3. Operation Free the Mockingjay

       I went pale. Gale had to be lying.

            “No.” I looked to the fence. “No!”

            “Listen for yourself,” Gale muttered.

            In disbelief for the time being, I inched to the district fence. Gale had good hearing, he was right. The fence was humming up a storm like a nasty nest of tracker jackers. I whimpered.

The odds weren’t in our favor today. First, Katniss gets caught by Peacekeepers, and now Gale and I were trapped here on the other side of the district boundary. We could try and go through the fence, but that was a death wish. I personally didn’t want to get fried, and I was sure Gale felt the same way.

            “What do we do?” I whined. My shoulders slumped in defeat.

            “We have to wait it out, that’s the only thing we can do,” Gale suggested.

            “Who knows how long that’ll be? They might turn the fence off until tomorrow morning.” I turned to Gale, eyes watering. “I don’t want to be like Katniss, I don’t want to be taken like she was.”

            “We won’t be,” he said gently. I shook. Gale grabbed my arms. “We’ll wait it out. We’ve got the bow and arrows, so we’ll just stay up in a tree until the fence gets turned off. When it does, we run for it.”

            “What if your mom asks where we were when we get back—if we get back?” I asked. 

            “There’s no ‘if’ about it, we are getting back. We’ll deal with that later. Right now, let’s find a good tree to hide in.”

            I took Katniss’s things while Gale sought out a good tree for us both to perch and hide in. I was glad Gale knew what he was doing. If it was just me out here, I would be taken by wild dogs by the time night came along. I would never think in a million years to climb a tree to keep myself safe.

            “This one looks good enough,” Gale said.

I craned my neck up, it was quite a climb. “If it weren’t for the fact that there could be animals waiting to kill me later tonight, I would prefer to stay on the ground,” I squeaked.

            “Don’t tell me you have a fear of heights.”

            “Partially,” I admitted. “I’ve never climbed a tree before.”

            “You’ve got to be joking.”

            “I had a lot more to think about than climb trees, like staying alive in a starving district. Besides, there aren’t many stable-looking trees in Twelve.”

            “I’ll give you a leg up. Just grab the branch nearest you and start climbing.” I eyed him nervously. “Don’t worry; I’ll be right behind you the whole way. You decide how far up we go. Sound fair?”

            “I guess so.”

            “It won’t be so bad.” He put a hand on my shoulder. “You might like it once you try it.”

            “I don’t know about that.” I laughed nervously.

            “You got to have some faith in yourself, Kat. You trust me, right?”

            “Of course, with my life.”

            “Then climb. I won’t let you fall.”

            Somehow I knew Gale was making that a promise. What the hell. It’s worth a shot, right?

Gulping, I stood right at the trunk of the tree. Gale bent down, cupping his hands for me. With one foot in his hands, I hopped, and then pushed for a jump. Gale helped my other foot. I immediately grabbed hold of the nearest branch. I flinched as the bark dug into my fingers and palm. I gritted my teeth. It’s either stay safe in a tree or risk being eaten down below.

            Gale kept my feet steady until I carefully secured them onto the tree. I took baby steps, taking the whole climbing thing slowly. My heart thudded from anxiety.

Slowly, I heaved myself up higher, trying my hardest not to lose focus and look down. That was the last thing I wanted. If I fell, I’d land on Gale, and then we’d both go falling down. I would be cushioned, he wouldn’t be so lucky.

            I ended up climbing twenty feet before I decided enough was enough for me. Thankfully the branch I picked was big enough to fit—and hold—two people. Around us were other branches, so there was some comfort in knowing there were branches to grab should anything happen.

            While I was catching my breath, I looked out in front of me. Beyond the district fence was the other side of 12, my home. The only thing that made the view enjoyable was the blue skies and the puffy clouds. However, just because the sky looked that way didn’t mean it was a good day. It wasn’t for Katniss, and it wasn’t so far for Gale and me.

            If the view was as good as it was now, maybe hanging about in a tree waiting for the fence to shut off wouldn’t be such a bad thing after all.

*      *      *

My butt ached from sitting on the branch for hours. Even shifting didn’t lessen the pain any. It was continuously throbbing, like the pounding someone got when a headache came around.

My back wasn’t fairing any better, nor was my state of mind. My back ached as it rested against the rough bark, and my brain was slowly spiraling into insanity. I needed to get back home. I didn’t want to be out in the wilderness any longer, I wanted to be back in safety.

            Night fell over District 12. There were few lights still on in houses; I could see that far from the tree Gale and I were perched in. The night also brought whipping winds, and they weren’t hovercraft made, that was Mother Nature herself doing that job.

The clothes I was in weren’t quite equipped for windy weather. The branch Gale and I sat on with Katniss’s bow and arrows shook. I wasn’t sure if it was from us—or me—shivering or if it was from the wind.

            When my teeth began to chatter, Gale and I huddled for warmth. I tried to block out the wind from my face by burrowing it into him. The rest of my body could take the wind but not my face. I didn’t want to risk frostbite to it.

            “W-what time is it?” I groaned.

            “I have no idea,” Gale said. Oh, sure, he sounded perfectly fine while I sounded cold.

            “T-that fence better turn of s-s-soon.” I released a violent shudder. “I don’t think I can wait until m-morning.”

            “We’ll be fine. We can hold out.”

            “H-how come you’re not f-freezing?”

            “I can tolerate the cold,” he said simply. A typical guy answer.

            “How will we k-know when the fence isn’t o-on through this w-w-wind?”

            “It’ll die down soon.” At least one of us had hope things would pick up soon.

            “T-today was certainly i-interesting,” I noted. “I m-meet Katniss before she gets t-taken away by P-Peacekeepers. What a l-lovely day to meet.”

            “We didn’t know it would happen.”

            “You s-said you nearly g-got caught hunting yesterday. It was b-b-bound to h-happen sometime, r-right?”

            “Maybe, but that’s saying we got jinxed.”

            “M-maybe you w-were.” A vicious tremor rippled through me. This whole cuddling deal wasn’t doing wonders for me. If it was possible, I was getting even colder.

            “Shh,” Gale whispered. “I think the fence is off.”

            “H-how can you tell?” I hissed.

            “I’ll go check. You stay here with Katniss’s things, all right?”

            “O-okay.”

            Gale slowly maneuvered himself and me so that he was free while I clung to the cold bark of the tree that sheltered us from the vicious animals down below. There had been a wild dog or two that howled, but they sounded really distant. Gale even said that if one happened to come around, he’d try and shoot it. I told him Katniss probably wouldn’t appreciate him using her bow and arrows.

            Gale clambered down onto the ground while I huddled with the bow and arrows. The wind seemed to die down, but it was still very bitter. I covered my mouth with my hands, breathing on them, trying to create some warmth.

            “Katrina,” Gale’s voice called from below, “it’s off. Drop the stuff.”

            “If you say so,” I yelled back. Very cautiously, I dropped the bow first, then the arrows.

            “Now slowly climb down.”

            Yeah, climbing down should be easier than climbing up, I thought. I really hoped it was that way.

            With my cold body, I slowly made my way blindly down the tree in the dark. I constantly had to feel around so I made sure I wouldn’t fall and hit branches on the way down if I did.

 I felt like I was halfway down the tree until two branches, one from under me and one above me, snapped. I gave a yelp as I fell. I waited for the crushing impact on my back. Instead, I was caught. I could tell from the strength under me that it was Gale. His eyes must’ve adjusted quickly to the dark; otherwise he wouldn’t have caught me.

            “Have a nice fall, did you?” he teased me.

            “Put me down,” I grumbled. He chuckled at my mood and did set me down. “You have the bow and arrows?”

            “Yeah. We better go now while it’s off.”

            Gale slunk through the fence first with the bow and arrows. I almost got snagged by the fence, but Gale helped me through. We ran as fast as our cold limbs would carry us back to his house. We used what light from peoples’ houses we could to help find our way back. I knew we were in the safety of 12 now, but worry plagued me as did fear.

            Gale and I burst through his house only to find Hazelle there, not looking very happy. Well, it wasn’t like we could avoid her when we’d come home. If she had been asleep right now, she would have questioned us the next morning—or later in the morning, if it was past midnight.

            “Where have you been?” she said sternly. Her arms folded over her chest. Hazelle meant business. You never messed with her when she was angry, you’d regret it quickly.

            “We were visiting Katniss in the Victors’ Village,” I lied. My heart was hammering nervously. I bet Hazelle could hear it, it was so loud. “Gale wanted me to meet her today.”

            “And did you?” One of her eyebrows rose in question.

            “Yeah, and apparently Gale told her a lot about me.” I gave a nervous laugh. “We got talking and time got away from us.”

            Hazelle’s look softened. I knew my lie had paid off. I hated lying to her, but she didn’t need to know what happened today.

            “Oh. Well, please don’t stay out so late. I got worried sick about you two,” she scolded us. “Posy was getting worked up because she thought something happened to you both. You’re lucky I don’t ground you two.”

            “We’ll make sure never to do it again,” Gale promised. I nodded in agreement.

            “I think you both better get to bed right now.”

            “On it,” I piped. I hustled into Gale’s bedroom, him behind me. “Shut the door,” I snapped. I heard the door shut and lock. I leaned against the wall, hands in my hair, ready to rip it out. “Now what are we going to do?”

            “Let’s be calm about this first,” Gale said, but I exploded.

            “Calm? How can we be calm, Gale? Hmm? Tell me, because I can’t see how we can be!”

            “Shh!” he hissed.

I hyperventilated. “We’ve got to rescue her. God, it’s all my fault!”

            “Katrina, it isn’t.”

            “Yes, Gale, it is.” I sank down to the floor. “I should have seen the hovercraft sooner; it would have given us a bit more time to escape.”

            “Kat.” Gale bent down to meet my worried gaze. “Don’t blame yourself for this, okay? We ran, and Katniss just couldn’t run quick enough. That’s all it is.”

            “No it’s—” Gale covered my mouth with his hand.

            “Don’t blame yourself for this, got it?” he said. I nodded. “Good.” He let me have my mouth back.

            “We need to rescue her.”

            “I know, I know,” he said hastily. “There has to be a way.”

            “They most likely took her to the Capitol,” I theorized. “So we’ve got two options for her outcome: she’ll either be dead or become an Avox.”

            “You don’t have faith that she’d escape?”

            “Please, Gale,” I snorted, “nobody can escape Peacekeeper captivity. If they realize who they picked up, they’ll put her under high security.”

            “I guess you’re right,” he considered. “I don’t think they’d pardon her either because she’s well-known. So your two theories—we don’t want either to come true.”

            “Agreed. Do you have a plan for this?”

            “That’s what I’m thinking of right now.” Gale sat down.

 I darted my eyes around the room so I didn’t feel like I was pressuring him into thinking of a plan quickly. I would like to have a plan by the following morning, because I doubted Katniss would have much time if the Capitol realized who they caught.

            “I think I’ve got it,” Gale said after ten agonizingly long minutes.

            “You do?” I perked up.

            “Yeah, but there’s a hitch to it.”

            “Of course there’s a hitch. Tell me anyway.”

            “We form a squad and invade the Capitol, rescuing Katniss.”

I thought his plan through for a long minute. “I see flaws.”

            “Like?”

            “Well, for one: why do we need a squad? Why not just us two? You can teach me how to fight and shoot an arrow if necessary. I know it sounds like a long shot, but we could slip in and nab her. Besides, I doubt they’d think anybody would come to her rescue, so there wouldn’t be many guards.”

            “But you said they’d have extra security because of who she is.”

            “I’m assuming. We don’t know for sure.”

“Hmm, maybe just us two sounds better,” Gale admitted. “Wait, I see another hitch. Peeta.”

            “Her boyfriend? Are you serious? Gale, I’m sure if we three teamed up, he could help us greatly! He’d probably know what to do.”

            “Listen to me.” His voice was almost a mumble. “Love makes people do crazy things, and one of those people affected by love to that degree is him. If we recruit him, it would end in disaster. He would do something entirely stupid and screw us all over. We can’t afford to have things go wrong for us, not when Katniss’s life is at stake.”

            “I’m sure he’d know better than to do something that would risk her life,” I snapped.

            “People do stupid things when they think they aren’t.”

            “Are you trying to make him sound incompetent?” I raised a questioning eyebrow at him. “A simple ‘I don’t think he could help’ would have worked just fine, Gale. Let’s refocus a bit. Wouldn’t Peeta notice Katniss’s absence? I’m sure he would worry if he realized she wasn’t back home with him.”

            “Yes, he would notice, and that’s where you come in.”

            “Uh-oh, I don’t like where this is going,” I said immediately.

            “Peeta will never know Katniss is missing, because she’ll be back with him in the Victors’ Village by tomorrow morning.”

            “You mean we’re going to rescue her tonight?” I tilted my head.

            “No.” I felt temporarily stupid. “You’re going to take her place.”

            “What?” My voice went high pitch. Gale shushed me. I gave him an apologetic look, but my eyes soon turned to slits. Was Gale insane?

            “We’ll make you look like her so that Peeta won’t know the difference.”

            “I’m sure he isn’t stupid,” I said.

            “He could be, you never know.” Gale shrugged. I snorted; offended that Gale would just assume something like that. “If he’s so in love with her, he’d never know the difference.”

            “You’re just saying that so I’ll feel confident. He won’t be stupid, because I’ll give myself up easy,” I complained. “I only met Katniss once in my life, and that was today. That’s not enough time for me to get into her character. I’m not an actress, Gale.”

            “You’re going to learn to have to be, and become a good one if this is going to work.”

            “What if I don’t want to do it?”

            “You will.” His tone was matter-of-fact. What was with men having to think they’re right all the time?

            “Why would I?” I retorted.

            “Because you trust that my plan will work, and that I’ll get Katniss back here to Twelve in one piece.”

            “You sound so cocky,” I said irritably. “That’s what makes me not want to participate in the plan. Overconfidence can lead to disaster; I don’t want to risk that.”

            “Kat, please?” he begged. “I’ve never asked anything major of you except for now. And you know very well my family let you in, which was asking a lot considering the condition we were in. Katrina, if you do this, you’ll keep Peeta safe from his stupidity from love.”

            Well, when Gale put it that way…damn. He got me again. I think it’s safe to say he knew me a little too well. He knew that I trusted him with anything, even if it was something crazy like going to rescue Katniss. Why did Gale always have to win our arguments we had? Couldn’t I win at least just one?

            “How long do you think it’ll take you to rescue her?” I whispered in defeat.

            “I’d say a week at the most.”

            “Wow, you’re that sure of yourself, huh?”

            “Come on, Kat, a rescue plan shouldn’t take months to do.”

“Hmm, true. I think I can live with being her for a week,” I confessed.

Gale smiled. “That’s my girl.”

            “So let me get this straight: you’re going to figure out a certain plan besides the one we have now while I’m being Katniss to keep Peeta from becoming suspicious. What about when you have that figured out? Am I going to come along, or are you doing that solo, too?”

            “If I have to, I’ll go solo. If we try together, you’d have to make up something for Peeta. Most likely he’d get suspicious then. We’re trying to keep him out of this as much as possible.”

            “We’re already technically bringing him into this mess with your genius plan. I have one small problem with this.”

            “Yeah?”

            “This.” I fiddled with my hair. “I know looks can only get me so far.”

            “I’m sure there’ll be hair dye in the house.”

            “Hair dye? Since when would either of them feel the need to change their hair color?”

“Some people can get gray early.” He shrugged.

“I might as well cake my hair with mud,” I grumbled.

            “Trust me; you never know what you’ll find in a house like theirs. Hair dye is a good possibility.”

“How am I going to pull off changing my color?”

“Your best bet is to sneak in unnoticed early in the morning. I’ll walk you there if you don’t feel good about wandering out early by yourself.”

            “What about your family? What are we going to tell them?” I would feel horrible if they worried about me when they’d notice I was gone for a week, or possibly even longer.

            “I don’t have all the answers,” Gale moaned. “We’ll have to take it one step at a time. If I have to, I’ll say you crossed the boundary line and the fence turned back on, and you’re trapped on the other side.”

            “Yeah, way to not make them worry,” I said sarcastically. “We don’t want to give them heart attacks, Gale.”

            “Like I said, that part is a work in progress.”

            “I think we should have a name for this. Like…Operation Free the Mockingjay, or something.”

            “That actually sounds good,” Gale commended me. “Now, if we need to be at the Village early in the morning, we better get to sleep now.”

            “I can’t, I feel too hyped up on anxiety,” I whimpered.

            “Climb into bed, I guarantee you’ll be out in ten minutes tops.”

            I staggered to my feet, yawning. I slithered into bed, and Gale took his usual spot on the floor. Even as I got settled in, my mind was still in hyperactive mode. I knew sleep wouldn’t come easy; too much was bouncing around in my skull. Worry, the plan, Katniss, her fate…

            For twenty minutes, I tossed and turned restlessly. I got tangled up in the sheets, encasing me in a cocoon, sort of. If I was having such difficulty trying to fall asleep now, odds were that I wouldn’t get an hour of sleep. I’d probably stay up all night, preventing me from getting the rest I needed. I’d end up waking up early in the morning so groggy and so tired that Gale would probably have to sling me over his shoulder and carry me to the Victors’ Village as I slept.

            “Move over,” Gale whispered. I gave a quiet yip of fright. It was hard to see him because it was so dark.

            “What?” I asked.

            “You obviously won’t calm down. Move over.”

            A little confused, I scooted so Gale could climb in. I bet it felt nice for him, being back in his bed. I bet the last time he slept in his bed was the day before I came to his home to live with him and his family. His body had to be screaming in pain from being on the floor ever since I came, he just didn’t want anybody to know.

            “This is just an excuse to sleep in your bed again, isn’t it?” I teased.

            “Not at all. I know you won’t sleep, and the only way you will is if I’m here with you.”

            “What? Gale, I’ve never had an issue like this before.”

            “Do you want to bet?” he quizzed. “You were like this before, you never noticed because you were out in a deep sleep. Every morning you woke up, I was either up before you or passed out on the floor since I figured you didn’t need me anymore.”

            “I find that hard to believe.”

            “Yeah, I thought you might say that. I can prove it to you.”

            “Then by all means, go ahead.”

            “The first time you couldn’t sleep was not long after the bombing here. You kept sobbing; it almost sounded like a hiccup. I got real scared for you that night; it almost woke my mom up.”

            I definitely did remember that nightmare I had. It still haunted me. The nightmare had to have been too realistic for me if I ended up freaking out like that while dreaming.

            “Oh…” I flushed with embarrassment in the dark. “I never thought I was that bad in my sleep.”

            “You were,” Gale sighed. “I just want to do this now to ensure we’ll both get a good amount of sleep.”

            “I doubt that,” I scoffed. “Sometimes nothing can keep away nightmares.”

            “Katrina.”

            “Yeah?”

            “Go to sleep.”

            “Sorry.”

            One of Gale’s strong arms lolled over me. I wiggled a little bit before I got settled down for good. It took Gale five minutes to be out; I could hear his light snoring. Oh sure, he can go to sleep in five minutes whereas I toss and turn with no success of escaping to dreamland.

I grinned. He looked a little younger when he was sleeping; there were no lines of stress in his face. They all were erased for now. I was so tempted to run my fingers through his hair and even give him a kiss on the tip of his nose, but I figured it’d wake him up, so I didn’t bother.

            Eventually, my eyes closed, and I waited for sleep to overtake me, listening to Gale’s snoring while I waited. 

**As I've reread this, I never realized just how long some of these chapters are...

But now, we've got a game plan, sort of! Katrina will transform and play her part. The big question for now: can she survive day one?**