Chapter 11.

Gale POV

Before I even realize what happened, Madge is practically out of sight. I see the top of her blond head as it peeks through the nighttime fog about a hundred feet away. Instead of running after her and having yet another confrontation, I turn on my heel and walk the rest of the distance to my house.

I push open the old wooden door and Posy flings herself onto my legs. By the time I manage to peel her off, my mother's at my side.

"You okay, honey?" she asks, worried.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" I decide to play dumb.

"Cause Momma says Caniss is going away again," Posy offers. I shoot a glance at my mother, annoyed she let Posy in on the "big news". She just shrugs.

"Just for a little while," I say with a horrible excuse for a smile. Just then, Rory and Vick emerge from the bedroom in the back of our small house.

"Sup, Gale?" Rory asks, lifting his head in greeting. Punk. I nod at him.

"Gale! Gale! Gale!" Vick calls, fighting for my attention.

"Vick! Vick! Vick!" I say back, mocking his tone. He laughs and comes over to me. I ruffle his hair, "What's up, bud?"

"Since Katniss is going back to the arena now, are you gonna have to hunt all day every day again? Cause you can teach Rory how to hunt and that means that you can take him with you! Please, Gale? Pleasepleasepleaseplease," he begs.

My mother interrupts with, "Vick, Gale is not gonna have to hunt all day, he's going to have to. Gonna isn't a proper word."

"Whatever, Ma," Rory says dismissively.

"Whatever, Ma," Vick chimes in, mocking Rory's voice.

"Besides, I'm not going to have to do that again. The people in the Capitol make sure Katniss and her family has enough money for all of their food now, so Katniss doesn't hunt anymore," I explain.

"Oh. Well can you teach him to hunt then?" Vick asks.

"Absolutely not. But thanks for asking," I say curtly.

"Sorry, Rory. I tried," Vick says, hanging his head.

"Bed time, kids. You know the drill," my mother says, herding the kids towards the bedroom in the back of the house. I bring up the rear, shuffling my boot-clad feet across the well-worn floor. I stand in the doorway as my mom tucks Vick and Posy into bed. Rory has long outgrown that childish nonsense, and wipes off Mom's kiss as soon as she turns off the light.

Once the lights are off and the door is closed, I turn on my heel and walk towards the front door, where my game bag and hunting jacket wait. They seem to be mocking me. "I've got to get outta here, Ma," I say. I expect her to argue with me, but she just nods and lets out a yawn. "Go to sleep, I promise I'll be fine. Be back soon, I swear," I add, opening the door. She nods again, and I grab my jacket and bag and walk out into the blackness.

It's nearly spring, but the night is dark and especially cold. If I had to guess, I'd say it's about ten or eleven. I don't know what I want to do and where I plan on going exactly, but I'd say it's a fair bet that I'm not sleeping tonight. I can only hunt when the fence isn't electrically charged, and it's kind of a crapshoot. If I'm lucky, I actually get to go into the woods once or twice a week. But my family doesn't know that-they think that's where I am if I'm not at work or the mines.

I walk for a while before finding myself in front of the entrance to the meadow. I think about the day Madge and I were there. I shake the good memory from my head and push open the wire gate.

0000

I return from my late night constitutional at about eight in the morning. When I walk in the door, Posy barrels into me, laughing hysterically. I scoop her up in my arms like a baby. She wraps her tiny arms around my neck and brings her face close to my ear. "Want to hear a secret?" she cackles. I nod. "Rory's my favorite brother," she says. I pull my head back, mouth open in a perfect O. Just then, Vick runs up and tugs on the hem of my shirt.

"Want to hear another secret?" he asks. I nod.

"Vick, no!" Posy squeals.

"Rory put her up to it!" he blurts. He looks satisfied and over-excited. All of that happiness fades when I see the fear creep into his eyes as Rory calls from the other room,

"What did you just say, Vick? Some accomplice you are!"

"Ignore him," I tell my youngest brother, turning my attention back to Posy, who is hollering something in my ear.

"Let go of me! Gale, lemme go!" she shouts, flailing her arms like a crazy person.

"Okay, but you asked for it," I say, and toss her a few inches into the air before catching her in my arms. She is doubled over laughing in my arms.

"Please put me down!"

"What did you say? I think I heard 'please tickle me' am I right, Vick?" I ask, nudging the kid with my foot and winking. He looks up and nods eagerly.

"No! That's not what I said!' Posy cries, still giggling.

"Oh, I think it is!" I cry, pinching her middle, which sets her off in another fit of laughter.

"Gale, stop!" she giggles.

"Not until you tell me who your real favorite brother is!" I tease.

"Don't give in to him, Posy! Never back down!" Rory calls, running into the small room.

I raise my eyebrows at him. He crosses his arms and glares at me mockingly. I turn Posy upside down, causing her to squeal even louder than before. I have her by her ankles, her head only a few inches from the floor. Posy is making quite the racket, louder than I've ever heard. Which is difficult, even for her. Her hoots bring my mother into the room, and she wipes her hands on the tattered apron tied around her middle.

"Careful, Gale!" Mom scolds, but we both know that Posy is enjoying every minute of it.

"Look at Momma coming to your rescue! You lucky girl," I say to my little sister as I turn her upright and plant her firmly on the floor. She wraps her arms around my legs, still laughing.

Mom sends the kids into the kitchen to eat a meager breakfast that she had scraped together. I feel horrible that I haven't been able to bring much game in lately, but with my salary from the coal mines, I am able to buy necessities and barter for the good stuff down at the Hob.

I'm only working a few hours a day mining coal, so I'm not receiving as much money now, which means I've had to stretch each coin to its limit. I don't have to go back to the mines full time until the spring because they want me fully healed from my whipping. My mother thinks it's because they're showing "compassion and empathy" - her words, not mine.

I know better, though. I'm not allowed back full time for the next month or two because they know that if I go back before I'm healed, I'll have a higher chance of getting injured. They'd rather wait a few months to have a practically perfect miner than have a good miner for a few months before he keels over at work.

While the kids are eating, my mom pulls me aside to the corner of the main room. "You owe me an explanation, Gale. What do you think you were doing running out on us like that night?" she hisses.

"There's nothing to explain, Ma. Besides, you did nothing to stop me from leaving. If you didn't want me to go you should have said something, but I just had to leave. Couldn't take it anymore."

"Bull," she says, surprising me. My mother has never said anything remotely foul before.

"What?" I ask. I can hear my voice begin to rise.

"You think I'm stupid, Gale? I know you would have waited until I fell asleep before leaving. Besides the fact, you said you were going to be back soon. Soon is not eight in the morning. You were gone for nine hours!" she whispers, hands on her hips.

"Sorry, Ma. I don't know what to tell you. What's done is done, and that's the end of it."

"Gale, you had better change your attitude very soon! You need to show respect towards me, understand? I think you're forgetting that you are in the presence of three children. They love you and look up to you, you had better teach them right!" she whisper-yells. I just nod. She waves her hand dismissively and turns, walking out of the room.

I let out a big sigh and sink onto the lumpy armchair in the corner of the room. It doesn't compare to the oversized plush ones in the Everdeen's new house, but I don't mind. I'm asleep in minutes.

0000

Before I know it, five weeks have gone by. There was a knock on my door the day after the Quell announcement, and I was told to return to the mines right away. A month earlier than I was supposed to, but having the extra money is really making up for the lost hunting time. I went back the day after that, which means no more school. Which also means no awkward encounters with a certain blond.

I wake up before the sun, put on those damn gray coveralls, and head to the mines. Instead of only working weekends and some nights, I'm in the mines six days a week from six in the morning to six at night. I can honestly say I didn't miss this, but every time the lift sends me down into the mines, I think of the kids and all of the things they'll be able to have now that I'm working and making money again.

After the whipping, people stopped giving Ma their laundry, which meant for a while, we were out of money. As much as I hated it, I had to ask Katniss for help.

At night, I help my mom fix dinner and I entertain the kids to give her some time to herself. Once they're all asleep, I leave. I never have a plan, but I just have to get out for a while. Most of the time I think of the upcoming Games, sometimes I think about actually leaving. Once, I let myself think about Madge. That was a bad night.

Over the last month, she's been popping in and out of my head whenever she pleases. I keep pushing the thoughts out of my mind, determined to be a man. Besides, if she can't trust me, I'm not going to waste my energy. Because, frankly, I don't have enough to go around. I do feel bad about not following her the night she ran off on me, but I've become an expert at ignoring guilt.

It's Sunday, which means I don't have to go to the mines. I wake up early, lace up my boots, and grab my game bag. I know it's a crapshoot, but I really need to get into the woods today so I can get my hands on the weapons I have stored out there. I promised Katniss I would come by later today and help her, Peeta and Haymitch train like I do every day I have off.

I don't understand why they're bothering to train Haymitch. Everyone knows Peeta's too….. Peeta-ish to ever let Katniss go into that arena without him.

When I arrive at Katniss's house in Victor's Village later that day, I'm about to punch someone. This day couldn't have been any worse- the fence was on, meaning no woods and no weapons. When I returned home, I got screamed at again by my mom for disappearing again. On my way to Katniss's house, that annoying Sabine girl cornered my in front of the tailor's shop and tried to flirt with me. On top of all of that, today marks six months since I was whipped. I would have forgotten, except Rory so kindly brought it up.

I push the button next to the door. I've never been one for formality, especially not when it comes to Katniss and the Everdeens, but I feel very out of place. I hear the pitter-patter of feet from inside the house. Primrose swings the door open and looks surprised to see me.

"Oh! Gale….uh, hi! Come on in," she says with a smile. I step into the mansion, and begin to walk towards the kitchen, but Prim steps in front of me, blocking my way.

"Sorry, I know I'm a few minutes early, but its Sunday... Katniss asked me to come over and help with training like I usually do. Is this a bad time?" I ask.

"Oh, uh. No this is fine. She actually just went over to Peeta's house….or was it Haymitch's? I'm sorry, I d-don't really remember. You can, uh, go find her if you want. Um, you know where they live, right?" she says, stumbling over her words.

"Prim, what's going on?" I ask, concerned.

"N-nothing. Everything's fine," She says with a nod.

"Prim," I say, trying to stay calm.

"Really, Gale. We're all good here. Just me and Mother. You should, er, go find Katniss," she smiles, leading me back to the front door and pulling it open.

"Prim, you have about three seconds before I start to jump to conclusions. Tell me what's up," I demand. As the words are leaving my mouth, I see a flash of blond hair up at the top of the stairs. I blink twice, and it's gone. But I'd know that hair anywhere.

In three strides, I'm at the top of the stairs. I throw open the door to Katniss's bedroom and at the desk sits a red-in-the face, nervous looking Madge Undersee. But it's not her physical appearance that worries me. It's the huge manila folder with a big red confidential sticker sitting in front of her that does. All I know is that whatever's in that folder has got to be something big.

"Madge? What are you doing here?" I ask. I realize this is the first time I've seen her since whatever happened the night of the Quell announcement, let alone spoken to her.

"I don't need to tell you anything, Gale."

"Seriously, Madge. What in the world is in the folder?" I motion the mystery file on the desk.

"Mind your business, this has nothing to do with you!" she yells, startling me.

"The hell it's not my business! You are my business, Madge!" I yell back.

"Since when? You didn't care about what I did and how I felt before, so why should you get to care now?" she asks, her face turning red.

"I always cared! Just because I don't run after you every time you pitch a fit doesn't mean I don't care! Besides, if you cared about me caring, you wouldn't have ignored me for however long it's been!" I cry.

"Why do I have to be the one to come to you, huh? I'm sick of wearing the pants here, be a man and take a little control, will you?"

"You want control? Okay, then. Madge, tell me what's in that folder," I say.

"It doesn't matter, Gale! This has nothing to do with you. In fact, you… you should just go," she says, calming down.

"Okay."

"I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. But, it's just easier if you leave, I don't th-" but before she finishes her sentence, I take a step closer to the desk, and in one swift motion, swipe the folder off the desk. I open it quickly and look at the papers inside. When I see the Capitol seal on the first page, I feel like I just got the wind knocked out of me.

"Gale!" she exclaims.

"Please tell me you have nothing to do with these," I croak. I'm silently pleading with her to shake her head and give me a very logical explanation.

"Okay, there's something I need to tell you. This is really important, so I need you to try to stay calm and keep quiet until I finish. If I don't tell you now, I don't know if I'll ever get the time and the courage to again," she says. I nod.

"Katniss is going to the Games in a month. No doubt Peeta's going with her. You're not the only one helping. I assume she told you about those runaways she ran into in the woods a while ago. Well, the thing is…how do I say this… well, basically what I'm trying to tell you is that people in the other Districts aren't too happy with Snow right now. My father gets daily newspapers from the Capitol, and I've been cutting out important things and bringing them to Katniss," she says.

I'm stunned. Who would have thought it - Madge Undersee, breaking countless laws, lying, and sneaking around for a girl who's as good as dead a month from now. I open my mouth to speak, but she cuts me off.

"But about a week ago, this weird machine in my father's study started beeping and ringing. I was home alone, so I went to investigate. These papers started coming out, all of them urgent messages and updates from the Capitol about the recent rebellions and defiance in the Districts. I knew that Daddy has a machine that makes a copy of anything, so that's what I did. It didn't take me long to realize that these memos come at the same time, twice a day, every day. So you're looking at the copies of everything."

I don't even know how to respond to this.

"Listen, Gale. You aren't allowed to tell anyone. I'm serious. I know my father suspects something, he's been asking way too many questions lately, and they've been way too specific. You can speak now, if you want," she says with a sad smile.

"I-I can't believe this, Madge. This is really interesting stuff and all, but you need to stop."

"Stop. Stop? Stop! You want me to stop? No! I finally found something that makes me feel useful…something that makes me feel like I'm serving a purpose. I'm not going to just stop!" she cries.

"You have to! This is dangerous! Listen, you need to lay low for a while. No spying, no lying, no stealing copies of Capitol memos. I'll take these and burn them-"

"Stop it, Gale! I said no! I don't need you telling me what to do."

"You don't understand, this is dangerous, and you could be in serious trouble if you get caught," I try to explain.

"I don't need your opinion! I know it is really risky, but I think we can both agree that it's worth it to make sure Katniss and Peeta go into the arena fully informed," she fires back, not missing a beat.

"It's too risky, though. Too dangerous, especially for you. I can make this all go away; all I need is a match and a few minutes-"

"I don't want your protection! I don't need it, and I've been getting along just fine without it!" she spits back.

I'm not sure if it's the tone of her voice, the physical words, or the meaning behind it all that makes me back down. Regardless, instead of yelling back at her, I just nod my head and cross my arms.

"Okay, then. I guess I'll be going…gotta help them train and stuff," I say.

"Bye, Gale," she replies. I drop the folder onto the desk and walk out of the room.

"Oh, and Madge?" I call over my shoulder from the hallway.

"Yeah?" she yells.

"I want in."

A/N: I know I said I would stop apologizing, but I didn't get this chapter out as soon as I planned (for various reasons) and I think that an apology is in order here...SORRY! Now here's the part where I beg you all to review because it makes me so insanely happy. I love all of you!