District 2 is a larger district than I ever thought. Though, it is expected as District 2 is a career district and the district in charge of weapons and masonry. This district is covered in mountains that gave them the resources for the weapons the district supplied the Capitol, which is why Coin wants this district. For us to have more weapons, like we really need them. District 2 is also the last of the districts we need to convince to our side. One problem though, the giant mountain in the middle of the district is where the residents still standing with the Capitol had taken stand. In the abandoned mine we nicknamed "the Nut" because I let a sarcastic comment slip and they loved it.
The people of District 2 were well fed and were obviously favoured by the Capitol as most citizens were plump and no child seemed to have to put their name in more times for grains and oils. No one was starved here.
After I had arrived a few weeks ago the rebels took hold of the outer villages leaving those who still ate up everything Snow had to say to retreat into the Nut.
I can't do much here, you know disabled an all. Me fighting in a second hunger games with a fake leg and training to be on the front lines meant absolutely nothing to Coin as she had instructed that I am to do nothing but the bare minimum. I often visit the hospital either for propos or just to help. That's one thing I can do. Is give the people hope. I spend most of my time with the children playing games and drawing in the dirt with them. I even help the older boys and girls train in hand to hand combat, not my specialty, but still helpful.
When I rest my mind travels to 13 where Katniss is. I often wonder how she is doing. It wasn't long after my arrival that I received word that Coin had locked her away like a wild animal sending her progress backwards. Coin was less than pleased when I told her to release Katniss and allow her to see her family and Haymitch or I would leave 2 and the propos would be done. And my final one would be telling everyone how Coin was far too similar to Snow for there to be any change.
Since then Haymitch and Prim give me updates on her every day. I even received a message from her and I replay it as much as I can.
"I'm okay Peeta. I have my pearl and Annie is excited to plan her wedding. We went to 12 to look at my leftover dresses from Cinna. I hope you don't mind that we let Finnick go through your clothes. I'm doing much better. The medics think I can move into my own unit or a shared unit with someone as long as I continue to take my medicine by myself and I don't try to hurt anyone. Anyway, I'm sorry I called at a bad time. Call soon. Prim's worried..." She wanted to say more but the message ran out of time. Prim had explained that when I called back. Katniss had had an episode after that call. Haymitch explained it was from one of the older propos being run again. One the Capitol had butchered. He said Katniss had become very confused and then volatile.
Now standing in the tent rethinking a strategy for getting the people out of the Nut with the commander from 2, Lyme. She's one of the tribute victors from at least a decade ago. She's taller than me and very muscled. I can tell she's angry and very very tired of the stupid ideas that end in failure and some injured.
"If anyone has any more bright ideas of how we can storm the entrances then be my guest and be the leader!" She shouts exasperated as her hands flew in the air to show she was tired of the same plan over and over.
I look over to Gale who is leaning against a table with his arms crossed. His jaw is set and clenched as he was yelled at by the tall woman for being stupid to only be able to agree with her. His eyebrows and practically stitched together and he stares at the Nut through the tent window. What is this idiot thinking?
"Do we really need to take the Nut? Would disabling it work in our favor?" He asks and Beetee looks up over his glasses at the younger who looked like a male Katniss, and practically acted just like her.
"That's the right direction," Beetee admits. "What do you have in mind?"
"A wild dog den. You're not going to fight your way in. Instead you trap them in or flush them out." Does he not understand that these are people and not wild animals? Katniss had told me that he told her there wasn't a difference between killing animals and humans when he visited her before our first games. He's a natural born killer. He's practically a career.
"We've already tried bombing the entrance. They're too far in." Lyme explains as if explaining it to a child. Lyme does not have patience and Gale's eye twitched at the antagonization.
"I'm not talking about the entrances." Gale growls out moving off the table to the 3D hologram model of the Nut. "We use the mountain. See? Down the sides." He points to the sides of the mountain. What am I supposed to be looking at?
"Avalanche paths." Beetee breathes out. "It would be tricky and we would have to be meticulous with the placing of the detonations and the sequence and we would not hope to ever control it once it begins."
"We don't need to control it." Gale says leaning on the table. "If we give up the idea of possessing the Nut then we don't need to control the avalanche nor the Nut. Only shut it down." His eyes are cold and hard. Katniss would never stand for this. I take it back. He is not a male Katniss. He is too much like Clove from this very district. The girl with the knives. The born killer. Instead of knives Gale has arrows and both have murder in their eyes.
"So you're suggesting to cover the exits with the avalanche?" Lyme asks.
"Exactly. Trap them in. Cut off supplies and make it impossible for them to send a hovercraft out." Gale says standing up with his arms crossed not taking his eyes off the hologram. Everyone considers the plan and I just cannot believe everyone is going to think about this. The people inside will die. Gale has no remorse.
"You risk killing everyone inside." I finally say as Boggs looks at the blueprints. "The ventilation is crap. You risk suffocating everyone inside. We don't know if there are children inside. But we do know there are people inside!" I say not meaning to raise my voice at first, but at this point Gale is just smirking.
"They can escape to through the train tunnel to the square." Beetee says and Gale just keeps smirking.
"Not if we blow it up." Gale says brusquely and finally everyone sees he has murderous intent. I won't allow this.
"No. It's not happening. We are not killing innocent people!" I shout at him.
"Innocent? We can never trust them. They're on the Capitol's side, Mellark."
"Hawthorne they are citizens who are fed propaganda and know no better. They are innocent!"
"I agree with Peeta. They should have the chance to surrender." Lyme says stepping into the argument.
"Like 12 did? Oh that's right we didn't have that luxury. But then again you're all super cozy with the Capitol here." Lyme looks ready to shoot Gale in the face and I might just help her do that. This man is nothing but a killer. The angry look on Lyme's face only makes Gale more angry. "We watched children burn to death! There was nothing we could do!"
"So you choose to force that same fate on others? Let's not forget that you left my family. Gale Hawthorne we are not the Capitol. We are not bloodthirsty monsters that want bloodshed. That will not bring those children back. That will not bring my family back. That will not justify anything!" I shout at him and his nostrils flare. "You causing an avalanche on that mountain will be just as bad as causing a massive coal mining accident. You've worked in those mines. It's unpredictable. Unsafe. We are not risking the lives of civilians just so you can cause harm to the Capitol who actually will barely even blink at the loss."
"And what does the baker's son know about coal mining accidents? Hmm? Was your father killed in them?" Gale retorts and I glare at him.
No, but Katniss' father was and I saw that change happen in her. She stopped singing. She stopped smiling. She stopped bringing Prim to the bakery. She started to starve. She nearly died in front of the bakery. I threw her bread and kept her alive. Unlike Gale. "Is that everyone's problem? That it will be a slow death instead of a fast explosion?"
"You don't understand their situation! They may not have had a choice but to go in the Nut. We have people in there. Are you going to kill our spies?"
"If I was a spy I would scream "bring the avalanche". I would be ready to die for this cause. Are you Mellark?" Who is he to decide when our own people die? What about their loved ones? We are not the ones to decide if those inside are okay with dying for the cause.
Beetee cleared his throat and sighed pulling his glasses nose his nose to look at the hologram of the mountain. "We'll do the avalanche, but we will leave the train tunnel open to the square and we will be waiting for them."
"Armed I hope because they will be." Gale says angry his plan to murder was not agreed upon.
"Heavily. We will take them prisoner." Boggs agrees. I leave the tent as Beetee goes to tell the other Thirteen soldiers both around the camp and get information to the spies in the Nut.