Battles

Chapter 1

First of all, sorry if the cover is stupid. I don't have any good apps to work with so I threw that together.

Okay. I thought I'd have this up earlier, but then the CW uploaded Wayward Sisters onto their app, so I'll blame it on them this time 😂 

Hope y'all enjoy this book!

Katniss P.O.V.

This is what we've been fighting for. This has been the mission all along. So why do I feel like this? Maybe I don't fully believe it. Maybe I'm just so relieved that my mind is spinning.

Or maybe it's because I have this feeling that it's not all over with yet.

"What do you mean you got him?" I finally ask. "Is… Is he dead?"

"No," Finnick says as he shakes his head. "But he will be soon enough."

"What happened?" Haymitch asks.

Finnick takes a deep breath. "We knew we wouldn't be able to take out all of the Peacekeepers, so we just needed a way to get to Snow. A few of the rebels were able to get close enough to plant bombs."

My heart drops.

"We placed them in the right spots where it would create a diversion, but no civilians were harmed," Finnick explains quickly when he sees my face. "I think Snow was getting so confident he had already won that he was beginning to get careless. The Peacekeepers and guards just left him when the bombs went off.

"We charged in, and by the time they realized what was happening, it was too late. We surprised them. We still had to fight our way in, but it gave us just the advantage we needed."

"Casualties?" I ask.

Finnick swallows hard. "Too many brave soldiers."

I get an uneasy feeling. "What about Gale?"

"He's alive," Finnick says. "He was wounded though. I think they rushed him to then infirmary once we landed."

I look over at Haymitch. "I know I said I'd stay away until…"

"Just don't go near Peeta's room."

I not my head and take off down the many hallways. I lose track of how many steps I go down, and it's not until I'm winded that I remember the elevators. But it's too late now. I can't stop my legs from moving this direction.

Once I finally reach my destination, Prim runs over to me.

"You've heard?" Prim asks me. I nod my head.

"How bad is it?" I ask.

"Broken arm," Prim begins. "He's bruised up pretty bad, a lot of the soldiers are. Possible concussion. But he'll be alright."

I nod my head and wait a moment before talking again.

"I want to see him," I say. Prim nods and begins to walk off, but I reach out and gently grab her arm. "I'm not talking about Gale."

"Katniss…"

"No. I have to see Peeta." I don't care what I told Haymitch. "I need to see my husband. Please Prim."

Prim takes a deep breath. "I can't let you see him, Katniss. I'm sorry."

I roll my eyes. "Let me guess. Haymitch talked to you."

"Even if he hadn't I still wouldn't take you to Peeta's room. He's not the same, Katniss."

"I know that."

"He's worse than he was when he first woke up, and you don't need to see him like that," Prim tells me. "I'm sorry, Katniss."

I shake my head as I try to blink back the tears. "It's not your fault," I tell her.

She takes a deep breath. "Listen, I have to go. There's a lot of the wounded coming in at one time, and Mom needs help. But if you do decide to go see Gale, he's down that hallway," Prim tells me as she points to the left. "Fourth door down."

I nod my head. "Okay." I barely have time to really before Prim runs off.

I take a few seconds to close myself before heading in the direction that Prim told me to go. I don't know if this is a good idea or not, but that doesn't matter right now. Gale's still my friend, and the least I could do is be there for him.

As soon as I walk into the room, Gale looks up at me. I can tell just by the look on his face that's he's seen a lot within the past few hours.

"Hi," I say quietly.

Gale swallows hard. "Snow's…"

"I know," I say quickly as I walk further into the toom. "Finnick told me."

Gale looks down at the ground and shakes his head. "It's over with."

For some reason, I get the feeling that statement is not entirely true, but I decide to let it go for now.

"So, what happened?" I ask Gale as I nod towrds the cast on his left arm.

He shakes his head. "I'm not for sure. Everything happened so fast, couldn't really feel the pain until afterwords."

"Oh," I say. "But you're alright other than the busted up arm?"

"I think so," Gale replies. "And what about you? You look like you've had a bad day."

"Don't worry about me," I tell him. "I'd rather not talk about it."

We're both silent for a moment, and I've made up my mind to leave when Gale finally speaks up again.

"You know, I figured everyone would be relieved. I mean, Snow's not in charge anymore," Gale says. "But I think we're all thinking the same thing. This is just the beginning."

I nod my head. "We have to get rid of Coin too. If not, she'll just take over, and I think we both know how that will end."

"Nothing will change," Gale says. "But. Katniss, be careful saying that out loud."

I shake my head. "It doesn't matter. She knows I'm not happy with her."

"I take it you're not too happy with anybody right now. You've got that 'mad at the world' look in your eyes."

I take a deep breath. "I have to go," I tell Gale as I starts towards the door.

"Katniss…"

"No!" I say forcefully as I turn around to face him again. "I don't want to hear one more person telling me that it's all going to work out, or that I need to calm down. I know I need to calm down, and I know it's not good for the baby. But I also know that I'm being pulled in two different directions right now.

"I want to be there with Peeta. Everything in me wants to focus on nothing but him. But nobody will let me within ten feet of his room. And now, Snow's captured but nobody knows what to do next, and everytime I try to speak up, I'm told to let the soldiers handle it because a pregnant woman has no place in a battle. But I have to do something. I can't just sit around and wait for everybody else to handle it."

"Katniss, we're all just trying to look it for you," Gale tells me.

I wipe away a few unwanted tears. I know that. But it's making it worse. It makes me feel helpless, and I'm not. I can take care of myself and this baby, but I can also help win this war. But apparently nobody else thinks so."

"That's not true, Katniss. Everyone's just trying to protect you…"

"Because I'm pregnant," I say as I look down at my stomach.

"That's not the only reason," Gale tells me. "You're important to this war. You know that."

"Yeah, well. It doesn't matter now anyways because Snow's captured. Nobody will believe a work I say about Coin until it's too late."

"You can't give up like that," Gale tells me. "I think there's more people than you realize who are on your side. You can't just give up and say there's nothing you can do when you know it's not true."

I take a deep breath. "I just don't know where to…" Before I can finish my sentence, the door opens again and Prim comes running into the room.

"Katniss, you need to come with me," Prim tells me with wide eyes. "It's Peeta."