I do not own the Hunger Games, Suzan Collins does. Please hit the magical review button on the bottom of the page. I know its short, but I wanted to know if it's good at all before I put all my time and effort into it. (I live a busy life filled with books and procrastination). So review and I will continue to write.

I wake to the sound of arguing, and bolt upright, expecting to see the arena before me and two tributes readying to spring. Instead I see a more benign sight, but not much more; Haymitch and Gale are arguing. They are hushed and I see Gale is frustrated. I squeak involuntarily as a spasm of pain shoots up the arm where Johanna removed the tracker rather violently. Gale and Haymitch both turn towards me. Gale looks happy to see me, but also worried at my state, or is there something else? Haymitch on the other hand looks irritated as usual.
"Do you have to be so jumpy," Haymitch starts," the doctor said to rest and try to keep that arm still for a while. Not to mention everything else is also somehow injured, what did you do, Katniss, throw yourself against some rocks when the cameras weren't looking?" I barely hear him; the look on Gale's face is much too distracting. He looks worried, frustrated, and…strangely empty.

"You should tell her, Haymitch. You have to tell her." I feel like someone is slowing pushing the air out of my lungs, constricting my breath, because the look on Gale's face is really freaking me out. This can't be anything good.

"What? What should you tell me?" I wait for an answer, frustration is the only emotion I let them see; I will not let them see my fear.

"See, look what you've done, you've gone and said something about it, and now I have to tell her." Haymitch turned toward Gale and dropped his voice to a whisper, he evidently thought only Gale could hear. But of course I could hear it too, time spent in the arena and the woods had made my hearing more sensitive than most, "Do you know how bad it would be if she knew? She'd freak out! Gale I swear-," he broke off breathing heavily in his anger, "-gale I swear if you say one more word about it, while she's around, I'll," I can see Haymitch thinking, I mean what could he really do to gale that would have any effect, "Well you won't like it, whatever I'll do, I can tell you that much!"

I can see Gale smirk, but there is still that worry apparent in the set of his mouth and the way his forehead crinkles.

"Tell me," I say. It's not a request, there is no getting around this, and I can see Haymitch can see that.

"It's not here," He says, defeated.

"What's not here?" I ask, confused.

"District 13, we've been circling for hours and we've found nothing but a mass of rubble and dust. And we can't stay in one place for much longer, at first the capitol didn't even realize that we weren't with them. Kinda the point of having a capitol hovercraft, but a few started to follow us. We shook them off of course, but I think they knew we were a rebel force, I just don't want to stay in one place, like a sitting duck, just waiting for the capitol to come and shoot us where we stand, or hover," Haymitch continues to ramble on, and at first I don't understand, but then the words take meaning and my stomach plummets. My eyes blur for a moment, turning the room into a watercolor of white walls and yellow lights. I feel sick. If there's no District 13 then there is no place to go, no safe haven we have dreamed of, no mass of people waiting to fight in our rebellion, and above all no hope. And I realize this now; District 13 was hope for me. No matter how many times I dismissed the idea of running away, of leaving, I still had it in the back of my mind, and District 13 only solidified this idea even more. It was my hope and now it's gone. I feel as if someone has sucked the air out of me and left me empty.

Gale, seeing my blank expression, walks toward me, and sits on the edge of the bed.

"Don't worry; I'm sure it's here. I mean, how could it not be? It's probably on the other side of one of these mountains or something" I hear the emptiness I'm feeling in his voice, and I know he doesn't believe a word he's saying right now; and neither do I.

"Is there a window anywhere?" I say. Haymitch looks surprised at my calm, he obviously doesn't see the nothingness radiating inside me, the absence of hope.

"Um, yeah. There's one right outside the door." Haymitch says.

I get up, with the help of Gale, and limp towards the door. With my sore, but still good arm, I open the door and see good-sized window directly in front of me. I step towards it (or rather drag a bruised foot) and peer out onto the nothingness of District 13. Sure enough all there is is dust, dust, and more gray dust. I sigh, because they're right, there is no District 13.

But then my breath catches, because a gust of wind has blown a few dead leaves into the mass of dust and rubble. Instead of just sweeping over, and then settling, I see a flash of light, of color, and then the leaves shoot into the air, burnt to a crisp. Nobody else seems to notice this, but me. Hope returns, as realization sweeps through me.

There is a District 13; it's just encased in force field like the one in the Games. Clever.