After Peeta came home from the capitol and planted the Primroses he had tried to go on with life in district 12. He tried several approaches. His normal approach of kindness and community, Haymitch's of drinking and anger, and the one Katniss had employed of detachment and depression. One night when he was using Haymitch's strategy, passed out on his kitchen table, Katniss stormed into his house, pouring cold water over his head.

'Whhaat the fuck!' he sputtered, rolling off the table to the floor. 'Ow!' His right arm took most of the impact and he rubbed it before the beginnings of a hangover headache kicked in and stole his attention. They glared at each other for a while before Katniss broke the silence. There was a fire in her eyes Peeta hadn't seen since the war. 'I'm leaving. I'm heading south. I'm leaving Panem and never looking back.' His stomach turned to knots and he sobered up immediately, head swimming with fear of never seeing her again before she said the words that would change the rest of his life. 'I want you to come with me.'

They had both come to the conclusion that there was no life for them in Panem worth living. There were too many memories, too much pain. The past loomed over them like a vulture circling to consume what remained. For weeks they planned and secretly acquired all that they would need. They were careful to go unnoticed and not bring any attention to what they were doing.

When the departure day arrived they stood at the fence, shoulder to shoulder, carrying only the barest of essentials and the most prized of their possessions. Katniss held on her person her father's bow and quiver of arrows, 2 knives, a flint, a change of clothes, extra socks, Prim's comb, fishing string, a bottle of iodine, a bit of food, her herb book and game bag. She wore a green shirt and loose brown leather pants from Cinna's pile that seemed to be the sturdiest and most practical of the clothes in the house. She wore brown leather boots that were thick yet light and completely waterproofed. On her belt was a canteen of water and rope. Her father's hunting jacket donned her shoulders, and deep in one of the hidden pockets was her parents' wedding picture and Peeta's pearl.

Peeta wore a brown long sleeve shirt and a beige waterproof jacket. His pants were chocolate brown and on his belt he also had a canteen of water, rope and a knife. He carried 2 cooking pots, a sleeping bag they had made out of blankets and durable plastic, a flint, an axe, a change of clothes, and a map they had found in the remains of the school basement. The map was marked up with circles and lines from late nights of planning. Inside one of Peeta's pockets were 3 items he hadn't told Katniss about and didn't plan on revealing until the proper timing.

For a moment Katniss felt like she was standing on the arena platform, clock counting down, holding her breath, adrenaline pumping, and everything, her entire existence dependent on that first step forward. Their future containing only a spark of hope. The thing that made all the difference was choice.

They passed through the fence silently and it was like a dark cloud receding to reveal the sky, wide and open. Finally, they were free.