The Next Morning

Glimmer was the first to wake up that morning. She decided to go see how the bitch Katniss was doing. She knew the answer that she would not be there but she had to act like she didn't know. So she went out and saw that Katniss wasn't there.

She then shout, "Marvel! Get your fucking ass out here! Katniss is gone!"

Marvel ran out of the tent and saw that she was correct. He immediately went to wake up the others. Before he did, Cato came storming out of his tent, as if he was looking for someone. Clove came out to see what the entire ruckus was about, as did Jennifer and Jake.

Cato then asked, or demanded, "Has anyone seen Peeta? I woke up and he wasn't there. Neither was my dagger."

Glimmer said, "Nope. Haven't seen him. But I found Katniss's binds. It looks like Lover Boy decided to free her then ran off."

Cato let out a growl and said, "He is in big trouble when I get my hands on him. Okay! Listen up! Clove, Marvel, Glimmer, and Jennifer! I want you four to go find Katniss and bring her back… Alive! Jake, watch the supplies. Make sure no one steals from us. If someone tries, kill him or her. I will go after Lover Boy myself and teach him a lesson. Now split up!" Everyone left to do what he or she were told.

Cato quickly found out which direction Peeta ran off in, as because part of his jacket was on a tree branch. Probably torn off when he was running away. Cato scowled and ran off after him. He knew that he didn't get far.

With Peeta

He was so tired. He was running for hours nonstop. He sat down on a fallen log to rest for a few minutes. After 5 minutes, he was in deep thought that he didn't notice that someone was sneaking behind him. Only when he was shoved off the log did he turn around. He immediately began to run, but failed as the person grabbed his arm and pulled him so that his back was pressed against the person's chest.

The person then whispered in his ear, "Found you Lover Boy. Did you really think that you could escape from me? You are in big trouble now. You will be punished for your disobedience. You not only ran away but you also freed Katniss. That is something that you will not be forgiven easily for."

Peeta began to shiver in fright and said, "I'm sorry. I really am. I just couldn't let you kill her. Please. Don't hurt me. I promise that I won't do it again. I swear. Please Cato. Don't hurt me."

Cato just said, "Sorry Peeta. You ran away. Now you will face the consequences for your actions." With that he quickly bit Peeta's neck harder than he ever did before. This caused Peeta to let out a cry of pain. He felt something warm running down his neck. He knew that it was blood. He whimpered and went limp.

Cato was happy with the response he got. He let go of Peeta's neck, turned him around, and punched him in the cheek. Peeta went flying back and hit a tree. He didn't have enough time to recover before Cato kicked him in the legs, causing him to fall down. He was then kicked in the stomach a least three times before he felt like he was going to pass out. Peeta was then lifted up by his hair and punched in the stomach and chest a few times before coughing up blood. It was only then did Cato stop beating him and held him in his arms. Peeta then burst out crying like he did when he first met Cato 12 year ago.

Cato then said, "There there Peeta. This will not happen again if you follow my orders. I would hate to kill you. I love you a lot so I hope that you stay by my side."

Peeta nodded and continued to cry. He was in so much pain. He then buried his face into Cato's chest. Cato picked him up and went back to the campsite. When they got there, the others were back empty-handed.

Cato said, "Jennifer. Take Peeta and get him healed. Make sure his ribs are okay. I think I might of fractured one." Jennifer nodded and left with Peeta.

Clove asked, "What did you do to him?"

Cato replied, "I just made sure that he will never make the same mistake again. That reminds me. I should ask my sponsors for a shock collar. I want to make sure that Peeta can never leave again."

Cato then walked off. He went to check up on Peeta who was sitting in their tent with Jennifer tending to him.

Cato asked, "What's the damage?"

Jennifer replied, "Bruising, little internal bleeding, and a few cracked ribs. Peeta will need to rest for a few days. He won't be of much use in his current condition."

Cato said, "Okay. I will be outside."

When he left the tent, he saw Glimmer coming out of the forest with a little girl slung over her shoulder. The girl looked like she was wounded.

Glimmer called out, 'I need help! I found this little one in a forest clearing. It looked like she was burned or something."

Clove rushed over to help Glimmer carry the girl. Jennifer came out and rushed over to look at her. When she got a good look, she saw that it was the girl from District 11.

She said, "This is the girl from District 11. Her name was Rue. Looks like she was burned. Also it looks like an arrow shot her. But whoever shot her took it out hoping that she would bleed to death."

Peeta, who was all patched up, came up and said, "The only person I know who could use a bow and arrow is Katniss. I can't believe she would do such a thing. Jennifer, can you heal her?"

Jen said, "I think I can. It looks like the wound isn't fatal. It will take a few days though."

"Why would Fire Girl do something like this? It is just so cruel to hurt a child," said Marvel.

Cato answered, "She is getting desperate. She wants us all dead. It looks like the Girl on Fire is showing her true colors. On the outside she is a girl who would do anything to protect the ones she loves. On the inside though she is someone who would do anything to win, even if it means hurting a child or trying to kill the ones she loves."

Clove said, "Now I really wished that I killed her on the first day. I know I really don't have a right to say this, but she is even crueler than we career tributes are. Even I wouldn't hurt a child just because the person who loves me is being held captive."

Cato put a hand on Clove's shoulder and said, "We all know how you feel Clove. We feel the same. Jennifer, I want you to heal this child. Take however log you need to."

Jennifer nodded and took Rue back to her tent to heal her. Glimmer and Marvel left to watch the lake. Jake continued to rewire the bombs. Peeta was so angry with Katniss that he began to cry so hard he fell down onto the ground. Cato bent down and wrapped his arms around him and pulled Peeta to his chest and just held him. Peeta buried his face into Cato's chest and cried his soul out. Cato was down right furious with Katniss for making the love of his life cry.

Cato ran his fingers through Peeta's hair said, "Don't cry love. I promise you that I will kill her. I will cut out her heart and give it to you."

Peeta said, "I-i-I j-j-just hate her s-s-s-so much. I c-c-can't believe t-t-that she would do s-such a thing."

"I know love. I know."

Peeta stopped crying and slammed his lips onto Cato's. He wrapped his arms around his neck and refused to let go. Cato groaned and probed Peeta's mouth, who allowed him in. Cato wrapped his arms around Peeta's waist and picked him up. He then walked towards the forest where he pressed Peeta against a tree and continued to dominate him.

Cato pulled away from the kiss and asked, "What do you want Peeta? The only time you are like this is when you want something."

Peeta said, "I want you to mark me. Make me yours. I don't care how you do it, just make me yours."

Cato replied, "There is one way. I asked my sponsors for a shock collar for you. I also asked them to put my name on it so everyone knows that you belong to me."

Peeta said, "Good. I want to show Katniss that she will pay for what she did to me back in 12."

Cato asked, "She did something to you in 12? What happened there?"

Peeta said, "One day when I was 13, I accidentally bumped into Katniss during school. Her boyfriends demanded that I say sorry to her. I did and she just blew me off. She said that I should just disappear forever and that I didn't deserve a friend like you. While I was walking home, her best friend Gale jumped me. And…"

Cato probed, "And?"

Peeta continued, "He r-r-raped me. I am not a virgin. I haven't been since 13. I'm sorry. The plan is ruined."

Peeta didn't have time to say anything else because Cato slammed his mouth over Peeta's. He dominated him and then pulled away.

He asked, "Has anyone helped you since then?"

Peeta said, "Yea. My older sister." (A/N: Felt like giving him and older sibling.)

Clove asked, "You have an older sister?"

Peeta jumped a few inches into the air. How on earth did she sneak up on them like that? He would never know.

He said, "Yea. She is older than me by a year. She's 17."

Clove asked, "What's her name?"

"Her name is Rayshiro Hikama Mellark. (A/N: Made it up.) She was the 71st Hunger Games victory for District 12."

They were now at the camp when Glimmer spoke up, "I read about her. She killed the Career Tributes by setting traps and released deadly projectiles. The traps were meant for the boy from her district, but the careers stumbled upon them on accident. At the end, only the boy from 12 was left and they duked it out. She won in the end though."

Peeta asked, "Did you know that she lost her ability to speak?"

Cato said, "No what happened?"

Peeta said, "One of the other tributes sponsors thought it would be funny to put acid in her soup. When she drank it, she threw it up immediately, but the damage was done. The acid badly damaged her vocal chords. She could no longer speak."

Marvel said, "Now that's just cruel. Who was the tribute who did this to her?"

"The boy from 12. I have no idea why though."

Clove suggested, "Maybe he was jealous that you were the focus of all her attention. He liked her but she never gave him the time of day."

Peeta said, "Maybe. Or he hated her because she beat him and his friends up after what they did to me."

Jennifer came out and asked, "What did they do to you?"

Cato was the one who replied in a venomous way, "They raped him."

Everyone gasped. How could they do such a thing to Peeta?

Jen shouted, "I'll fucking murder them! They had no right to do that!"

Clove said, "What she said! I can't believe they did that to you!"

Marvel asked, "How did your sister handle it?"

Peeta said, "She beat the crap out of them. She also drew out 12's death as long as possible."

Cato said, "I would like to meet your sister one day. She sounds like she is very protective of you."

"If she knew that we were together, she would be fine with it."

Clove asked, "Why?"

Peeta replied, "She is bisexual. She currently has a girlfriend named Beatrix Kiddo. (A/N: From the movie Kill Bill) They've been together for about a year now."

Marvel said, "Wow. Never would have guessed it."

Just then Jake came running over. He stopped in front of them and bent over panting, try to catch his breath. When he did he said, "I spotted 12. She is going to try and set the mines off."

Cato said, "Good work Jake. Okay people. Lets divide up and surround her. We will see how she reacts when she sees Peeta. Now split up!" Everyone did just that. Cato brought over Peeta to the pile of supplies in the middle of the field. He made him sit and tied him up as gently as possible.

Cato then said, "I will leave you here and join the others. I want to see if she is willing to risk her life to save you. Don't worry about the mines. Jake made them so that he would have to press a button on his watch to set them off. So you will be fine."

He gave Peeta a quick kiss and ran off with the others. Peeta just sat there thinking about what was going on. He started to feel lonely. He knew though that the one time he felt truly alone was when his older sister became a tribute for the 71st Hunger Games. He was so scared for her. He cried every night because he wanted her back.

Peeta was broken out of his thoughts when he felt someone pick him up and slam him it the supplies. He looked up and saw Thresh, from 11. 'I am so dead' Peeta thought.

Thresh asked, "What did you do to Rue? Did you kill her? Where is she?"

Peeat replied, "We didn't do anything to her. We found her in a clearing badly wounded. Glimmer brought her back and we have been healing her ever since."

Thresh replied, "You lie! 12 said that you found her and killed her."

Peeta said, "Well she was lying to you. Go check the tent on the far right. Rue is in there sleeping."

Thresh left to go see the tents. When he got there, he went in the one that Peeta told him that she was in, and found her. She was wrapped in bandages that covered most of her body. She was sleeping like a baby would. Thresh bent down and gently ran his fingers through her hair. The 12 boy was right. She was alive and healing. He when thought back when Katniss told him that they killed her. She was wrong.

Thresh came out and walked up to Peeta. He helped him sit up and was going to cut his ropes when Peeta said, "Stop. Don't cut the ropes. Don't worry. They didn't capture me. It's all part of this plan we made to kill Katniss."

Thresh nodded and said, "I am sorry for not believing you. Thank you for taking care of her."

Peeta said, "You must like her a lot."

Thresh sad, "Yes. She is like a little sister to me. I promised her parents that I would protect her. Who harmed her? Who tried to kill her?"

Peeta said, "Katniss. She did it. Even the Careers aren't so heartless as to try and kill a child when she is wounded. Jennifer has been healing her for a while now. The wound is almost healed, so Rue should wake up in a few days."

Thresh nodded and replied, "I would like to join you guys. I want to be able to protect Rue. Please. I am good when it comes to wheat. There is a field of it and I can get some so we could make bread."

Peeta said, "Sure. But the final decision is not mine to make. That would be Cato. They will be back soon so we'll ask them then." Just after he said that, there was a loud scream. Peeta shot up and said, "That was Glimmer! Get me out of these ropes. I have to get to her." Thresh did just that and Peeta was up and at it like a rocket. He grabbed a first-aid kit and ran to where he heard the scream. He stopped and shouted, "Stay here with Rue!" He then disappeared into the forest.