Hijacked

Chapter 15

*DISCLAIMER: This chapter is made up mostly of dialogue from the original book Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. This was not meant to copy her, but to make my fanfic realistic and accurate it was necessary for me to include the original text. This will not happen regularly, and I can assure you that the next chapter is my own text. Thank you, now on with the chapter!*

I wriggle my fingers anxiously, my eyes closed. Then I hear the door click shut. My eyes fly open, panicked, and then I see a vaguely familiar-looking blonde girl with blonde plaits. She’s smiling warmly, though she walks across to me tentatively.

“Peeta? It’s Delly. From home.”

I crinkle my eyes shut and think.

“Delly?” I ask.

Then I start to remember, peeling away the layers of fog in my mind. A blonde, curvy girl from school who always smiled; my childhood best friend.

“Delly! It’s you!” I exclaim happily.

“Yes!” she says and she looks visibly relieved. “How do you feel?”

“Awful.” I reply honestly. “Where are we? What’s happened?”

Maybe Delly can answer my questions. I already know I can trust her.

“Well, we’re in District 13. We live here now.” She tells me.

I know that, the various doctors have told me that over and over. They’ve been looking after me, and monitoring me closely. But they haven’t really answered my questions.

“That’s what those people have been saying.” I reply. “But it makes no sense. Why aren’t we at home?”

Delly bites her lip.

“There was…an accident.” She says, her voice nervous. Then she tries to divert the topic of conversation. “I miss home badly too. I was only just thinking about those chalk drawings we used to do on the paving stones. Yours were so wonderful. Remember when you made each one a different animal?”

I do remember, which feels good. It’s strange how things I used to take for granted, like remembering simple things, now feel like some huge achievement now. But I have other, bigger issues right now.

“Yeah, pigs and cats and things.” I say dismissively. “You said…about an accident?”

Delly’s forehead shines with sweat, like she’s nervous.

“It was bad. No one…could stay.” She says ambiguously.

Then she seems to regain her composure and she smiles reassuringly.

“But I know you’re going to like it here, Peeta. The people have been really nice to us. There’s always food and clean clothes, and school’s much more interesting.”

A thought suddenly rushes to my mind.

“Why hasn’t my family come to see me?” I ask.

“They can’t.” Delly says softly, and quite suddenly, her eyes fill with tears. “A lot of people didn’t get out of 12. I’m sure they could use a good baker. Do you remember when your father used to let us make dough girls and boys?”

I have no recollection of this. There’s only one thought flying around my head; my family, my only family, is dead? Then another snippet of memory comes to my brain.

“There was a fire.” I say quickly.

“Yes.” Delly whispers.

“12 burned down, didn’t it?” I yell. “Because of her! Because of Katniss!”

I yank my arms in the restraints, trying to struggle free.

“Oh no, Peeta! It wasn’t her fault!” Delly says, anxiously.

“Did she tell you that?” I spit, furious.

Delly backs away, looking scared.

“No, she didn’t have to! I was…”

I cut her off mid-sentence.

“Don’t trust her, Delly!” I tell her, panicked.

I can’t let Katniss ruin another life. Especially not Delly’s, who brings my memories back.

“I did, and she tried to kill me! She killed my friends, my family! Don’t even go near her! She’s a mutt!”

A hand appears around the door and yanks Delly from the room. But I keep yelling, fighting my restraints.

“She’s a mutt! She’s a stinking mutt!”

Once the screams drown me, choke me, I panic. I feel like I can’t stop. I have to keep going, because if I stop yelling, I know I’ll cry.