Catching Fire: Peeta's POV

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

The shot rattles my bones as the man slumps to the ground. Dark blood pooling on the cracked, broken stones of the square. Peacekeepers wearing white, a symbol of innocence but they're anything but innocence, block my view. A group of Peacekeepers, holding their weapons across their chest, urge us toward the Justice Building. Stunned silence and quiet sobs fill the square.

"We're going!" I shout, when a Peacekeepers shoves me. What are they going to do? Shoot me, too. I'd like to see the response of the Districts and Capitol then. "We get it, all right? Come on, Katniss."

I put my arm around her waist securely and guide her into the building looming before us. Peacekeepers following closely behind, almost breathing down our necks. The rhythmic footfalls of the Peacekeepers moving the crowd follows us into the foyer as the door shuts behind us.

Effie, Cinna, Haymitch, and Portia are waiting for us under a screen, anxiety clear on their faces.

"What happened?" Effie practically runs to us. "We lost the feed just after Katniss's beautiful speech, and then Haymitch said he thought he heard a gun fire, and I said it was ridiculous, but who knows? There are lunatics everywhere!"

I try to keep my voice even. "Nothing happened, Effie. An old truck backfired."

But, my lie is proven false as two more gunshots go off, the door not blocking the sound. Who was it? Certainly not one of Thresh's or Rue's family members? I suppose, I'll never truly know.

"Both of you. With me," Haymitch says pointedly at Katniss and myself.

We follow quietly through the bleak off-white corridors. The Peacekeepers stationed around the building take no notice of us, their eyes stayed fixed ahead at some unknown point. We climb the cracked marble staircase that at one time must have a grand sight. There is a long hall with a worn carpet covering the floor at the top. The edges of the carpet are frayed and faded. Haymitch continues to lead us without a word to a set of doors. He opens the doors and goes inside, leading us into a large room.

The room has high ceilings, at least twenty feet. Stationed all over the room are statues of fat little children with wings and fruit and flower moldings. My eyes water from the overpowering scent of the flowers. On opposite sides of the room are the clothes we are to wear this evening. The room, obviously, is the room they prepared for our use. We barely time to drop off our gifts before Haymitch is taking the microphones pinned to our clothes off and shoving them into the couch. He says nothing yet, as he gestures for us to keep following him.

I don't know how he would know where to lead us through all the staircases and narrow hallways. He must have remembered this building from the time he was on his own Victory Tour. There are times when he has to force a door open. The protesting of the door is sounds with the loud creaking it issues. Eventually, he leads us to a ladder propped up against a trapdoor. Haymitch climbs without hesitation, and I gesture for Katniss to go first and follow up behind her after she climbs a few rungs.

It's the dome of the Justice Building. The large room is filled with broken furniture, books and ledgers, and weapons slowly rusting. Dust coats everything. The windows are covered in a grime, and the sun is having a hard time coming through. The room at one point must have been a sight to see. Not only the room itself, but the view must have be spectacular from this high vantage point.

Haymitch closes the trapdoor and turns to face us, "What happened?"

I look at Katniss, and she nods at me. I take a deep breath before telling him everything from the whistle to the salute to the murder. "What's going on, Haymitch?"