Mocking Jay TRAPPED

Chapter 14

They fly us back to district 13. We get off and go down the endless stairs, being careful to make sure they are gone so they don't see how to enter.  I take a deep breath and enter Beetee's room.

"Hey"  I quietly say, not sure how he will react to seeing me back so soon.

He turns around, surprised. "Peeta?  How did you get back?  Why are you here?"   He stands and walks over.

"We got cornered by Snow and he took Drew-" 

"Hang on, I have to let Jason and Plutarch know that you are gone. Though they have probably figured it out"  He rushes to his computer.

When he is finished I sit down and tell him everything. The decoys, the attack, President Snow and Drew...everything.

He runs his chin, deep in thought.   "Hmm"  Tilting his head he says "We definitely have a situation. Grab your weapons and your crew. Meet me in the cafeteria. We'll discuss there.

He runs out of the room. I stand there, thinking over what he just said. What is he thinking?  

I run down the stairs and find everyone else, they are still walking down slowly. "Ok everyone. Cafeteria now. First get new weapons. Hurry"

We grab a few guns and head to the cafeteria where Beetee is waiting.

"Ok...what's your plan?" 

He lingers for a minute. "Well, Snow is probably expecting you to come back.  We need to out-think any mistakes we made last time and go. Nothing can be messed up this time or the rebels are done. Jason has rescued Katniss and Finnick from prison and they are sending them here in their only hovercraft. So we don't have much time before Snow discovers they have no way to escape. We have to capture him and put an end to all of this....today"  Beetee gazes over us...looking for our reaction. His eyes and everyone else's settle on me.

"Today?" I stare at him and am at a loss for words. If we leave today and I don't make it back, I might never see the real Katniss again.

"Yes today. We will target the Capital from above and drop one single bomb. A special one I engineered. But it is very powerful and we can only use it once"  He looks at me still.

"Well if you have it figured out, let's go. We need to give our troops time to clear the area before we bomb it" 

"Good. We will discuss details on the ride"  He gestures everyone off.

"Beetee. I want to kill Snow"  I wasn't expecting the words but they slipped out. I guess they had been on my mind for a while.

He just nods. "I understand.  Now let's move"

At the Capital

We arrive and Beetee is concentrated on the bomb. I could've slapped him in the face and he wouldn't have noticed. He occasionally squints out the window, but then back to the screen with a bunch of confusing things on it.

Finally he looks up and makes sure all of us are ready. As soon as the explosion happens, we will be swarmed with Capital troops. Beetee will fly full speed to the other side of the city, where most likely Snow and the survivors will head, then Ill lead the others in jumping out and cornering Snow. I know that the plan isn't nearly that simple though.

"Go"  I stare ahead, listening for the chaos.

BOOOMMMMM!!  Screams and terror fill the air. We are going fast in the hovercraft. I can already see others flying towards us.

As we near the ground I open the doors, and prepare to jump.

"JUMP NOW!"  Beetee stops the hovercraft for a split second to let us off and then speeds away.

I jump.  We aren't that far up...but below us is a cold hard ground.  I can feel the adrenaline kicking in and my heart is pounding.

We hit the ground. It didn't hurt that much as we were trained how to land but we didn't get a chance to catch our breath because shots filled the air.

I run into the chaos, as planned, trying to get to the middle of the city...trying to catch Snow. I look for a clump of Panem troops, as they would be covering him.  I dodge bullets and run faster every step.  But I wasn't as quick as one bullet. It skimmed my arm and I screamed in pain, but I didn't stop.

I keep moving forward, shooting at nearby enemies.  Finally I see the rubble.

White hair and many bodyguards rush to an awaiting ride. I know who it is and I have no time to waste.

First though, I stop and think, as crazy as it sounds. I'm so anxious and tired at the same time, so that complicated it a little.

I know I can't just go bursting into the scene. The bodyguards would have me shot before I could beg for mercy.  I needed a plan.

Wait, Beetee should still be up there.

I radio Beetee and tell him to standby the Capital. I can only hope he isn't to far away and gets here in time.

Blood drips down my arm. I look back, and people are falling one by one. Body parts and innards are being flown around. I never realized how bad war really was, that it would be this gory and terrible. I never thought it would be worse than the Hunger Games. But I realized it was....in the games, you fought against your will. In war, you fought by your decision.

I turn away, not watching it anymore. Snow boards the hovercraft. I can't help but smirk a little. Once he gets in the air, he is in for a surprise.  

Hopefully Beetee will have a strong weapon to hold them off. But as the hovercraft goes out of sight, I'm not so sure anymore.