The story is back in Katniss' point of view.
It's been a few weeks since Haymitch and Peeta have returned with three new mouths to feed. Thankfully, I'm no longer the only hunter in the group. Gale can help me catch enough prey to sustain the nine of us.
Madge has taken to helping Haymitch scout the area. She is surprisingly good at tracking down dangerous animals for him to kill. They also keep watch for any hovercrafts that happen to fly by. The two of them have successfully warned us of several crafts in the last few days.
Delly has been helping Peeta come up with ways to conceal our village. They have planted tall grass to make the area look less well kept, and they have fashioned our shelters to look more like piles of sticks. From up in the trees, it really does appear to be a normal clearing.
Buttercup keeps the rodent population from taking over our village. I allow him to eat his fill of mice and voles so that I don't have to feed him. At least the dumb cat can catch his own food.
"Incoming hovercraft!" Madge shouts as she bursts into the village with Haymitch.
Peeta glances around the immediate area. "Mrs. Everdeen and Gale are out in the woods. Lavash, can you warn them?"
"I'm on it!" Lavash dashes off into the trees to find them.
Prim scoops up Buttercup and rushes to my side. "Where are we going to hide this time?"
"The creek," I tell her. The undergrowth is thicker by the creek, and I think we can make it there without being spotted. "Let's go."
Everyone takes off running, and I have to remind them to scatter. If we're in a big group, the hovercraft will see us for sure. It's not long before an unnatural wind nearly knocks me off my feet. It's right above us, but we're nearly there. We have to keep going.
Madge drags Delly into the bushes, and Prim is quick to follow them inside. Haymitch hides himself in the muddy creek water as I tackle Peeta into a pile of leaves. I hope the others found a place to hide, because the hovercraft will be over the village in a matter of seconds.
We remind in our hiding spots for a long time, waiting for a sign that the coast is clear. What we get instead is a loud explosion. Peeta's arms are around me in an instant, protecting me. I cling to him as the ground shakes underneath us.
"Katniss!" Prim calls from the bushes. "Mom, Gale, and Lavash are out there!"
Madge peeks out from behind Prim. "I'd bet money that they bombed the village."
"Try to at least sound concerned," Haymitch mumbles as he crawls out of the creek. "I guess we'd better see what happened."
"No," Peeta says instantly. "They want to draw us out of hiding."
I look at him in amazement. I had been too worried about the others to even consider that possibility. "He's right. That's obviously what they're doing."
Haymitch gives us a look. "I'm the adult here, and I agree with the boy."
Madge lightly slugs him in the arm. "We need an adult who isn't always intoxicated."
I hear footsteps heading our way. Is it the others? No. There is something intimidating about the heavy steps that move ever closer as we speak. "Quiet! Someone's coming."
Everyone ducks back into the undergrowth as two peacekeepers march by. "Do you really think there are people living out here?"
"Yes," his companion replies. "Snow has confirmed that it is the victors of last year's Games and their friends. We need to eliminate them. Our orders are to capture the women and shoot the men on sight."
Once they are gone, Peeta glances over at Haymitch "Why shoot us on sight?"
He shrugs. "Don't want to deal with us, I guess."
Delly emerges from the bushes, a frightened look on her face. "What do you think they're going to do to us?"
"Nothing," Haymitch assures her. "We're not sticking around to find out. Come on, everyone. We need to regroup and clear the area."
Everyone agrees to let the only adult here take the lead, and he does a pretty good job of protecting us. Haymitch throws rocks in different directions to mislead the peacekeepers. It works for awhile, until they decide to start shooting in all directions.
Bullets fly everywhere, scarring the vegetation in the area. Peeta pushes me against a tree, using his body to shield me. Everyone else drops to the ground and covers their heads. The gunfire ceases after a minute or two. Fortunately, no one in our group is injured.
Gale shows up moments later with my mother and Lavash. "Did you hear the bomb go off?"
I nod. "It hit the village, didn't it?"
"No. They haven't found it yet," he tells me. "We were likely their targets."
This isn't good. If we stay here, the peacekeepers might stumble upon the village. It's our safe haven. We need to keep them away from it. "We can't let them find the village."
"Should we split up?" Madge asks.
Haymitch snorts. "And make it easier for them to gun us down? No. They want the women alive. We'll have a better chance of surviving if we stick together."
I turn to face the group. "Pair up. If we do end up getting separated, I want everyone to have a partner."
"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, sweetheart, but there are nine of us. Do the math. We can't pair up," Haymitch informs me.
His snide remark angers me. "Then there will obviously have to be a group of three. Gale, go with Prim and Lavash. Haymitch, you'll be paired with my mother."
"You and me," Peeta pipes up.
"Right. Peeta and I will be a pair, as will Madge and Delly. Don't let your partner out of your sight." With that said, I lead everyone toward the river.
The hovercraft creates a crater as it lands near us, crushing the trees underneath it. A loud voice rings out across the forest, startling the wildlife. "Come out, Ms. Everdeen and Mr. Mellark. You can't hide forever." That's Snow's voice. Has the president himself traveled all this way just to find us? News of our escape must have reached the other districts and caused an uproar. Snow intends to use us as an example to silence the rising rebellion.
"No way," Delly gasps. "That can't be President Snow, can it?"
I motion for everyone to back away from the hovercraft. "We can't worry about that right now. Quickly, run in the opposite direction." They do as they are told, leaving Peeta and I to deal with Snow.
He turns to me with a grim look on his face. "Should we run?"
"No," I say firmly. "We need to give the others a chance to escape. Let's pay Snow a little visit."
He takes my hand in his. "Ready?"
"Ready."
