Make Them Burn

Bombs

CHAPTER 10: BOMBS

Everyone is freaking out here in Special Defense. Boggs and the people from 13 turn to Coin and talk her ear off with questions. Plutarch and Fulvia converse with Cressida and her team, trying to comprehend this horrific turn of events. I think of Peeta, his blood all over the tiles, being beaten and tortured for trying to save the woman he-loves. The woman he loves. I'm sure Everdeen has already realized this, but it's a lot of information for my brain to take on.

I tug Haymitch's sleeve, and he is agreeing with me. Then again, I'm sure he knows Peeta loves Everdeen, and that she might possibly love him too.

"Shut up!" Haymitch shouts. Everyone looks to him. "It's not some big mystery! The boy's telling us we're about to be attacked. Here. In Thirteen."

"How would he have that information?" Corie snaps.

I turn to her in frustration.

Another voice stops me from lashing out at my before friend. "Why should we trust him?"

Boggs looks at Haymitch. "How do you know?" His deep voice asks.

Haymitch gives a growl of frustration. "They're beating him bloody while we speak. What more do you need? Katniss, help me out here!"

"Haymitch's right. I don't know where Peeta got the information. Or if it's true. But he believes it is. And they're-" She stops, unable to continue.

"You don't know him," Haymitch says to Coin. "We do. Get your people ready."

The president doesn't seem alarmed, only somewhat confused, by this turn in events. When she speaks, she addresses Haymitch in an even voice. "Of course, we have prepared for such a scenario. Although we have decades of support for the assumption that further direct attacks on Thirteen would be counterproductive to the Capitol's cause. Nuclear missiles would release radiation into the atmosphere, with incalculable environmental results. Even routine bombing could badly damage our military compound, which we know they hope to regain. And, of course, they invite a counterstrike. It is conceivable that, given our current alliance with the rebels, those would be viewed as acceptable risks."

"You think so?" says Haymitch sarcastically.

"I do. At any rate, we're overdue for a Level Five security drill." Coin says, unfazed. "Let's proceed with the lockdown." She begins to type rapidly on her keyboard, authorizing her decision. The moment she raises her head, it begins.

Boggs guides Finnick, Everdeen and I out of Command, along the hall to a doorway, and onto a wide stairway. No one shrieks or tries to push ahead. Even the children don't resist.

Groups of people begin to dispatch off into doorways but we keep heading down. We have to wave our schedules in front of a scanner so that we're accounted for.

Sleeping bunks are dug right into the rock walls. There's a kitchen, bathrooms, a first-aid station. This place was designed for an extended stay.

Boggs tells Finnick and me to report to the area that has 265 (our compartment number) above it.

I grab his hand and have to pull him along to our section.

Carved into the wall are two bunks, meaningone of us will be sleeping on the floor, and a ground-level cube space for storage. A piece of white paper, reads BUNKER PROTOCOL.

1. Make sure all members of your Compartment are accounted for.

"Haymitch should be helping Coin get everything ready." Plutarch says,

2. Go to the Supply Station and secure one pack for each member of your Compartment. Ready your Living Area. Return pack(s).

Finnick goes to get three, and when he's back, we open them.

A thin mattress, bedding, two sets of gray clothing, a toothbrush, a comb, and a flashlight are inside mine. Finnick is pulling out the same things.

3. Await further instructions.

I sit down on the bunk, and Finnick sinks down beside me. He knots his rope, and I roll my yarn. Our fingers are moving at the same speed: anxious. I nuzzle my head into his shoulder.

Then Haymitch arrives and sits down beside us, squeezing his rice ball. I move over to give him room and he settles in between me and the wall.

The faint sound of the sirens cuts off sharply. Coin's voice comes over the audio system. She stresses that this is not a drill, as Peeta Mellark, the District 12 victor, has possibly made a televised reference to an attack on 13 tonight.

That's when the first bomb hits. There's an initial sense of impact followed by an explosion that shakes my intestines. The bunker gives a slight shudder. The lights go out and I experience the feeling of total darkness.

Coin's voice fills the bunker, the volume level flickering with the lights. "Apparently, Peeta Mellark's information was sound and we owe him a great debt of gratitude. Sensors indicate the first missile was not nuclear, but very powerful. We expect more will follow. For the duration of the attack, citizens are to stay in their assigned areas unless otherwise notified."

Haymitch stands up and begins to make the beds. Like children, Finnick and I are huddled together.

I look up at Finnick. "Do you remember in the Quell when Johanna said that there was no one left she loved?"

He nods.

"What if she doesn't think we care about her? Knowing Johanna, if she thinks we don't care about her, she'll cast us off. What if she's already done that?"

Finnick's eyes widen. "I don't know. But if she's cast us off, she's got nothing to live for. And if she's still going, I'd assume she has at least a little faith in us."

Haymitch sits down with us and we cry a bit more. Even gruff Haymitch sheds a few tears.

"I thought I was lucky." I tell the boys. "To not have anyone killed for my winning the Games. But that was because I didn't have anyone I loved. Except for Onnie. And she was a victor, so killing her would be difficult."

"Snow had my mom, little brother Axel, and my girl Emily all killed before I was even back from the arena. Em and I were going to get married when I reached 18. She was a year older than me. But he killed them." Haymitch says.

I give him his rice ball and a sympathetic look.

"No one touched me. And I was glad. But a week before the 70th Games I refused to go into the Capitol to sleep with yet another Capitol citizen. The next thing I knew, Annie was reaped for the Games. My father had died while I was in the Games, so I knew that I had to keep my best friend alive. But-" Finnick's face is stained with tears, his gaze intently fixed on something in the distance. "I failed."