(Katniss)

The moment that I saw him sprawled out on the ground with blood slowly blossoming from his back like a blooming flower sucked all the life out of me.

My knees buckled and I fell on the floor, heaving for air as tears were quickly making their way down my face.

I choked on my voice as I crawled over to Peeta.

He's so still.

But something isn't right.

I hear the scuffle of boots and deep grunts emanating from approximately five meters in front of me.

And when I look up I see Ace being subdued by Gale and Finnick and is soon put into a headlock. And his gun is on the floor, still giving off smoke residue from the gunshot.

A gasp leaves my lips.

He's the traitor.

I look down at Peeta, his blonde hair turned grey from the gunpowder of the ambush. I carefully turn his body so I can see his face.

His eyes are squeezed shut and his breathing is slow and heavy.

I bring my trembling hands to touch his face, "Peeta? Peeta open your eyes. Please Peeta open your eyes!"

His eyes flutter open and the pain in his eyes is palpable. The sadness and the angst that are held in them are overwhelming.

He smiles at me and whispers, "Hey."

I let out a small, flustered laugh, "Hi."

He brings his quivering hand up to my face and caresses it. I place my other hand over his, squeezing his hand.

Soon, tears begin to form in his eyes and his whisper is barely audible.

"I'm sorry."

His eyes close.

And his hand drops to his side.

My eyes widen, I shake him once. "Peeta?"

And when he doesn't respond I keep on subtly shaking him, aware and cautious of the gunshot wound.

"Peeta!" I screech, "Peeta open those eyes please. Don't you dare close them! Peeta open them please!"

Blood. Blood is everywhere and it's spreading so quickly. The red substance stains my hands, my lap and I scream.

"Peeta you can't leave me! You said you'd stay with me!" I cry.

My breathing quickens as my sobs rock my body.

The last thing I say comes out as a whisper, "Please stay with me…"

I let Peeta's limp body fall to the floor as I turn my attention to the subdued spy.

I take long and angry strides towards him, my palms twitching to slither their way around his neck.

But before I can fulfil my desire someone pulls me back and gives me a hug.

Her voice is soft, not guarded, "Katniss, just leave it alone. I'll deal with him."

Everyone looks upon Johanna as she walks up to Ace and punches him in the face.

Gale and Finnick continue to hold him tightly, their knuckles white from holding on so tightly and for so long.

I hear a small buzzing noise circulate around the first floor of the Nut; and for the first time in a long time, I put my guard up.

"Shut down that damn camera," I spit.

Boggs takes careful steps towards me as I shoot him deathly glares. His eyes travel around the inside of the mountain, seeming to take in every inch of it.

"Soldier Everdeen, we need to get back to Thirteen," he commands.

"No."

"But-"

"I said no. You listen to me," I poke my finger on his chest, "I am not leaving here for no reason. I will not let him die for no reason. Are we clear?"

I see Boggs tremble, and for the first time – scared.

"We are going to go out there and get them on our side. Or else Peeta dies for nothing. Now open those damn doors!" I command.

Haymitch puts a hand on my shoulder but I shrug it off.

"Katniss…" he tries to reason with me.

"Now."

I poise my bow with my explosive arrow in place. The doors are slowly retracting as I take my place in the centre of them.

The gunshot noises have died down, but still flaring at a high level of noise.

I pull back on the string as my breathing slows; I position my legs and my shoulders, aiming for the sky above the battle.

As soon as I'm sure that my arrow can pass without harming anyone, I let go of the string and watch the arrow soar across the polluted sky and explode into a ball or fiery colours.

Embers trickle down on the ground that I walk on, slowly exiting the Nut with a deadly stance.

Peacekeepers and security guards alike cease their battle, watching and observing my every move. My face is passive, completely devoid of emotion.

I find that it's the most effective way to earn someone's attention – because they don't know what's going on inside my head. And I highly doubt that they want to.

I stop in the middle of the battlefield, fully aware that anyone of them can start firing at any given moment.

But I find that I don't care.

The silence is deafening.

I take a look at every one of the Peacekeepers – I want to remember their faces. And I want them to remember mine.

Katniss, the girl who was on fire, burns on.

My voice sounds as if it has been magnified when I utter my first words.

"Do you know what the punishment is for stealing? Imprisonment. Do you know what the punishment is for poaching? Whipping."

I take small steps circling the area, staring intently to those who hold my gaze.

"Do you know what the punishment is for murder? Death."

My feet come to a stop as the world seems to be holding its breath.

"In the laws of the Captiol, it is stated that it's forbidden to kill. That all murderers will be and should be punished. However…that rule is exempted if they murder in large numbers at the sound of trumpets.

"They are the hypocrites. Because there is nothing right with what they're doing over there. Who are they to take away our loved ones and put them up for show like they're some kind of animal? They have abused their power just as much as they have abused us.

"Can any of you tell me what you think of a murderer?"

Silence.

But then someone speaks up.

"I would think that they're scum. That they're heartless."

I nod my head, "Okay. That's what everyone thinks of a murderer that killed on the streets right? Now, can any of you tell me what you think of a tribute killing a fellow tribute?"

This time another voice pops up.

"I'd think that they were just protecting themselves. Self-defense. Kids trying to get home."

I take a sharp intake of breath, "What's the difference though? It's still murder. The thing is that they don't know the difference.

"There are some causes that are worth dying for. Entertainment isn't one of them."

Suddenly, I hear applause slowly making its way throughout the crowd, and I feel a small smile creep onto my face.

But I wish that there was someone here beside me to enjoy it with me.

I whip around, and run back inside where Peeta lies with Haymitch by his side. The sunlight creeps through the entrance and I can see that Haymitch's grey eyes are rimmed with red.

I kneel down beside him and take Peeta's hand in mine, the tears soon reappearing.

Haymitch places a small hand on my back, "It's going to be okay, Katniss."

I shake my head, and hug Peeta's body, soaking his already blood-stained shirt with my tears.

"No, it's not."

"You don't know that."

"Haymitch…there's no heartbeat."

The light is streaming through the windows of the hovercraft, bathing all of us in a tired light.

We all look like a mess.

Turns out, as soon as the doors opened, the camera started rolling and they got every single word that I said out there.

And they sent a message to Thirteen saying that Two had finally allied with us.

But at a cost.

Peeta is still with the medics, they think they can revive him. But I was right, there was no heartbeat when they got to him. But they're still working on him, because the medicine and technology is much more advanced in Thirteen than it was in the Districts, maybe even matching with the Capitol.

I'm restless. I haven't been allowed in the medical section for the entire ride and the blood on my hands has crusted. My clothes are stained with his blood and I'm not even in there to help him.

Haymitch is sitting beside me, holding my hand and letting me rest on his shoulder when I need to.

Gale and everyone else is quiet, waiting for the news.

Then I hear something that makes my heart skip a beat.

"Time of death: 5:03pm."

"You can't just let them give up like that. Tell them to keep trying!" I scream.

My head is throbbing from today's events, my eyes sore from crying but still the tears won't stop. My bones feel like they are going to shatter at any given moment. I feel like I'm standing on a thin piece of rope, suspended a thousand feet in the air while the wind is blowing so strongly.

I feel like I'm about to tip off and fall at any second.

But I feel anger slowly coursing through my veins. I need answers and I'm going to get them.

I barge through the hospital ward and make my way to the elevators, hitting the floor that held the prisoners.

My face is set into an emotionless mask as the floors tick by one by one.

I purse my lips and enter the prison cell area as the elevator doors diverge.

I march up to the guard. "I need to see Prisoner 14."

He arches his eyebrow at me, "Why?"

"There are things that need to be cleared off. Things that are related to this rebellion. So I suggest you let me through," I reply.

He pops his lips and opens the door, but as I walk through it I can still feel his questioning gaze burning a hole in the back of my head.

I keep walking until I reach Cell 14.

It's in the far end of the room, in the section where the most dangerous prisoners are held.

As I squint my eyes I can make out the figure that's chained up in the corner of the room. But suddenly instead of Ace…I see myself.

I blink and shut my eyes tightly, willing for the memories to disappear.

I clear my throat and order his attention.

"Do you know anything of Snow's plans?" I ask.

He looks up at me, his blue eyes staring at me, glowing through the darkness like a cat.

"I know of one thing."

I narrow my eyes at him, "What?"

He huffs, "Oh, I don't think you want to know."

"Trust me, I do. What is it?" I demand.

"I think that you should go back and spend as much time as you can with Mr. Mellark."

I snarl at him, "Why?"

He smirks, "Because your lives appear to be short-lived."

When I get back to the hospital ward, Prim is sitting on one of the waiting stools with her head propped up on her hands.

"What are you doing here little duck?"

"Mom's in the surgical ward, she's helping with Peeta's surgery," she replies.

I can feel a small smile tug on my lips, "So they're trying again?"

She smiles at me, "Yep."

I let out a breath that I wasn't aware I was holding.

"How long has it been?"

She checks the clock on the wall, "About half an hour."

"Why though?"

"Why what?" her face is contorted in confusion.

"Why is mom in there? She isn't assigned to that ward."

"Oh," Prim says, "Haymitch told her that she should try and help. He even told the doctors that she would be of a great asset to them."

I nod my head, glad that someone is in there to make sure that they bring him back.

"Where's everyone else?" I ask.

"They had to go to Command. You were let off, Haymitch wasn't but he wanted to stay."

"Where is he now?"

She shrugs, "He said he was tired. I guess he's back in his room."

"Did Peeta's family come by?"

"Yeah. They did. But Mrs. Mellark and Peeta's brothers left shortly before you came back. Mr. Mellark had to go excuse himself of his duties. He said that he would come back."

And he did.

Another half an hour passes by without news, and before I know it I'm getting agitated. What if there's really no more hope for Peeta? What if he's really gone?

He can't be. He can't be gone, not after what we've been through. We've been through so much and I'm so mad at myself that I couldn't protect him. Why couldn't I protect him?

I never realized how important he was to me until today. The hole in my heart seems to be growing in every passing minute that I'm without him.

I'd switch places with him any day.

He's my dandelion in the spring. He brings me the hope that I need to get through this war. To believe that we can all make it out of this alive.

If he's gone it's as if there's no hope left.

The room is so quiet that I can hear the clock ticking by. Every second seems like an hour.

And finally, my mother turns the corner.

And Prim, Mr. Mellark and I stand up.

"Mom, is he okay? Please tell me that he's okay."

She closes her eyes and sighs, "We barely got him. But he's hanging on and he's stable."

So yep. That's done! Not so happy with it but eh, I can't always have good days right? Anyway the next chapter is going to be looooooooooooooooooong. And it's going to be a HUGE turning point for this fic. And I mean HUGE.

And I can't wait to write it so I better get to work!

I hope you enjoyed it and thank you for reading and reviewing!

And like always, reviews are appreciated :D