta shouts. It's not until then that I realize he doesn't know that West wants Willow and Rye dead because they have, apparently, my rebellious genes. And that West might kill me also, just as punishment for killing his president and bringing the Capitol to the bottom.
And now he can kill us. He has our whole family right in front of him. He has all the power.

"Well, I can assure you I don't need you. You are just a bonus. The more the merrier. What I need is Katniss and those two young ones dead." West says. Peeta looks terrified for our lives. He's eyes are wide in horror.

"Why?" He ask trying to contain himself and connect the dots.

"Those two," West points to Willow and Rye.
"May have Katniss's rebellious genes, and Katniss needs punished for killing my beloved President and my beloved daughter."

"Don't even think about touching them!" He yells not even hearing the part about me apparently killing his daughter.

How could I of killed his daughter?

"And what are you going to do about it?" West asks smiling.
"But don't worry, I won't have them killed just yet. We will have some fun first. And while we have fun, I have a little deal to purpose. I'm changing the rules a little." He says.

Then I jump in,
"What's the deal?" I ask making him change directions and look at me. I decide to not think about his daughter. Whoever she was.

"Well, to stop the torture for one member of your family for one day, you will answer the one question I ask that day. So if I ask a question tomorrow, and you answer it truthfully, then one person, out of your family, can be exempt from the torture of the day." He explains.

"What if we don't answer it truthfully?"Peeta asks.

"If it's not true and I find out, those mutts will be released on site. But as I promised, since I have your kids, I won't release them for any other reason." West tells us. For some reason I seriously doubt that.

I release a shaky breath as Willow's eyes pop open. She spots me first, in the cell beside her.

"Mommy?" She says confused as to why I'm separated from her.

As she gets off the table she runs over to the bars separating us. I haven't seen her since I've gotten captured.
"Mommy!" She cheers as I meet her at the bars and pull her into a hug. A single tear drops from my eye knowing that she and Rye are going to be tortured.

"Where are we?" She stammers, trying to squeeze through the bars to get to me.

"Sweetie, we are at the president's mansion. You have to trust me that the things that are going to happen are not because me and daddy want them to. Stay strong for mommy and daddy, and close your eyes when I tell you to." I tell her holding back the tears. I don't want her watching Peeta or I get tortured through the glass walled rooms. Or in our cells, or anywhere.

"Ok." She answers still trying to make her way through the bars.

"No, no. I'm sorry little duck but we have to stay apart and inside our own cells." I tell her. She looks at me and stops struggling. A confused look crosses her little face and I plant a soft kiss on her cheek.

"Ok mommy." She answers trusting me. West watches us and I can't read his reaction until he speaks.

"And what's her name?" He asks.
"And that little cryer over there." He says pointing from Willow to sleeping Rye. I figure that their names couldn't hurt anything, so I tell him.

"Willow and Rye." I say. Peeta shoot me a look that says that we could of used that information to our advantage, but it doesn't matter anyways.

"Ahhh, beautiful names for such rebellious children." He says.
"Torturing starts tomorrow, and one of you can be exempt from it if you answer the question we ask truthfully. Tomorrow we're going to start the fun." West smiles then walks away with Kennedy close behind.

West is going to torture us for information before he kills us. And we have to tell the truth to save the districts. I just have to bring Willow and Rye as less pain as possible. So I guess that means I'll have to answer the questions to pardon one of them each torture day. Even though we are going to die in West's hands, I don't want them suffering as much as me and Peeta have.

I catch Peeta's eye and realize he is as teary as me, and can tell that he wants to keep Willow and Rye away from as much torture as I do.

"Peeta." I say not knowing if he can hear me.

"Katniss." He answers, but I can't hear him over the scientists talking. All I can see is him mouthing the words.

"Stay strong." He says.

"Always." I answer, but I'm not sure how long I'll be able to stay strong.