Chapter 16

Again I cry out for the driver to stop as we near the shimmering wall.

I'm reminded of the Quarter Quell arena. How Peeta hit the force field with a sword. With a loud zap his body was flung away like it was nothing. With just the swing of a sword. That alone nearly killed him. I can't even begin to imagine what will happen if we crash a whole convoy into one.

Quickly I brace myself for impact as we near what looks like a warped pane of glass hanging in midair.

"We need to stop! There's a force field," I yell one last time without realizing that driver has already slowed down.

We stop just a few feet away from the rippling sheen of the force field, lining up right alongside the other five convoys.

Up front our driver turns to face me; his eyes covered by large goggles with purple lenses. "You can see the wall without specs?" he asks with a tinge of excitement in his voice. I give a quick nod before he speaks back up again. "That's pretty impressive. Maybe next time we should just let you drive."

I let out a shaky laugh, still traumatized from the idea of a potentially fatal collision. "So how do we get past the wall," I question.

"We wait," the driver answers. "Stopping here in front of the entrance is like knocking on the front door. All ya have to do now is get out so the welcoming committee can have a good look at ya."

Stepping out of the convoy I fall in line with Finnick, Faust and the two District 8 soldiers accompanying us. I notice the passengers of the other convoys all doing the same before gathering in front of the massive gleaming force field. Judging by its size the force field must form a dome over the entire district. There's only one way to get through. And that means waiting for whoever is on the other side of it.

At first there's nothing. Looking up above, I notice a couple of cameras attached to the force field. They almost seem to hang in midair, rotating and focusing in on our group. Then without warning a surge of energy causes a section of the force field to glow with bright white light. Nearly blinded by the intensity of it I raise my arm to shield my eyes, just as the ground begins to quake. The force field is opening. As it does a loud crank echoes overhead along with the sound of grinding gears. The walls open with such sheer force that I nearly fall headfirst into a large boulder. Even the convoys rock back and forth from the trembling earth.

Finally the quaking stops and the cranking gears silence, revealing the true entrance to District 3.

On the other side a shadowy figure waiting to greet us. A woman whose face comes into focus the moment our group pushes past the piercing bright lights that emanate from the force field. Dressed in a sleek silver uniform, the woman also wears some sort of visor that covers the upper half of her head.

"Hello. I am Commander Bulbina Nutarri. Allow me to be the first to welcome you all to District 3." Her voice is calm and unwavering. Each word spoken routinely as if it were a prerecorded message.

Immediately Paylor steps forward to the front of the group.

"Commander Paylor. What an honor this is," the woman smiles without showing any ounce of emotion. "What is it that brings you to us today?"

That's when I notice the armed guards standing at each side of the entrance.

Paylor simply ignores them addressing Commander Nutarri directly. "Just passing through to District 2. Decided to take a more discreet route this time around."

At the very mention of District 2, Commander Nutarri's eyes widen in surprise. The first real emotion I've seen her register. "It's been quite some time since 2 was considered a rebel district. May I ask what business you have with them?"

If her voice didn't sound so monotone I'd almost think that last statement was accusatory.

Paylor doesn't hold anything back. "We have reason to believe that President Snow will be paying them a visit sometime in the next few days. Thought we'd go help welcome him."

This time Thatch steps forward. A different weapon strapped to practically every inch of him.

Again Commander Nutarri almost shows an emotion. "I see. Then I suggest we take you all to the northern entrance. From that checkpoint there's nothing but woods for fifty miles. But if you're looking for a discreet path, then that would be the one to take."

Paylor agrees. "Thank you Bulbina."

With a nod Commander Nutarri turns away. "Follow me."

Once again the cranking gears start up, and the luminous walls of the force field seal themselves behind us. I take one final look back when they finish closing. Aside from the slight shimmering it's as if the force field was never there.

Commander Nutarri takes us out further into the district. All the while my mouth is left hanging open, as I gawk at each and every remarkable structure within. With so many unusual contraptions around it's hard to imagine what they could all be for. And I'm not the only one who's curious. It seems half of our group is slowing down just to admire and examine these extraordinary machines.

As a result Commander Nutarri reluctantly reduces her speed. I'm surprised she even noticed us. She moves very purposefully, as if every step and motion has already been calculated and predetermined ahead of time.

"This is our research and development sector," Commander Nutarri chimes in hoping an explanation will help us pick up the pace. "It's where we send our most innovative minds to work. Recently we've had a number of Capitol refugees join the team, which of course has sped up our production of pods."

"Pods?" Finnick and I practically blurt this out at the same time.

"You can't mean the same ones that the Capitol's been using?" Finnick questions.

Commander Nutarri doesn't turn around, but I can tell this statement amuses her. "Well we do have our own variations of them, but yes. Pods, muttations, force fields. Our research and development team has been hard at work on all of these. It should come as no surprise. Prior to the rebellion the Capitol had a great reliance on our district in order to develop some of the technology used in the games."

I had never given it any thought before. But District 3 does specialize in technology. It only makes sense that some of the devices used in the games originated from here.

In the center of the District we stop for food and additional supplies. Most of the others ate on the boat back in District 4. Unfortunately I've been so caught up in everything that I completely bypassed that opportunity. The last time my stomach digested any sort of food was back in 8 before we left. In fact as soon as the aroma from the kitchen wafts past me, my stomach lets out a loud deep growling sound. Beside me Henley takes notice and sneaks some extra bread onto my plate.

"Better eat up," Henley smiles. "We don't want your stomach giving away our position once we get to 2."

"In that case I'd better take the whole loaf with me," I joke back.

Right after this comment one of the District 8 soldiers actually sticks a whole loaf of bread on my plate causing the rest of the table to erupt with laughter. I laugh along with them, but only to hide my surprise. The soldier who gave me the bread was Peeta.

Though it may be hard to recognize him past the helmet, goggles and camouflage, I can still identify his smile. Across the table he looks at me and then back to the loaf bread. I know it must be his way of saying he remembers. He remembers saving my life that day in the rain. And just like that I know the boy with the bread has come back to me.

After lunch Commander Nutarri brings us to something called an elevated transport. It's supposed to be the fastest way to travel in 3. There's actually a centrally located building in the District 3 square with four transports. Each one travels in one of four directions. From outside, the transports look basically like giant tubes that arch through the air towards the outskirts of the district. However, inside is where the actual transports are located.

Once I'm in the tube the first thing I do is strap myself into a seat that is shaped like a giant marble. A marble that is supposed to propel me through the tube at over one hundred miles per hour. After already watching both Finnick and Johanna go before me, I prepare myself for the initial takeoff. Keeping very still I clench every muscle I have. Mainly because if I don't, I'm afraid I'll have the wind knocked out of me. Especially after seeing how quickly they launched Johanna. I accidentally blinked during her turn and just like that she was gone.

Patiently I wait. Then one deep breath and I'm jettisoned upward into a blur of color. For a brief moment, as I reach the top of the arch, the transport slows and I find myself soaring alongside the artificial sky of the force field. Then once again I'm propelled forward; this time feeling as though I'm falling to the ground. As I near the end, the transport slows. Surprisingly it finishes much smoother than the takeoff. Still I can't help but stumble as I take my first step off the transport. And after waiting for the rest of our group to stagger out the same way, we continue our journey towards the northern gate.

Along the way I notice a large group of District 3 soldiers led by a man who's addressed as commander. Immediately I question the woman leading us. "I thought you were the commander for 3."

"One of them yes," Bulbina responds simply without slowing her pace. "For efficiency and security purposes the people of 3 believe that the District should be led by a group of trained specialists rather than by just one single individual."

"How many are in this group of specialists?" I ask.

"There are a total of five commanders on the Council. There's the head of our research and development team. She usually stays within the sector we just came from. Then we have a military tactical analyst as well as a political strategist. These two are in charge of any offensive measures taken beyond our walls. However, when it comes to the safety and well-being of those within our District, the responsibility falls on me and one other commander," she says pointing to the man leading the group of soldiers. "He specializes in security and protective measures where as I am accountable for our communications."

At the very mention of Commander Nutarri's role both Paylor and Thatch jump into the conversation. Paylor first explains how we discovered the communications issues while in 10. Then she explains how the same interference had shut down 6, 8 and 11 as well.

In the distance I notice a small glimmer of light. A chink in the armor that I know must belong to the northern edge of the force field. For a moment I'm completely mesmerized by it. Then Bulbina Nutarri says something that pulls me back to the conversation at hand.

"Yes, we were experiencing the same problem for quite some time. However, once we pinpointed the source and determined that the interference was coming from District 13, we were able end the disruption."

District 13?

Immediately this triggers a landslide of questions from the rest of the group.

This whole time thinking that the Capitol had some sort of plan to cut the districts off from one another and all along it was District 13.

While I'm relieved that this has nothing to do with Snow or the Capitol, all I can do now is ask why? What reasons could 13 possibly have for blocking all of the other Districts' communications? Even worse, why didn't Gale say anything? Not once did he ever mention the subject while he was in 8. All he ever said was that somehow District 13 is now a safer place. That's it. Nothing else. But surely he must have known more. How could he not? What is he hiding? And more importantly what is Coin hiding?

As we near the edge of the force field Commander Nutarri only speaks with Paylor. She ignores every other question that arises from the rest of the group. This would be really irritating if I wasn't so interested in hearing what she and Paylor had to say.

"You discover any reasoning for why District 13 would do something like this?" Paylor asks.

Commander Nutarri looks surprised. "Have you truly not heard what's happened?"

"Communications are still down in 8. No one has heard anything," Paylor responds slightly agitated.

The District 3 commander pauses for a moment deep in thought. Probably contemplating what to say next. "Perhaps we should discuss this alone first."

The cranking gears. That's all I can hear as Paylor walks off with Commander Nutarri. The rest of us wait as the bright illumination of the force field generates, signaling the opening barrier.

We move beyond the wall lingering outside District 3 in anticipation of Paylor's return. When she does return she doesn't say a word. But I can tell already that whatever news Paylor did receive was not good.

"Well what did she say?" Thatch questions Paylor.

"Nothing that needs to be addressed right now," Paylor responds. "What's done is done. For now let's just focus on the mission at hand."

What's done is done. Paylor changes the subject as if nothing is wrong. But something is wrong. There's no denying that. Paylor is clearly hiding something. Just like Gale was. I just don't understand why. What has District 13 done?

We spend two days walking through the woods before we reach the border. The whole way all I can think about is District 13. Already this is the second time that Paylor's withheld vital information from us. The first was not telling us what happened the last time she was in 2. How Lyme betrayed the rebellion. And how Paylor and Thatch were captured and taken to the Capitol.

Now Paylor is going to do it all over again.

I assume Paylor just doesn't want to alarm us. As she said before, she wants us focused on the mission at hand. But we have a right to know what's going on. We have a right to know the dangers that lay ahead. Yet she remains silent. Keeping secrets from the rest of us. And I'm beginning to wonder whether or not I can trust her.

We continue on foot for another two days after we pass the border between Districts 2 and 3. The woods provide us with shelter and concealment, but not much else. Even with rationing the food we've been running through our stock rather quickly. Thankfully I managed to spot a deer the other day before nightfall. It didn't have much meet on it, but there was enough so everyone could have a few bites at least. Still all day long my stomach has been groaning and growling. All that's left is the hope that we make it to District 2 before we all starve to death.

That's when I see it. Glancing upward I notice what lies beyond the woods through the parting branches tangled above us. The first real evidence that we're nearing our destination. A snowy peak that stretches so high up it gets lost amongst the clouds.

Virtually impenetrable, I remember when it was thought of as one tough Nut to crack. But that was before it was brought down by a few bombs and an avalanche.

I stare at the image for a few more seconds. I know we're close now. We've nearly made it.

Already I can see we've reached the mountain.

End of Chapter 16

End of Part 2

End Notes:

The journey still does not end here. Inferno - Part III: The Mountain is now available.

There's also now a Community for the Inferno Series. If you have a chance, please show your support by following. You can find the link to it through my profile page or through the Hunger Games Community page.

M. Cooper Jinks