THE FLIGHT WAS SHORTER than she expected it to be. It wasn't much longer after leaving District Thirteen did she feel the hovercraft adjusting for landing. The fresh air that pooled inside the aircraft made her eyes brighten and the daylight... Aella had never been so grateful to see daylight before in her life but she knew she would never take it for granted ever again.

The loud echo of the hovercraft's engine pounded in her brain as she leaned forward as far as she could in her seat to look at the world outside. District Eight came into view—or rather what was left of it. A District now reduced to rubble. It hadn't been anything extravagant in the first instance but it was hardly anything following the mass bombing the Capitol had inflicted upon it.

Broken buildings and debris as far as the eye could see, Aella sat back in her seat and swallowed thickly. Thick dust had swept over the District. The entire place had been decimated. Not one person lingered in the streets. The likelihood that they had all died made nausea pool in her stomach.

"This has gotta be fast." Boggs shouted over the sound of the engine forcing her attention to him as they neared the ground, "In and out."

Aella unbuckled as Boggs prepared to move. She stood, eyes glued to the approaching ground when Gale nudged her gently. She met his gaze and he saw the lost expression on her face. He wanted to offer her words of encouragement, to tell her that it would be okay but he couldn't find it within him to do so. It wasn't okay. The Capitol had wiped out another District and it was far from okay.

Instead, he placed his hand upon her shoulder and nodded once, "I've got your back, okay?" He said to her.

It took a few seconds for his words to register in her brain but once they did she nodded once. They didn't know each other well but him saying that meant a whole load more than what it should've done. Especially in that moment when she was vulnerable. So instead of feeding into her hard, Capitol, exterior she sunk into her true self and said quietly, "Thank you."

Gale nodded once, "Make sure you've got your gun ready."

At his reminder she armed herself appropriately, clutching the handles of the weapon so tight her knuckles turned white. She waited behind Boggs for his word and once they were on the ground she followed he and Gale off the hovercraft, Katniss and their new camera team behind them.

Wind zipped around her from every angle and she gathered her hair as best she could in one hand, holding it as dust particles kissed her face and flew into her eyes. She struggled to look around and instead shielded her face with her arm as the hovercraft began to take off again.

"Move out!" Boggs yelled over the noise and Aella hurried to follow him as they ran across the road, stumbling over pieces of broken building.

The wind disappeared and Aella pushed her hair back and over her shoulders. She walked beside Katniss as Boggs led them towards a decrepit looking building where four people stood in dirty clothes holding guns of their own.

The leader moved forward, meeting them in the middle and ran her eyes over both Victors before saying, "You're both alive then. We weren't sure."

Aella couldn't be sure but she swore the woman's eyes lingered on the faint pink scarring around her forehead.

"Katniss, Aella, Commander Paylor, District 8." Boggs introduced them to the woman, "They've both been recovering, but they insisted on coming out and seeing some of your wounded."

"Well, we've got plenty of those." Commander Paylor said and gestured for them to follow her.

Aella walked forward with Boggs, falling in line beside Paylor as she guided them through the streets. Aella glanced around the decaying buildings and found Paylor's eyes on her once more. She offered the woman a small pressed smile before saying, "I wish we were meeting under better circumstances."

The Commander nodded but said, "If the circumstances were better we wouldn't be meeting."

Aella hummed and turned her head to look forward before saying, "I suppose you're right."

Silence elapsed between them for some few seconds before Paylor said, "I'm glad you've come. District Eight will be glad to see you here. You're a driving force in this rebellion, you know? I don't think you realise how much you spur these people on."

"Well, that's why I'm here." She replied lowly before she glanced at Paylor again and said, "I'm sorry for your losses."

Paylor nodded in thanks and swallowed thickly before replying, "I'm sorry for yours, too."

Aella's breath hitched. It had been years since she'd heard someone say those words to her. This time there was something new about it, however. She wondered if it was down to the fact that she'd had the chance to tell Panem that Snow had orchestrated her family's death. They hadn't died of illness which was what had been forged upon their death certificates. They had been murdered by President Snow like these innocent people had.

Her blue eyes turned to ice and she clenched her jaw as they continued on. She could feel the rage boiling in her blood, reminding her exactly why she was doing this.

They headed into an industrial building and walked down the deserted hall until Paylor pulled back a thick plastic curtain covering the door while Boggs held the other side. Aella barely took one step before the overpowering stench hit her in the stomach. She stumbled back into Gale, her hand flying to her mouth as nausea rolled through her and vomit shot up into her throat. She didn't dare breathe but the smell lingered even as she breathed through her mouth into her hand.

She regained enough composure to step forward again but it went from awful to a pure nightmare. Corpses lined the floor on either side of them wrapped in whatever sheets were left... hundreds of them, wasting there.

She retched as hot tears rose to her eyes. She wasn't sure if it was pure rage or sorrow for the deceased around her that drove her tears but she couldn't clear them from her eyes no matter how hard she tried.

"We have a mass grave a few blocks west but I can't spare the manpower to move them yet." Paylor explained and all Aella wanted to do was volunteer herself to help. Anything to offer those deceased a scrap of dignity by being laid to rest in a grave as opposed to a floor in a warehouse.

"Hospital's past that curtain." The woman went on to say, "Any hope you can give them, it's worth it. The Capitol's done everything they can to break us."

"Aren't you worried about having all your wounded in one place?" Gale asked as they walked but all Aella could focus on was the pile of deceased that continued.

"I think it's better than leaving them to die." Paylor argued.

"That's not what I meant." Gale said.

"Well, that's my only other option." The woman replied, "If you can come up with another, I'm all ears." She said before pointing to another thick plastic covering, "It's right through here."

She pulled the plastic back an edge but it was enough for Aella to see and figure out everything she needed to know. Everyone that was here was all that was left of District Eight. They lived on top of one another, squashed inside an industrial building like sardines because they had no homes anymore. They had nothing but the clothes on their backs.

Aella muttered a silent prayer of thanks for her family, for her apartment back in District Thirteen, for her uniform she absolutely hated but had several sets of. In that moment she wanted nothing more than to have Finnick with her, holding her hand. He would know what to do. He would know what to say to these people. How was she meant to inspire a few hundred injured civilians to join their cause when they had already lost everything?

'I'm glad you've come. District Eight will be glad to see you here. You're a driving force in this rebellion, you know? I don't think you realise how much you spur these people on.'

Paylor's words echoed in her mind as she stood and stared through the drapes.

"Don't film me in there," She heard Katniss whisper beside her, "I can't help them."

"Just let them see your face." Cressida replied.

Aella didn't hear if she replied. Her feet carried her forward before her brain had the chance to register what she was doing. The hubbub of voices echoed lightly in the air as she walked slowly through the rows of people. It was so busy, everywhere she looked cots and stretchers lined the floor in rows. Injured laid upon them and the lesser injured worked to tend to them. The District worked as one, the survivors helping one another.

The hubbub continued but the further Aella walked the more she heard the pained cries and the soft soothing voices that followed. Everywhere she looked people were being tended to.

Her eyes lingered on a child as two women worked to help her. The girl couldn't have been older than six and her sobs of pain pounded through Aella's eardrums. Her blonde hair had stained blood red and was covered in dirt. Her skin was hardly visible for the dust and soot that clung to her and her clothes were torn and scratty but the two women worked to tend to a large gash on her forehead.

Aella found herself walking toward them as the child screamed and the two women took a step back. She knelt down in front of the little girl and smiled softly at her while her heart shattered on the inside.

"Hi," Aella said softly, "my name is Aella. Can you tell me yours?"

The child sucked her bottom lip in as she hiccuped. Her forest green eyes shone with tears and she clung to a grey bunny teddy bear for her life as her eyes zeroed in on Aella. She didn't think she'd respond but her soft voice echoed a minute later, "P-piper."

Aella gave her a soft smile and said, "That's a pretty name... and who's that?" She pointed to her bear in her hands.

Piper hugged the bear closer to her and said, "Bunny." Aella forced back the tears that rose to her eyes as the little girl sobbed again and said, "I want my mommy and daddy."

Aella looked up to the woman sat on the child's left in question and watched as she shook her head solemnly. She felt her heart crack in her chest and cleave an opening deep within her. The pain that pulsated through her body was gut wrenching but she forced herself to keep a smile on her face for the scared child sitting in front of her.

"How old are you Piper?" Aella tried to distract her.

"S-six." She sobbed.

It was a punch to the gut. Six years old and orphaned in the war. Aella knew she wouldn't be the first and she certainly would not be the last but... god, she wanted nothing more than to take her back to District Thirteen.

She nodded while keeping her smile. She wasn't even aware of Pollux behind her, filming her every movement and interaction with the young child.

"Six is a cool age." Aella tried to say enthusiastically, "Have you started school?" The child nodded and she continued, "I used to love school. I was good at maths but English was my favourite."

And Piper crawled further out of her shell, "I like art."

"You do?" Aella asked her enthusiastically, "I was never good at drawing, or painting for that matter, but I know someone who really loves to paint... and he's really good at it, too."

"What's his favourite colour?" Piper asked her curiously.

She chuckled and reached for the wet washcloth in the bowl beside her that the women had been using to clean Piper's face. The two women now sat and watched as Aella placated the young child, soft smiles on their faces as they heard the child speak for the first time in days.

Aella rung the washcloth out and held it before she looked back at the little girl. Her bright green eyes were immersive and Aella found herself lost in the forest green. It reminded her of the trees behind her house in summer time.

She shook her head to herself, pulling herself out of her memories and saying, "He never told me.. why? Do you have a favourite colour?"

"Purple." Piper said softly, less hesitant than before.

Aella smiled to herself absentmindedly and began to gently wash away the dried blood on the child's face while saying, "Mine used to be pink when I was the same age as you. My entire room was covered in it, my walls, bed.. I even had a pink rug. I wouldn't ever wear anything but pink. I used to force my brother to wear it, too. I'd cry if he ever said no and he always hated it when I was upset so he would wear it to make me happy."

Piper's eyes widened as she looked at Aella and said, "Where is he now?"

Aella halted and lowered the rag. For brief moment she stared at the child before washing out the cloth and starting again, "He's in a better place now.... with the angels in the sky but he's always with me, in here." She said, pointing to her heart.

Piper reached forward and pressed her small hand over Aella's heart, "Here." She hummed while she nodded and Piper laughed innocently. It was a sound Aella would cherish for the rest of her life and it brought a smile to her own face as the young girl's face twisted in confusion, "How is he in there? Where is he?"

"He's not really in there, silly." Aella said with a laugh, "He's in a place called Heaven... but I know that he is watching over me."

Aella had almost cleaned the dried blood from Piper's face when she said, "A lady told me my mommy and daddy were in Heaven but my mommy told me that she would never leave me."

Her heart stilled in her chest as looked at Piper. The innocence she possessed was enough to almost tear her soul into two. It broke her and for a long while she was speechless. She didn't have any answer for the young child staring up at her with those wide eyes. She was so young and yet she'd witnessed some of the worst horrors anyone could ever imagine. It was almost too much for Aella and she was twenty and had survived two Hunger Games. For a six year old girl... Aella admired her strength, her resilience, and yet she envied her innocence at the same time. She could only pray that Piper would forget all about this when she grew up.

She set the cloth back in the bowl and took the child's hand while her other clutched to the dirty bunny in her lap, "Sometimes people go to Heaven because they are needed more there. They don't get the choice and they're not allowed to take anyone with them." She said clearly and slowly, "Your mommy never wanted to leave you."

"Like your brother didn't want to leave you." Piper said innocently.

Aella found herself choking on the lump in her throat. She brushed the child's hair back soothingly and nodded, too choked up to respond. A little ways away from her she heard a collection of voices and saw several people gathered around Katniss and she swallowed before looking back to the child.

"Piper these two really nice ladies have to put a little bandaid on this cut on your forehead, okay. Can you let them do that?" Aella asked her.

"Mommy normally kisses my booboos better." Piper said, sadness returning to her eyes again.

"I know, sweetheart, I know." She nodded, running her hand over her hair soothingly again, "But mommy is helping the angels remember?"

Piper nodded silently and looked down to her bunny. Aella leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the child's forehead just as a tear slipped from her eyes. It rolled down her cheek quickly and dropped to the floor as she pulled back. No more followed and she cleared her throat of the lump that had formed there and said, "Let them make you better, Piper. They'll take good care of you, okay?"

Piper nodded in response and Aella didn't think she was going to say anything else before she rose to leave but the child jumped forward and threw her arms around Aella's shoulders and hugged her. She held her tightly while Pollux continued to capture it all. The child pulled back and she placed her small hand over Aella's heart again. In response, Aella placed her hand over Piper's and she offered her another small smile.

"Be a good girl, Piper." Aella said with a small wink that brought a smile to Piper's face.

The two parted and Piper sat back down, letting the two women come back to help her. Aella rose to her feet and stepped back, a second tear rolling down her cheek and she hurried to wipe it away as one of the women looked at her and said, "Thank you for your kindness."

Aella nodded once before she turned her back to them and walked away. Raw anger and gut-wrenching sadness washed over her. Her body cried to go back, to take the child and never look back. She forced herself to walk back to the group, passing Boggs on the way who seemed to have been heading toward her.

"Barnes—" He started.

Aella shook her head in response and said, "I'm coming back for her."

"President Coin—"

She halted and span on her heel to face Boggs, "I do not care what President Coin says. I do not care for her rules. I am taking that child back to District Thirteen as long as Commander Paylor says I can."

Boggs couldn't argue with the fire that danced in her eyes, with the stern expression on her face. In the dim light her grief shone bright and anger fuelled it. Instead, he merely nodded and followed her wordlessly back to the group. He glanced around as he did so, looking at the hundreds of people who had stopped to watch Aella's interaction with the young child. She had no idea.. no idea of the hope and fight she had just instilled upon them all.

Just as she had reached the group the hall fell silent and Aella watched as a teenage boy, battered, bleeding and bruised hobbled forward and asked them both if they were here to fight with them.

Aella nodded wordlessly while Katniss replied and he kissed three fingers before raising them to the air in a three-finger salute and soon enough everyone else in the hall followed him. Aella looked around wordlessly at the faces of the wounded but she saw fight and determination in their eyes, on their faces.

Aella—looking at the faces of her comrades—pressed her fingers to her lips and rose her hand into the air.

•   •   •

Walking through the decimated streets of District Eight, Aella could not wager the war that was raging in her body. She walked over fallen homes and schools and though she tried to ignore it, bones of those who weren't fortunate enough to escape the bombings in time. It made her physically sick. The second she had stepped outside of that hospital she had ran a few paces from the group bent over and vomited until she could hardly breathe. The rage and sadness roared within her as she pictured those wrapped bodies lying on the cold ground outside the hospital they'd had to pass again in order to leave.

Once she'd regained enough of her composure she exhaled shakily, wiped the back of her mouth with her hand and pushed on like nothing had ever happened. None of her companions said anything about it either. She walked in the front line, between Paylor and Boggs and looked at the Commander before calling her name quietly.

Paylor turned her head to Aella and rose her brow in question. She loosed a deep breath and said, "There's a young girl back there, six—"

"Piper?" Paylor said before Aella could even utter her name. The Commander nodded in Aella's surprise, "I know. I saw you talking to her. Her father was my second. He died trying to help others out of their homes not knowing his wife and daughter were trapped inside theirs."

Aella frowned, "How did Piper escape?"

Paylor shrugged, "Don't know. Before you she hadn't spoke to anyone. Wouldn't say anything aside from cry for her mom and dad."

Aella swallowed thickly but said, "I want to take her back to District Thirteen with me."

If Paylor was shocked by Aella's words she didn't show it. Her face didn't change for a few seconds until Aella thought she detected a slither of surprise flashing in the woman's eyes. All they did was continue on walking ahead. Katniss and Gale spoke behind them, their words dulcet tones in her ears. She just kept her eyes on Paylor, waiting for the woman's response while Boggs walked alongside her.

She knew how crazy it sounded. Knew how crazy she must seem to Paylor. She'd only spoken to the young child for a matter of minutes but Aella could not stop thinking about her. There was just something inside her telling her that she needed to take her back to District Thirteen and shelter her from this war. She knew there were hundreds of other children no doubt orphaned within District Eight but Aella felt some sort of connection to Piper.

She felt crazy herself. How she thought she was going to care for a six year old child was beyond her but she wanted to try. She wanted to give her the best shot at life in the middle of a war. Piper didn't deserve to grow up in fear, living off whatever she found. She deserved a life. Aella was yet to realise it was because she saw her younger self in the child—that was why she felt such a deep, personal connection to her. All she knew at that point was that she wanted to shelter her and protect her as long as she lived.

She didn't know how she'd explain it to President Coin, or Finnick when she arrived back with a shy six year old child that she had decided to adopt. She had no idea what she'd tell Clio and Daniel but she hoped Sal would at least see the thought behind her choices and offer her aid. She didn't know what she was thinking, only that she wanted to love and care for her.

And so she pleaded, "Please, Paylor. I want to help her."

"We're in the middle of a war." Paylor eventually said, "Which you are heading."

"There is no safer place than District Thirteen." Aella persuaded, before glancing back to Boggs, "Tell her Boggs. I have family there. They can help me. Please, Paylor, I don't usually beg but there is some voice deep inside of me that is screaming at me to march back into that hospital and take her with me."

Paylor seemed to contemplate Aella's words as they walked and after some time she pursed her lips and loosed a sigh, "Okay... only if—"

She was interrupted by Boggs, "There's a problem."

Aella whirled around as she stopped dead in her tracks. Around her, everyone else had too stopped and looked to Boggs who lingered some feet behind them. She been too caught up in her pleading to noticed he'd even stopped but as she looked at him—his eyes on the sky—she furrowed her brows deeply.

"What kinda problem?" Gale dared to ask.

"Incoming bombers from the north." He said and her heart fell into her stomach at his words, "We need to find cover now."

"There's a bunker in there." Paylor hurried to say before running towards the building they were closest too. She ran over a pile of rubble, guiding them through the broken glass window and inside but Aella didn't follow. She watched everyone move inside as air raid sirens began to sound, loud and clear across the District.

"Aella." Boggs instructed, guiding her forward with a light hand against her back.

But her focus was on the direction they'd walked from, on what they'd left behind, "The hospital—"

"They have shelters." Boggs interrupted her, "Right now my priority is getting you to safety."

Her eyes widened as she shook her head, "But—"

"Now, Barnes." Boggs pressed, scanning the sky again.

Her heart pounded wildly in her chest but she listened to Boggs' words. The hospital would have shelters—they wouldn't house the citizens there and label it a safe space if it didn't—and she couldn't help Piper if she was dead. So she listened and she allowed Boggs to guide her in. They picked up into a run and followed Paylor through the abandoned building—the terrain of dust caked floors, and empty, decrepit buildings much like her original games. She glanced around fleetingly, the resemblance between the space she ran through was similar to the space she fought for her win in—the space she nearly died and was crowned Victor at the same time.

Boggs' hand grazed her shoulder again as she slowed down and he guided her to run faster. She shook the memories away and picked up her pace as the air raid siren continued to alarm.

"Straight ahead and down the stairs." Paylor instructed as she came to a stop though the second her words passed her lips machine gun fire echoed through the open skies.

Aella watched Katniss run away from Paylor, out through the broken wall and back towards the streets they'd just left and she swore loudly before shouting after the younger woman. Gale followed her, his voice intwining with her own and Boggs joined in but Katniss didn't listen to any of them.

"Everdeen! Everdeen!" Boggs yelled as they were all forced to follow her. Aella and Boggs ran ahead, Cressida and her team behind and Aella saw as Katniss crouched before a hole in the wall, watching the rebels of District Eight fire against the Capitol.

Peacekeepers most likely. Aella cursed as fear began to coil around in her stomach and seep into her blood. If any of them—or all of them—were caught by Peacekeepers... They were as good as dead. The thought lingered in her mind as she reached for one of the daggers in her thigh strap, pulling it out and clutching the sleek handle tightly in her moistening palm. She would rather take her own life then allow herself to fall into Snow's clutches.

"Gale, back away from the wall!" Boggs ordered them as the gunfire continued to rage.

An explosion from just outside took them all off their feet in surprise. Aella felt the heat of the flames lick her skin as she watched the ball of fire dance into the sky. The force of the explosion knocked the glass windows through and forced them all back. Boggs threw his body into hers in protection and they stumbled back, shielding their faces. Aella closed her eyes tightly as her ears rang and she didn't open them until the noise subdued.

"You okay?" Boggs asked her though his voice seemed distant.

She straightened enough to nod and put her arm over her mouth as she coughed. Dirt sat on her black uniform, staining it brown and no doubt had collected on her face and in her hair.

Boggs nodded before he turned back to where Katniss and Gale had been. Aella glanced over to see them back on their feet but she also heard the sound of a crumbling building and looked up when a heavy shadow started to befall across the large warehouse they'd ran into. Her hand gasped Boggs' arm lightly as she took a stumbling step back and watched through the fifty foot glass window as a large tower collapsed and fell in their direction.

"Move!" Boggs' ordered and he again grabbed her arm and pulled her to safety as fast as he could. Aella didn't hang around. She ran knowing her life depended on it and when she heard the mass shattering of glass and crumbling of drywall around her she prayed the building didn't collapse on top of them and they didn't die all because of Katniss' inability to follow simple instruction.

What she did know was that if they survived and got back on to the hovercraft in one piece she would throttle Katniss for her blind stupidity.

She found herself coughing nothing but dry air again and felt the dust sliding into her airways. She hadn't realised she'd closed her eyes again but she opened them to complete chaos. The tower had smashed through the whole building, brick and rubble scattered everywhere around them. It was a miracle in itself they'd survived. A miracle it hadn't pulled the building down.

Again, Boggs was at her side, hands wrapped around her arms as he shook her. Her eyes lingered on his face and she watched his lips move but she couldn't hear his words. Her brain was in total and utter turmoil. All she could do was stare blankly while a million thoughts and a million feelings hit her like a train. Snow... Snow had done this. He'd targeted a District while they were unprepared, wounded.

Was this her fault? Had he somehow gotten wind that they were there and this was his retaliation?

Boggs dragged Aella out of the building as the brick walls started to shatter. She had gone completely numb—turned into a zombie almost and outside he shook her body while Cressida and the others watched on. He snapped in her ears, shouted her name, anything to get a response. Her eyes found his but she didn't say anything. He recited what little sign language he knew incase the blast had busted her hearing aids but he got nothing.

Nothing until the sound of heavy bombing shook the ground under their feet.

As a collective they all turned and looked toward the sound. It came from the South, from where they'd walked from. A heavy, dark, cloud of smoke travelled into the sky and hovercrafts flew onward. Around them gunfire continued to echo out but Aella's eyes zeroed in on that painfully familiar building.

Snow had literally knocked her world out from underneath her. Her knees buckled and she grabbed on to Boggs for support but she would not let herself fall as she cried loudly in anguish. The hospital... it had been the hospital that they had targeted and while they had bombed it, the hovercraft's flew away. No fire lingered.

It was pure rage that controlled her body—raw and undiluted. She had never felt anything like it before. Her body trembled. The haze slid over her eyes, the haze of The Huntress taking over and Aella stepping back. There was nothing nice in her eyes, nothing loving or caring. Nothing but pure hell. Out of pure instinct she reached back for her machete and unsheathed it from the holster built into her suit behind her. Before any of them could even register her movements she took off into a sprint across the District, armed and ready to take on anyone should they step in her path.

She wasn't going for a fight but she'd be damned if she was caught unawares. She went with one motive—to get the survivors out. To help what was left of this District before Snow saw to it that it became completely extinct. She did this for the people of Eight so that they could have a fighting chance.. did it for Piper who was all she could see as she ran.

Her comrades shouted... screamed after her but their words fell upon deaf ears. Pollux caught on camera The Huntress coming forth, as she armed herself and took off in a sprint with one clear goal and he continued to film as they all chased after her through the District but she moved far too fast for any of them to keep up with her. They'd lost her before they'd even started running and just as they reached the top of the street that beheld the crumbling hospital it went up in nothing but flames as two hovercrafts crashed into it.

The explosion rocked the entire District and surrounding buildings crumbled. Fire stretched out high into the sky, raging flames that consumed the whole hospital and everyone who had been left inside it.

But Aella was gone and she was no where to be found....

•   •   •

A/N; Maybe a double update today?