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Gale –

There is little time to celebrate the union of the new couple in District 12. They have one day together before the camera crews arrive with Effie Trinket and the Town Square becomes the center of attention. Reaping Day has come.

There are no lines of kids being checked into the Capitol's books this year. We have been given a reprieve from watching children die on the Broadcast. This year we will lose our Victors. The ones who already persevered through the Capitol's games.

I'm allowed to stand with Katniss' mother and sister. My own mother watches over my brothers and sisters at the back of the crowd. I am glad that they, at least, will be safe. But I am angry that Katniss is being subjected to this again.

Katniss stands alone on the right side of the stage. Her hair is in a simple braid which falls over her right shoulder. She's dressed in a plain, black shirt and khaki pants. The outfit hangs loosely and I wager that her clothing choice is more to do with hiding her baby than a fashion statement.

I look to the left side of the stage where Haymitch and Peeta stand side by side. I'm still not keen on their plan, but it's out of my hands now.

"You can't tell them at the Reaping." Haymitch was adamant on that point. "They can cut the feed with a snap of their fingers, whisk you inside a Capitol Hospital and take care of their problem then and there."

I felt sick to my stomach. "They'd do that? Against her will?"

Haymitch tossed back a tumbler of white liquour. He'd found the bottle Peeta had stolen in the cupboard while he was busy Toasting with Katniss. "Without blinking."

Peeta's face had paled. "So, when?"

"The interviews."

Katniss rolled her eyes. "Haymitch, that's four weeks from now. I can barely hide it as is. Look at me!"

"Oh I am, Sweetheart."

I wanted to smack the smug smile off Haymitch's face. The way he looked at her was slimy. Peeta's hand on my shoulder was all that prevented me from clocking him.

"Cinna can help," Peeta told Katniss. "He'd do just about anything for you. He'll be on our side. If anyone can help us, he can."

Katniss bit her lip as she thought about what they were asking her. It seemed like a long stretch, even to me. You had to be blind not to see how far along she was. But the Capitol did have a plethora of stylists. If anyone could help her, Cinna could.

That was the night of the Toasting. The last night we all had without the Capitol pressing in on our backs. Our time is up.

Effie Trinket, dressed in her garish Capitol clothes and a pile of golden hair, steps up to the glass bowl which contains a single envelope. No one is surprised when Katniss' name is read out loud. The only disapproval uttered is when Haymitch's name comes out of the men's bowl and Peeta jumps to volunteer. No one wants to see the Star Crossed Lovers to be pitted against each other again.

Prim, Mrs Everdeen, and I are silent as we stare at the platform. Then we do the only thing we can with the Peacekeeper's breathing down our necks. In unison, we kiss our index, middle and ring-fingers and hold them high in salute.

As the crowd begins to echo our good-bye, the Peacekeeper's break their silence. They are heading into the crowd, batons drawn.

"I get to say good-bye!" I hear Katniss shriek as she and the others on the platform are shoved inside the building and the doors are sealed. They are gone and we are to pay for our gesture.

The crowd is being herded together like cattle. There is panic and fear as people are packed together. I know that Prim and Mrs Everdeen are my responsibility now. I wrap my arms around them and plunge into the crowd, ducking around people and pushing, trying to get away from the Peacekeepers.

Peacekeepers. The word is like poison in my mouth. Suppressors. Enforcers. There is nothing Peaceful in what they do.

I hear the cries of men and women as they are beat into the dirt and I shove the women in front of me, pushing further into the throng. We have to get away. I have to get them to safety. But where is safe anymore?

We get to the back of the crowd and my heart rises up in my throat. More Peacekeeper's bar our way. A man and a woman block an alleyway that leads out of the square, back towards the burned out Hob. To my complete surprise, they look at Mrs Everdeen and Primrose and they stand aside, ushering us through. I can't believe our luck!

"Andrica," Prim tells me as we duck down a side-street, looping around to make for the Victor's Village. "Mother treated her for a burn she got when they were repairing the fence. Thread won't let any of the District 12 Peacekeeper's have access to their medical supplies. He thinks they're lower than dirt. Thinks they've all gone soft for the Natives."

For us, she means. Andrica and her partner are like Darius, then. The man who tried to step in during my lashing. They are sympathizers. That means they are a liability to the Capitol. I haven't seen Darius since my beating and I wonder what punishment Thread has given him. I can't believe I'm feeling sympathetic for one of them.

The screaming from the town square lasts for hours. Even when I have secured Prim and Mrs Everdeen back in their home, we can hear them. As night draws in, the fires start. I am fearful for my own family, but Mrs Everdeen insists that I stay put until daybreak. It is a long night of smoke and screaming and fear and anger. We don't know what's going on until the bodies begin to arrive on the doorstep.

The Peacekeepers beat the crowd into submission and rounded up those that dared to fight back. Three of my mining crew are in the stocks by daylight alongside six other men and women who were charged with varying degrees of resistance. But at least they are still alive. One man was shot in the fray when he tried to run from Thread. Three young children were trampled in the panic.

My stomach drops when I hear this and I think of Rory, Vick and Posy. But I have little time to dwell as I am put to work by Mrs Everdeen and Prim, helping to clean and care for the wounded. Each injury I see is added to the list of reasons I hate the Capitol. These people didn't deserve this.

My mother arrives just after sunrise with my brothers and Posy. I wrap them in my arms, kissing the tops of their heads. How am I going to keep everyone safe? It was simple before. All I had to do was hunt and trade. But I can't do that now and the Peacekeeper's are itching for a fight. There is only one thing I can do. I have to behave.

I look down into the gray eyes of my little sister. They're wet with tears as she clings onto me.

"I thought they'd taken you away! We heard the shots! I was so scared!"

It pains me as I kneel down so that we are face to face. I hate to give into this. I know it's wrong, but I'm only one man and two families rely on me. I can't be the one rallying behind the Capitol's backs. I've taken too many risks all ready. I've placed them all in danger.

"I promise you'll never have to worry about me again, Posy," I say as I take her small hands in mine. I am resolved to follow my promise, but it makes me feel hollow inside. I know that it's wrong, but it's all I can do. For them.