Peeta POV

I lay in her warm bed and cry, trying to hold onto her. This room is where I last sure she was. Everything she loves is in this room. I need to be here to feel closer to her. As if I stayed here one day she would just walk in with a smile and a bag of dead animals slung over her shoulder, like she never the begining I would simply sit on the bed and scream at the world for taking my girl on fire away from me. And then that wasn't enough. I began to sleep in her bed, because when I closed my eyes I could smell her. Over the weeks, her smell has began to subtle and slip away. Her few keepsakes are beginning to gather dust. It is as though she is leaving me all over again.

She has been gone for a month now. In the beginning there were mass searches. Volunteers came and searched with no avail. Then, after three days of non-stop searching, it officially changed from a Search and Rescue to a Search and Recovery. As the weeks went on the volunteers dwindled, the police officer became enthralled in new cases, leaving less and less people to search for my Katniss, and then nothing at all. The police have given up. They think she is dead. Her mother never even listened when I tried to tell her her daughter was taken. Finn, Jo and Annie have given up on her too. I see it in their eyes, the pity for me, and the sadness that one of their best friends is gone. Even little Prim believes her sister is dead. They want to hold a funeral. About a week ago, Prim had told me that she wanted her sister to be at peace, wherever she was and even though her body could not be at the grave, her soul would, and that her soul deserved a proper burial. It was the only time I had ever yelled at Prim. I refuse, I can't except that she is dead, I can't do it. She is my everything. I can't possibly be in a world without her smile lighting up a room, or body pressed against mine or her voice silencing the forest with her melody. I need her.

I hear the phone ring and ignore it. I used to jump and run full speed across the house. I had so much hope that it would be someone, anyone telling me where Katniss was, or that she had been saved, but it never was. So after yet another "I'm sorry for your loss." as if she was already dead, I stopped answering a week ago, the ringing phone becoming nothing but a sad and bitter background music of sorts to this hell I am currently living in. I heard the ring stop but then it began immediately again. I stood from her bed and with every footstep I became angrier with the person interrupting my only time I would have this week to be in her room.

"Hello" I answered, you could hear the venom, I longer tried to hide towards these people who gave up on her.

"Hello, I assume this is Peeta Mellark?" I recognize the voice. It's the sheriff, Haymitch Abernathy. Over the past few weeks I have gotten to know our town sheriff far more than I would have liked to. I gain hope at the sound of his voice.

"Yes" I answer eagerly.

"I am very happy to inform you that we have found her." I waited; he did not say her or her body. As if he can read my thoughts he says with what I can only guess was a smile "Alive." And with that single word I am running towards the police department at full speed. I don't feel or care about the feeling of the cold wind licking at my face, or the slight heaving in my chest from running in the cold. My mind is racing almost as fast as my legs.

She is alive; I knew she was, I just knew it. In this moment I may be the happiest I have ever been in my entire life. I will have my Katniss back. I will be able to hold her tight to me while I slept. I will be able to watch her as she giggles at an embarrassing comments made by me. I will be able see her eyes fill with love and desire and anger and all of the emotions she ever wishes to feel. I will get to tell her I love her just one more time, screw it I will get to tell Katniss I love her everyday for the rest of my life. I will get to see her eyes shine when she shots a good haul or makes a good trade. I will still be able to have "fattening Katniss" dates, where I simply enjoy watching her eat to her hearts content. I will be able to see her face as she eat one of my cheesebuns. I will be able to smile at her scowl when I am be "overly romantic and mushy", as she so nicely puts it. I will be able to watch her as she wakes up and see the haze the morning grogginess brings leave her eyes. I will be able to hear her voice. I will be able to love her with my whole heart and soul. I will have my Katniss back.

I speed down the town's decrepit roads and I reach the police station and yell to noone in particular: "Where is she, where is Katniss Everdeen?" I look wildly around the room and am met by eyes. I see the bewildered eyes of those who have idea of what is happening. The sympathetic eyes of those who I can assume know who I am and who katniss is, but have no clue that she is alive. And then there are the eyes who are filled with happiness, unadulterated and complete happiness for me, because they know the truth. I see a pair of those eyes walking towards me. I am now face to face with Abernathy.

"Let's go see her kid." He smiles at me and leads me to his car.

"Where are we going? Where is she? Is she okay?" The questions tumble from my mouth. I have so many questions, I need answers.

"Kid, breath, alright one at a time. She was found collapsed in the Capitol, she looked real beat up kid. She is in the hospital now kid."

"What did they do to her?" I ask, scared of the answer.

"We believe that Katniss was a victim of the sex trafficking ring they got up there. Countless victims, all though, they've never ventured this far out. The bastards like to stay in a specific zone." He says trying not to look me in the eyes.

The air is gone. I can't breath, mY chest feels as though a ton of bricks were stacked perfectly on top of it. Not my Katniss, she didn't deserve this. She did nothing. This is all my fault I should have taken better care of her. I shouldn't have asked her to go to prom with me. I should have just ignored my mother. I should told her to not wait up for me, to go ahead and go with Jo and Annie and Finnick. This is all my fault. All my fault. All my fault. I hyperventilate and begin to cry, not caring that Haymitch is sitting right next to my fault. All my fault. All my fault. I imagine another man on top of her as she screams. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault. I imagine her being hit and beaten, ruthlessly. All my fault. All my fault. All my fault.

I am forced from my thoughts when Haymitch lays a hand on my shoulder. I look up and see the large and ominous hospital lying in front of me. Somewhere in that hospital is my katniss. And I will be strong for her. I failed her, but I will never fail her again. I will be strong, for her.

Haymitch and I make our way to the front desk.

"Hello Sheriff," the woman with garish pink hair behind the desk greets Haymitch a little too friendly, "have you come to see that poor girl?" Haymitch gives her a terse nod in response, " I hear shes not doing too well, you know they some of the people up there don't know if she would want to even wake up. I mean I can't imagine…"

"Effie," Haymitch says cutting her off abruptly, I'm sure to save me from hearing whatever crude thing was about to tumble from her purple lipstick covered lips. "This here is Peeta Mellark, he is Katniss' boyfriend and would greatly appreciate it if you would just take us to where she is."

The woman, Effie I suppose, looks mortified. "Of course Haymitch. I am terribly sorry. Goodness where were my manners. Come along follow me." She leads down what seems a never ending maze of hall and rooms and blocked off corridors, until we finally reach her room. Effie simply gives us a nod, and leaves, the click-clacking of her heels echoing through the hall.

I turn to the door and stare at it. I see the door. The grain has no specific pattern and has been faded by the many layers of gloss giving the pale wood an almost plasticky look. I feel the chilled handle and lightly push down. I take in a deep breath in a sad effort to calm myself, or prepare myself, I don't know. I push the door open and I see her. I bound quickly over to her.

I examine her face. Her cheeks are sunken in, defining her pronounced cheekbones far more than they ever should be. There is a bruise that runs from her temple down to her jawline. There is also a large cut above her eyebrow I can tell has recently been stitched up. Her hair lies limp and dull around her face. The tell-tale purple-blue welts that litter her face , continue down her arms. I can tell from the lack of space being taken up by the bed that she is even thinner than she was when she was stolen from me. I can see the signs of her beginning to wake from beneath where i stand. I can see her breathing hitch and her chest rise and fall at a more rapid pace. She begins to squirm beneath the sheets. And then I see them.

Katniss POV

I am forced to will my own eyes open. I am immediately blinded by the white glow that is above me. I feel something or maybe it's someone touch my face. I cringe under the hand. Soon things around me begin to become clearer and I am soon able to make out a silhouette next to me. For the first time what seems like years, this figure seems familiar. I wait for my vision to slowly come back and as it does I am able to make more of this person out. I am able to tell this now, most definitely a man. I am first able to make out the chiseled muscles that are eerily familiar. Then I am able to make out the blonde curls atop this persons head. And then the unforgettable smell of cinnamon and bread assaults my nose. And then finally I see him. Peeta. He is here. He sees me, and I am able to look into those eyes. The eyes that I have longed for nothing more than to see one last time. Soon, his face is mere inches from mine. He moves a few pieces of hair from my face and smiles down at me. He is here, he is really here. Surely he is not here. this can't be real. This isn't real. "Katniss" he whispers it into my ear. This singular word, as simple as my name, sends me back to that place. And I begin to look around frantically. I know they are coming another man will come, I know it. I can already feel the hands on me. Peeta wasn't real, he was just my imagination. They are here. They will hurt me. It is inescapable. Suddenly I realize I'm not breathing and I can hear the once calm and steady beeping somewhere in my head become erratic. Then I see them, I see all of them running towards me, trying to hurt me all at once and I begin to scream. My vision began to cloud and I welcome the darkness.

Peeta POV

I see her eyes. I can actually see them in front of me. I see they have changed, but I still am able to see my Katniss. I reach up to move the pieces of her hair, she is so perfect. I love her with my whole heart. Finally I break the silence and whisper her name. I lover her name and I have missed saying it to her but when I say it her beautiful gray eyes that were just filled with love are now overrun by fear. I see the color drain from her face, as she turns her heads from one side to the other, scanning the room. Her breathing quickens until there is none at all and I am trying to calm her down but she looks right through me. As though I am not even there. Then the doctors rush in and inject a purple serum into her IV and I see her eyes begin to close, as she slips back into unconsciousness.

As I sit there, next to her I cry. What have they done to her? They have broken her. I want to kill them. I don't even know who this monster is but I want to, no NEED to kill them. I fill with rage as the tear on my cheeks begins to boil. I watch her, her chest rise and fall. After a few hours a nurse tries to pull me away, but gives up when she sees I have no intention of leaving her alone. At around 1 in the morning she begins to stir in front of me. She looks up with fear in her magnificent gray eyes as she adjusts to her surroundings once again. Her eyes fall on me and she begins to sob. Immediately I am on the bed hold her small frame tightly to my side as her body racks beneath my arms. She cries until she falls asleep in my arms and as I lie next to her I whisper promises in ear. I promise to keep her safe with my whole being. I will never let Katniss go.