Since this is my first ever fanfiction, and there's actually some interest in it, I decided to upload the next chapter right away. If the interest continues, I'll keep updating regularly, but proabably no more than once/twice a week.

Also, forgot to mention this before - this fic is rated M due to violence and (probably) explicit sexual content coming up in later chapters. So if you're okay with that - please continue. Otherwise, this fic is probably not for you.

Thank you for reading!


Chapter Two

To the woods. With a group of nine people.

'Exactly how drunk is he right now?' I think.

The Capitol is on high alert, which means anyone they catch will likely be shot on sight. How are nine people supposed to remain hidden during a national crisis where everyone who acts the least bit suspicious is instantly killed? Katniss and I are probably on top of Snow's kill list and I'm pretty sure our team from the Capitol have already been branded accomplices in high treason. Just because they were unlucky enough to get stuck with making Katniss and me look pretty.

Haymitch leaves us no time for questions, though, and ushers us out of the train, telling us to run. He'll be right behind us.

We start for the edge of the woods, but Katniss suddenly turns back.

''The pin! I can't leave it.''

''I'll get it,'' I say and run back to the train.

Haymitch is still there, grabbing food and coats. ''What are you still doing here, idiot? Go, I'll follow in a moment!''

''Katniss wants her mockingjay pin,'' I answer and turn to hurry to the bedroom, but not before I see him shake his head, irritated.

Just as I start looking for the pin, I hear the unmistakeable roar of a descending hovercraft. The Peacekeepers.

I'm frantically looking for the pin when I hear Haymitch yell, ''Peeta! Get out, NOW!''

I linger a moment longer, but can't find the pin. I get out of the train with Haymitch right at my heels and run as fast as my prosthetic leg allows me.

Katniss and the rest are waiting in the bushes at the edge of the woods. I can just barely make out her anxious expression.

We finally reach them, out of breath, and Katniss throws her arms around me.

''I couldn't find the pin. I'm sorry,'' I say.

''I don't care. You were in there for too long, you were almost caught! You're lucky they landed on the other side of the train tracks, otherwise you'd be-''

She's cut off by the sound of gunshots and screams coming from the train. There were several Avox servants and crew still aboard who apparently didn't make it out in time. Including my – Portia's – prep team. I hear her whimper miserably in the darkness.

The Peacekeepers don't even care anymore who it is they kill. Everyone's a suspect and it's easier to just shoot anyone who gets in their way rather than waste time on trials.

The power and glory of the Capitol.

I hug Katniss tightly to try and soothe her trembling body, but we don't have much time. We need to keep moving, get deeper into the woods and hope for the best. Effie and Portia are sobbing and Cinna is trying to calm them, but it's no use. Octavia, Flavius and Venia seem too shocked to even cry. To them, this is equally horrid in magnitude as an apocalypse.

Luckily it's not too cold outside. It is dark, though, and we're smack in the middle of nowhere. These woods could hold anything from wild predators to poisonous bugs that don't like us intruding on their territory. Still, we have better chances of surviving out here than anywhere else.

We hike deeper and deeper into the forest, trying to keep quiet. If Katniss thinks I'm loud, I wonder what she thinks of the eight of us trailing behind her. We let her take the lead, since she's better than anyone at navigating a forest.

We finally make camp next to a fallen tree that's covered in moss and soft grass, but don't eat yet, because Haymitch didn't have time to take much food with him and Katniss doesn't have a bow with which to hunt.

We are, however, given dark coats to better conceal us in the night.

Katniss settles into the nook of my arm and even though by now it's a regular thing, I'm still amazed by how perfectly her body fits against mine. Still amazed that, after years of simply watching her from far away, I get to hold her in my arms.

''Well, at least we won't have to kill each other now,'' she says.

''I could never,'' I say.

In the morning, Haymitch throwing a muffin at our heads wakes us.

''Eat up, cupcakes, and do it fast. We have to keep moving.''

''Where exactly are we headed?'' Effie asks. I have not heard her speak since we left the train. Her voice is hoarse and shaky and I feel sorry for her. I can only imagine how confused she must be feeling.

''I'm, uh, not entirely sure yet,'' Haymitch says and takes a few big gulps from his flask.

''What do you mean, you're not sure?'' Katniss demands. The rest of the team starts complaining and throwing accusations at Haymitch. He tries to quiet them by flinging his arms around, gesturing for them to calm down.

''Shut the hell up, everybody!'' Effie gasps at his tone, but doesn't say anything. 'Is your actual goal right now to wail as loudly as sirens so that Peacekeepers can come and kill you right here, which they would be happy to do by the way, or do you want to keep moving, silently, and maybe even manage to stay alive?''

When everyone quiets down, he continues on a more civil tone.

''Now, obviously, we have to steer clear of the Capitol, which should, according my admittedly not-so-great orientation skills, be somewhere over… there.''

He points his finger north at first, but Cinna comes and gently pushes Haymitch's arm until he's pointing west. ''Right! Now, we don't want to go there. Our two lovebirds over here, '' he looks at me and Katniss, ''are probably topping the Most Wanted lists right now, so if anyone thinks about heading towards the Capitol, you take into account that since you're directly involved with them, you'll be tortured and killed for information. Okay? Any takers?''

When nobody reacts, he continues, ''So where do we go? The Districts are out, since these are probably under an even worse attack than the Capitol. And we can't camp out in the forest forever. So, I propose… District 13.''

xXx

Everyone is looking at him silently with raised brows, as if he's just proposed we all strip naked and dance our way through Panem. Only the sounds of the forest disturb the silence until Haymitch bursts out laughing.

''You should all see your faces right now!'' he says and takes another sip from his flask, and suddenly turns very serious. He shakes the flask and by the sound of it, it's nearly empty. He makes a grimace, but continues, ''It just so happens that I was, shall we say, familiar with Plutarch's little plan.'' He shoots a strange glance at Katniss as he says that. ''He assured me that District 13 wasn't completely destroyed after the war. There are still people living there… underground. I'm guessing that the other victors are on their way there, too, if they haven't already been killed.''

We're all silent again as we contemplate this. Katniss is the first to speak,

''How has the Capitol not found out about this?''

'They've known all along. District 13 was – is – known for their nuclear weapons and after the Dark Days, 13 put forth an ultimatum. They either nuke the living hell out of the Capitol, or are left in peace to live underground and pretend to be dead,'' Haymitch says.

There's a pause as everyone lets this information sink in. I can almost feel Katniss's resentment of 13 for not coming to help the other districts. They must have known what kind of conditions the rest of us were living in. I cut off the accusations that are about to boil over, ''I think we should go. Like Haymitch said, it's not like we have a better option.''

''We could fight,'' Katniss says harshly. ''Like Snow said, the uprising started because of me and my trick with the berries. I can't just hide under the ground somewhere and let others fight my battles for me.''

Haymitch almost laughs at her.

''You wouldn't be fighting, sweetheart, you would be dead within moments of entering the Capitol. You don't even have a bow. You walking into the Capitol in your nightie would not only attract the attention of the rebels; every damn Peacekeeper has a picture of you in their wallet to remind them whose head they need to deliver to president Snow. You, dead, is the ultimate prize. You're not going to the Capitol and that's the end of it.''

Katniss tries to protest, but Haymitch effectively shushes her, and although she looks insulted to her very core, she stays silent.

When the matter is decided, we pack our few things and start hiking through the woods again. According to Haymitch, it's about one week's journey. Which – as he demonstrated before – doesn't give us any directive at all. It could be a month for all we know.

Effie, Portia and the rest of the team start complaining about their empty stomachs soon. They're used to having whole feasts delivered within minutes of pressing a button. This – hunger – is an entirely unfamiliar feeling to them. Haymitch is patient with them, though, and with our approval eventually gives them something to eat. Although clearly struggling, Cinna politely refuses. I often wonder how a person like him has even survived in the Capitol.

Even though Katniss, Haymitch and I barely eat anything, the scarce food that Haymitch managed to bring with him is gone by the third day. Katniss tries to make a bow out of some branches, but without a knife to polish it and only some tougher vines to use as a bowstring, the thing barely resembles a weapon. Hunting with it is even more laughable. At best, she manages to catch a squirrel or two, and I try to pick some berries, but that is not even nearly enough to feed nine people. We cover less and less ground every day and waking up in the mornings is an accomplishment in itself since everyone is weak from malnourishment. Haymitch is the worst off, since he has the additional battle of enduring the alcohol withdrawal symptoms after his flask goes dry.

But I think he surprises all of us, especially Katniss, when he continues to lead the group on and stands watch most nights.

On the fifth evening, it starts to rain. It comes on so suddenly that by the time we find some shelter under a tree with thicker leaves, we are all dripping wet.

We huddle close to each other in an attempt to warm up our shivering bodies. I hug Katniss as closely as I can without hurting her and run my hands up and down her back.

Although the air itself is not that cold, the wind is blowing through our thin, soaked clothes and the odds of some of us catching a serious cold are incredibly high. I just pray it's not Katniss.

We did not win the Hunger Games and miraculously escape the Quarter Quell so that she could succumb to something as petty as pneumonia.

''It's dryer here. I'll try to make a bonfire,'' she says suddenly. She collects some dried grass into a little heap from under the tree and starts rubbing a stick in the middle, but it's no use. The air is too humid and after about a half an hour, I make her stop because her teeth are audibly clattering and I'm guessing her palms are starting to blister.

When the rain finally stops, Haymitch orders everyone to take off their wet clothes and hang them to dry on the lower branches.

Although it's a thoroughly necessary and logical precaution, the only thought that keeps going around in my head is that Katniss will be taking off her clothes. Not only that - we will both be virtually naked underneath the coat. I realize I have to change my line of thought immediately, or else their nature will soon be clearly visible for everyone to see.

I quickly look around at random objects; a fallen tree in the distance, the way moonlight glitters on the wet bark like tiny crystals. I force myself to imagine what colours I would have to mix together to get that particular shade of dark green.

I feel my blood start to slow down in my veins and think I'm safe, but then make the mistake of turning my gaze from the tree back to Katniss and she has already stripped off all but her underwear. She's standing there, arms around her wet body, the shadows from the trees creating mysterious shapes on her exposed skin. Her arms are covered in goose bumps and her entire form is shivering slightly. I memorize the sight, because I know I need to immortalize this image in painting the moment I get my hands on some supplies. I tear my eyes away when I feel my own body start shivering. But not from the cold.

I take off my clothes as well and crawl under the coat with Katniss. Octavia, Flavius and Venia get a coat for the three of them, as do Effie, Cinna and Portia. Haymitch gets the luxury of his very own personal coat since he's the one to take the watch again. Cinna offers to replace him, but Haymitch refuses. He claims he won't be able to sleep anyway.

Katniss is still shaking even though it's warming up fast under the coat. I pull her closer to me and although her skin is icy, my own has never felt hotter.

''It'll get warmer soon,'' I promise.

''I can't even really feel the cold,'' she whispers. For just a moment I'm astonished.

Could she mean…

But then I realize it's because she's already so cold that she can't even feel it anymore. I curse my inability to block out all hope when it comes to Katniss. I close my eyes and try to picture the fallen tree again.

But every time she inhales and her skin moves against mine; and every time she exhales and her hot breath tickles my neck, the image of the tree shatters and my entire being is filled with nothing but red hot passion.