Chapter Text
Disclaimer: I don’t own the Hunger Games or any of its characters. The OC’s, of which there are many, are of my own creation.
Summary: The Mockingjay has been seen. The song has been sung. The Revolution has begun. Now it is up to Mikhail to fight for what he knows and believes is right. Freedom.
WARNINGS: HET! (M/F) SLASH! (M/M) VIOLENCE! ANGST! CHARACTER DEATH!
Stars Look Down
Chapter One
It was hot, almost unbearably hot, and yet not a single person shifted from where they were stood exposed in the centre of the main square watching the big screens which had been erected as per usual to broadcast the annual Hunger Games.
Despite the fact that viewing was compulsory it was unusual for the square to be so crowded at such a late stage in the Games, for people to be packed shoulder to shoulder, their eyes straining to see each and every detail on the large screens, their hands surreptitiously interlocking at their sides in a silent display of comfort and solidarity.
Usually their Tributes were lost during the first few days, either killed during the initial bloodbath or unable to survive in whatever landscape the Gamemakers threw them into.
Growing up in such an urban environment had only ever been helpful twice in the history of the Games; during the 16th Hunger Games when a fifteen year old Woof had been able to navigate the maze that was the abandoned city with such speed and agility that his enemies just hadn't been able to keep up and then during the 59th Hunger Games when eighteen year old Cecelia had outwitted her opponents after they'd found themselves locked in the ruins of a train station, using her knowledge of an urban environment to keep herself one step ahead until she only had to take out one Tribute in combat.
In terms of survival odds District Eight was ranked right down at the bottom, only just above District Twelve who had only ever had a single winner of the Games.
And yet this year the “usual way of things” had been turned on its head. Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, the Tributes of District Twelve were the joint favourites to win even after they'd both suffered horrific injuries at the hands of the Career Tributes and the Gamemakers and Adya Kaminski, who as a “crippled” Tribute should have been picked off during the initial bloodbath, was still alive on this, the eighth day of the 74th Hunger Games, something no other Tribute from District Eight had managed in years.
Up on the screens the images suddenly changed, the central screen following what was obviously the Careers Tributes latest hunt while the two smaller screens on either side showed Adya, standing with his arms outstretched and obviously singing despite the lack of sound and Katniss Everdeen sharing her food with the little girl from District Eleven.
“Looks like it's time for Bruno to leave the Games, Caesar,” Claudius Templesmith announced gleefully as the audience were forced to watch the boy from District Ten stumbling through the trees, his unsteady gate painfully obvious. “And I think it's safe to say that whatever he did to get a training score of nine it didn't include running.”
“You might be right there, Claudius,” Caesars sickeningly sweet voice echoed throughout the large square, making more than one of the large audience flinch or shudder.
On the screen Bruno, his eyes wide with fear and his chest heaving, came to a sudden stop at the base of a large tree and the camera switched to show the three Careers pursuing him briefly before focusing on his face as he obviously tried to think of a way out.
“What are you thinking, dear boy?” Caesar murmured thoughtfully before gasping dramatically when Bruno threw himself towards the tree, desperately grabbing hold of the available handholds as he began climbing. “Apparently tree climbing is popular this year!”
His progress was painfully slow, his withered right leg no help to him at all and all too soon the Careers were stood at the base of the tree laughing up at him.
“Where are you going to go, Hop Along?” Cloves voice was suddenly broadcast around the square as she took out one of her throwing knives and, with deadly accuracy, buried the blade in the branch that Bruno had just been about to take hold of.
A choked sob escaped the poor boys mouth as he hugged the thick trunk of the tree for a moment before attempting to continue his ascent, a single tear running down his cheek.
“Shame we don't have that bow anymore,” Marvel muttered, tossing his deadly spear from one hand to another, his eyes never leaving the climbing figure for a moment. “Would have made this nice and easy…”
“What, like last time?” Cato scoffer end loudly, crossing his arms across his chest. “I'm enough of a man to admit that my archery skills are somewhat lacking and I know full well that yours are even worse than mine. And let's not mention Cloves…”
The deadly female Career turned to growl at her District partner before throwing another blade up at their target, this time hitting the main trunk beside his withered leg.
“I though your aim was meant to be good…” Marvel muttered, obviously unimpressed.
“My aim is perfect, asshole,” Clove snapped, elbowing him in the stomach. “It's called prolonging the inevitable, not that you'd know anything about that.”
“Knock it off, Clove,” Cato ordered sharply, cutting off Marvels angry response. “Just hurry up and bring him down. We've got more important prey to find.”
In the end she didn't need to. The gathered crowd sucked in a horrified breath when Bruno’s withered leg gave out from underneath him as he was trying to reach the next available branch, unbalancing him and sending him plummeting towards the ground with a terrified scream.
Almost as one they averted their gaze, looking at their feet or the sky or even burying their faces in someone else's shoulder rather than watch his body strike the ground, the sound of it happening bad enough as his screams were cut off by a sickening thud.
The next sound they heard was the familiar echo of the cannon, followed by the equally familiar sound of Marvels booming laughter and when they looked back at the screen they found the Career Tribute stood oven the mangled body with a bright grin on his face.
“And that, ladies and gentlemen, brings us down to the final ten Tributes,” Claudius’s voice informed them, the audio from the Arena cutting off with an audible click. “What an unusual year we’re having, Caesar, full of so many surprises.”
“I know what you mean, Claudius,” Caesar chuckled brightly as their heavily made up face replaced the gruesome image. “Shall we see how our Girl On Fire is reacting to the latest cannon? Or shall we listen to our little songbirds latest performance on a quick playback?”
“Oh, let's hear his latest song, Caesar,” Claudius agreed, turning to offer his co-host an obviously fake smile. “I'm dying to hear what he's come up with now.”
A murmur of disapproval spread through the crowd as the two of them descended into almost childish giggles at his choice of words, entirely inappropriate behaviour to anyone in the Districts but completely acceptable if not encouraged in the Capitol.
"Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows, Everything that's wonderful is what I feel when we’re together. Brighter than a lucky penny, When you're near the rain cloud just disappears, dear, And I feel so fine just to know that you are mine.”
Caesar and Claudius were cheering, clapping loudly in approval of the chirpy song which was so different to all the others they'd heard him perform thus far in the Games.
“His mother used to sing that one all the time,” Brandon murmured sadly, resting his hands on his daughter’s shoulders as he thought of his old friends. “She sang it to his father.”
Mikhail sighed, squeezing his mothers hand when she too seemed upset by the song.
He was a tall boy, one of the tallest in his year in fact, and he towered over his mother.
He'd inherited most of his looks from his father; dark brown hair which turned into a tight abundance of curls if he let it grow too long, light tanned skin covered in a healthy dusting of dark hair, particularly on his broad chest but definitely not enough to be considered “too hairy” by the girls in his year who flocked to gain his attention.
Not that he had any cause to care what they thought about him, devoted to his girlfriend as he was and had been since they'd got together when they were both fourteen.
His build was definitely something else he'd inherited from his father.
Strong, broad shoulders, trim, muscular torso, long, equally muscular legs and big feet.
For some reason this last fact had been a subject of much merriment amongst his female peers, including Juno, his girlfriend, and it wasn't until he'd gone to his father for an explanation that he'd finally understood their giggling and suggestive remarks.
His blue eyes, however, had obviously been a gift from his mother.
Mikhail sighed, squeezing his mother’s hand when she too seemed upset by the song.
“My life is sunshine, lollipops and rainbows, That's how this refrain goes, so come on and join in everybody! Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows, Everything that's wonderful is sure to come your way, When your in love to stay.”
On Mikhail's other side his girlfriend leaned her head against his broad shoulder, hugging his arm tightly as she tried to hold back tears as she listened to her old friend sing.
Adya had always been prone to bursting into song even when they were little, somehow having a song for every occasion thanks to his mother and could turn even the most tedious day at school into a “spectacular extravaganza” much to their teachers annoyance.
He hated the fact that he hadn't thought to search for him after the fire, hadn't wondered why he'd stopped coming to school despite knowing that he had survived, hadn't questioned the fact that with his parents gone he would be all alone.
The guilt he felt was like a lead weight in his stomach and, combined with the guilt he felt about not ignoring Adya's logical protest and volunteering in his place, had left him unable to function for the last fifteen days, suffering from sleepless nights and a lack of appetite.
“Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows, Everything that's wonderful is what I feel when we’re together. Brighter than a lucky penny, When you're near the rain cloud just disappears, dear, And I feel so fine just to know that you are mine.”
“…there's more?” the boy from District Three who Adya had befriended asked weakly, much to the annoyance of the two Capitol men now dancing on one of the other screens. “Ok, now I completely understand why you need to get that out of your head. That's just…annoyingly chipper and completely inappropriate for the Hunger Games.”
It seemed as though Adya's sightless eyes were actually fixed on the camera as he smirked, sucking in a sharp breath as he gasped out his response before continuing with the song, “I know, right? My life is sunshine, lollipops and rainbows, That's how this refrain goes, so come on and join in everybody! Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows, Everything that's wonderful is sure to come your way, ‘Cause you're in love! You're in love! And love is here to stay!”
Silence followed the end of the song in the square despite the vigorous applause coming from one of the smaller screens where Caesar and Claudius were returning to their seats.
“Oh, wasn't that just wonderful!” Caesar exclaimed happily, offering the camera one of his trademark smiles, showing off his impossibly white teeth. “I smell another hit song in the making! Did you know that Go The Distance is currently the most popular song in the Capitol? I adored his original performance but Valeria has done such a wonderful job.”
Mikhail shuddered.
They'd been raving about Adya's singing almost as much as they had been raving about the Girl On Fire and had even had an in depth conversation about what he could look forward to in terms of a music career should he “emerge victorious” from the Games.
“Looks like something going on with our Girl On Fire,” Caesar suddenly announced and the screens did another instantaneous switch so that Katniss's admittedly striking face filled the larger screen for a long moment before the camera pulled back to reveal the fact that she and her little friend were building what appeared to be a bonfire.
“This green stuff is gonna smoke like crazy, so as soon as you light it move on to the next fire,” Katniss's clear voice announced from the screen as they both placed a collection of large green ferns on top of the wood they'd arranged in a small pyramid, her accent still a little strange to hear. “Light this one last and I’ll meet you back over there.”
“Right.”
Mikhail wasn't the only one to grimace when the little girl, Rue, nodded.
Even her voice sounded young.
Too young.
“And then I’ll destroy their stuff while they’re chasing us,” Katniss concluded simply, stepping back to admire their work and nodding to herself, obviously finding it satisfactory.
“Looks like we might get a little more action today, folks,” Caesar practically giggled as the two girls on the screen turned away from their bonfire, the screen splitting briefly to show four other fires made up just like the one they'd just been seen completing.
“We need a signal in case one of us gets held up,” Rue announced, looking nervously around them as she obviously struggled to remain as calm as possible.
Mikhail couldn't imagine what it would be like to be in the Games at twelve years old.
It was disgusting.
“Ok. Like what?”
A close up of Rue’s dark face showed her looking thoughtful for a moment before smiling.
“Here. Watch this,” she instructed her ally before looking up into the trees and singing a simple little melody, made up of no more than four notes, which was instantly picked up by dozens of birds and repeated over and over again, filling the air with her song.
“Mockingjays,” Katniss came to the same conclusion as her audience with a smile, her eyes filled with an innocent sort of wonder as the birds finally began to trail off. “That’s great.”
“Back home we use them to signal all the time,” Rue admitted softly. “You try.”
Either Katniss couldn't sing or she simply preferred not to as her melody was created in the form of a whistle, again it was simple but significantly more memorable than Rue's.
Instantly the birds picked it up and began singing it back at her.
Mikhail couldn't help but be a little entranced and he wasn't the only one, their urban District never having experienced Mockingjays as the birds preferred woodland areas.
“Ok, so if we hear that, it means we’re ok and we’ll be back real soon.”
All of them could hear the tremble which appeared in the young girl’s voice.
“We’re gonna be ok,” Katniss murmured, pulling her young friend into an almost motherly hug, pressing her face into the smaller girls hair for a long moment before pulling back, holding onto Rue's shoulders for a moment longer. “Hey…I’ll see you for supper.”
“Ok.”
“Ok.”
The cameras stayed with Katniss as the two girls split up, following the older girl as she began making her way quietly through the trees heading for the Cornucopia.
“Finally!” Claudius cried happily, clapping his hands once. “A challenge!”
One of the other screens changed to show a close up view of the Careers mountain of supplies before pulling back to reveal the Adya and Cato sat close together, eating a tasty looking meal whilst chatting tightly with Clove, Marvel and Sam, the boy from three.
Juno gasped loudly.
“She's going to destroy the supplies,” she muttered quickly, looking up at her much taller boyfriend with worry in her dark brown eyes. “Adya. Adya doesn't leave the camp…”
His stomach clenched, the lead weight seeming to sink even further as he realised just what she was implying, as he came to the same conclusion she had. Adya would be at the camp when Katniss attacked it.
“No…”
But there was nothing they could do.
They watched as Rue began lighting the first of the bonfires on one of the smaller screens, using another fern to fan the flames until thick grey smoke began to billow out.
It took only moments for Katniss's plan to enter into effect, just as the girl in question arrived at the Cornucopia, ducking down just inside the tree line to watch the camp.
“Hey! What’s that?” “That would be smoke, Marvel,” Clove answered simply before her voice became sickly sweet as she continued derisively. “You know, that funny cloud that’s produced when you have a fire? I’m sure even you’ve seen it before.”
“You know, I might be able to feel a bit sorry for Cato or even Marvel but that girl is just too…evil,” his mother, Eliza, sighed. “How could her mother let her grow up like that?”
Sasha, Mikhail's fourteen year old sister, reached out to take her mother’s hand.
“I know what smoke is,” Marvel growled. “I just meant we should probably check it out, find the idiot that started the fire. Might manage to get a proper kill this time.”
“Who do think it is?” Clove asked as the three Careers armed themselves ready for their second hunt of the day, concealing blades all over their bodies. “I can't imagine the Burning Bitch being that stupid which means it's probably one of the little ones.”
“The little ones…” Mikhail muttered. “She's one of the smallest ones in there.”
“You know that's not what she means,” Juno sighed sadly. “She means…”
“I know what she means,” Mikhail cut her off. “I just hope that someone treats her, a little one, the same way she intends to treat them before these Games are over.”
“Mikhail!” his mother hissed sharply, smacking the back of his hand. “I raised you better than that. We do not encourage or look forward to the deaths in the Games, you know that. The moment we start thinking like that we’re no better than them.”
She nodded towards the third screen which showed Caesar and Claudius, both of them perched on the edges of their seats, elbows lent on the desk as they eagerly awaited the “challenge” about to be made inside the Arena.
Mikhail huffed.
“But you said yourself that's she's an evil little…”
“That's no excuse to start thinking like them,” Eliza announced firmly before turning her attention back to the screen, Mikhail copying her a moment later and finding himself gazing at an enormous image of his friend and Cato kissing almost sweetly.
Caesar and Claudius almost squealed in response.
“I'll see you when I get back,” Cato murmured when they finally separated. “Stay safe.”
It took Mikhail a moment to realise what Adya was doing, running his fingertips all over the taller boys face, but then he suddenly realised that he was trying to “see” him.
His guilt flared painfully.
Adya shouldn't be in that Arena.
None of them should be.
“You too,” Adya ordered softly before initiating another kiss, this one significantly more passionate with both boys seemingly content for it to last as long as possible. Clove was less patient, clearing her throat loudly which caused them to break apart.
“Little miss spoil sport…” Caesar muttered before laughing softly. “I was enjoying that.”
Mikhail couldn't hold back a shudder.
Enjoying that?
Two boys who shouldn't be possibly saying goodbye for the last time?
He had a horrible feeling that the people in the Capitol would be reacting the same way, not upset by the inevitable deaths that were soon to happen but upset that the “hot boy on boy action” had been interrupted, or rudely interrupted he imagined they'd say.
“You ok?” Sam’s soft voice brought his attention back to the centre screen just as Adya chuckled, just like he had back when they'd been in class one day and he'd successfully tied Ethan Walkers shoe laces together without the bully noticing, causing him to trip and fall in front of most of his victims when he tried to get up at the end of their class, actually breaking his nose.
Adya had always said that the black eye he'd received in response had been worth it.
It was a nice sound.
A reminder of the “good old days” as they said.
“D’you know, you ask me that question a lot?”
A close up of Katniss smiling dominated the third screen before she frowned, her excellent eyesight finally noticing the odd mounds of dirt surrounding the supplies.
“I want to see if she’s going to figure out this booby trap,” Caesar murmured, leaning forwards in anticipation on the second screen which seemed to be devoted to the two “officials” for the moment, the action taking place on the other two screens.
“Yes, it seems they’ve reburied their mines around that big pile of goodies,” Claudius explained as though they hadn't all watched them doing it a couple of days previously.
Katniss prepared to step forwards.
And then there was the girl from District Five, a camera quickly shifting to follow her as she sprinted silently out of the tree line and over to the supply mountain.
They all seen her watching the Careers camp for the last few days.
They'd all seen hunger taking its toll on her.
They'd all seen her try this before only to back out at the last minute.
And now they watched as she began following the safe lather through the mines.
“She’s certainly figured it out, hasn’t she?”
Snatching up a medium sized back of supplies the girl didn't even hesitate before jumping off the mountain, around the last few mines, before sprinting towards the opposite tree line to the one she'd emerged from only moments before.
Her plan was obvious to them, simple but efficient, but it wasn't until she was running away that the supposed guards of the camp seemed to notice something had happened.
“What was that?” Sam asked, turning his head from side to side as he tried to identify the source of the clunking noise made by her bounty as she fled the scene.
And that was when Mikhail saw the grin on Adya's face.
“He heard her coming…” he murmured, chuckling softly as Adya denied hearing anything.
“Do you know what, I think our little song bird heard her coming?” Caesar gasped loudly, obviously having come to the same conclusion. “I wonder why he didn't call her out?”
“Perhaps because he's a decent human being?” Juno muttered under her breath.
“I could have sworn I heard something…” Sam sighed deeply on the main screen before getting up from his seat, turning to face Adya as he continued somewhat awkwardly, “I…um…I need to answer a call of nature. I won't go far.”
“Ok.”
As ever when a Tribute had to “answer a call of nature” the cameras stayed away from them, this time staying with Adya in the camp site instead.
This wasn't to give the Tributes privacy.
No, it was so that the Capitol audience wasn't forced to watch something so “disgusting.”
Killing was fine but defecating in public was just one step too far, apparently.
“Adya…” Juno gasped fearfully as the screens swapped so that an image of Katniss preparing to fire an arrow dominated the centre screen, a close up of the supply mountain appearing on the third screen. “I…I can't watch…”
His girlfriend wasn't the only one to turn her face away when Katniss let her arrow fly.
It didn't hit Adya as most of them had expected it to.
Instead it had just caught the bottom of a bag of apples near the top of the supplies.
“What is she doing?” Caesar voiced the question they were all thinking.
Katniss prepared a second arrow, her deep breathing echoing loudly throughout the square for a long moment before she finally let the arrow fly.
It split open the bag of apples which immediately began bouncing towards the ground.
Towards the…
“Oh my…” Caesar muttered in obvious shock. “That's…”
“Brilliant!” Claudius finished for him, his voice little more than a squeak.
Just as the first explosion was triggered the screens switched once more, the largest screen now showing Adya in front of the supply mountain, a look of utter horror on his face.
“Sam!”
One small explosion turned into two, three and then the largest explosion any of them had ever seen, picking poor Adya up off of his feet and sending him flying through the air.
On the second screen Katniss herself was knocked down.
Debris continued to fall for a long moment, the camera eventually focusing on Adya where he lay on his front, his head turned to one side which blood trickling down his neck.
The back of his jacket had been ripped to shreds and they could easily see lumps of jagged shrapnel protruding from his skin, blood flowing sluggishly from the countless wounds.
Mikhail swallowed back bile as his stomach clenched.
“Cato…”
On the screen his eyes fluttered closed, the pain disappearing from his face and the people gathered in the square of his District waited…and waited…
But no cannon came.
“He's still alive…” Sasha whimpered tearfully. “He's…”
They'd all seen Tributes bleed to death in previous Games.
It was slow.
It was painful.
And the Capitol loved it.
They saw Katniss pulling herself to her feet on the smaller screen, shaking her head as though she was struggling to focus just as Sam reached his injured friend.
“Adya…”
More than one person lost the meagre contents of their stomachs when Adya let out a cry of pain in response to the younger boy rolling him over and taking him as gently as he could manage into his arms, his hands wiping away the blood flowing from the other boy’s mouth.
“I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…” Adya's sightless eyes flickered open, the glazed orbs somehow filled with pain. “Not…your fault…not…not anyone's…fault…just…”
Mikhail tightened his arms around his mother and girlfriend when they both moved to bury their faces in his chest as Adya's weak voice was cut off by his own coughs, blood flying from between his lips and covering both him and Sam in the red liquid.
“Adya…”
Sam’s tears were almost as bad as Adya's, the regret in his voice echoing the feeling of guilt that had been tearing him apart and would continue to tear him apart for years to come.
He should have volunteered.
At least he'd have stood a chance.
“Hurts…didn't…didn't think it'd be…like this…wanted it to…to…to…”
Surprisingly even Caesar and Claudius were silent although the third screen had shifted away from Katniss and now displayed the Careers returning to the Cornucopia as fast as their legs could take them, panic etched on their striking features.
“…to be…quick and…pain…painless…I don't…”
A brief image of Katniss stumbling back into the tree line preceded the Careers return to the Cornucopia, Cato letting out an almost hysterical scream as he sprinted towards the camp.
“Adya!”
Mikhail found himself feeling almost sorry for Career when he saw the look of abject horror spreading across his features when he was finally close enough to see the blood literally covering the boy he had fallen in love with during the 74th a Hunger Games.
“Adya!”
They all watched as poor Sam, whose entire body was trembling with fear, looked up at the distraught Career and struggled to force words out from behind his lips.
“I…”
That was as far as he got before Cato was upon him, a scream of fear escaping his lips as the Career ripped him out from beneath the obviously fatally wounded Tribute and without further ado snapped his neck in a quick, clean motion.
Sam’s cannon came at the moment his body his the floor and was unusually quiet.
“S-Sam…?”
Adya sounded both fearful and resigned, his head tilting towards Cato when the older boy dropped to his knees beside him and carefully pulled his body so that his head was pillowed on the Careers muscular thighs, his hands automatically attempting to wipe away the blood.
“What…what did…?”
“He's dead.”
Mikhail didn't think he'd ever heard a Career sound so hollow when discussing a kill.
A sound like a wounded animal tore itself out of Adya throat when the Career gently reached underneath him to assess the worst of his wounds, cutting off with a sharp groan as he pressed his face against Cato’s thigh as blood began to flow constantly from his mouth.
“Adya…”
“Quick? Sam…was it…?”
The fact that he was worried about his friends suffering instead of his own reminded Adya of the countless times Adya had stood up to a bully on behalf of someone else or had taken the blame for something he hadn't done just to spare someone else a punishment he didn't think they deserve, like the time he ended up in the town stocks for taking the blame for a theft of food that had actually been done by the youngest and frailest girl in their class.
“I broke his neck,” Cato responded on the screen. “He wouldn't have felt a thing.”
Mikhail wasn't the only one to gasp in shock when Adya suddenly froze, his sightless eyes going wide as his whole body tensed up for a long moment before finally going completely limp in the other boys arms, gasping desperately for air.
“Adya!”
He wouldn't survive much longer but why, why did he have to suffer so much?
“Hurts…”
A new, slightly unexpected voice entered the conversation and the camera pulled back to show all four Tributes gathered close together in the remains of their camp.
“Who did this?” Marvel demanded, his voice seemingly little more than a growl.
He seemed genuinely angry and upset by what had happened.
“…bow…” Adya somehow managed to choke out. “…shot at…”
Thankfully that was all the three Careers needed to hear to get their answer, sparing Adya from having to force any more pain filled words out between his fight to keep breathing.
“Find her!”
“Run, Katniss, run!” Claudius actually giggled, sparking a murmur of disapproval in the packed square at his apparent disrespect for the events taking place.
The image of Katniss stumbling unsteadily through the trees was replaced, briefly, with an image of Marvel and Clove running into the woods together before splitting up and going their separate ways, at which point the camera returned to Katniss.
“Adya, I'm sorry…”
“Not…your fault…” Adya whimpered, seemingly repeating his earlier words. “Not…not anyone's…fault…s’just the way it is…in the G-Games…”
His gentle words only seemed to make Cato's tears worse and he wasn't the only one.
Numerous people in the square were openly sobbing.
Mikhail feared it wouldn't be long before he joined them.
“I was going to win this for you…I was going to get you home…”
All of a sudden Cato seemed much younger than he really was, his striking blue eyes silently pleading for someone, anyone to help him save Adya's life.
Mikhail feared that, even if someone were to send help it would already be too late.
“I am going home…”
And that was it.
Mikhail's tears spilled out onto his cheeks, running silently down his face as his entire body trembled with an effort to contain his gut wrenching sobs.
“It hurts…”
The kiss they shared was one of the emotional kisses Mikhail ever seen.
Cato seemed determined to put his very soul into the action, heedless of the blood now covering his face from Adya's lips and uncontrollable coughing even as they kissed.
“I'm sorry…” he gasped against Adya's lips when they finally parted. “I'm sorry I wasn't here. I'm sorry I could stop her. I'm sorry I couldn't save you. I'm sorry I can't…”
“Shhh…” Adya murmured, pressing trembling fingers across Cato's lips. “It's ok…”
“It's not ok!” Mikhail never thought he'd find himself agreeing with a Career.
“Yes, it is…” Adya murmured, offering his boyfriend a sad smile as he gently began running his fingertips across Cato's quivering lips. “I knew the…the moment that my name…was…was c-called out that there was…”
He broke off, coughing sharply and uncontrollably.
“…that there was no way I was going to be coming home in…anything but a coffin…”
“It should have been me…” Mikhail found himself gasping even as Cato continued to speak up on the big screen. “I should never have let him go in there…”
“I was going to save you…”
How they got the camera angle Mikhail would never know but the next thing they knew they were being treated to a view of Adya smiling sadly up at his boyfriend, blood beginning to dry on his cheeks even as more blood trickled out of his mouth.
“You did. You did save me, Cato, and I…I have felt more…alive and at…at peace these past few days with you…than I have in…in the three years since…since I…”
Since he lost everything.
His sight.
His home.
His family.
His friends.
Juno reached out, her pale hand cupping his jaw and forcing his eyes to meet hers.
“Stop,” she ordered him firmly, her voice breaking with suppressed emotion. “He wouldn't…he wouldn't want you to feel like this. It's not your fault…”
“But we never checked up on him, Juno,” he gasped weakly, one of his own hands moving to mirror her action, cupping her pale jaw. “We just…forgot about him…”
“We didn't forget shout him,” Juno countered instantly. “We looked for him and the authorities told us he was being taken care of, remember? If anyone's to blame it's them. They're the ones who left him on his own after his wounds had healed.”
“But…”
“We had no way of knowing where he was,” Juno pressed on firmly. “You have to stop torturing yourself about things that you can't possibly change.”
“You made me feel human,” Cato's voice echoed through the square, drawing his attention back to the screen just as they shared what could only be described as a tender kiss. “You made me feel loved and…and I'll never forget that. I just wish…”
“I want you to try and…win this thing…for yourself now…”
Juno stroked the stubble beginning to cover his cheeks.
“Adya was not and is not and will never be the type of person who would want you to torture yourself like you have been…” she finished softly, her thumb stroking across his lips.
“I want you to live and…remember me…”
“I could never forget you…”
All eyes were pulled away from the image of them sharing another loving kiss when a scream sounded from the other screen, an image appearing of Rue caught in a net trap which had sprung shut around her, knocking her to the ground. Her screams were borderline hysterical as she pulled desperately at the netting, pressing up with her hands and feet, did anything she could to shift the net from where it was lying across her vulnerable body, pinning her to the ground.
“No…” his mother gasped, turning to look at the screen in horror. “Not her too.”
They couldn't take any more senseless deaths in one day.
They just couldn't.
“K-Katniss?”
Her voice was soft at first, weak, but then she began to scream in earnest.
“Katniss! Katniss, please, help me!”
The sound from her scream cut off suddenly although the horrific image of her struggling underneath the net was still there, the Gamemakers obviously deciding that listening to Adya's final moments were more appealing than her desperate screams.
“I love you, Adya…”
“…love you too…”
It sounded as though every word coming out of his mouth was causing him pain.
And to think they'd all thought that no death could be more horrific than that poor boys had been earlier when he'd fallen from the tree.
At least he hadn't lingered…
“C-Cato?”
“Yes, love?”
“It hurts…please…make it stop…”
A hush fell on the crowd.
They all knew exactly what he was asking for and not a single one of them could blame him.
“Adya…”
“Please…”
Cato clenched his eyes tightly shut for a long moment.
No one could blame him.
If he were in his place, if Juno was lying in his arms like that, begging him to put an end to her pain Mikhail honestly didn't know if he'd be strong enough to do it.
Killing a stranger in order to survive was one thing.
Killing someone you loved was completely different.
Eventually the Career Tribute opened his eyes, tears falling unheeded down his cheeks as he reached out and picked up his abandoned sword, pulling it towards him with the tip drawing a line through the scorched earth before he placed the deadly point against Adya's chest.
Right above his heart.
“At least he'll be able to make it quick,” Mikhail's father muttered. “A Career knows exactly where to place their blade when going for the kill so…”
“I love you, Adya,” Cato all but sobbed, leaning down to press their lips together in a demanding yet gentle kiss, lingering as long as possible. “I love you.”
Adya smiled sadly.
“I love you too, Cato.”
As the two fell silent so did the crowd watching them, not even the Peacekeepers making a single sound where they stood watching over the large crowd, rifles at the ready.
Cato moved between one breath and the next.
He drove his sword deep into Adya's chest, his face a mask of true horror as his latest victim tensed, sucking in a final lungful of air and then went completely limp.
Adya's sightless eyes seemed to be locked with Cato's, his mouth twisted into a gentle smile.
The all too familiar cannon sounded, followed by a horrific scream of pure rage and grief that left every member of the crowd truly shaken, watching with wide eyes as the sword was pulled free of Adya's body and flung away, watching as one of their own was gathered up into the arms of a truly hysterical Career who seemed incapable of doing anything but cry.
And that was it.
Just like that Adya was gone.
He barely registered the fact that his little sister had pulled herself free of their father’s arms until she appeared on the stage, climbing up the steps in a move so reminiscent of a Tribute walking to their death that several people actually cried out.
“This is for Adya,” she announced as clearly as she could and Mikhail froze, eyeing the Peacekeepers altering their grips on their rifles as though expecting the worst. “He taught me this song a long time ago, when I was a little girl and I always thought I'd want it sung at my funeral. Now I'd like to sing it for him.”
She glanced nervously at the Peacekeepers before taking a deep breath and beginning.
His sister had never been a natural singer, not like Adya, but in that moment it didn't matter that her voice shook and she fell off of most of the notes.
It was the words that mattered.
“Do not stand at my grave and weep, I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glint on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle, gentle autumn rain.
Do not stand at my grave and weep, I am not there, I do not sleep.
When you awake in the morning hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush,
Of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft, soft starlight, starlight at night.
Do not stand at my grave and weep, I am not there, I do not sleep.”
No one applauded.
It wasn't the type of song you applauded.
But even the Peacekeepers seemed to have been effected, their guns forgotten as they watched her make her way back to their father, all but throwing herself into his arms.
They heard rather than saw the screen change, Katniss whistling clearly and the birds responding instantly as she continued to move slowly through the trees.
Rue didn't respond.
Some people towards the back of the large group began making their way out of the square and no one did anything to stop them but most stayed to find out what happened to the little girl who had been caught in the Careers hunting trap.
“Do you want to leave?” Mikhail asked softly, looking down at his girlfriend who was weeping softly into his shirt. “We don't have to stay…”
“Yes, we do,” his mother announced firmly, nodding towards the screen. “For her.”
Up on the screen Rue was still fighting with the net whilst on the smaller screen Katniss had come across the unlit fire, a look of genuine concern marring her attractive features.
She tried the whistle again but only the birds responded.
“Katniss!”
It was strange seeing Rue scream on one screen but hearing her on another and it was made even worse when the third screen, which had been focused on Caesar and Claudius for so long, suddenly shifted to dhow marvel who was obviously only a little way behind Katniss when she took off in a desperate search for the source of the screams.
“Katniss! Katniss, help!”
Marvel smirked, shifting his grip on his spear as he followed the path trod by Katniss only moments before, the usually careful Tribute leaving obvious signs in her hurry.
“Katniss! Katniss! Help! Katniss!”
Katniss whimpered when she came around a large tree and finally spotted her friend caught up in the obvious trap, still desperately struggling in vain to free herself.
“Katniss?” Rue gasped, her hoarse voice suddenly filled with hope.
The screens changed once more, the largest one showing Katniss and Rue as the older girl began desperately sawing through the rope holding the net shut with her knife while the other two showed and excited Caesar and Claudius once more, both with their fingers pressed to their mouths as Marvel appeared on the last screen.
He was watching Katniss free Rue from the trap.
He was there with them and they had no idea.
“Not another one…” his mother gasped. “Please, not another one…”
“It’s ok,” Katniss gasped as she finally cut through the rope and pulled the net off of Rue, dragging the sobbing girl up into a tight hug. “You’re ok. You’re fine. See?”
Marvel stepped forwards, spear in position ready to be thrown at his chosen target.
Now they had two different angles of the same scene.
Rue's eyes went wide as she caught sight of Marvel, her body locking up even as Katniss turned to see what had spooked her young friend.
Katniss ducked when Marvel threw his spear, drawing an arrow and firing off a shot at him in the blink of an eye but sadly Rue was too frightened to move and the crowd could do nothing but gasp as they saw the deadly tip of the spear enter her chest.
A cannon sounded.
Marvel was dead, killed almost instantly by Katniss's deadly accurate shot.
She blinked down at the spear as though she couldn't feel it, her hand reaching down to pull it from her chest just as Katniss turned to check on her.
“God!” Katniss gasped in horror as she caught sight of what had happened, her arms automatically moving to catch the younger girl when her legs gave way beneath her.
Unzipping Rue's black jacket Katniss revealed a rapidly growing stain in the centre of her chest, right above her heart and everyone knew that the little girl didn't stand a chance.
“At least she won't linger as long as…” someone muttered under their breath before trailing off, obviously feeling like everyone else that it was too soon to be comparing their most successful Tribute in years death to someone else's or vice versa.
Katniss sucked in a sharp breath, obviously struggling to maintain her composure as she fixed Rues jacket, hiding the blood from view thanks to the dark fabric.
“It’s ok. You’re ok,” she murmured softly, cradling Rue in her arms in a move reminiscent of how Cato had cradled Adya only minutes earlier. “You’re ok. You’re ok.”
Rue blinked up at her for moment before asking softly,
“Did you blow up the food?”
She must have heard the explosion, such drastic measures having not been part of their original plan or at least they hadn't been part of the bit they'd heard them discussing.
“Every bit of it,” Katniss answered her with a sad smile and a nod of her head.
“Good,” Rue managed to choke out, the sound causing his mother to whimper softly, her hand flashing out to grab hold of Sasha’s. “You have to win.”
Katniss looked away from her piercing gaze, her eyes finally taking the crumpled body that moments ago had been trying to kill her, her skin going slightly ashen.
He didn't understand why.
It wasn't like this was her first kill inside the Arena…although, he supposed, it was the first one that she had killed on purpose, with a weapon at her than as a “side effect.”
“Can you sing?” Rue asked suddenly, tears leaking silently down her cheeks.
“Ok,” Katniss agreed instantly, turning her attention back to the girl dying in her arms.
Claudius laughed loudly.
“More singing!” he explained, ignorant of the angry mutter that spread through the large group as he once again disrespected a Tribute so close to death.
“Perhaps we should rename it the Singing Games this year?” Caesar chuckled but hushed his co-host when Katniss begun singing softly, her voice thick with emotion and unsteady, each word somewhat mumbled but still recognisable.
"Deep in the meadow, under the willow.
A bed of grass, a soft green pillow.
Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes.
And when again they open, the sun will rise.
Here it's safe, and here it's warm.
Here the daisies guard you from every harm.
Here your dreams are sweet, and tomorrow brings them true.
Here is the place where I love you.
Deep in the meadow, hidden far away.
A cloak of leaves, a moon beam ray.
Forget your woes, and let your troubles lay.
And when again it's morning, they'll wash away.
Here it's safe, and here it's warm.
Here the daisies guard you from every harm.
Here your dreams are sweet, and tomorrow brings them true.
Here is the place where I love you.”
A cannon sounded as Katniss's voice trailed off, confirming what they already knew.
Rue was dead.
“I’m sorry…”
Katniss sobbed weakly as she closed the dead girl’s eyes and lay her down gently on the ground, leaning down to press an almost motherly kiss on her forehead.
The camera cut away suddenly as she let out a scream of pure rage and threw Marvels bloodied spear back towards his body, the image of Caesar and Claudius in their studio showing on all three screens for the first time that day.
Caesar let out a deep breath.
“Well wasn’t that an unexpected turn of events?” he asked with a deep chuckle, leaning back in his chair and spreading his hands wide.
“Indeed it was, Caesar, indeed it was,” Claudius agreed, turning his seat to face the blue haired host of the Hunger Games. “We’re down to, what the final…the final…?”
“Six,” Caesar gasped dramatically after checking with something behind the cameras that were filming them. “Ladies and Gentlemen, we are now down to our final six Tributes.”
“Amazing…” Claudius muttered, settling back in his chair as images of the final six Tributes appeared on the screen behind them, Caesar introducing each one with practised ease. “Katniss and Peeta, our star crossed lovers of District 12. Cato and Clove, the formidable pair from District 2. Finch, the clever little girl from District 5. And the mysterious Thresh from District 11, Rue’s partner who we haven’t seen much of thus far.”
“Who could have predicted a surprise like this so late in the Games?” Claudius chuckled.
“Not me, that’s for sure!” Caesar guffawed before the two smaller screens finally switched back to showing footage from inside the Arena, the one on the left show Cato still cradling Adya's body in his arms but no longer sobbing hysterically while the screen on the right showed Katniss gathering wild flowers, using her knife to cut through the stems.
They didn't have any wild flowers in District Eight.
There was nowhere suitable for them to grow.
The only trees they had in District Eight were beyond the electric fence which surrounded the large industrial area, separating them from the supposed “dangers” out there.
“What is she doing?” Mikhail couldn't stop himself from asking softly as they watched Katniss return to Rue's body where she began laying out the flowers.
Some she gathered into a bouquet which she slipped into the little girls hands, resting upon her chest, whilst most of them were placed on the ground around her body, a mixture of delicate looking white flowers that reminded him of the lace they made in one of the oldest factories and long blue flowers that were the same colour as the headscarf his mother wore.
It took her some time to complete her task and by the time she was finished the light was fading around them, their bellies rumbling with hunger and Rue looked like a sleeping princess from one of the old “fairy tales” some of the oldest workers knew.
Gathering up her things Katniss paused to press one final kiss to Rue's foreheads before turning and walking away from the memorable body…only to stop suddenly and turn towards a camera she could obviously see high up in one of the trees.
Moving slowly she brought her right hand to her mouth, her thumb holding her little finger to her palm, and kissed the tips of her fingers before raising it towards the camera.
Mikhail frowned.
He remembered the people of her District doing this when she volunteered instead of applauding and no one knowing quite what to make of it.
And then, at the front of the crowd, someone mimicked her salute back at the screen.
And then another hand was lifted into the air.
And another.
And another until everyone bar Mikhail had kissed three of their fingers on their right hand and saluted the girl for her compassion and loyalty to her friend, even though her actions earlier that day had effectively ended the life of one of their own Tributes.
Never let it be said that the people of District aright weren't an understanding bunch.
Finally he moved, copying her movements exactly and joined the others in a silent show of solidarity, the Peacekeepers obviously flustered, unsure what to do.
“Goodbye Adya,” he found himself whispering as he stood there with his hand raised. “I won't forget you. None of us will. I promise you that. You will be remembered.”
~*~*~
A/N - I'd originally intended for this to be a Prologue but then it kept getting longer…and longer…and then hey presto, twenty odd pages later we have a complete chapter. And it was even worse writing Adya's death scene a second time than it was the first time! You may also have noticed that this isn't the “fluffy and light” project I intended to do to recover from ‘No One Knows Who I Am’ and this is simply because of the awesome response I got from you guys who, understandably, were quite upset with me and demanding more. Well, here you go! As you can tell it's going to be slightly different but I hope you'll still like it. Also if you're interested which actors I've based my many…many…OC’s on I will post a list at some point but probably not until I've actually introduced them all. Don't want to ruin the surprise. I'm going to stop talking now as this looks more like an essay than an author’s note. Comments and Suggestions are most definitely welcome! X