A/N: Recap time! Last time, we finished with Katniss' note to Prim. It's currently 6 o'clock in the morning. Katniss is dressed and getting ready to leave. Let's rejoin her, shall we? Be warned, there is one profanity in this chapter ;) just an FYI. Thank you for reading! ONA

I grab my jacket and walk out the door. I turn around and take one last glance at my home. It's the place that I've lived for almost two decades.

It's no time to get nostalgic, I remind myself.

Speaking of years, how are we going to keep track of time?

Nevermind. I'm not sure I want to measure how far away I am from my little duckling.

I slowly walk away, then quicken to a slight jog. Finally I break out into a run.

I reach the fence and listen for the tell-tale hum of electricity. There is none. I sneak under the hole in the fence (I'm getting too big for it.) and go a little farther in the woods to get my bow and arrows. I scale a tree that has a good view of the fence and wait for Gale.

I don't have to wait long. The sun is just barely over the horizon (decorated by the Victor's Village) when Gale's form is a shadow climbing over the fence. I wait for him to get a bit further into the forest before I leap down from the tree.

Gale jumps back in surprise, tripping over a tree root. "Holy shit, Katniss." He gives a shaky laugh.

"What, you thought I wouldn't be here already?" I ask with a smile.

"No, you just scared me. I didn't think you would jump from a tree. But I knew you would get me somehow. You always do," He says, and he's smiling now too.

"Ready to go?" I ask.

"Of course. Are you?"

No. "Yes. I left a note for Prim. Did you leave one for Rory, Vick, and Posy?"

"Aw, I should've thought of that! Idiot," he muttered. "I gotta go back!"

"No, Gale, you can't! If you go back now, you'll never be able to go off with me into the woods. Just stay, okay?"

"Katniss. They're everything to me. If I don't explain, I-I-" he chokes and has to sit down.

"You need to stay here."

"No! I'm going back. I couldn't bear to go on if they were heartbroken," he sobs.

"If you go back, then you would see how sad they could be that you were gone. Then you wouldn't be able to go on and you'd have to stay there. We can't leave the forest now! Besides, Rory knows where the lake is. If they need help, he can come get us," I conclude.

I can see the agony in his eyes, but he stays put. "Fine," he manages.

"Let's get moving," I say.

"Okay," he says, standing up.

We hike back to the lake, which takes about an hour. Luckily, when Panem was established, they left this little cabin and lake behind. We walk inside the cabin and plop down our rucksacks.

"I'm going for a swim. Are you coming?" Gale asks as he takes off his sweaty shirt.

"Pass. I need to organize the supplies and other things we brought,"

"Okay. It's really refreshing!" He's trying to convince me to swim with him. But it's too late, I've already started to unpack our bags. I know what I have in mine, and I organize it onto the few shelves and cupboards the cabin has in about ten minutes.

The first things I find in Gale's bag are messy charcoal drawings that were probably drawn by his siblings. How did he manage to get them without them knowing he was leaving? The first is the messiest, and looks like it was supposed to be Gale and whichever of the three holding hands and playing with some sort of dolls. I'm guessing this is Posy's. The next one was a picture of what can only be described as a small train. I think it was a car, and it had Gale's name next to it, probably Vick's. The third one had a dead rabbit on it. Charming Rory.

flashback:

"Hey, will you guys draw me some pictures?" he asks of the three children sitting around him. They all immediately jump up and get small pieces of coal and some home-made paper, and start scribbling images.

"Gayew, Gayew, guess what I'm dwawing you!" shouts the youngest, a girl.

"Posy, Posy, what are you drawing me?" he shouts back, with a twinkle in his eye and a grin on his face.

"I'm dwawing us pwaying dows!" she shouts again.

"I love to play dolls with you!" he says, picking her up and tossing her in the air. He then catches her and gives her a hug, and a kiss on the forehead. She makes a disgusted face, and starts to squeal. He sets her down and she runs away, presumably to their mother.

"Vick, what are you drawing?" the oldest boy says to the youngest boy, who's making some sort of engine-like noise.

"I'm drawing a RACECAR!" he says, then continues to make the 'vroom' noises. The eldest boy joins in, but is told that he's not making the noises right. He moves on to the second oldest child.

"Rory, what do you have there?" he asks. The boy has drawn a very good representation of a rabbit, except for all of the smudge marks.

"It's the rabbit you brought home yesterday," the boy whispers, knowing that if a Peacekeeper heard, the oldest boy would be arrested and whipped.

"That's really good," replies the eldest. The second boy just nods modestly and gets back to work on his masterpiece. The first boy sighs and exits to his room.

A/N: So, what do you think? How is this escapade going so far? Any ideas you want to see implemented? Is this too long or too short of a chapter? I NEED FEEDBACK. And don't forget, the more reviews, follows, favorites, etc., the sooner and/or faster it will be updated!

ONA