I gasped, realizing the truth. Part of me was kind of upset at Peeta for not telling me sooner, but the other part of me was too caught up in the thought that he actually got outside that I didn't linger on my anger.

"Yes," Peeta looked off in the direction of the door in thought. "Yes, I did…"

"Quit being so mysterious and tell me about it! What happened? What did you see? What did you do? How did you do it?" My questions were shot at him like bullets, begging to get answered.

Peeta grinned and leaned back to get more comfortable for the long story. "The night when I left… well I couldn't sleep, like normal. You had just drifted off and for about half an hour I was okay watching you sleep, but no offense, it's not very interesting. Every few minutes you would mumble something in your sleep, but other than that it was uneventful. Eventually, I got up and paced the halls. I didn't know where I was going, but on my way, I ran into a Guard. He told me that the Scavengers were heading off in ten minutes and he asked if I was one of them. Well, who could pass the opportunity?"

I listened intently, eager to hear every bit of Peeta's story.

"I told him I was, so the Guard shoved me into this room that sent shivers down my spine. Immediately I wondered if that was the right decision, because this room was an exact replica of the training room in the Capitol. It took a lot in me not to sprint out of the room at full speed. Both of the Games messed me up, Katniss, and I don't want to sound weak or anything, but I swear I almost fainted."

I felt sympathy for him; I probably would have wanted to faint, too. We were both messed up in a way nothing could every fix. Just the thought of the room made me huddle closer to Peeta.

"Without taking a good look at one thing for too long, I just grabbed some necessities and waited. The guy that ran the Scavenging was a surly bald man that insisted he be called Officer Tate. When everyone else was done gathering stuff and doing whatever, we followed Officer Tate through a part of District 13 I have never been in. When I thought we were as good as lost, Tate stopped at a dead-end hallway. At first I was very confused, but Officer Tate just… pushed the wall and it swung open like a door, which it was." Peeta paused, letting my brain catch up. When it did, he continued. "Anyways, that was the first time I had felt wind in over a month, and it was amazing. As the group stepped outside, I looked around and…"He seemed to have been at loss for words. I didn't blame him. "Little stars dotted the sky and it was the first time since the reaping so long ago I had felt safe walking out my own front door. Of course it wasn't my own, but you get what I mean. Anyways, Tate led us another ten feet further into the complete darkness then stopped. He told us to take out our flashlights and get a good look around. When I turned mine on and looked around, my mouth dried up instantly and I had a hard time standing."

I squeezed Peeta tighter, feeling my heart pounding itself silly in my chest.

The look in his eyes turned hollow and distant. "Nothing."

"Nothing?" I squeaked.

"Well, not exactly nothing, but it was as good as. It looked as if we were standing in a giant bowl made of rock. We could see the edges wrapping around the place we were standing in. The ground was covered in a thick layer of ash and the occasional rock. It freaked me out. Tate pressed a button on his fancy-looking watch thing and out of a hole in the ground cam hovercrafts. They reminded me too much of the Games, and for the second time, I wanted to run away. My mind kept screaming at me to run, but as soon as I touched the ladder I wasn't able to change my mind even if I wanted to. After a while, the hovercraft slowed and dropped us off somewhere. At first my eyes didn't adjust to the lighting, but after they did, it was hard to miss the Capitol mansion when it was twenty feet from you."

I clapped my hands over my mouth. Somewhere way back in my mind, I knew I was acting stupid and weak, but anyone that had gone through what Peeta and I went through would be acting the same way.

"I am glad there was someone right behind me to grab hold of the back of my jacket because I actually did run." Peetalaughed quietly. "The Capitol was exactly the way I remembered it, except the stillness and absolute silence. The birds weren't singing and the shouting of people, the rumbling of cars was all gone. Thankfully, Officer Tate gave me the jobs of raiding houses nearby so I didn't have to go in it."

I had gone completely still. "What happened after that?"

Peeta shrugged. "Nothing, really. I spent the day there, looting houses. I didn't get to keep anything or go back here earlier. I was thinking about you the whole time I was there."

"That's sweet." I said quietly with a small smile. "Although I bet you weren't thinking of me when you tried to make a run for it."

"Actually, I was making a run for it back to you. It was unnerving, not being with you. Leaving you unprotected."

"I'm fine here. You know that." I felt my cheeks burn and I turned away, hoping Peeta didn't catch my blush.

"Yeah…" Peeta was smirking. Apparently he did catch my blush.

It was a few minutes before he spoke again. "So do you still want to go outside tomorrow?"

I frowned. "No, I think I am content, for now. Don't get to use to it, though." I sighed heavily.

"What?" Peeta wrapped his arms around me and I rested my head against his shoulder.

"I'm bored." As soon as I said it, I felt dumb, so I said quickly, "Of course, being bored is much better than being hunted or dying."

"You could take a nap." Peeta suggested, blowing off the embarrassing moment.

"That works." I sank into the covers next to him and said, "You'll wake me for dinner?"

"Of course." The last thing I felt before I dozed off was Peeta's lips on my forehead.