I stared morosely at the floor of the hovercraft. It was alive with the buzz of people chatting, being congratulated and planning what to do next but I was immune to it. I just kept seeing Red's final seconds over and over in my head. For this moment I didn't care that Peeta was back. I didn't care that he wasn't being tortured. I just wanted Red. It seemed like I could only have one friend at a time. Maybe my life was cursed? It seemed like nothing but bad things had happened to me.

Gale came and sat next to me, putting his arm round my shoulders. I got a twinge of déjà vu and realised this was exactly what had happened after Peeta had been reaped. But this time I welcomed Gale. I leaned in to him and buried my face into his shoulder. We stayed like this, motionless, while the rest of the hovercraft moved around us. He was my rock in this ever-changing world.

District 13 was another world. I had only live in two places in my life, and it seemed to be the complete opposite of both of them. Boggs gave us a quick tour of the place when we got off the hovercraft. He showed us the dining hall and explained the chore routine, he showed us the classroom and the training ground and finally dropped us all off in our allocated rooms. Gale was immediately whisked away because he was one of the top military people and I was left alone.

I was to sleep in room 114, which luckily I got to myself. Someone had left my luggage on the bed, with the photo album on my bedside table. Boggs had stuck a little note on it saying:

I knew you'd survive.

Ha. I feel like half of me is dead. Everyone I've ever loved has been harshly ripped out of life. I had no one left. I lay on my bed but was too numb to even cry. Curling up in the foetal position I grab my pillow and hug it tight. I hope I never have to move again.

My wallowing in despair was rudely interrupted by a strict woman from District 13 bursting in. She saw me curled up on my bed and immediately started screaming. 'You lazy girl! You need to get downstairs and help out cooking immediately!'

I ignored her, hoping she might go away soon. Instead she roughly turned my over to face her.

'You think you've got it bad? All my family and friends are dead. Deal with your stupid little problem and get the hell up!'

Rage filled me up. How dare she talk to me like that? She didn't know me.

'My mum's dead. My dad is probably being tortured at the moment. My best friend's dead. My other best friend has gone completely mad. The boy I love loves someone else, and basically my life is crap' I screech at her, tears pouring down my face. I was expecting her to feel sorry for me, to maybe put an arm round me and say sorry. But no.

'Well, deal with it. There's no use crying about it. What's the point? Get up and do something. Make new friends. Make this boy love you. Rescue your dad. Just don't sit there crying about it!'

And strangely, I think this was the only thing that could have made me feel remotely better in that moment. The women seemed to simplify everything. I needed to get my life back on track. I needed to make some friends. I needed to find my dad. It was simple.

I wiped the tears off my face and followed the women out of the door. I didn't even know the name of my saviour. When we reached the kitchen she pushed me in and walked off without looking back.

'Thanks!' I yelled after her before stepping through the doorway and being directed to the washing up post.

I was eating dinner that night with a group of District 12 teenagers I knew vaguely when Gale came in looking anguished. I tried my best to be normal. I was chatting to everyone, avoiding the subject of how I got here. They didn't seem to care. The biggest gossip was about a girl called Selina going out with a District 13 boy when she knew the blonde girl opposite me liked him. They also seemed to be talking about Finnick Odair a lot. One claimed to have seen him shirtless walking through the corridors. I settled in happily, almost feeling like myself. It was strange what human beings could adapt to.

That was until Gale asked to speak to me privately outside. His face was pale and tormented.

'The Capitol… changed Peeta'

'What? How?'

'I'm not sure. Beetee thinks they hijacked him'

'Hi- what?'

'Basically, they altered his memories by injecting tracker jacker venom into him while forcing him to watch clips of Katniss'

'So what's happened to him?'

'He now hates Katniss… or thinks she's a mutt or whatever'

'Why should I care?'

'He also hates everyone who reminds him of Katniss. We tried sending Delly in. It didn't end well.'

'What happened to Katniss?'

'Erm… he strangled her'.

Peeta… strangled her? I didn't think it was possible. He was so kind and gentle. I looked at Gale, who seemed to waiting for something. Was there something I was missing? Then I realised.

'I can't see him either.'

Gale shook his head.

As always, please review!

Nancy :)