Sooooooooooooooo sorry about the wait. I feel horrible especially since I told you guys you wouldn't have to wait this long again. Grrrrr. Well, hope this makes up for it.

Chapter 25

In the morning, we all got packed to start our hikes back home. I nudge Prim with my elbow as Sanders doesn't start off in the direction of his home but starts to walk Thereasa to hers.

Thresh is the last one to exit the tent. He rubs his eyes tiredly, notices us packing up and begins to do the same with his things.

We walk back in silence, Prim always made sure to be in between Thresh and I. When we did get home, the same strange silence held its place.

Weeks passed, Thresh and I hardly talked and when we did, I always made sure not to punch him, even if I was joking. We hadn't worked for four consecutive weekends. I was beginning to feel the same worry as Prim.

It was a Tuesday when it happened. The day started off like any other:

My alarm clock sounds off with its steady ring. I slap the off button and roll over in bed. I nudge at Prim, "Time to wake up, you want to go get Thresh?" I had been asking her to do Thresh's awakenings since camping.

Prim sighs heavily but will not open her eyes, "Five more minutes?"

I chuckle, "Nope, last time I gave you five minutes you made us all five minutes late."

She moans and slowly stands to her feet. She picks a hair tie up from the bed's side counter and pulls her hair up into a ponytail. I watch as she walks from the room.

I get up and go to my closet. I stare into it for a short while before just grabbing a pair of blue jeans and a gray tee-shirt that I knew Prim would steal if I didn't put it on first.

I go out to the kitchen and start making omelets. Prim comes out momentarily and frowns at me, "I wanted to wear that shirt."

I shrug my shoulders, "Sorry."

She groans and excuses herself to go find something else to where. Thresh sits at the table quietly waiting for his food. I put in his usual cheese, green onions, and ham. I look at the pack of mushrooms staring in question, "I forgot, do you like mushrooms?"

He shakes his head, "No, not really seeing as I'm allergic to them."

"Then I probably shouldn't put mushrooms in it."

He laughs half-heartedly, "Yeah, that's probably a good idea."

Prim comes out of my room wearing a simple dark purple shirt and a pair of fitted skinny jeans. She sits at the table and waits for her omelet. I place Thresh's plate in front of him. "What do you want on yours Prim?"

I ask her every day even though I know exactly what she wants: cream cheese, green onions, mushrooms, and cream of mushroom sauce. She looks at me and rolls her eyes jokingly, "Cream cheese, green onions, mushrooms, and cream of mushroom sauce, oh and some turkey."

I stand there a little confused, "Turkey? You never put meat in your omelets. What caused the change of mind?"

"Just to throw you off."

I smile and make her omelet then mine. Soon we are at school, barely on time. Prim and I are making stir-fry in cooking when the announcement is heard, "Code red. We are having a lock-down. This is not a drill, I repeat this is not a drill."

Every body stops what they're doing and goes under the tables like we've been told to do. "Wait," Prim says and turns on her heel. I can't help but chuckle as she grabs our dish and brings it under the table for us to eat while we wait. Though they said it wasn't, everybody thought it was a drill.

I hear a loud deafening noise and the windows of our classroom shatter. The bowl Prim was holding breaks in her hands. She winces in pain at the glass shards stick painfully out of her skin. I help her pull it all out of her hands and even one from her leg. "What was that?" she whispers.

I look her dead in the eyes, "They finally did it Prim. They've been saying they would for all these years but now they finally did it. The Capitol is here."

She holds onto me desperately. "I don't think their going to go through all this without giving us any special punishment, you know, because we weren't… model employees."

Every body looks at Prim and I like we're over reacting, but I don't really care. The secret will be out soon anyways so I ignore the stares and hold Prim against me. I bury my face in her hair, "I won't let anything happen to you, I promise."

We hear a magnificent hover plane, no doubt what had caused the shattered windows, as it lands. They are much closer than I would have thought. I can hear several men board off. The deep clunk their boots make against the ground suggest they're wearing heavy armor and carrying deadly weapons. I can hear one say, "Come on they must be around here somewhere, check the classrooms."

Prim's grip on me tightens, she has heard it too. I dare look out the window. They are running down the outdoor hallways starting at the base and working their way up. I grab Prim's hand, "Come on, we need to go."

Everybody stares at us in confusion as we stand with shaking knees. The teacher mouths for us to get down but we ignore her. I try the door but it has been locked. I climb through the window then with quick, nervous looks around, help Prim climb through too.

We try to quietly sneak around the side of the building without anybody noticing. Two of the soldiers look our way, point and shout. I grab Prim's hand and take off running, with the Capitol soldiers trailing close behind. I shove Prim into a curve in the wall and we watch as they run past us. I lead her the opposite way they had gone.

A loud announcement is heard. It is not from the school intercom but from a speaker in the hover plane. "Hello, this is President Snow the third, if you hand over the following students: Finnick Odaire and Primrose Mellark, we will spare your lives. Thank you, that is all."

I push Prim through a random door. It's the gymnasium. Through the doors on the other side is the forest where we can escape the Capitol and all the trouble it has caused us. I yank at Prim's arm but she will not follow. I turn around, "Come on, we have to go!"

She bites at her lip nervously, "If we leave they kill all those people."

My words sound hard, cold, and vicious, even to me, "I want you safe; I couldn't care less about the rest of them."

"Nick, these are your classmates, your friends, your teachers. These are people you grew up with and you're okay with just killing them, all of them?"

"It's not like we're killing them really, the Capitol is." I was desperate to get Prim out of here.

"I don't see what the difference is when there's something we can do to stop it."

"Prim, please, just come with me."

She steps up to me and gets on her the tip of her toes. She kisses me tenderly. I can feel her salty tears running over my lips as our mouths synchronize into one fluid motion. She pulls away from me, "I don't know what's going to happen after they have us, but if I don't see you after, know that I love you."

She turns and walks slowly, fearfully, to the door we came in through. I stare at her for a moment before I run to her side. I take her hand in mine, "I love you too." We open the door together.

Almost immediately we are surrounded with soldiers. They all point their guns at us and lead us to the hovercraft. We are taken into a large spacious room. We are thrown to the ground in front of a desk, behind it is a large office chair. The back of the chair faces us but I can see fingers steadily drumming on the arm rest, they stop to wave away the remaining soldiers.

The chair turns and a tall, pale man, much resembling a skeleton, reveals himself. "Primrose, Finnick." He nods to each one of us, we do nothing in response, "You and your friends have caused the Capitol quite a bit of trouble."

Prim grows slightly confused, "Um, sir, I don't see how us running away for that short period of time could have caused too much trouble. Besides, we're not really worth having around."

The man smiles, "So funny, that's just what I was thinking."

My face grows pale and I feel like I might throw up, "Please, don't kill Prim," I blurt out, "It was my idea, I said to run, kill me." Prim looks at me in confusion, knowing it had been her idea to run away.

The skeleton waves a finger, "Oh quit blubbering, we're not going to kill you." Prim and I automatically start spitting out 'thank you' and 'you're so gracious sir', "But that does not mean we are not going to punish you." Again I grow white with fright. He smiles devilishly, "Would you like to know your punishment?"

I couldn't imagine asking what it was, I really didn't want to know. It surprises me that Prim asks so quickly, "Yes sir, what is our punishment?"

A wicked grin, "That, dear child, is a surprise. But for now we're sending everybody back to the districts in which they were born." He looks over me and then Prim, he gets much satisfaction from our grief. "I, feeling kind today, will allow you two to bid farewell, then Prim will be taken away." He stands to leave the room.

As soon as the door closes Prim and I collapse onto each other. I hold her face close to mine and kiss her sweetly. We are both crying, "I will find a way for us to be together again, I promise." I kiss her again.

"Nick, what if this is it? What if we're here now, I leave, and then they kill us?"

I kiss her again, "You think you can get rid of me that easily?" She gives me a weak smile. A minute more passes and somebody comes to take Prim away. They have to literally yank us apart from each other, "Prim, I love you!"

"I lo-" the door closed before she could finish. I haven't seen her since.

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