"That's impossible," Peeta says simply, frowning.
"No, it's not," I insist. "We heard that Bimble guy talking about how the arena was in Death Valley, right? And how he said that he doesn't care about security around the arena? All we have to do is figure out where Death Valley is and then break into the arena."
"I don't think it's going to be as simple as you're making it out to be. It's too risky. What if we get caught and killed? Who's going to raise our children? Haymitch?"
I wrinkle my nose in disgust at the thought of Haymitch raising my children. "I'd rather be dead than watch my child be slaughtered on TV. Besides, do you really believe that this Bimble guy knows what he's doing? Who knows? Maybe there won't be any security at all."
"That's stupid! Why would he have no security surrounding the arena? Even if he doesn't have security, there might not even be a way to enter the arena from the outside."
"But there also might be a way, Peeta. We owe it to our daughter to at least give it a shot. Do you have any better ideas?"
Peeta bites his lip and I can tell he's deep in thought, trying to figure out another way. Finally he sighs and raises his hands in defeat. "I can't think of anything. You're right, we owe it to Rose to at least try."
I smile in victory. "I'm always right. Now let's go find out where Death Valley is," I say, taking his hand and leading him out the door.
After an hour, we finally find a bookshop situated on the corner of a run-down part of the Capitol. I slowly open the door and peek inside, making sure nobody is going to jump out at us. Inside, I know nobody is going to jump out, but after going through the Games twice, it's become second-nature to be wary when opening a door, or to sniff food before eating it to make sure it's not poisoned. I frown thinking about how much the Games changed me, and how I don't want that to happen to my daughter.
Suddenly, a middle-aged man steps out from behind a bookshelf with a duster in his right hand and an old, beat down book in the other.
"Hello," he says, seeming to be in shock that there are actually customers in his shop.
"We're here to inquire about a map of Panem. We'd like to look at one," Peeta says, stepping through the door to stand beside me.
"Ah, a map, did you say? Well, that should be no problem. Just give me one moment," the man says in an accent I can't distinguish. He disappears behind another bookshelf and Peeta and I can hear him rummaging through books. " it here?" we hear him mutter to himself. "No, no, no. The maps aren't even over here." He pops out from behind the bookshelf and smiles apologetically at us. "It will just be another moment." He disappears behind another bookshelf and comes out a few minutes later holding a large map.
"Here you are," he says cheerfully, handing the map over to Peeta and me. It's an old map, and it's hard to distinguish the writing on it. The man sees that we're having a difficult time and asks, "Trying to find anywhere specific?"
"We're looking for Death Valley," I admit. "For, um, a project our child has to do for school." I look at Peeta to see if what I said sounded convincing, and I receive confirmation when I look into his eyes.
"Oh, well it's hard to miss," the man chuckles. He points to a large He points to an area on the other side of Panem.
"Are you sure that's it?" I ask, desperately. It would be at least a week before Peeta and I would be able to reach the arena.
"Positive," the man says. "Will you be buying this map?"
"No," I groan, handing him the map and walking out of the shop.
I begin to walk back the way Peeta and I came, looking straight ahead the entire time. Defeat. I've only felt it a few times, when I couldn't save Rue, when Prim died, and now. Thinking about them bring the memories flooding back, and when I think about how I'm not going to be able to save Rose, I can't even move.
After a few minutes of standing still and crying, I begin to collapse onto the ground. Suddenly, I feel hands beneath my arms, picking me back up. I struggle at first, trying to get away, until I realize that it's Peeta. I collapse into his arms and continue to cry as he strokes at my hair and whispers reassurances.
I feel him put a piece of paper into my hand, and I pull away, looking at the paper, trying to make sense of what it says.
"What is this?" I ask him, confused.
"A list of train departures for today. I found it in the bookshop." Peeta points at a line at the very bottom of the page. "That train is headed towards someplace that's by Death Valley. I mean, it's not really that close, but I'm sure if we got that close that there'd be a way to find the arena. The train isn't exactly meant for people, it's more for food packages and stuff, but I-"
I stop him with a kiss. "Thank you," I say sincerely when we break a part. "Who cares that we're going to have to sit on the floor of a train for a while?" I smile. "We're going to get our daughter back."
We spend the rest of the day hiding out in the more inconspicuous part of the Capitol until nightfall. Then we head off to the train station, hoping onto the back of the train just as it's pulling away. Peeta and I find a part of the train that has bushels of hay stacked in a corner. We form them into beds and situate them right below a completely open part of the ceiling.
It's relaxing, laying there with Peeta, staring up at the stars as they go by. I try not to think about Rose, but she keeps coming back into my mind.
"You're worried," Peeta says, picking up on my thoughts.
"Yeah," I sigh.
"Don't be. We're going to get her back. Just enjoy the time we have now. Who knows where we'll be in a couple of days."
"You're right," I say, yawning.
"Go to sleep," Peeta say soothingly. "You've had a long day. We can talk tomorrow. I think we're going to be on this train for quite a while."
"Mhm," I say sleepily, already drifting off into darkness. Right before I doze off completely, I smell primrose.
Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait, I haven't had a lot of time to write lately. The next chapter might not come out for a while because I want to spend a lot of time on it. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, even though not much actually happened. REMEMBER TO REVIEWWW! Or there might not be another chapter at all, dun dun DUNNNN.