Make Them Burn

District 8

CHAPTER 7: DISTRICT 8

The hovercraft touches down on the outskirts of 8. The group down here is, Boggs, Gale, Everdeen, me, and Corie, a native of 13 who actually has a sense of humor. The TV crew consists of twin Capitol cameramen, a director named Cressida who has a tattooed head, and her assistant, Messalla, a skinny young man with earrings.

Boggs leads us off the road toward a row of warehouses as another hovercraft comes in for a landing. This one brings crates of medical supplies and a crew of six medics. We all follow Boggs down an alley that runs between two gray warehouses. When we emerge onto the street, it's like another world.

The wounded from this morning's bombing are being brought in. Any way they can be carried, they are carried. The people take the injured to a building with an 'H' on the door for hospital.

This is where they plan on filming her? That'll go over well.

A woman directing the new patients catches sight of us, then comes over. She smells like sweat and vomit. There's a bloody bandage around her neck.

"This is Commander Paylor of Eight." says Boggs. "Commander, Soldier Katniss Everdeen."

Hi, Alexandria Winter and six other people here?

"Yeah, I know who she is." Paylor replies. "You're alive, then. We weren't sure."

"I'm still not sure myself." Everdeen answers.

"Been in recovery." Boggs taps his head. "Bad concussion." He lowers his voice a moment. "Miscarriage. But she insisted on coming by to see your wounded."

Parlor turns around and starts leading us into the building. "Well, we've got plenty of those."

"You think this is a good idea?" Gale asks, frowning at the hospital. "Assembling your wounded like this?"

"I think it's slightly better than leaving them to die." Paylor retorts.

I agree, Commander. Gale sucks. We should throw him in the lake.

"That's not what I meant." Gale tells her.

"Well, currently that's my other option. But if you come up with a third and get Coin to back it, I'm all ears." Paylor waves Everdeen toward the door. "Come on in, Mockingjay. And by all means, bring your friends."

Everdeen follows her toward the hospital. "We've got a mass grave started a few blocks west of here, but I can't spare the manpower to move them yet," says Paylor. She finds a slit in the curtain and opens it wide.

I hate to sound insensitive, but it reaks in the hospital. The smell of dying flesh, and vomit, block out anything else in the warehouse.

We have no real hospitals in the districts. Even in the well-off District 5.

"Paylor, anything I can do to help?" I ask. "Move bodies, clean rubble, anything?"

She nods. "How about you go with Hector and start looking for more bodies?"

I follow her gaze to a man standing by the doorway in a tight undershirt with blood stains. His ankle is wrapped up in an ill-fitting bandage. He beckons me over, and I look at Boggs for okay.

"Keep her in the vicinity in case there's trouble." Boggs tells Hector.

Hector nods, and I follow him out the door. "Where do we start?" I ask.

Hector looks over at a pile of broken buildings and nods toward it. I look over at the destruction the Capitol has caused. How could a person do this? Press a button, and kill, destroy, and injure all of this.