Decided to follow up… I can be so straightforward sometimes. Here's my second insight into Gale's mind. Trying to follow what happens in Catching Fire…. Only a bit different. R&R!

Note: all phrases with a * next to them are direct quotes from Catching Fire.

Disclaimer: I own nothing by Suzanne Collins.

Relief is temporary. Nightmares soon invade my mind; bringing the pain back with it. I suppose they are nightmares. Morbid hallucinations, perhaps.

The man, still nameless to me, is standing on my doorstep, a squad of Peacekeepers behind him. Each is holding some form of torture weapon; whips, guns, flamethrowers, stones, and torches are a few examples. To make is worse, every one of them is laughing at me, jeering, booing. My family and friends are being restrained by a few of the members of the squad. The man is holding his whip, still dripping with my blood, raises it and brings it back down upon me. The images transform, and I am in the forest with Katniss, her back turned to me. I almost relax. I walk to her, and put my hand on her shoulder, only to see her kissing Peeta greedily. She turns around.

"After what I've been through, with this brave, handsome, kind boy here, do you really think that you will come up to scratch?" She says, laughing at me, the baker's son joining in cruelly. She starts kissing him again. Anger bubbles up in me. My dream self takes pulls a rock up from the ground, and flings it at Katniss. The pictures reform, and I'm in a church, dressed in black. Bewildered, I look around, and see a coffin. Katniss lays in it, her hair braided, wearing the dress she wore from her interview with Caesar Flickerman, dead. She rises, and points a rotting finger at me. "You killed me," she whispers, and falls back into the coffin. The man that had arrested me kicks me down, and the pain starts again. The images black out, and I am on the verge of consciousness.

I can feel the echoes of the whip on my back. It still hurts like hell, but now half as horrible as it did. I lose what little awareness of my surroundings that I had, and am left in what feels like a dreamless sleep.

. . .

Something is tightening around my rib cage. I must be regaining my senses. My back feels… better. Only a bit. But where am I? I must be inside; I can feel a fire nearby, and muffled footsteps, the kind only made by a floor. Someone is holding my hand, and is pressing it against her lips (supposing it is a woman). Her hands are hot, their heat warming my hand. The flesh is calloused, like she's been spent years dragging her fingers against a washboard…. This is my mother. The tightening around my ribs gets tighter, and I moan. I've had enough pain for one day; is there any way to escape from it?

My mother is whispering to me, words that I hardly catch. She strokes my hair, her hands shaking. I feel other eyes upon me. Who else is here? Seeing me this weak; this vulnerable? Soft voices fill the room.

"Get me some water."

Footsteps, then a tap running. More voices follow, with words I can't quite understand. An angry outburst follows. I know this voice.

"Just give the medicine to him! Give it to him! Who are you anyway, to decide how much pain he can stand!"*

It's Katniss. Where is she? Why is she here? I open my eyes, and start trying to locate her. Blasted blurry vision! I need to see her. To find her. I move, trying to get off whatever I am laying on.

"Katniss!" I try to say. It sounds like something that a dying, wounded animal would make. My back aches again. I close my eyes, trying to escape this living nightmare. What have I done to deserve this? Get tortured, find horrors in a place that should be peaceful, and hear the sound of someone who is basically the other half of me, only to not be able to see her, make sure she's really here!

Someone else speaks. I hear two pairs of heavy footsteps walk over to where I presume Katniss is, and I think that they are taking her away. I try to speak, but the pain is too much. I hear her shouting horrible things at someone else in the room. Her mother. She's the one who's been tending to me. The pieces of the puzzle come together. And then, out of all the things I could be feeling, I get embarrassed. I'm half naked in front of who knows how many people, my back ripped to shreds, and the girl that I'm in love with has seen me weak and fragile and broken. Not to mention that she's the only one whose opinion matters to me. I'm pathetic. Everything about me right now is pathetic.

Mrs. Everdeen makes me drink something. An herbal concoction, no doubt. I taste something sweet. Sleep syrup? It knocks me out.

Not much later, I wake. Damn. The agony that I have evaded comes flooding back. I wince and grit my teeth, the most I can do without causing too much pain. The pain intensifies. I bite my tongue, trying not to whimper. The mere task of this makes me sweat. Someone knocks at the front door, although I hear it very distantly. More footfalls and more voices. I don't dare tune it out, trying to catch some of the words, some of the voices, and trying to figure out if any of them belong to Katniss or my mother. The door slams shut, and the people who were recently in the hall are now with me. I think I'm in the kitchen. A pinch in my arm, and I fall asleep within a minute.

…

I feel a warm breath, caressing my cheek. Half dead-to-the-world, half awake, I open my eyes, which are fighting whatever was injected into my arm. My eyes flutter. Once I gain control of myself and my vision, I see Katniss sitting on a stool next to me. I am in the kitchen.

"Hey Catnip,"* My words are slurred, but I think she can make them out.

"Hey Gale,"* I can see relief and happiness rush through her eyes. I smile inwardly.

"I thought you'd be gone by now… I… I'm sorry you had to see that. See me like this." The drugs are wearing me down. I fight for consciousness. I notice a mark against her cheek. A lash.

"Who did that to you?" I hope it isn't too loud; too angry.

"Thread."

"Who's he? The man that was whipping me?" I almost flinch when I mention it.

She nods. My anger flares. I open my mouth, some nasty things on my mind, but she puts her finger to my lips, quieting me.

She speaks. "It's nothing. I'm fine." When I try to protest to that, she pretends that she's going to leave. I don't want her to. She's the one person in which I can be myself with.

As if sensing my thoughts, she says, "I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to stay right here and cause all kinds of trouble."*

I smile. "Me too," That's when the medicine takes me back to the prison that is my mind.

I don't know if this is any good… Wow. I'm pathetic. I am considering putting in another few sentences about what happens when he wakes up next time. It might sum up the chapter, but I won't update this story again. I'm out of ideas; if you guys have any ideas, feel free to PM me or review with one. Thanks a ton for taking the time to read this!

~May the odds be ever in you favor~