Chapter 29

(Madge POV)

As soon as dinner is over, I slip out of the house. I still have a little time to kill before meeting Gale and Tripp so I walk over to the meadow and sit down for awhile. If I stay in the house, I'll have to help entertain our guests and that could cause me to be late getting to the cafe. I could go over and see Gale but given how this afternoon went, I'd rather it be a little while before I see Mrs. Hawthorne again so that she can hopefully forget what it looks like to find her son and his girlfriend in a serious make out session in her kitchen. So, meadow for the next half hour it is. It's okay though, it's a nice night and I haven't been out here in a few days.

I sit in the grass and stretch my legs out in front of me, leaning back to rest on my arms. I hadn't bothered to change out of my dinner dress but it doesn't matter. I won't be going into the Seam so there won't be any coal dust stains to be had. And I won't be out in the woods either so there won't be any rips or deep dirt and grass stains either. No, my father and his scheme to get Gale living in town seemed to have eliminated any hazards to my attire.

I'm lost in thought and don't hear anyone coming up behind me. It isn't until I feel two strong hands on me that I even realize someone's here. One hand covers my mouth and the other grips my arm so tightly my eyes water. And then I catch the smell. That bloody smell. It's Marcus. My heart thuds in my ears and I use my free arm to try and push away from him. I try to scream but my voice is muffled by his hand. It's useless. He's far to much bigger than I am.

"You've had so many chances to apologize. How many times have you seen me since I got back? And how many times did you say those little words that you owe me? Hmmm? None. Not one single time did you bother to say you were sorry." He breathes against my ear. His hand still clamped over my mouth, other hand wrapped around my arm."Now, you and I are gonna take a little walk. Up, on your feet." He orders as he yanks me to my feet.

Now that I'm standing, I have a little more power. I can kick him. And I still have my heels on too so if I do it hard enough, it should hurt and buy me at least a split second. A split second to scream or try and run or something. I rear back my leg as much as my fancy, fitted dinner dress will permit and swing it as hard as I can, making contact against his shin. He buckles only a little and then jerks me closer against him. He never even so much as loosens his grip. In fact, it only tightens, especially against my mouth.

"Now see, I really wish you hadn't done that. See, I'm trying to be nice. To allow you to apologize for all those lies you told and now you're making me angry." He reaches over and kicks my shoes off with one of his feet, leaving me barefoot. "Now walk, and don't try that again. You so much as speak and I'll make you wish you never had." He warns against my ear. "Understand?"

I nod as a tear slips down my cheek. How am I going to get away from him? My eyes search for anyone who might be out but it's late and I don't see anyone. Not even a peacekeeper. He pulls me against him and tightly wraps one arm around me, gripping my shoulder tightly. We walk towards the far, dark edge of town where the path leads to the entrance to the mines. Every step we take has me more and more panicked. What is he going to do to me? How long will Gale and Tripp wait for me before they realize something is wrong and come looking for me?

When we're over near the mine entrance, where it's completely deserted, he forcefully pushes me to sit on one of the boulders. "Now I'm going to move my hand from your mouth. Don't be stupid. One scream, one plea for help and I'll make sure you regret it. Not one sound!" He warns.

He moves his hand and I debate if screaming would help me. Would anyone hear me all the way over here? Would anyone be able to find me even if I was able to get a good scream out? No, I can't risk it unless I know someone is nearby. Unless I know someone can help me. So I stay silent.

He crouches down in front of me. Our faces scary close. So close I can feel his breath against my face. "It really wasn't very nice of you, you know. That little complaint you had drawn up. It isn't polite to tell lies Madge. Didn't anyone tell you that?"

"It wasn't lies!" I seethe at him.

His hand slaps against my face. Hard. My hand goes up, feeling the sting on my skin as fresh tears slip out. He laughs. "See, you're a little confused. We, you and I, we were together. A couple headed for marriage. That means I can kiss you, touch you, whenever I want. You're supposed to want it that way. But somewhere, you got confused. You started talking with that Seam trash and all these ideas popped into your head. You started thinking you wanted him instead of me. A little confusion."

"We were never getting married! And you were pushing yourself on me and I never liked it. I never liked you!"

"Do you know what they did to me? At the Capitol? Did anyone tell you?" He asks, yanking my hair and leaning in closer. "They put me in prison while I waited on sentencing. And do you know what Capitol prisons are like? Hmmm, do you?"

I close my eyes and try to pull back. He laughs again and kisses my cheek, his lips slimy and gross against my cheek that still stings from his slap. "I'll spare you the prison details. Let your imagination take care of that. Now, what I expect from you is a little remorse. I need to feel like you're sorry you let that happen to me. Sorry your lies are the reason that happened to me. You, my little liar, owe me an apology."

I don't know what to do. I don't know if I should pretend to apologize or if I should fight against him. I don't know what exactly he's planning to do to me. All I know is that I need to get out of this situation as soon as possible, any way that I can.

(Gale POV)

At her house, the lights are on and I can hear Capitol music playing so I know after dinner drinks are happening and I know Madge wasn't planing to stay for this part. She almost never does if she can help it. I glance at Tripp and then ring the doorbell.

Gertrude opens it. "Mr. Hawthorne, we weren't expecting you. What can I do for you?" She asks in surprise. Partially because I'm at the front door, which I never use and partly because well, why would I be here if Madge is supposedly off with me somewhere.

"Madge? Is she here?"

"No, she slipped out the back door shortly after dinner. I just assumed she was going to see you."

"She was supposed to meet us at the cafe at 10 and she never showed." Tripp interjects.

"Let me get her father for you."

I'm in total panic mode now and I can't just stand here, waiting for the Mayor. I have to find her now! Something is most definitely wrong. "Tripp, can you stay, tell the Mayor what's wrong? I've gotta go look for her, it can't wait." I ask him, desperation high in my voice.

"Yeah, go. I'll be right behind you as soon as I talk to her father."

I leave, not even sure where to look. The meadow. Maybe she went to the meadow and fell asleep! Oh please, please let that be what happened! I don't see her though. The meadow is empty. I'm about to head back towards the cafe, see if she's shown up there yet when the a cloud moves and the moonlight shines down, making something glisten in the grass. I run over and pick it up.

"Oh God..." I whisper as I realize what it is. A silver high heel. It's one of her shoes. The other one lies in the grass not far off. My eyes search all around as I spin, trying to see what could have happened, where she could have gone.

Marcus. This has to have something to do with him. I run, full speed towards the butcher shop, heel still in hand. I bang on the front door repeatedly until his nightshirt clad father comes and opens it.

"Where's Marcus?" I demand as soon as he opens the door.

"Asleep! What do you want at this hour? The shop will open in the morning, 6am." He replies in annoyance as he goes to shut the door.

"Wait! Are you sure he's here? You've seen him?" I plead as I jam my foot in the doorway so he can't close it.

"We all went to bed over an hour ago! Now please, if you don't mind, I'd like to go back to bed!" He insists.

"Madge is missing! Something is terribly wrong and I need you to please, just go look, make sure he's in bed like you think. Please!" I beg, my voice cracking in fear for her.

"Alright! Wait here." He grumbles and shuts the door.

I tap my foot anxiously on the front step and try to pray that he's here, that he isn't any part of why she's missing. While I wait, Tripp comes up.

"You find her?" I ask. It's stupid to ask though. If he'd found her, she'd be with him right now.

"No. Her father's calling the head peacekeeper now. They'll start looking for her. We'll find her." He tells me.

"I think it's got something to do with Marcus. Found her shoes in the meadow." I tell him, holding up the silver heel.

Before he can answer, Mr. Landers comes back and his face tells me what I was afraid I already knew. He's not here. "I'm sorry...I don't know where...He was here before..." His father struggles to explain.

"Oh my God..." Tripp gasps.

I turn to him. "We have to find her fast. Where would he take her? Do you know him at all? Where does he hang out?"

Tripp shakes his head. "I don't know. Barely know him. He's so much older. But if he was going to hurt her, he'd want somewhere private, right? Somewhere no one would see?"

My stomach flip flops as my mind imagines all the things he could be doing to her right now. "Private. Where could he take her that would be private?"

"The school maybe? Nobody would be there at this hour." He suggests.

"I don't know. Wouldn't peace keepers see them go there? It's so close to the Justice Hall. And it would be locked. Her shoes were in the meadow. What's close to the meadow that's private?"

"The woods? You think he'd take her across the fence?" Tripp asks in a horrified whisper.

Maybe. But I don't know. Would he be bold enough to cross the fence? "Maybe."

"The mines! Check by the mines!" Mr. Landers urges. The fact that he's trying to help lets me know that he's worried too. That he knows Marcus might actually hurt her.

Tripp and I both immediately run towards the path that leads to the mines. It's a spot where absolutely no one would be at this hour. My legs can't carry me fast enough. Please, please be okay Madge! If he hurts her, I'll kill him. I will kill him.