Chapter 2

Katniss sat on the wooden bench in the dirty cell, motionless.

How could she have let herself get caught?

Suddenly the door leading into the hall that ran parallel to the cells opened. A prison guard began to unlock her cell door as Gale stood beside him. Katniss sprang to her feet, her eyes trained on Gale.

"You have five minutes."

The moment the door opened, Gale embraced Katniss. She pulled away, looking wildly into his eyes. "Are they okay? Is Prim okay? They aren't being punished for me, are they?"

"Slow down, Catnip," he said, forcing a light tone into his voice. "Prim's fine. Your mother's fine. I made sure they got home safe. Prim was crying her eyes out."

"They'll starve without me, Gale," she said in a terrified voice.

"I'll take care of them," he said. "About you, I think they will give you a trial."

"They're brainwashed by the Capitol. No one gets a trial in Twelve."

"Yes, they do, and you'll get one. What that kid said in the square-"

"Peeta," she said. "Peeta Mellark." At Gale's confused look, she continued, "He saved my life once."

"Time's up," the guard said.

"I'll get your bail," Gale said as the guard pulled him out.

"Don't let them starve!" she cried, and the door was slammed shut.

A few seconds later it opened, and Prim and Mrs. Everdeen appeared. "Five minutes."

Prim threw herself at Katniss, crying. "It's okay, Prim," she said, holding her sister. "It's okay."

"Here," Prim sniffed, pulling back. She unclenched her hand and opened it to reveal a golden Mockingjay pin. "You told me it would keep me safe. I want you to have it," she said, echoing Katniss' own words from only that morning.

"Thanks, Prim," Katniss said, taking the pin. Disentangling herself from her sister, she approached her mother.

"You have to be there for her."

"I know," Mrs. Everdeen said in that wispy, thin voice, but Katniss cut her off.

"You can't shut down. Six months is a long time. You have to take care of her. Do you understand?" she said forcefully, feeling once again that she was the strong one and her mother the one who needed to be reminded to continue living day after day. Mrs. Everdeen nodded.

The guard return. "Goodbye, Prim," Katniss said. "Gale will take care of you." The guard Prim out of the cell, and Katniss and her mother locked eyes. The rest of Katniss' words hung unspoken in the air.

Gale will take care of you if your mother can't.

Mrs. Everdeen left.

Her next visitor was Peeta. Even though the time was ticking away, they stood looking at each other for a moment.

"They're going to give you a trial," he said. "I don't know how fair it will be, but it's something." She did not say anything in return, and he brought a hand to the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable. "I'm going to get you a lawyer," he continued, and she gave a nod. There was a long silence.

"Thanks," she said quietly, finally meeting his eyes. He gave her a slight smile that she barely returned. They both knew the other was thinking of the night he saved her life.

"Why are you doing this for me?" she asked.

"I –"

"Time's up," the guard said, returning.

"I'll came back, I promise," Peeta said as he was pulled out of the room.

She was left alone.


The next morning, Katniss was taken to a small windowless room and chained to a desk, sitting down as the guard left.

A man came into the room and sat down in the chair opposite Katniss. He was fairly tall, wearing a tweed suit that had seen better days, the sleeves rolled up and the jacket absent. He clearly had been drinking, his words slightly slurred as he spoke.

"I'm Haymitch Abernathy, your lawyer. You must be Katniss Everdeen."

She did not reply.

"Look, sweetheart, we aren't going to get anywhere if you don't talk." Haymitch leaned forward. "So, why are you locked up?"

"I was hunting," she said finally. "In the woods."

"Technically, that's against the law –"

"My family is starving," she cut in, locking eyes with him.

He leaned back. "That complicates things," he said. "If you were poaching for sport, I could get you out pretty fast. But you'll probably do it again to feed your family, right?"

She nodded.

"I'll tell you this," Haymitch said with a sigh, "this isn't going to be easy. Because you plan on doing this again –"

"I have to," she interrupted furiously. "My sister is starving to death!"

He held up a hand. "Let me finish. Because you plan on hunting illegally again, we have to be very careful in the trial. You could wind up in here long than six months."

"You're a lawyer! You're supposed to get me out!"

"There's only so much I can do –"

"Have you ever starved?" she said, her tone hard.

"Yes, I have, and if you don't cooperate you could end up in her for a very long time!" he said angrily, and continued, forcing his voice lower. "You have to make people like you on that stand, make them feel sorry for you. Frankly, you aren't doing a very good job, sweetheart. Now, I suggest you and I work together to sort this out so you can go home. Face the fact that you could be locked up for a long time, and there's not much I can do about that. What you did was against the lay, and though you had a good reason, the courts aren't going to care about that reason. Got it?"

She nodded curtly.

"Now that that's settled between us, let's start forming your plea…"