Stories Don't Ring True

Nightmares

WARNING: May be disturbing. 

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Chapter 13

Peeta's POV

The room is dark. I can't see around me, I can't even see my hands when I put them up to my face. Suddenly, a hand grips my throat and I can't breathe. I stumble into the wall and the lights slowly flicker on, revealing President Snow. His mouth is twisted and blood runs out of it like a river, slowly and steadily. It begins to flood the room, and the last thing I hear before I am pulled under is his mad laughter. The blood rushes past my ears and the hands go from around my throat so I can swim to the surface. When I finally come up, I can breathe. But it isn't blood anymore, it's the salt lake from the Quell. Katniss is at the Cornucopia, waving to me. She is holding Willow. I cut through the water and get to her in a couple strokes. We sit on the small beach, until Katniss is dragged off me. I scream to get to her, but it is Gale who has her. He slits her throat and she falls limp to the sand. I struggle, trying to run toward him, only to find I'm frozen in place. He picks up Willow and throws her into the waves. He looks to me and simply says, "She was trying to kill you. She hates you. You are better off without her." He comes and shoves me down, and the sand swallows me up.

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I sit up, struggling for breath.

Finnick looks over to me, concerned. I realise he also doesn't have very good sleep. I suppose that's what the games do to you.

I shrug it off, and go to get a drink of water. It is cool and calming.

A wave washes over me and I grip the sink. My arm burns and I clench my teeth trying not to yell out. Images of her stabbing my arm creep across my mind, and then flash violently behind my eyes.

I manage to take one hand off the sink and then they both fly to my head, pulling at my hair, hoping this will be over. It isn't. It isn't.

Finnick rushes over, realising that it is happening again. His arms go out infront of him, protecting him but also trying to calm me. My adrenaline is running on full and I try to thrash out. I have to to Katniss.

To protect her from me. To KILL her.

To protect them both from me. KILL them.

She doesn't care about you. That is her spawn. 

NO. 

She tried to KILL you.

NO SHE DIDN'T.

She did. In the first Games? Remember that?

No...

What about the Quell? She heard that forcefield or whatever.  She didn't say anything.

SHE DID. SHE CALLED OUT FOR ME. IT WAS TOO LATE.

That's a lie YOU created.

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"Peeta, are you okay?" Finnick's voice brings me back.

I can't speak, so I just try to control my breathing.

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I hear a knock at the door, and Finnick goes to open it. He talks briefly with whoever is on the other side and leaves.

Haymitch walks in.

"I've been talking to people in the hospital. Plutarch too. They managed to get some stuff from the Capitol to test what it was. They got something and photographed the room. I'm sorry if this is triggering but I need to know- is this the room?" Haymitch says.

He reaches into his pocket and takes out a photo.

It is a photo of a white room. There are different machines on the wall, and bags of fluid that go down through tubes and end at a needle. There is a metal table in the middle with straps for the head, torso, arms and legs. A small pool of orange liquid stains the floor to the right of the table.

"Um.. yes... yeah that... that was the room."

"Okay," he says, putting the photo away. "What that orange liquid was... well, it was a mixture of compounds but it was highly concentrated with Tracker Jacker venom. As we know, Tracker Jacker venom is venomous and makes you ill and everything, but it also induces hallucinations. Now, what the Capitol have been doing is manipulating the venom DNA even further and mixing it with other compounds so that when a memory is brought to the surface, it can be changed. Tainted. Of course you can't completely rewrite memories, but you can manipulate certain things. For instance, when Katniss threw that knife harmlessly, the memory could be tainted so that it seems like that knife was aimed at you."

I have to take that in for a second.

"This method has been called Hijacking; partly from the name Tracker Jacker but also because it Hijacks your memories and essentially... your brain. If you change the memories, you can change a person's intent, make them question things they have believed for years. Without certain experiences and with other new ones, we change our course in life, we don't have... any real reason for doing certain things. So if Snow can change your memories of Katniss, twist moments of love spent together into something darker... you could end your love for her, make you want to harm her. If the Mockingjay ended up dead... the revolution would too. Leaving Snow to sit upon his throne of dead children. It's cruel... too cruel... and I'm sorry, Peeta. I'm so sorry."