"You're it Hunter!" Uriah shouts happily, slapping me lightly in the leg.

"Hey!" I shout, a small smile lighting up my face. Uriah and Peeta run away from my outstretched hands and I chase after the two boys. Rose waves from her spot on the patio next to Dina who was talking her mother at the moment. Gale holds two-year-old Toby on his lap, watching me closely.

After a while of chasing after the two boys, I call truce and jog over to the patio, gratefully grabbing a glass of lemonade from Johanna, plopping down next to Rose, shaking my hair out of my face. Dina watches me hungrily, tracking my every movement. Rose had told me Dina had a crush on me, which doesn't really make sense. I'm fourteen; she's sixteen, but whatever.

This family is weird all right.

"Did you catch them?" Rose asks softly, marking her spot in her book. I still don't understand how she loves to read, but hunts at the same time. I find all my joy in baking and painting, not hunting. I'll hunt; I'm good, but not as great as Rose.

She's rubbed it in my face countless times.

"Nah, they're too fast." I chug down the glass of cool lemonade; it's coldness giving me a brain freeze.

"Ack! Brain freeze!" I yell, clutching my head dramatically. Rose rolls her eyes, smacking me lightly with her book on my shoulder. Johanna laughs, handing a glass to the two boys who just finished their wrestling match.

"Do you need me to rub your temples for you?" Dina asks, almost too excitedly, jumping up.

"And I'm all better!" I unclench my hands, giving her a nervous-but-heart-melting smile.

She nods, a crestfallen look on her face, sitting back down. I tickle Peeta in the sides as he sits down on my lap, breathing hard.

Rose brushes a stray lock of hair off of his flushed face as he chugs down the lemonade.

"Whoa, easy buddy." I say lightly, gently tugging the glass out of his hands. "Not that fast."

Peeta sticks his tongue out at me before slapping Uriah in the arm, shouting, "YOU'RE IT!"

"HEY! NO FAIR!" Uriah yells, bolting after the blonde streak in the grass that was, unfortunately, my brother.

"So Hunter." Johanna sits up, a grin lighting up her face. "Have special girl back at home that you're thinking about?"

Normally I would have made a face and said no. Dad would tease me to no ends about me inheriting his 'good looks' and laugh when I'd complain about the girls chasing me around,

Literally.

Mom would just roll her eyes and tell me to gently tell Dad to leave me alone.

That never worked.

But I find myself feeling homesick; we had been here the entire summer, missing the honks of Haymitch's geese that we'd feed, the warm smells of Greasy Sae's wild dog stew that she'd make,

The sounds Rose would make after she came back from the woods.

And I've found myself calling for Dad after I'd make a cake or what I made for Dina for her birthday, a huge cupcake with a beautiful Primrose on top of it. I had opened my mouth to call for Dad, since I always did so he could see what I had made, but then it hit me like a ton of bricks.

He really is gone for good.

I never had really accepted it, I guess, until an unknown assassin killed Mom.

I swear that I will avenge his and Mom's deaths, if it's the last thing I do.

"Nope. I don't. I just have my sister and my brother." I smile slightly, then it falls. "I guess I miss Haymitch and Greasy Sae. They practically raised me when Mom fell into her depression. And then when she died."

Johanna nods sadly, pain flashing across her face. She nods to continue and I do, grabbing Rose's hand hard and ignoring the pitiful look on Dina's face.

"I really miss Mom and Dad the most though. I miss Mom's laughter and Dad's jokes the most. But Mom's death is still painful."

"Which makes sense since it was just two months ago." Johanna grabs the empty glass from my hand and moves to go to the kitchen.

Then she turns back, a troubled look on her face.

"I just don't know how Paylor could have let someone plant the bomb in the bakery."

I swear Gale stiffens slightly at the statement.

But only I noticed.

Dinner is tense for the first time tonight. Dina keeps giggling as she devours the meat Rose had caught in her traps from today.

Finally I can tell Johanna has had enough.

"Dina Joann Hawthorne, are you drunk? What did you drink? Gale! How could you let her-"

"I'm drunk on Hunter." Dina says dreamily, leaning towards me until she's at least two inches away from my face.

I gulp nervously. "Jo? Can I…um…please go up to my room?"

"Yeah Hunter, why don't you and your siblings go up to your room. There's a letter waiting for you anyways. Dina, get away from him." Johanna grabs Dina by the hair and literally drags her back into her spot.

I wipe my mouth on my napkin, nodding gratefully to Johanna, and follow Rose and Peeta up to our room where all of us sleep. Rose softly opens the door to the room and Peeta runs into the room, scouting for the letter.

Our room is probably the size of Mom and Dad's room back home, it's walls trimmed with gold, a soft bronze color coloring the walls fully. In the middle is a king bed where the three of us sleep. A soft, rose-colored bedspread covers the soft bed, where a letter is lying gently on the pillows.

"It's from Haymitch!" Peeta yells, ripping open the letter, throwing the envelope aside. I pick it up to see Haymitch's lopsided writing across the front.

To: Mr. and Ms. Hunter Mellark of District Two.

And Peeta.

Return to Haymitch Abernathy of District Twelve, Victor's Village.

I set the mangled envelope on the night table and sit down on the bed next to Peeta, who is sitting on the pillows. I gesture for Rose to sit down with us, and she hesitantly does.

She sits down next to me, and I loop an arm around her shoulders, pulling her next to me so her head is resting on my chest, right above where my heart is.

I see a dark patch underneath her hair, tickling her neck, and see the same shade of brown on her wrist. I frown, moving her sleeve up a little bit and she jerks, pulling it back down quickly.

"Rose." I say lowly, so Peeta doesn't hear. "What happened?"

"Nothing. It's nothing. Just leave me alone." Rose says quickly, hiding behind her curtain of hair.

I sigh and pull her close again, so she's back where she was before.

"Sorry." I whisper into her hair and she nods softly.

"Listen to this guys!" Peeta shouts happily, his face lit up in a happy grin that I haven't seen since we came here.

'Dear Rose, Hunter, and Peeta.

How has life been in District Two? Greasy Sae and I have been missing you like crazy! I've actually tried getting off of booze, but I've had bad consequences. Oh well, I guess since I've been on it for so long, my body can't handle being off of it.

Did you know that your parents actually tried to help get off of it? Yeah. Your mom threw a knife at me and your father washed me off after I threw up all over myself.

Someone's calling. I have to go.

Be careful of your surroundings.

Trust only your siblings.

Love you all so very much,

Haymitch Abernathy'

I frown slightly, as does Rose and we sit up slowly.

Haymitch never sends us messages like that.

"Is there something wrong?" Peeta asks, a confused expression on his little face. Rose shakes her head and plasters a smile on her face.

"Nothing baby brother. Why don't you go get ready for bed? You look kinda tired."

As if on cue, Peeta yawns loudly. I chuckle and shove him off the bed gently. He stumbles into the bathroom, shutting the door lightly.

When the shower starts, I turn to look at Rose, arching an eyebrow.

"So. The letter."

Rose nods absentmindly, still staring at the bathroom door.

"Something's up. I don't want to think about it strongly just yet. I just want this to end."

"Rose, what about the-"

"Hunter." Rose says, tears in her eyes as she looks back at me.

"It's nothing. Really. And even if it was…" She bites her lip and looks away, whispering, "I wouldn't be able to tell you about it anyways."

Peeta walks out of the bathroom, his hair glistening. Rose wipes her eyes and smiles lightly, sniffling softly.

"Hunter, why don't you take a shower, and I'll help Peeta get ready for bed?" Rose asks lightly, but I know she just wants to get rid of me.

I nod, a smile lighting my face.

"Sure thing sis."

I gasp as the cold water pounds against my back, sopping my hair down into my eyes. I turn around so the water, now starting to warm, hits my chest and face. I flip my hair out of my eyes and run my hands down my face, bending down to grab the shampoo.

I jerk as the water suddenly turns boiling hot, and quickly jump out of the shower. I hesitantly poke my hand back into the shower stall to turn the water down and wait a couple of seconds before slowly getting back into water stream.

As I pour shampoo in my hand, I think hard. Haymitch was clearly trying to send a subtle message to us,

As if all of his letters were being read after he sent them…

I frown, rubbing my hands deep into my blonde locks, massaging the shampoo into my hair.

Pounding.

"Hunter! Are you almost done?" Rose calls.

"Yeah sis!" I shout, before coughing, spiting out water. I groan as shampoo streams into my eyes, making me momentarily blind.

I lay my head against the cool tile of the shower wall and listen softly. Dina's shower is right next to ours.

"Ohhh…Huuunnnnntttteeerrr." I hear Dina softly moan. I make a face and shake out my hair in the water stream, clearing out any suds before opening up the door and grab a towel.

I turn off the water and walk up to the mirror, twisting the towel across my waist and grab another one for my hair. I watch myself in the mirror as I dry off my hair.

Be careful of your surroundings.

We always are. Why does he say that again?

Trust only your siblings.

I have my whole heart in my brother and sister's hands. Who would I not trust?

Gale…

My eyes widen. He loved our mother. Of course he'd hate it if he had two boys in his house who look so much like the man he hated.

"Hunter! Are you okay?" Rose shouts. I look over at the clock on the vanity to find I've been staring at myself for ten minutes.

"Yeah Rose, I'm fine!" I open the door to find myself face to face with a pair of azure eyes, freckled face, set jaw, and worn out sister.

"I keep it warm just for you." I say softly, smiling lightly, moving so she can get in.

"Thanks Hunter. You're great." Rose gently plants a kiss on my cheek before taking my spot and shuts the door quietly.

I sigh, running a hand down my face as I walk into the bedroom to see Peeta passed out in the middle of the bed.

I chuckle lightly, moving to my little brother. His lips were slightly parted as he snored softly through them, his little hand curling around a bunch of blanket. I gently pry him off of the comforter, peel away the other blankets beneath the top cover and gently lay him down in the bed. I shift slightly and the towel around my waist falls off.

A gasp.

I turn slightly, eyes wide to find Rose wrapped in a towel from her chest down and another one around her hair. Her cheeks are crimson as she adverts her gaze, padding quickly over to the dresser where she grabs a pair of pajamas for me.

I flush deeply as I bunch up the towel to cover my front, gratefully grabbing the clothes from her outstretched hand.

We dress in uncomfortable silence. Once I'm done dressing, I walk up to Rose who's sitting at the mirror, brushing her hair to make a shining soft curtain of brown hair fall across her right shoulder, over the patterns of flowers on her white nightdress.

"Sorry Rose." I whisper, looking at myself above her reflection in the mirror. In the reflection, I see a man and woman who I can't recognize. The woman is worn down, lines on her face that even Mom didn't have, her body naturally tiny, but even more because of what happened in nine years.

Above her stands a man that grew up far too soon, seen far too much. His blonde hair is still damp from his shower; his cheeks still red from his mishap from before. His shirt hugs his chest closely, showing some scars across his torso from years before from a bakery accident.

All in all, it looks like an identical copy of Katniss Everdeen, the Capitols plaything, and Peeta Mellark, the tortured Victor from their awful games.

I gently take out the brush from her clenched hands and pull her up out of the chair, leading her gently over to the bed, where Peeta has flopped over onto his stomach, still snoring.

I move Peeta to the right side of the bed and crawl in softly, pulling the sheets up my waist, Peeta's chest.

Rose climbs in after me, pulling the sheets up to her chin. I brush a small tuft of hair off of Peeta's forehead as Rose curls up into a little ball against my side. I move my left arm so that it's wrapped around Rose's small shoulders. I tighten my hold on her, pulling her close. I wrap my other arm around Peeta, pulling him close too, and we lay there, like the little family we are.

A broken one, no less,

But a family.

"Huuuuuunnnnnnnnnnnttttttttte eeeeeeerr"

I moan slightly, turning over to my side, but the voice seems to follow me.

"Huuunnntteeerrr wakey wakey sweetie by." Dina sings into my ear.

"Agh!" I scream, bolting upright. Dina is grinning manically, staring at me with hungry eyes.

"Yes, Dina?" I breathe, slapping a hand against my chest, trying to calm my pounding heart.

"Oh, Rose wanted you to come down for something boring." Dina flicks a wrist, glancing down at her cuticles. I frown slightly, pulling myself up so I'm resting on my elbows. Peeta and Rose are gone and by the smell of it, Johanna has already made her famous scrambled eggs with bacon or roasted squirrel meat, depends.

I am just pulling myself out of bed, Dina right behind me of course, when Rose and Peeta burst into the room, Rose wild eyed and teary, Peeta gaping, looking devastated.

"Rose? What-"

"It's Haymitch." Rose whispers and I jump up as they bolt back down to the living room. I snatch my robe off of the mirror side and slip an arm through the arm slot as Dina and I bolt down the stairs, into the living room.

I stop in the middle of the doorway and Dina slams into me from behind, startled at my sudden stop. She shrieks as she falls and I swing around quickly, not thinking, and I slip an arm around her waist, catching her and pull her close to me, her head smashed against my chest. She gasps and I ignore her as I watch the TV screen.

'This just in…another killing rocks District 12 to the core. The mayor, Hirth Meary, called us after he found a badly decaying body hanging from a tree on the outskirts of 12.

Dental results show that the body hung was not a young man from the Seam, but Quarter Quell Victor Haymitch Abernathy who was brutally hung. Pictures were given to us, courtesy of Hirth Meary.'

My mouth hangs open as gruesome pictures of Haymitch show up on the screen. His skin has deep red, welts and gashes, the top of his skin black like he was burned. His hair is shaved off, his eyes wide and unseeing. I turn my face away, knowing I'll for sure have nightmares for tonight.

Or maybe for the month.

'Rumors are that he was the caretaker of Rose, Hunter, and Peeta Mellark, children of the late Katniss and Peeta Mellark, after Katniss was killed in a bomb accident just at the beginning of this summer. Peeta Mellark had died of tracker jacker poisoning thanks to the late President Snow. President Paylor insists that she had tried to persuade the late Haymitch Abernathy to have the kids stay with him until they came of age to live without a guardian, since he was not their legal guardian at the time, but he had declined time after time, saying that he was too drunk to take care of three kids.

We hadn't even heard that Katniss and Peeta had had a child, much less three, so when we heard that he had turned down taking care of them, we were shocked.

We don't know where the children are living, President Paylor rejected our questions, saying that the whereabouts of the children are living is confidential.

I guess we'll never even know if they are alive.'

The day goes by slowly, Rose just randomly crying in the middle of something, Johanna staring blankly at the wall, muttering 'tick tock' occasionally. Dina, Peeta and I help the best that we can, making dinner, comforting Rose and Johanna.

When Gale finally comes home with Toby slung in his arms, he stops dead in his tracks.

"Haymitch?"

I nod, setting the table. Dina calls me from the kitchen and I walk up to Gale.

"Johanna is in the living room, Rose across from her. They're mostly good, but they cry easily, so be careful."

Gale's eyes flash dangerously. "I don't need help, bread boy."

I frown. "Bread boy?"

Gale shakes his head. "Never mind."

I walk into the kitchen, taking in the scene before me. Dina tastes a bit of stew that she's making, Peeta frosting some sugar cookies I had made.

"Yes Dina?" I ask, walking behind her. She turns around, tears in her eyes as she whispers, "It's all fine."

"Why did you call me then?" Dina nods to Peeta who is crying silently, still frosting the cookies. I nod thanks, and then, after a moment's hesitation, I kiss her lightly on the cheek.

She stiffens as I brush my fingers across her waist, walking over to Peeta.

"Hey buddy." I whisper into his hair. Peeta nods, strangling the frosting bag so hard that a bunch of light pink frosting squirts out, ruining three cookies.

"Hey…I think they have enough frosting." I whisper gently into his ear, prying the bag from his clenched hands. Tears stream freely down his face as he breaks down, sobbing loudly, as he falls to his knees. I kneel to his level and pull him to me. He slumps against me, his body limp against mine. He twists around in my arms and burrows his head into my chest.

I vaguely hear Dina talking to someone and suddenly a pair of shaking arms envelops me from behind. I rub Peeta's hair soothingly as he cries and Rose cries into my hair from behind.

We sit on the kitchen floor, sobbing hard, mourning for our losses,

And for the pain to come.

"Hunter!"

I turn slightly, looking through the tree branches. Mom waves to me, Dad's arm wrapped securely around her waist. The both look so happy, though Dad is a little fuzzy. I hardly remember him, since he died when I was so young.

Haymitch stands next to them, smirking lightly, as he sips from his flask.

"How is…I…" I stutter, tears falling off my cheeks. Mom blows me a kiss, turning around. Dad and Haymitch follow and I scream, running after them. "DON'T GO! DON'T LEAVE ME!"

A girl with blonde flowing hair and beautiful blue eyes runs past me, laughing delightfully, and a girl with brown hair and brown eyes jumping like a bird through the trees, jumps out of the trees in front of the other girl and they both run to my parents.

The dream dissolves and gray takes the place of everything. Decaying hands, moaning bodies, and dying parents grasp for me, thirsting for my soul.

Mom's hands grasp my arms while Dad's grabs my throat, slowly choking me to death.

"Hunter…" They moan, their eyes milky white as they stare at me, blaming me for their death.

"Hunter…"

"HUNTER WAKE UP!" Rose screams in my ear. A second later her hands wrap around my arms and wildly shake me awake.

"I'm up!" I yell, bolting upright, my eyes wild and wide, staring deeply into the darkness.

Rose presses a sleeping Peeta into my arms, shoving me off of the bed.

"Get into the bathroom, shut the door, lock it, and hide in the shower stall. Don't turn on any lights." Rose whispers furiously, tears streaming down her face.

"Why-"

"GO!" Rose shouts, shoving me towards the door. I stumble slightly, running towards the bathroom. I hear pounding footsteps resonating towards our door, and I hug Peeta closer to me, shutting the door softly.

I crawl towards the shower stall in the dark and freeze when I hear the bedroom door opening. A second later I hear the lock quietly click shut, and a furious whisper, "You told them, didn't you?!"

Rose cries out, and I hear a thump. Our bed groans from its holdings, and the springs squeak as Rose gets tortured. I place Peeta in the shower stall and crawl towards the door, opening it up softly.

I freeze as I see blood trickling down Rose's temple, her eye glassy but wide and focused. I see a smiling mask in the moonlight and freeze.

Not again…

Her eyes meet mine and she mouths, Run!

The man turns and I slam the door shut, locking it. I quiet Peeta as he whispers what's wrong and hold him tight against me as the man slams against the door, demanding I open it.

Rose screams something, and the pounding stops. Peeta whimpers as Rose screams before a sickening thud resonates through the room.

Peeta covers my ears as I cover his as we rock back and forth for at least an hour. When our bedroom door slams shut, I uncurl from the tight ball I had held Peeta in and turn on the lights. His rumpled hair and tired eyes make my heart clench with sadness.

"Why don't you get a wet cloth for Rose?" I whisper, trying not to alarm him anymore than he already was. He tiredly nods and I slowly open the door, peeking into the bedroom. What once was a beautiful and tidy room, now it's all in disarray. The curtains are ripped from the iron rod holding them, the bedspread covered with blood; clothes and other random things are strewn around the room. In the middle of the bed, lies a naked Rose, limp and not moving.

I walk up to her side, ignoring the fact that she is naked, pulling a sheet up to cover her broken body, ignoring all the bruises that color her olive skin. Her breathing is deep and slow, almost as if she's fighting for breath. She has a shallow cut next to her right eye, a deep cut in her temple, and a blood clot on the backside of her head. I gently try to pick her up but she almost screams in pain when I brush my fingers over her ribcage.

She watches me through hooded eyelids, her eyes dilated and glassy. I don't even know if she can see me properly.

"How did he find you?" I whisper into her ear and I lay her back down gently. She says nothing, her lips moving, but no sound coming out.

Peeta comes out, wide-eyed as he takes in the bedroom. He says nothing, thankfully, as he starts to gently wipe off the blood from Rose's head, temple, and eye.

"Hunter…" Rose whispers, so faintly I can barely hear her. I lean my head down so that my ear is literally on her lips.

"Gale…is the smiling man."

Johanna almost starts crying when she sees us the next morning. Peeta and I had let Rose sleep as we cleaned up the bedroom as best as possible. When seven o'clock had rolled around, however, Peeta and I had literally fallen over from exhaustion.

I thought Rose had looked bad in the moonlight, but she looked even worse in broad daylight. Her right eyes was swollen shut, her temple five times the size it should have been. She had a big goose egg on her back of her head. She seems to have lost her voice, since all that came out when she tried to talk to me was a squeak. When I had wrapped a bandage around her ribcage, after setting her ribs back in place, I had ignored that bruises on her stomach and arms.

"What happened to you?" Johanna asks as she sets down a plate in front of Rose's bruised fingers. She squeaks something out, but her face contorts in pain, and she looks at me helplessly. I glare meaningfully at Peeta and he thankfully keeps his motor mouth shut.

"I heard a lot of screaming last night." Dina looks at me and I feel my face burning.

"NO!" I shout. Dina raises an eyebrow and I breathe in deeply. "Rose and I had a lot of nightmares last night. Rose had gotten up in the middle of the night, after falling of the bed in a state of panic and I had to hold her down as she had tried to fight me. Thus the bruises." I finish with a final tone in my voice and nobody questions me for the rest of the morning.

After the morning had pasted, I had cornered Jo in the study room and she had questioned me endlessly, but I wouldn't budge.

Finally Jo had sighed, giving up. "Why did you bring me in here then?"

"Haymitch's funeral is in a week. I know that Peeta wants to go, and it will be a good goodbye for Rose, and we can take the rest of our things from our house since we are now officially living with you guys."

Jo bites her fingernail, her eyes thoughtful and worried. Finally she nods. "Can you show me where your parents are buried? I never got to go to their funeral."

I nod, and that's our conversation.

Rose hides in our closet for three days, not coming out for even food. Peeta holds himself together better when I had told my siblings that night that we were going to Haymitch's funeral.

Finally the day had come where we had pack for the trip back to our old home, District 12. If I would have known what was going to happen, I would have packed everything I held dear to me.

But I didn't.

Rose and I had agreed, in the room we have on the train, that we should start a journal for Peeta, incase something should happen to us, that he'll know all of our secrets. The only thing we have in the journal so far is that Gale is the smiling man.

Bile flavor rises in my throat at the thought my uncle had done, that, to my sister. It just makes me want to punch him till he looks like Haymitch.

Soon enough, though, the outskirts of District 12 appear through the main window from the train. We are all silent, even little Toby is as we grab our luggage and get off, walking down the familiar stretch to our house in the Victor's Village.

Rose breaks down into tears when she sees our house come into view. I almost sob when I see Haymitch's house and Peeta actually does. The Hawthorne's let us morn, bless their souls.

We agree to not live in our house, or Haymitch's for that matter, so we stay at Dad's old place. A thick sheet of dust covers everything, but I still smell that faint trace of bread and other delicacies Dad used to make here.

Gale and Johanna take the first guest room, Dina and her siblings take the other one, and soon enough, Rose, Peeta, and I are staring blankly at the closed door that leads to Dad's bedroom.

Peeta is the one that breaks the silence by opening the door. The hinges squeak in protest, rust falling off in flakes to cover our hair as we step in almost silently, feeling like we're intruding Dad's privacy, as if he'll catch us and scold us gently not to touch this or draw on that.

Rose runs her fingers over the bedspread covering the king bed. The colors blend together that I'm surprised Dad didn't make it. But then I remember that Dad didn't knit, Mom did and my heart drops.

Peeta places our stuff down on the armoire. I still haven't moved from doorway, afraid to go in, afraid to damage something.

Rose walks up to me, gently taking my hands that I had clenched tightly around the doorframe.

"Peeta, can you clean this up while I take Hunter to see something?" Peeta nods and Rose leads me down the hall towards another closed door. I hadn't realized that she had brought the entire Hawthorne family with her.

"Toby and Uriah might not like what they see." Rose warns, her hand hovering over the doorknob. Johanna nods and takes a sleeping Toby and sleepy Uriah to our bedroom where Peeta can watch them.

Rose waits till Johanna comes back and she breathes in deeply, gathering herself before she quietly opens the door and we all walk in carefully.

Paint splatters and broken plaster shower the floor, but surprisingly, this room isn't dusty. Rose walks up to a sheet covered canvas and unceremoniously rips the sheet off.

We all take a sharp intake of breath.

A feral grin, blood red eyes, blood dripping off of her fangs that have a tongue running across, like she's excited to kill you, her hands curled, reaching out, claws making up her fingernails.

Blood.

Everywhere.

Prim's dead body lies in front of her, mauled and unrecognizable except for her blonde hair soiled by blood and grime.

Rue lies next to her, in the same state, Finnick's body covering Rue's legs, his mouth open in the silent scream for help.

Dad's painting of Mom.

Dina shrieks, burying her face in her hands. Johanna just shakes her head, still staring wide-eyed at the painting that Dad had painted in his terror one time.

Gale places a gentle hand on his daughter's shoulder, soothing her. Rose walks over to the next canvas, dumping the sheet to the ground.

She does the same to the ten painting that are in here. Suddenly I feel like the room is swallowing me whole, and I finally understand Dad's terror during an episode and why he'd cower away from Mom after each one.

"There used to be more, but Dad burned the rest of them. He was going to burn these but…" She shrugs helplessly, her arm falling limp at her side.

"You're…you're Dad painted these?" Johanna walks around in a circle, taking them all in with wide eyes that are haunted.

"Yep, after each episode, he'd run over here and paint these to get it out of his head. I had followed him one time when I was younger, when Hunter was just a baby." Rose looks at me and I can tell it takes every ounce of her being not to break down talking about this.

Toby starts to cry and Johanna breathes in deeply.

"I think that's enough nightmares for one day."

We searched all three houses, and came up foodless so Gale offered to take the kids to the Seam while Rose and I took Johanna into the woods where our parents were buried.

It seems like ages ago when Rose would drag me out here, me protesting my little head off, screaming bloody murder, and Rose would roll her eyes, shooting a squirrel through the eye while I'd kick and scream. But I'd never leave.

Rose gave me the chance to leave, but I never did.

And then we'd come home, and Dad would have heard me screaming, so he'd have a fresh batch of my favorite cookies just made for me and I'd stuff myself full while Rose would talk about such a baby I was.

That was ages ago. I miss those happy times, before Dad died and our whole world was turned upside down.

We al walk on hunter's feet, even Johanna, as we prepare ourselves for the long trek ahead and the goal at the top. I'm not prepared to see Mom and Dad's grave. I don't know if Haymitch even tended to it, or if some of the animals might have dug up the bones, hungry for another meal.

I close my eyes as I picture it; Dad's bony hand dug out, as if trying to free him from the grave we put him in. he never was dead and he was trying in vain to get the precious oxygen he needed. But it was all for nothing.

We stop at a small creek in the middle of the day, washing our faces, and drinking the cool water. Rose scavenges for food and grabs some wild raspberries and blueberries.

We treat ourselves to a feast, not speaking, until finally Rose stands up, looking at the direction where the lake is.

"We better hurry if we want make back home before dark." She mumbles, walking over to a hollow tree and grabs her sheath of arrows and her bow Mom had given her for her birthday a year ago.

So we follow her up to the lake, up to where the grave markers are and she weeps silently. We all do.

"Which is which?" Johanna asks quietly. Rose silently points at dad's grave and I whisper, "Peeta's and next to his is Katniss's."

Rose and I give Johanna some quiet time alone at the markers and when she's ready, we begin to trek back to the lonely Victor's Village. We stumble across a scorched tree and I guess out loud that that's Haymitch's tree. Rose says nothing and Johanna only nods.

When we get home, Johanna locks herself in her room, and Rose and I prepare the meat she shot. After we had cleaned everything we needed, the kids and Gale come home. Gale entertains the kids while Peeta helps us cook.

My hands shake as I place Mom and Dad's wedding china out for us to eat. Since Dad had broken all the dishes he had here, we were forced to go over to our old house and take these since they were the only things clean there.

Dinner is silent, Mom and Dad's presence overpowering any talk someone might have.

But the only action there is, is Gale glancing at Rose every once and a while, as if waiting for the perfect time to strike.

While everyone goes to the Hob the next day, Rose and I go to Haymitch's house to salvage any remains.

We didn't know that we were being followed. I guess I should have figured at least someone might have followed us, but the thought never crossed my mind.

Until it was too late.

Nothing Rose and I had seen could have prepared us for what we were about to see in the next 24 hours. It started out normal. Rose and I silently walked over Haymitch's house, letting ourselves in with the spare key she always kept around her neck

The house reeked of mold, vomit, and liquor. You could tell no one had been here in a couple of weeks. The window in the living room is still open, with signs of fighting on the glass and woodwork. The screen door in the kitchen is broken and hangs by one hinge, slamming shut and swinging open from the breeze. Rose and I venture upstairs where we know we'll find the most valuable things in his room, since no one was allowed in there.

Disappointment settles in our hearts, as we find nothing important in his room. I'm about to leave the room, when my eye sees something. I turn around, leaning down to see a floorboard hastily slammed back into place.

"Rose." I call. She appears at my side in a minute and together we heave the floorboard out. A Mockingjay locket is underneath the board and I dangle it precariously on the edges of my fingertips.

Rose looks at it closely, a puzzled expression on her face. I pry open the rusty locket and a weathered piece of paper falls to the ground. Rose gingerly pries open the frail paper and reads Haymitch's sloppy handwriting.

'Dear random reader that's snooping through my room,

If you're Katniss or Peeta, get the hell out of my house, I told you to leave my house the way it was, I have my booze and that's all I need.

But if you're someone from the future, everything you need to know about the dark secrets of our new nation, use these instructions to find the hidden book.'

Roses' eyes are wide as she reads through the instructions to find the hidden book. She gasps. "It's under Dad."

We stare at each other, and finally we know why Haymitch was killed.

Almost.

What ever was in that book must be some pretty juicy stuff if they killed him to keep it a secret.

I grab Roses' arm as she moves to bolt out of the room. "You know what you're giving up if we're caught right?"

She nods. "We probably won't make it out alive, but I've already put the book in Peeta's stuff for him to find later on."

I slam the floorboard back in it's spot, secure the necklace around my neck, and bolt down with Rose to the ground level to make our way to the woods.

The hard earth is not kind to Haymitch's old shovel I had grabbed hastily as I had bolted out after Rose. It thunks uselessly against the hard earth and I finally slump against it, giving up.

"It's not going to budge, Rose." I breathe; sweat dripping off of my face. Rose huffs in aggravation, yanking the shovel out form underneath me. I yelp as I slam to the ground, not expecting my hold to be snatched away from me.

She slams the shovel against the ground and a hollow sound comes up to our ears. I exchange a look with Rose before slamming to my knees, digging against the earth with my bare nails. Rose attacks the ground with the butt of the shovel and together we get Dad's casket out from the ground, grunting with exertion as we struggle to move the heavy box.

I hold it up with both of my shoulders while Rose reaches for the book, which has come into her sight. She finally grabs it and I drop the casket back into the throes of mother earth. I wipe the sweat off of my brow, frowning slightly.

"Why would a casket holding a bunch of bones be so freaking heavy?"

Rose looks at me like I've lost my mind before dusting off the leather book. A lock has been placed around the book to prevent an ordinary person to open it. She twirls the book around in her hands, looking at the lock before sticking her hand out to me.

"Locket."

I wordlessly unhook the locket from my neck and give it to her. She snaps it open and presses the imprinted side into the lock. It hisses before she turns the locket, which turns the intricate lock open. The book unclenches and she opens it carefully. I crouch down next to her as she breathlessly reads;

'What you are about to read is against the law. Hell, it's against the Capitol. All the juicy secrets about your Mockingjay, the rebellion, and this damn new government are in here.

'Let's start with the basics:

'Gale Hawthorne is the smiling man. He attacked many girls from the Seam, including my granddaughter, Primrose Rue Mellark.

'Peeta Mellark, my tribute and the Victor, was killed by an overdoseage of pain medications that someone I will list very soon wanted him dead. He did not die from the tracker jacker venom. Someone wanted him dead.

'Someone from the AMAC, Anti-Mockingjay Assassination Committee.

'Peeta's children are not safe, the AMAC are tracking them down as we speak. Gale is part of that group. President Snow's granddaughter is running this committee.

'And you'll never believe who it is,

'Snow's granddaughter is-'

"Did you find something important? 'Cause I know I did." Gale laughs darkly and Rose winces, slumping to the ground, a tranquilizer dart sticking up from her neck.

A sudden pain hits my neck and right shoulder and I moan, slumping to the ground, watching Gale blearily as he picks up Rose roughly, slinging her over his shoulder before grabbing me too. Rose falls unconscious almost immediately, but I hold on as long as I can, until my vision starts to turn dark around the edges. Gale hands me over to someone I can't see, and my body starts to go limp. They carry us out of the forest, not caring if we hit our heads on tree branches or tree trunks for that matter.

A wall of fire coming from Dad's house is the last thing I see before I black out.

"Did you make sure they don't have the book?" A rough voice demands. The voice grates through my mind and I start to moan, but someone slaps a hand over my mouth. My heartbeat quickens and Rose whispers in my ear, "Stay down and keep quiet." I nod and she lets go of my mouth.

"Where's Peeta?" I whisper into her ear. She shakes her head, closes her eyes, slowing her breathing, and I hear footsteps coming over to our cell. I fake being unconscious, and hear our cell door open. Someone steps on my hands and I gently twitch.

Someone else kicks Rose in the face, laughing hoarsely. "Yep, they don't have the book."

"Good. When they're exterminated, we'll be safe again."

"Dina? Are you coming?"

I stiffen. She was a traitor!

"Just a second, Dad." The door slams shut from the room and a second later our cell door is opened again. My eyes snap open and I shift, but Rose and I are connected at the ankle and wrist. Rose bites my shoulder to tell me to stop and I glare up at Dina as she crouches to our level.

"I'm going to get you guys out of here." She reaches for a key in her pocket and Rose leans away, which makes me move too.

"Why should we trust you?" Rose snarls. Her hair is sticking up in certain places and her face is bruised.

"Just please, I'm going to help you. I didn't believe that my Dad helped with this, but he killed my brothers and my Mom and burned down your house. He captured me and forced me to help him kill you and your family. Don't worry, Peeta is safe."

While she was talking, she had unlocked the chains holding us down. I rub my wrists tenderly, and on impulse hug her, hard.

Rose just sighs, still glaring at Dina. She grabs the book from inside of her bloodied shirt and flips open to the page we were at, as Dina grabs my arm, hauling to my feet with difficulty. I moan lightly as my foot snaps back into place, and Dina slams a hand over my mouth.

"Sshh!" She hisses, her eyes wide.

"They. Hear. Everything."

I nod, linking my arm through Rose's and guide her with Dina out of the room. We tiptoe down the hall, Rose muttering under her breath, and Dina maneuvers me and Rose into this room that's all white.

Pure, clean, white walls.

A drain is in the middle of the floor, crusted with blood. Chains color the walls on one side of the room, and I swallow down the bile that was rising in my throat. I wonder how many people have been tortured in this room?

I drop Rose's arm, leaving my sister in the middle of the room. She sinks to her knees, her brow furrowed as she continues to read. Dina brings me over to a wall, which looks like nothing special, until Dina presses her hand to a tile. It hums, green light flashing out, and the tiles hiss, moving aside and into the wall. I bite my lip as I take in what's inside the closet. Hidden closet for that matter.

Rows of Peacekeeper outfits of all different sizes, in pristine condition line the closet. The white hurts my eyes as I reach out, grabbing a random suit.

"Where are we?" I hiss as I slip on the big outfit.

"In the President's mansion." Dina breathes out in nervousness. Her eyes dart around, watching. I freeze, halfway done pulling on my glove. About 35 years ago, my aunt had been killed here.

"Guys, you might want to hear this." Rose whispers. Dina and I turn around, eyes wide.

Snow's granddaughter is dead, killing in the bombing that killed Primrose Everdeen, and so her mother has taken over the organization.

Paylor…

Her real name is Camilla Therese Snow, who married a man from 13, then killed him after he called her a serial killer.

She has anger management problems.

And Katniss Mellark was indeed killed by an assassin, Johanna Mason, now Hawthorne.

Do not trust any of the people I have listed and am going to list. Your life will be in danger if you even get close to them.

"Haymitch always was a smart man." A voice chuckles from behind me. "I never knew how smart he really was until now. But he's stupid in so many other things."

The three of us turn around, Dina sharply breathes inward.

Johanna Mason stands in front of us, a gun pointed at Rose.

"Hand over the book, girl, and nobody gets hurt." Rose snarls and leans away from her.

"Mom?" Dina is shaking hard. "How could you?"

Jo shrugs. "The weak must be killed for the new changes. She dwelt too much on the past."

"YOU MURDERER!" Rose screams, firing her gun. Sadly, the shot goes wide, missing Jo by about a foot. Johanna stops chuckling as her face goes hard. She shoots and hits Rose in the stomach. Rose goes pale, slumping to the ground.

I jump in front of her limp body and Dina growls, aiming her gun and shoots.

Johanna's eyes go wide and blood trickles out of the side of her mouth. She slumps to the ground, a hole in her heart. Dina screams, dropping her gun like it's on fire.

Dina just killed her mother.

Rose pulls herself up on her elbows, pressing a torn shirt to the wound. She licks her lips, blood coloring her lips.

"We have to go get her." Rose rasps. She coughs, blood spraying out from her mouth.

Dina makes her sit up and dresses her wound before pulling her into a Peacekeepers outfit.

"Rose and I will go to her study room where she'll probably be. You go dismantle the traps." Dina gets Rose into a standing position and I bite my lip. I hug Rose tightly, and she groans, blood seeping out of the side of the bandage.

I hug Dina too and she whispers, "She might not make it, but I'll make sure Paylor is killed once and for all." I nod into her hair and, after a moment's hesitation, kiss her gently on the lips.

She pulls away first, much to my surprise, and clears her throat. "We don't have much time." I nod. I know this will be the last time I'll see either of them,

And I'm not prepared for this.

I gasp in pain, pressing harder against the wound in my stomach. I still can't believe Johanna killed my Mom. Dina grabs my arm and drags me into a room. I fall to the ground, breathing hard.

"Her study room is down this hallway, stay behind me." I nod and Dina starts down the dimly lit hallway. She tentively steps on the rug and falls to the ground as poisoned darts shoot from the wall. She trips all the traps and motions for me to come down the hallway. I walk carefully down the hallway, trailing blood as she opens the door slowly at the end of the hallway. I know something's going to happen, and the warning is on my lips as Dina opens up the door.

Everything goes by in slow motion. The door slowly opens up, a hiss sounds before Dina jerks back, an arrow sprouting from her neck. Her eyes are wide as she stumbles backwards, blood frothing from her mouth as she gasps,

"Go…Rose…avenge your…"

Silence. She falls limply to the ground, her right arm behind her back bent in an awkward position, her eyes wide and unseeing.

I crawl over to her, hissing in pain as I fall to my face on the bloodied rug right next to Dina. Her left hand twitches slightly, her chest barely moving, heaving out breaths with difficulty. I pry her gun out of her belt, loading my gun with her bullets.

Her left hand jerks suddenly, and I smother my scream as I look down. Dina had grabbed my arm, her fingers leaving bloodied marks down my forearm. Her lips are moving and I lean down, pressing my ear against her mouth.

"Avenge…your…mother…"

Her breath rattles out one last time, and I have to pry her hand off of my arm. Her nails scratch my skin, and I shudder, grabbing my gun, and hauling myself to my feet. I walk into the room that Dina had opened the door to, cause I know they won't try to kill this easily.

Not just yet, anyways.

I walk into the lone stretch of light, aiming my gun at nothing. The door slams shut suddenly, the slam resonating throughout the entire room, I jerk around, trying to find the person.

Suddenly, a monotone voice echoes throughout the room.

"Primrose Mellark, second generation.

Welcome Ms. Mellark, we're going to have so much fun together."

I breathe in deeply, bolting down the hallway, looking for a room that might be the control center. Marching comes from the end of the hall I'm in, and I duck around a corner, breathing hard.

"We have a Code Six!" Someone yells.

"Prison has been breached! Get the President in lock down!"

"Gale! Come with me to the Control Room!"

No. It's too easy.

Isn't it?

I heave a breath, praying that Rose is fine with Dina, and run after Gale and the mystery man, staying to the shadows.

"Your daughter is dead, Soldier Hawthorne." The man states suddenly. I freeze and hear Gale laugh lightly. "Luckily we caught Primrose Mellark because of that. She's halfway finished with your torture device you made. Now if only we could capture Hunter Mellark."

The man turns around, as if noticing that I was here and I bite my lip, backing up into an open doorway.

It slams shut and something hits my neck. I stifle a scream, falling to the ground. Another sting hits my right shoulder and I gasp as I see Dad in front of me, falling to the ground as Snow kicks him, shouting something, Snow's face red in humiliation.

I swat away some tracker jackers as fly around my face, and I realize they stung me. Maybe Dad was a hallucination?

I move sluggishly towards the door, falling face first against the floor. I groan as the world starts to spin, and Dad's screams are all I hear.

The doorknob doesn't even budge as my hand limply slips past the knob. I clench my hands over my ears as the buzzing increases in my ears. I lift my arms up to see mottling green gunk oozing out of stings on my arms and hands.

A blow to the head later, and I fall to the ground unconscious.

I raise my gun up, trying to identify the voice from all around me, but I start to feel lightheaded so I drop my arms. Blood seeps from the bandage and I remember Dina's glassy eyes, the blood trickling out of her mouth as she had rasped out to avenge my mother.

"Please, dear Rose, take a seat."

The ground underneath me rises and I fall to the ground. Straps grab hold of my arms and legs, forcing me to lie on my back. The ground jerks upward and I'm forced to sit up. I levitate over the ground, five feet in the air, when the screens come up, as if appearing from thin air.

The screens flicker, and a scanner flash over me. It beeps, then pulls back.

"Affirmative. Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark."

"What are you doing?!" I scream, jerking against the straps holding down, looking for purchase that I could break out.

"Primrose files…starting data retrieval…"

Music beings to blare and I scream, wishing I could cover my ears. The feeling of having your eardrums burst has never been so great now.

'War. That's what started it all.

No, let me change that.

It was those damn berries.'

Johanna Mason appears on the screen, looking better for worse as she is interviewed by the AMAC.

'Katniss Everdeen could have won by herself, but did she? Noooo. Us Victor's had it nice, for the most part, but she had to go and show up the fucking Capitol.

And did it make Snow happy?

Hell no.

And then Haymitch Abernathy had to go and say that we were going to uprise against the Capitol and Katniss was going to be our Mockingjay.

And all the while I thought, 'Finally, a chance at be free at last.'

But did that happen?

Yes and no. We had gotten the chance that we had wanted. Let the Capitol children have a taste of their own medicine. And what happened? Katniss went crazy and killed Coin! We could have had it all.

Damn you Katniss.

That's the reason I asked to be assigned to the Squad that would kill you once and for all.'

Johanna has this crazy look in her eyes that I don't like, and I'm glad Dina killed Johanna. Who knows what she would have done to Peeta?

'Katniss Everdeen, the girl on fire, rages on.'

A bunch of different propos Mom had done flash at once, her yelling, running, helping.

Then it stops, Mom's face hardened as she screams at the camera.

'Fire is spreading…and if we burn,

You burn with us.'

A scream later, all I see is flames. A young hand reaches through the flames, blacken and melting as it tries to grab something.

'Primrose Everdeen's never before seen death footage.' A monotone voice announces. I watch, horrified, as I see the hidden footage of my aunt. The camera zooms out to see my mom lying unconscious in a pool of blood, her whole right side burned down in some places to the bone, even the white of the bone charred slightly.

Then a different camera switches on, finding my dad as some rebels drag his bloodied body off of the site. A girl's scream still rises from the flames, which are slowly advancing towards my still unconscious mother.

A sudden movement from the center of the flames makes me look away from my mom. A charred, almost non-existent hand reaches out, limply grabbing for something. A glassy blue eye and gaping eye socket come through the flames, the face charred beyond recognition. There is more of the person's skull showing than the burned flesh. Half of her jawbone shows chipped and broken teeth as she screams again.

"Katniss!"

Another explosion rocks the square and Primrose blows to bits, her skin covering the camera. I scream, trying to block the painful images but they're imprinted in my brain. The video switches off and booming laughter echoes through the room. The screens flick on to show Hunter screaming, his hands covering his ears.

"Watch dearest Primrose, as your brother will die, and you will be unable to stop it from happening."

Blood.

It's everywhere.

Covering the walls, the ceiling, even my hands, which I don't get because Dad is so far away from me, the blood spilling from his wounds. President Snow hits Dad on the head again with a club, screaming, "What do you know?"

Dad will stay silent, his lips in thin lines, but never answers. I wish he would just answer with a fake one to stop the blood from coloring my hands and face.

And time and time again, President Snow will say evil things about Mom, and time and time again, Dad will always say he loves Mom no matter what.

Finally I had a sound stomach, somewhat, to get up on my hands and knees, since walking was an incredible feat now. I crawl somewhat up to President Snow. He raises his hand to hit Dad again and I snarl, launching myself upward, tackling Snow to the ground.

President Snow hisses something, and a second later; I'm thrown off of him.

Dad's azure eyes are no more as he growls, throwing me to the ground. His eyes remind me of bottomless pits, they are so dark, and I groan as I block his fist with my arm, my eyes wide. Adrenaline is the only thing that hasn't have me been killed yet.

I huff as Dad punches me hard in the ribs, my face paling at I hear a couple of cracks. I bite my lip to keep from screaming as Dad hits me again.

I can breathe momentarily as Dad leans back, grabbing something that I don't see until it's too late.

A gun.

The straps around my body, holding me down, snap free. I slump to the ground, gasping as more of my lifeblood drains from my body. Hunter's death is still fresh in my mind as I shakily get to my feet, retching over the side of the chair.

An invisible door opens and a figure steps through, the light momentarily blinding me. I stifle a groan and haul myself all the way upright.

I look up, squinting my eyes as I try to see whom the figure is. No exact features show well enough for me to place the person who is slowly walking over to me.

I walk into a lone strip of light, my heart racing, and it stops when the figure steps into the light.

Gray eyes meet mine; a Mockingjay suit covers the person's body, her hair in her signature braid, an evil scowl twisting her face into a horrendous mask.

My Mother.

President Paylor's face shows up on the screen while a table rises up out of the floor between my mom and me, two guns lying innocently on the table.

Paylor waves, a devious grin on her face. Mom's face is blank, a slight confused expression in her eyes, as she stands stone still.

"Dearest Primrose, you will have the satisfaction of dying by your Mother's hands. My greatest prize."

The look in her eyes is almost hungry and it disgusts me.

"How is she alive?" I shout, making sure she can hear me. Paylor shrugs, a maniacal look in her eyes.

"We have lots of clones of the greatest Victors and figures from Panem. No biggie."

Another door opens and Finnick Odair, Haymitch, and Primrose walk in from the door. Johanna and someone else I don't recognize walk in from a different door. The blank look on all of their faces is what gets me the most. They just stand there, not doing anything.

"Oh, and Primrose? Your brother really did die by your Father's hands."

My breath comes out is pants. Sweat drips off of my face in large drops from my nose. I glower at Finnick as he walks slowly towards me, and I can see the scars that the mutts and Holo did to him, all across his face and neck, dipping underneath the collar of his shirt.

Dad had come in a couple of minutes ago, a snarl on his face when he saw Mom. Primrose grabs my hair from behind, and I twist around, blindly shooting. Her face goes slack and she crumples to the ground. I duck underneath Finnick's arms and shoot upwards. His chin jerks upward, his eyes rolling back in his head.

Both dead, by my hands.

My stomach lurches, more precious blood spilling from my body as I duck down as Haymitch takes a swing at me. I shoot him in the leg and he falls down, grabbing my legs suddenly. I slam to the ground, my arm snapping and I scream, rolling away and shoot him in between his eyebrows.

Johanna hauls me up and I punch her in the face. Blood spurts from her broken nose and she snarls at me, but Dad shoots her.

Now all that are left is Mom, Dad, and I.

I huff, my chest heaving. Mom shoots Dad without a second glance and advances on me. I back up, shrieking as I trip over Finnick's dead body. Mom's shadow looms over me, her eyes evil, finally an expression on her face that looks hers, and it's one I don't like. She raises her gun at me and I shakily raise mine, clicking the trigger.

Click…

My eyes are wide as Mom shoots me in the head, my gun dropping limply to my side,

Empty.

Primrose Rue Mellark,

Seventeen years old when President Paylor, and her clones of the Victors and others killed her.

Hunter Finn Mellark,

Fourteen years old when President Paylor, and her clones of the Victors and others killed him along with an overdosing of Tracker jacker venom.

My eyes linger at the grave markers. I limply drop the flowers I had picked up, placing them over the fresh graves. Dad, Mom, and Haymitch's graves all covered by weeds and other plants.

This is the last time I will ever be here in 12. People that are against the new government found me locked in the cellar of Haymitch's after the deaths of my siblings.

I know my life will never be the same.

That's why I plan on changing it.

My name is Peeta Mellark. I'm eight years old. And my whole family has been killed, leaving me alone with death threats chasing me. But I'll survive it, and I'll avenge all my family's deaths.

Even if it kills me.