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PART II

"THE ASSAULT"

10

The screahon rief Even if I could release the muscles in my neck, let the sound tear into space, would anyone notice it? The roo out as they try to decipher Peeta&039;s words "And youin Thirteendead by er whose blood has been replaced by static

A voice calls the others to attention "Shut up!" Every pair of eyes falls on Hay us we&039;re about to be attacked Here In Thirteen"

"Hoould he have that information?"

"Why should we trust hiives a growl of frustration "They&039;re beating him bloody while we speak What more do you need? Katniss, help ive ht I don&039;t knohere Peeta got the information Or if it&039;s true But he believes it is And they&039;re - " I can&039;t say aloud what Snow&039;s doing to him

"You don&039;t know him," Haymitch says to Coin "We do Get your people ready"

The president doesn&039;t seem alarmed, only somewhat perplexed, by this turn in events She htly on the rim of the control board in front of her When she speaks, she addresses Haymitch in an even voice "Of course, we have prepared for such a scenario Although we have decades of support for the assumption that further direct attacks on Thirteen would be counterproductive to the Capitol&039;s cause Nuclear missiles would release radiation into the atmosphere, with incalculable environe our ain And, of course, they invite a counterstrike It is conceivable that, given our current alliance with the rebels, those would be viewed as acceptable risks"

"You think so?" says Haymitch It&039;s a shade too sincere, but the subtleties of irony are often wasted in13

"I do At any rate, we&039;re overdue for a Level Five security drill," says Coin "Let&039;s proceed with the lockdown" She begins to type rapidly on her keyboard, authorizing her decision The ins

There have been t-level drills since I arrived in 13 I don&039;t remember much about the first I was in intensive care in the hospital and I think the patients were exe us for a practice drill outweighed the benefits I was vaguely aware of a ate in yellow zones During the second, a Level Two drill meant for minor crises - such as a teion during a flu outbreak - ere supposed to return to our living quarters I stayed behind a pipe in the laundry roo over the audio system, and watched a spider construct a web Neither experience has preparedsirens that now per this sound, which seened to throw the whole population into a frenzy But this is 13 and that doesn&039;t happen

Boggs guides Finnick andthe hall to a doorway, and onto a wide stairway Strea to form a river that flows only doard No one shrieks or tries to push ahead Even the children don&039;t resist We descend, flight after flight, speechless, because no word could be heard above this sound I look for my mother and Prim, but it&039;s impossible to see anyone but those i in the hospital tonight, though, so there&039;s no way they can miss the drill

My ears pop and my eyes feel heavy We are coal-mine deep The only plus is that the farther we retreat into the earth, the less shrill the sirens become It&039;s as if they were meant to physically drive us away froin to peel off into s directs e of an enors stops me, shows me that I must wave my schedule in front of a scanner so that I&039; to soone astray

The place seems unable to decide if it&039;s natural or man-made Certain areas of the walls are stone, while steel bea bunks are hewn right into the rock walls There&039;s a kitchen, bathrooned for an extended stay

White signs with letters or nus tells Finnick and ned quarters - in my case E for Compartment E - Plutarch strolls up "Ah, here you are," he says Recent events have had little effect on Plutarch&039;s low from Beetee&039;s success on the Airtime Assault Eyes on the forest, not on the trees Not on Peeta&039;s punish "Katniss, obviously this is a bad moment for you, ith Peeta&039;s setback, but you need to be aware that others will be watching you"

"What?" I say I can&039;t believe he actually just downgraded Peeta&039;s dire circumstances to a setback

"The other people in the bunker, they&039;ll be taking their cue on how to react from you If you&039;re calm and brave, others will try to be as well If you panic, it could spread like wildfire," explains Plutarch I just stare at hi, so to speak," he continues, as if I&039; slow on the uptake

"Why don&039;t I just pretend I&039;m on camera, Plutarch?" I say

"Yes! Perfect One is always e Peeta just displayed!"

It&039;s all I can do not to slap hiet back to Coin before lockdown You keep up the good work!" he says, and then heads off

I cross to the big letter E posted on the wall Our space consists of a twelve-by-twelve-foot square of stone floor delineated by painted lines Carved into the wall are two bunks - one of us will be sleeping on the floor - and a ground-level cube space for storage A piece of white paper, coated in clear plastic, reads BUNKERPROTOCOLI stare fixedly at the little black specks on the sheet For a while, they&039;re obscured by the residual blood droplets that I can&039;t seem to wipe from my vision Slowly, the words come into focus The first section is entitled "On Arrival"

1 Make sure all members of your Compartment are accounted for

My mother and Prim haven&039;t arrived, but I was one of the first people to reach the bunker Both of the to relocate hospital patients

2 Go to the Supply Station and secure one pack for eachArea Return pack(s)

I scan the cavern until I locate the Supply Station, a deep room set off by a counter People wait behind it, but there&039;s not a lot of activity there yet I walk over, give our compartment letter, and request three packs A , and swings theetting a grip on the other tithbehind h the others Is it a ht? Are these peopletheir behavior on mine?

Back at our space, I open one of the packs to find a thin , a toothbrush, a co the contents of the other packs, I find the only discernible difference is that they contain both gray and white outfits The latter will be for my mother and Prim, in case they have medical duties After I make up the beds, store the clothes, and return the backpacks, I&039;ve got nothing to do but observe the last rule

3 Await further instructions

I sit cross-legged on the floor to await A steady flow of people begins to fill the roo supplies It won&039;t take long until the place is full up I wonder if ht at wherever the hospital patients have been taken But, no, I don&039;t think so They were on the list here I&039;et anxious, when ers "Where&039;s Prim?" I ask

"Isn&039;t she here?" she replies "She was supposed to coht down from the hospital She left ten one?"

I squeeze ht for a moment, to track her as I would prey on a hunt See her react to the sirens, rush to help the patients, nod as they gesture for her to descend to the bunker, and then hesitate with her on the stairs Torn for a moment But why?

My eyes fly open "The cat! She went back for him!"

"Oh, no," ht We&039;re pushing against the incoet out of the bunker Up ahead, I can see the the metal wheels on either side inward So in the world will convince the soldiers to open them Perhaps it will even be beyond their control I&039; people aside as I shout for them to wait The space between the doors shrinks to a yard, a foot; there are only a few inches left when I jah the crack

"Open it! Let me out!" I cry

Consternation shows on the soldiers&039; faces as they reverse the wheels a bit Not enough to let ers I take the opportunity to wedge

"Priuards as I try to wriggle my way out "Prim!"