Mockingjay - 4 weeks after Peeta's rescue

7. Twelve

Someone screams and knocks on the door Katniss realizes not complete awake.

“Peeta, there is someone at the door.”

“Hmm….then go and open it” a sleepy voice answers from beside her. “But I don’t know who it is.” Katniss replies.

“Who could it be? We’re only ten people live here in Twelve” Peeta now awake answers while he gets out of the bed.

“Come on we both go” he smiles at Katniss and offers her his arm to walk downstairs to the door.

“Haymitch! What happened? Why are you banging on the door early morning?” growls Katniss realizing he is not alone.

“Take on the TV they send it all the time. He’s dead!” Haymitch and the others rushes into the living room.

With an irritated look Katniss and Peeta follow them and stop right behind the sofa starring open mouthed at the TV. It shows Snow with an arrow in his stomach and someone swinging an axe is running to him. “Johanna?” Finnick whispers disbelieving while Annie shivers and sobs at his shoulder. Katniss stays now in front of the screen and looks at Snow seeing the dead coming. After Johanna ended it she turns around and shouts directly into the camera “He is dead! Now he can’t hurt the people again. I had to finish it to take revenge for what he did to Annie, Peeta and me. He’s dead now – he’s dead!” Johanna screams when she was pulled away from the body. As it starts from the beginning Finnick takes the TV off. They are all staring speechless on the dark screen.

Suddenly the silence breaks and there are loud steps on the stairs, crushing things and then a scream “Quell” - the keyword for a Flashback agreed on.

“Hurry, go out of here! Go now!” Katniss shouts and chases everybody out of the house before she runs upstairs to find Peeta slamming his head against the bedroom wall. He presses his fingernails so hard into his hands that blood drips on the floor. He is in a flashback.

Katniss crouches beside him and takes his head into her hands slowly stroking his hair.

“Peeta, I’m here. You’re not alone I don’t leave you alone with this. Ssh ssh your save here nobody can hurt you.” She pats his back and pulls him in her arms while repeating the soothing words over and over and strokes his hair.

“Katniss is he really …? And she did it?” Peeta sobs and looks at Katniss. As she nods he presses his head against her shoulder and mumbles “Please hold me, just hold me”.

Half an hour later she helps Peeta up so they can lay down in bed where they fall asleep immediately.

Peeta is the first to get up, but Katniss murmurs “Don’t go.” He leans over her and gives her a light kiss “we have to meet the others they probably don’t know why you chases them out of the house” he smirks.

A week later on TV the latest news come to Twelve – Coin the new President was killed with an arrow by an unknown murderer. While everybody speculates why someone would kill Coin suddenly Paylor’s face appears on screen.

“We don’t know who did this but a note at Coin’s office explains the motives. We now know that she plans to let the Games go on and wanted to leave the districts alone to live a privileged live here in the Capitol. She planned to live and act like Snow did for her own sake. That’s why I as the new President of Panem now stopped the hunt for the murderer.”

“It was Gale, I know it who else except me would kill with an arrow.” Katniss says in the silence. Peeta takes an arm around her and looks in the round “Whoever it did, we should be grateful then he saved us for new Games and he opens up the way back to live for us. You remember we’re still dead for the rest of Panem. I think it won’t be long before Twelve will be alive again. Many people will come back home now and we can send a message to Paylor.” As every time Peeta finds the right words. Everybody agrees with him and smiles at the thought that the district could be rebuild soon.

“Is there anyone as hungry as me” Greasy Sae asks on her way to the kitchen.

“Good idea Sae” Finnick calls and follows her together with Peeta. An hour later everybody sits at the table and enjoys the meal of stew, cheese buns and fruits.

As Peeta said two weeks later the first people of Twelve arrives back home. First they are shocked to see them again but then they cheer them and are very happy to see them alive.

With the help of nearly hundred people Haymitch, Peeta, Finnick and Thom cleaned and rebuild the houses at the seam. Now they look better than ever and nobody from the seam wants to live anywhere else. Slowly Twelve awakes to live again.

Peeta and Katniss walks along the ruins of the bakery arms wrapped around each other as Peeta suddenly forces up the pace. “What is it?” Katniss asks. Only when they arrives at the entrance of Victors Village Peeta stops and turns to Katniss and answers “I can’t be near the bakery to many memories I was near another flashback. I can’t be a baker anymore. I’m glad not to be alone that all together would kill me.”

“Oh Peeta I didn’t know. I love you!!” Katniss kisses him and pulls him into their home.

“I love you too Katniss as I ever did. You’re my live now” are the last words to hear before a giggling Katniss shuts the door.

At the Capitol Paylor finds out that nobody was on the crashed Hovercraft and her friends are alive in Twelve. With a satisfied smile on her face she leaves Beete and walks to her office where she starts the preparations for her trip to Twelve.