Hey :) this is the first time I've actually written a story before so I have alot of grammar and story skills to work on sorry... Hopefully, it gets interesting at the end of the chapter. Oh, and read Kathybear's story "Ready to Kill" she's an awesome writer!

Disclaimer: I would have, I could have, I should have, but I didn't write the Hunger Games. Wish I did though :(

KATNISS POV

"Katniss..." I glance towards Gale and quickly cast my eyes back to the cold, gray floor. His pain stricken face causes so much unease that I can't even look at him. But I want-no, I NEED to know what's going on. I force myself to gaze into his worried eyes, which I noticed are the same color as the floor. I reluctantly nod approval for him to continue. I can't run away from the inevitable truth anyway.

"Katniss…District 12 is gone."

My eyes widen and my breath is caught midway in my throat. I should have covered my ears. First Peeta is being held captive, and now District 12 is all gone.

'Gone. No.. No it can't be.'

My shaking knees threaten to collapse underneath me as the room starts to spin. I try to speak, but I suddenly cringe as a wave of nausea rolls through me. Gale's words are echoing loudly inside my head, threatning to unhinge me. I'm in terrible shape enough as it is from the Quarter Quell... Now this?

Gale senses my distress and steps forward to pull me into a warm embrace. I bury my face into his strong chest and let out a few shaky breaths. His large muscular arms wrapped around my petite body make me feel safe from the horror and sadness in this world. He lightly kisses me on my forehead with his soft lips and rests his head on top of mine.

"Everything will be okay Catnip." He murmurs reassuringly into my hair. His voice is so convincing I almost believe him.

Gale Hawthorne is my best and only friend; the only one who seems understands me in all of District 12.

District 12… Just thinking about it hurts me.

My home, the Seam... those poverty-stricken, but familiar areas I came to appreciate are lost forever. All that remains of district 12 are fragments of my childhood memories. Maybe even some innocent people who couldn't escape the wrath of President Snow reside in the rubble as well. Familiar places with familiar faces have been reduced to ashes all because of me, the Girl on Fire.

Anger resonates inside of me as I picture the scenarios of burning buldings and screaming people. Among those images, I can imagine an old, well dressed man laughing maniacally as he sends more bombs hurtling towards District 12. President Snow... How can one man be so cruel and heartless to the people he's supposed to care for? So many lives are destroyed with others suffering or being tortured to the point of insanity while our "wonderful" president watches with sick pleasure.

I tremble with silent rage against Gale's body for a few moments before resting my chin on his shoulder to stare at the floor once again.

I spot something out of the corner of my vision, and my feelings of grief leave faster than they even entered my mind. Gale notices I stopped quivering and he releases me to study my expression. But I don't look back at him because my eyes are already locked on another being.

Gale, very confused, peered in my direction to stare with me. "What's wrong?"

I'm so lost in my thoughts I forget to answer. The person I'm observing is a towering man of 6 feet or so with bulging muscles and short golden hair. I'm only looking at his back side, but there's just something about him that doesn't feel right. I can't put my finger on it. He's casually striding side by side with a girl whose about 5'6, 5'7. She has a more slender build up compared to him, and her long curly hair is as black the coal from my district.

Who are they..? Why does the guy look so familiar? I wanted them to turn around and reveal their faces...

Surprisingly, I got my wish. The boy and girl stopped walking as he stepped in front to face her. He is strikingly handsome with sharp features and a half crooked smile revealing pearly white teeth. But what really throws me off is his eyes. His piercing blue orbs send chills down my spine when I finally realize what is so intriguing about him. I recognized the male immediately, but I am so shocked I just gasp out loud.

Gale roughly grabs my shoulders. "Katniss, what's wrong? What do you see?"

My mind freezes completely and my tongue refuses to cooperate with me. I can only manage to stutter one word before I break out into a dead run.

"C-Cato."

That's right. I was standing just yards away from the ferocious Cato Hunting, a district 2 killing machine who had participated in the 74th Hunger Games with me.

'But he's dead.' I remind myself as I slow down to a fast paced walk. 'I watched him get torn apart by those mutts in the games myself.'

Then how is this even possible? How can I be in the presence of a dead man? My thoughts are so jumbled up at the moment I doubt I will make a smart decision about this.

Our eyes met and I froze. He stops midway into his conversation, and the girl almost turns around to look at me. But before she can, he twists her back around and they both rush off into the large mob of people. Without even thinking, I chase after them. I can hear Gale calling me, but only one thought is racing through my mind right now.

'Cato is alive.'

I can't afford to wait for Gale. I have to get to the bottom of this.

So yeah, it's a short chapter sorry. I don't really have all the time in the world to edit and make it literate. Especially when I'm a student at this high academic school (I hate it there). Also, sorry to the people who don't like Cato, but I just had to mention him in this story (he's super hot). You'll find out who the girl is later on. She and Katniss are basically the main characters because I wanted this story to be different than the other fan fictions of the Hunger Games. :)