I look out the windows at the forest passing swiftly below us as we speed towards District Thirteen. Gale is standing next to me, one arm securely around my waist. I lean my head against his shoulder, drawing comfort from his warmth. In the distance I can see plumes of white smoke, marking our destination. They were a stark contrast against the bright blue of the sky.

District Thirteen is the most remote district, isolated from the other twelve and The Capitol by several hundred miles of nothing. It was the district where nuclear weapons were manufactured before it was supposedly obliterated by the government seventy-five years ago, and by the looks of it, it is now back in business. District Thirteen is now the headquarters for the rebellion.

I finger the pearl in my pocket, and I can't control the overwhelming sadness and despair that comes over me when I think about Peeta. Gale can always tell when I'm thinking about Peeta. He learned to recognize the tortured look on my face; the terrible sadness in my eyes soon after he came to me to tell me that District Twelve had been destroyed. That day, a week ago, probably made the top ten worst days in my life. I lost Peeta and my home in one fell swoop. I shudder as I think about what horrors Peeta has faced in the last seven days, clutched in the evil talons of President Snow. Gale pulls me tighter against his side, but I become stiff.

"Katniss…" he begins.

I lift my head off his shoulder. "I can't Gale. I can't do this. Not while Peeta…" My voice breaks, and I pull away from him. It hurts too much to talk about him. Unbidden, the memory of our kiss on the beach comes to my mind, and I have to hold back a sob. I can't untangle my feelings about Peeta and Gale right now.

Gale and I have always had a connection. He knows me better than I know myself. But he also wants more than I can give, at least now. And there is a spark between us. When we kissed, I felt it erupt into a flame that burned through my body. But Peeta… Peeta, who would sacrifice himself for me. Peeta, who would give everything up so that I could keep living. Peeta, who loved—loves—me. When Peeta and I kissed in the cave a year ago, and then on the beach several days ago, I felt something stir inside me. It was different than when Gale kissed me. I felt a deep hunger that I had never experienced before.

Gale probably thinks I am a fickle little girl. I chose him. But… then Peeta got in the way. I don't know what to do anymore. Even though I try to convince myself otherwise, I know I will probably never see Peeta again. The thought breaks my heart.

"Gale," I say, once I've regained my composure. "I can't be with anyone right now. I can't be what you want me to be. Not now." I look into his gray eyes earnestly, willing him to understand, but they appear blank, devoid of emotion.

Gale sighs, and reaches for my hands. Holding them in both of his, he says, "I have time, Catnip. I won't give up on you."

"Katniss!" Haymitch's loud voice interrupts us, and I look at him. He's hurrying towards us with Finnick and Plutarch Heavensbee in his wake. "We need to have a chat, sweetheart."

My heartbeat quickens. "What is it, Haymitch?"

"You'll want to sit down for this one."

He took one of my hands from Gale, and led me to a room with a small round table and four utilitarian metal chairs in it. I sit down, the coldness of the metal seeping into my bones. Haymitch, Finnick, and Plutarch take the other seats; leaving Gale standing behind me, hand on my shoulders.

"What's wrong Haymitch?"

His ruddy face was even more flushed, and his eyes glittered with unshared news. "We think we found it."

Found it? Found what? My confusion shows plainly on my face. "What did you find?"

"The government's secret prison." Haymitch folds his hands behind his head, and leans back against the chair. I take a few moments to process this, and when I finally realize what he's saying, I gasp. Gale's hands tighten.

"What… what does this mean? For Peeta?" I ask breathlessly. It was too good to be true.

"Now, now. Hold your horses. If—and that's a big if—Peeta is alive, it will take a lot of planning and a lot of information that we don't currently have to rescue him." My face falls and he clears his throat. "I'm not saying we won't try, sweetheart. But it'll take time. We need to get back to District Thirteen so we can discuss this with the other heads of the rebellion." I swallow hard to get the lump from my throat, and nod.

It only takes us a few hours to reach District Thirteen. It's a very different site from what I was expecting. I hold Gale's hand tightly, as we approach the city. The buildings, which had been so dilapidated on the clips that were shown on television, were now fixed up, but I suppose after so many years they would have had time to work on it. There are six enormous cylindrical structures with flared bases spewing white steam arranged in a half circle with many other smaller buildings clustered around them. In front of the cylinders is the Justice Building. In the town square, hordes of people are gathered. I'm shocked that there are so many that have been able to survive there for seventy-five years without the help of the government or the products manufactured by the other districts.

"How do they get food?" I whisper to Haymitch, who is standing next to me, opposite Gale.

"Why are you whispering?" he whispered back. The smell of liquor was, surprisingly, absent from his breath. "The people of District Thirteen are technologically very advanced compared to the other twelve districts. They haven't had the government holding them back like the rest of us have. They created special greenhouses that were impermeable to any nuclear waste, and therefore provided a save environment for crops of all kinds." He points to several rows of long low buildings, each more than ten times the size of their Justice Building.

I can't wait to get out of this hovercraft. I've been craving fresh air, and the arms of my mother and Prim. I left for the Games without being able to say goodbye, and never thinking that I would see them again.

I feel an odd sense of pride, that I was able to defy President Snow once again. He tried, and failed to deprive me of all that I held dear. My life, my family. With a pang I think of Peeta again. It was a partial win. Surely, President Snow is not satisfied yet. He won't be until he takes everything from me.

But I won't let him. I can't let him. For the sake of myself, my family, and all of the citizens of Panem, I will fight this corrupt government with all the strength I possess, even if it kills me.

I feel my heart constrict, and I fear that that may be exactly what it does.