Chapter Ten

I slip in and out of consciousness, and it feels wrong. I start to realize someone has probably been lacing the food I've been eating with a sedative. I sluggishly grab the spoon from my broth they gave me, and I begin scratching at the walls. I've been here six days now. Six days of not knowing if Katniss is alive.

I cringe and try to stop myself from thinking that way. I have to believe she's alive. I have to.

Another confusing factor to all of this is the note from Johanna. She knew that whatever this is, was coming? How? What is this all anyways? The only thing clear about her message was her warning about the lack of time I have to get us out of here. How much time do I really have, though?

I trace the dents I've made in the door trying to kick it open. It's stupid really, to think I could even get it open, but I've reached a whole new level of desperation. I look down at my swollen hands and realize my index finger on my left hand is most definitely broken. All of my attempts to stupidly punch at the brick wall have only weakened my poor condition. My stomach growls as a reminder of how little I've eaten. Surely my ribs are protruding more today than six days ago, and I'm reminded of how I was before the first hunger games.

I sit back and close my eyes. Her face fills my mind, and I can't hold any of it back anymore. A shudder of guilt runs through my body. It was my responsibility to keep her safe, and I've failed her. I will never stop owing her for saving me countless times, but the one time I'm faced with the duty; I have practically tied a bow around her neck and handed her over to danger.

My eyes shoot open when I hear it.

Katniss. Her screams fill the hallway right outside the thick metal door I 've been leaning against. She's screaming for me, and a jolt of horror goes through my body.

I bang on the door as hard as I can and scream out her name, but my voice is dry from lack of water, and not a sound comes out. I bang harder on the door, but silence quickly replaces her screams I heard just moments ago.

Tapping. Or at least that's what I think I hear. I press my ear awkwardly against the small crack under the door to try to listen. A low voice, coming from the left side of the hall is muffled, but disturbingly recognizable. I clamp my hand over my mouth to prevent the bile that is rising in my throat from escaping, as I realize whom the voice belongs to.

"She reacted as planned." Gale says flatly.

Traitor. He's the one responsible for this? Why is he doing this? Who is he working with and why? My blood boils beneath my skin as I think of multiple ways I can destroy him once I get out of here.

Heels click by my door, approaching the side of the hall where Gale is.

"She's been sedated and ready for the procedure." Gale says in a low voice, so low I'm almost unsure of what he's saying.

"Tell the others to prepare and to proceed immediately. We're running out of time." A woman's voice pierces the air with profound authority.

"Is—," Gale pauses. "President Thorne, what should I do with the other prisoners in the meantime?" He asks.

His words hang in the air for minutes before she answers. The silence is crippling, and I feel as though I should brace myself for her response. The others, meaning me and whomever else is being held in this strange place.

"Get rid of them." I can imagine her smiling by the way she says it, with such conviction in her tone. My hand drops as vomit covers the floor I'm sitting on. This is it.

I'm going to die. How will I save her now?

Click. Click. Click.

The woman is standing in front of my door now. My heart is beating out of my chest and my hands are shaking so badly I have to sit on them. A sharp pain is sent up my hand, and my broken finger throbs underneath my legs.

No one knocks this time, and she doesn't enter.

"Mr. Mellark, I was so hoping to finally meet you." She says behind the door, her voice lacking any true emotion to confirm her statement.

"So what's holding you back?" The words come out before I can stop myself.

"You don't know me, Mr. Mellark. Oh, but how well I know you..." She pauses, choosing her next words very carefully. "The nightmare was a nice touch wasn't it? Didn't even suspect anything but your own mind betraying you again. Very theatrical, I quite liked it." She laughs. "It was rather easy to get you here, but Ms. Everdeen, oh she hasn't changed at all has she? She was far more challenging, so difficult that one." She says.

"Who are you?" I spit, ignoring her ramblings.

"Someone you should be very careful with, Mr. Mellark." She says sternly. Her tone has changed, revealing undeniable malice. "I would hate to use some of my father's old methods on you again."

My stomach twists and I begin to feel vomit rising again in my throat, and I have to bite my tongue to inflict some other sort of pain to prevent it. The room is spinning and I have to shut my eyes.

And just like that, she walks away, her footsteps fading as she moves further down the hall into nothingness.

President Snow is dead.

But that fact couldn't mean any less at this point. He's left something behind far worse than his scars on Panem.

He's left behind a daughter with a vengeance.

Author's Note: I am so sorry it took me so long to write this! I hope you all enjoy, and hope to get Chapter 11 up soon! Stay tuned. You're all awesome.