Peeta's POV.

I was concentrating on not passing out. I knew if I did, the dreams would be back. The visions of the pleading look in Darius's eye. His agonised screams echoing round my head. His mangled body being altered into something inhuman. The worst was the fact he was an avox so he couldn't answer their questions. They were torturing him for fun. Monsters.

Of course they tortured me too, but it wasn't as bad as seeing other people being tortured. I think that hurt me more. My torture wasn't the old-fashioned kind you imagine; like thumbscrews, stretching racks etc. I wasn't even sure what they were doing to me most of the time. They connected me to machines. Sometimes it was a dull, aching pain that would be there for days. Sometimes it was a sharp unendurable pain. Sometimes it was just something so annoying and repetitive I thought I was going mad.

I had wished I were dead several times. It would be better if I were dead. Katniss wouldn't have to worry about me. She could get on with saving Panem. But of course the Capitol would never let me die. That would be too simple. I'm a loose end; no one quite knows what to do with me. If I died, everything would be sorted. Not exactly happy, but better than now. However, I knew they would never let me go. I would be here till I had grey hair and a beard.

Johanna's piercing screams in the cell next to me signified it was time for more torture. I steeled myself, almost separating my mind from my body, so the pain wouldn't feel as bad.

The Capitol attendants came in, wheeling a bed and what looked like a projector. I didn't have enough strength in me to struggle, so I simply let them strap me into the bed. They tightened wrist straps and ankle straps to prevent me from resisting. Ha. The good that would do me. A guy next to me was filling a massive syringe with some sort of medicine. Oh great. They were going to inject me with some pain-inducing poison. Another guy set the projector up, and pointed it at the ceiling above the bed. They dimmed the lights and a film started playing. What was going on? Were they going to show me my family being tortured, or Katniss, or even Flo? Were they going show me footage of District 12 burning?

I immediately recognised the scene. It was the tree from my first hunger games. I was with the careers, camped round the bottom and Katniss was stuck in the tree. She began to saw the branch with the tracker jacker nest. I sighed. I had almost forgotten what Katniss looked like in this horrible cell. Memories of her came rushing back as I saw her small figure on the screen. I remembered her lovely grey eyes, her beautiful shiny hair, and her beautiful voice. I smiled at the memories swirling round my head; taking comfort in them.

That was when the attendant plunged the needle in my arm, injecting whatever poisonous substance was in there into my bloodstream. Immediately I felt sick and light headed. I looked up at Capitol attendants and screamed in pure terror.

Their faces had changed. They were no longer human. They had sharpened teeth, like Enobaria. Their eyes were the colour of Glimmer's but they seemed to be glowing. Worst thing of all was that their face was sprouting bright orange fur, exactly like the monkey mutts.

I couldn't think straight.

Everything jumbled up in my head.

The room seemed to be closing in on me.

One of the horrible creatures grabbed my head and forced me to watch the film. The tree was covered in spikes and seemed to be a lot taller. The tracker jacker nest was a lot bigger, the buzzing sound echoing through my head. Katniss turned to camera. I gasped. Her face looked different. Everything seemed to be harsher, her eyes more intense, her hair was wriggling as if it was made of thousands of snakes. She smiled and it was pure evil. Her teeth were sparkling white with what looked like bloodstains on. Her eyes flashed murderously. The nest fell crashing down next to me. She laughed maniacally, as she watched me scream with terror and pain.

She was a mutt.

She was sent to kill me.

I hated her.

Short chapter but I promise the next one will be longer.

This is how I imagined his torture…

Thanks to Natalia1129 for suggesting this :)

Please review!

Nancy