Thanks to the people that reviewed and picked out that error! Don't worry, I've edited it. Thanks a heap! :)

Disclaimer: If I could be any person right now, I would pick to be Suzanne Collins. Unfortunately, I am not, and therefore, do not own the Hunger Games.

Chapter 5

Interview

From the air, District 13 looks rather a lot like District 12. The rubble may not be smoking, but it is there. There is no life. At least not that one can see from a hovercraft.

In the seventy-five years since the Dark Days, all most all of the new construction has been underground. During the war, the people of Thirteen fought the government forces, then trained their nuclear weapons at the Capitol (for that was what Thirteen made; not jewels, like One, or Food, like Eleven, but weapons. Deadly weapons.) Then they struck a bargain. If the Capitol left them alone, they would play dead, let all of the other districts think them finished, then get on with their own business. Of course the Capitol accepted. What else could they do?

Now everybody lives underground. You can only go out for a bit of sunlight if it says so on your schedule. The first few days, Peeta and I got out of needing a schedule, as we were 'recovering.' But after Snows broadcast of an interview with Gale, we had to do the same as everybody else.

We got a schedule.

You are not allowed to not follow it. Every morning, you have to stick your arm in this machine and it tattoos your forearm with your schedule. Then, in the evening, you wash it off, only to get a new one the next day. It was downright irritating. I was not used to having to do anything, other than school, I could do what I wanted. And the last few months, I didn't even have that. Yes, sure, the Capitol was incredibly controlling, telling me that I had to love Peeta, that I had to marry him. Well, yes, I do prefer the schedule to all that. But it does not stop it from being irritating. At least the Capitol didn't tell me what time of the day I had to have a bath.

But I pretty much ignore what is on my arm. After breakfast I just go back to room 307, the small compartment I share with my mother and Prim, or I just wander around 13 or just fall asleep hidden.

Right now, I am just standing outside the door marked 307. I need to tell my mother my decision to be the Mockingjay. I need her to approve it before I tell everybody else. I don't know why.

In the past, I never told my mother anything. I liked to be independent. Sure, I still did. But this was big. Massive. I was going to war. And I thought it only fair that my Mother should know about it. But I needed to keep it from Prim. She wouldn't like it at all. All I have to do is think of those small arms trying to hold me back, more than a year ago, when I volunteered to take her place in the games. No, she wouldn't like it one bit.

At least she is slightly happier now. Leaving 12 hit Prim hard. Most of her friends from school didn't make it. And she cared for Gale as well. But there was one thing that I knew she missed the most. Buttercup. Her mangy, flea ridden cat.

When Peeta presented him to her, she was ecstatic. If only for a few minutes. Then she started to cry. But I know Prim. She will get better now. I will have to add Buttercup to the many things I will never stop owing Peeta for. He had one of the soldiers collect the horrid creature while we went to the Seam. He didn't think I would want to go to the Victors Village. He got Prim the company that she needed... I find it hard to comfort people these days.

I take a deep breath, and am about to push the door open when some-one calls down the hall.

"Soldier Katniss Everdeen." I turn to see who it is. Boggs. Coins man. She has him twisted around her pinkie.

"Yes?"

"You are needed in command."

The door swung open to reveal my mother. She looked between us, then said,

"Hang on. My daughter has not been back for five minutes. She hasn't even walked in the door! And you expect her to go to some war meeting?" I was amazed. My mother was hardly able to stand up against anyone, hardly this tall, large soldier, and an important one at that.

Ah well. Coin isn't going to be happy if I miss a meeting of any sort.

"No, it's ok." I reassure her. "I'll come back later." Boggs nods in approval, and leads me to command.

"Ah, nice of you to join us, Katniss," Coin said as we entered the room. "We were just discussing the implications of the broadcast we received from the Capitol a few days ago."

"Sorry," I asked, "But what broadcast?"

"The one concerning your… cousin. Do you remember it?"

I shook my head. I had never actually watched the broadcast, I was only told about it. Prim and Haymitch Had told me that Gale had been seen doing an interview with Caesar Flickerman, the host of the Hunger Games. All I really cared about at the time was that he was alive.

"Well then, come over here and you can watch it. Peeta, I believe you haven't see it either." For the first time I was aware of Peeta, standing in a corner by Finnick. He smiled at me, seeming to notice me for the first time too. Then he walked over to Coin and I.

"No, actually, I haven't."

"Alright then. You two go with Boggs. He'll bring you back here when you're done."

Boggs lead us into a small room next door, where there was only a T.V and a couple of chairs. He motioned for us to sit down, then started the tape. The screen flickered, and suddenly I was looking at Caesar. And next to him, looking like he was about to jump out of his seat and smash every camera in the room, was Gale. My friend.

I tried to choke back a laugh, but I didn't quite manage it. A small chuckle escaped my lips. Peeta looked down at me in confusion, then back at the screen. He grinned.

I could never quite imagine Gale in makeup. Yes, I had seen Peeta wear the stuff, as all the male tributes do, and sure, every year Caesar had his lips painted a different colour. But Gale? Yet, there he was, his skin looking flawless, his hair sleek and shiny. I wondered what they had to do to make him cooperate. Drug him, probably. He would have fought off anybody trying to tie him down.

Oh, oh, I hope he did not try to fight them… I know he has a terrible temper. A bit like me, actually. But he seems unharmed. This calms me down a little.

"Hello, hello people of Panem!" cried Caesar, starching out his arms. "Today we have with us none other than Gale Hawthorne, cousin of Katniss Everdeen. As I am sure all of you have heard, District 12 has met its end. Gale is here to talk about how about that happened. Gale, would you like to give us your first hand experience of what happened that frightful day?"

Gales face turned from anger to straight out disbelieve. Then back again. But maybe with a little bit more hatred. I could tell he was seething. Surely, the whole country could. Well, did. They had already seen this. Then, Gale surprised me. He pulled himself together and smiled. But it did not reach his eyes. He was acting, just like I had been for the past year.

"I would love to, Caesar. You see, we in 12, we were rather attached to Katniss and Peeta. They were the only decent Victors we have had in the past 75 years. I mean, come on. That first guy, didn't he commit suicide just before his victory tour, so he didn't have to see the family of those he killed? And don't even get me started on Haymitch. He embarrasses our district every time he steps in front of the camera. Peeta and Katniss were the victors we never got to have. It was the first time two people had ever survived. They had the most wonderful costumes. And their interviews were fantastic, not to mention Katniss' training score. So when we heard that these two people, who had brought more glory to your district than any others had before, were going back into the games, with twenty-two other victors, and that those would include people like Brutus, Gloss, Cashmere, Finnick… and Enobaria, you can imagine that we were not so happy." Gale stared into the camera. "We thought that they were headed for certain death." He looked away. "Not only that, but they would lose all of their glory, no longer true victors, as they had been killed in the Hunger Games."

Gale went on to talk about how they were so excited about how we were doing so well, hoping that at least one of us could make it home. One of us would make sure the other was remembered, right? He said that when they saw a hovercraft come down to take us away, when we were still alive, they were furious. There were only a few people left! Finnick, Beetee, and Johanna were injured, Brutus and Chaff dead. The only real threat left was Enobaria, and they knew I could take her out with my arrows. They thought the Capitol was purposefully trying to stop Peeta and I from winning.

"We were mistaken." I did a double take. What? Gale hated the Capitol! I knew that! Why was he defending them? For now he was talking about how the people of 12 had been wrong, that the Capitol was right to punish them for trying to rebel.

"Katniss and Peeta were trying to ruin the Games." He continued. "They were going to bring more shame to our District. At least now, there is now District to shame. The memory of District 12 shall remain what it was: a strong, determined district, which may have not had many victors, but it had many firsts."

"Well, now wasn't that… inspiring," said Caesar.

"Sure." Muttered Peeta beside me. I had almost forgotten he was there. "Very inspiring Caesar." He turned to me. "That's what their doing, Katniss. They're trying to stop other districts from rebelling."

I nodded. He was right. I was just about to reply when Caesar started to talk again.

"What do you think about Katniss' actions? She is your cousin, you know her best, except for maybe Peeta. What do you think was going through her head?"

"I don't know Caesar. I just don't know. You say I knew her best? Well, I thought I did. When she came back from the games… She was changed. It wasn't just that she liked Peeta. She… she seemed darker. She kept talking about how evil the Capitol was, to send children into the arena to die. I tried to explain to her, I tried to tell her that the children are sent to the games so that the districts don't rebel, because if they did, all of the children would die, not just two a year. She wouldn't listen. And now look what happened."

"So, If you had a message for her, what would you tell her?"

"I would tell her what I should have told her a while back. To stop fighting. Because when you fight, someone, whether it is her, a child, a parent, a Capitol citizen, will get hurt. Someone innocent. Eventualy, she'll reget it. But it isn't just her." Once again, Gale turned to the camera, and stared at it. But it wasn't the intense stare that I knew he could produce. Whatever he was going to say, he did not think it was correct. "All of you. Everybody should stop fighting. In a war, thousands and thousands of people die over two or three years. So far, the Hunger Games have killed less than two thousand in seventy-five years. Wouldn't it make sense to stop the war and go back to the peaceful life we had?"

"Indeed. So, basically, you're calling for a cease-fire?"

"Basically."

"Thankyou, Gale Hawthorne, it was great to have here on this show. Now everybody, don't forget to tune in for-"

Boggs turned the T.V off. I just sat there, staring at the empty screen.

"Oh no." I turned to see Peeta staring at the screen in disbelief. "This is bad."

"Off course it's bad!" I yelled, suddenly finding my voice. "By best friend is prisoner! Snow is making him tell people to stop fighting! How could it be any worse! He's probably getting tortured!"

"No, Katniss, I didn't mean it like that!"

"Then how did you mean it?" I don't even know why I was screaming at Peeta. What had he done to me? I forced myself to calm down, taking deep breaths. "Sorry. I know you didn't."

"That's alright," He said, taking my hand. "I understand."

"What did you mean though?"

"I… It's nothing."

"Peeta, please." Sighing, he looked up from our hands.

"He told people to ceasefire. Don't worry, most people will realize that he is being told to do this, but… the people of 13 will see him as a traitor."

"But, surely they realize he is being forced to say those things! Gale wouldn't.. I know him." I finished lamely.

"I know you do. But that won't be enough to convince Coin."

Coin. Of course. That's what she was going to discuss. How to minimize the damage caused by this.

"Why did they wait until we got back? To discuss this?"

"We already did." Said Boggs. "She just wanted to talk to you about being the Mockingjay. Now that people have been told not to fight, we need some-one out there contradicting it. The Capitols propos have not worked as well as they had hoped. Although Gale is known from his interviews when you were top eight in your games, he is not known well enough to make a big impact." He stared right at me. "Someone well known, someone like you, could overshadow him in an instant."

I gave him one last look, let go of Peetas hand, and stalked out of the room.