I turned twelve years old the winter before my first reaping. I remember standing in the square with all of the other twelve year olds from my year. My brothers were fifteen and seventeen at the time. It was the first year all three of us were eligible. I remember a sudden feeling of relief when our names were not called. We were spared from the horrors for another year. But the relief lasted for an instant. It was so quickly replaced by helplessness. The pair of tributes that represented district 12 that year were both thirteen. Both just one year older than I were only children. I remember watching them walk to the stage and feeling so helpless. I knew in my soul that there was nothing I could do to save them at this point. This is how I feel again now watching Boggs lay before me.

I hear a second explosion hit as I make my way towards Boggs. He is laying in a pool of his own blood and trying to make sense of his missing limbs. I know that the pool of blood is growing too rapidly and that he will not make it out.

Gale, Homes, and I rush to his side. Homes pushes me out of the way and fumbles to open a first aid kid. I know there is nothing in this first aid kit that could possibly save his life. But I don't say anything. I watch Boggs grab onto Gale's hand, pulling him closer to him.

I try to scan my eyes quickly to Katniss silently hoping that she has not lost it through the commotion of the explosions. I can not seem to spot her. I see Finnick across my right shoulder trying to receive Messalla who likely was thrown against a wall during the blast. Jackson is barking orders into her field commander, trying to alert a medic.I know this is no use.

I grab onto Boggs hand ready to repeat the role I played for the morphling from the Quarter Quell. Only this time Boggs pulls his hand away and I watch as he tries to type something quickly into the Holo. Suddenly a green light bursts out of the Holo and scans his face.

"Unfit to command. Transfer of prime security clearance to Squad four-five-one Soldier Gale Hawthorne".

I can tell by the look on Gale's face that he seems surprised by this decision. Even I am a bit taken back as I guess I always just assumed Jackson would be our second in command if something were to ever happen to Boggs in the feild.

"Say your name". Boggs demands pushing the Holo into Gales direction.

"Gale Hawthorne," he says into the green shaft. The light is trained onto his face scanning him quickly.

Gale confidently takes the Holo into his hands, holding it close to his body.

"Prepare to retreat!" Jackson hollers.

I can hear Finnick yelling something back to her. He is motioning to the entrance that we came into. Sticky black tar covers the street with darkness. A visible gas is leaking from the substance. I am sure it must be deadly. He is trying to explain that we have to go another way.

Suddenly I feel Boggs grab onto my shoulder. "Peeta, do what you have to do to end this. Remember why we came here. Leave Katniss behind if you have to, kill Snow."

I am so taken aback by his comment that I can not think of a response before I watch him cough and take his last breath.

"Let's go!" Gale demands grabbing onto my bullet proof vest, pulling me up onto my feet.

I know that at this point there is nothing we can do besides leave Boggs' lifeless body behind. I begin following Gale, my eyes scanning for Katniss as I remember I haven't seen her since the explosions.

"Katniss!" I call out.

Suddenly I am yanked backwards and slam into a pile of stones. She looks down at me, her eyes are gone, dark and lost to the world. Her fist is raised and ready to slam into the temple of my skull and her legs straddle my body keeping me pinned underneath her. I feel a large blow to my left temple as her fist connects with my skull. I attempt to roll for underneath her, but despite her small size Katniss has always been strong, especially with a potent dose of tracker jacker venom coursing through her veins.

Gale pulls her up from me but she quickly gets away from him as well. I watch her body slam Mitchell who is standing on the edge of a short platform overlooking a slight dip in the field. The force of her body weight is enough to send him stepping backwards. This is when I hear the snap of a pod that triggers a net, capturing Mitchell within. This is not an ordinary trap net. It is filled with barbs and wires that pierce his body. He is gone.

Through the commotion Jaskon manages to get a set of cuffs onto Katniss. Though she fights it fiercely, Gale scops her up into his arms and carries her.

"Follow!" He demands insinuating we all follow in his direction.

No one objects and we all take off running after him as we know Peacekeepers will likely be arriving soon. It is a small miracle that they haven't already. We follow quickly in the opposite direction that we originally entered this area into.

Gale leads us into a tall abandoned building. We rush down a narrow hallway and into what appears to be somebody's kitchen. The countertops are solid white marble and the walls are adorned with family photos.

Gale managed to keep a hold of Katniss despite her desperately trying to escape his grib. And worst of all she is screaming and yelling the entire time as if someone is trying to kill her. I watch her reach forward and attempt to bite him right on the forearm. He blocks her and pushes her head back down at the last minute. Finnick assists Gale and they restrain her onto the purple velvet couch in the living room. Jaskson hands Gale a needle and I watch him stab it directly into her upper thigh. For a moment I leap forward to interject this as she winces out in pain from the needle. But I know they need to sedate her. Her screams are so piercing that Peacekeepers will easily find us and kill us all, or worse, capture us.

I can hear Jackson begin arguing with Gale about why Boggs would give him the Holo over her. I attempt to tune this out of my head and step over to Katniss, unconscious to the world on the couch. Her forehead and hands are covered in blood. Maybe her own, maybe Mitchell's, maybe Boggs'. What does it matter at this point?

I pull out a dark cloth from my back pocket and wet it with warm water from the kitchen sink. I gently wipe her face and hands clean again. I notice the small, thin scare that remains on her forehead from the first is so faint you wouldn't notice it without being super close to her face. She had injected me with a section in order to save my life at the feast and came back with a deep gash above her eyebrow as a result of one of Clove's knives. It seems like a lifetime ago now. Before he died, Boggs told me that I needed to do what I came here to do. I know he was referring to making sure Snow is killed. He said that I should leave Katniss behind if I had to in order to carry through this mission. When I was dying in that cave, unable to walk or even eat on my own, she never abandoned me when I needed her most. I have no intention of doing this to her. I vowed to protect her, and I will.

"We have to go now", Gale announces. "Boggs put me in charge so you can either follow me or head back to base camp."

Nobody says anything but everyone stands up to ready themselves to follow, whether they like it or not.

"Peeta, Finnick. Can I trust the two of you to carry and protect Katniss?" He asks.

I am instantly defensive over this question. It is clear that Gale and I are very different people, but the one thing I always thought we were on the same page about was doing what we had to do to keep Katniss safe. His question is undermining in suggesting that he is unsure if he can even trust me with this task.

"Lead on, Soldier Hawthorne". Finnick interjects.

I push the hurt from Gale's demand away and scoop up Katniss' lifeless body into my arms. Finnick attaches her small pack to his own and slings her mock bow and arrow over his shoulder.

Gale takes off leading as if he has done this his entire life. Despite his earlier comment, I am thankful for his confidence and leadership. I see now why Boggs likely transferred Gale to command. He is moving quickly through the abandoned apartments. Katniss' body is completely lifeless at this point. It is terrifying to see her this way, but selfishly I am grateful to have her peacefully in my arms for a few moments. I notice her head flailing as I run to keep up with the squad. I tuck her head in close against my chest to help prevent this as we run back into the courtyard.

"Put on your masks everyone, we are going out the way we game." Gale announces.

Nobody objects but I can see a few confused looks from Jackson, Messalla, and Leeg 1.

"The cameras are likely coated from the tar and pods will be disabled. They won't be able to see us this way." He explains as he adjusts his mask.

Finnick pulls Katniss' mask from her pack and slips it over her face before helping me with mine since I do not have a hand to do it myself.

Gale leads us back out towards the block. The brightly coloured Capitol street is now covered with a half an inch layer of black goo. I am thankful that as my boots seem to step into the gel, our tracks fade quickly. The wave of tar must have been enormous as it covers several blocks that lie ahead of us. A bit further ahead an entire apartment building is left in ruins as it clearly succumbed to the force of the waves. Thankfully, it seems as though the other pods have too. Still, I watch my step with every leap I take making sure to avoid any potential active pods, especially while holding Katniss close to me.

Gale leads us to another apartment about two-thirds of the way down the block. I watch as Homes manages to jimmy the lock to get us inside. Finnick closes the door quickly behind us all. Every member of the squad with access to their gun holds it up, pointing the flashlight that is built into the device forward to better illuminate the room. The walls are covered floor to ceiling with mirrors. I am not sure why someone would choose to decorate their home in this way, as it has a very eerie feeling to it.

Gale removes his mask. "It's all right, you can smell it but it's not very strong."

Everyone around us follows suit and begins removing their mask. I take mine off first and take my first breath of the air around me. The smell is much less potent, but the stench of chemicals still lingers. I sit down on a fluffy white chair with Katniss on my lap and gently remove her mask, handing it to Finnick. I watch her chest rise and fall with each breath.

The rest of the squad congregates onto the remaining plush couches and chairs trying to catch their breath. The apartment has a large flat screen television attached to the wall. The huge crystal chandelier shimmers from the ceiling. I smooth the loose dark strands of Katniss' hair away from her face then take a sip of water from my silver canister.

"You better step away from her now Peeta." Gale announces. "That setitive was strong, but it's going to be wearing off soon. I don't think she would be pleased to wake up this way."

Without hesitation I shoot Gale a harsh look. Yes, Katniss had a very dark episode, she tried to physically hurt me. But up until this point I really believed we were making progress. That she was starting to show glimpses of herself again.

"He's right Peeta." Finnick says gently.

I think deep down I know what they are saying makes sense. Katniss was not herself back there. The Katniss we all know and love would never do those things. Mitchell's death was not at the hands of Katniss, but at the hands of President Snow. The bruise that throbs my temple was not at the hands of Katniss, but again, at the hands of Snow.

I carefully stand up with her in my arms. I reposition myself and kneel down next to the white chair, cradling her like a child. I place her down softly and step away, taking a seat in an empty chair across the room.

Just as I take my seat the television flashes on, emitting a high pitched beeping noise that brings almost everyone to their feet.

"It's alright!" Calls Cressida. "It's just an emergency broadcast. Every television in the Capitol is automatically activated for it."

There we all are on-screen. The playback begins just after Boggs is taken out by the blast. A voice-over is telling the audience what they are seeing. The reporter Identifies Gale, Finnick, Cressida, Katniss and I by name.

We see Katniss knock Mitchell back into the netting that eventually takes his life. Then you see us dart off into the abandoned apartments, Gale carrying a screaming Katniss in his arms. The announcers are sure to comment about how the beloved Mockingjay clearly isn't who she seems to be.

The video footage cuts to Peacekeeps sending explosives flying into the apartments setting of a chain of collapsing buildings, appearing to take the lives of us all who are inside. Firefighters put out the blaze that is set onto the rubble. We are all pronounced dead.

"Finally, a bit of luck!" say Homes.

I suppose he is right. If the Capitol presumes we are dead, this will likely stop their pursuit of us, making it far easier to travel through the city.

"My father. He just lost my sister and now…." says Leeg 1.

I understand what she is referring to. Everyone watching this broadcast will now assume we are dead as well. I think of Prim, watching in District 13. How she must feel now believing that Katniss has died after watching her kill Mitchell. How horrific that must be for her.

They continue to play the footage over and over age. They have focused a lot on Katniss and her villainizing death. A small tribute of her plays. From her rise to power in the first two games, to her death from the Peacekeepers' blast. Clearly they had had this part prepared as it seems much more polished than the previous footage shown. I can't help the hate I feel growing even more for the people in the Capitol. They have put her through more trauma and then a person deserves to go through in ten lifetimes, and now they choose to celebrate her apparent death.

"So now that we are dead, what's our next move?" Asks Finnick.

"It is obvious."

Nobody has even realized that Katniss has regained her consciousness. I'm not sure how long she has been watching, but from the defeated look within her bright grey eyes, I know it has been long enough for her to see what happened after the initial blast. She watched as she drove her first into my temple, killed Mitchell, and had to be forcefully carried away by Gale. She painfully pushes herself up into a standing position and steps forward towards a loaded gun on the floor, her hands still handcuffed behind her. She nudges the gun with her boot pushing it closer to us all.

"Our next move is to kill me."