Panem Dawn: Mockingjay Reimagined

Chapter Six: The Return to District Nine

As soon as I enter the meeting for my first assignment, early the next morning, I find President Coin waiting for me, as well as Plutarch, Nathan, Mace, Cassandra, and a few people that I am unfamiliar with. Unfortunately, Sterling and Melina Linwood are also in the same room. I simply do my best to ignore them as I focus on what my first assignment will be and my instructions.

"Miss Whitestone, good to see you're ready to go. But before you begin your first ever assigned task as Freedom Fighter, there are some people here I would like you to meet. You've already met Colonel Boggs, this is Commander Bronson of District Thirteen---" The tall, brown-haired guy with a slightly hooked nose says, "It's an honour to work with you, Freedom Fighter."

"Likewise." I say to him, as Plutarch continues the introductions. "Over here, all the way from the Capitol, is Flynn Galveston, he's your assigned cameraman---" Flynn says, "Hey Alyssa!" he has coppery red hair and gray-green eyes and he has this to say,

"I've been waiting for this day a while now. The day I can say at last that I'm going to start filming and broadcasting you from Thirteen to every other district. I just want to say that it's impressive that you made it this far. With your Games and all." Great, I guess he's one of those types. The type that goes everywhere with his cameras always ready, and sees someone famous or important as some glorious jewel, perhaps even as someone to kiss up to. But at least he defected to help us, to help me, so I decide that I really shouldn't complain about him. I'll just have to grin through my teeth and learn to live with him. At least he isn't another Caesar.

So what I say to Flynn is this, "It isn't easy to defect from the Capitol to aid the Rebellion as you did either. You're taking a risk on everything for the good of this country. That's something that impresses me."

"And finally, over here, you have your team director Gardenia Ellison--" Gardenia has short hair dyed very vividly pink and yellow, and I know for sure she's from the Capitol, and she says, "Nice to meet you Alyssa," and Plutarch says, "There's just one more person here to join you, and quite a surprise if I may say so." Suddenly, someone much more familiar walks in, wearing a dark green District Thirteen jumpsuit with her natural dark brown hair tied up into a plain bun. With none of her usual flamboyant dresses, outrageous wigs, or any trace of brightly coloured makeup on her face, I almost didn't recognize who it was, but then when her kind dark eyes lighted up on seeing me I knew beyond a shadow of any doubt.

"Henrietta!" I go over to the older woman smiling ridiculously and I hug her. "I never would have thought I'd see you again, especially way out here." Henrietta just says to me, "Yes, I know I'm worlds away from the Capitol, and it's true. I'm now an official part of the rebellion. I'll admit that I never would have envisioned myself joining. However, circumstances will change.

And so I realized, once I began to fear for my own safety knowing how so many of my colleagues and friends were being arrested and murdered recently, that I was sure to end up somewhere on Snow's assassination list. Then the horrible news of what happened to Cinna, and poor Athena. I used to just glide my way through a rather comfortable life, and I always did my job as Official Escort of the District Nine tributes year after year for every Hunger Games, believing I had everything made for me, that it was enough. Until the Third Quarter Quell when you and Noah were sent back into the arena. I had secretly decided then it was the last straw. I had enough of it all, finally seeing clearly how wrong all of it really was. I had to find a way out.

My old friend and colleague Effie Trinket managed to convince this Rebellion that I would play an important part, and I told them myself, "Do you really think that I will allow some inexperienced cave-dwelling stranger from this underground outpost of a district to escort my victor Alyssa Whitestone, let alone to even attempt to coach her through her propaganda shoots? No, I will not! Plutarch and President Coin were gracious and reasonable enough to accept me into this fold. So here I am."

Commander Hobson then says to me before I begin to respond with my own news, "You'll have time to catch up on your friends' news later. Right now, you have a plane to catch. District Nine needs you."

***

As soon as the plane touches down in front of the point of entry at the District Nine wall, we all step out to find some trucks pulling up nearby, and several people step out of them to meet us.

One of them is an ebony-skinned woman in military uniform I know, not personally, but only as someone important to this rebellion. "Welcome to District Nine. For those of you who don't know me, I'm Safrina Terhune, the Commander of the District Nine rebel division." She then looks at me, and her battle-toughened face seems to alight with some deference and even hope.

"Alyssa Whitestone, it's about time you returned, it's good to have you here and to know you're still alive. Ever since the footage of the arena cut off, we were also cut off from any news from the outside, we were uncertain."

Sterling then speaks up, "Miss Whitestone was taken from the arena in frail condition when she was first rescued by the Rebellion, by Plutarch and the Abernathy character," It's blatantly obvious in the manner he mentions Haymitch that Sterling Linwood has never approved of his excessive drinking habits, most likely judging only what he saw on television, and considered Haymitch low and disgusting even by District Twelve victor standards.
"It's rather...unfortunate I can't say the same for my son." Sterling adds bitterly.

Melina lightly places a hand on one of her husband's shoulders, "You must keep your faith with you at all times Sterling. Noah is still alive. I know it."

"We had better move, and hurry down to headquarters before either Ephesilus or any of his subordinates find us out here, you especially, Whitestone seeing how you're wanted by the Capitol. You are all going to travel in the back of the second truck. Then once it's safe, we'll begin with filming your first official propo, Freedom Fighter. Let's roll."

***

As soon as my first propo is recorded, Commander Hobson says, "President Coin requests that we leave Nine and report back to District Thirteen. According to some intelligence, there are Capitol aircrafts flying out to District Nine."

"This isn't good, if they're flying all the way out here, they must be coming to capture us." I hear Melina say from nearby. But Commander Hobson says, "I'm afraid not. They aren't interested in prisoners except for Whitestone. They're coming to kill us. We must take care of as many of them as we can before they get any of us." But I refuse to go along with any of it.

"And what about the people here in Nine, my home?" I ask. "What about the Mayor and his family?" And Sterling says to me, slowly, as if I am being idiotic and not grasping the seriousness of what has been happening, or as though I'm not capable of understanding the only things that matter in his mind these infuriating words to me.

"What about them? This is war, it's always a fact that there's going to be casualties. If there are any civilian deaths here or even if Alistair McCain and his son goes, there's nothing we can do. The odds simply might not in their favour this time. We have to think about our survival, as well as the survival of this revolution. Being a survivor of two Hunger Games, you should know better about these matters than to be foolishly noble, which usually doesn't mix with staying alive. But if you want to go the same way as your parents, then go play a hero by all means."

And as though to dismiss me from responding to that with my own choice words while I begin to see red, Sterling turns his full attention to Commander Hobson and the rest of the team while they begin to figure out a strategy. Some of them are all for blocking off the Peacekeeper's access to any exits while waiting to attack, while others say instead, "We should blow the vile sonsabitches up just like a bunch of Peacekeepers were blown up in Seven just two days ago!"

"Don't be a fool Soldier Pageot, and let's think this one through, there's every possibility they could be expecting us to try that after reports from Seven. They're definetly hiding somewhere from us. But we'll sniff em' out." I overhear Terhune say.

While they are all busy debating back and forth over strategies, I begin to sneak away from them as soon as I'm certain they are all turned away from me. I sneak up to one of the Peacekeeper's transport trucks, a huge white vehicle with the symbol of Panem in golden paint on it.

Fortunately, I am now disguised as a Peacekeeper, face concealing helmet and everything, and I climb into the backseat of the truck just as two other unsuspecting Peacekeepers get in and one of them starts up the vehicle, and they begin driving toward the Mayor's  Manor. And before I move quietly out toward the mansion, I grab a gun.