Nightingale

Chapter 4

Katniss

I feel my baby kicking at my broken ribs and I cross  my arms tightly over the pain, stiffing my breath. I hate him for doing this to me, for making me suffer the burden of motherhood. That stupid, vein merchant has destroyed me, everything that made me who I was. I'm branded as what I became under his thumb, the hopeful, lovesick Mockingjay. I scratch at the scabs of the burnt flesh on my shoulder. Picking away at the dried wounds, making them bleed again.

"Brainless, knock it off!" Johanna yells from the cell beside me. "That fucking noise is driving me nuts from the scratching. I look over at her and throw my food at her. She ducks away from it and just shakes her head. 

"Katniss?" Annie says from the cell to my other side. I look at her and tilt my head. "Come over here and I'll try to get some of those fleas out of your hair." I drag my scrapped up body over to her, gritting my teeth as the concrete presses against my raw leg. She starts to carefully pick apart my hair with her long fingernails, careful of the bald spots I've made from grabbing at it. I bite my lip as the baby kicks at me again. I stare across at Johanna and she shakes her head. 

"Those sick fucks have really messed you up, haven't they?" she says. "You at least used to fight when they came to take you. Now you just let them rape you repeatedly and read their tripe on the teleprompter."

"I comply so they will take care of the baby," I say. "They give me medicine for it." 

"They give you Hijacking venom," She says. "It makes you crazy. You're actually starting believe the shit they are literally shoving down your throat." 

"If those sons of bitches gave a damn about their Mockingjay, why the fuck am I still here?" I ask. "Why the fuck am I raped every night by those perverts who get off on screwing a pregnant cripple while he sits in a bunker with the rest of those idiots. I wouldn't still be here if any of them gave a damn about me. About any of us." I look down. This baby is growing to fast for the food they are feeding me. I can feel my ribs and hip bones, harder and more piercing then I have ever in my life, even when I was starving as a child. I vaguely remember the  President saying something about the venom not only distorting the world around me, but turning my child into a parasite that will slowly rot me away as she grows at an increased rate. I choke and vomit suddenly from the sheer pain of the baby pressing into one of my heavily bruised organs. Annie's tiny hand rubs my back and I look at her, still feeling so sick. 

"You need to calm down," she says. "The more you get worked up, the more she is going to move and hurt you." 

"You should lay down a while before they come o get you again," Johanna says somberly. Before I can respond, the gate to Johanna door slides open and they drag her out kicking and screaming. I just look away, not able to use my voice to fight for her anymore. What's the use? They won't stop no matter how much I scream, making my voice raw. I hear my door open and I look up as the doctors come to take me. They roughly grab me and I feel Annie's hand run down my arm as I'm pulled away from her, roughly. 

I look back at her, the only person I have no recollection of, good or bad as they put me up on a gurney and wheel me to the med bay where my torture primarily takes place. I'm strapped down and they stick something inside me, roughly.I bite my lip and dig my hands into the arms of the chair I'm in. I hear the baby's heartbeat and l grit my teeth, that sound giving me no comfort, seeing as the plan is for this baby to kill me as she comes into the world. I smell blood and start coughing.

"How long until it's time for the induction?" I hear the President's voice ask.The doctor chuckles and I  feel him moving the device around inside me.

"She's nearly full term," he says. "The drug has worked perfectly. She's already dilated 2 centimeters. The baby could be born any time you are ready, Mr.  President." 

"The arrangements will be made then," he says. "Lets make sure that the boy gets to see just what we did to his little love bird, shall we?" he says. The doctor nods and I am roughly sat up and wheeled back to my room, roughly tossed onto the small cot. One of them knocks me out and I'm sent into a dark black world I've become all too familiar with.

I come to with someone calling my name. I look around at the bright lights and there is a doctor, in a different uniform then what I remember the Capital doctors wearing. There's an IV in my arm and I dart my eyes around at my new surroundings.

"Ms Everdeen," The doctor, a kind looking middle aged woman, says again, softly. "Do you know where you are?" I look around and shake my head. "You're in a medical unit in District 13. Do you know what District 13 is?" I nod. "Good. Do you know what day it is?" I shake my head. "That's okay. I know you and your baby have been through a lot and we are working hard to flush your system of anything they may have injected into you." I still don't speak, not knowing if this is a trick or not. 

I hear running footsteps outside and Annie's voice, crying out for Finnick and his muffled sobs as he no doubt hugs her tightly. I look around but don't see anything of danger and sit up. The doctor helps me to the edge of my bed and carefully measures my belly. Her face twists a little and she remeasures, looking at her notes. "This isn't possible. Mrs. Everdeen said you should only be around 28 weeks gestation. How could you have a fetus this large in your belly?" I just stare at her and tilt my head a little. She gets a slightly frightened look on her face and she then looks up. "Sir, I don't think shes ready for visitors."

"Katniss?" I hear his voice say and my blood runs cold. I slowly turn to look at him and he has a look of absolute horror on his face. "Oh, oh my God! What did they do to you?" He walks around me and stands in front of me, looking like he's going to cry. "I'm so sorry it took so long. They wouldn't listen to m-" 

My arm shoots out and clasps on his throat, digging my nails deep into the flesh of his neck. I'm screaming a long, low wail as I do this, my mind fighting whether I love or want this man in front of me dead. There Is a commotion and the doctors pull me off as Peeta stands there, his hand on his throat, a look of pure horror on his face as he coughs. The doctors struggle to hold me back as I flail around, trying to claw my way back to him. 

"I'LL KILL YOU!" I screech, "YOU DID THIS TO ME, YOU FUCKING COWARD! YOU'LL PAY FOR DOING THIS TO ME! I WILL KILL YOU, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" The doctors finally are able to get me on my back and they start strapping me down to the bed as the kind woman puts something in my IV port. Peeta looks like he's about to cry as he pushes through them and grabs at my hand and I smack him away, still wailing as the world gets dizzy and I fall out of my conciousness once again.