Ugh, I'm such a hypocrite. I always get so aggravated when my favorite stories take forever to update, yet here I am posting like three weeks later than I said I would. Anyway, I've got this planned out now. This chapter's got kind of a cliffy. Lol *devilish grin* The fluff is over…well not really, because you can always count on there being like a ton of fluff (I love it). I just mean that peaceful times are over. Stuff's about to go down. Okay I'm done teasing you. Enjoy!

Disclaimer:

Me: Hey, Suzanne? Do I own the Hunger Games?

Suzanne Collins: No, and get out of my house, you freak!

Me: See? No lawsuits necessary.

Chapter 8

I was given a devise to wear on my wrist called a communicuff. It beeps at the most inopportune times, interrupting my time with Peeta, Prim, and the rest of my friends. When it goes off, I am to report to Command immediately. Command is a large meeting room filled with monitors and buttons, all surrounding a large conference table in the center of the room. I was stepping out of the shower this time when my communicuff went off from its place on the bathroom counter. I groaned and picked it up, stopping the shrill beeping.

I dressed in my District 13 clothing which was, rather unsurprisingly, white all over, from the shirt to the shoes that accompanied the outfit. Then I rebraided my wet hair and flipped it over my shoulder. Strapping the communicuff to my wrist, I left my compartment and made my way down to command.

"'Bout time you got here, Girl on Fire," Finnick said wryly as I entered the room. I stuck out my tongue at him in response and took my seat next to Peeta and Haymitch. "Soldier Odair is right. You were summoned here over ten minutes ago." I turned toward the person who had addressed me. Alma Coin, president of District 13. Her features were set in a permanent frown, and I was rather certain that her spine had been replaced with a metal rod, causing her to be at a constant straight-up position. I mumbled a half-hearted apology. If it were up to me, I would spend my days in my room rather than hearing the depressing news of the rebellion.

"I'm afraid I have distressing news," she began again. I rolled my eyes. "So," I retorted. "Nothing new, then?" I heard Finnick and Peeta chuckle. Coin glared at me.

"Actually, Soldier Everdeen, it is new. We have received a tip as to where President Snow has relocated. We believe he has retreated to a small island that remained above sea level after the southwest districts of Panem were submerged." Everyone at the table took this in. Snow was still alive (which we basically already knew) and he was still near Panem. We had suspected that he would retreat to somewhere across the globe, but now it would seem he stayed relatively close. Perhaps that was his plan. To make us search across the Earth only to find, too late, that he barely even left the country.

Peeta squeezed my hand, which was laced with his under the table, and gave me a reassuring smile. I smiled back, but I wasn't reassured. "So what do we do now?" Haymitch interjected, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"We don't do anything," Coin said firmly. A collective gasp could be heard throughout the room. "What do you mean we do nothing?" I screamed at her and rose from my chair. She glowered at me and snarled, "Quiet! I wasn't finished. Now sit down." I complied reluctantly, blowing a strand of hair from my face.

"Now as I was saying, we are taking no further action regarding Snow at this point because for one thing, we can't confirm his actual whereabouts, and for another thing, we have a bigger issue to deal with."

"What issue might that be?" Finnick prompted.

"The Capitol. In Snow's absence, it was taken over by a group of his advisors. They've been trying to take control of the chaos in the districts. Seeing as we've taken over almost every district, they recognize the fact that their hold is slipping. In a last ditch effort to take power back, they've decided to hold the 76th annual Hunger Games."

Silence swallowed her words as quickly as they had been spoken. The 76th annual Hunger Games. The Capitol was bringing back the Games. But how? They couldn't hold reapings without resistance from the rebels, could they?

"Instead of reaping children from each district, they plan to throw captured rebel soldiers into the arena. Without sponsors. Without putting water or food or medicine in the cornucopia. They will be provided weapons and their wits, and nothing else." As Coin continued, the nausea in the pit of my stomach intensified. I leapt from my chair and retched in the nearest trashcan. My skin felt like it was on fire. I felt an icy hand against my face, pulling my hair back. I didn't have to look to know that it was Peeta. I wiped my mouth and crumpled to the ground, defeated. My head lolled to the side, and I saw Peeta's blue eyes clouded with worry. I nodded, signaling that I was going to be alright. He lifted me up and led me to my chair, easing me into a sitting position and ordering me some water for me from a nearby guard.

I noticed that Annie was trembling, tears flowing from her green eyes. "I don't want to go back. Don't let them take me. They can't make me go back. Finnick take me home. Will they take our baby? Don't let them take me back," she rambled on and on as Finnick told her she would never have to go back, and their child would be safe. Haymitch just sat in his chair, a glassy look in his eyes as he accepted the news.

"They can't take people from District 13, can they?" I asked Coin.

"Well," she began. "They got Peacekeepers here. Who knows what they'll attempt this time?" So it was possible that they could force me back in. Or worse, they could send Peeta. I clutched at the fabric of his shirt, holding him to me as if it would keep him anchored to District 13. Though I knew if they got through the walls, there was no way I could stop them from taking him or any of the other people I loved. Hot tears stained my cheeks and dripped down, splashing against the glass surface of the table.

"What can we do?" Gale asked. Gale. I had forgotten he was here. What if they took him? They couldn't. I shook my head. I would never let that happen. I didn't hear Coin's response. My head was filled with what ifs and worst case scenarios. The noises around me melded together into a scrambled hum. It felt like there were a thousand people screaming in my ears at once. Somewhere in the jumble of sounds was Annie, repeating that one phrase. "Don't let them take me back." I felt the same as she did now. I understood how she had ended up the way she did. Whereas I had fought through my pain and trauma from the games, Annie had let it consume her. It eroded her sanity away slowly, and I felt at this moment like insanity was the only escape form my agonizing reality. I was making up my mind to let go and give in to insanity when I was pulled back to the real world by Peeta.

"Katniss. Katniss talk to me. You're scaring me." He frantically searched my face for a glimmer of life.

"Peeta…Peeta I can't handle this. I can't do it. Peeta I'm afraid." I had never admitted to being afraid of anything, but the possibility of Peeta or Prim or Gale being thrown into the arena downright terrified me.

"Oh, sweetheart. I won't let them take you."

"It's not me I'm worried about. Peeta what if they take you? I couldn't live without you. I don't know what I would do. I can't be without you." I pulled him closer to me, soaking his shirt in tears. He wrapped his arms around me securely, clinging to me as desperately as I was clinging to him. He didn't have to say anything for me to know he felt the same way. I ignored the fact that we were surrounded by people and just held him.

Though the sound was muffled due to the fact that I was completely covered by Peeta's arms and chest, I heard Coin speak. "We are doing everything we can to prevent an invasion of District 13 and the capture of soldiers. However, we don't doubt the fact that there will be an attack. The Capitol will come for us. For you. The Victors. It doesn't matter that you were already thrust into the games twice. They will take you and make an example out of you. Execute you." He words cut through me like a knife. If they took one of us, there would be no chance that we would break out. We would be stuck there until twenty-three rebels were dead. And I had a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach that one or more of those rebels were sitting at this table.

Coin continued to speak about the precautions we were to take now that we knew there was a possibility we would be forced to return to the Capitol, but she was interrupted by a loud alarm. Peeta's grip on me tightened. A soldier burst into the room and addressed President Coin.

"President Coin, the Peacekeepers are back. There are so many. Ma'am, we need to relocate you. Now." The President rose from her seat and followed the man out the door. The rest of us sat in shocked silence, not knowing what we were supposed to do. Another soldier came in. "The rest of you. To your designated crisis bunkers. Hurry up." Peeta released me, but as I rose to start running, he lifted me up and carried me. He didn't let me protest about his leg being too weak to support my extra weight. We ran out the door and began to head toward our bunker, but we were stopped suddenly by a descending wall of flames.