Panic sets in as I figure out what this means. We've been caught. The banging gets louder and louder.
"Hold on a minute!" the baker yells. I know he is trying to buy us some time but he just made things worse. Now the Peacekeepers must know that we are here and he is trying to hide us.
"Come on. You can go out through the back door,"he says. Peeta grabs my hand and we walk down the stairs to the back room. The baker goes to the front and opens the door. Three Peacekeepers stand in the doorway and force themselves inside.
"It's been reported that Katniss and Peeta Mellark have been spotted coming in here," one of them says.
"And who said this?" the baker asks.
"We are not authorized to tell you that," a female Peacekeeper says.
"They aren't here," the bakers answers. "Look around for yourself."
That's our cue. Once the Peacekeepers have gone into the kitchen of the bakery, they can't see that back door. Peeta opens the door carefully as to not make any noise and we step outside. It's dark outside. The only light is the faint glow from the bakery. I breathe a sigh of relief as Peeta closes the door, but as we turn to leave a figure steps into the light.
It takes a minute for my eyes to adjust but there is no doubt in my mind about this. This is a Peacekeeper. This time we have really been caught.
"Put your hands in the air and step into the light," a male voice says. Knowing the alternative, Peeta and I comply. Three more Peacekeepers step out. One comes over and holds a light up to our faces.
"It's them," he says.
Two other Peacekeepers come up to us with handcuffs. I try to fight against them but it's no use. Three of them grab my body while another cuffs my hands behind my back. Peeta also struggles but the result is the same.
"Katniss and Peeta Mellark, you are under arrest," one of them says.
We don't get a reason or a punishment told to us. Two Peacekeepers grab one of our arms and force us to walk to the front of the bakery where the baker is also being arrested. We don't get to stay. We are forced to walk to the Peacekeeper base and thrown into different cells across from each other.
"No! Katniss!" Peeta yells as he is forced into the cell.
The cuffs are not taken off and we are left in complete darkness. All I can do is do is cry as Peeta throws himself against the bars to try and get to me.