My ongoing struggle against the Capitol, which has so often felt like a solitary journey, has not been undertaken alone. I have had thousands upon thousands of people from the districts at my side. I was their Mockingjay long before I accepted the role.
A new sensation begins to germinate inside me. But it takes until I am standing on a table, waving my final goodbyes to the hoarse chanting of my name, to define it. Power. I have a kind of power I never knew I possessed. Snow knew it, as soon as I held out those berries. Plutarch knew when he rescued me from the arena. And Coin knows now. So much so that she must publicly remind her people that I am not in control.
When we’re outside again, I lean against the warehouse, catching my breath, accepting the canteen of water from Boggs. «You did great,» he says.
Well, I didn’t faint or throw up or run out screaming. Mostly, I just rode the wave of emotion rolling through the place.
«We got some nice stuff in there,» says Cressida. I look at the insect cameramen, perspiration pouring from under their equipment. Messalla scribbling notes. I had forgotten they were even filming me.
«I didn’t do much, really,» I say.
«You have to give yourself some credit for what you’ve done in the past,» says Boggs.
What I’ve done in the past? I think of the trail of destruction in my wake—my knees weaken and I slide down to a sitting position. «That’s a mixed bag.»
«Well, you’re not perfect by a long shot. But times being what they are, you’ll have to do,» says Boggs.
Gale squats down beside me, shaking his head. «I can’t believe you let all those people touch you. I kept expecting you to make a break for the door.»
«Shut up,» I say with a laugh.
«Your mother’s going to be very proud when she sees the footage,» he says.
«My mother won’t even notice me. She’ll be too appalled by the conditions in there.» I turn to Boggs and ask, «Is it like this in every district?»
«Yes. Most are under attack. We’re trying to get in aid wherever we can, but it’s not enough.» He stops a minute, distracted by something in his earpiece. I realize I haven’t heard Haymitch’s voice once, and fiddle with mine, wondering if it’s broken. «We’re to get to the airstrip. Immediately,» Boggs says, lifting me to my feet with one hand. «There’s a problem.»
«What kind of problem?» asks Gale.
«Incoming bombers,» says Boggs. He reaches behind my neck and yanks Cinna’s helmet up onto my head. «Let’s move!»
Unsure of what’s going on, I take off running along the front of the warehouse, heading for the alley that leads to the airstrip. But I don’t sense any immediate threat. The sky’s an empty, cloudless blue. The street’s clear except for the people hauling the wounded to the hospital. There’s no enemy, no alarm. Then the sirens begin to wail. Within seconds, a low-flying V-shaped formation of Capitol hoverplanes appears above us, and the bombs begin to fall. I’m blown off my feet, into the front wall of the warehouse. There’s a searing pain just above the back of my right knee. Something has struck my back as well, but doesn’t seem to have penetrated my vest. I try to get up, but Boggs pushes me back down, shielding my body with his own. The ground ripples under me as bomb after bomb drops from the planes and detonates.
It’s a horrifying sensation being pinned against the wall as the bombs rain down. What was that expression my father used for easy kills?Like shooting fish in a barrel. We are the fish, the street the barrel.
«Katniss!» I’m startled by Haymitch’s voice in my ear.
«What? Yes, what? I’m here!» I answer.
«Listen to me. We can’t land during the bombing, but it’s imperative you’re not spotted,» he says.
«So they don’t know I’m here?» I assumed, as usual, it was my presence that brought on punishment.
«Intelligence thinks no. That this raid was already scheduled,» says Haymitch.
«Now Plutarch’s voice comes up, calm but forceful. The voice of a Head Gamemaker used to calling the north corner. Can you get there?»
«We’ll do our best,» says Boggs. Plutarch must be in everyone’s ear, because my bodyguards and crew are getting up. My eye instinctively searches for Gale and sees he’s on his feet, apparently unharmed.
«You’ve got maybe forty-five seconds to the next wave,» says Plutarch.
I give a grunt of pain as my right leg takes the weight of my body, but I keep moving. No time to examine the injury. Better not to look now, anyway. Fortunately, I have on shoes that Cinna designed. They grip the asphalt on contact and spring free of it on release. I’d be hopeless in that ill-fitting pair that 13 assigned to me. Boggs has the lead, but no one else passes me. Instead they match my pace, protecting my sides, my back. I force myself into a sprint as the seconds tick away. We pass the second gray warehouse and run along a dirt brown building. Up ahead, I see a faded blue facade. Home of the bunker. We have just reached another alley, need only to cross it to arrive at the door, when the next wave of bombs begins. I instinctively dive into the alley and roll toward the blue wall. This time it’s Gale who throws himself over me to provide one more layer of protection from the bombing. It seems to go on longer this time, but we are farther away.
I shift onto my side and find myself looking directly into Gale’s eyes. For an instant the world recedes and there is just his flushed face, his pulse visible at his temple, his lips slightly parted as he tries to catch his breath.
«You all right?» he asks, his words nearly drowned out by an explosion.
«Yeah. I don’t think they’ve seen me,» I answer. «I mean, they’re not following us.»
«No, they’ve targeted something else,» says Gale.
«I know, but there’s nothing back there but—» The realization hits us at the same time.
«The hospital.» Instantly, Gale’s up and shouting to the others. «They’re targeting the hospital!»
«Not your problem,» says Plutarch firmly. «Get to the bunker.»
«But there’s nothing there but the wounded!» I say.
«Katniss.» I hear the warning note in Haymitch’s voice and know what’s coming. «Don’t you even think about—!» I yank the earpiece free and let it hang from its wire. With that distraction gone, I hear another sound. Machine gun fire coming from the roof of the dirt brown warehouse across the alley. Someone is returning fire. Before anyone can stop me, I make a dash for an access ladder and begin to scale it. Climbing. One of the things I do best.
«Don’t stop!» I hear Gale say behind me. Then there’s the sound of his boot on someone’s face. If it belongs to Boggs, Gale’s going to pay for it dearly later on. I make the roof and drag myself onto the tar. I stop long enough to pull Gale up beside me, and then we take off for the row of machine gun nests on the street side of the warehouse. Each looks to be manned by a few rebels. We skid into a nest with a pair of soldiers, hunching down behind the barrier.
«Boggs know you’re up here?» To my left I see Paylor behind one of the guns, looking at us quizzically.
I try to be evasive without flat-out lying. «He knows where we are, all right.»
Paylor laughs. «I bet he does. You been trained in these?» She slaps the stock of her gun.
«I have. In Thirteen,» says Gale. «But I’d rather use my own weapons.»
«Yes, we’ve got our bows.» I hold mine up, then realize how decorative it must seem. «It’s more deadly than it looks.»
«It would have to be,» says Paylor. «All right. We expect at least three more waves. They have to drop their sight shields before they release the bombs. That’s our chance. Stay low!» I position myself to shoot from one knee.
«Better start with fire,» says Gale.
I nod and pull an arrow from my right sheath. If we miss our targets, these arrows will land somewhere— probably the warehouses across the street. A fire can be put out, but the damage an explosive can do may be irreparable.
Suddenly, they appear in the sky, two blocks down, maybe a hundred yards above us. Seven small bombers in a V formation. «Geese!» I yell at Gale. He’ll know exactly what I mean. During migration season, when we hunt fowl, we’ve developed a system of dividing the birds so we don’t both target the same ones. I get the far side of the V, Gale takes the near, and we alternate shots at the front bird. There’s no time for further discussion. I estimate the lead time on the hoverplanes and let my arrow fly. I catch the inside wing of one, causing it to burst
