I sniff my bundle of pine needles. They're cradled in my arms as I lay on my hospital bed, listening to the faint beep of some machine in another room. I close my eyes and remember when Katniss brought me these. She'd been thoughtful enough to collect them from the forest and bring them to me. Needless to say, my opinion of her is now at an all-time high.

They smell just like District Seven. For some reason, my work schedule out chopping wood repeats in my mind. I don't know why, but I can remember it perfectly. At 8, I had to be at the lumber yards. Chop wood from 8-12. 12-1 PM was a lunch break, but we had to write out labels as we ate our lunches. 1-3 was more chopping. 3-5 was packaging and putting labels on the woods piles to be sent off to the Capitol.

It's not important anymore, I remind myself. You aren't in District 7 anymore. You may never go back . . . The very second I tell myself that I regret it. Because what if it's true? What if I'll never see my home again. Sure, there's been some horrible memories there, but hasn't anyone ever heard, "Home is where the heart is" ? I'm almost positive my heart is stranded somewhere in Seven, and I'm determined to find it.

My head doctor, Dr. Reginald, walks into the room. "Hello, Johanna, how are you?" He doesn't look up from his clipboard.

"Well," I answer, and take a deep breathe. "When do I get to leave the hospital?" I'm pretty much dying to leave, to live in at least a compartment. I want to live on my own, even if it means daily visits with my head doctor again.

"Soon, Johanna," He says. "Don't worry. Possibly in as little as a week." The thought makes me smile. Quite frankly, I'm becoming sick of hospitals and sick people.

"Good," I answer.

"Oh, Johanna, I almost forgot. We won't be having a session today. I think you've made excellent improvment since that day on the Block a week ago. You have a visitor, anyway. She said it's just real quick, and I hope so." He looks at his watch. "She's got another shift in ten minutes."

I'm about to ask a million questions. Who's come to visit me? But he walks out the door and someone else walks in. Primrose Everdeen. Katniss's little sister, who was called at the reaping. Katniss volunteered to go in for her. She's 13 now, 12 at the time of the reaping. She's about as sweet as it gets, or so I've heard. And she's standing in the doorway.

"Hello, Prim," I say cautiously. I'm still not sure why she's here.

"Hi, Johanna," She says, waves her hand a bit, and walks over next to my bed. "I know you're wondering why I'm here, but I came to say thank you."

"Thank me?" I ask, obviously confused. "Why do you want to thank me?"

"For saving Katniss. I know it's a little late. . . But in the arena. When you cut out her tracker so the hovercraft could come and save her. At first I thought you were killing her... but then I saw you pulled out that tracker. And it was very brave of you, you know. You risked your own life to save hers. And you were a hero."

"A hero?" I say, my eyebrows raised. "Huh. I've never been called a hero before. Thank you, Prim. It means a lot." And sad to say, but it does. I've barely ever been called nice. And now I've found out I'm someone's hero. I remember how much Katniss loves her. The image of her running for her life up to the stage that day comes back to me. She didn't hesitate to get up on that stage and take a death sentence for her little sister.

"You know, your sister's a hero, too," I say. I repeat my thoughts: "She didn't hesitate to run up and save your life at the reaping. She must really love you. And that was really brave, too. She's leading a rebellion for the freedom of all of us. And I know the only reason she tried so hard to win the Games was for you. Remember at the interviews? She said she loved you more than anything."

Prim smiles. "She's always been a hero to me. Even before the reaping. Even before she volunteered to save me. We all knew I would've never won. But somehow... she had always been. I mean, my mother had become depressed and Katniss, only 12 at time, had to take over. Improve her hunting skills, you know."

"Sort of," I say. "Don't you have to be getting back to being a nurse? What? Are they training you to be a doctor?"

The way she smiles after I ask could brighten even the person in the deepest depression's day. "Yes! Well, I think so. I hope." She looks away dreamily. "And yes, I do have to be getting back to work. I'll see you soon. I heard you're getting out soon."

She slips out of the door, clicking it closed quietly behind her. I can hear her tiny footsteps rush away to another part of the hospital . . .

[Days Later]

I click on the TV, hoping to find something about the troops in the Capitol. Specifically the one involving Finnick, Gale, and of course, Katniss. I've heard they've had connection with Haymitch, so maybe if I could go down and see him, he could tell me something. But I doubt they'd even tell me anything.

There's footage of Peacekeepers on roofs. They're shooting and blowing up houses. A reporter is standing on one of the roofs, scattered Peacekeepers behind her.

"The rebel troop, including Boggs, the commander, Cressida, Gale, Katniss Everdeen's friend/hunting partner, Finnick Odair, the winner of the 65th Hunger Games and of course the all so famous 74th Hunger Games Victors, Peeta Mellark and Katniss Everdeen were just pronounced dead. One body has been found. The long awaited death of Katniss has finally happened, Capitol residents. It just goes to show you cannot defeat the power of the Capitol. President Snow has promised an official statement later."

A shiver overtakes my body, starting in my toes and working it's way up to my brain. Finnick. Katniss. Peeta. Even Gale. They're all dead, they're all dead, they're all dead. I feel like its my fault. But for once, it's not. I probably would've been in that group. I could be dead right now if it weren't for my spaz down on the Block. But more importantly, they are. Brutal, violent, painful deaths.

Finnick. My partner in crime, my brother. We'd been forced together but the crappiest lives on this planet. With families dead in the arms of the Capitol. It was important we had alike lives. That way, we could rant to each other about how much we hate the Capitol and being a mentor and watching our tributes meet their shortly-awaited deaths. Laughing and drinking together. Getting through those tough times.

Peeta and Gale. I didn't really know either of them, but I know that they were both fighters, never giving up on their lives. Gale, I've heard, hunted for his family when his father died in a coal mine explosion. He had a need to survive and found a way. And Peeta, in the arena with that cut that went practically down to his bone. Somehow he managed to survive blood loss and poisoning. How they did it I still don't know.

And Katniss. Though I did know her better, I hadn't respected her much until recently. But I should have. She saved her sister and defied the Capitol with a handful of berries. She led the way to freedom and was one of those people who didn't take bullshit. Even when everyone else had lost hope, she paved the road. They were just driving on it... I should've cared! I should've been kinder! At least she died knowing she was a leader, not a follower of the crowd.

Maybe she did have the right to kill Snow. She was the one who threw us into this mess. Though they're dead, the flame she lit turned into an inferno that not even the Capitol can burn out. . .

Suddenly, I remember Prim and Mrs. Everdeen. I remember Annie. Gale's family is also living in District 13. He someone managed to get them out of the District 12 bombing. I slip out of my bed and take the elevator down to one of the lower levels of 13. Someone might stop me, as I'm still in my hospital gown. But I have to do this. I bang through the door and run down to some rooms until I find Beetee.

"Beetee," I breathe heavily.

"Johanna! I haven't seen you in a while. What can I help you with?" He cleans his glasses with his shirt and I begin to talk quickly.

"Beetee, didn't you just see the Capitol feed? A reporter pronounced the deaths of Finnick and Katniss and Peeta and Gale and Boggs and Cressida! The troop! How are you not freaking out? You've known Finnick and Katniss and Peeta and I heards you were creating things with Gale! How can you be-"

"Johanna, calm down, please. Come with me." He takes me through some rooms and down the elevator to the level below. We walk into a room where, who would've guessed, Haymitch is sitting, talking quickly into something attached to his head. He doesn't realize we're there until he's done talking. That's when he flicks a switch and turns.

"Oh, hello Beetee. Johanna, didn't expect you. Haven't seen you in quite a while, now, have we?"

"They're dead! They're dead and you're not even sad one bit!" I yell in ferocity. Even I'm sad! I'm broken! Finnick's dead! Katniss and Peeta, his tributes, are dead! They're freaking dead, and he's not even sad?

"Johanna, Johanna, they aren't dead. Well, Boggs is. The escaped. They just assumed they were dead when they blew up all the houses and found Bogg's body. They're safe and hiding."

My face lights up. Could it be true? Could they really be alive? "Really?" I ask. "Finnick's alive, yes? And Katniss and Peeta? They're all still alive?" A wave of relief rushes through me. So I don't have to worry anymore.

Well, that's not true. I must worry. They could still be found, tortured, and killed at any second now. But I wanted to go in, knowing fully well to be careful, so they must know too as well. Right? Right. . .

"Annie," I say suddenly. "Annie thinks Finnick is dead. What compartment number is she?" I demand.

"Last I hear, 678B," Haymitch says. "I talked to Finnick the day before he left."

I can't take the elevator. Instead I hop up the stairs 3 levels, skipping a stair as I jog up them and knock on the door as gently as I can, because, well, it's Annie. She opens the door, sniffling with red eyes.

"Annie, Annie, don't cry." I try to catch my breathe.

"Why not?" She asks. "Finnick is dead!"

"He's not dead! None of them are! I just went down and saw Beetee and Haymitch and they both confirmed they all escaped before they set all the houses on fire . . . they made it, Annie, you don't need to cry."

"Really? So, Finnick's still alive? And he's not hurt?"

"Yes! I mean, he's alive, and I doubt he's hurt. Haymitch has had good connection with them the entire time, so he'd tell me if he was."

"Thank you, Johanna. I can't tell you how hurt I was. . . and how worried I had been. . . and how lonely it's been since Finnick left . . . I miss him. . . I hope he comes home safely. . . I really do. . ."

The thing about Annie is that she takes awkward pauses between everything she says. Sometimes they're long and drawn out and other times they're short. Occasionally she'll speed up her sentences and other times she'll say them slowly, as if she's. . .

I don't know. That's what's odd about Annie. She's unpredictable. And so am I.

It's funny when you think about it. We could be a good team.