Rising Rebellion [#3]

Chapter 22 - Safe And Sound

Peeta had been in and out of the cell several times the next days, or weeks or months or whatever time-frame they were operating by. They had no sense as to if it was day or night, winter or summer, rain or sunny. The only thing they knew for sure was that they were caught off from everything they knew: away from the sun, away from food, away from better conditions and away from home. It was a part of the captivity. It was a part of the mental extortion from Snow. To break them down slowly and the less food and water they got, actually they had barely gotten any food. But the less water he gave to John and the rest, the more desperate they’d get to say the one thing that could give it to them. Unfortunately for Snow, it hadn’t been like that and the interest in John and Sylvia had decreased the last period of time. John sat there with the impression that the President was running scared after their last conversation.

In the cell, John was barely managing to sit up straight. Sylvia was lying with her head in his arms and Annie sitting next to him. Mostly Annie spent her time leaning on John’s shoulder for heat and also to stay calm. John was holding Sylvia tightly up against his chest as she occasionally was awake, but most of the time she was sleeping. One couldn’t blame her much. She had been electrocuted to the point where she could barely sit up-straight. She was also cold and shivering, and from time to time she cried in her sleep. John would just wipe her tears off her face and sit there and try to comfort her best he could. She wasn’t alone. She was never going to be alone. John was going to be there through it all. Even if it meant she’d be going through something he did not know about. Whenever she was hurt, he would be there, just like she had been there for him.

She was sound asleep, but she was waking up as she was mumbling things in her sleep. She was in a nightmare. She suddenly woke and John held her tightly to calm her down right away. “Hey…don’t be scared. I’m right here.” John said as he held her a little firmer. She calmed down and tried to smile, but her betrayed and tired eyes made it hard. “I know you are…you’re always here.” She managed to say with a weak voice as John’s hand touched her face. Her hand went on top of his again she held his hand on her face for a while. She took a deep breath as she closed her eyes for a little longer than a standard blink. She managed to look around at their conditions and then back at John as she seemed a little pessimistic in her eyes.

“Are we ever getting out of here, John?” She then asked him. John took a deep breath as he wished he could say ‘yes’, but the truth was, he didn’t know. As he looked down at her, he shook his head lightly. “I don’t really know. I wish I knew because I’d tell you to hang on until then.” John then managed to add. She managed, barely, to crouch her entire body against his. “I don’t know for how long I can…I’m getting more and more tired by the minute.” She barely managed to say. John looked down on her for a moment as he then planted a kiss on her forehead. “I know you are…” John said as he grabbed her hand. She was too weak to really squeeze it. “…just try to hold on for now, okay?” John asked as she nodded weakly although she was so pessimistic.

“Tell me, what is the one thing you can’t wait to see or experience if you get out of here?” John then asked her as she was awake and conscious. She took a few deep breaths as she was thinking. There could be so many things. Just being alone John in the right setting, was one of the things she wanted the most, but there were also the smaller taken-for-granted things. “The sun…for however long we’ve been here, I can’t wait to see the sun shine down on me again.” She started. John smiled as they could, just for once, dream their way out of this place. “What about you?” She asked. John started thinking as Sylvia had pretty much covered his first one, but there was one thing that always made him feel at home. “The smell of trees…it’s home. The smell of pine-trees in the air…yeah, that’s what I long to smell when I get out of here. I would say sun too, but you took that one.” John said smiling at her. “Sorry about that.” She said. John shook his head slightly. “No, you’re not.” John then said as he kissed her cheek.