Chapter 1

Pain. It's the first thing I feel when I start to move my eyes, only I have the tiniest impression of a cool breeze being blown on me, and I realize I'm no longer on the ground. I'm in the hovercraft.

Startled back into reality, I instinctively jerk my body forward, only to find this movement useless, that I've been locked into some sort of metal grip. My eyes are wide open now. I'm lying on what feels like a hospital bed. The pain I feel is coming from the tiny electric currents being sent through my ribs and hands and ankles to prevent me from moving too much. My pulse starts to rise while I take in my surroundings. I'm in a small room on the craft, made entirely of metal and completely empty, giving the cool air more space to take up. The only object in the room is a medium-sized body monitor next to me. They must have put some sleep syrup in me somehow, because I'm a bit drowsy and I feel as if I've just woken from sedation. It takes another moment, but I grasp the fact that I'm probably alone, and I have no idea where I am or where I'm being taken.

"Peeta!" I give a small scream. A hand grabs mine from behind the monitor, and I give a sharp gasp before I turn quickly towards the movement and push the machine out of the way with a tight flick of my wrist.

"Are you all right?" Peeta's grinning at me somewhat, only I can hardly understand why at a time like this. He's in the same exact hospital bed as I am, and he's been placed close enough to me that he can easily hold my hand. He must see my reaction, because he quickly adds, "We've been here for a while. I wasn't sure how long it would take you to wake up again."

I'm confused. "You should have woken me!" I retort, "Peeta, for all we know, someone is very mad and very well about to rip our tongues out and slaughter us the way we were meant to—!" I'm interrupted when Peeta grips my hand harder.

"Shh. It's okay. For now, I think we're safe. When I woke up, I think I heard someone talking in the other room. They didn't sound like they were going to hurt us." He's trying to comfort me, only I can tell he's a bit uneasy himself. I don't believe him too much. If Haymitch were here, he'd be strapped to a metal bed, too. But maybe he would help us escape rather than try to calm me down. I've no idea where he is, but I can only hope he's back in District 12, unharmed, not found. I decide not to ask about him, in case he is back home and safe. But this is all beside the obvious question. Who is doing this?

I'm feeling a sense of the past. "Look. Peeta, if I don't make-".

"No!" The immediate anger in Peeta's voice is apparent.

"Peeta, listen to me. I'm always going to be the main target. I'll always be the first to go," I say in the hopes of him not being stubborn for once.

"Damn it, Katniss! I told you nothing was going to hurt you, and I intend on keeping that promise whether you think I will be able to or not!"

I'm flushed and ready to come back with a snide remark when both of us are silenced.

"Perhaps the best thing to do first is release them from their restraints."

A woman, probably in her 30s, steps forward. She tells two husky guards around her to unlock our limbs, but they stand over us after we stand up. She has a larger build than average but this by no means can draw away from the absolutely breathtaking image of her as a whole. Her hair is blonde, and falls a few inches below her shoulders. Her eyes are eerily as light gray as Gale's, with just a touch of green around the centers. But I doubt she is from District 12.

She identifies herself as Enolia Sivlette. According to this woman we have just met seconds ago, there is no harm to come to us. We have no choice but to trust in this declaration, but I keep my doubts to myself. Other than this, we are not to know anything else until we arrive at our destination, which will be "within the next few minutes". From District 12, the ride totals an average of 5 hours. If we are cooperative, she says, all will be explained shortly. Both of us slightly sedated and unarmed, we have no other option but to oblige. Sivlette turns to go back to the front of the craft, and just as the doors close behind her, we feel a large thump as the craft lands. Because of the lack of windows, Peeta and I are left blind to the mercy of Enolia Sivlette and her guards. At the same time, the sedatives are mostly wearing off, and I wish they aren't. My pulse is again starting to soar, and I know Peeta's, fueled by protective anger, is, too. The main exit, probably where we came in, opens. We look out curiously, but it's pitch black. Enolia somehow materializes behind us.

"We're here. Welcome to Panem City."

City? Peeta and I exchange a nervous glance, and step off the craft into the darkness. All at once, every light turns on to show a brightly lit and massive warehouse. It's bigger than the room we used to do our training prior to the games in. About fifty people are sitting scattered around the place, monitoring the electronics. The room is packed with the most advanced technology I have ever seen, even more advanced than that of the Capitol's hospitals. Small blinking lights give the room even more brightness than the window in the back could. Basically, the whole warehouse is an open building, the window taking up the entire back wall. The warehouse itself is probably 3 stories tall. There are machines everywhere, and while I have no idea what they are for, I have a feeling we weren't invited here for a tour. There's a computer-animated voice that's commanding someone on the machines, and the man is working as best as he can to accommodate it. Sivlette is carefully evaluating our faces, and I can't help but feeling a sense of familiar terror, but I don't know why.

A moment later, the large window in the back becomes a projector screen, and a second after this the faces of 30 people, who neither look young nor old, appear. There's something about them that is tugging on my memory, though I can't pull it from memory. I look at Peeta and he seems to feel the same way.

"Come this way," she breaks the silence. She motions towards a small side door, and we follow. "And, I just wanted to give you a fair warning. Once your heads are back in the game, you probably will not like what you see."

I have many questions, but the looks on the guards' faces tell me that I probably not to ask any at this time. But I can't help but ponder anyways. What is Panem City? Is it some sort of extension of the republic we have built? What is this warehouse for? And, more importantly, who were those people we saw on the screen? But what does Sivlette mean by "once your heads are back in the game…..". And then it hits me harder than Clove's knife being driven into my forehead.

This place is a more advanced version of where we were put before the Hunger Games. The same Hunger Games we worked for so long to eliminate. The faces on the screen are what tributes' faces were displayed on during betting. The people working frantically in the warehouse share the same stature as that of the Gamemakers. And if this is the same place as the Games, then they have taken us here to throw us once again into an arena for a fight to the death, a battle in which I must watch innocent people turn savage and destroy the lives of innocent others.

Only a small whimper escapes my lips before I turn and run as fast as I can, but I only make it a few feet before one of the guards grabs me in a firm grip and slams me against the metal wall of the large hallway we are now in, hard.

Sivlette turns to Peeta, as calm as night. "Control her. Or we will."

The guard releases me, and Peeta doesn't show the slightest hint of intimidation as he steps to me, and takes my face in his hands in a reassuring grip.

"Katniss. Stop. We're okay." He doesn't know what he's talking about. He knows I am not fooled, and adds, "I still intend on keeping my promise." I'm still not convinced. He leans in to hug me, but whispers in my ear. "I don't think this is what we think it is. Don't jump to conclusions yet." He gives me one quick kiss on the lips before the other guards pulls him aside and they start half-guiding, half-dragging us to the door at the end of the hall. I can only hope there is no machine that can monitor my pulse as we are walking. There is not a single reason I can think of to explain why Peeta remains calm. I am desperately seeking a way out, but it's hopeless. We are in an unknown place. Home is apparently 5 hours away. We don't even know why we're here. Right now, I'm feeling the way Prim probably felt as she was taken away from me by Peacekeepers and Gale at her first Reaping. If this isn't a repeat of what the Hunger Games were, what is it? During the Games and interviews, I had tried my hardest to at least look calm, so Prim would not have to worry for me. There is no one left for me to protect, and the confused terror on my face is evident. This walk is taking longer than it should. The hallway seems to connect to a large room that looks like that of a mental institution—and while we had no such thing in the Districts, I learned about them in school and how people in the past who were thought to be insane were locked in them until they got better. They were usually never released. I freeze in place when I see the room surrounded by barred-doors like those in a prison, only to have the guard roughly push me forward. Peeta doesn't like what he sees, either.

"You promised us no harm. You will not imprison us!" He's trying to control himself, but the stress in his voice is not hidden.

Sivlette laughs—not mocking him, but in a way that gives the impression that we really are mistaken. She presses a button on the wall next to the bars, and it opens. It's dim and we can't see much besides two stools inside. Before either of us can react, the guards toss us in like rag dolls before going in as well and the bars slide back against the wall before I can regain my composure. I slam my fists on the bars and begin to scream.

"Stop!" Sivlette yells at me harshly. "Now, I'm going to give you one more chance to calm down. These bars can have an electric charge, and I do not believe you wish for me to activate it."

I absolutely lose it. "You will not tell me what to do! What you will do is tell us why on earth we are here. We have nothing we can do for you, and you will tell us where on earth we are, NOW." I struggle to calm down, and she laughs again.

"My dear Miss Everdeen, this is why I have brought you here." Peeta tenses up, and I glare at her and the guards with the same hatred I felt for Snow. "Now, as promised, I will tell you everything you need to know. This room you are in is simply for…control. If you two would have a seat, we will continue." Sivlette and the guards are facing us, back against the bars.

Peeta and I do as told, my glare never receding. Sivlette opens her mouth to begin, when I catch a glance at a figure that appears abruptly outside the prison-like doors. Before I can say anything, the door is opened and everyone in the room is taken by surprise as the shadowed figure jumps inside. It shines a flashlight and before I can even think to respond, a very enraged Glimmer swings a club into my skull as quickly as Prim exploded.